I Don't Want To Work! - Chapter 41
CHAPTER 41
It’s heavy.
And painful.
Fordell, who had been guarding the tower for a long time, narrowed his brow.
Fordell, who entered the tower when he was young, didn’t have the talent to become a great mage.
However, with excellent manners, he was able to rise to the position of tower Guardian through the recommendations of others.
For quite some time, he was able to lead the tower without major issues.
And now.
Fordell was facing the biggest problem.
“……”
Leonard, who suddenly appeared, remained silent with a stern face, not opening his mouth easily.
But Fordell could easily read through it.
Yes, it must be difficult to speak.
After a moment of hesitation, Fordell decided to speak first.
“Your Highness Leonard, no, Leonard.”
Fordell, who took a deep breath, spoke.
“I hope you haven’t given up on magic. This path has been your path for a long time, and it was the path you loved, wasn’t it?”
“……”
“And you also said you would rise to the throne with the support of the tower.”
Leonard at that time was so bright.
He was so talented that he heard stories of receiving mana’s love.
He wanted to become a great mage himself.
His perspective on the world was broad, he had no prejudice against commoners, and he truly had a trustworthy friend.
Although it has come to this now.
“…Master.”
Leonard, who was listening to the story, spoke. His throat was completely dry.
“I, I’ve been through a lot.”
“I know. I know too well that you’ve been through a lot because of Aldou.”
“No!”
Leonard shouted as if screaming.
His body was trembling.
“I was suspicious even before Aldou betrayed me.”
Fifth Circle.
Leonard, who reached a level that others couldn’t reach even after dedicating their entire lives, was full of confidence in just a few years.
Not only the eighth-circle mage but also the legendary tenth-circle mage.
He believed he would become that.
But.
“…Why can’t I?”
He couldn’t rise.
Sixth Circle, where he didn’t even doubt he would easily pass, Leonard was blocked.
Why can’t he?
Let’s try again.
He failed again, what’s the problem?
Let’s try again like this.
Failure, failure again, it’s okay, he’s a genius. Let’s try again.
Again, failure, again, failure, failure, failure, failure.
After just a few years, he managed to reach the Fifth Circle.
He tried desperately for the same period but couldn’t reach the Sixth Circle.
His once broad perspective narrowed, and his head dropped.
All he could see through his penetrating eyes was his miserable self.
There was only one thought in his mind.
Is this how it ends for him?
Absolutely not.
“I gritted my teeth. Because I had Aldou to become my mentor. Ah, didn’t he tell me that if I stop there, I’ll have to stay there for the rest of my life?”
“Leonard.”
“But that’s the result of grinding your teeth like that. The circle is broken, and we haven’t been able to find a cure for years.”
Leonard extended his hand to show it. There were faint marks of his nails digging into his palm, indicating how tightly he had clenched his hand.
“I can’t endure it anymore in this state, Master.”
“Leonard!”
“I’ve reached my limit. This is the end for me.”
“Leonard, calm down. Haven’t you seen Aldou? If that guy hadn’t given up there, he could have gone further.”
“Aldou was clever for a commoner. I was foolish.”
“I’ve told you many times, what you need now is patience. Patience to look around.”
“How can I have that?!”
Leonard shouted desperately.
“Even if I look around, it’s all darkness!”
No hope is in sight.
It was painful, distressing, and difficult.
He just wanted to sit down right there because it was too, too difficult.
Now he was exhausted.
“I can’t bear it anymore. I’m sorry, Master. Please erase me from the Tower’s records—.”
“No!”
Bang! The door suddenly opened, and a young voice intervened.
Leonard and Fordell’s gazes naturally turned toward the door.
There stood Lottie, who had left earlier.
Her navy blue hair was disheveled, and her pink eyes sparkled brightly.
And in Lottie’s confident posture was something in her hand.
A bottle filled with red liquid.
“Lottie?”
“Your Highness, didn’t you go to your room?”
“Oh, I found something good.”
Lottie smiled broadly and walked in without hesitation.
“A gift for His Highness Prince Leonard.”
“…For me?”
“Yes!”
Lottie nodded her head and uncorked the bottle she was holding.
Pop! The cheerful sound somehow didn’t fit this place, Leonard thought.
“Now, Prince Leonard.”
“……??”
As Lottie approached with the bottle, Leonard wondered if her face looked sinister due to his misconception.
“You’re going to have to learn a lot, you’re replacing me.”
Saying that, Lottie flipped the bottle. The liquid inside the bottle dripped onto Leonard’s head.
The red liquid, of unknown origin, dyed his purple hair and soon spread to his face.
“No, Your Highness!”
“What are you doing…?!”
What is she doing…?
Thud! Leonard’s vision turned red, and he fainted on the spot.
And then.
“Did you sleep well?”
He woke up in a strange place.
The place he fainted in was Fordell’s room on the upper floor of the Tower.
But when he opened his eyes, he was lying on a vast field.
A field with lush grass and flowers, a cloudless blue sky, and a refreshing breeze.
Wherever he looked, it was clearly outside.
“Hello.”
But what confused Leonard even more was an old man.
An elderly woman with a wide-brimmed straw hat and a blue shawl looks gentle and elderly.
It was their first meeting, but she seemed familiar to Leonard.
Hanging in the hallway he’d always traveled, the Archmage of the Eighth Circle he’d once admired.
It was Carmel.
“The weather’s nice, isn’t it?”
“……”
Carmel had been talking since earlier, but Leonard was just blinking.
Well, that’s understandable, considering Carmel was someone who died a few hundred years ago.
But why is she here?
“Ugh!”
Inserted between thoughts was pain.
Suddenly, Carmel’s staff, which she must have brought out earlier, struck Leonard’s back.
“Get up. Don’t waste the time I’ve granted you. Do you know how precious this time is?”
Whack! Before he could even think, the staff hit his back again. Only then did Leonard get up.
“So, what do I do?”
“What to do. When two mages meet.”
Carmel smiled gently.
“We fight.”
Thud! As Carmel’s words ended, the ground began to shake ominously.
“……!!”
Soon, violent eruptions began.
“…Ugh!!”
Leonard dodged the blades that shot up from the ground.
Watching this, Carmel smiled gently.
“Your reaction speed is quite good. How about this then?”
When Carmel flicked her finger, this time, a dozen ice spears appeared.
This time, there was no way to avoid them.
But what made Leonard even more terrified was something else.
‘Void Spear…!’
Leonard broke out in a cold sweat.
Usually, mages had to draw magic circles or chant spells to use magic.
But now, Carmel was performing magic without anything.
“I can’t use magic right now.”
“No, you can.”
Straightening her slightly disheveled shawl, Carmel looked at Leonard.
“If you can’t use it now, you’ll die.”
Thud! The ground erupted, and ice spears began to fall from the sky.
Leonard quickly chanted and cast a protective spell.
But as soon as the ice spears touched, the shield shattered into pieces.
‘Damn, even if it was only six circles!
Rolling his body, Leonard gritted his teeth. Then a gentle voice reached his ears.
“Do you think you could counterattack if you reached the Sixth Circle?”
Definitely not.
“If you were at the Sixth Circle, you would have thought about the Seventh Circle.”
Leonard easily deflected Carmel’s magic, who was talking about counterattacks.
“If it were the Seventh Circle, you would have thought about the Eighth Circle.”
Another step.
As if nothing was happening, while Carmel walked through the field, Leonard was rolling on the ground.
When Carmel raised her hand, dirt gathered and formed a large dirt clod above Leonard’s head.
“If it were the Eighth Circle, you would have thought about the Ninth Circle.”
“Ugh!”
A scream erupted with a loud noise.
Despite using both defensive and offensive magic to stop it, Leonard was simply overwhelmed by the overwhelming force.
The only fortunate thing was that thanks to the defensive magic, he bought himself some time to dodge to the side.
“Do you know what your problem is?”
Clink, clink! As the dirt pile collapsed, Carmel walked through the dusty fog.
Unlike Leonard, whose glasses were broken, hair covered in mud and dirt, and clothes torn apart, Carmel’s attire remained unruffled.
“You’re ignoring and trampling over everything you’ve built up until now.”
The laughter-covered eyes revealed themselves.
The sharp blue eyes stared at Leonard.
“Why do you treat everything you’ve achieved so far as mere sand in your hands? Those are your roots and foundations.”
“But!!”
“But what.”
Thunk.
Once again, he expected an enormous magic to come his way.
But what hit his head was a common staff used by the elderly.
Moreover, its intensity was weaker compared to earlier.
For some reason, it seemed imbued with affection, causing Leonard to bite his lips.
“Treasure what you’ve achieved so far.”
The laughter-filled blue eyes twinkled.
“And value yourself, the one who achieved so much.”
“……”
“Understood?”
“…Yes.”
Leonard nodded his head. It was the look of someone who had realized something.
“Leonard, what do you see in your eyes now?”
Carmel, gripping her staff, asked for the last time.
“The sky.”
He murmured.
“I see the sky.”
Now, what Leonard saw in his vision was not his miserable self but the blue sky he hadn’t seen in years.
“Good.”
Carmel, who had been also gazing at the blue sky, smiled.
“Well, shall we finish cracking that thick skull now?”