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Episode 51
Underwater work (2)
The manager calling Riley.
At the same time, a hollow laugh escaped my mouth.
[her…….]
Why is that?
Why on earth did they choose Riley out of all the applicants?
Well, yeah.
Perhaps it is a “naming right” with pure intentions.
Riley passed the first test with an outstanding record. Likewise, he established his position with an outstanding performance in the second test.
The fact that Riley received the “right to nominate” was not strange in itself.
but…….
‘… … I feel uneasy.’
[huh.]
Since the guys who nominated Riley were none other than “Lantes Matap,” I couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy.
* * *
The next evening.
The day before the final exam.
Groan, groan, groan─.
The five great towers held a banquet.
It was a party attended by not only the applicants, but also the managers and high-ranking officials of each tower.
[Well, most of the administrators are high-ranking officials of the five great magic towers… … .]
anyway.
In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say that almost all the important people, except for the pagoda owners, were gathered there.
“… … .”
[… … .]
Riley and I were one step away from the excitement of the party.
We left the drinking party with the excuse that we were still 15 years old, and sat at a table in the corner, carefully observing the party.
‘hmm…….’
And after watching the banquet hall for a few minutes, we were able to come to one conclusion.
‘… … It seems like the officials are treating the applicants as if they were successful candidates.’
[huh.]
There was no wall between the examinees and the officials of the five great towers.
Has the atmosphere of the traditional, rigid screening test disappeared?
A relaxed atmosphere no different from any other banquet.
This meant that the managers already considered the applicants to have passed the exam.
I took a quick look around.
“Oh, really? You really found me impressive?”
“Yes. I was so impressed at that time. Not only me, but other elders also actively recommended Olivia to the Lord of Matap.”
“Ah, ah… … . Thank you! Thank you so much!”
Olivia was talking to a wizard who appeared to be an elder of the “Yadon-Grattan Red Tower”.
It seems like she’s good at communicating, as she laughs and chats with strangers, which is unusual for her.
Well, besides that, Arpel Stingwood was talking to the manager of “Lante’s Tower”.
Dorothy was talking to someone from the “Gaya-Violet Tower”.
Becky was chatting with the elder of the “Eucria Tower”.
[… … .]
This makes it certain.
The final exam is not a ‘test’.
A one-on-one interview with the Tower Master is ultimately just a procedure for entering the Tower.
The five great magic towers have already decided which candidates they will select.
Thud thud thud─.
As I was thinking that, someone started walking towards us.
“Oh, Becky.”
“……huh.”
Becky had just finished talking to the elder of the Yukria Tower.
She sighed and flopped down next to us.
“Whoa… … .”
“… … .”
[… … .]
The smell of alcohol vibrated from her breath.
That thing is drunk.
Look at the slightly open eyelids.
“… … I think the Yucria Tower is the best.”
She muttered in a hushed voice. Hearing that, Riley nodded and gave a vague answer.
“is it so?”
“Yeah. The other magic towers were afraid of me.”
Becky smiles bitterly.
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She sighed again and continued speaking.
“Well, after doing something like that, which magic tower would like me?”
“If that’s the case… … ?”
“You know it too.”
Could it be because I’m a little drunk?
Becky was trying to tell us a story she had been keeping hidden from us for so long.
Thud─.
But the very next moment, she was forced to stop talking as someone joined our table.
It was Garon Theobald.
“Excuse me.”
“… … .”
He received a glass of wine from the waiter, took a sip, and then opened his mouth to Becky.
“Rebecca Duncan.”
“……why.”
“Are you also planning to go to the Yucria Tower?”
“Well, that’s true.”
Becky, with a look of relief on her face, answered in a dejected voice.
“Me too, I’m just going to follow my mom’s path.”
Mother’s way.
Riley tilted her head at those words and asked a question.
“Becky’s mother?”
“What, why? Are you so surprised that I had a mother too? Huh?”
“……yes?”
When Becky opened her eyes wide and raised her voice, Riley answered in confusion.
“I never said anything like that.”
“I don’t know. I thought you would say something like that.”
“… … ?”
Bam─!
Becky snatched the glass from Garon Theobald with slightly open eyes.
Garon Theobald began to glare at her with a pitiful expression, but Becky paid him no attention and drank the drink.
“Khaa… … ! Useful.”
“… … .”
Riley glanced at Becky with a bewildered expression for a moment, then turned to her and asked her a question again.
“I guess Becky’s mother was a wizard too?”
“Yeah. To be exact, he was more of an alchemist than a wizard.”
“… … An alchemist?”
“You know, the ones who make potions, make items, and stuff.”
“ah.”
“Among them, my mother was a fairly famous potion maker. She was a member of the Yukria Tower.”
After hearing that, Riley continued asking questions.
“So, Ms. Becky, are you going to enter the Ucria Tower to be with your mother?”
“No. That’s not it. And the two of us can’t work together in the first place.”
“Why? Because potion making and Becky’s magic are different fields?”
“no.”
“then……?”
“My mother passed away. It was 11 years ago.”
“ah.”
Becky muttered, sighing deeply once again.
“Don’t you usually apologize in situations like this? Like, ‘I’m sorry. I must have touched a painful memory for you, Becky.’”
“… … .”
“Ah, that’s enough. What would a well-raised brat like you know… .”
“I also lost my entire family when I was young.”
“……oh.”
Becky looked puzzled.
“That’s… … . Ugh, sorry.”
“… … .”
“Ahhhh, I don’t know, I don’t know, anyway.”
Becky, waving her hands to lighten the mood, continued speaking.
“I often went to the Ucria Tower with my mother when I was little.”
“is it so?”
“Yeah. As time went by, I naturally became close with the owner of the tower. Even now, we call each other ‘aunt, aunt.’”
Riley asked back after hearing that.
“Can a candidate for the selection test have a personal connection to a high-ranking official at Matap?”
“What’s the problem?”
Becky answered nonchalantly.
“You’ve already been living in your aunt’s annex throughout the entire selection process. If the management was going to raise an issue, they would have done so a long time ago.”
“… … .”
[… … .]
I heard that he was staying at the home of an acquaintance, but I didn’t know that the person was the owner of the Ucria Tower. It was a little absurd.
That guy has quite a wide network of connections.
“That’s not cheating, is it?”
“Where in the world of magic is there such a thing? If you look at it that way, Arpel Stingwood must have committed a crime too. Isn’t that right?”
Becky pointed her finger at Arpel Stingwood.
To be precise, the person he is talking to.
“Do you see the guy talking to Arpel Stingwood right now?”
“… … .”
“He is Stingwood’s master. He is also the administrator of this selection test.”
Riley and I turned our gaze towards the person Becky was pointing at.
Maybe I was about 20 years old?
I saw a young man who looked that young.
On his chest was a badge proving that he was a manager.
“You said you were Arpel’s teacher, but you look even younger than that.”
“Yeah. That’s because that manager is part of the Irantes Tower. That manager can stay young forever thanks to the magic of immortality. Well, anyway.”
The magic of immortality.
Youth that lasts forever.
There were a few things that really got on my nerves, but I decided to focus on what Becky was saying next.
“Do you understand now? I’m not the only one who has connections with the people in charge of the Five Towers. The magic world is so small.”
“… … .”
“If you think about it, maybe Theobald the Elder was also a student of the Eukria Matapju and Retemis?”
Becky turned to Garon Theobald and asked.
“Right, old man?”
“That’s right.”
Garon Theobald nodded obediently, acknowledging Becky’s words.
Riley, who saw that, asked me a question in a cautious voice.
‘Your Majesty.’
[why.]
‘Is what Becky said true?’
[Um… … .]
Well, there was nothing wrong with what Becky said.
The world of magic is smaller than you think.
Moreover, for elite magicians who have reached the final stage of the selection test, the scope of their connections is bound to be even narrower.
‘Then, wouldn’t these connections have influenced the results of the screening test?’
[No, not at all.]
As I’ve said countless times, the selection test was a thoroughly meritocratic arena.
[I can tell just by looking at you.]
“… … .”
[Even though you’re a newcomer who appeared like a comet, there were many people who showed interest in you.]
There’s no way Riley, who dropped out after completing her first year at Rethemis, would have any connection.
But before we could get to the table, a number of officials approached Riley to speak.
This was proof that the selection test was a thorough meritocracy.
“Riley.”
It was at a time when we were having such a conversation among ourselves.
Suddenly, Garon Theobald called Riley in a soft voice.
“Where on earth do you plan to go?”
“… … .”
You finally brought up that question.
I was wondering when I should ask.
Riley pretended to think for a moment, then quickly gave an answer.
“I’m just going to go to the place I got the nomination for.”
“Are you talking about the Lantes Tower?”
“yes.”
“Umm… … .”
Why is that?
Garon Theobald’s expression hardened slightly after hearing the answer.
Just as he was about to open his mouth to say something.
“Good choice.”
“… … ?”
At that very moment.
A soft voice entered our conversation.
“We just happened to come up with the topic of the Irantes Tower. Would it be okay if I joined you for a moment to explain?”
Thud─.
The gray-haired woman smiled and took a seat next to Riley naturally.
I wondered who it was, and it was the general manager who had been watching me throughout the selection process.
“The introduction is late.”
“… … .”
“I am Isabella Mage Triwizard, the general manager of this selection test.”
Becky tilted her head slightly when she heard the name.
“Wait a minute, if it’s the Triwizard family… … .”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Isabella smiled faintly.
“I am Olivia’s great-aunt.”
“… … .”
“Of course, it seems like the kid doesn’t know me.”
Olivia’s great-aunt.
So, that meant that no matter how bad she was, she was someone who was as old as Olivia’s grandmother.
But Isabella only looked to be in her 30s.
[… … .]
I somehow had a vague idea why. And Riley had figured it out for herself, too.
“You are a member of the Lantes Tower.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Isabella smiled brightly and nodded in response.
For some reason, the way she looked at Riley was mysterious.
