The Past - In the former Purple Tower, an elderly man with a wrinkled face and a man wearing a mask faced off against each other.
“To abduct people for experiments in illusion magic... The Tower has sunk to the dregs of disgrace.”
The old man, brimming with anger at the deteriorating state of the Tower, made no effort to hide his hostility, but the masked man simply brushed it off with a smug expression.
How could he feel threatened or anxious? There was only one thing worth saying to this foolish old man with neither strength nor insight. The man spoke calmly.
“Is there dignity in the pursuit of desire?”
“Of course there is, as there must be. We are human beings before we are magicians. The Tower Lord was a fool, light in the head, but at least he maintained a human sense of decency. Was this your doing?”
“How could I presume to alter a man’s true nature? I only persuaded him—to raise the Purple Tower to heights unmatched by any other, to etch his name into history.”
“Fool... blinded by hollow fame.”
What glory could there be in a legacy written in blood and suffering?
“My dear home has turned into a cesspool infested with rats, so I’ll leave this rotten place and find a new one. I was already sick of the Tower Lord’s whining, so this is just as well.”
“The exit is that way.”
“But don’t think it will be this way forever. Those who act like dogs will die like them. Such is the law of the world.”
And so, one of the elders of the Purple Tower chose to part ways. He left the Tower alone, vanishing to who knows where, while the masked man, ‘Goat’ , who had driven away his final obstacle, murmured to himself.
“You don’t understand the laws of this world...?”
This world is where a great deity spins the painful threads of fate, so neither justice nor poetic retribution is anything more than the script in the black scales of that being.
How could there be dignity in such a world?
In the lobby of the old Purple Tower, now devoid of the traces of pure-hearted magicians who once dreamed, only mocking laughter echoed for a long time.
I felt drained.
“Ah...”
After rejecting Selvia, my mind was caught in a sluggish whirlwind. It was the first time, in both this life and the last, that I’d turned down a woman. This feeling was something I could never get used to.
People supposedly become numb to things through repetition. So, would rejecting thirty women dull this damp melancholy?
As I sprawled on the sofa like a melted slime, Yuri, wearing a face mask and a hairband, paused when she saw my pathetic state.
“Still moping?”
“Hmm...”
“Why not just accept her then? You don’t need to love her; you could simply keep her around as a partner or a figure for fulfillment.”
“That... wouldn’t be a human thing to do...”
“Correct. Here’s your reward.”
Removing her face mask and fixing her hair, Yuri cupped my face and performed a lip drain . I’ll spare the explicit sounds.
She capped it off with a light bird kiss, then, as always, asked indifferently, though with a hint of blush at her ears.
“How was it?”
“I feel a bit more energized, though now I have this strange melancholy about getting energy from kissing another woman. If you gave me a cute kitty act, I think that’d make it better.”
“Oh dear, if it must go that far... I suppose ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) I’ll show you my cute bunny impression in bed. I’ll wash up, so rest assured and wait—”
“No, no. Sorry.”
I chalked up yet another loss this season.
After finishing our routine WWE bout, which we had about three times daily, I managed to pull myself together and sit up straight. Yuri sat next to me, throwing an arm around my shoulder. This was friend mode.
There’s a difference in feeling between hugging and being hugged.
If Yuna gives me emotional stability like a plush doll, Yuri gives me a sense of security. Like the kind of light-hearted bond you feel when you’re with a close friend who has your back.
Even if someone suddenly told me that Yuri had betrayed me, I’d probably think, “Ah, so it’s a clever cover operation.”
Yuri Lanster has an unbreakable quality about her that adds to that sense of security. After taking down the Succubus Queen, she seemed to be in a state of mental invincibility.
I asked, a bit scatterbrained.
“Did I make a mistake?”
“I don’t know.”
“...Was there another way?”
“I don’t know, but that doesn’t matter.”
Patting my shoulder, Yuri spoke solemnly as if sharing some profound truth.
“The point is that we’re still alive and kicking, that we can still see each other, and that we can still move our bodies and mouths as we please. Everything else is secondary.”
“Hmm.”
“Mima, you could go meet Selvia, sit here beside me— ahem , or go off to train a student. Being able to try—that’s the privilege of the living.”
If you’re unsure, act. If you want to gather spilled water, go get a bucket. You’re free to move, so you can still try. It was a straightforward principle.
After a moment of contemplation, Yuri added, pressing her chin.
“Well... Personally, I’d prefer if your harem grew. Ideally to around 300 members.”
“What?”
Even an ice cream chain would have a smaller menu than that. As I processed the overwhelming scale of it, she began explaining her grand plan.
“I’ll use my authority as the second wife to exert some influence. If someone wants to get closer to Mima, I’ll demand payment. Then, I can make beautiful women wear black stockings for me.”
“...You’re planning to use my harem to satisfy your own desires? But wouldn’t more members mean more competition? Less time to monopolize me?”
“Worried about that? Don’t worry. I’m ready to catch both rabbits. Enjoy the harem and maintain my Mima shares. It’s not difficult.”
“Why are you enjoying my harem?”
Whether she’s doing this to cheer me up or lighten my mood, or perhaps because she genuinely thinks she’ll enjoy it—it’s unnerving.
Noticing my expression, Yuri smirked slightly.
“Mima, instead of sitting here, why don’t you do something? You’ve received an interesting letter.”
“Who’s it from?”
“Sender unknown. The handwriting is so twisted it’s unrecognizable. But they did sign it. You should read it yourself.”
Yuri pulled a letter from her chest pocket and handed it to me. Indeed, the handwriting was a mess. It looked as if the font had been altered for each letter.
And the contents were peculiar.
‘I know who you are. A disguise won’t help. To you who led the Purple Tower into ruin, ‘Goat,’ I will reveal your sins and bring judgment upon you. - Hypnotic Detective Baek.’
Goat? Hypnotic Detective?
“...This came to me? Are you sure it’s not misdelivered?”
“Yes. It was neatly left at the office door.”
“An amusing prank. And ‘Hypnotic Detective’ has a nice, imaginative ring to it.”
I brushed it off. After all, hadn’t I done nothing but good for the Purple Tower? I secured funding, improved magical theories—I did it all.
So, I figured this letter was either from a Tower mage or a prank from a student holding a grudge from the Labyrinth.
Until I actually saw the “hypnosis,” that is.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Yes, I’ll be right there.”
I was immersed in my magical research when I heard a knock at the door. Since both Yuna and Yuri were inside, it had to be an outsider.
The knocking was oddly placed.
I remembered the knocking style of every regular visitor. Each person has their own way and place of knocking, so I can often tell who it is just by the knock.
For instance, Bennett knocks with steady, forceful taps, while Selvia does a quick, light triple knock.
But this visitor had a pattern I’d never heard and knocked low on the door. Assuming they were knocking naturally, their height would be around 140 cm.
There shouldn’t be anyone that short or young among the Academy students. Creaking, I opened the door.
“... ...”
Standing before me was a small child with mushroom-like hair, her purple locks covering her eyes. I crouched to her level and spoke gently.
“What’s the matter, kiddo? This is the office of the Mad Wizard.”
But her response was stiff, emotionless, and strange.
“I’m here to warn you, ‘Goat.’ ”
“... ...?”
“If you admit your crimes and surrender, your sentence will be less severe. This is a merciful warning. I believe a criminal’s repentance is the first virtue in an investigation.”
The words sounded too well-rehearsed to be nonsense. Calling me ‘Goat’ suggests a connection with the letter I’d received.
Most importantly, there was the scent of illusion magic.
I blinked. With intention, mana followed naturally. Filtering out the material world, I scanned only the magical aspects. And then, it was clear.
I reached out and lifted the child’s bangs.
Her eyes swirled with spirals.
Literal hypnosis. This child was under hypnosis, programmed to deliver pre-set lines by the caster. She was a human recording device and messenger.
Just in case, I checked for a mana thread connection but found none. It wasn’t remote control. The mana had been implanted within her, set to last until fully burned out—a battery-type spell.
The child spoke sternly.
“When the dawn rises tomorrow, the investigation will begin. I can see you, but you cannot find me. I am the ‘Hypnotic Detective.’ ”
“Oh, so ‘Hypnotic Detective’ it is?”
It was clear there was a misunderstanding. This ‘Hypnotic Detective’ was pursuing ‘Goat’ , had mistaken me for him, and seemed determined to expose his crimes.
Judging from his title and lines, he seemed to have some pride in his actions, believing he was on a righteous mission.
But still.
“You used a child who knew nothing, hypnotized her, and sent her as a puppet to deliver a message to ‘Goat’
. Heartless.”“Crime does not disappear. You—”
“If you’re challenging me, I’ll oblige. Awake from your dream, ‘Awakening.’”
Tick!
With a snap of my fingers, I dispelled the mana embedded in the child. The spirals faded from her eyes, replaced by innocence and confusion, as though she’d just awoken from a dream.
“...Huh?”
“Looks like our friend has sleepwalking issues. This guy isn’t suspicious, don’t worry. How about coming in for some warm milk?”
“...Um?”
I gathered Yuna and Yuri to explain the situation.
“So that happened...”
“Which is why we’re watching over the boy now. How did he get into the Academy?”
“Apparently he’s a guest student. The reception desk believed so. But since I doubt this ‘guest’ policy suddenly exists, the administration must be hypnotized.”
For the Hypnotic Detective to slip through and send a messenger here shows he’s formidable.
The magical structure is solid too. He’s not some amateur. He has the marks of a formally trained wizard.
Yuna looked a bit anxious as if recalling a memory, and spoke thoughtfully.
“Hypnosis... long ago... that is, before I... before I became the Tower Lord. There was someone who used similar magic, using a coin on a string.”
“Is that a part the Tower Lord erased?”
“No, no. It was someone who left before I joined the Tower.”
So, it was not directly related to her. It was a relief since Yuna found her past difficult to recall. Even now, just hearing the word seemed to cast a shadow over her, as if it were raining on her head.
A traditionally trained wizard previously in the Purple Tower wouldn’t be unknown. He’d have to have some reputation.
“ Hypnotic Detective ... Ever heard of him?”
“No, I haven’t.”
Even former Bureau Agent Yuri Lanster didn’t recognize the name. A glance through the list of black wizards yielded no matches either.
As I struggled with this dead-end, a surprising clue surfaced in an unexpected place.
Rodellus, who had come for routine tuning with ‘Whitey’, recognized the name.
“ Hypnotic Detective ? Ronald mentioned him once! Said he never shows himself and resolves cases. He clears the grievances of the innocent and catches villains...”
“Ronald, the 3rd team leader of the Capital Knights, talks about him sometimes. His main territory isn’t the Empire, but the Kingdom. You wouldn’t hear of him unless you’re interested in such tales.”
So, the Kingdom.
A wizard active in a distant land would indeed be unknown here. But it also meant that to learn about him, I’d have to travel all the way to the Kingdom.
“Shall I go?”
“No, no. It’s far, it’ll take time, and... there’s no need. We’re lucky there’s someone who’s suspiciously gathering information about the Kingdom.”
Someone who knows about the fearsome ‘Kingdom Alliance’ that will topple the Empire in a hundred years, tirelessly working for a peaceful future for the Empire!
I’d probably lose my head if I revealed that this was fiction, so I decided not to inform the one who still believes in a future that doesn’t exist...
===============================================================
The communication crystal flickered to life in the middle of the night.
"So... this midnight call—what do you want, Mad Wizard?"
“Yes.”
“I was just dreaming about meeting Centra again. I assume you have something important to say?”
“Could you share some information on the ‘Hypnotic Detective’ ?”
“The next Tower support funds, you’ll collect directly from me, in person.”
With a tangled mess of hair resembling a bird’s nest, Irid ground his teeth, seething at the shameless antics of the Mad Wizard who had practically sold his conscience.