Hobby (1)

"Finally…finally…"

Morgan clutched the letter, overwhelmed with emotion.

Caw-! caw-!

The crow, which had been screeching, watched his reaction and then flew back into the sky.

Morgan calmed his excitement and sat down. He felt his heart was becoming so weak that it wouldn't be strange if it stopped at any moment.

Hence, excitement was taboo for him now.

He leaned back on the chair and murmured.

"This…is for the Hupper Kingdom."

That's why he had no regrets.

This was the thought of the wise King Morgan Hupper.

***

On the Cloud Continent, there exists a young Tower Master. Dolores Jade.

She had graduated from the prestigious magical academy, Escolleia, and received the title "Archmage", a being at the pinnacle of elemental magic, whose abilities were acknowledged as the youngest Tower Master of Wallin Tower.

Due to her young age, there were initially many objections when she first became the Tower Master.

However, she proved her abilities by skillfully handling her duties as a Tower Master, so no one questioned her anymore.

In fact, doubting her was no different from admitting one's foolishness.

Dolores was a genius who stood out from a young age. She knew very well how to satisfy others. Born as a noble's child and a genius, they always wanted one thing.

To always be able to boast about her to others as their amazing daughter.

Thus, Dolores hadn't had a proper hobby since she was nine years old, and instead, did her best to become a good daughter.

She devoted herself to her studies and entered the academy at the age of 13.

She always made an effort to be recognized among the highly talented students. For the image of a genius girl who always tries hard, Dolores never cared about anything other than her studies.

In short, she never had a hobby or made friends since her childhood.

'Friends...'

For Dolores, they were like an imaginary animal, like a giraffe.

Of course, she had many contacts. Once a noble, and now an excellent magic student, her connections were enviable.

However, those relationships were all made for business purposes. It was a thoroughly calculated relationship based on mutual understanding.

Sharing one's thoughts or weaknesses meant imminent death.

She thought that as her position rose, things might get a little better, but that was a huge misconception.

The higher she climbed, the more she had to be on guard around her, so she had even less time, and she couldn't make friends, let alone have a hobby.

The moment she showed weakness, an arrow would fly in and bring her down. That's why she became a 'workaholic', only immersing herself in work.

'This is my life.'

Dolores has adapted to this kind of life. Living as a workaholic wasn't so bad.

The sense of accomplishment from the success of a project also gave her considerable strength.

She looked at her schedule without complaining.

'About 10 minutes of rest, then rounds starting at 1 o'clock, and checking improvements and prioritizing...'

A tightly packed schedule.

It was a murderous schedule that would knock down an ordinary person in a day, let alone a week.

'I created them anyway because I had nothing to do.', was Dolores's thought. If there's no work, she creates it herself.

Accepting it calmly, she put down her schedule.

Knock, knock.

"Come in."

The person who entered Dolores' office was her secretary.

"Tower Master, a letter has arrived."

"From whom?"

"From the Tower Master of the Silence Tower."

"The Silence Tower Master?"

She received the letter from the secretary and the secretary left the room.

Undoubtedly, it must have been sent by a bluebird, since it was rolled up.

--The magnesium research has been completed. Come and see it when you have time--

As soon as she read the letter, Dolores sucked her lips. She adjusted her posture and looked at it again.

"Come and see it when you have time."

'Come and see...Is he inviting me?'

Is it really what Reed? Inviting her? What's going on? Is there someone who dares to play a prank on a Tower Master?

As if caught in cognitive dissonance, she tried several escapes, but in the end, Dolores called her secretary.

"Um, you know."

"Yes."

"Who sent this letter?"

"It's from the Silence Tower Master's exclusive bluebird."

"Are you sure?"

"I've checked it twice, so it's definitely correct."

"Understood."

Even though there was a possibility of having a conversation through telepathy among magicians, it is considered rude to do so abruptly. Instead, it is courteous to send a bluebird with a message first.

Yes, it wasn't strange. But the other party was the Tower Master of Silence?

Dolores had no choice but to call the Tower of Silence through telepathy.

At the end of a long ringing sound, someone answered the call.

"What's the matter?", A deep voice asked.

There was no doubt it was Reed Adeleheights Roton's voice.

"I received a letter from your bluebird."

"It seems it has arrived."

"…What are you thinking?"

"Nothing much. You said you were interested, and I just informed you of my research results."

"Although I'm happy… We're not that close. Is it okay to invite me?"

Her cautious question seemed to draw a line. Dolores suddenly felt regretful.

In fact, she didn't want to say it like that. She wanted to thank him for contacting her. For sharing such good news with her.

But she couldn't change her words.

Once spoken, you have to be responsible for them.

That was the weight of being a Tower Master.

"You were a person who sincerely listened to my research. So, I don't think it's wrong for me to invite you."

"…"

"However, I might have been too friendly. I'm sorry if I hurt you. It's my fault."

"No, no! That's not what I meant!"

Dolores inadvertently shouted loudly.

Reed on the other end seemed surprised, and Dolores lowered her voice again.

"Well, there are factions between Tower Masters, right? Naturally, I assumed that you, as the Tower Master of Silence, would be affiliated with the Tower Master of Black Sky and that it would not be good for you to associate with me."

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

"Coincidentally, I do not belong to any faction. So, there's no problem."

"Is that…so?"

"So you can relax."

"What relaxation are you talking about?", But she was relieved.

Not even aware that the corners of her mouth were rising into a smile, she opened her mouth again.

"So, when can I come to see you?"

"You can come whenever it's convenient for you. Even today is fine."

"Are you holding a meeting between Tower Masters without making an appointment?"

Reed tilted his head as if puzzled.

"As I recall, the Tower Master of Wallin also came without notice?"

'Stupid mistakes keep happening!'

"…Okay. I'll come by for a short visit today."

"Understood."

The telepathy call ended and Dolores let out a sigh as she held her head.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid…"

She had exposed all her weaknesses. It was a blunder. But what could she do? The only thing she could do right now was to visit Reed.

Dolores connected telepathically to her secretary and asked.

"Yes, Tower Master."

"What's on my schedule today?"

"At 1 PM, you have a surprise tour of the Chief Wizards' research lab and check the improvements in the accommodations. Then, at 3 PM…"

The tight schedule continued like a hellish march until 9 PM.

"Cancel them all."

"All of them? Do you have somewhere to go?"

"I'm going to the Tower of Silence. They invited me to see their completed project."

"But are you going to clear the entire afternoon?"

"…"

Yes, it would take at most 30 minutes to see the project and return. Even if they talked about various things, everything would be finished within an hour.

If it were the usual Dolores, she would have canceled only part of her schedule and continued with the other appointments.

"Clear my schedule until 2 PM. I'll also see how talented Rosaria is."

"Rosaria? Ah, you mean the daughter of the Tower Master of Silence."

"Yes, who knows, she might want to join our tower in the future?"

"Indeed, an investment for the future! Understood."

An investment for the future. That was a good enough reason to accept.

Her secretary didn't object and cleared her schedule until 2 PM.

Dolores flew on her personal broomstick towards the Tower of Silence.

As the door to the Tower of Silence opened, a guide came out. Surprisingly, the one welcoming her was the Tower Master of Silence.

Forgetting to exchange polite greetings, Dolores asked first.

"You came down personally?"

"I didn't see the need to have a subordinate do it. Since I invited you, shouldn't I be the one to greet you?"

Dolores took a quick glance at his appearance.

His ash-gray hair was tied back and a youthful appearance that wouldn't be odd for someone of his age.

"…Alright."

"Good."

Hiding the fact that she was spacing out, she hastened her steps to keep up with him.

Soon, they arrived at the Tower Master's research building and Reed showed Dolores his successful creation.

"This is the item I mentioned in the letter."

"So, this is the prototype made of magnesium."

"There are still many improvements to be made, but it's the first success. Want to try it?"

"Yes, let's."

Dolores picked up the magnesium plate that Reed had made.

"I heard magnesium is soft, but this is as hard as an iron plate."

"If we use this, it can be a substitute for steel or even something better."

"What did the other Tower Masters say?"

She thought that he would undoubtedly show off such an item to others.

"I haven't asked."

"Excuse me?"

"I just wanted to show it to you."

"…Me?"

Dolores looked up at Reed with her eyes wide open.

Her eyes were like the full moon in midsummer, her lips shivering as if touched by winter frost.

Reed was also taken aback by her reaction.

"Wallin Tower Master."

"Only to me? Why? What did I do to deserve-"

"Wallin Tower Master, calm down."

"I-I'm not upset. I'm fine. Really."

"Your magic is leaking, though."

"My magic is…?"

Dolores looked down at the magnesium plate in her hand and saw white frost forming on the brass-colored magnesium plate.

"Ahh!"

With a scream, Dolores let go of the now-frozen magnesium plate.

Crash!

The frozen magnesium plate shattered into pieces like thin ice.

The two stared at it for a while.

"…It broke."

"It indeed broke."

Reed glanced at Dolores as he looked at the broken magnesium. Cold sweat was dripping down her face.

Despite trying not to be upset, she couldn't hide her nature.

Reed turned his head and gestured to the assistant wizards.

Understandingly, they hurried over and began to clean up the shattered prototype Dolores had broken.

"I'm sorry. I was startled and just…"

"No, it was my mistake that caused the confusion."

"I should be composed as a Tower Master, but… I overreacted. And…I even broke the prototype."

She looked guilty and her right hand kept fidgeting. She was on the verge of biting her thumbnail.

"Don't worry. Your actions gave me inspiration."

"Inspiration… really?"

"While researching alternatives to steel, I ultimately want something with effects greater than steel. To harness its inherent power, what you broke actually helped me a lot."

"…"

"So, this mistake is actually a good thing for me. Don't worry too much."

Reed patted her shoulder and moved on as if it wasn't a big deal.

Dolores found his kindness strange. It was something she had felt since the time he abandoned the <Project: Flower Garden>.

'You're acting a bit strange…', was what she wanted to ask him. The Reed Adeleheights Roton she knew was very different.

But before her impolite words could come out, Reed turned his head.

"Why not visit my daughter while you're here?"

"You mean Rosaria?"

"She's really into learning these days. She has a strong desire to learn various things."

At those words, Dolores' eyes narrowed, and her voice became calm.

"You're not pushing her too hard, are you?"

"Of course not. It's what she wants to learn. I'll let her study as much as she wants until she gets bored."

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to see her."

Reed and Dolores walked together to her room.

They knocked on her door and entered. Rosaria, who was sitting at her desk, greeted Dolores with a big smile.

"Ah, it's Dolores Unni! Hi!"

"You should call her Tower Master."

Reed pointed out, but Dolores crouched down to match Rosaria's eye level as if it was fine.

"Have you been well?"

"Yeah! I've been playing well with the Lucy doll you gave me!"

"That's good to hear."

Dolores knew better than anyone how much help a teddy bear could be. Living as a genius, the only ones she could openly talk to were dolls.

Seeing Dolores, Rosaria seemed to have thought of a question.

"Right, you're a Tower Master too, right?"

"Huh? Oh, yes. Tower Master."

As Dolores nodded, Rosaria's face brightened even more.

"Then, are you good at studying too?"

"Huh? Oh, yes. Of course."

"Then can you help me with my studies?"

"Me, help?"

As she was flustered, Reed put his hand on Rosaria's head and spoke.

"Rosaria, Unni is a busy person."

"Why is she busy?"

"She is the Tower Master of Wallin. She has responsibilities as a Tower Master."

"Uh, I see."

Rosaria lowered her head with a disappointed face.

Dolores looked at her watch. The current time was 1:20 PM.

If she left now, she would have about 10 minutes to spare. So, she could follow her original schedule from 2 PM, feeling the extra time.

But this would be her last goodbye before she leaves.

Dolores looked at Reed and said, "I have nothing to do today."

So, she lied with a clear and firm voice.