Jaekiel gently tilted the bottle to fill his glass. It was a clean process,
without a single drop splashing.
Pour.
He drank the glass down smoothly and took out a new Sun Grass to smoke.
Although he had only been here for a few minutes, no one dared show him
disrespect anymore.
"First, about the faction fights."
Widro and Nox both swallowed dryly at the same time.
A single word from Jaekiel. Their fates could change significantly with just
a few of his statements.
However, what Jaekiel said next was surprising.
"Go ahead and fight."
"…?"
Nox and Widro's eyes narrowed simultaneously.
"I don't intend to stop you. But from now on, compete only on
performance. Don't act childishly as grown adults."
"…"
Both factions remained silent, only moving their lips slightly.
Just a few hours ago, they had been wondering which faction the auditor
would side with.
But now it was the opposite, with both factions completely in the auditor's
grasp. They were utterly caught.
"And next. Second."
Jaekiel exhaled smoke.
"I will be personally involved in all research and training within the tower.
No exceptions."
"…!"
Everyone looked at Jaekiel with shocked eyes.
Nox, the head of the Practical Faction, wiped his forehead with a
handkerchief, then cautiously adjusted his glasses and spoke.
"…Who decided that?"
"I did. As the auditor of the Imperial Tower."
"What about the opinions and resistance of the tower's magicians? You
understand their peculiar personalities well, don't you?"
He hurriedly continued.
"Magic research is such a delicate task that deep involvement makes it hard
to fully display their abilities. And getting involved in everything can easily
earn resentment…"
"I don't care about resentment. I only care about results."
"Ah, there seems to be a misunderstanding. Auditor, just because we
research without interference doesn't mean we don't care about results."
Jaekiel responded by placing a stack of documents in front of him. He gave
Nox a slight nod, indicating he should check it himself.
"…"
Nox inspected the documents, and his expression hardened. They detailed
the Imperial Tower's dismal performance by quarter.
"If this is the result despite your efforts, the problem is even more serious.
Isn't this place supposed to gather geniuses?"
Nox could only remain silent.
Although the results had not been officially announced, the Imperial
Tower's performance was truly abysmal. Jaekiel was also clearly not
someone Nox could challenge lightly.
His throat suddenly felt dry, but he couldn't protest. So he drank the liquor
vigorously, as if it were water.
"We even have to announce these results this year. So, third."
Jaekiel continued.
"Among the six towers, the Imperial Tower will be first."
"…"
A brief silence ensued. It was such an absurd statement.
However, Jaekiel, the cause of the silence, was unfazed. In fact, he appeared
confident, as if he had just stated an obvious fact.
"…Auditor, you must be talking about an aspiration, right?"
Widro was the first to break the silence. His tone was much more respectful
than before.
"I think it's good to have great ambitions. Of course, actually achieving first
place is a completely different story–"
"Don't be mistaken."
Jaekiel cut him off dismissively.
"The Imperial Tower will be first. Or it will be dismantled."
At this, all the staff looked shocked.
"Why is everyone reacting this way? Is it strange for the Imperial Tower to
outperform the other towers? Isn't it a given?"
"Well, um…"
Everyone seemed to have a lot to say but couldn't bring themselves to
speak.
However, everyone except Jaekiel thought that goal was extremely
unrealistic.
For the Imperial Tower to take first place in the performance review after
ten years would mean filling a decade-long gap in just one year. Such a feat
seemed impossible.
"Now, the last thing. The most important."
…He hadn't even mentioned the most important thing yet?
Everything he had said so far was already staggering. But now there was
something even more shocking?
Everyone straightened their posture, eyes wide. Some, including Nox, drank
nervously.
"The decrees left by Hedera in the Imperial Tower. All of them will be
discarded."
"…Ha."
Nox, now slightly intoxicated, let out a small laugh.
"Old magic master Hedera. How long ago was that? If it's her outdated
theories, we've long since discarded them. Even if our performance is poor,
isn't this too dismissive?"
But after saying this, he noticed an unusual silence around him.
Nox looked around.
"…"
His drunkenness quickly faded with a sense of disbelief.
Hedera.
Jaekiel had clearly mentioned those three syllables. Those who understood
stood frozen.
"…!"
Nox, unable to contain his shock, quickly took off his glasses.
"S-Surely not. Are you referring to the master of the Imperial Tower, the
2nd Princess, Hedera? Are you saying you'll discard all the decrees she left
in this tower starting today?"
That question set off a wave of murmurs.
"Is this really okay…?"
"The master of the tower is the only one with higher status here than the
auditor. But you're discarding the decrees set by the master…?"
In the midst of the commotion, one person cautiously raised their hand.
Jaekiel gestured for them to speak. But the person who raised their hand
couldn't articulate their thoughts properly.
"In exactly one week. In one week…"
"What about one week? Speak clearly."
"In exactly one week, Princess Hedera is scheduled to visit this tower in
person. Is this really okay…?"
It wasn't defiance or opposition, just a genuine question. It was full of
concern about whether he could really handle the consequences of such
actions.
"Yes. I will thoroughly discard Hedera's tower decrees."
Of course, Jaekiel himself remained calm.
"One week is more than enough time, isn't it?"
"…Ah."
Nox held his head and staggered, muttering.
"He's not sane. He's really not sane…"
"I've never been sane."
Always, even now.
Jaekiel had always been that way.
A few hours later.
I sat in my office, reflecting on many things.
First, there were four major initiatives to push through in the tower.
First, reduce faction tensions.
Second, oversee all training and research.
Third, achieve first place in the performance review.
The first three were as follows.
'To meet the Emperor's conditions, I have no choice. I must use every
method and give it my all.'
Living off the gold coins Solana provided as a parachute in the tower. Such
a life was already out of reach the moment the Emperor set five conditions.
Just looking at a few of the princesses proved this.
The continent's richest person. The 4th Princess, Chein.
No matter how much gold Solana provided, it could never match the wealth
of the 4th Princess. The capital from a greatly developed tower was
absolutely necessary.
The monster. The 1st Princess, Ether.
To surpass the 1st Princess, who already exuded the prime of the Emperor,
in strength and fame, the benefits of a well-developed tower were essential.
…Now, I really have to do my best to grow the tower.
"The first three are set like this. The last one…"
Fourth, discard the decrees left in the tower by the 2nd Princess, Hedera.
The decrees she left in the tower were as follows…
[ The Imperial Tower values the self-realization of individual magicians.
Always uphold the honor and dignity of the imperial family, but prioritize
the freedom to explore magic. Freely pursue your desires. ]
It was nicely phrased, but the reality was as follows.
─Do whatever you want as long as it doesn't cause trouble.
It meant to just develop yourself without any ambition or goal, as long as it
didn't cause social trouble. It was thorough neglect.
'It means that all expectations for the tower have disappeared.'
Therefore, it was a decree that must be discarded. And fortunately, there
was still a week left before Hedera's visit.
Suddenly, I thought of the old days.
─I believe human magic is also excellent!
─Someday, won't humans be able to surpass the dragon race?
─Then, everyone can be recognized and get along well, right?
Hedera, when she was young, always said such things tirelessly. How did
she end up like this? It was a reflection of the harsh reality and the passage
of time.
Knock, knock.
Someone knocked on the office door and entered.
"Nice to meet you. I am the Auditor's personal secretary."
Her ninety-degree bow was impressive, but not as much as her familiar
voice and black bob. The personal secretary had a familiar appearance, no
matter how many times I looked.
No doubt. It was Anes.
"…"
When I didn't respond for a while, Anes, still bowing, slowly raised her
head.
"…!"
Then, immediately, she straightened her body with wide eyes, as if struck
by lightning.
She quickly turned her head to the side. Like an ostrich burying its head in
the ground in a moment of crisis.
I approached Anes without hesitation.
"You said we'd never meet again. Yet, we meet quite often."
"…This is our first meeting."
When I tilted my head slightly to make eye contact, she quickly turned her
head to the other side. Her curtain-like bob slapped my cheek in the
process.
"Anes, your memory isn't good. How can you be a secretary like this?"
"Who is Anes?"
"You."
"My name is not Anes."
Swish, swish.
Each time I tilted my head to make eye contact, Anes quickly turned her
head the other way. Eventually, I laughed and brushed her hair aside with
my hand.
Under her curtain-like black hair was a bright red face.
Anes, who had quickly stepped back, glared at me expressionlessly.
"Why on earth are you the auditor?"
"Why are you the personal secretary, then?"
Anes chewed her lips.
"Resign immediately."
"Why should I? If anyone should leave, it's you."
"…"
Anes remained expressionless but blinked rapidly. She was visibly
uncomfortable with the situation.
Eventually, she spoke.
"…This tower has no future anymore."
"Aren't you here to report? Why don't you do that?"
"That was part of the report. Didn't I just inform you of something you
didn't know?"
As she said that, Anes skillfully organized the documents. Indeed, the sight
of her using telekinesis was quite graceful.
"Here are some simple draft schedules. Choose the one you prefer and
follow it. Now, if you'll excuse me."
As Anes quickly turned and walked away…
Bang!
The quickly opened door hit Anes's face perfectly.
Leaving the frozen Anes, as if time had stopped, a few tower staff members
appeared, looking pale.
A female employee urgently looked around.
"Huh? Anes? Are you okay? No, more importantly, A-Auditor!"
I took out and lit a Sun Grass.
"I'm listening."
"The 2nd Princess, the 2nd Princess is coming!"
I exhaled the smoke without much thought.
"A visit in a week? I already knew that."
"No! She changed the schedule!"
The female employee shook her head urgently.
"Tonight! She's coming tonight!"
"…Tonight?"
I stopped chewing the Sun Grass.
Tonight.
…I didn't expect this.