“Oh!”
“Our essence...our essence...!”
“Nooooo!”
The moans of the witches could be heard.
At the same time, my eyes met the Duke, who was standing a little further away.
I could clearly see his gaze moving from my face to the hammer in my hand.
One of his eyebrows quickly rose. I shivered and lowered my head.
He must have heard through Liam that I was holding the hammer… but I guess he didn't expect me to suddenly break the core.
I dropped the hand that was holding the hammer and slowly stepped back.
The core, which had undergone a massive shock, oscillated unstablely.
“What is this? Duke Blair, did you order this? All we asked for was your cooperation!”
The chief mage, who was standing in shock, shouted and ran towards the core.
He looked stunned as he stared at the core, which seemed even more disturbed than before.
She interrupted them before more trouble fell upon the Duke.
“No, no. This has nothing to do with his grace...”
"Get out of the way, you little rat! I'll summon the fires of hell and burn you! Do you think you'll get away with this?"
The chief mage was trembling with rage, his beard was trembling, and he looked as if he was about to unleash a spell from his wand.
Then his facial expression turned to despair as he lowered his head.
“Why…why are you doing this?”
Before I spoke, I looked around slowly.
The other wizards were staring at me as if I were a mortal enemy.
The Duke, the only one who did not react, remained calm and composed.
I looked into his steady eyes and slowly opened my mouth.
“Okay, ummm...”
“Okay?”
“It's…”
The hesitation was brief. Before the chief mage could raise his voice again, I closed my eyes tightly and stammered out my excuse.
“I, I heard the essence... speaking to me...”
This is bad.
I knew this lame excuse would never work.
But the arrow had already left the bow, and I had no choice but to continue.
“The essence... is, he told me... to break it... to break it... he said that...”
There was a large window next to me that looked outside.
I almost lost control of myself and threw myself out of that window when I heard a voice asking me in surprise:
“Do you really think this makes sense?”
Of course, that doesn't happen.
I bit my lip.
Please, hurry...!
Looking at the core, it was still oscillating unstable, but it seemed fine at the moment.
But an unexpected change occurred shortly thereafter.
Do you know how many magicians put in their magical efforts to repair the core? This is not something we can ignore! If the core breaks, the tower will collapse...
Thunder.
As the chief mage, who was shouting at the duke, took a step towards me, the building began to shake violently.
The flow of magic filling the hall was so wild that even someone like me, who had no magical talent, could feel it.
At the same time, dust and small pieces of stone fell from the ceiling and disappeared in a vortex of violet magic.
“Essence...!”
“The tower is collapsing!”
Someone shouted, and the room turned into chaos for a completely different reason.
break.
Did I make a mistake?
I watched the core nervously, and did not let down my guard.
The Duke, belatedly sensing danger, was walking towards me.
"just a little!"
The core, which was cracking like an eggshell, was quickly shattered by a bright flash of light.
Completely.
* * *
“……”
“...God.”
The situation was so serious that the majority of atheist witches subconsciously turned to God for help.
Those who had closed their eyes due to the light emanating from the core, were now standing dumbfounded in the quiet hall.
“Ha…”
Jingle.
I slowly collapsed to the floor as I checked my heart condition.
The core, which had been trembling dangerously, was now floating quietly, showing a smooth surface as if it had never been damaged.
The crust on the ground slowly disintegrated into magic and dispersed like a gas.
“This, what happened…?”
The magic flow, which had been fluctuating dangerously, was quickly restored.
The tower that seemed about to collapse, and the core that was about to explode, calmed down. The strange atmosphere that had disturbed the magicians disappeared in an instant.
Anyone who possessed even a little magic could feel it instinctively.
“The essence has been restored!”
“Ha-ha-ha…”
After they thought that the crisis was over, the magicians either breathed a sigh of relief or cheered.
“My legs are shaking.”
I backed away slightly to avoid bumping into the people rushing toward the center, and a large hand was extended to me.
"I wake up."
It was the Duke, with an unreadable expression on his face.
"…Thank you."
I couldn't come up with any excuse or explanation right away, so I scratched my cheek awkwardly.
“Hahaha. Well, everything is settled now, right? I’m a little tired, so I’ll go out first...”
I was planning to leave the consequences of what happened to the Duke, because drawing more attention would do me no good.
But before he could respond, the chief mage approached him, whose expression was one of deep gratitude.
His previous aggressive attitudes have been replaced by positions of apparent respect.
“How did you know?”
“I… I already heard a voice.”
Having missed the right time to escape, and unable to lie while looking directly into his face, I turned my head, avoiding eye contact.
“So, was it really because of Duke Blair’s family that revived the core?”
“That person must be ‘Hearing Mana’, the person mentioned in a thousand-year-old legend!”
"…pardon?"
When I heard the comments from those around us, I felt my face turn pale.
"Excuse me?"
"Yes! That's right! She must be the 'Chosen One' of legends!"
Wait, what?
I couldn't believe it.
The chief mage, who had been silent until then, issued his ruling.
“It appears that my distinguished colleagues are right.”
The commotion in the room quickly died down.
"We owe a great debt to Lady April, who visited the Tower with Duke Blair. I would like to formally apologize for the previous incivility and express our profound gratitude. Especially to Lady…?"
“Please call me April.”
"Understood. Ms. April."
The previous hostile attitude had disappeared, and now the Chief Mage bowed respectfully before me, a much younger person than him.
“We will grant Lady April the title of ‘Ear of the Tower’ and send the official documents to the Klitan Empire.”
Tower ear.
Even someone like me, who hates annoying things, understood the significance of that title.
Anyone who obtains a title from the tower can obtain its assistance three times in their lifetime, at no cost.
Since magic was not only convenient, but also very expensive, this was an invaluable benefit.
I didn't expect things to come this far.
I had intended to let the Duke handle everything, but that is no longer possible now... Well.
Guess I shouldn't turn down free stuff?
I glanced at the Duke standing next to me.
Now that I have a title from the Tower, maybe I can safely escape my awkward cohabitation with him?
Of course, I was quite satisfied with life in the Duke's Kingdom, but who knows what the future holds? Having an insurance plan wouldn't hurt.
"Thank you."
After making up my mind quickly, I bowed before the chief magician.
“Let's wrap things up here now.”
At that moment, the Duke who had been silent spoke.
I raised my head in panic, wondering if he was going to take the title from me, but he simply looked at me with a matter-of-fact expression and then looked back at the chief mage.
“The Tower has its own affairs to settle, and we have our own. As for the title you wish to bestow on Lady April, there is no need to receive it officially. If that is not a problem, please send it to the Duke’s estate.”
“Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. I also apologize for the previous misunderstanding. I did not understand the situation correctly.”
The air quickly became warm, and I became acutely aware of my still racing heart.
“If this ends so quickly, other problems will likely pile up...”
I was hoping it was just an illusion.
After completing my mission, I hurriedly followed the Duke, who had already turned around and walked away.