There is something I do on a regular basis every few days.
Checking the bank account.
It’s a habit I’ve developed since it’s necessary to manage money in a house where two people live together.
Because of this, I couldn’t help but notice.
“Why are there two extra zeroes?”
Strange.
No matter how much money I earned, it shouldn’t be enough to buy a castle.
This amount of money could buy dozens of the Demon Language Scrolls I struggled to acquire.
“Mister. It looks like something arrived outside.”
“Something?”
“Didn’t you order something?”
“There’s no such thing.”
Hearing the Little One’s words, I went outside to check.
There was a box. When I opened it, I found several scrolls.
Demon Language Scrolls. Five of them, to be precise.
Upon further inspection, there were also a few books.
Rare magical books that are not easy to find through official channels.
Books that would be kept by at least the heads of the Imperial Court’s Mage Society.
“Why are these here?”
Could it be a delivery mistake?
The value of each item is far too high for that.
These precious items are usually transported under strict supervision, so there are many meaningful aspects to them being moved in a box like this.
Using my eyes’ ability to inspect various places, I indeed found something strange.
‘This is it.’
A mana-formed mark.
A mark with such faint density that no one but me could notice, located on the bottom of the box.
This was a code often used by the Astrape Special Forces.
A method to secretly transmit information or items using someone with the Wall Eye Domain like me.
‘I understand the intent to deliver this to me, but….’
The reason for delivering this is extremely unsettling.
Woooom–!!
The magical books began to emit light.
As the books opened with a rustling sound, an image appeared.
It was a letter made of mana particles.
The letter contained the following message.
[Remove the restraints before the princess’s existence is exposed.]
A message that seems certainly sent by the Second Prince.
“…Unbelievable.”
Is he crazy?
Even if all the court mages were to gather, it would be hard to be sure if they could achieve this within a month, and he wants me to solve it alone.
I know the internal situation of the Imperial Palace is a mess, but isn’t this too much? Especially since I’m retired.
When I brought the items inside the house, the Little One asked.
“What are those?”
I picked up a book to show her.
“Do you see this?”
“What’s that?”
“A magic book that can unlock your shackles.”
“…Really?”
“Kidding.”
“…”
A look of annoyance lingered on her face.
I smiled and continued.
“But not all of it is a joke.”
This book contains a lot of principles and applications about mana codes.
Since I don’t know much about mana codes myself, I plan to have the Little One learn and handle it.
“If you understand and memorize everything in this book, it might really be possible to unlock your shackles.”
Of course, she needs to thoroughly digest this book and reach an expert level for that possibility to arise.
Given the Little One’s genius, I think she can master the book in a month.
“Are these things from Brother?”
“Yes. He wants you to break your seal as soon as possible.”
“How long do you think it will take?”
“Well. Two months if we’re quick?”
I once thought that the more resources available, the sooner we could break the confinement.
The reason lies in the expensive Demon Language Scrolls.
To interfere with the magical metal binding the Little One, you need the ability to handle Demon Language, which I can use but am not qualified to wield.
Therefore, I need the Scrolls to use Demon Language, and acquiring these scrolls involves complex procedures.
Thus, I couldn’t recklessly attempt to release the Little One’s confinement, but now things are different.
Even if I fail, there will be another chance.
Even if I fail, I’ll gather information.
Unlike before, when I couldn’t adhere to this method, I’m now ready to spend money extravagantly.
‘What should I buy first?’
Several items come to mind.
Magic stones, the raw materials for magic metal.
Research data from the Magic Tower on these costly gems.
Linguistic data from Pluto, once called a scholar of ancient languages.
First, I buy everything that was too expensive to afford.
Then, I won’t have to conduct research or experiments that must be done, reducing the time needed.
With a rough plan in mind, I called the Little One.
“Let’s first go buy the necessary things.”
*****
There are few places in the Much-Sector that sell expensive magical tools and materials.
Would it be about the second branch of the Magic Tower at most?
So, we set out for that place.
“Do you like being outside so much?”
“Yeah.”
“You’ve been going out a lot lately.”
“I was stuck in one house for ten years. Even going out a few more times wouldn’t be enough.”
The Little One came along, saying she wanted to feel the sunlight.
I planned to go quickly by myself, but now that she was with me, it seemed unlikely I could hurry.
‘You’ve grown a lot.’
Walking beside her, I noticed how much her physique had changed.
Maybe it’s because she’s eating well.
Her once skinny frame had filled out.
As her baby fat melted away, her graceful facial features emerged, making her look more like a lady.
‘I guess I can’t keep calling her the Little One.’
Sooner or later, this nickname would have to change.
Princess.
I would start calling her that.
I wouldn’t be able to speak informally anymore and would have to use the utmost respect.
“Mister, can I link arms with you?”
“Link arms?”
“There are too many people. I might get lost.”
“That’s true.”
It was midday in the market, so the place was crowded.
Nodding in agreement, the Little One wrapped her arm around mine.
“…Hehe…”
*****
With her arm linked in his, his scent reached her.
Epherna moved her head to rest on his shoulder.
Ern had a scent that was both odorless and refreshing.
It felt like smelling the wind blowing over an autumn meadow.
“Aren’t you a bit too close?”
“There are a lot of people.”
Epherna made a lame excuse and smiled.
Though she was slightly flustered, that emotion soon subsided.
“You’ve really grown taller.”
Instead, the feeling of surprise took its place.
Epherna’s head was at Ern’s shoulder.
Although it was only at his elbow due to the height difference, Ern, who remembered the time when they had to match their steps, thought so.
“I’ll grow even taller.”
“Aren’t you tall enough already? You look well over 150 centimeters.”
“To not be looked down on by you, I need to grow more.”
“To achieve that, you’ll need to grow a lot.”
Ern’s height was roughly 187 centimeters. He was particularly tall, even among the Special Forces, and looked down on most people.
“My goal is to grow up to 172 centimeters.”
“172? That’s quite specific.”
Ern wondered about this.
“It looks like we’ve arrived. This is the Magic Tower branch, right?”
*****
The mysterious power that makes the impossible possible, magic.
This great power, which established the Grandeum Empire as the undisputed strongest nation on the continent, is currently divided into two factions: the Magic Tower and the Imperial Court Mage Society.
However, the only difference is whether they are under the Emperor’s palace or not; the two factions are not very different from each other.
If we are to find a distinction, it would be that the Magic Tower, not receiving support from the Emperor, trades with the citizens of the Empire.
Even those who revere and study magic have to make a living.
“What a surprise. Such fine items are here.”
I used my ability to check the condition of the magic stone.
The mana purity it held was high.
The perfect, optimal product for making magic metal.
It seemed right to buy this.
“Mister! I want these!”
The Little One came running with a few books in her hands.
I examined the books she brought, noticing they all had the same author.
Bergamot Katia.
The only Grand Mage in the Empire and the head of the Katia Dukedom.
During the height of the war, she was known as the Disaster of the Sky.
‘She said she’d become a teacher, but she was writing books.’
Surprised by her unexpected path, I checked the price of the books.
Since they were books written by the Grand Mage herself, the price was no joke, but I paid it all at once.
“But Little One, why did you specifically buy books written by the same person?”
“She’s a famous Grand Mage. Plus, I saw her small note on the perspective about the absolute value theory in a book last time, and it was really interesting.”
“…Oh…”
“Unlike other scholars, she’s particularly critical of the absolute value theory. She says people make a big fuss over nothing.”
The Little One’s eyes were shining, much more than usual when she studied magic.
I had never seen her this excited about any magical book or theory before, so I thought she didn’t really like magic. But it turns out she was just bored with the low-level magic she’d been reading.
‘With this, we’re more or less ready.’
Now, all that remains is time.
Honestly, I’m already dreading how many nights I’ll have to stay up.
*****
– I thought so, but time passed surprisingly quickly.
Fifty days.
That’s how much time had passed since we bought the necessary items from the branch of the Magic Tower.
During that time, we were able to attempt many things thanks to the abundant resources provided by the Second Prince, and we experienced a total of four failures.
With each failure, we gained experience and information, yet breaking the seal wasn’t easy.
If it hadn’t been for the Little One’s rapidly growing knowledge and skills, it might have taken several times longer.
But today, finally.
Clank—
The intangibility on the magic metal was released.
The shackles split in half with a sharp clink as they fell to the floor.
The Little One, staring blankly at them, blinked her golden eyes.
“Did we… succeed…?”
I checked the shackles.
They no longer responded to mana.
This meant that their function as magic metal had completely ceased.
There was nothing wrong with the Little One’s ankles either.
They were clean and uninjured, revealing smooth, unblemished skin.
I double-checked a few times to ensure there were no chances of explosions or other issues.
After wrapping the shackles with cloth and sealing them, I faced the Little One.
To her, who still hadn’t grasped reality, I spoke calmly.
“Congratulations.”
Thud!
That was when two arms wrapped around my neck.
“Mister… thank you… really… thank you so much…”
A child’s tearful voice.
Judging by the amount of tears, my clothes would be soaked, but who cares?
As I gently pat her back, the she buries her face in the crook of my neck.
Normally, I would have asked her what she was doing, but I decided to let it slide today.
She must have been through a lot.
Living alone in an isolated place for over ten years would have been excruciatingly painful, something only a mad person could endure.
Swish. Swish.
Swish. Swish.
Swish. Swish.
‘…Isn’t she rubbing too much?’
I had that thought for a moment but decided to overlook it as the Little One finally lifted her face.
And then she spoke.
“Mister, I have something I want to say.”
With a profusely blushing face.
