For a mage, not carrying a weapon was a matter of pride—a declaration of faith in magic itself.
Kade, however, had no such sentiment.
As far as he was concerned, if something hostile needed to be destroyed, the method hardly mattered.
The former Tower Master had supposedly discovered his talent and raised him from childhood, but it seemed he had failed to teach him anything resembling social skills.
Kade had always been alone in the Magic Tower, and he appeared to regard that as perfectly natural.
When he suddenly defied the former Tower Master and left the tower one day, nobody had been particularly surprised.
What shocked them was that he had returned after the former Tower Master's death.
"Just when I thought he'd come back as an actual human being..."
"Not to the civil servants, he didn't."
"At least he smiles now and can hold a conversation. I thought maybe he'd gone somewhere and received socialization training."
"Setting people's hair on fire while smiling doesn't count as socialization. Though I am grateful he's on our side."
The mages worried that Kade's suppressed nature was beginning to resurface.
"That civil servant... do you think he's really going to kill her? He looked genuinely angry this time."
"Why don't you go upstairs and stop him?"
"M-Me? No thanks. You go. You've even gone on missions with the Tower Master before."
At those words, Ben remembered the cold dagger that had once grazed his throat.
He swallowed dryly.
"I... can't..."
"Then are we just going to let a civil servant die in the tower?"
The mages knew the officials assigned to the tower were merely employees carrying out orders from above.
The former Tower Master's teachings had been clear:
A mage was a guardian and seeker of mana, not a butcher.
Yet their current Tower Master appeared ready to commit a pointless slaughter against an innocent civil servant.
Just as they were muttering that they couldn't allow this to happen, the perfect person arrived.
"I'm back! Huh? Why's everyone acting so weird?"
"Lana!"
Lana, the youngest mage in the tower at fourteen years old.
The others hurriedly pushed her toward the staircase.
"Lana! The Tower Master is about to murder a civil servant!"
Lana was ten years younger than Kade. She was still an innocent child, and even someone as cold as him couldn't bring himself to treat her harshly.
Having started her education late, she had only recently begun learning to read and was attending school.
Looking thoroughly confused, she climbed the stairs.
"No matter what, the Tower Master has never actually killed a civil servant before, right?"
"He dragged one into his office!"
"That lunatic! He's finally done it!"
Startled, Lana dashed toward the office and pounded on the door.
"Tower Masteeer! I heard you finally dragged a civil servant into your office!"
She had to stop him before it was too late.
Lana wasn't even an adult yet. If the tower ended up in chaos, she would have nowhere to go.
"How many times do I have to tell you? You can't kill civil servants! They're just pitiful salary workers!"
She continued knocking and shouting, but the door opened much sooner than expected.
Standing beside the Tower Master was someone who looked far too healthy to be a dying civil servant.
The woman had jet-black hair and dark green eyes, and the white civil servant's uniform suited her perfectly.
"Hello! I'm Lana. You look perfectly fine?"
"I'm Vivian Soling, and yes, I am perfectly fine."
She dipped slightly at the knees in an elegant greeting.
Lana's cheeks flushed.
Vivian's sharp yet intelligent aura and bright, lively eyes were captivating.
She unconsciously gripped her schoolbag tighter.
"I'm glad you're alive."
"Lana. Stop making a fuss and escort our guest out."
"Are you asking me to set her hair on fire instead?"
As Lana tilted her head, Vivian stared at Kade in disbelief.
"You make a child do things like that? Sorry for saying this when we've just met, but are you insane?"
Kade let out a weary sigh.
"I'm tired of doing that now. Just show her out."
Then, the moment Vivian stepped outside, he slammed the office door shut.
Bang!
Lana led the still-staring Vivian toward the stairs.
"He's a bit prickly, isn't he?"
Vivian cleared her throat awkwardly.
"I didn't know there were mages this young."
"The Tower Master entered the tower when he was even younger than me. Apparently he wasn't even ten."
"...Really?"
"This is actually my first time escorting a perfectly normal civil servant out. Usually they run away crying."
Vivian absently twirled a lock of hair around her finger.
"That's fortunate. Were you coming to rescue me?"
"Oh, no. That's way too dramatic. I came to stop the Tower Master. When I got back from school, everyone was saying he was seconds away from killing a civil servant."
"...You're telling me a bunch of grown adults pushed a schoolgirl into his office?"
Are they out of their minds?
Muttering internally, Vivian stepped into the lobby.
The anxious mages visibly relaxed upon seeing her unharmed.
"S-She's alive."
"She doesn't look injured at all. Maybe he tortured her mentally?"
"Then why is she looking at us like we're garbage?"
Vivian swept her gaze over the mages with utter disdain as she walked past.
Outside the tower, the sun had already begun to set.
Lana pointed toward a waiting carriage.
"You can take that one. It doesn't go directly to the Imperial Capital, so you'll have to get off halfway."
"That's fine. I'm not returning to the capital."
Lana's eyes widened.
"You're staying in Melgot?"
"I absolutely need the Tower Master's seal."
"Th-The..."
"The trash documents? Yes."
"Ah."
"Don't worry. I'll only get his seal on the least trash-like one."
Lana thought Vivian was different from every civil servant she had ever met.
Maybe that was why she found herself saying something she'd never said before.
"I'll see you again soon."
"Of course. Study hard at school."
Lana watched the carriage disappear into the distance before looking up toward the highest floor of the tower.
It was too high to see clearly, but she thought she saw a curtain move.
'I don't think he ever intended to kill her in the first place.'
'Not when he'd already arranged the tower's finest carriage for her.'
A crushing current pressed against her entire body.
No matter how desperately she reached upward and struggled, the distant surface only drifted farther away.
For a long time, she sank through darkness.
The darkness swayed like waves, tearing through her memories, while she remained nothing more than a part of the sea.
"Going to search for crystal whales again? When will you come back this time?"
"Don't make that face, Vivian. This time, I may discover something truly remarkable."
"What's the point? Have you even spoken with Mother? It's barely been any time since Aunt's funeral..."
"Oh dear, is it already this late? We'll talk when I return."
"You said that last time too! Wait! Father!"
The last image she had of her father was, as always, his retreating back.
A back that never turned to look at her.
As it grew farther away, it became strangely clearer, overlapping with someone else's departing figure.
"I'm sorry, Vivi. Thank you for everything. Take care."
She was sick of watching people leave.
She wanted to shut her eyes and stop looking.
But her eyes were already closed.
When her father walked away.
When her mother's coffin was carried away.
When Kay turned his back on her.
Every time, she had wanted to close her eyes.
Yet she was afraid.
Afraid that if she blinked, everything would vanish like sand slipping through her fingers.
'In the end, Kay left too. Even though I always knew people who turned away eventually leave... why do I always...'
At the moment she released her final breath—
Wooooong—
A vibration echoed through the ocean depths and wrapped around her entire body.
Through her blurred vision, a gigantic fin drifted past.
One glance was enough.
She immediately knew what it was.
The enormous creature circled through the water before stopping directly before her, filling her vision.
A colossal Crystal Whale.
And of all things, it had appeared beside her at the moment of death.
'Of all creatures...'
'I'd rather die alone. Go away.'
Gathering the last scraps of her strength, she weakly waved a hand toward it.
The Crystal Whale suddenly moved closer.
Her fingertips brushed its massive snout.
Fwaaaash!
Brilliant white light erupted from the point of contact.
"...!"
Her heart began pounding as though it would burst.
An unknown power flowing from the Crystal Whale resonated with her soul.
She had never experienced anything like it before.
An overwhelming force poured into her body, accompanied by countless emotions surging through her at once.
[We never left.]
[We were always here.]
A voice like a vibration echoed inside her mind.
Then her vision exploded with light.
Just before she lost consciousness, she felt her body settle onto the Crystal Whale's back.
Vivian's eyes snapped open.
A ship's horn echoed in the distance.
She was in the inn provided by the government for long-term lodging.
'...It was a dream.'