Chapter 1 Part 29: People Are The Enemy

“Hah?

Of course I don’t know you.

I’m seeing you for the first time today.”

The senior stood there holding a box of chocolates.

“I’ve been tolerating it, but this ruffian really!

Why can’t you just guide us to the Archmage?!”

“You have hands, you have feet.

Just find―”

“Hello there!”

And so, Alice’s pushover instincts kicked in once again.

Alice quickly ran over to them.

Watching his back, the twins understood.

“So that’s why they call him a pushover.”

“So that’s why they call him a pushover.”

After making the senior step back, Alice repeatedly bowed to the people.

“I’m sorry!

I’m so sorry!”

“And who might you be?”

“Yes, I am!”

Alice, about to loudly and clearly state his name, hesitated.

What was this?

How long had it been since he decided not to get involved in missions at all?

He didn’t know that pathetic old habit of immediately rushing over whenever an unexpected situation arose still remained.

Habits really were scary.

Alice’s expression grew distant.

The knight, who had thought this one might be decent enough to ask his name, immediately grimaced.

“Was my question not clear enough?

Anyway, you mages, the lot of you!”

You stop too…!

The Magic Tower is where that lot of mages gathers!

At a loss, Alice looked around.

The mages were literally staring at them like cows staring at cows.

If he stayed here any longer, the situation would only worsen.

Just as he had done in front of the twins, Alice forced the corners of his mouth upward.

“That’s not really important.

I’ll guide you.”

Alice White.

Formerly ranked number one in mission success rate.

Once the most requested mage.

No matter how busy he was, blinded by performance, he would accept almost any mission.

Not only for his skill, but also because he had common sense, making communication with clients smooth.

His personality was amiable, so even if conflicts arose, he could mediate well between mages.

The other mages, on the other hand…

The senior grumbled openly.

“Guide them, my foot.

They’re the ones in the wrong here.”

“Senior…”

“They’re bothering busy people.

I’m already swamped with work.

Hey, let’s go quickly.”

Had little interest in performance.

Still, accepted missions when they came.

But only when research wasn’t too demanding.

Didn’t really matter if they failed.

It was just for killing time anyway.

Skills were excellent, but lacked common sense, so communication with clients was poor.

Personality was self-centered; the moment a conflict arose, they’d pack up and leave.

Their principle was they’d rather endure a little nagging from Ms. Hilipa than bow to some human who wasn’t even the Archmage.

“Senior, don’t be like that.”

The Magic Tower was an environment where Alice couldn’t help but be number one in mission success rate.

The senior threw his own words back at him.

“Those guys started picking a fight first, I’m telling you!

Anyway, the lot of you knights…”

“Are you insulting us?!”

“No, first, please lower your voices…”

Just as Alice was stuck immobile between the senior and the knights,

“Stop making a commotion.”

A low yet dignified voice pierced their ears.

The knights all stepped aside in unison.

A man in a black uniform, not armor, stood with his arms crossed.

“Regardless of what anyone says, this is their territory.”

“Captain…!”

Alice had suspected from the moment they mentioned meeting the Archmage that this person held high social status.

Being called Captain, he seemed to be the head of some knight order.

The man walked forward heavily.

He had striking, fierce eyes like a wolf’s.

Moreover, his grey hair made him look even more like a wolf.

The man asked.

“You, what’s your name?”

Alice quickly bowed.

“My name is Alice White.”

“Hmm…”

The man looked Alice up and down.

Under that sharp gaze, Alice hunched his shoulders.

Unlike the other mages, his obedient demeanor was remarkably impressive.

Earlier too, he had tried to calm the knights without raising his voice.

Sometimes in missions, it’s better to choose based on personality than skill.

The man nodded.

“We’ll go with this mage.”

The knights standing beside him were startled.

“But Captain.

Since we’re here, we wanted to pay our respects to the Archmage…”

“If even a regular mage is this hard to deal with, how difficult do you think the Archmage would be to face?”

The man took out a pouch made of red silk from his pocket.

“As I said before, I don’t want to cause unnecessary trouble.

It could just make things worse.”

With that, the man tossed the pouch to Alice.

Startled, Alice still managed to catch it safely.

“You there.

I’d like to hire you for a mission.”

“…Yes?”

Alice looked down at the pouch.

It was visibly very full and heavy.

Alice carefully opened the pouch.

Inside were gold coins and gems.

“Um…”

It seemed there was some misunderstanding.

Alice alternated looking between the pouch and the man, then moved his lips.

“Why?

Hesitating because you’d be alone?”

The man placed his hands on his hips and continued.

“It’s not a difficult mission.

And you’d be working alongside our knight order.”

“Well, you see…”

“If you’re still not confident, I could hire two additional mages.”

“No, that’s not it.”

Again gauging the weight of the pouch, Alice’s face turned serious.

“I’m afraid this amount won’t be sufficient.”

“…”

“How much were you expecting?”

It was a display worthy of the former number one in mission success rate.

***

“He says that’s nowhere near enough.

What does that mean?

I was told this was sufficient.”

For other mages, this amount was sufficient.

But not for Alice.

As more and more people requested him, they began competitively paying extra to secure Alice first.

He never got a proper day’s rest, but he felt proud watching the money pile up.

Alice took out a notebook and pen.

“This is the base price.

Please keep in mind that additional fees apply based on the duration, the nature of the request, and the mission difficulty.”

“…”

“If you’re willing to entrust me with missions in the future, I’m open to offering a small discount.”

His eyes are rolled back again.

The senior clicked his tongue.

Anyway, when it came to money, he looked ready to grovel like a dog and perform tricks.

He’d seen this hundreds of times, but it was always both pitiful and amusing.

The senior grabbed Alice’s shoulder.

“If you just give me the money, I’ll even work 24-hour shifts without complaint…!”

“You said you weren’t taking any more missions.”

Alice froze.

The senior held his shoulder and shook him.

A little life returned to Alice’s eyes.

“Snap out of it.”

Alice nodded slightly and looked at his notebook.

The notebook was now densely filled with numbers.

Ugh, this damn mindset.

Alice bowed deeply.

“I’m sorry.

I’m a mage who doesn’t accept missions.”

The man’s eyes sharpened.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, you see, it’s…”

What should he say?

Alice hesitated, then found an appropriate word.

“I’m not for sale at the Magic Tower.”

Silence fell between them.

That’s not appropriate at all, the senior thought, dumbfounded.

“You’re not an object.”

“I couldn’t think of a more appropriate word…”

The man was equally dumbfounded.

“You cheerfully explain how much extra it’ll cost, and now you say you’re not for sale…?”

“I’m sorry.

I truly don’t know how to apologize.

It’s because I used to run around on missions nonstop back in the day.”

Whenever someone showed interest in hiring him, his eyes would roll back.

Back then, wanting to earn even a little more while young, he just couldn’t rest.

Embarrassed, Alice scratched his head.

“I’d like to know what you mean by ‘not for sale.’

Are you saying you’re not a mage?”

“If I weren’t a mage, my head would have been cut off long before I even entered here.”

Impersonating a mage, especially one from the Magic Tower, is one of the gravest crimes.

In fact, mages often summarily execute imposters they spot on the streets.

Their pride is so strong they absolutely cannot tolerate commoners impersonating them.

Since the world looks up to mages, such summary executions are easily overlooked.

“I just decided not to take on any more missions.

Shall I guide you to the Archmage now?”

The man stroked his chin.

“Are you perhaps busy with research too?”

“I don’t do research at the Magic Tower.”

“Then…”

With the conversation going nowhere no matter how long they talked, the knights grew frustrated.

Unable to bear it any longer, one knight tried to stop the man.

“Captain.

That’s enough.

He looks simple-minded and probably useless anyway.”

The mages, who had also been growing bored with the stagnant conversation, suddenly changed their expressions.

“All that sword-swinging must have made their brains as hard as muscles.”

“Guys with nothing to read, so no chance of bad eyesight, why are they seeing things that aren’t there?

As expected, there’s nothing in their heads.”

“You see what you know, that saying fits perfectly.

This is why we shouldn’t associate with ignoramuses.

From now on, we should only accept clients who pass a test.”

With that, the mages burst into laughter.

True to mages who had been looked up to by everyone since childhood, arrogance radiated from their entire beings.

The faces of the insulted knights turned bright red.

But Alice, the one who had been dismissed as simple-minded, didn’t change his expression at all.