Chapter 99

The magic tower resembled a huge research lab. Since the cost of just entering was already huge, only me and Evan went in because the payment of money did not end just because you entered the tower.

They researched this and that in each room, and most of them were available for viewing. However, there was an entrance fee for each room. Evan went into the room with a sign that read “Photo Print” and paid for it.

“The servants followed the instructions, but it didn’t work.”

“It’s difficult if you don’t do it professionally. When the print is finished, I will send it to the Duke’s residence.”

The wizard smiled and opened his mouth.

“In the future, don’t let the servants do it for free in the future. Just quietly bring the money to the magic tower.”

Something must have gone wrong with this world. From the temple to the magic tower, they were so engrossed in capitalism.

“Come on, let’s go now.”

Evan spoke as soon as he came out of the ‘Photo Print’ room.

“There’s no need to stay here because there are crazy people in every room.”

“Well… I want to see more.”

My ankle was injured, and I couldn’t run away. Therefore, I had no choice but to somehow lure Evan into the room.

“No. It’s dangerous. I don’t know what will happen if we get some wrong spell during an experiment.”

He said coldly.

“Magic is power for things, and the only things that have no side effects when used on humans are ancient magic and black magic.”

“However…”

“But, the humans here are crazy people who want to use magic on humans as well.”

“Still, Evan, if we leave the magic tower, we have to part.”

His expression, as if it didn’t seem like a single needle would go in, shook slightly.

“I have to be away for two months.”

“…It always has been.”

I did not miss the slight delay in Evan’s reply. Even if it was a little suspicious, he was always kind to me. So, if I pestered him to be a good couple, he would do most of my biddings.

“It doesn’t always mean I’m not sad.”

“….”

“Besides, it’s just the two of us here. The entrance fee was expensive, so we didn’t bring other people. There aren’t many opportunities for the two of us to make memories, don’t we?”

Evan took a deep breath and replied.

“Here is… we can’t stay here long. If something goes wrong, it will be hard to come to your senses.”

I gazed into his eyes and bent my eyes beautifully. Then, I grabbed the hem of his robe and smiled bashfully.

“I liked being alone with you at the masquerade.”

“Even if I go out anyway, it will be difficult to separate. Then, let’s stay a little longer.”

I walked slowly.

What could be the reason why I couldn’t grab his hand and lead him like I used to? Perhaps, it was because I was conscious since we were no longer children. If so, it was Evan who drew that line to me first. I kept pretending not to know the line, just imitating my childhood closeness.

“Be careful. If your ankle hurts, talk to me anytime. I will carry you up.”

Thinking about it in that sense, his kindness was somehow strange. Obviously, he was hiding something I didn’t know.

“Or, just now… Laria?”

Evan continued to speak, but when I stopped, he was a little startled.

There was a reason why I suddenly stopped walking. A man I would never forget was coming out of a room in front of me.

Gray hair, yellow eyes, and a prosthetic leg worn on the right…

“So very lightly, I cut one of his ankles and gave him five years in prison. Now, he can’t be a mercenary or an assassin.”

When we met in Avonitar, he clearly had an intention to attack me, and I knew it thanks to the description of the original story.

Especially now that I have encountered him, I knew for sure.

Meanwhile, he didn’t see us and just disappeared down the hallway.

Since he was not good at killing anymore, he wouldn’t be able to do the various tasks Duke Orlando required. Nevertheless, there must be a reason why he came to this magic tower with a huge entrance fee.

While Evan, who was overflowing with money, didn’t even bother bringing a servant to the magic tower, how could Medor, who had been out of prison for a year, come in arbitrarily?

‘…He was still under Duke Orlando.’

I was the one who almost got attacked by him once.

‘The future has changed, so I don’t know what to do. For now, I have to keep the boundaries.’

“Laria…? what’s the matter?”

“Ah.”

I looked up at Evan and smiled.

“Let’s go over there.”

Evan and I saw the sign for the room where Medor exited.

[ Truth Drug Development Research ]

“Unbelievable. That’s why wizards are crazy.”

Evan uttered, crossing his arms.

“If you look at how it was applied to humans, it’s clear that this is also the use of black magic.”

“What’s wrong with black magic?”

“Black magic is for dark bastards who want to study nonsense.”

In that way, Evan unknowingly insulted his father, who was trying diligently every day for the sake of black magic. Well, it was originally meant for someone like Sven, the leader of the dark intelligence guild.

“If you use black magic, a rift is created in the world. Because it’s an unnatural force, there’s something wrong with it.”

As his words flowed through my ear, I bit my nails thoughtfully. No matter how much I thought about it, it was very unsettling.

“This…”

What would Medor use it for…?

If it goes on like this, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep at night.

“…Can’t I go take a look? The admission is not too expensive.”

“You can go to the viewing if you want, but no matter what the mad wizard tells you, you must never drink the drug.”

Evan replied firmly.

“Because he’s definitely trying to use us as test subjects.”

At that, I laughed out loud at how stiff his tone was.

“Are you laughing? Why are you laughing?”

“No, just… You are a year younger than me, and you act like a teacher to me.”

“A year is no big deal.”

“I ate three hundred more times than you, so of course, it’s a big deal.”

“In terms of quantity, you will be far short of it.”

As Evan grunted, he then paid the entrance fee. The door swung open as soon as he put a coin into the enchanted mailbox in front of the door.

“Welcome.”

An older female wizard with rainbow-colored hair looked at us and smiled broadly.

“You came to see my research. What are you curious about?”

As she spoke, she was touching the experimental pieces of equipment, and all kinds of drugs were being manufactured in a strange way.

I asked my question right away.

“What is the truth drug?”

“Ah, it’s a drug that literally means telling the truth when you drink it.”

“Is it fully developed?”

“If that were the case, would the world be running like this?”

The wizard chuckled and smirked, “I apologized, but there are still many side effects to put into practical use.”

“Since it was on humans, black magic must have been involved. I don’t think it should ever be put into practice.”

When Evan added coldly, the wizard replied in a tone that she didn’t care much.

“A little bit? I did get the help of a warlock. Because this is the magic tower.”

Why the heck was Duke Orlando interested in these drugs…?

“The effect time is set at thirty minutes though the opponent of the drug is still random, so it is a bit lacking to be commercialized. Even in the gaseous state, the effect is still evident.”

A random opponent wasn’t just a bit lacking, it seemed like it was lacking a lot.

“The opponent is random?”

“Well… Because it is a black magic-based drug, it will manifest 100% in front of people who have the same wavelength as black magic, but there are very few people like that.”

Although I didn’t know why Duke Orlando was interested in this, it wasn’t a bad thing to know.

“Is it possible to… purchase?”

“Because black magic is involved, it’s a bit difficult to go out of the world. In particular, if the imperial family finds out about the leak, there will be an uproar. But I do accept sponsorship. Please, keep that in mind, customer.”

I was wondering what this means to give sponsorship and not buy it.

Besides, customer…

As I pondered for a long time, the wizard smiled and spoke coldly.

“Okay, now that all your questions have been answered, please leave. It seems that you don’t have any intention to sponsor, so it’s very troublesome.”

It wasn’t for nothing that people didn’t come to the magic tower. It was definitely not the right place to make good memories.

“Okay, I’ll go.”

When I was grabbing Evan, who was shaking his head as if he didn’t like it, with a pop, the lid of the beaker the wizard was holding was opened.

A thick pink smoke spread in an instant.