169. Urban Legend (5)

When the residents of Stella typically gather, they convene at places like cafes or terraces for a tea party. One could say it's the epitome of an aristocratic gathering, but... do commoners really need to bother with that?

So, Flame went to a chicken joint.

"...Chicken?"

"Seasoned chicken."

"No, I mean, chicken..."

"I said seasoned chicken. Don't you eat it?"

"Well, I do eat it..."

"Yeah. You like this kind of stuff."

Aiselle hesitated, then plunged her fork deep into the chicken. Anella, sitting beside Flame, was already tearing into a chicken leg.

"You heartless woman. With three people here, you're taking both chicken legs for yourself?"

"Uh! Uh!"

...Seems like it ended up being a somewhat unpeaceful method of acquisition for Flame.

"Yeah. You eat it. I'll permit it."

"Yes...

Though I wondered why permission was needed to eat this, it felt quite awkward just eating it.

"Eat a lot. Big sister's treat!"

Aiselle loved instant food. Pizza, chicken, hamburgers. Of course, they weren't cheap enough for common folk to eat often.

Later, when they were invited to a grand noble banquet, instead of indulging in lavish meals, they eyed cheap chicken pieces. Jeremy and Hae Wonryang were taken by surprise at this sight.

'In that sense, she's similar to me.'

Flame also prefers instant foods over aristocratic dishes.

Caviar, foie gras, truffles?

Never tried them, but I don't think I'd enjoy them that much anyway. (TL: Same not like, I have any money ಥ⁠‿⁠ಥ)

Steak or whatever, just quickly grill it and dip it in ssamjang with lettuce, eating samgyeopsal like that is the best.

The three girls silently enjoyed their chicken with cola, not beer, exchanged conversation with earch other.

"So, what's the sudden visit for?"

"Oh, um..."

"Why, curious about that man's whereabouts?"

"Oh, no! It's not like that? It's really surprising."

When Aiselle burst into surprise, Flame chuckled. She casually dropped information about Baek Yuseol as if it were of little importance, sipping through a straw.

"He's currently staying in a city in the west. Seems he has some business there or something. I don't really know, but whatever he does it must be important."

"I see..."

Suddenly, Aiselle began to question her daily routine.

Is there really meaning in my life right now, obsessing over studies like a maniac? While someone out there is painstakingly building a tower to save the world, is focusing solely on studying really the right thing to do?

'... No. I'm right.'

Baek Yuseol doesn't study because he has accumulated vast knowledge through countless regressions. To approach him, shouldn't one study harder?

"Ah, I don't know where he could have gone in this situation?"

The atmosphere at school is unsettling.

Undoubtedly, the rumors circulating within the school are somehow linked to this incident, but I can't even begin to figure out how to resolve it.

However.

In truth, Aiselle might know how to enter the Seventh Tower... She may not be certain because she heard this story long ago, from her father.

Her father's ghost stories, told in a tone seemingly meant to scare children.

She pondered whether she should tell Flame about this story.

Hmm...

Flame quietly waited for Aiselle.

In the original novel, Aiselle didn't consider the information about the ghost story in the Seventh Tower important. She casually mentioned it to Hae Wonryang, a curious boy who later dug deep into it, proving to be instrumental in resolving the "Dark Magic Corruption" incident.

But reality didn't play out that way.

Aiselle and Hae Wonryang had virtually no connection, and currently, there are only two people who know about the ghost story.

Yet Flame couldn't use Aiselle's knowledge at will. That knowledge... only Aiselle's father could have known about it.

So, Flame quietly waited.

She hoped Aiselle would decide to share the story first

"Nom."

While Anella selfishly devoured the chicken without a care, Flame and Aiselle sat silently, lost in their own thoughts, not even bothering to pick up their forks.

Eventually, Aiselle, resolved in her mind, spoke up first.

"...Um, there's actually a secret about the Seventh Tower."

"A secret?"

"You know, there are claims that the Seventh Tower never existed in the first place, and old photos show it initially existed but disappeared."

"That's right."

The existence of the Seventh Tower is still debated to this day.

"It did exist. Until 50 years ago."

Aiselle slowly opened her mouth.

"Aveline Stauberg. Do you know who that is?"

"...I do."

If you've read the original novel 'Gongnyeo,' you've probably heard the name at least once.

In this world, there are individuals in each era who leave behind achievements worthy of being called 'protagonists.' Two hundred years ago, it was Eltmon Eldwin, and half a century ago, it was Aveline Stauberg.

Aveline Stauberg accomplished such monumental feats that they could fill several volumes of fantasy novels on their own, but sadly, in the original novel, their story was only briefly summarized and never properly featured.

However... in the end, their fate did not befit a protagonist.

'Betrayal by the Dark Mage...'

He committed what is considered the worst sin in the magical realm and became a Dark mage. He assassinated three members of the Elder Council and turned the former Great Moon Tower Lord into a mana-deprived individual before fleeing. It is rumored that he is still alive, reigning over the black mages.

While many believed Aveline had quietly hidden away after betraying the magical realm, Aiselle knew well his current whereabouts.

"The Dark Mage King."

In this world, he possessed the strongest power that no one could rival—Aveline Stauberg.

Why he betrayed the magical realm or what happened doesn't matter now.

The crucial information needed right now was that Aveline Stauberg had isolated the Seventh Tower from the world and hidden something inside it.

"What's inside the Seventh Tower isn't treasure or a legendary artifact. Aveline placed... 'truth' within it," Aiselle explained.

"Truth..."

"Yes. No one knows exactly what truth it is."

Perhaps, there might be a connection between why Aveline betrayed the magical realm and left.

Anella casually remarked, "But isn't that truth not a big deal? Even Headmaster Eltmon isn't looking for it."

"Well... I'm not sure either. But maybe we can find it there. If we do... Do you have the intention to enter?"

It was a delicate topic to broach. Asking Flame to sacrifice and got to an adventure was demanding.

Yet, unexpectedly, Flame responded immediately without hesitation.

"Of course I have to go. Isn't that why we're having this conversation?"

"I see..."

With the reassurance of having a skilled mage like Flame by her side, Aiselle felt a wave of relief wash over her.

"Alright then..."

Feeling confident that she could trust her companions, Aiselle was about to bring up a ghost story she knew, but at that moment...

"Hey, hey. Did you hear about the commotion near the Fourth Tower?"

"Hurry over, something's going on."

"What's going on? What happened?"

Suddenly, there was a commotion around them. Even in a restaurant, if things got this loud it usually meant something unusual was happening.

As soon as the students' chatter reached them, Flame bolted from her seat and rushed out. Aiselle followed her, and Anella still clueless about what was happening, trailed behind.

Luckily, the Fourteenth Tower was nearby. They sprinted along the corridors, following the origin of the noise, until they reached corridor D-17 on the third floor, where several faculty members were attempting to control the situation.

"Quiet! Everyone step back!"

"Go back to your dormitories! If you don't listen, you'll get demerits!"

A crowd was gathering, mixed with the staff trying to maintain order, making it hard to see anything clearly.

The glass windows along the corridor were all shattered, and the floor was soaked, particularly noticeable was something floating on the damp floor.

"[Great Mage, afraid of the truth?] [What are you trying so hard to hide?]"

On the damp corridor floor... bright red words floated eerily.

The professors were attempting to magically erase them, but it seemed futile as they sweated nervously.

"There's no way this will work."

Flame understood why the professors couldn't erase that writing with ordinary magic—it was written in the 'underworld,' not in reality.

Simple phrases like that couldn't be erased even with ordinary magic that interferes only with reality.

"Enough."

Suddenly.

At the boy's thin voice from somewhere, all the noise ceased. The students couldn't speak as if they were dumbfounded, and the professors retreated stiffly, awkwardly.

As if by a miracle, the crowd parted, and a boy walked through.

Eltmon Eldwin.

He always showed a relaxed habit of smiling, but now he had a quite stiff expression.

Walking silently on the water-filled corridor, he looked at the floating writing and licked his tongue.

Then he pulled out a robe and sealed all the characters inside.

People saw it and reacted with 'as expected of the headmaster,' but Flame looked at him from a different perspective.

Why did he pull out the robe without using his magic?

Obvious.

Because even his spatial magic couldn't touch it.

So he had to pull out a robe containing the magic of 'another magician.'

Eltmon looked around with a shadowy expression and asked the professors in a small voice.

"Are there any injured?"

"No casualties, but..."

The professor grimly responded to Eltmon's question and gestured towards the back. There, three girls were huddled together, trembling as they held onto each other.

Their noble demeanor was familiar.

Elegance flowing through their entire beings.

They proudly wore brooches adorned with crimson rubies, marking their affiliation.

"Huh?"

When a sense of something being amiss briefly crossed Flame's mind...

Unbelievable words burst out from the professor's mouth.

"A first-year student from Class S, Hong Biyeon, has... disappeared beyond an unknown spatial dimension."

That was...

As Flame, it was a catastrophic incident completely beyond her expectations or imagination.