I Don't Want To Work! - Chapter 37
CHAPTER 37
“Bastards.”
Betty, with a face more menacing than any average band of thieves, chewed out the mages with ferocity.
“Don’t you dare make such a face when our Princess Lottie just got off!”
Snicker, snicker.
Despite ranting for a while, Betty couldn’t calm down and yelled out.
“These potato-like things! I’ll grind them finely on the grinding board!”
“Whoa, whoa.”
I comforted Betty.
“Come on, it’s not as if you haven’t heard of them once or twice before.”
“But, you know! Things are different now. The palace has improved, and Princess Lottie has received recognition from both the Emperor and the Good Empress.”
Tears welled up in Betty’s eyes.
“But why do they still say such things…”
She was still upset that I was treated like that.
“Betty.”
I approached Betty and patted her back.
“Thank you for getting angry on my behalf. I think it’s because the tower mages still don’t know.”
“Because it’s far away?”
Yes, I nodded.
“And the tower is closed off, right?”
“That’s true.”
“So if we help with this incident, their perception will change even within the tower.”
Of course, it wouldn’t spread outside.
Leonard promised to keep it secret.
Don’t want unnecessary attention?
“So don’t worry too much about it now.”
I smiled widely, and Betty nodded.
“Yes, I won’t! Those idiots just don’t know Your Highness Lottie’s true nature!”
…Our Betty is subtly rough around the edges, huh?
“But, Your Highness Lottie. Are you feeling better now?”
“Yeah, after taking some medicine and lying down, I feel much better.”
Plus, a mage helped settle my roiling stomach.
Teleportation-induced motion sickness is caused by contact with a large amount of mana for those unfamiliar with it.
If someone uses their power to settle it, it can improve much faster.
‘Looking at that, Leonard must have a problem with the Circle.’
Any mage could do it.
But earlier, Leonard didn’t even bother to see me suffering from motion sickness.
‘If the Circle breaks, there will be problems with using magic…’
Smart.
“Excuse me, Your Highness. May I come in?”
“Come in.”
As I finished speaking, the door opened, and a man entered.
He was the scruffy brown-haired man who had treated me earlier.
“Is your body feeling a bit better?”
“Thanks to Fordell, I’m feeling a lot better.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Fordell smiled faintly, though his rugged appearance made him seem even more menacing.
Um, I shouldn’t say this, but he’s a bit scary…
Betty and I froze a bit.
After hesitating for a moment, Fordell spoke.
There was a hint of apology on his face.
“Your Highness, I apologize for interrupting just as you’re feeling better, but would you be able to interpret the ancient texts starting now?”
“Everyone seems curious about my abilities.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Fordell scratched his head and continued.
“None of us anticipated that Your Highness would come, so it happened unexpectedly.”
That makes sense.
Just a couple of months ago, I would have been seen as incompetent.
Suddenly appearing as a Runter interpreter naturally raises suspicions.
“It’s alright. Mages are driven by endless curiosity, aren’t they?”
“Ah, yes.”
Fordell’s face brightened at my response.
“You know that saying, Your Highness.”
“Yes, I read a few tower history books to prepare for my visit to the tower. This passage stuck with me.”
“Well, that sentence is practically the tower’s creed.”
Fordell nodded with satisfaction.
“Endlessly inquire and endlessly practice.”
“Endlessly seek all truths in the world, and the world will reveal the answers to you.”
As I continued the quote, Fordell’s eyes widened.
It seemed he didn’t expect me to know it by heart.
“That’s a really good saying, isn’t it?”
“Yes, indeed.”
Fordell smiled broadly. It seemed he genuinely liked it.
‘Ordinary visitors to the tower wouldn’t bother to know about such things.’
The tower is the tower, after all. People visit in such a state.
And sometimes, due to ignorance, they commit several faux pas.
‘But I thoroughly researched and prepared.’
Showing that I made an effort to meet them was a plus.
It’s like when you go abroad and greet locals in their language, they become kinder, right?
Of course, I didn’t take separate time to learn this; I’m just pulling from past knowledge!
“Your Highness seems to be a wonderful person. Those below will soon see Your Highness’ true character.”
“I’m grateful for your kind words.”
I smiled, and Fordell smiled back.
“Then, Your Highness, will you follow me after you change clothes? I’ll be waiting outside.”
“Yes, mage Fordell.”
After Fordell left and the door closed, Betty turned her head quickly to look at me.
“Princess Lottie, when did you read tower history books? Lately, the only thing you’ve been reading in bed is ‘The Secret of the Knight and the Princess…'”
“Shh.”
I covered Betty’s mouth before she could recite the title of the novel I was reading.
“Shut up, Betty, before I don’t let you borrow the next one.”
“Okay.”
Right.
To ensure my threat about not lending the next volume not to work, Betty helped me quickly change my clothes.
Thanks to that, we didn’t have to keep Fordell waiting for long.
“Have you been waiting long, Mage?”
“No, not at all. Shall we go, Your Highness?”
Since Betty couldn’t go, I walked with Fordell to the tower alone.
‘A lot has changed.’
Some parts remained the same, but the changes stood out more.
That wall over there had a big flaw, but it’s been neatly taken care of.
Oh, they’ve added another shared laboratory there.
Well, they needed at least one.
Huh? Why did they close off the storage room for materials that used to be there?
The research area seems to be the same. I’d like to visit my own lab sometime though.
As I was wandering around, something caught my eye.
“Ah.”
I stopped in my tracks.
It was the place where portraits of past Archmages and senior mages hung.
“These are the remarkable individuals who led our tower.”
Fordell, who noticed where my gaze landed, began explaining.
“They were all remarkable and outstanding individuals. If even one of them hadn’t existed, our tower wouldn’t be here today.”
“I see.”
I slowly scanned through the portraits, then stopped my gaze at one place.
A portrait of a gentle-looking elderly woman.
With her not-too-wide straw hat and a blue shawl, she had an ordinary appearance that could be seen anywhere.
“This is Archmage Carmel.”
Fordell continued.
“She was an 8th Circle mage, proficient in magical research and ancient magical interpretation. Most of the ancient magic recorded in the tower today was recovered by Archmage Carmel.”
I suppressed the corners of my mouth that were trying to smile and nodded.
“She was truly remarkable.”
“Yes, indeed. And she’s also the most respected figure by His Highness Mage Leonard.”
“Really?”
The guy who was just saying those things earlier?
The reason for my surprise was simple. Because Carmel was a typical commoner mage.
As I turned around in surprise, Fordell looked at me with eyes that seemed to ask if I was really that surprised.
“No, it’s just that I think he would admire someone else… for example, this person!”
I pointed hastily at one of the portraits.
“Weren’t they the greatest mage of their time? I heard they could effortlessly use advanced magic.”
“It seems you’ve been reading history books diligently.”
Fordell smiled proudly and nodded.
“That’s right, they could use advanced magic very freely. But His Highness Leonard favored Archmage Carmel more.”
‘…Favored?’
Why does he suddenly sound like he’s talking in the past tense?
“Why?”
“Archmage Carmel created many practical spells rather than offensive ones.”
Spells that emit a small light so you don’t trip in the dark.
Spells that help you find your way back to town when you’re lost.
Spells that make a room warm and cozy.
Even spells that delicately control flames to help cook a slightly tastier meal.
These were spells that might not mean much to mages.
However, these were spells that could be directly applied to everyday life for ordinary people as well.
“As you may already know from reading the history books, mages at that time had a very aggressive and dangerous image.”
However, as Carmel’s created spells spread among the people, the image of the tower and its mages gradually changed.
“Add to that the fact that it cost so little mana that even 1st Circle mages could use it, and a lot of people were knocking on the door of the tower.”
With the need for long periods of training and the inability to survive on just 1st or 2nd Circle magic, many talented individuals didn’t come to the tower.
However, as those spells spread, the situation changed.
Many people began to come to the tower on their own.
“Thanks to that, the tower was able to grow even more.”
Adding that it was very helpful, Fordell continued.
“However, it’s not like she was only good at one thing. She also had great talent in offensive magic.”
“I see…”
My pupils trembled.
“She truly is remarkable. Truly.”
“Yes…”
Stop it, please.
“His Highness Leonard mentioned it, and I share the same opinion. If I could meet one person, it would be Archmage Carmel.”
While compliments were appreciated earlier, now I was embarrassed to the point of death.
No, who knew they would go this far with their praise?
‘I can’t even reveal that Carmel is me, and I really….…’
I quickly cut off Fordell, who seemed to want to say more.
“Let’s go quickly. Others are waiting!”
If I listened any further, I felt like I would set a new record for embarrassment.
I led Fordell away.
“This is the ancient text we need you to interpret.”
I looked at the text and froze.
The reason was simple.
The ancient text the tower’s mages were urgently asking to interpret was none other than my diary.
Why the hell are these crazy people trying to interpret someone else’s diary?