Peace

Fortunately, Allen was the only one acting all strange.

Silverleaf and the others were in fairly good mental condition.

Not counting Silverleaf, the other two Rune Apprentices had been unconscious the entire time and had no idea what had happened. By the time they woke up, they had already returned to the filming location.

"Finally awake?" Someone saw them open their eyes and handed them each a cup of water. "Drink some water. You'll feel better!"

"...Thank you." Mira blankly accepted the cup, her mind still unable to process what had happened.

Earlier, she had gone to another area of the Mage Tower, wanting to see what the Magic Apprentices there were doing. On the way, she had run into her sister and the others. They wanted Mr. Angell's trade secrets, so they had recruited her and had even resorted to force—

Mira began to tremble. Only then did she notice who had handed her the cup.

"S-Senior? Why are you here?!"

Had she been captured? Was this senior in league with her sister too?!

The Rune Master whom Mira called "senior" gave her a strange look. "Of course the Magic Association called me here to work. Weren't you?"

"The Magic Association? Work?" Mira asked blankly.

Just then, dazzling light suddenly blossomed in the sky. Mira instinctively looked up and saw a cute little girl floating in midair, a bright red bow behind her spread wide like a pair of wings.

"Maya... Maya will protect everyone!"

With that declaration, the girl raised her Magic Wand.

—What a surreal sight!

Mira finally calmed down.

"This is... the film set? We're back?"

Mira looked oddly at Gru, who was lying in a recliner nearby. Gru shook his head in confusion as well.

"Mr. Angell saved us," Silverleaf said. He had been adjusting the position of the Rune Stones, but when he saw Mira and Gru wake up, he came over to explain. "It's over now. No one will trouble us again."

"Is that so?" Mira immediately smiled.

She did not ask what had happened to her sister. After what she had just experienced, she did not want to know the other woman's condition at all.

Mira felt nothing but gratitude and guilt toward Angell. "Mr. Angell... isn't angry, is he?"

"No. He didn't say anything," Silverleaf replied.

"I see! Mr. Angell really is a good person," Mira murmured somewhat dejectedly.

Like a child who had done something wrong, she would have felt more at ease if her parents had scolded her a little.

Gru was slightly more proactive than Mira. "Let's go thank Mr. Angell later! And... apologize."

As he said this, he looked somewhat downcast.

Although Gru had firmly refused them at the time, realizing that they had recruited him only for the secrets of Magic Gear, rather than because of his own worth, still left him disappointed by the shattering of his dream of becoming a Mage.

"You really should apologize properly!" their senior said as well.

This senior clearly had no idea what Mira and the others had gone through. He merely thought these juniors had run around the Mage Tower out of curiosity, triggered some mechanism, and fainted.

He scolded them completely off the mark. "Someone must have warned you not to run around before you entered the Mage Tower, right? Yet you still stepped into a trap and passed out. It's only because your boss is so good-natured that he picked you up and brought you back. If you'd run into my boss, he might have left you there to dry out!"

No one was in the mood to argue.

After all, what they had done was worse than merely wandering around.

—Silverleaf was the exception. He had gone to confront them because he had guessed the truth. But in a sense, his habit of fighting alone and delivering himself right to the enemy's door was even worse.

Gru changed the subject. "Senior, is your boss really that harsh?... Oh, right, you joined the Silver Tower, didn't you?"

He looked at the other man with admiration.

Gru remembered that this senior had been an outstanding student in the previous Rune Major class. Although his grades had not matched Silverleaf's and he had not become the Magic Academy's Chief Student, he had earned his Rune Master license after graduation and been selected by a Silver Tower.

For Magic Apprentices from the City of Academies, getting into a Silver Tower was already an outstanding achievement.

Yet the senior, who Gru remembered as always high-spirited, wore a weary, bitter smile. "I don't know whether he's harsh or not. Basically, I never get to see him."

"Huh?"

"You'll understand once you enter a Mage Tower yourselves. Most Mage Towers willing to take students from the City of Academies only want the Magic Association's subsidies. The lead Mage of a tower like that is either old like my boss, long past doing research and only needing a few apprentices to keep the tower running; or the tower owner is already gone, and someone inherited the Mage Tower purely through seniority, with no worthwhile achievements to speak of! They can only survive by cheating for subsidies."

Once the senior got onto this subject, his complaints became endless.

He was practically about to hold up a sign and shout "Run!" at his juniors.

Gru listened in stunned silence before stammering, "B-But shouldn't a Mage Tower have good resources?"

"A Mage Tower reduced to cheating for subsidies has no resources worth mentioning," the senior sneered. "They even find excuses to deduct two-thirds of the salary mandated by the Magic Association."

"But I heard from a senior sister that," Gru still tried to struggle, "the benefits at Mage Towers are very good!"

As he said this, he glanced at Mira.

After all, whenever Mira's sister spoke of Mage Towers, she only ever boasted about them.

"Of course female Magic Apprentices get good treatment, especially pretty ones. They're important merchandise!" The senior gave an insinuating chuckle and winked at the "juniors." "They're afraid of backlash when they play with Witches, but female Mages are 'safe'!"

Mira's face immediately turned pale.

She remembered the out-of-place lace gown her sister wore.

Seeing Mira's expression, Silverleaf took her hand and gently patted the back of it in reassurance.

Silverleaf smiled at the senior. "From the sound of it, Senior, you seem more interested in working at our Magic Gear."

"'Our' Magic Gear? You really feel a sense of belonging there," the senior said with a laugh. He curiously watched the distant filming and did not seem opposed to the idea. "But I heard this Movie was invested in by your boss? The work seems rather novel."

"The Movie isn't our main job. We only came along to watch the fun," Silverleaf said. "I don't know whether Senior has left the Mage Tower recently, but the Magic Toy called the 'Game Table' has become very popular in Cecilia lately. We make its Rune Cores."

"You can already write Runes yourselves?" the senior asked in surprise.

"No, we just copy them. The workload is quite large," Silverleaf said with a smile. "Fortunately, they pay us in full according to the Magic Association's requirements, so it's manageable."

"In full? One gold coin?" The senior looked as though he had been struck.

"Yes! And aside from the fixed workload, we get a two-silver bonus for every additional core we copy. Since I'm short on money, I can only obediently submit," Silverleaf sighed. "Unfortunately, I switched majors halfway through, so my foundation is a little worse than Senior's. The boss said that if we can independently Design game Runes, we get a commission for every Game Table. Just think, Game Tables are now spread all over the streets of Cecilia. That amount of commission—"

"Silverleaf!" Hearing Silverleaf reveal more and more, Mira could not help tugging at his sleeve. "Shouldn't you not say these things out loud...?"

But not long ago, someone had wanted to obtain Magic Gear's secrets by forcing them!

Silverleaf glanced at Mira and put on an exaggerated look of realization. "Ah, it really isn't appropriate to discuss our wages outside! Sorry, Senior, for making you hear such strange things."

The senior, however, showed a thoughtful expression. "The Game Tables you mentioned, are they sold at Magic Gear?"

"You don't necessarily have to go to Magic Gear. You can see them in the Trouble District now too—the ones with the longest lines," Silverleaf said, looking at Mira. "It's fine to tell Senior this. Everyone knows it anyway."

"..." No, I wasn't stopping you from saying that!

Mira thought strangely, then belatedly realized that Silverleaf seemed to be setting the other man up.

The senior did not notice anything suspicious. He merely smiled. "When I have time, I'll go take a look at your products!" Then he left with a thoughtful expression.

"You should look around the set and see if there are any seniors you know, then tell them about our wages," Silverleaf said openly to his classmates. "Consider it repayment for Mr. Angell saving our lives. Isn't that a good idea?"

"Silverleaf, you're pretty devious too!"

Gru could not help shaking his head. His last trace of melancholy had already disappeared.

Mira smiled faintly as well.

She felt that if she received another letter from her sister or family, she would no longer waver in the slightest.

*

The one who wavered was Mira's sister, Beling.

She was, at least, still alive.

However, as she stood dazedly inside the gloomy Mage Tower, she felt as if she had lost an extremely important memory.

Then Beling heard her master ask:

"Have Professor Ral and the others already left?"

She raised her head and looked at her master.

He was an old man in his seventies or eighties, his face covered in horrifying age spots. Yet thanks to magical potions, he was tall and energetic, never tiring when he tortured his slaves.

Beling had once been terribly afraid of him, just as she had feared her father.

They both held sticks in their hands—Magic Wands—and whenever something displeased them, they seemed ready to raise them high and punish her.

Beling was not as stupid as her younger sister Mira, who insisted on doing what she wanted no matter how many times she was beaten. Beling had chosen obedience. That way, when they were in a good mood, they would hit her a few times less.

Besides, they were not entirely wrong!

They had raised her, so she had to repay them;

They had taken all her savings for the sake of her future. Only with the Mage Tower—her family—could she hold her head up before her husband;

They had made her serve men she disliked, but that was for her own good too! Women had to marry eventually. If she kept being so picky, what would happen when she grew older and no one wanted her?

"And what do you think? What do you want?" a voice asked.

What did she want?

What they wanted was what she wanted!

"If that's who you are, what do you need a head for?" the voice laughed.

Then Beling saw her head roll off.

No! She could not go without a head! Being too abnormal would make everyone reject her!

Panicking, Beling picked up her head and put it back on.

Yet her master seemed not to notice the bizarre scene at all. He only looked strangely at his slave and repeated, "I'm asking you! Where is Professor Ral?"

"They completed their task. They went back," Beling heard her own head answer.

It was as though another version of her was speaking.

"Tch, those people should at least have told me! How rude!" Her master said angrily, then took out his frustration on Beling by kicking her. "Why didn't you report it to me?"

"...I'm sorry!" Beling answered through the pain.

She held her head, terrified that it would fall off again.

Her master still seemed unsatisfied. He said darkly, "Come with me!"

As he spoke, he headed toward his room.

Beling's body shuddered instinctively. She feared those words most of all.

But at that moment, she strangely felt that her head was not afraid at all. Instead, it grew excited:

Her master's room?

That was a wonderful place!

The entire room had silencing magic. Once the door was locked, no one could hear the screams inside!

The door had binding magic. There was no escape route even if one wanted to flee!

Before torturing his slaves, her master always liked to prepare magical potions in front of them, sometimes even making the slaves fetch the ingredients themselves!

But this shallow and ignorant master did not know that with only a slight change to the formula, his potion could produce the exact opposite effect.

Even without preparation, the effect could easily be achieved.

At that time—

[No, that's not it, I... What am I thinking?!]

[Why do I feel like I want to murder my master?]

[Where did this knowledge of medicine come from?]

But she was only a body and could not make a sound.

Under the control of her head, she could only follow her master toward the bedroom.

As they passed the small window on the third floor of the Mage Tower, Beling even felt her head glance down.

Her master's "friends" stood below in the shadows, holding their heads with their headless bodies as they looked up at her. Every face bore the exact same smile.

And so Beling felt her own head smile as well.

*

Angell had no interest in events happening where he could not see them.

All he knew was that after filming at the Mage Tower was completed, production on the entire Movie had entered its final stage.

Because Cecilia City lacked the necessary equipment, the film's post-production had to be done in Xiesse.

Let it be said again: Angell hated film Movies!

Not knowing how the Movie had turned out until the very end felt absolutely terrible!

"Hahaha, I'll report the results to you immediately," Branch President Hume said.

Using a magic conference as an excuse, this Magic Association branch president, who neglected his actual duties, cunningly decided to follow Sir Mandela to Xiesse so he could see the finished film firsthand.

The Magic Association's excessive enthusiasm was another thing making Angell uneasy.

"If Mr. Angell doesn't mind, you could come to Xiesse with us!" Sir Mandela invited with a genial smile, entirely sincere. "If you are willing to come to the Free City, I will certainly give you the finest reception!"

"No need. I don't like long-distance travel," Angell replied without interest.

He might have considered it if there were high-speed rail, but having to live on a crowded Train for half a month just to reach another city, while spending every day with a group of strange old men, was practically the same as being buried alive for someone with social anxiety.

"If only the Teleportation Magic Circle to the Free City were still operating," Mayor Owen said regretfully.

Owen did not mind long-distance travel and wanted to go along for a look, but he had clearly forgotten that even if the Teleportation Magic Circle were operating, he could not run off whenever he wanted as mayor.

Branch President Hume smiled smugly. "As long as you can afford the Mana for the Teleportation Magic Circle, you can come with us!"

"Those Teleportation Magic Circles can still be used?" Angell asked in surprise. "I remember that before I went to the Mage Tower, they had basically all stopped operating, hadn't they?"

The shutdown of Teleportation Magic Circles had nothing to do with the Industrial Revolution. It was simply due to insufficient energy.

Keeping a Teleportation Magic Circle active for long periods required large magic crystals over a meter tall. Natural reserves of such crystals were limited, and every one used meant one fewer remaining. So even in the Magic Era, other than special times such as invasions by the Demon Race, Magic Circles between cities were generally not activated.

"Although they stopped being used, the Magic Circles themselves weren't damaged... Well, that's not certain either. The Magic Circle in the Free City might not have been maintained for a long time, so whether it can still be used is hard to say. But when I went to the City of Academies last time, the Magic Circle there was still usable," Hume said. As a Magic Association branch president, he was quite familiar with such matters. "Students in the spatial major there maintain the Teleportation Magic Circle year-round as practice."

"What? Does Senior Angell want to use one?" Branch President Hume asked eagerly.

"No, I don't. I can't afford it," Angell immediately denied.

He knew that this bad old man was always trying to coax him into spending money. But why would he go running off to another city for no reason?

Seeing Angell deny it, Hume only smiled. "What a pity." He had thought he might get to see the legendary Teleportation Magic Circle activate!

But it was not time yet!

Hume did not press the matter. Right now, all he could think about was the Movie that had just finished filming.

So after cheerfully bidding Angell and the others farewell, he followed Sir Mandela onto the Train bound for Xiesse, the Free City.

*

After Sir Mandela left, Cecilia City should have returned to peace...

Some reshoot scenes for the Movie still had not been completed, and Director Peter continued leading his team all over the city. As a result, everyone in the city of magic was discussing the Movie and eagerly waiting for its release.

This buzz also drove up the Game Table's popularity, creating another surge in membership card registrations.

Under these circumstances, it was still too early to speak of returns from the Movie, but the returns from the Game Table had already arrived.

Angell had not even learned the news during Thornmoon's usual time for reporting the accounts. Owen had come looking for him instead.

"Big Brother Angell, you're my real brother!"

Thornmoon clasped Angell's hand and declared passionately, as though he had completely forgotten the psychological trauma Angell had inflicted on him over the years. "As long as you're alive, I'm willing to follow you forever!"

"...Then you might be making a loss."

Angell shot the shameless Blood Elf a glance, then looked around the room.

Honestly, he completely understood Thornmoon's reaction. Looking at his own assets now, Angell also wanted to sell himself to himself... He would never work hard again in his next life.

There was enough coinage here to buy an entire house!

For all he knew, every coin in all of Cecilia was gathered here.

By comparison, the three hundred thousand gold Angell had saved up before had seemed like a lot too, but to him, it had felt more like a number. Once it was spent, it was spent. It simply did not have the impact of a swimming pool full of coins.

"So that's why the finance department has been complaining about a coin shortage lately!" Mayor Owen stared at the money with a headache. "Do you know that even the Royal Capital is discussing whether they should increase coin minting?"

"We've been working very hard to exchange them too," Thornmoon said in an aggrieved tone, though he was grinning from ear to ear. "But the bank said they can't keep up! After all, we exchange a huge amount of coins every day, and counting them causes trouble for their employees."

"It must be troublesome for you to count them yourselves too!" Owen said bluntly.

The Blood Elf gave a foolish grin.

He wished he could have troubles like this every month.

"Membership Tokens can curb this to some extent," Owen suggested. "Can you increase the number of Membership Tokens?"

"Membership Tokens need Magic Crystals to make, and their output is limited." Angell looked troubled.

Owen sighed. "Then I'll assign dedicated finance staff to coordinate with you!"

This was the advantage of having connections in official circles.

If any other business had been involved in coin circulation on this scale, the city government would certainly have restrained it. But since it was Lord Angell, the "Mage preparing to revive magic," Owen was quite willing to make an exception.

As for the ministers in the Royal Capital worrying over the coins, they could worry all they liked.

Wasn't that what their hair was for?

Still, Owen's efforts over this period had clearly paid off.

Angell glanced at Mayor Owen and, in a rare moment of conscience, said, "Sorry for causing you trouble."

"No, no, you're the one who's worked hard!" Owen's plump body trembled as he replied, flattered beyond measure.

"How about this? I heard City Hall has been supporting local factories in Cecilia, but they don't seem to be doing very well. Should I place some Orders with them?" Angell suggested.

"Huh?" Owen froze.

There really were several such factories.

Amid the industrial wave, it was an unavoidable strategy for Cecilia's economy.

Unfortunately, Cecilia did not have many local resources. The goods produced by those factories were common products available everywhere, and their business conditions were poor. They were neither alive nor dead, so to speak.

Owen had worried over them for a while in the past, but had basically given up.

He had not expected Angell to bring them up.

Owen was even a little touched. "There's no need for that. They can't produce Magic Items."

"They don't need to make Magic Items. Ordinary merchandise will do," Angell said with a smile.

What a joke! How could they only sell Magic Wands after making a Movie?!

Once you bought a Magic Wand, would you really bear to just toss it onto a table? Of course you needed a special Magic Wand stand! Would you bear to leave it gathering dust in a corner? Of course you needed a dedicated Magic Wand case! And what about maintenance? Replacing gemstones? Future upgrades?

Naturally, they had to offer as much merchandise as they could!

Wouldn't it be a terrible waste not to take advantage of the industrial assembly line in a situation like this?!

Only when a little girl owned a complete magical transformation item set could her life be considered complete!