Chapter 40

I touched the heavy door, and as my Magic Power touched it, it opened silently, completely contrary to its weight.

As soon as I entered the foyer, the raven left my shoulder and flew high. I looked up and saw it perched quietly on the chandelier. The tower, once a simple metal statue, now resembled an ordinary sculpture. The dome was inscribed with intricate and ornate magic circles, with tiny streams of Magic Power flowing within them, ready to illuminate at any moment. The tower drew my Magic Power in, and the runes on the walls shimmered with light, like a radiant sky peeking through the cracks in the brickwork.

This tower is welcoming me.

I closed my eyes and sensed its magical pathways. After a moment, I knew the tower's structure inside and out. The patterns on the window frames even changed subtly because of my arrival, but I couldn't quite describe the difference.

Then, before I could engage with the tower any further, a strange sound came from the second floor...

"... Hahahaha... Rumors are everywhere online. Such a magnificent mage tower could only be controlled by Lord Madsen, how could it have another owner? Hahahaha... It's hilarious... Isn't that right, Speaker Reynold? Even you don't meet Madsen's standards, hahahahaha..."

I Five-Star Old Man. The tower's defense system was operating at full capacity due to the tower owner's silent rage. I had to start suppressing the mage tower's unusual activity, otherwise the guests upstairs would think there was an earthquake soon.

You've really worked hard, Mel.

I teleported to the second-floor reception room. Inside, besides Mel, were Reynold, the Prime Minister, and another woman. That woman was probably the Speaker of Parliament, a pure politician who didn't know any magic. But I knew she was Reynold's political rival. However, the Prime Minister seemed to have always supported Reynold, while the female Speaker, along with the Five-Star Old Man and the research institute's mage forces, were trying to bring down Reynold.

Ugh... what a mess.

Suddenly, I sensed that Mel pushed the Five-Star Old Man aside and walked straight towards the door. Before I could react, he opened the door, grabbed my arm, and pulled me into his arms.

"Xipei! You've finally arrived! I've missed you so much!"

Over Mel's shoulder, I saw the Prime Minister with an inscrutable expression, a middle-aged woman in a long evening gown with raised eyebrows, Reynold next to him with a face like... a sheep, and Five-Star Old Man who was taking a sip of tea. When he saw me, the tea spilled from his mouth and landed on his trousers.

Mel was holding me very tightly, his chest pressed against mine, his face buried in my hair, breathing deeply. I could only helplessly raise my arms. "Mel, loosen your grip, you're going to flatten your breakfast."

Also, your demon servant was on my shoulder just half a minute ago, is it really necessary to act like we haven't seen each other for ten years!

The Five-Star Old Man jumped up in astonishment, instinctively pointing at me and shouting, "You troublemaker, what are you doing in Madsen's tower? This is no place for you..."

With a sudden jolt, the Five-Star Old Man was speechless, and the next second...

Well, I simply and decisively threw away my breakfast, hugged Mel with both arms, and stopped him from casting the next spell. After I hugged Mel, his anger level dropped very quickly. He withdrew his spell and even gave me a smile.

Things happened incredibly fast. Everyone stared blankly at the height where the Five-Star Old Man should have been, and it wasn't until much later that they remembered to look at the ground, where a green slime was happily wriggling.

Ugh... I suppressed the urge to vomit and buried my face in Mel's shoulder... Good heavens, the green slime is even more disgusting than the green, bald goblin with its death-themed heavy metal smoky makeup!

That large, translucent, murky, gelatinous mass was wriggling from side to side. As it wriggled, the murky, transparent flesh trembled layer by layer, like pebbles being thrown into moss-covered sewage.

The next second, Mel turned around and coldly said to the lump of slime, "And what are you? How dare you speak to the owner of this tower like that?"

... Hmm... I couldn't help but facepalm. Mel's tone of voice felt really fitting for nicknames like "Evil Shadow Manipulator" and "Death Overlord."

Immediately afterwards, the green slime traced a fairly elegant arc and disappeared through the window.

"Mel! That Five-Star Old Man doesn't know the Feather Fall!"

"This is the second floor." Mel's smile returned to normal as she said to me, "It's only the second floor. The slime won't die from the fall. Xipei, you're always so considerate of others. Relax, I assure you, there won't be any problems. Slimes are very resilient."

As he spoke, he pointed out the window, and I saw a green, spherical object bounce back into the air from the ground.

Phew... that's good.

Chapter 40

A series of popping sounds came from outside the window. We watched silently from inside the room as the incredibly elastic slime bounced up and down outside. The female speaker had a very complicated expression on her face. She seemed to want to laugh, but perhaps remembering that she was the political partner of the Five-Star Old Man, she tried to force a look of panic and annoyance, making her look a bit like she was under Convulsion Spell.

Reynold's expression remained blank throughout; I felt like his brain had probably crashed.

... It could also be a virus infection.

A moment later, the five-star slime was still bouncing around outside with its extraordinary jumping ability. I finally couldn't help but cover my face with my hands, not wanting to see Mel's smug look at all.

"Hmm..." At this moment, the Prime Minister, who was sitting to the side, finally realized the seriousness of the problem and said slowly, "Sir Madsen, a normal slime shouldn't bounce for this long, right?"

Mel nodded seriously. "It's a powerful Bouncing Spell. Don't worry, I've cast Absolute Protection on it; it won't break."

"Oh..." The Prime Minister slowly rolled his eyes again, glanced out the window, and swallowed back the question, "Could you put him down?" I could almost hear his brain racing like gears, but he couldn't think of any way to save the Five-Star Old Man. After all, Mel's hints had been completely ineffective, and... dark mages usually act recklessly and without regard for consequences. I guessed the Prime Minister was probably afraid of joining the bouncing army himself.

"Okay, Mel." I couldn't help but rub Mel's back, feeling like I was soothing a naughty cat that wouldn't stop playing with a ball.

"Okay," Mel said, "I'll do as you say."

Then, with a soft thud, hmm... that's the normal sound of a slime landing. The Mage Eye outside the window provided feedback: a puddle of green slime splattered onto the bricks outside the tower. Those bricks had patterns on them, so after the slime bounced back and solidified, a pattern from those bricks appeared on its translucent, chubby flesh, slowly settling back down.

Ugh... this color is disgusting!

The three politicians in the room watched as Mel excitedly pulled me along and began explaining the tower to me, oblivious to everyone else... Then, after a while, a difficult while, they finally decided to leave.

"It was a pleasure... well, a very memorable visit. It was an honor to tour your towers," the Prime Minister said amiably.

Mel nodded indifferently, and the doors opened one by one on their own. Mel showed no intention of moving, so the Prime Minister and the female speaker with the distorted expression tactfully left on their own.

Reynold stood in the doorway, turned to look at me, his eyes still vacant.

"Reynold," I couldn't help but call out to him.

"Hmm?" Reynold's eyes flickered; he looked at me, seemingly anticipating what I was going to say.

"Um, I'm just reminding you, when you leave, take Five-Star Elder... no, Duoji, no... the meddlesome Vice Dean with you, thank you," I said preemptively.

He stood there with his mouth agape for a long time, and I wondered if I hadn't called the Five-Star Old Man name in the end. Then Mel said, "Did someone cast a powerful Adhesion Spell on the soles of your feet?"

Reynold: "..."

This is the fastest and most efficient run Reynold has ever made; Mel's momentum is truly impressive!

We were finally able to walk around the tower together in peace. Mel told me that the tower was built by his teacher and was hidden in the woods on the edge of the Elven Sanctuary, where he spent his carefree childhood.