Chapter 1 Part 22: People Are The Enemy

“No way, someone who earned enough money to live leisurely for the rest of their life can’t even afford one birthstone?

Don’t tell me you gambled it away?”

“Are you crazy?!”

I’d heard that once you fall into gambling, you can’t quit even if you cut off your arm.

Why would I do something like that?

When I was shocked, Clam looked disappointed.

“Aww, if you had been addicted to gambling, I was going to tie you up and stop you.”

“And then you would have kidnapped me to your place.”

“As expected, Senior.”

Clam pretended to shoot finger guns.

Why did I see a star at the end of his sentence?

That couldn’t be possible.

Ahem, clearing my throat, I got back to the point.

“But tuition was the biggest expense.”

“What kind of studying did you do, exactly?”

“I’ll explain later.

Anyway, as I was saying, tuition was the biggest expense, but setting up the lab cost a pretty penny too.

It’s fine to use cheap furniture for the house, but I couldn’t buy cheap things for the lab.”

“You really made the lab from scratch?

You told me you set up a lab at your family home when you got hired at the Magic Tower.

If you had just used the tools from there, it wouldn’t have cost you anything.”

“No, I couldn’t use them as they were.”

“Why not?”

Without changing my expression, I stated the reason.

“Because I blew up the entire lab at my family home.”

“Ah, blew it up…

Huh?!”

Why were they so surprised?

You caused dozens of explosion accidents in the Magic Tower before you even matured.

Anyone would think you were an innocent fairy who never had an accident.

When I clicked my tongue, Clam hurriedly waved his hands.

“No, it’s not that, I was just so surprised.

Probably other mages would be surprised too.”

I was about to ask why, then nodded.

I roughly understood the reason.

If Clam or Aslan said they broke something out of anger or for fun, mages would just nod and let it slide.

But suppose the cool-headed Ms. Hilipa got angry and trashed a room in a fit of rage.

Everyone would be surprised.

They’d say it wasn’t like her.

Clam was probably surprised for a similar reason.

“Did your family finally make you angry?”

“Angry?

Why would I get angry?”

How many times had I said it?

I scratched my cheek for no reason.

“As I’ve said time and again, I don’t get angry.”

I could resolve situations well enough without wasting emotional energy.

At my words, Clam’s expression stiffened slightly.

He lowered his head.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing.

Just… in a way, I think that’s the scariest thing.”

“What?”

The last part was too quiet and the pronunciation unclear, so I couldn’t hear properly.

When I asked again, Clam raised his head.

He was smiling brightly, as if his expression had never stiffened.

“So you did it with a clear head?”

“Of course.”

“In front of your family?”

I nodded again this time too.

Even though I couldn’t use the existing tools because I blew up the whole lab, it was worth it.

It was a shame to lose a year’s worth of tuition buying the house and lab equipment, but since I was living comfortably alone now, I shouldn’t dwell on it too much.

Thinking that, I nodded, and Clam fidgeted with his fingers for no reason, looking somehow anxious.

“Why… did you blow it up?”

That was Clam’s last question.

Why ask that?

Anyway, Clam always said my family was terrible, so I thought he’d be happy.

An unexpected reaction.

I stroked Asher’s hair, who was pressed tightly against my back, and answered.

“Just, you know.

Consider it a warning.”

That if they climbed any higher, there’d be nothing left for them.

With that, I shrugged my shoulders.

***

The black opal sparkled brilliantly under the light.

I examined the opal from various angles.

No matter the angle, the gem shone dazzlingly.

The more I looked, the more incredible its quality was.

Back at the academy, I used to roughly embed cheap opals with no color and no luster into wooden staves.

But now…

I took out the pocket watch from my pocket.

Made of platinum, it was very luxurious.

I muttered.

“I’ve hit the big time.”

“Huh?

You said you became a dragon?”

“No, it’s just an expression.”

I placed the black opal and the pocket watch side by side.

The white opal I originally used was already embedded in the pocket watch lid, shining brilliantly.

I couldn’t just stick it on haphazardly…

Ah, I could cut it into tiny pieces and inlay them along the rim as decoration.

That would work.

Having concluded that, I opened the observation log.

It was almost time for me to go.

I needed to finish the observation log quickly and leave.

As quitting time approached, my concentration skyrocketed.

The fact that I couldn’t go home if I didn’t finish this forcibly boosted my focus.

As I was moving my pen without rest, Asher suddenly asked.

“Is it already time to go?”

“Yeah.

But it’s not ‘already’.”

At times like this, I should say, “Finally, it’s time to go.”

I was waiting for this moment.

Of course, thanks to you being well-behaved, work was easy, but just being here stressed me out.

Ideally, I’d want to go home as soon as I clock in, but that was impossible…!

I hated this office worker life, I really hated this Magic Tower.

I made a megaphone with my hands and shouted.

“Please let me be born into a diamond spoon in my next life, one where I don’t have to commute!”

“…What are you doing, Alice?”

“Ah, sorry.”

I got excited without realizing it.

I awkwardly scratched my head.

“I often think about it, Alice really is different from other mages.

Even compared to that human Clam.”

“Really?

How?”

Umm, Asher folded his arms, thought for a moment, then clapped his hands together.

“That human is chaotic, but Alice is calm.

That human is arrogant, but Alice is humble.

That human has a lot of money, but Alice has no money.”

“…”

All good points, but the third one probably didn’t need to be said.

The saying that a child’s honesty is cruel was true.

Yeah, Clam just came to work for fun.

But that wasn’t just true for Clam.

Probably most mages here entered the Magic Tower because of their goals and desires.

Few places respected each mage’s individuality as much as the Magic Tower.

It was almost like the Magic Tower grew because it respected individuality.

Without a fixed mold, you could grow as much as you wanted without worrying about size.

“Mages almost live here 24 hours a day, so why do you leave at a set time, Alice?”

“No matter how tired I am, I don’t want to sleep here.”

Just the fact that my colleagues, superiors, and juniors were under the same roof was stressful, you know.

I stroked my chin with my finger.

Asher tilted his head.

“Do you hate the Magic Tower, Alice?

Other mages seem ready to die here.”

“No, I don’t hate it.

It’s just that a lot of bad things happened, so my affection for it waned.”

The child immediately let out a low growl.

Just like a cat hissing, the child’s red eyes flashed as he instantly assumed a defensive posture.

“Did those mages bully you too, like they did to me?”

“…Uh, yeah.”

“They bullied a fellow mage?

Unforgivable.

I’ll teach them a lesson later!”

Oh dear, when would that ever happen.

I silently looked down at the child, who was much smaller than me.

Narrow shoulders, short legs, cheeks still chubby with baby fat.

I quietly gestured.

“Keep it, keep it.”

Catching my meaning, Asher shook his head.

“I’ll grow up to be as big as you someday, you know?

Maybe even bigger than you.

That’s a little scary, but… for you, Alice!”

“Probably.

But it’s okay.

I didn’t leave because of the bullying.”

After calming Asher down like that, I placed my hand on his hair.

In a few years, this kid would definitely be similar to me.

Kids grow up fast.

Wait, come to think of it, I didn’t know Asher’s exact age.

He looked like he might be around ten.

I asked Asher.

“How old are you?”

“Umm, wait a minute…”

The child spread all ten fingers wide.

Muttering something, he counted on his fingers for a while, then said brightly.

“I don’t know how old I am by human standards.”

“Is that so?”

Then I’d ask Lady Enencia later.

Lady Enencia was away again on another request.

She was someone who hated being stuck in one place, so I understood, but I felt sorry for Ms. Hilipa, left alone.

When Lady Enencia was away, Ms. Hilipa had to handle all the work.

Ah, memories.

I used to have to handle work when my seniors were away too.

“Not because of bullying?

Then why don’t you like the Magic Tower?”

“There are three people I especially find hard to deal with.”

“Who?”

Three faces automatically came to mind.

I sighed as I securely put the black opal in my pocket.

“One is a bit hot-tempered and has a rough side, but he’s a sincere kid…”

“The human called Aslan?”

“Uh, Aslan.

You know him too…

Wait, how do you know that?!”

Asher shrugged as if asking why I was stating the obvious.

“If you mean a hot-tempered but sincere human, he’s the only one that comes to mind.

He was the most sincere among the mages.”

So even a dragon hybrid knew about Aslan’s sincerity.

That was right.

Ms. Hilipa had said it.

Aslan was the one who handled Asher the best among us.

That was probably because he spent the most time with him.

Other mages were so absorbed in their research that they were often late or didn’t show up at all for their shifts, but Aslan was the sole exception; he had never missed a single one.

“His mouth and actions were the roughest, but he did everything he was supposed to.”

“…Didn’t you dislike Aslan?”

“He’s scary, but I don’t hate him.”

“Didn’t he hurt you?”

“I’m only a half-breed, but I’m still a dragon.

It hurts for a moment, but I heal right away!”

His tail thumped cheerfully against the floor.