“Huff, huf, huffff⋯⋯."
The boy sprinted until he was completely out of breath. His ears rang, and his leg muscles screamed with pain beyond exhaustion.
Stop, stop running. You’re already exhausted.
He protested, but his mind cruelly commanded him to keep fleeing. Because the boy was being chased. He had to run. He had to escape the Evil Wizard's clutches.
Everything had been going well today.
His earnings were decent. He hadn’t been scolded after being caught by an adventurer, and a bag stolen from a merchant contained a silver piece. With that, he could live for a week even after paying the cut he owed.
Moreover, as he passed by, he caught sight of a pretty girl working at a grocery store. He felt lucky to have seen her since rarely left her house because she was sick.
Therefore.
Today’s the day, the boy thought.
‘Just one more and then I'll head back.’If he could earn just one more silver coin, he could buy some warm bread instead of the smelly beef jerky. Or maybe he would be able to cover the tribute of his friends who couldn’t pay.
A man in a hood caught his attention, almost as if he were under a spell. He had to be cautious; hoodlums sometimes turned out to be wizards, but even so, this one didn’t seem particularly skilled.
Because he didn’t have a fancy staff or any of the common accessories a wizard normally carried.
The soft red glow of his eyes from within the shadows of the hood was creepy, but he was preoccupied with the girls flanking him. All the boy needed was one brush against him. The man wouldn’t even notice his wallet being lifted.
Pretending it was an accident, the boy bumped into the man and stole a bag.
“Eut, I’m so sorry! Excuse me!”
Then he ran. Glancing behind him, he saw no sign of being chased as he quickly checked his spoils. Safe.
If he hid here, the man wouldn’t be able to find him even if his grandfather came.
At that moment.
Snap.
Clear as day, he heard the sound of snapping fingers near his ear. The boy looked around but couldn’t pinpoint its source.
It's probably nothing. The boy thought.
That was when his nightmare began.
He ran down the alley, turned a corner, made three right turns and one left⋯⋯ and he should have reached his hideout. A dingy, cramped place where the pickpockets slept.
Yet suddenly, he found himself face-to-face with the Wizard.
"⋯⋯⋯⋯?!"
“Once.”
Startled, the boy ran off again. What was that, was I so flustered that I got lost? This time, let’s actually think and run. Down the alley, around the corner, take three rights, and then one turn left.
But once more, he was back in front of the Wizard. The man raised his hand and spread two fingers.
“Twice.”
He continued running.
He began to sweat. Was he under a spell? But, he had definitely run⋯⋯ properly. The alley was a problem. The alley had to be the issue.
Maybe the higher-ups who were said to be doing various things in the back alley must have diverted the road without the boy knowing, saying that it was for redevelopment or something.
Let's take a different path. It was a complicated path that needed him to climb over walls and squeeze through some gaps. This time, there was no doubt about it. He even checked the graffiti on the alley walls. Just like this, if he just, if he just went around the corner.
Just around this corner⋯⋯.
The boy suddenly stopped. It had happened twice already. Twice. If he went forward again, he might end up facing the Wizard once again.
"⋯⋯I won’t be tricked, no more⋯⋯!"
I’m not stupid, the boy repeated to himself and dragged his feet. I won’t fall for it a third time. I won't turn that corner.
Let’s give up on heading to the hideout. I’ll wander the city until this evil, whatever it is—magic or curse—is gone. I decided.
The boy turned around.
And there stood the Wizard.
“HUEAAAAACK──!!"
“Third.”
The boy collapsed, screaming in terror.
In the darkness, red eyes calmly looked down at the boy. There was no anger or frustration in those eyes, just pure curiosity.
The Wizard was like a child, ripping off a dragonfly's wings without understanding the consequences⋯⋯.
Today hadn’t been a lucky day. It had been a cruel day that lured the boy with the bait of luck, only to lead to his downfall. Fear overwhelmed the boy. All the terrible stories he heard from the storyteller haunted his head.
Stories of witches boiling people alive in cauldrons, and Dark Wizards attaching animal limbs in place of human ones.
As he thought about the punishment this Wizard might inflict, terror gripped him, making his hands and feet shake uncontrollably and his breath catch in his throat. I have to run. I have to run away. Away from here!
The boy rose, his limbs barely cooperating, and fled aimlessly, stumbling around. He didn’t think about where he was going, only about putting distance between himself and the Wizard.
But the boy knew how this story would end.
If he turned that corner again.
"⋯⋯⋯⋯."
“Fourth.”
There was no escape.
The boy knelt down and bowed his head as he shook in fear. He dropped the stolen bag and everything he had earned today in front of the wizard.
“Eh, ah⋯⋯."
I have to beg for mercy . With that in mind, he opened his mouth, but only gasps emerged; he couldn’t form coherent words. He was breathless, and he felt as if he was being strangled.
He pressed his forehead to the ground and rubbed it. It was a desperate plea for mercy.
The Wizard who was watching this quietly, knelt down, placed a hand on the boy's head, and then⋯⋯.
“Why is an eagle’s beak yellow?”1
"?"
“Even the encyclopedia doesn’t say why.”
He calmly babbled nonsensically.
===============================================================
The Crazy Wizard and the boy squatted side by side on a nearby staircase and began talking.
“So, when you pick a target, you judge them based on first impressions?”
“Yes. If they seem dull, chances are they’re actually dumb. If their eyes are cloudy and they seem dumb, it’s best not to touch them. Nine times out of ten, the sword comes out first⋯⋯."
“Strength is another big one. Make a mistake and they’ll cut you in half before you can even pickpocket. Always check their weaponry first. Also⋯⋯."
Observing from a distance, Tower Master Yuna and Imperial Agent Yuri Lanster watched as the two of them talked. Yuna stood still holding the staff in her arms, while Yuri crossed her arms, leaning against the wall.
Yuri slipped in a question.
“Has Mr. Crazy Wizard always been like that?”
"⋯⋯What do you mean?”
“I mean his whimsical nature⋯⋯ the way he twists the atmosphere to suit his own pace?”
“Ah, eung. He’s always been like that.”
His personality of doing things his own way played a significant role in shifting the often gloomy atmosphere of the Purple Magic Tower. The mood could swiftly change from tense and serious to the opposite in the blink of an eye.
If you didn’t have the tenacity, you would be caught up as well.
Recalling old memories, the Tower Master reflected on how he influenced those around him.
“It’s like he changes the genre.”
“The genre.”
“There was a time when I thought it was a romance, then a thriller, then a youth drama, but it always came back to romance⋯⋯."
“That, I can’t really picture that.”
“So, what happened was⋯⋯!"
The Tower Master rambled on excitedly. When people spoke about what they loved, their eyes sparkled. Watching the Tower Master tell various stories about the Crazy Wizard, Yuri thought to herself.
This person really likes Crazy Wizard.
Then, what about me?
Being with him was fun. Finding someone with such a strong sense of aesthetics about Eros wasn’t easy, so they could have quite serious discussions.
She also felt that they fit each other quite well. If it were just her and the Crazy Wizard, she felt they could infiltrate an important facility in a neighboring country without a script or plan.
So, she thought he might be the first friend she had found.
Even if she chose a life independent of her species, she couldn’t escape her roots, at least not in the Metamorphosis stage. Succubi fed on energy, similar to how humans ate.
Having a passionate night in the same bed also fell under the category of “let’s have a meal.” Therefore, succubi couldn’t distinguish between love and friendship.
Then which side am I on? To truly determine that, she would need to ascend to Sublimation and break free from her roots. For now, she could only guess vaguely⋯⋯.
She thought either relationship would be fine, that was all.
“So, as I was saying⋯⋯ are you listening?”
“I caught about half of it.”
"⋯⋯That means you missed half of it!”
Yuri looked away, pretending to be occupied with something else. They’d been chatting for a while; surely the Crazy Wizard and the pickpocket boy were done by now?
“Hm.”
It seemed they were wrapping up.
The pickpocket boy pulled out a dagger and tried to stab himself in the neck. Yuri thought he might let him live, but it appeared he was simply trying to end it cleanly and move on.
The severity of the punishment was more than she expected, but this much was fine⋯⋯.
“I’m not doing this, stop it!”
It wasn’t enough.
Yuri and the Tower Master rushed over. She had a premonition about this.
===============================================================
The reason I stepped on an unexpected bomb was because I had a question. The boy had survived as a pickpocket for a long time and knew his trade well. Yet there was something odd.
“There was a pink-haired woman in a suit and a cute, small, and precious girl next to me, right.”
“Rig⋯⋯ht?”
“If a wizard has two such stunning women with him, doesn’t that imply wealth or power?”
“Ye⋯⋯ah.”
“Then why did you target me?”
If he were a cautious pickpocket, he wouldn’t have messed with someone surrounded by two strikingly beautiful women. They weren’t dressed in the commoners' cheap garb either.
As for the Tower Master, if she was caught going to the capital without permission, she would be scolded, so it was understandable that the boy hadn’t noticed, given the Tower Master’s Perception Disorder magic. But Pink-Haired Lesbian was in a full suit; no matter how you looked at her, she was not an ordinary person.
The boy's face twisted with uncertainty. He thought about why he was targeting me.
“Well, you didn’t have any accessories or a staff⋯⋯so.”
“Pink-Haired Lesbian was dressed in a noticeable suit outfit, and the Tower Mas⋯⋯ no, the girl next to me even had a staff?”
"⋯⋯⋯⋯?"
The boy stammered, his pupils suddenly dilating.
It wasn't a good sign. Sensing trouble, I gathered my mana, preparing for whatever came next. An ambush? Or maybe self-destruction or suicide?
Swish-!
The boy drew a small dagger hidden in his pants and aimed it at his own neck. It’s suicide. I reached out instinctively.
"『Mind Link』."
I swiftly cast a spell, inserting a thread of mana into the pickpocket boy's forehead. It connected. I took control of his brain and ordered it to stop moving.
The tip of the blade stopped, lodged shallowly in his neck. My Illusion Magic clashed with the Illusion Magic implanted in his brain.
There were often cases like this—magic designed to destroy something from within when certain triggers were met so keep secrets safe.
The spell on the boy wasn't particularly advanced. It could be easily countered by infiltrating one’s mana and isolating the contaminated area before slowly dismantling the mental wedge. If I had three seconds, that is.
But I didn’t have three seconds.
It was nerve-wracking, as I was on the edge with a hastily created spell. It felt like playing tug-of-war with a back-scratcher. Even for a genius, it would be difficult to win using a back-scratcher.
What should I do? Should I prioritize obtaining information, even if the boy died?
At that moment, Pink-Haired Lesbian’s hand shot out from the side, grabbing the dagger's blade. She didn't get cut, as mana enveloped her skin.
“I stopped it.”
“Whew.”
I stopped controlling the boy's movements and focused on dispelling the magic implanted in his brain. I dug into the weak point of the spell's security and cut it out. Doneo. It only took 2.7 seconds.
The boy lost consciousness and collapsed sideways. The Tower Master, who had been covering her mouth in fear of disturbing my concentration, spoke up, her words spilling out like a spring.
"⋯⋯What happened?!”
"This, seems like⋯⋯ someone was testing me. By using the boy. And there's something more important than that⋯⋯."
“Eung?”
“This, the magic that was cast on the pickpocket boy. I think it’s from the Purple Magic Tower.”
“⋯⋯Eueng?!”
Suspicion filled the air. I recalled the Purple Magic Tower wizard who regularly bought children from my father, a fact I discovered when visiting my hometown.
This wouldn’t end simply. I decided to dig a little deeper.
***
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