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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Anyway, It's Not Dimensional Magic
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Anyway, it wasn't dimensional magic.
Golden hair that seemed to glow even without lighting, blue eyes as piercingly clear as a winter lake.
The crookedly tilted eyebrow and narrowed brow gave off a prickly, irritable vibe.
But the natural elegance draped over his frame transformed that irritability into dignified authority.
That young man was one of the Emperor's three children, Second Prince Irid.
To sum it up in one line: he was dashingly hot-tempered.
He had brought along a boy knight as his attendant. I'd seen that face before at the previous tower achievement presentation. He seemed pretty interested in the Heavenly Demon.
I roughly secured the malfunctioning Tower Lord in her prostrated position and stepped forward.
"In our tireless efforts day and night to repay the Empire's grace through research, the Tower Lord appears a bit fatigued. It is a sin that we fail to show proper courtesy to the Empire's little sun, but as this stems from our utmost loyalty, we beg your mercy."
"That's a long-winded speech. Is that all?"
"Why have you come to the tower?"
"...?"
He seemed to prefer short and to the point, so when I cut straight to it, the Second Prince's expression went completely blank. Like the face of someone who ordered a tuna sandwich and got a plate of black bean noodles instead.
"You... didn't you just go on about how failing to show courtesy was a sin and all that?"
It was a fair point, so I dropped flat to the floor in prostration. A crisp, perfectly angled bow honed by binge-watching historical dramas.
With courtesy now observed, I asked once more.
"Why have you come to the tower?"
"Par for the course with magicians—you're all eccentrics. I wasn't expecting proper manners anyway. You don't seem interested in small talk, so let's get to the point."
"Yes."
"I heard you demonstrated dimensional magic."
"Pardon? This is the Illusion Magic Tower, though..."
"You're denying it even after showing it yourself? My attendant filled me in on what happened at the achievement presentation. You peeked into another world with dimensional magic, right?"
At that moment, a spark flashed in my mind, and the puzzle pieces clicked into place.
The secret behind the suspiciously generous imperial funding.
They'd mistaken our research for fully realized dimensional magic...!
And the culprit who sparked that misunderstanding was obvious.
That boy now attending the Second Prince—the one who'd watched the Heavenly Demon screening with rapt interest.
The other experts had instantly spotted the clumsiness in the Heavenly Demon moves I'd conjured and trashed it as a shoddy illusion. But that boy... he straight-up believed the illusion was real.
How badly must he have slacked on his sword training to mistake a non-expert's illusion for the real thing!
To be tagging along beside the Second Prince, he had to have either skill or connections—probably some duke's son. Or maybe he was just an amazingly smooth talker...
I had to clear up this misunderstanding.
"It's not dimensional magic. What we're researching is illusion magic."
"Hm?"
"Specifically, it's illusion magic that shows another world, lets you experience all five senses within it, and allows conversation with the characters inside. Just like falling into another world."
"...Are you messing with me right now?"
"It's the absolute truth. If words aren't convincing enough, would you like to experience it yourself?"
"Experience it, you mean dimensional transfer?"
"Illusion magic."
"I don't get why you're denying it so hard... Is the dimensional transfer safe? Free entry and exit?"
"It's illusion magic, and it's safe. It only transfers consciousness—Your Highness's noble body will simply lie there asleep."
"Transferring just the soul via dimensional magic, then."
"Not the soul. Consciousness. And it's illusion magic."
"Fine. Let's give it a try."
"In that case, please sign here."
I pulled out a pre-prepared waiver.
-I have been informed and fully understand that all events in the virtual reality are fictional and have no relation to real persons or events. Signature: -
"..."
The Second Prince crossed his arms and fell silent for a moment before speaking.
"Mind stepping out for a bit?"
"Yes."
I exited the parlor—
"...Take that frozen Tower Lord with you too."
"Yes."
I hoisted the Tower Lord over my shoulder and left the parlor.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Once the Tower Lord and her disciple had left the room, the Second Prince crossed his legs and settled into a relaxed posture.
Complex thoughts swirled beneath his narrowly opened eyelids. There was much to consider from every angle.
The Second Prince spoke leisurely.
"The Illusion Tower Lord... is as frail as the rumors say. Her disciple, the supposed restorer of dimensional magic, seemed bold enough, but hardly a threat. Was there really any reason for you to accompany me here?"
"Even in the hands of the virtuous, a blade remains a blade, Your Highness."
"And the one guarding me now is the Empire's sharpest sword. It's a waste to wield something so precious against a village woman's chicken knife."
"You're doubting my presence as your escort."
"Don't you think it's a reasonable suspicion? Answer me."
The boy knight didn't take offense at the skeptical gaze. It was a perfectly valid doubt.
The boy knight had reached the pinnacle of swordsmanship, transcending even his physical form. And the current Emperor loved placing talents exactly where they shone brightest. He never used a cattle butcher's cleaver to kill a chicken.
There were no exceptions, even for protecting his own children. When the Second Prince was appointed leader of the Elf Great Forest expedition, he had requested the boy knight as his personal guard. The Emperor refused.
'The danger level of the Elf Great Forest doesn't warrant dispatching a Swordmaster.'
In the end, the Second Prince lost one eye and one arm in the Elf Great Forest. After three months of intensive treatment, they were restored, but the experience had seared itself deep into his mind.
That was why.
This wasn't charging into the heart of the demon realm—it was just a visit to the famously weak Illusion Magic Tower. No grudges, plenty of goodwill. So why was the boy knight tagging along as a 'guard'?
There had to be another reason.
For instance, deciding to side with the First Princess or Third Prince. Spying on him during the trip, perhaps...
The boy knight, young in appearance but ancient in soul, easily grasped the Second Prince's suspicions. And there was ample time to dispel them. His clear, boyish voice rang through the parlor.
"I support none of the three. I'm simply carrying out my duties... though you won't believe that. Allow me to explain further. His Majesty the Emperor has entrusted me with three missions. Are you aware?"
"Imperial funding allocation. Empire defense. Protection of imperial bloodlines from threats."
The Second Prince put heavy emphasis on 'threats'.
"Yes. More precisely, protection from threats we cannot handle otherwise. Guarding you in the Elf Great Forest could have been done by someone else."
"Even though I lost an arm and an eye? So you're saying the Illusion Tower Lord is a threat we can't handle?"
"The Illusion Tower Lord."
The Second Prince's eyebrow twitched at the boy knight's reply.
He knew the boy wasn't a liar, but it was hard to swallow.
Among all the towers, the Illusion Magic Tower was seen as the weakest.
And the Tower Lord he'd just met didn't look all that strong.
"Before her disciple announced dimensional magic, every bit of funding to the Illusion Magic Tower... went directly to the Tower Lord herself."
"Directly to her. What does that mean?"
"The Empire invests in the towers for two reasons. First, to advance the magic of that school. Second, to secure manpower in times of war. For the Illusion Magic Tower, they didn't expect the first—illusion magic lacks practicality."
The sharp-minded Second Prince seized the core of it.
"So that means—one Tower Lord equals the manpower of entire other towers? They funded it as if hiring her alone?"
"It's an evaluation even the Azure Tower Lord—deemed the most combat prowess among Tower Lords—never received."
"Coming from you, who just called illusion magic impractical."
"If she'd learned fire magic instead of illusions, the Empire's landscape might be entirely different today. She's a genius bordering on monstrous."
"Hard to buy easily... Ha, so once-in-a-century geniuses picked the Illusion Tower one after another?"
"Something like that."
The Second Prince quelled his irritation and relaxed his body. No reason to lie, so it must be true.
If true, he had to believe it, unbelievable or not. Clinging to outdated thinking was poison for a ruler.
The Second Prince readjusted his mental image.
Illusion Tower Lord: frail airhead => dragon in rabbit's clothing.
Her disciple: even a genius in illusions means low combat power => no wonder she restored practical dimensional magic; another dragon in waiting.
Boy knight: claims neutrality but sneakily sides with big sis or little bro => true loyalist.
"Moving on. The disciple insists her magic is just illusions."
"She's not fooling anyone."
"If I say I'll experience it, will you try to stop me?"
"There was no lie in her claim that it's safe. It's equipped with enough safeguards to show to imperial blood."
"I'll judge its worth with my own eyes."
The Second Prince had a hot-blooded, impulsive streak, but his boldness and courage in stepping forward were qualities worthy of praise. The boy knight didn't try to dissuade him.
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"Signed. Demonstrate it. That illusion magic you're claiming."
"It really is illusion magic."
"Right, the one that shows another world, lets you feel pain, grants brand-new knowledge, has crowds of people to mingle and chat with—but it's illusion magic."
"Please keep this in mind. Everything is fiction. A product of imagination with no ties to real events."
"I get it, just do it."
"In three hours real-time, we'll call you back, Your Highness. I'll leave a mark on your wrist so you can check the return time. And once more, it's fiction."
"You're awfully persistent, I kn—"
No thundering roar from the Second Prince about halving the funding if I yapped about fiction one more time.
Because the magic had activated, and the TRPG had begun.