Chapter 124
Creeeak—
Thud!
The tower’s main gates swung open with a heavy groan.
The doors, forged of solid steel, looked nearly indestructible.
They seemed sturdy enough to withstand even the Black Flame Dragon Bomb sleeping in my inventory.
Not that I was planning to test it.
“Welcome to the Second Mage Tower, Purifier!”
The mage who appeared to be my guide greeted me.
I wasn’t in the best of moods, but I kept it off my face and offered a gentle smile instead.
“Hello. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
The guide hesitated, studying my expression before adding carefully,
“W-we’ll make sure you don’t cross paths with Duke Winterberg. It’s your first visit to our tower, and we deeply apologize that you had to experience such an unfortunate situation.”
A mage of the tower, groveling in front of me like this. It truly drove home just how much weight the title of Purifier carried.
It even felt as though they were prioritizing me over Raul, who had arrived first.
‘Heh… hehehe….’
Inside, I laughed like a proper villainess. This feeling wasn’t bad at all.
‘So this is what power tastes like.’
I concealed my rather materialistic thoughts—hardly befitting a saintess—and smiled benevolently.
“It’s all right. There’s no need to trouble yourselves over it.”
(ㅡㅁㅡ);
‘Shut up.’
The mage looked deeply moved by my magnanimity.
“As expected of the Purifier…! Your heart is truly pure and kind! All those terrible rumors about you must have been fabrications! I knew it! How could someone like the Purifier possibly—!”
At that, I lowered my head as though wounded, speaking in a small, sorrowful voice.
“The bad things said about me… they were all spread by the Tierneys and the Winterbergs….”
“…! I-I see…!”
“False rumors can be so cruel…. But someday, the whole world will learn the truth—that I was wronged.”
The mage nodded fervently.
“Of course! Absolutely! Misunderstandings like that will clear up in no time!”
‘Heh….’
Repairing my image. Easy.
(ㅡㅁㅡ);;;
“By the way, have you visited the First Mage Tower in Larkia? It belongs to Lady Lapislil, the mentor of our own Tower Master! She’s an extraordinary figure!”
Lapislil… I’d heard that name before.
A mysterious archmage whose true age and past were unknown.
“I haven’t had the chance to visit the First Mage Tower yet. I’d like to take a look someday….”
“Then you must! Unlike our master, Lady Lapislil is not a reclu— I mean, she’s very sociable. She loves having visitors.”
He definitely almost called his own master a shut-in just now, didn’t he?
“Ahem! Now then, let me properly guide you through the Second Mage Tower! Please, follow me!”
The mage marched ahead energetically, and I followed with a faint smile.
“There are forty-nine mages in the Second Mage Tower, excluding the Tower Master. All of them are her disciples, and exceptionally talented—”
Talented?
“…eccentrics. I’m comparatively the most sensible one, so I’ve been assigned as your guide.”
I let out a small laugh at the way he whispered it like gossip.
The Second Mage Tower was far larger and more complex than I’d expected. Apparently, it rose to thirty-five floors—made possible, no doubt, by magi-engineering.
For reference, the First Mage Tower had fifty floors. It towered over the capital so prominently that you could see it from almost anywhere.
“That over there is a laboratory. There are more labs underground as well. It’s… best if you don’t see those.”
‘W-what’s down there…?’
I was curious.
And at the same time, I absolutely was not. What did that even mean? I wasn’t sure myself—just that I felt both drawn to the idea and convinced I should carefully fold that curiosity away and never unfold it again.
In any case, the tour went smoothly. Surprisingly ordinary… yet littered with strange elements. The strangest of all were the mages with madness flickering in their eyes.
“Please don’t look over there. They’ve been up for more than ten days straight. None of them are in their right minds.”
This was starting to get scary.
“This is the library, but it contains many forbi— I mean, dangerous grimoires, so visitors aren’t allowed inside.”
He definitely almost said forbidden just now, didn’t he?
“Ahem! It’s not as though we research black magic or anything, so please don’t worry!”
That sounds exactly like something people who research black magic would say. Suspicious.
“And on the next floor, we have the dining hall. Are you perhaps hungry?”
“…! Yes!”
The answer flew out of my mouth before I could stop it.
Oh no. There went my dignity as the Purifier.
But the mage only seemed to find me adorable.
“Hoho, then shall we? The Second Mage Tower will treat you to a delicious meal!”
And so we arrived at the dining hall…
Which was completely empty.
“…?”
“They… don’t eat much. They’re too obsessed with their research….”
Was that really okay…?
“In any case, the food here is truly excellent! Please, take as much as you like!”
The dining hall was buffet-style. In a space as vast as a ballroom, over sixty kinds of dishes and desserts were laid out, along with coffee and tea.
‘Wow, coffee!’
Delighted, I immediately snagged a cup and took a few eager sips before moving on to choose my meal.
‘There’s so much to eat.’
A bit of this, a bit of that…
The mage and I sat across from each other at a wide table, eating and drinking at leisure.
The steak was juicy and flavorful. The tomato soup and eggplant dish were excellent as well.
“To be honest, I was expecting suspicious-looking dishes. But this is surprisingly normal.”
“Hahaha, of course it is. No matter how mad we may be, we eat like ordinary people.”
I gave a small smile, placing a scoop of potato salad on top of my steak.
“Come to think of it, I never asked your name. What should I call you, Mage?”
The moment the question left my lips, the mage’s affable smile turned… peculiar.
Tilting my head in confusion, I watched as he let out a hearty laugh and spoke.
“I suppose I should stop deceiving you, Purifier. I, too, fear divine punishment.”
“…?”
His tone had changed abruptly.
Just moments ago, it had been bright and spirited. Now it carried a subtle gloom—yet laced with elegance and noble refinement.
The mage set down his fork and knife. My gaze drifted to his plate, and only then did I notice something strange.
While I had gone through more than three servings, the food on his plate had not diminished in the slightest.
When I stared at him with startled eyes, the mage smiled faintly.
And in the next instant—
“…!”
His appearance shifted in the blink of an eye.
The common brown hair deepened into a dark pomegranate red, lengthening until it nearly brushed the floor.
His brown eyes transformed as well, turning a deep crimson-black.
Not only that—his frame shrank, becoming smaller, more delicate. His features softened into those of a young woman.
Her skin was unnaturally pale, drained of all warmth.
For a fleeting moment, I thought of Rena.
A magi-doll so flawlessly beautiful it felt alien….
‘Don’t tell me…?’
As I stared with trembling eyes, the girl with pomegranate hair smiled gently and spoke.
Her voice rang out clear and lovely, like marbles rolling over silk.
“I dislike this form, you see. It isn’t the body of a living person. …In any case, I should introduce myself properly. It is an honor to meet you, Purifier. My name is Ganesha. I am the master of this Second Mage Tower.”
Her smiling face looked natural enough…
But at the place where her neck met her torso, a thin seam ran like a boundary line.
As though it could be detached at any moment—like the joint of a doll.
“Were you very startled? It may sound like a belated excuse, but I never intended to deceive you from the beginning. I simply became too immersed in the act….”
“Ahaha… it’s all right….”
The master of the Second Mage Tower—a magi-doll!
Then did that mean her creator was the master of the First Mage Tower, Lapislil?
“You may find it hard to believe, but I was once a living person.”
“I… I see.”
“A hundred years ago, I lost my body in battle against the Witch of the Crescent Moon. My master turned me into a magi-doll. Given the continuity of my memories, I surmise that this is a special doll imbued with the soul of the ‘Ganesha’ who once lived.”
“I-Is that possible? For a magi-doll to house a soul…?”
“Well, there are countless tales of haunted dolls in the world, aren’t there?”
“That’s true, but….”
“Then you could consider me something similar. Though I may not be entirely identical to the Ganesha of my former life.”
“…….”
The Ship of Theseus came to mind.
Even with continuity of memory, if one’s body had been replaced entirely with different material…
“Memory is a mysterious thing. If a person loses a portion of the memories that make them who they are, they can no longer be considered the same person. Our personalities are built upon memory. When memory is lost, an entirely different personality can take shape.”
Why was she telling me something so profound?
For now, I followed quietly behind Ganesha, listening.
“A person who regains a crucial memory is like someone reborn. Even if that memory is a painful one.”
We stopped before a certain room, and Ganesha opened the door.
In the center of the empty chamber—bare of even a scrap of clutter—a man lay flat on his back, perfectly still.
The faint glow of candlelight illuminated his face.
The moment I recognized it, my eyes widened.
“Perhaps it was too agonizing a dream? Duke Winterberg has yet to awaken. He fell asleep at dawn yesterday.”
Why was Raul here…?
As I stood there, mouth parting in shock, Ganesha gazed at me intently and said,
“Purifier, would you wake Duke Winterberg? Simply calling his name with your voice should suffice.”
…Didn’t she say she’d make sure we wouldn’t cross paths?
I was dumbfounded at having been tricked, but even if he was my enemy, seeing him lying there like a corpse made me uneasy.
At the same time, something the system had said resurfaced in my mind.
The awakening of the individual ‘Raul Winterberg’ has caused a minor distortion in fate!
What on earth had happened to this man?
Slowly, I approached Raul, who lay there like a body laid out for burial.
After glaring down at his pitiful face—forever in need of my help—I tossed out a single line.
“If you’re not planning to die as you are, get up, Raul Winterberg.”
At that very moment—
The candles scattered around him were snuffed out all at once.
The phenomenon was straight out of a horror film. I froze in shock.
Then Raul’s hand twitched faintly.
His eyelids trembled.
And at last, Raul slowly opened his eyes.
“…”
He sat up sluggishly and stared at me blankly.
Without a word. Completely dazed.
‘What’s wrong with him?’
I frowned, wondering if something in his head had broken—
“…?!”
Suddenly, tears streamed down Raul’s face.
‘What the—?’
Startled, I took a step back, but he kept his gaze fixed on me.
At the same time, tears poured from his eyes without pause.
Like a man who had just returned from someone’s funeral.