Lorei was a seasoned battle mage who had explored many dungeons and successfully completed numerous adventures.
From zombies unexpectedly leaping out at her from a corner to skeletons grabbing her ankles as they emerged from graveyards, and even facing a drake’s gaping jaws inches from her face, she had seen it all and was probably more skilled than most adventurers.
A person became stronger by overcoming difficulties, so she had toughened through these 4D jump scares, allowing her to maintain composure in any situation.
Thus, the Pink-Haired Agent warming up beside her didn’t faze her at all.
She had a feeling that the pink-hair was a strong enemy. Judging by her precise mana control, it was clear that she was an elite agent, not a run-of-the-mill operative.
If the accusation on Lorei remained unresolved, she would take advantage of the opportunity to attack. It would be disadvantageous for her to face off against the Close Combatist, who could swiftly narrow the distance between them. Her odds of losing if she got into a fight with the agent was roughly 70%.
But she felt no fear. She understood that courage, not fear, was what overcame challenges.
However⋯⋯.
Stareeeee.
"⋯⋯⋯⋯."The Tower Master’s piercing gaze, intense and direct, sent shivers down Lorei's spine. Her bravery wavered; she felt as if she might piss herself.
An ocean of Mana surged around the Tower Master.
Lorei clearly remembered the Purple Magic Tower Master when she looked like a small animal. Most of the time, Purple Tower Master was as cute as a rabbit. She had a harmless and friendly image that sometimes made you want to tease her.
That's why.
The Purple Tower Master was now sending a message with a gaze of anticipation, and she seemed to be saying, ‘I trust you Lorei, but I don’t know what will happen my trust is betrayed,’
It was as if the pet rabbit's head had suddenly split into four, ready to fire a particle cannon from its throat.
I’ve been told not to be too comfortable with Tower Master. Senior Charlie’s warning hadn’t been given without reason!
Lorei quickly cleared her mind. Thinking about the situation, it seemed someone had meticulously framed her.
They had used her signature magic, 『Puppeteering』, as the foundation for a hypnosis spell, then spreading it while disguised as Lorei.
How could she prove her innocence in this situation? Her alibi was too flimsy to be reliable.
The time she spent outside didn’t help; it was impossible to account for every single moment.
As a last resort, she could offer to have her memories read. Even though she didn’t want to do it, she could agree to remove her mental barriers. But⋯⋯ even that wouldn’t conclusively prove her innocence.
There would always be suspicions that she had erased certain memories or stored them in an external device.
That left only one solution.
“If I catch the culprit, wouldn’t that prove my innocence?”
"?"
“There is a hidden backdoor in 『Puppeteering』. If he copied the basic structure of the magic, he probably copied the backdoor too.”
The Pink-Hair Agent tapped the Esteemed Junior, seemingly asking him for a translation since she couldn't understand the explanation as a non-wizard.
Esteemed Junior summarized and explained for her.
"She intentionally built a weak point into her magic and concealed it."
"⋯⋯For what reason?"
"⋯⋯To fuck up punks who stole her magic?"
It was the perfect explanation, delivered with the best intentions.
===============================================================
Senior Scarface had done her best to help us out. It seemed highly unlikely for her to be the culprit, especially since she revealed her magic's weak point.
So, the Tower Master and I were quite satisfied with her cooperation.
Proving Senior Scarface’s innocence was one thing, but it was also enlightening to receive a detailed explanation from the creator of the intriguing 『Puppet』 magic. Although unintentional, it was another piece of magic I could now use.
Copy completed.
Senior Scarface, who had cleverly planted a trap in her magical thesis, offered some advice while inspecting the statue imbued with 『Big Brother』.
“When you teach magic to someone or reveal it through a thesis, it is better to include a back door like this. You never know when the arrow’s gonna be used against us.”
When I saw her make her magic public for anyone in the Purple Magic Tower to see, I thought she had a heart of gold. However, Senior Scarface had a more cunning side than I had anticipated.
I felt a bit guilty because I had essentially just stolen the 『Puppet』 magic.
I had read the Senior’s thesis before. After hearing about the backdoor she included, I had an idea.
"Ah, then⋯⋯ part where you wrote the rune was a backdoor? God, I thought Senior liked being inefficient with Mana for a second⋯⋯."
“It’s not that part, Esteemed Junior.”
“Ah.”
It was just a flawed part.
I tested whether I could use the backdoor on 『Big Brother』 after hearing about it from Senior Scarface. And it worked. The backdoor was wide open.
What is a backdoor? Think of it as a secret entry a robber might use to enter a house.
He needed to rob the house called 『Big Brother』, so he would need to break in through the front door, making noise and alerting the residents who would either bring out a shotgun or hide their valuables.
But now, he had a key to their backyard door. Nobody would even know. He would be able to enter silently and rob everything without any trouble.
I placed my hand on the statue and gently channeled Mana into it. Through the backdoor, the magic that didn’t resist tampering at all was easily accessed. I shall take it over without any chance for resistance.
After about 20 minutes of effort, I was able to outline it.
With some creative work, I would be able to locate all the artifacts with 『Big Brother』 cast on them. I explained the structure of the magic.
“I think if we connect this one here like this, it will become a radar. We can catch anything that functions like this artifact.”
"⋯⋯Um, well. Esteemed Junior, doesn’t it take a day to calculate the appropriate value if we want to connect it that way? My head already hurts just looking at it. Should I get a magitek calculator?”
“N-No Lorei. If I just have paper and a pen, I could scribble around for only half a day and⋯⋯."
“Isn’t this possible with mental math?”
Senior Scarface and Purple Tower Master frowned at my declaration about doing mental math and glared at me. Although unintentional, it seemed like I inadvertently deceived them.
“Tsk, smart guys are always like this⋯⋯."
“If he’s so smart, why is he so idiotic in other areas⋯⋯."
“Ah, sorry. But unfortunately, I’m smart! I can’t just not use my brain, right?”
We spent about 30 minutes modifying our magic while bickering. The Pink-Haired Agent, disgusted by the display of professional knowledge, covered her ears. Maybe she wasn’t good with numbers.
Finally, after many twists and turns, our radar was completed.
Pirong Pirong.
Mana waves with adjusted frequencies flowed out, pinpointing locations where they resonated. Red dots appeared one by one on a green grid displayed on the screen.
“It seems like there are more statues around us.”
“What’s the detection range of this thing?”
“Theoretically, it has a 10km radius. Let’s take a quick look around and get them all. Pink-Haired Lesbian, bring me the map. Where is this place?”
“So this place is⋯⋯."
We calculated the direction and distance, checking them one by one on the map of Crownhall. There was one in a back alley, one hidden in a brothel, and⋯⋯.
“⋯⋯Here, could you check again? Is this the right location?”
“It’s accurate. There shouldn’t be any errors⋯⋯ What is this place for you to be like that?”
“This is the Viscount Dompel’s mansion. He’s a noble without a fiefdom, currently running a loan business with a merchant in Crownhall⋯⋯."
“Can’t we just mow him down if he’s only a viscount?”
Since I had been stuck in the Magic Tower, I didn’t know the power dynamics of different classes. But a viscount is one rank above a baron and...
Wouldn't Yuna, with her ducal bloodline and title of Magic Tower Master, be able to take him down with just a snort? Wouldn’t a T-Rex win if it fought a raptor? That's what I thought.
The Pink-Haired Lesbian nodded her head in the affirmative for now, but then added context.
“Viscount Dompel is currently under the protection of the Duke Redburn. Think of him as someone who can pull some strings.”
“Oh.”
“Viscount Dompel plays a significant role as the financier for Duke Redburn’s faction, and as I understand it, it seems he is quite well-liked by them.”
A raptor’s a raptor, but he was a raptor with another T-Rex backing him up.
I’d heard that dukes wield almost the same power as the Tower Master. This wasn’t just about their personal strength but also their indirect influence, such as money and political power.
“⋯⋯We’re in trouble now.”
The noble was involved in this.
It seemed highly suspicious, and even the Pink-Haired Lesbian, who was an agent, saw it as something that needed to be investigated. Things were different when a Duke was pulling the strings behind it all.
If we attempted a clumsy attack to tear them off, we might provoke a strong retaliation. It seemed she was assessing the situation from that angle.
I also started thinking.
It was likely that Viscount Whatever was well-informed. Wasn't it suspicious that stone statues that were installed in a back alley were now detected in a noble's mansion?
I thought it was unlikely that Viscount Whatever innocently acquired what turned out to be a hypnotic artifact. That the Viscount himself was under some form of influence.
Being a noble, he probably went to the Church of the Goddess for even minor issues like a common cold. So, if he had been hypnotized, it would have likely occurred a long time ago.
It seemed like the Viscount had some involvement with the mastermind behind everything.
I thought it would be safer to step back for now, explain the situation to the Second Prince, and then plan our next moves carefully. Yeah, that’s what I thought but…
The culprit had sent the boy to me as if he had been anticipating my actions, attempting to frame Senior Scarface. It was all part of a larger scheme to ensnare us.
I could label him as the mastermind behind this plot.
I was getting pissed. This sense of being manipulated was unpleasant
This had clearly been carefully planned over at least a year. At this moment, I couldn't distinguish between what was a plan and a trap.
It felt like our thoughts were being subtly directed. They would never move like this. They would get scared and won’t do anything when they figure out that the duke's involved, and then they would become hesitant and passive.
If I think normally like this, I wouldn’t be able to escape from the web this punk had spun.
The best way to dismantle a plan was to act without overthinking.
I asked myself. I asked my vigorously beating heart. What do you want to do? What is your instinct telling you?
Without hesitation, the words spilled out of my mouth.
“I got hit first. So I’ll hit back!”
"⋯⋯⋯⋯??"
“Mr. Crazy Wizard, is there something wrong with your brain? Do you feel some sort of unusual pain?”
Concerning gazes, questioning if I had lost my mind, were directed at me. But I knew my decision was right. To escape this spider web, I needed the boldness of a true man.
My first TRPG PC⋯⋯ Barbarian, whispered in my mind: "Deal with suspicious folks after you've beat the shit out of them. Consequences? Let your future self worry about those."
I stood up abruptly.
“I’m gonna fuck up Viscount Whatever!”
"Ah shit, this crazy bastard⋯⋯!!"
I swung open the window and leaped out. My plan wasn't just to charge blindly into the Viscount's mansion. No, I’m really not going to run into it without a plan.
With my connection to the Second Prince, we could share political risks. The Purple Magic Tower operated under the Royal Family Grant, and was not funded by the nobles’ donations. So nothing would change even if their side had any problems with us.
Moreover, we were in the right.
If that Viscount Whatever claimed ignorance about being influenced by magic from the Purple Magic Tower, it would only land us in trouble.
If he was planning to frame Senior Scarface, he would have fabricated solid evidence against her already. My plan was to strike first and seize all related materials.
And.
⋯⋯Even if everything went south, we still had the fail-safe of our Hypnosis App!
===============================================================
The Viscount Pig spoke as he proudly held out a small stone statue to Pink-Haired Lesbian and the Tower Master.
“If you haven’t been hypnotized yet, I’ll do it now. Now everyone, look this way! Khehehe⋯⋯ All of you, become my sex slaves!”
A pattern flashed on the stone statue that could fit in one hand, emitting powerful hypnotic waves.
We were directly hit by the Hypnosis App.
Pink-Haired Lesbian blushed, her expression dazed. The Tower Master twisted her twin tail, her body wriggling involuntarily.
A twisted grin spread across the pervert Viscount Pig’s face.
***
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