# 31
But was this even possible? The mention of his father’s hometown being here meant that a portal connected to this world had been opened in the past. Until now, he’d never heard of different portals opening into the same world. No, there were too few cases to make any definitive statement.
Calm down.
Perhaps it was just a place with the same name, an entirely different location.
“The previous Master was a princess from the Abon Kingdom…”
It was written that the woman with long, curly blonde hair was a princess of the Abon Kingdom who entered the tower before reaching adulthood and soon after rose to the position of Master.
The tower’s fantastic interior was entirely the achievement of Master Senistry. Originally, it had been an ordinary building, but Senistry, who had communicated with fairies since childhood, had woven spaces together through a contract. The contract was designed to be passed from Master to Master, which is why the tower had maintained its current form even after Senistry stepped down from the position of Master.
Master Senistry was also the one who had created this Corridor of History.
Jin-ha read more detailed stories about Senistry Abon. He planned to memorize this information and look for more about the Abon Kingdom elsewhere.
He was almost memorizing the information in the corridor as he walked when suddenly—
[Hello.]
A fairy suddenly appeared and whispered to Jin-ha.
Jin-ha retreated backward, nearly tumbling, while transforming his ring into a dagger. His heart pounded fiercely, and a chill ran down his spine.
The fairy had appeared not in front of him but behind him. Not just a step or two behind, but so close that Jin-ha hadn’t noticed at all until it whispered in his ear. Even though Jin-ha wasn’t a combat Hunter, this was too much.
The fairy laughed delightedly at the sight of Jin-ha gasping in surprise.
[Woah!]
Raising both hands to mimic a monster, the fairy saw Jin-ha flinch and laughed again. Despite the seemingly harmless scene, Jin-ha gripped his dagger even tighter.
[Ah, this is fun. Don’t worry. I won’t play any more pranks today.]
The fairy smiled with eyes curved in amusement, then struggled to pull something out from inside its chest. What had been in the fairy’s inner jacket pocket expanded dramatically once removed, becoming even larger than the fairy itself.
It was a key with a lush pink ribbon tied to it.
[Here, take it.]
“……”
[I said take it. If you don’t, I’ll play pranks on you!]
The fairy’s pitch-black eyes sparkled as if it would actually prefer that outcome. Jin-ha hesitated before extending his hand.
[Nice to meet you, little one.]
What? Before Jin-ha could question this, a dark shadow descended over his head. Quickly looking up, he saw a giant hand coming down toward him from the sky.
Jin-ha started running without a moment’s thought. The corridor stretched out in a straight line, displaying portraits of Master Senistry and praises of her achievements. As Jin-ha desperately ran past the portrait of Master Senistry, who seemed to be looking down with composure, he clenched his fist and then startled.
The key, which he hadn’t taken as he fled from the shadow, was now in his hand. He reflexively tried to shake it off, but the key stuck to his hand as if glued.
“Damn it…!”
He had been careless. Until now, there had been no special need for caution. He had always been able to detect danger in advance with his Information Eye, which had made him unwittingly complacent.
The giant hand that had been chasing him from behind changed direction and increased its speed. Jin-ha was driven to press himself against a column in the corridor.
‘What is its purpose?’
This hand could have crushed him like a bug. Yet it was only herding him, like a shepherd with sheep. The situation felt strange, not quite like something meant for amusement.
Jin-ha pressed his back against the column, panting.
The giant hand slowly approached Jin-ha, who could no longer escape, and pressed gently against his cheek. Then it moved to the top of his head and rubbed slightly. It was like a human petting a dog, cat, or rabbit.
Jin-ha quietly endured the touch to avoid provoking the hand’s owner while his eyes scanned the surroundings for an escape route.
Clickety-clack.
Hearing the strange sound beside him, he looked down to see that the key, which had been forced into his hand, was now stuck in the column. Jin-ha reflexively reached for the key.
‘No. Ah…!’
The moment the key turned with a click, what had been just a pure white column split open, and the shape of a door formed in the gap. The door opened inward with Jin-ha’s weight pressing against it.
He’d been tricked.
As Jin-ha tumbled into a space filled with bright white light, his eyes caught a portrait of Master Senistry hanging on the opposite column. She was smiling confidently in his direction.
* * *
The man sprawled on the sofa tossed the last document he was holding onto the coffee table. The floor was already piled with discarded papers, all request forms sent from neighboring countries.
Requests to capture corrupted fairies appearing in nearby forests, to dispatch wizards to royal palaces, to transfer water to drought-stricken territories—any requests that couldn’t be handled by lower-level wizards had to be reviewed by the Master himself to decide whether to accept them.
“Good work.”
The man casually waved his hand toward Legas, who was collecting the pile of documents.
That was all the Noon Moon Tower’s Master did these days. Everything else was handled by the Deputy Tower Master, Legas.
Even the task of filing the documents—sorted into approved, denied, or requiring further investigation—into designated bookshelves for delivery to relevant departments fell to Legas, as did preparing the man’s meals.
“No, I’m fine.”
The man waved away the sandwich Legas had placed on the table.
“I’m not hungry. Take it away.”
“You haven’t eaten anything since the day before yesterday except for a few grapes.”
“I told you I’m not hungry.”
“Then at least have this oatmeal chocolate bar.”
The man glanced at the chocolate bar that Legas had unwrapped and placed on a plate, then turned away without responding. Legas looked worriedly at his idol, who frequently skipped meals, and carefully asked:
“How about inviting Lee Jin-ha for dinner together?”
“Hunter Lee Jin-ha is busy right now. He needs to find the answer.”
“He may be searching for answers, but surely he needs to eat dinner too.”
“…That’s true.”
“I’ll call him right away.”
The man stopped Legas, who had brightened and turned to leave.
“I don’t want to disturb him, so check what he’s doing first. Where is he now?”
“Probably in the library.”
The man sat up and tapped his fingertips on the table. Magic flowed from his body, following the magical formation engraved on the table. A small bird that had risen near the library transmitted the scene to the table.
The library’s librarian, who had seen the bird several times before, gave a nod of greeting.
“Master, I’ve received an urgent communication and need to step away briefly.”
Legas reported, holding a gleaming communicator. The man nodded vaguely and scanned the library interior. However, despite going around the library once, Jin-ha was nowhere to be seen.
It seems he’s finished his work and moved elsewhere.
The man sent the bird to the librarian.
“Where did Hunter Lee Jin-ha go?”
-Who is Hunter Lee Jin-ha?
“…The outsider who visited you today. Black hair, amber eyes…”
-Master, no outsider visited me today.
The man frowned.
Lee Jin-ha was an excessively diligent and serious man. He agonized over even the most trivial matters. Such a man wouldn’t neglect his investigation in a situation where the contract might be canceled.
Where is Jin-ha now?
The man grimaced and pushed more magic into the table. Dozens of birds rose and opened their eyes all around the tower.
But Jin-ha was nowhere to be found—not in the corridors, the Bridge of Light, the dining hall, the prison for intruders, the landings, the garden, or the mansion provided for the Earthling.
The small birds flapped their wings vigorously according to his will, flying frantically through the sky. It was enough to frighten the young wizards who witnessed the scene.
“Master, news that Master Senistry’s treasury has been opened…”
The man abruptly stood up, causing all the busy birds to droop and fall to the ground, where they were absorbed.
“The Corridor of History?”
“What? How did you know… Master? Master!”
* * *
The Master of the Noon Moon Tower owned a special room. It was a room where he could freely determine who could enter and what the internal environment would be like.
This was the result of a contract with fairies, an achievement by Master Senistry, the Master from two generations ago. In other words, the tower’s Masters had only possessed such a room for three generations.
The reason this room came to be called a “treasury” after just three generations was because it was discovered after the previous Master’s death that he had collected all sorts of magical treasures and hidden them in his room.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
