Adopting Disaster

Reed, who had been looking around various places, went to find the magic engineering graduates.

"Welcome, Tower Master."

A man who seemed to be the student council president greeted Reed as a representative.

He was a hot topic for attracting the attention of all nobles by creating a recording device, so the magic engineering graduates had been eagerly waiting for Reed.

Reed examined each item created by the ten graduates.

"How, how is it, Tower Master?"

The magic engineering student council president approached him and asked.

Reed looked at them and answered honestly.

"Considering them as graduation works, there's no problem, but there's nothing that really attracts me."

"Is that so?"

"Magic engineering doesn't have great value as a magic auxiliary tool. It's about maximizing efficiency by adding utility functions. Otherwise, there are significant problems in terms of efficiency, production process, cost, and durability."

"Thank you for your feedback, Tower Master."

The expressions of the graduates seemed as if the sky had already fallen.

Reed could fully understand their feelings.

'These guys must have also walked the path of pure magic engineering and then turned to this path...'

They must have stubbornly insisted on their lingering feelings for pure magic engineering.

'If they can break that stubbornness, they are talented enough to be utilized.'

Even if they made useless things, their abilities were better than those currently in the tower.

"Come to our tower, and you can study magic engineering with our apprentices and magicians. You can adapt slowly while exchanging opinions with them. If you're considering joining the Silence Tower, let me know anytime."

At these words, the students' faces brightened as if they had received the best news.

"Thank you, Tower Master!"

It was no big deal to support the graduates.

Who would refuse an offer to open up job opportunities?

'I think I've secured ten for sure, but how about the others?'

As a result of visiting several classrooms, there were more magicians who wanted to join the tower.

The reason was that there were many people supporting Freesia in the special class.

'Freesia's reputation is surprisingly high.'

In terms of fame, Helios might be the highest, but for those in specific conditions, Freesia was regarded as a kind of savior.

Magicians with disabilities or those who have been sentenced to a limited lifespan always end up under Freesia.

They give up the source of their lives to the tower and become undead magicians to show off their talents.

They were people who would do anything to live, even if their souls fell into the hands of a demon-like woman.

That was one of the reasons why the Black Sky Tower never fell.

Reed walked down the long hallway to find Dolores and Rosaria.

Suddenly, Reed glanced towards the lake and found an unexpected figure.

Dean Anton Eclipsys.

He was standing on the gravel by the lake, looking at the water.

Reed was drawn to something and walked to Anton, who was leaning back.

"Silence, huh?"

"That's right."

"I didn't know you had a hobby of looking at the lake."

"I'm just curious about what could be in the lake that captivated the dean's attention."

"It's just an ordinary lake. Sometimes, I want to feel something new from these ordinary things, so I look into them like this."

The dean stroked his white beard.

"How is that half of Astheria?"

The half of Astheria.

He was asking about Phoebe's safety.

"She is diligently fulfilling her duties as a proxy tower master."

"I'm glad. I believed that she could never be reborn when I saw her eyes filled with hatred. I was completely wrong."

The Astheria genocide incident.

The knights who had rushed in to arrest the tower master tasted the fearsome power of the half-dragons raised in Astheria.

The magicians, who belatedly realized the world-class danger, joined forces and eventually succeeded in suppressing the half-dragons.

Anton was among them.

Anton silently stared at the lake beyond.

"Don't trust the dragon too much. Even though it follows you now, it's a race that wouldn't be surprising if it betrays you someday. Especially... that child who has the blood of the black dragon flowing through her."

Phoebe, the half-dragon, had the blood of the black dragon in her.

The black dragon, cruel and fond of war.

Due to its ferocious nature that would wipe out everything in sight, it had been the enemy of mankind and had been hunted down several times. Now it was completely extinct.

Phoebe was the one who inherited the blood of that black dragon.

'I understood when she was an enemy...'

But now that she was an ally, he wondered if she really inherited the black dragon's blood.

In her daily life, she was like a gentle puppy, and she was only being pushed around by Reed, so he occasionally thought that the horns on her head might be just decorations.

'Phoebe is dangerous...'

There was nothing more to think about.

"That child won't betray me."

"Do you have a reason to be sure?"

"Because she's ready to give up her life for me."

"Giving up her life..."

Her loyalty was unwavering.

If Reed didn't make a big mistake that she couldn't turn back from, there was no doubt about her loyalty.

Even if Anton looked displeased, Reed never doubted her.

"The reason magicians die is always because of their certainty. Foolishly so."

"The relationship between magicians is like that. But Phoebe and I don't have that kind of relationship."

"Is it the relationship between a dragon and a human?"

"It's a relationship between a human and a human."

"A human, not a magician... Well, in that case, it might be worth being foolish."

The dean, who never laughed, chuckled at Reed's words as if he was in a good mood.

***

Before they knew it, it was evening.

Reed, talking with Anton, couldn't find Rosaria and Dolores in time and had no choice but to look for them in the dining hall.

On the way to the dining hall, Reed ran into the magicians dispatched from the merchant alliance.

"Oh, the Tower Master of Silence! Here you are."

"Are you going to have dinner?"

"Yes, that's right."

"You seem to be in a good mood."

True to their merchant nature, they always wore a friendly smile, but now their faces looked like they had caught a big fish.

"Yes, tonight seems to be the best day of my life."

"Why is that?"

"Well, the tower master of Wallin, who gets more entertaining when drunk, is attending the tasting event tonight, so we can't help but be excited."

"…Excuse me?"

Reed doubted his ears.

What's funny abo... What did they say?