chapter A. the master of the magic tower

Sneka blinked as she watched the scene in front of her. Even though she was seeing it up close, she didn’t feel that it was real.

The master had always given his subordinates headaches in the most bizarre ways, but she swore she’d never seen anything like this in all the years she’d been his right-hand man.

She gazed at her master, who stubbornly treated her like a transparent human being, even though he couldn’t possibly be unaware of her presence. The master was looking proudly at the sleeping woman, who was leaning on his shoulder.

After waiting for a while without receiving any hint, Sneka had no choice but to speak up first.

“Master.”

“Shh.”

But as soon as she called out to him, a knife-like restraint fell on her. And the words that followed were beyond ridiculous.

“She just fell asleep. Don’t wake her up.”

“……”

Normally, she had always thought she would have no regrets if she hit him once, and she felt that more strongly now. Bewildered, Sneka asked.

“What are you doing right now?”

The man, with a displeased expression on his face, as if he didn’t like her speaking again, stretched out his hand toward the priest who was leaning on his shoulder. And then a faint light appeared near the woman’s ear.

Sneka burst into laughter. So, now you’re even using sound nullification magic? I guess the nonsense about not waking her up earlier was the truth after all.

“Since this person doesn’t look familiar, I assume she’s not from the Magic Tower, so is she a prisoner?”

“A prisoner, Sneka? When did I do something like that?”

“Then why are you playing with that priest?”

The man raised an eyebrow and looked at his subordinate disapprovingly.

“Can’t you choose your words more carefully?”

“Well, who is she?”

“Just someone I find interesting.”

“……”

What am I supposed to do about this?

The man gently smiled, sensing her dissatisfaction. Although his appearance was such that an ordinary person’s anger would easily subside, it had no impact on Sneka, who had been through thick and thin with him for years.

“You always have interesting thoughts.”

“……”

“You seem to be living diligently despite such circumstances.”

His purple eyes flickered with interest. But as soon as his gaze directed the woman again, they curved into a crescent shape, as if it had always been that way.

“Oh, and she’s good at blasphemy too. Sneka, she’s almost as good as you.”

“……”

A priest committing blasphemy?

In that brief moment, just as the thought that it was somewhat strange crossed her mind, another bullshit remark popped out.

“But anyway, she’s cute. That’s why I keep looking at her. Don’t you think so yourself?”

“……”

Sneka looked down at the woman, who showed no signs of getting up.

Her face, partially covered by her indigo hair, was in the decent-looking category. But that was all there was to it, she has nothing particularly intriguing.

To begin with, the matter wasn’t limited to appearances. If the man were attracted to such things, he could have built a harem at the Magic Tower without any issues. Despite making such crazy remarks, the number of magicians who admired him was overflowing.

Well, it seems he’s found a new hobby.

Never could she have imagined that it would be a woman, but as long as it didn’t interfere with his mission, she was prepared to overlook any faults.

However…

“I don’t have it.”

“……What?”

Sneka had to doubt her own ears at his confident response.

She was supposed to receive a map estimating the location of the holy relic. And the person who gave that order was none other than the Master himself.  That’s why she came here willingly, disregarding the danger, but is this guy so unenthusiastic?

“I’m afraid I’ve lost all my time watching this woman?”

“……”

Did he neglect his mission because he was chasing after this woman?

Sneka, whose neck tensed, uttered these words as if chewing and spitting them out,

“If that’s the case, why didn’t you just send another magician?”

Hearing that, the man smiled as if he had heard something incredibly amusing.

“Sneka, there are things you shouldn’t ignore. This is the Grand Temple. Where else will you find anyone as qualified as me?”

“……What’s the use of having a capable person when they don’t do their job in the first place…”

“I’ll handle it. Trust me, okay?”

“……”

Sneka was suddenly reminded why she was called the Right Arm of Misfortune. Everything he did was impulsive, she had already lost tens of thousands of hairs chasing after her eccentric boss. At this point, there was nothing particularly surprising about it.

“Next time, please, do it properly. Okay?”

The master simply waved his hand in response to her asking him to exert more effort.

After exchanging insincere greetings, she once again became absorbed in watching the spectacle. Without even feeling any pain in his neck, which was leaning to the side, he even carefully brushed away the hair that had fallen onto the novitiate’s face.

Feeling a burning sensation in her chest, Sneka abruptly turned her head. If he gets a cramp on his neck like that, I would be very satisfied!

She cast a teleportation spell and forcefully suppressed her anger. It didn’t seem like a bad idea to seriously contemplate fomenting a rebellion within the tower.