====
Administrator: Are you really not accepting it?
Administrator: Are your troubles increasing?
====
Mariel covered the Witch Note and looked at the unwelcome guests before her.
Now was not the time for casual chit-chat or idle gossip.
The revealed magicians all stood empty-handed, without a single staff.
Symbols of affiliation, which should have been on robes or hats, were all removed, making it impossible to infer their affiliations.
Nevertheless, Mariel knew they were the forces within the Magic Tower intending to reject Holcroft.
She didn’t voice it out loud, but she had a suspicion about the backers behind them.
“You haven’t touched the Monument Stone yet. That’s good judgment.”
“What does that have to do with you?”
“If you don’t aim for the top, then I won’t need to kill you right here. Today’s just a warning.”
As the magician’s hand rose, magic manifested.
A beam of light pierced through the spot where Mariel had stood moments ago, creating a small hole in the tree.
The thick fog that had obscured the surroundings slightly lifted as the bushes behind fell.
However, a hole of the same size in the target was not created.
“You dodged it. Your reflexes aren’t fast enough to react.”
“I got hit once. I just dodged afterward.”
“What?”
Mariel casually shifted her gaze to her chest, where she had been hit before.
It returned.
With a clearer memory of the second chance given by the fragment embedded in her body.
“I adhered to the principles. From the moment I didn’t run away when I saw you.”
“…”
“So, I’m immune to ambushes. If you don’t bend, you won’t break, that’s Holcroft.”
“I see. Does that mean you won’t break no matter what?”
“Yes? Kwaaa!?”
This time, an unprecedented force descended upon Mariel from above.
As the entire space fell within the range of the spell, she had no choice but to endure it.
Despite being pressed to the ground, she focused solely on deducing the identities of the magicians.
She knew she wouldn’t die here anyway.
Within the Magic Tower, a magician killing an apprentice regardless of affiliation was an unthinkable act unless they were insane.
Being ostracized by her peers was fine.
Being left alone in group projects was fine.
Getting assigned the worst room in the dormitory, being hindered from ascending the tower, none of it mattered.
‘But this humiliation… I can’t bear it…’
At that moment, while Mariel was being crushed by gravity, the Witch Note that had fallen to the ground caught her eye.
====
Administrator: Did you really leave?
Administrator: Smart
Administrator: Knock, knock, knock
Administrator: Tang
Administrator: Su
Administrator: Yug
Administrator: Bang!
Administrator: Su
Administrator: Yug
Administrator: Bang!
.
.
.
====
(TLN: It’s a syllable game, I have no idea how to translate it >_<)
If there was no response, one might think the Administrator was busy, but he was creating a strange game and enjoying it alone.
When she thought about it again, it was a message that made her think that this level of humiliation was bearable compared to what he had done to her.
“Feeling troubled? It’ll be even worse if you go up.”
“…Miss, you should start leaving now.”
“Already?”
“Yes, it seems like outside…”
“Wait, what are you doing now?”
However, among them, Mariel, who had just received the most recent message, looked at it with her own eyes.
Even amidst her screaming muscles, she managed to rise halfway, feeling as if he, an absent figure, was watching over her.
====
.
.
.
— Administrator: Mariel
— Administrator: If you accept the offer, I will put my name on the line and help you climb the tower.
====
Calling out her name, which she had never mentioned before.
When he promised to help her with his own name, an identity unknown to anyone else.
Her fingers stretched out as if bewitched and pressed the accept button.
“Look out! Something’s coming!!”
“Huh? What the heck…!”
At that moment, a spear flew from the sky and fell between Mariel and the magicians.
*
Kwaaaaang!!
‘Surely, she didn’t get hit too, did she?’
I started to walk slowly, watching the explosions and flashes of light diminish.
Though the spear was a long shot, throwing it aimlessly in this foggy forest without frontline guidance or rear support made me slightly anxious.
According to the information from the Witch Note, the magicians who attacked her seemed to have fled as soon as the spear fell.
The only thing that didn’t move was Mariel’s Note.
“Hik! And, Supervisor!?”
“You’re here.”
Thankfully, as I made my way through the fallen trees and reached the spot where the spear was lodged, a fresh scream greeted me.
Though her clothes were torn in various places and her hair was disheveled, she seemed uninjured.
“Uh, are you…?”
“This? No, I just came after reading a post on the forum.”
“F-forum?”
“Yes, on the request board. There was a post asking to find Mariel in the Dark Forest.”
I retrieved the spear embedded in the ground as I passed by the collapsed Mariel.
Then, looking back and forth between her Note and me with a blank expression on her face, I opened the Witch Note and showed her what I had written on the forum.
Even if she were to realize later that I had thrown the spear, it would be difficult for her to immediately connect it to the Administrator’s identity.
The cunning rabbit digs multiple burrows.
“It’s hard to see in the dark. Turn off the dark mode…”
“Then you can check it out later yourself, let’s get out of here first.”
Since I had turned off all the lights on the first floor by turning on the dark mode on the way here, the security guards were evacuating the apprentices according to the guidelines of the Round Table.
It was better to leave quickly as there might be attention drawn to this place soon.
However, Mariel couldn’t seem to get up from the ground, staring at her ankles, biting her lip.
Those wicked magicians.
How could they cause such a horrific injury that she couldn’t even walk…
“I was injured when the spear landed.”
“…”
“There’s nothing I can do, so Supervisor will carry me out.”
I meekly carried her.
See, that’s why you shouldn’t throw it recklessly.
During our exit from the forest, Mariel didn’t say a word.
Instead, she kept touching the Witch Note in her hand, already beginning to assert her authority as a Sub-Manager.
Two meticulously crafted IDs were about to be thrown away recklessly.
Or maybe she was launching a huge tactical nuke at me as revenge for playing that game earlier.
I already felt apprehensive about checking the messages.
“…But still, Supervisor came to find me.”
However, when we reached the edge of the forest and saw the portal leading to the grand plaza, I understood what she was looking for in the forum.
“Out of all those posts, I saw one.”
I felt a soft touch on my back, with a spoonful of guilt.
As we passed through the portal, I saw the silent grand plaza and the Monument Stone standing in its center.
*
“You can go from here to the dormitory alone, right? The Marylin Hall can be found by simply following the eastern corridor.”
“What about the supervisor?”
“I’ll have to wait a bit longer here. Other apprentices who attended the alchemy lecture might come out late.”
It was a lie.
Even if there were apprentices left in the Dark Forest, the dormitory supervisor had no obligation to bring them back.
My purpose was to stay here alone.
To engrave my name on the Monument Stone and to declare my wish to ascend the tower.
“Miss Mariel?”
“…From now on, listen carefully to what I say.”
But Mariel, using her feet that were beginning to recover from the swelling, pushed me aside with both arms.
“I once asked what would happen if I told a lie in front of the Monument Stone. It’s because my reason for climbing the tower is something I can never tell anyone else.”
Looking back, she, like me, was the only apprentice who stayed on the first floor while sending others away.
There would never be a day as deserted as this again for another five years.
Her clear golden eyes, even in the darkness, were filled with strong desires and a hint of regret.
“Holcroft has faithfully served the Empire for generations. We defended the north against the forces led by the King of the Abyss and safely sealed away the Mystery fragments they possessed.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course! But the royal family deceived us. When my father was invited to the mansion of the 4th Prince for a banquet, his fiancée was already dead, and our family was ruined by unknown intruders. But at the time, Colonel Hans, who was the captain of the guard, gave false testimony at the inquiry…”
I cautiously took out the Witch Note from my pocket, ensuring that Mariel, whose chest I could almost reach by reaching out my hand, was out of reach, and checked it.
I didn’t want it to go too long without two people taking care of the forum at the same time.
Fortunately, the forum was peaceful and full of stories about the power outage.
After rejecting the late request for administrator privileges that arrived from Shien just in time, I put the Witch Note back in my pocket.
“Are you listening to me, Supervisor?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, I had an important message. What did you say?”
“I’m going to kill you.”
Did I miss something while I wasn’t listening?
“I came here to destroy the family and kill the 4th Prince who entered the Magic Tower. That is my wish and goal that no one should ever hear.”
Leaving me stunned, Mariel placed her hand on the Monument.
She then unleashed her magic power and began to carve her name.
“If you try to tell anyone about that fact, I will be standing in front of you before you do.”
“How would you do that?”
“With the ability I possess. Right now, it’s just about preventing a surprise attack, but as I climb this tower, my power will gradually increase. So… this is a threat.”
The ‘Clocktower of Principle’
Mariel described it as an ability to conditionally rewind time.
Indeed, as all time-manipulation magic was treated as golden magic, it was clear that this was a remarkable ability.
The Monument Stone, responding to her response, also emitted a brilliant beam of light.
The golden light, scattered in dozens of strands, coalesced into four strands, then quietly faded after the 58th streak.
Mariel, confirming that she had passed through the first floor, breathed a sigh of relief.
“Now it’s over. Whether you resent me or fear me, your fate has been decided by my choice.”
“…I don’t particularly think so.”
Ordinarily, I might have reported her for treason against the royal family, but as a foreigner, I had no particular loyalty to the Empire.
Rather, I just thought that she was a talent more suitable for a Sub-Manager.
If she could go back to the past the moment we get surprise-attacked, doesn’t that mean we can prevent tactical nuclear attacks in advance?
Perhaps the day to establish the forum’s automated defense system was not far away.
“Well, you should be able to find what you’re looking for. I don’t know where the 4th Prince is, but he shouldn’t be above the 58th floor.”
“Are you serious…?”
“Would you mind stepping aside for a moment? I need to engrave my name too.”
“Yes? Ah…”
I put my hand on the Monument Stone next to Mariel.
In this situation where I didn’t know when someone would appear, I couldn’t just stand there waiting blankly.
I might wait for the next opportunity, but I didn’t know how long security would continue evacuating people amidst this chaos.
And I couldn’t afford to give up just because only she was listening.
“I plan to bring down this Magic Tower.”
“Yes…?”
The light rose.
Only one beam.
It glowed an even darker shade in the darkness, ascending toward the sky, snapping the Monument in half.
The five-year wait was over in a single moment.
“W-What did you just say…?”
“I came here only for that purpose.”
Because the lights were off, I couldn’t see the end, but that fact hardly mattered.
