The Eighty-Eighth Floor
I believe my proposition will be much better received this time, at least more than in Nili's case. I say this because of the situation in which Fiammetta is, of course.
If she is caught, her fate is equally slavery. But not as a magician slave (or whatever title she may serve under him); magicians do need to step as low as to buy slaves when, with a word, any free person would happily sell themselves.
No, the slavery that usually awaited someone for committing crimes was forced labor for the kingdom. But If Fiammetta was lucky, they might sell her to a brothel.
As I have already mentioned, this is a world of true freedom for appreciating the human body, so there are also male brothels for female magicians and nobles or simply men of other tastes…
But since Fiammetta was renowned for her sword skills, her fate would be the worst of all: she would be used as cannon fodder in the army.
Some people from ancient times would say they would be better off with that and would rather die than be taken to a brothel.
But most of them have not found themselves face to face with death and none with the horrors that live in this world of the goddess. And the fate of slave soldiers in the army is to make time while professional troops seize the opportunity to attack.
By making time, I mean that the army hopes that they will hopefully be eaten as slowly as possible.
"Argyros, if she's really hiding in the slums, with just the three of us, it'll be hard to find her... Mm? This is not the way to the slums."
It was Nili who rescued me from my thoughts. At that time, the three of us were walking along Dawn Road, one of the main streets east of Leirel. This road led towards one of its many gates, the one which was perfectly aligned with the rising sun, hence the origin of the name.
It is worth mentioning that Anna is my "belonging," as she says at least, so Nili does not find it disrespectful to call me by my name in front of her.
Whether belonging or not, I have already mentioned that all the people who serve a magician are part of the same "Tower"; it can be compared to a clan or, as I said before, a mini kingdom.
A magician's tower can indeed grow to become a kingdom. That is how all the currently existing ones were formed, including Forlan. Of course, this metaphorical tower always has a physical one as its base.
"Speaking of towers, we're heading right to the outskirts of town so we can summon mine. Specifically, we are going to one of its levels. Once there, it won't be so difficult to find Fiammetta."
"Speaking of towers?" Anna asked with a finger on her chin. "But more importantly… Yay! I really wanted to visit it again! Master's tower is more amazing than the one we see far away in the palace."
I forgot that I was only thinking all of that... I am not used to being surrounded by company; the mental exercises I developed in loneliness sometimes merge with what I say.
"Of course, Argyros is one of the four gods of magic; it would be impossible for a small kingdom to have a tower more impressive than his," Nili stated, puffing out her chest.
"One of the what…" Anna asked without fully processing it.
Oh, that's right. I hadn't mentioned it to Anna yet… Well, it doesn't matter. Even so, I have to talk with Nili so this doesn't happen again in the academy. Although to tell the truth, most would believe they had misheard, and the rest would take it as a joke.
-----------------------------------------
After a couple of hours of walking and once we were far enough away from the city, I took the small artifact called [Infinity Tower] out of my pocket and threw it as far as I could... Since I don't have much strength in my arms, I asked the girls to fall back a little as well.
In my defense, not only the height but the tower's diameter is also really impressive!
Ahead of us, an explosion of light occurred, and the gigantic [Infinity Tower] began to ascend into the sky at high speed.
This time, it was Nili's turn to be stunned. For her part, Anna had already recovered from the shock. In the first place, to her, all magicians were already existences that greatly transcended the ordinary.
"Master, why don't we live here instead of the Inn?" Anna asked as we walked through the main hall on the tower's first floor towards the magic circle that served as an elevator.
"Because I still want to eat the food your mother makes."
"For human food, it's certainly of a high level," Nili replied. Her interest in food seemed to help her recover from the initial surprise.
"I'm not so far behind her in skill…" Anna grumbled.
"Seriously speaking, it would only complicate my life if the kingdom learned about the tower or my presence here. Plus, we're going to be forced to live at the academy for a while anyway."
"Boo, the three of us could fit without problem in Master's gigantic bed. If I don't accompany Nili, she will never dare to have her first experience," said Anna, giving the elf a mischievous smile. The latter was once again blushing like a tomato.
"Enough talking, Anna, we're already in the circle; you're going to bite your tongue."
"Okay..."
I think it is necessary to clarify that the tower also has stairs, but those are for invaders. Frankly, they are endless, torture serving as yet another defense mechanism.
The magic circle instantly transported us to the eighty-eighth floor, one of the twenty floors that actually had useful functions.
Behind us was a gigantic double wooden door that opened precisely to the staircase, and a room surrounded by innumerable pillars stretched ahead.
"A pool? It's bigger than the one in the bathhouse... Much bigger," Anna commented.
Its function was not that of a swimming pool, but in effect, from the center of the room, a space with water extended, occupying it almost entirely. You had to go down a few steps to access the water, but we weren't here to dive, at least not now.