The Escort Knight Who Is Obsessed by the Villainess Wants to Escape - Chapter 96

A 33-story conical structure. The Mage Tower.

It is the sacred place of the most famous Mages on the continent.

Generally, when people refer to the Mage Tower, they only mean the ‘tower’ itself, but over time, the meaning has expanded.

A large magical city has formed around the tower as its center.

A city comparable in size to any major trade city.

It boasts combat power comparable to a fortress.

Moreover, it is a place full of mysteries.

Golems roam the streets, and at night, lights shine in dazzling, eye-straining colors.

In the sky, mysterious floating stones drift by, with people sometimes riding on top of them.

And the buildings—how chaotic they look.

The way they’re stacked haphazardly makes one feel like a strong wind could bring them crashing down.

The term “Mage Tower” has now come to refer to the entire mysterious city itself.

A city that belongs nowhere, meant solely for Mages.

There is no king or mayor here.

Everything exists solely to research and develop the field of magic.

Judas arrived at the Mage Tower with Eliza.

He’d often seen it through other screens, but it was his first time seeing it in person.

“Oh wow….”

The brick-paved road was uneven and crooked.

A truly unrestrained city.

Since coming to this world, he’d never seen a landscape so chaotic and fantastical, so he couldn’t help but feel a bit excited.

Every shop sold either magical items or alchemy-related products.

Most of the people passing by were involved in magic as well.

It felt like he had crossed into another world within this other world.

Of course, he didn’t neglect to keep close watch on Eliza’s side.

“…Is it fascinating?”

Eliza asked, noticing Judas’s wandering gaze.

For her, who frequented this place, seeing Judas’s fascination was what fascinated her.

Judas grinned and nodded.

“Yes. It feels like I’ve stepped into a fairytale world.”

A clear, cheerful laugh.

He looked like a curious child.

It was rare enough to see him laugh in front of her, but this kind of laughter was completely new.

‘Adorable.’

A sudden thought popped into her mind, unprompted.

Has anyone else ever seen this smile?

Like Hermes, perhaps.

If no one has, for some reason, that thought made her a little happy.

Eliza headed toward the Mage Tower.

Her steps felt lighter than before.

Judas was right beside her.

A guard knight’s position is not by one’s side.

Usually, they are either in front, behind, or slightly off to the side.

But Eliza always kept Judas right next to her.

There was no special reason.

She just…wanted to.

***

The 33-story Mage Tower stretched high into the sky.

From afar, it looked like a giant awl rising from the ground.

An awl that seemed as if it could pierce the stars.

And that analogy fits quite well.

The stars symbolize the order and rules of the world.

Magicians, in trying to explain the world’s order and rules through magic, also observe and study constellations and the movements of stars.

As they approached the huge wooden door of the Mage Tower, Judas could sense Eliza’s fame and popularity.

To be exact, her fame as the Mage Eliza.

‘Impressive….’

No one could pass without taking a second look.

Eyes filled with admiration for a distant, unattainable hero continually turned toward her.

A few timidly approached, suggesting collaborative research or experiments.

For him, it felt like watching a celebrity.

And she was indeed deserving of that admiration.

It wasn’t only due to her strength as a Mage, often likened to a reincarnation of the mythical age.

She also occasionally assisted with the various artifact research projects conducted in the Mage Tower, succeeding each time.

A prime example was her commercial success with a teleportation artifact.

Of course, its price was astronomical, and only a select few could afford it.

Eliza ignored all such proposals without hesitation.

“But, my lady, doesn’t the Mage Tower prohibit entry for non-Mages? I’m not a Mage….”

“It’s fine since I brought you with me.”

An arrogant yet confident response.

And she was indeed the kind of Mage who could say that.

Judas just nodded in agreement.

“…Instead, you won’t be able to enter the 32nd floor.”

Directly below the final floor, the 33rd floor.

That was the domain of the Tower Lord.

No one could enter without prior permission.

There were several reasons, but first and foremost, the 33rd floor remained an uncharted territory, never entered by anyone.

Even Judas didn’t know what lay there.

Only rumors abounded about the existence of an ancient holy artifact used to seal the evil god.

Currently, the Tower Lord was the only one challenging the 33rd floor.

She, who had dedicated her life to magic, had a compulsive personality that despised any disruption to her schedule.

Therefore, entry to the 32nd floor was strictly restricted.

“Then, where should I wait?”

“Wait on the first floor. Don’t go anywhere.”

“…I’m not a child.”

“Earlier, you looked as amazed by magic as a child.”

“I do know how to distinguish time and place.”

Eliza chuckled softly and whispered.

“I’ll be back.”

***

Eliza arrived on the 32nd floor.

Using the teleport device that pierced through the tower’s core made it quick.

It was an item that had existed since the tower was first erected.

The scenery on the 32nd floor was remarkably tidy.

To the extent that one could be convinced the user must suffer from obsessive cleanliness.

Of course, the Tower Lord’s actual personality wasn’t quite so fastidious.

She was simply exceedingly meticulous when it came to magic.

“Oh, Lady.”

The Tower Lord, Epona, turned around.

A woman with green hair tied back loosely, shining with a fresh glow.

The white robe that enveloped her entire body reflected her meticulous nature.

“You’ve come. You said you had a proposal.”

Her green eyes indicated for Eliza to sit down.

Eliza took a seat on the guest chair.

She had grown accustomed to Epona’s casual tone.

She had been that way since they first met three years ago.

After all, she was older than Eliza.

“I recently acquired some materials related to dark magic.”

Epona, bringing tea, sat across from her.

“Dark magic is just an imitation of magic.”

“Yes. Although I haven’t yet identified the methodological reasons or logic behind it.”

“On the contrary, would it be impossible to reconstruct dark magic and convert it back into true magic?”

“Magic that mimics dark magic which, in turn, mimics magic?”

Eliza nodded.

She presented some documents she had brought from the mansion.

Epona swiftly skimmed through the files.

Interest sparkled in her eyes behind her glasses.

“An intriguing idea. I’ve never thought of it that way. But these documents… they’re all related to mental interference.”

“Precisely.”

Epona set down her teacup, pausing briefly.

“…Lady. Constructing magic in any form that resembles prohibition will likely draw the Imperial Family’s scrutiny. I can avoid it as the Tower Lord. I just need to present evidence that I conducted the research solely on this 32nd floor, which is what I’ll actually do. The tower enjoys considerable freedom from standard laws, anyway. But as for you… you’re not one to sit quietly, are you?”

Eliza nodded, as if it were obvious.

Her face was as calm as ever, almost peaceful.

“Are you capable of handling the Empire?”

At that, Eliza smiled lightly.

“The Empire will have to handle me.”

“I suppose so… Fine. But if we get caught later, don’t mention my name, alright? I’ll deny everything and only admit to the safe parts.”

“I promise.”

Magic.

Specifically, Epona was a human who had dedicated her life to unlocking the 33rd floor.

A person willing to do anything for any hint or new dimension related to magic.

As Eliza had anticipated, her proposal was smoothly accepted.

“Is this all the material you brought?”

“I want to prioritize reversing that one, and I also have these.”

All the dark magic documents Eliza submitted were copies.

The originals were safely stored in her own laboratory.

While the Tower Lord conducted her research, Eliza couldn’t sit idle.

But unlike Epona, who devoted everything to magic, Eliza had many responsibilities.

Cooperating with Epona was a way to accelerate her research.

“Hmm. Certainly, these things that resemble prohibition are intriguing. But as compensation, may I make one small request?”

“Go ahead.”

“Please don’t misunderstand, but the knight you brought with you… would it be alright if I touched him just once?”

“…….”

Various calculations ran through Eliza’s mind.

The circumference of the Mage Tower. Its height. Since it was a conical structure, if she wanted to wrap it in flames…

No, maybe an explosion in the form of a cylinder from the center would be better…

“Uh, no, no, it’s not like that. Calm down.”

Epona hurriedly waved her hands.

Eliza’s eyes had already become consumed with a mad flame.

“You said your name was Judas?”

“…Yes.”

Unlike her previous businesslike tone, Eliza had become strangely sharp.

Epona took a sip of her tea.

She had to be careful not to provoke her too much.

A single mistake, and this tower might disappear. Truly.

Having known Eliza for three years, Epona understood her potential better than anyone.

“They say you have a unique power, something akin to the Holy Power of the Moon Sect, though not quite holy.”

“Yes, well…”

“As you know, opening the 33rd floor with the young lady’s magic has failed. That power of the distorted sun, I mean.”

The power of the distorted sun.

Instead of calling Eliza’s power ‘mad fire,’ Epona referred to it by that name.

“If the relic on the 33rd floor is indeed the first sacred artifact, something from the time when the sun and the moon were one, I thought the moon’s power might be of help.”

“…….”

Eliza crossed her arms.

She supported herself under her chest, tapping her arm as she pondered.

Epona waited patiently, not rushing her.

‘Judas…’

Eliza’s real dilemma was something else.

It was her own hesitation.

If taking Judas’s magic was the price, she could do it.

But why did it feel so unsettling…

She couldn’t understand why it bothered her so much.

It was irrational.

To deny that feeling, Eliza pretended to be cheerful.

She nodded and spoke.

“Go ahead, by all means.”

Only then did Epona relax and smile.

***

When Eliza descended to the first floor to fetch Judas, her eyes once again flared with that mad fire.

“…….”

She had told him to wait quietly.

And he was, indeed, waiting quietly.

But his surroundings were anything but calm.

In the distance, Judas was visible.

Around him, Mages were clustered in droves.

“Is it true you wield Moon magic?”

“How much do you know about the stars?”

“Shall we go stargazing together?”

“I’m planning to observe the constellations; could you spare some time…?”

A flood of research proposals.

At the center, Judas was sweating nervously.

He had been told to stay put, so he couldn’t just run away.

And since they weren’t doing anything wrong, he couldn’t shout at them to leave him alone.

They simply approached, eyes shining with pure academic enthusiasm.

“Ah, I… I have to protect the lady…”

“Won’t she hire another Escort Knight? Perhaps… later?”

“The young lady has no such plans…”

Click.

With the sound of cold footsteps, the clamor ceased.

A suffocating silence filled the air.

The reason the sound of those footsteps stood out amidst the noise was simple.

The owner of those steps was a formidable magician.

Judas, trembling with fear, looked at his master, Eliza.

‘Wh-why do her eyes look like that…!’

She was walking straight toward him.

The Mages surrounding him parted like the Red Sea.

A few quietly slipped away as if nothing had happened.

Under everyone’s watchful gaze, Eliza stopped in front of Judas.

The height difference was such that he had to lift his head.

Eliza looked up at him, her face full of displeasure.

Her lips twisted in annoyance.

In the end, she said nothing.

In truth, she didn’t know what to say.

She just felt stifled inside.

Her lower abdomen churned with an uncomfortable heat.

She reached out her hand.

She adjusted Judas’s collar, tidying it up carefully

The Mages gathered around, and before anyone noticed, their previously disheveled appearance became neat and orderly.

“…Let’s go.”

Eliza naturally took his hand and led him, and Judas followed without a word.

The observing Mages watched the two with eyes filled with shock.

They realized clearly that the rumors floating around were true.

Right before their eyes. Directly.

‘Those two… They must be dating…!’

They nodded to each other with certainty.

Since Eliza usually acted like a cold-hearted person in front of others, they had thought it was just an unfounded rumor. But it wasn’t.

Unaware of such rumors, Judas and Eliza moved to the 32nd floor.

***

The Tower Lord has the ability to extract pure magical energy from others.

This, too, is a form of magic.

Since magical energy originates from the heart, one has to touch near the heart to extract it.

Judas knows this fact as well.

He has no idea why the Tower Lord Epona needs his magical energy.

He’s simply doing it because Eliza allowed it.

‘But why… is she staring like that?’

While Epona placed her hand on his chest to extract the magical energy, Eliza watched from the side.

Her gaze was intense.

The end of her red scarf kept getting twisted in her grip.

Even Epona, sensing the tension, hurried the extraction.

But she still had to collect everything.

“That unusual sword… Do you think we could extract magical energy from it too?”

Judas glanced at Eliza, who responded shortly.

“Do it.”

A blunt command.

It was unclear who it was directed at.

But he simply did as he was told.

Judas drew out the Moon’s Eye and infused it with his magic.

The dark blade gradually took on the color of the moon.

The Moon’s Eye glowed with an ivory hue.

Epona placed her hand on the side of the blade and extracted the magic.

It didn’t take long.

The extracted magic was stored in a long flask.

Judas’s magical energy had an ivory glow.

What came from the Moon’s Eye was even brighter.

It actually sparkled.

Among the clear ivory hue, there were tiny sparkling white specks.

It almost looked like cracks in a shattered surface.

Curious, Judas looked closely at the flask.

The ivory substance that had come from his own body.

He’d never seen his Moon-attributed magic before.

“This is fascinating for me too, since it’s the first time. Shall I show you something interesting?”

Epona opened a shelf.

She pulled out a display filled with long flasks.

A flask filled with golden magic.

Within that magic, spots of orange and red surfaced and faded away intermittently.

Like blazing fire. Or like the sun.

“This is the magic I extracted from Lady Eliza. It’s unique, isn’t it?”

“Oh…!”

This was something he had never seen before either.

It certainly suited Eliza.

That golden fire was exactly like her fierce, blazing eyes.

“How do you like it?”

Epona asked.

Eliza, who had been urging Judas to hurry, remained still.

Listening to his response wouldn’t hurt.

Judas looked again at the golden magic.

Its constantly changing form.

It reminded him of the sun he once saw, continuously boiling, erupting, and changing from within.

Completely the opposite of his own ivory magic, which remained steady and calm.

Eliza’s living, breathing magic, in itself, was quite…

“Beautiful…”

“Let’s go.”

Eliza hastily grabbed his hand.

Without looking back, she spoke to Epona.

“I’ll come again. Send any results to me.”

“Of course, my lady.”

Epona watched as the firm Eliza dragged Judas away, chuckling to herself.

She had thought Eliza was utterly emotionless, but today proved that wasn’t entirely true.

‘To think I’d see this side of Eliza di Bevel… How adorable. Those two are in a good place right now.’