✦ Chapter 78 – Suspicious Couple (4) ✦
「Translator – Creator」
“3, 2, 1…!”
Everyone remaining in the Black Tower meeting room chanted in unison, their voices buzzing with anticipation; they were counting down the time when the Imperial Magic Tower was supposed to arrive.
And finally, the hour struck…
“It’s time! Activate the barrier!”
WOOOOOOSH—!
A resonant hum filled the air.
And an immense surge of energy rippled outwards, enveloping the Black Tower’s entire domain in a shimmering, violet, hemispherical barrier. It was not only massive but also incredibly intricate, a masterpiece of magic engineering.
Everyone burst into hearty laughter, celebrating.
“That’ll teach those Imperial Magic Tower snobs!”
“They dared to provoke us! Now they’re going to suffer!”
“They would have been late anyway, even without the barrier. There haven’t been any reports of them even approaching the moat!”
Amidst the celebratory mood, only one person…
Teddy Divine… wore a grave expression.
Clutching her teddy bear, she confirmed the report one last time.
— You’re saying the Imperial Magic Tower has entered our domain?—
— Y-yes, that’s correct…!
Strange.
It was truly strange.
Teddy didn’t underestimate the Imperial Magic Tower. They had some skilled mages among them. It was possible they’d found a way to arrive quickly.
But what was truly baffling…
‘They weren’t detected anywhere, and yet they appeared so suddenly?’
To monitor the Imperial Magic Tower’s movements, Teddy had planted spies along every possible route from the Imperial Magic Tower to the Black Tower. If the Imperial Magic Tower group had shown themselves even once, there was no way they could have gone unnoticed.
‘They bypassed all that and just appeared out of nowhere?’
It was preposterous… yet it seemed to be true.
— Any regions they passed through?
— None. There’s no record of them leaving the Imperial Magic Tower grounds.—
— How many are there?—
— We estimate a group of three.
‘Did they use teleportation?’
But considering the distance from the Imperial Magic Tower to the Black Tower, it was hard to believe. Who could meticulously teleport three people over such a long distance?
Could it be… the Inspector?
“Ha…”
Teddy Divine laughed, a mixture of disbelief and annoyance.
An Inspector with no background, and a commoner at that, using such advanced teleportation magic? It made no sense no matter how you looked at it.
The Ruiple incident? It had already been investigated thoroughly.
She’d learned that he was an Ice mage. Someone specializing in elemental magic using spatial teleportation? It was utterly preposterous.
— Lady Teddy, what do we do now?—
— What do you mean, ‘what do we do’?—
Teddy replied through telepathy, her voice regaining its usual confidence.
— Just because they arrived doesn’t mean our plans are ruined~ We still have the rest to carry out, don’t we?
Yes, the important thing was that their main plans hadn’t failed. Delaying their arrival had been… a mere greeting, a taste of what was to come.
— Keep a close eye on the path to the altar. Make sure everything’s ready.—
— Understood !—
A cruel smile spread across Teddy’s face as she ended the telepathic conversation.
“Oh~ How pitiful. If they’d just been fashionably late, they might have lived. But no, they just had to arrive! They’re going to regret being so punctual!”
She twirled, spinning in a circle, still clutching her teddy bear.
“Now they’re all as good as dead~ What will the Imperial Magic Tower do~?”
• • • ₪ • • •
Within the Black Tower’s domain…
The term “Black Tower” was a bit misleading. It referred not only to the black spire itself, but also to the sprawling town surrounding it.
The Imperial Magic Tower looked around, taking in their surroundings.
“A barrier? How arrogant of them,” Ezekiel muttered, his expression grim.
Agnes nodded in agreement.
“It seems they intended to prevent our entry if we were late. Another display of their utter disrespect.”
“Well, that can be dealt with later. Where is Her Highness?”
Tether, who’d been listening attentively, perked up.
“She’ll be in the VIP room inside the spire. Now that we’ve arrived, we can meet her after we’ve taken care of the demonic sword.”
“Good. Let’s take a look around first.”
However, the surroundings were quite different from what they expected.
“…Desolate.”
That was Ezekiel’s succinct observation.
The area was… eerily empty.
Agnes, her face impassive, rotated her cube thoughtfully.
“This isn’t right. According to our reports, this area should be bustling with activity.”
“Yes, indeed. This area is usually bustling.”
Tether nodded in agreement.
“This domain shares many similarities with the Demon Realm. Just as the Demon Realm is devoted to pleasure and indulgence, this place is usually filled with a festive atmosphere. And with the influx of visitors for the exchange meeting… it shouldn’t be this quiet.”
“Oh, there are people over there.”
Agnes pointed to a figure in the distance, but…
SLAM—!
A window slammed shut, the curtains drawn tight — the same thing happened again and again. People avoided Ezekiel and his companions, slamming doors shut, scurrying away from monsters.
Ezekiel popped a sunweed into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully.
“They’re not exactly giving us a warm welcome.”
“Indeed, they are not….”
Agnes blinked a few times, her gaze sharp.
“The fleeting expressions of displeasure… the animosity directed towards us… it’s quite strong. It seems they have something planned. It wouldn’t be wise to proceed as is.”
“How are they recognizing us?”
“Well… it’s rather obvious, isn’t it? The clothes.”
Their gazes fell to their attire.
The three of them were dressed in conspicuously expensive clothing.
Fine fabrics that screamed wealth and status, intricate embroidery denoting their affiliations… Tether even had the Imperial emblem emblazoned on his chest.
Tether coughed awkwardly.
“Ahem… perhaps we should… change clothes. I know a place where we can get different ones.”
“Not a store. We don’t want to be tracked.”
“It’s not a store. You’ll see when we get there. Follow me!”
.
.
.
.
.
“………………”
Silence fell among the three of them.
“These clothes….”
“What’s with these outfits….”
Ezekiel and Agnes stared at their new clothes, somewhat dumbfounded. However, Tether merely cleared her throat as if nothing was amiss.
“Ahem! Well, at least they fit!”
They did fit, but… the style… was something else entirely.
Agnes and Ezekiel now looked like a perfect couple, while the small-framed Tether was dressed in frilly clothes that a daughter might wear. From a distance, they could be mistaken for a family—a newlywed couple with a bunny-like daughter.
Tether pushed up her round glasses, her expression bewildered.
“…Why were these the only clothes available?”
“Long ago, when the Black Tower domain was going through hard times, the Empire sent them supplies, including clothes.”
“These must be the leftovers from that time.”
“…Yes. That’s… probably what happened.”
Tether casually observed their reactions.
She had experience serving VIPs, and had she presented such clothes under ordinary circumstances, she would’ve been punished for hurting their pride.
But the Imperial Magic Tower… they were surprisingly… gracious.
‘As expected, the Imperial Magic Tower indeed has many generous people.’
Relieved, she said, “But… you two look quite good. Handsome and beautiful… you almost look like a real couple.”
And just as she said those words… Tether suddenly shivered.
‘Huh?’
Ezekiel and Agnes… who had never displayed any hostility towards each other before… were suddenly radiating a bone-chilling murderous aura.
…Was ‘couple’ too… old-fashioned a term?
“Um… maybe like… lovers?”
“……..…”
“Or maybe it’s like kids playing house….”
“…………”
“I apologize. I’m truly sorry.”
She wilted like a discarded tissue.
“Well, anyway.”
After a pause, Ezekiel spoke up.
“We went through the trouble of bringing the demonic sword, but the Black Tower didn’t provide the exact location of the altar?”
Agnes nodded.
“Yes. Surprisingly, they only mentioned that it’s somewhere in this area and didn’t provide any more details.”
“They expect us to find out and move on our own.”
“…I have a feeling there’s some sinister plot in motion. Should we just ignore their demands about the demonic sword?”
“No, there’s no need for that.”
Ezekiel responded firmly.
Realizing that his usual sunweed might draw unwanted attention in his new attire, he’d switched to a long lollipop.
“None of you are too tired, right? Let’s move out.”
“Where are we going?”
“We need to gather information.”
“So you… have a plan?”
“A plan, a plan…”
Ezekiel grinned, his lollipop bobbing up and down. It was his usual mischievous, almost impish, smile.
“I’ll do it my usual way.”
• • • ₪ • • •
And so, they began hopping from restaurant to restaurant.
Was it thanks to their change of attire? No one fled as soon as they saw them.
Agnes absentmindedly twisted her fingers in the air.
With the cube she always fiddled with absent, her hands felt strangely idle.
“Since we changed our outfits, people are no longer avoiding us. This suggests they weren’t avoiding us specifically, but rather had a resistance towards the Imperial Magic Tower and the Imperial family.”
“…Why is that? What could be the reason?”
“I suppose we’ll just have to find out.”
Just then.
Conversations from a restaurant they were passing by filtered out.
“I heard the Imperial Magic Tower folks couldn’t even set foot in this territory. Must be quite amusing, seeing them become a laughing stock. Once they fall, we can…”
“It’s a shame they didn’t show up. I wanted to crush them beneath my heel.”
“Maybe we should pay them a visit? Hahahaha!”
It was clear, even from these snippets of conversation, that the animosity towards the Imperial Magic Tower was… intense.
Ezekiel furrowed his brow.
‘This is beyond arrogance.’
It was a stark reminder of how severely the Imperial Magic Tower had neglected its duties. Their authority was being trampled upon.
“Let’s go in.”
Ezekiel jerked his chin toward the entrance.
BAM—!
He kicked the door open, and for a moment, there was silence.
The restaurant was much larger than it appeared from the outside.
Every table was occupied. Rough-looking thugs, mages radiating a sinister aura… Ezekiel took it all in with a single glance.
“Did I mistake this for a library?”
CRUNCH—!
Ezekiel bit down on his lollipop, his voice sharp.
“Why’s it so quiet?”
At the same time, he gestured to one of them with his chin.
“You there, finish what you were saying.”
“…What? You fish-headed freak, are you crazy?”
A hulking figure rose from his seat, his imposing frame towering over Ezekiel.
He cracked his knuckles, his voice a low growl.
“Who the hell are you to barge in here and boss us around?”
“…………”
Just as Ezekiel was about to respond, he felt a tug on his sleeve.
Simultaneously, Agnes’s telepathic message rang in his mind. It was a three-way communication including Tether.
—Inspector, you can’t reveal your identity.—
—Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.—
—Then, let’s go with our pre-arranged story…! —
In truth, there was no prearranged story, but with their current disguises, the lie was obvious. There was no chance of it going wrong. The three of them believed this as they spoke in unison.
“We’re just a couple who happened to fall in love.”
“We’re just a normal married couple.”
“They adopted me!”
An icy silence descended upon the restaurant.
And Ezekiel hadn’t even used his ice magic yet.