Aisel watched Aiden force his way inside.
First, he had suddenly asked whether she was any good at pretending to be hurt, then dragged her somewhere…
And that somewhere turned out to be the Magic Tower.
Forcing his way inside like this was rude enough that anyone else would probably have been thrown out, but apparently dealing with a Master was too much responsibility for ordinary administrative staff, because they immediately summoned someone in charge.
Honestly, if things had ended there, there would have been no real problem.
Yes.
There would have been no problem at all.
─Aisel, cry.
The sudden Voice Transmission left her momentarily dumbfounded, and she stared at Aiden’s back.
What?
Do what?
Cry?
Why?
Why……?
Aisel blankly asked him why, but there was no chance of receiving an answer.
For one thing, she could not use Voice Transmission herself.
For another, the instruction had exceeded the limits of what her mind could reasonably process.
That was how bewildered she was.
‘What kind of ridiculous thing are you asking me to do, Professor?’
She had heard the words, but her brain refused to process them.
What was happening?
Had she suddenly become stupid?
Correction.
She was not the stupid one.
That professor was.
A faint exclamation escaped Aisel as her perception of him abruptly shattered.
Perhaps she had forgotten because he had recently saved her from the abuses of nobles and then rescued her from the practicum disaster, but outside of incidents like those, that professor was…
An eccentric.
Aisel clutched her forehead as she remembered that crucial fact.
‘Right. Right! That’s what he was like!’
One of the Three Swords of the Empire, the youngest Master, a genius—none of those impressive titles changed the fact that he was…
An eccentric.
The sort of person ordinary people simply could not understand.
Perhaps that itself was precisely what made him worthy of being called a genius.
But geniuses were the sort of people one preferred to applaud from a safe distance, not keep close at hand.
Especially when that genius calmly committed one bizarre act after another.
“S-Sir Aiden, please, I ask that you calm yourself……”
“I have not yet formally received the honor. ‘Sir’ is not an appropriate form of address.”
“Professor Aiden… I sincerely ask that you reconsider.”
A Mage who appeared highly accomplished was practically wringing his hands in distress.
If someone who did not appear to hold a low position was behaving like that, then Professor Aiden must occupy an even higher position than Aisel had realized.
Even so, her expression remained complicated.
After all, she knew exactly what had happened.
‘If he’d been angry this entire time, that would be one thing, but suddenly storming in here and making threats like this is basically…….’
Was this not extortion……?
“Professor Aiden, we certainly admit that our handling of that aspect was inadequate. We believed we had contained the situation properly, but for Professor Aiden to notice it in this manner……”
“Do you think I came all this way because I wanted to listen to your tedious excuses? How remarkably foolish.”
The Mage speaking privately with Aiden looked increasingly miserable.
It was almost as though he were floundering helplessly, unable to move either forward or backward.
─What are you doing? Cry.
Well, um.
‘I want to cry too.’
Aisel began tearing up from an entirely different kind of injustice.
The primary cause was humiliation.
Even when the Demon Wolves had threatened her life and she thought she might die, she had not cried.
And yet now she had to cry because of this!
It was profoundly unfair…….
Everyone turned to look at her.
Their gazes contained pity, sympathy, and sorrow.
Some even looked away as though the sight was too painful to watch.
Her face grew so hot that it felt ready to burst, and a sob finally escaped her.
This was completely like……
Like a girlfriend who had brought her troublesome boyfriend along and told him to get angry on her behalf.
It was unbearably embarrassing.
‘Seriously… Hmph.’
She hated the professor a little today.
Aisel’s eyes brimmed with tears.
Seeing Aisel cry, I nodded inwardly.
I was not entirely sure why, but perhaps because she was a young girl, the effect was remarkable.
The other side had already become unable to continue speaking properly and was beginning to suffer from pangs of conscience.
I made a mental note to use this tactic repeatedly in the future, then unleashed my anger without restraint.
Right now, I was a teacher protesting on behalf of my disciple—my female disciple, at that.
The justification was mine.
My anger was righteous.
And this was clearly an attempt to demand accountability.
No one had any grounds to stop me merely because I was angry.
“Move aside. I will simply resolve the problem myself and be done with it. I cannot understand why you continue dragging your feet over something so trivial.”
“Th-That is!”
Seeing how visibly troubled he was, I smiled inwardly.
‘He took the bait.’
In this era, the existence of a Master was not merely an impressive title.
This world did not possess extraordinary tactical or strategic weapons, nor did warfare resemble the modern age, where ground forces could be annihilated by orbital bombardment.
But if there was one existence that could be called an asymmetric weapon in this world…
It was a Master.
An army unto oneself.
A strategic-class weapon capable of changing the course of a battlefield in an instant.
Masters were one of the keys that allowed the Empire to maintain control over its vast territory.
Naturally, their treatment could not be taken lightly.
And equally naturally, neither could their deployment.
The Mage hurriedly shook his head.
“You cannot!”
“Why not?”
“That is obviously because……”
His eyes asked why I was questioning something so self-evident.
Yes.
I knew.
I was asking precisely because I knew and wanted him to confirm it himself.
A Master’s military power did not belong solely to the individual.
It was treated as military force belonging to the state.
The Empire aggressively sought to bring Masters under its control and even imposed restrictions on their personal freedom.
‘Of course, they compensate them accordingly.’
Traveling abroad was restricted because of the risk of defection.
Certain facilities became inaccessible.
Surveillance followed them.
There were all sorts of inconveniences.
Even drawing a sword was scrutinized excessively.
Aiden’s refusal to formally accept his honors stemmed from similar reasons.
Of course, since they could not physically imprison a Master through force, they compensated by showering them with enough privileges to rot their teeth.
“It is a political matter……”
The Mage wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
“Yes. That is why I restrained myself. I have shown considerable restraint.”
‘That should be enough to establish the impression that I’ve been considerate.’
“And this idiocy is what I received in return. How much longer am I supposed to wait for you here? No. Is there even a reason for me to wait?”
“Th-That……”
“I will say it once more. Move. I can no longer tolerate watching you drag out a problem that would take me five minutes to resolve.”
When I strode toward him, the Mage shrieked.
“Absolutely not!”
Behind me, Aisel stopped crying and stared at the scene.
I suppressed the urge to grin.
Yes.
This was exactly the response I wanted.
The Mage shouted almost hysterically.
“Professor Aiden, even if you have not yet formally undergone Investiture, you are still a sword belonging to the Empire! That sword may only be drawn by command of His Majesty the Emperor. Anything else would……!”
“I already drew it once to save my disciple.”
The Mage’s face darkened at my words.
Judging from his expression, he wanted to ask whether that was precisely why the President had resigned.
‘That man was going to resign sooner or later because he failed to prevent the practicum disaster anyway. I merely accelerated matters slightly.’
Therefore, I was innocent.
“Please reconsider. If Professor Aiden draws his sword, the matter will immediately be reported to His Majesty. You may find yourself in a difficult position……”
“Will I be the one in a difficult position? Or will it be you?”
The Mage fell silent as though I had struck directly at the heart of the matter.
‘People at the top don’t handle trivial matters like this themselves.’
There were only three Masters in the entire Empire.
And one of them was already on the verge of retirement because of old age.
They were not replaceable personnel.
Nor could the Empire simply decide to train another one whenever it pleased.
If the Empire’s vast territory was maintained partly through the existence of its Masters, then the moment that foundation began to shake, the Empire itself would shake with it.
So even if this matter reached the Emperor’s ears, would he truly rebuke me……?
‘No. You’re the ones who’ll get scolded. I won’t.’
If anything, the Magic Tower would be the one singled out for failing to resolve the problem before it reached this point.
Perfect logic.
Smiling inwardly, I took another step forward.
Perhaps realizing there was no longer any way to stop me, the Mage turned deathly pale and trembled.
Just as he closed his eyes as though everything was lost—
“What an honored guest we have.”
A gentle, benevolent voice filled with the dignity of age reached us.
I instinctively turned my head.
An elderly woman stood there.
The Mage widened his eyes and exclaimed.
“Magic Tower Master.”
I knew she would come.
Ignoring Aisel shrinking in fear behind me, I continued in a domineering tone.
“The recluses of the Magic Tower have been so sluggish in handling their affairs that I had no choice but to come personally. What do you think of that, Magic Tower Master?”
The atmosphere around us instantly froze.
I did not care.
I completely ignored Aisel fidgeting behind me, clearly wondering how I intended to survive after behaving this outrageously.
Aiden was allowed to do this.
Aiden was.
‘I have no intention of becoming a polite idiot.’
Perhaps because I had approached her so aggressively, the Magic Tower Master smiled and bowed her head.
“I can only apologize, Professor Aiden.”
The Magic Tower Master adopted a deferential attitude.
That fact alone sent another wave of shock through everyone present.
And she did not stop there.
She continued apologizing.
“We deeply regret this matter. We apologize for our shortcomings in withdrawing security personnel, for the practicum tragedy that resulted from that decision, and ultimately, for allowing your disciple to be injured.”
“And do you intend to end matters with an apology?”
The Magic Tower Master’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“The Magic Tower will provide compensation that will not leave you dissatisfied. That young lady……”
Aisel flinched when her eyes met the Magic Tower Master’s, but promptly introduced herself.
“My name is Aisel Trudy, Magic Tower Master.”
“…I see. Aisel. I will compensate you to the fullest extent within my authority.”
“There is also a student named Iones Ellin. See that she receives no less.”
“I shall certainly do so.”
I glanced at Aisel.
After confirming that she seemed satisfied, I stated my actual purpose.
“But compensation is only natural. You understand that, I presume.”
“I do.”
Yes.
Hmm.
So she understood.
“I can no longer tolerate the stench coming from this place. If anything, I have already endured it far longer than I should have.”
The Magic Tower Master considered the implication behind my words before bowing her head once more.
“We will, of course, provide Professor Aiden with appropriate……”
“No. There is no need to compensate me. The children may need such things, but I have no particular need for a few coins from old people. I merely……”
As I spoke, I looked upward.
“Want the source of the problem eliminated.”
On that point, the Magic Tower Master drew a firm line.
“As my disciple stated earlier, we do not wish for Professor Aiden to draw his sword.”
“Then I will concede that point.”
Taking one step backward was preparation for the next leap.
First, I needed to create the impression that I had already conceded a great deal.
Then I could reveal the demand I had no intention of withdrawing.
That was the foundation of negotiation.
“Then there should be no problem with allowing my disciples to resolve it instead.”
Ellin’s Awakening was incomplete.
If I had to somehow force her growth forward, then what mattered most was giving her frequent opportunities to use her power.
In the original story, Ellin had completed her Awakening through a Life-or-Death Battle, an intensely concentrated combat experience that allowed her to break through her limitations.
‘But another Life-or-Death Battle would be unreasonable. Instead, she needs a large quantity of combat experience to compensate for that missing element.’
And if she needed experience, then naturally she also needed appropriate training material.
Conveniently, the perfect training material was right here.
Corrupted Monsters.
Training material that could be killed without consequence.
The Magic Tower Master stared blankly for a moment as she understood my true intention, then smiled wryly.
“So what Professor Aiden actually requires is a training dummy for combat practice.”
“I merely wish to remove the foul-smelling things outside my office.”
“If that is all, then we would gladly accept the arrangement. As for safety……”
“I will supervise it personally.”
The Magic Tower Master nodded in agreement.
“Then I see no problem.”
Resolve the Magic Tower’s problem while completing Ellin’s Awakening.
One move that satisfied both objectives.
I nodded.
“I will consider the negotiation concluded.”
Rather than answering aloud, the Magic Tower Master indicated her agreement.
Aisel stared blankly at us, clearly wondering how the conversation had suddenly arrived at this conclusion, but I ignored her.
This was an adult’s art of extraction… no, negotiation.
In any case, that was what it was.