The Problematic Child of the Magic Tower-Chapter 320

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Chapter 320: Special Prescription (2)

When he entered the Archmage’s office, he saw Sasha pacing around the room, unable to settle down.

The moment she noticed him, a large exclamation mark popped up above her head.

“Ma– Master! Ah— no, Mentor!”

She was so flustered her tongue nearly tied itself in a knot.

Oscar moved toward the sofa and spoke calmly.

“First, take a deep breath.”

“Hah… hoo… hoo…”

Sasha followed his words like a well-behaved child before opening her mouth again.

“Thank you. I’ve calmed down a bit. And… I’m sorry. You just came back from a long trip, so I wanted to let you rest for a while without contacting you… but…”

“It’s fine. Did something happen?”

“A little while ago, I received a message from Captain Chester.”

“Chester?”

Oscar searched his memory.

The last time they met, the four of them had split up to track down traces of Gilly.

Lloyd had gone to the Yan Empire, while Oscar himself headed for the Great Elven Forest.

“And Chester was assigned to…”

The Violet Brigade.

He had sent Chester to dig into them.

Oscar asked with a grave expression.

“He contacted you? By letter?”

“No. The message came through a calling crystal orb.”

“A calling crystal orb…”

Oscar had used one in Baran to contact the Imperial Palace before.

These days, it was practically a relic of a bygone era.

“And if he used that, then…”

It meant Chester was in such a hurry that he didn’t even have time to send a letter.

Sasha handed him a single sheet of paper.

“I decoded the numbers that came through the calling orb. This is what they meant.”

Only three words were written on it.

—Soulstone, resonance, experiment.

Just three words, yet there was no difficulty in understanding their meaning.

“Master… if the Soulstone resonated, that means…”

“Yes. It likely means Gilly’s presence was detected nearby.”

The Soulstone resonated more strongly the closer it was to its owner.

Sasha asked again,

“But I don’t understand the last word. What does ‘experiment’ mean?”

“……”

That the Soulstone resonated made sense.

It meant that traces of Gilly had been found while investigating the Violet Brigade.

“An experiment…”

Had they discovered evidence of some kind of experiment there?

And if so, what kind of experiment?

“Even I don’t know that part. Is that everything he sent?”

“Yes. That’s all.”

“…It does sound urgent.”

Otherwise, Chester would have sent a longer explanation. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Oscar stared at the paper and asked,

“Which direction did Chester go?”

“He contacted us three times in total. First, he said he arrived in the eastern city of Rouen. Second, that he had found the Designer and was going after him. And the message you’re holding now came after that.”

“The Designer…”

According to Kaya and Oran, he wasn’t highly regarded even within the Violet Brigade.

“But still, they’re both level 7. There’s no way Chester went down without a fight.”

Oscar had sent Lloyd and Chester separately because he trusted their abilities.

Both were strong enough to operate alone without issue.

“Rouen, huh. Alright. I’ll track him down.”

“A– Alone? Shouldn’t I come with you?”

“You too?”

Normally, the Archmage did not leave the tower.

Just her presence provided stability to allies and fear to enemies.

After a brief moment of thought, Oscar spoke.

“Let’s move together.”

The situation wasn’t something to take lightly.

And if Chester had been defeated, Oscar couldn’t guarantee his own safety either.

With Sasha, a level-8 mage, alongside him, they could respond to any unexpected variables.

“R-Really?”

“You’re the one who suggested it. We won’t be gone long—maybe a few days at most. Publicly, you can say we’re doing personal training for about a week. I used that excuse all the time.”

“But… that’s a lie.”

“It’s a harmless lie.”

Sasha swallowed hard.

She nodded stiffly, like a child about to do something very naughty.

“T-Then I’ll leave a note for Sub-Archmage Hamel!”

“Good.”

After preparing in an instant, Sasha said,

“All ready.”

“Then let’s go.”

Oscar snapped his fingers, opening a portal to Rouen.

With a single step, the two of them left Sirin’s tower and arrived in the heart of the eastern region.

Standing atop a building rooftop, Oscar surveyed the surroundings.

“This place has changed a lot too.”

They said the most splendid city on the continent was Baran, but the most futuristic was Rouen.

Not just because of its towering skyscrapers and strange neon signs.

More than anything, it was due to the Imperial Tower—stacked like enormous cubes—that could be seen no matter where you looked in the city.

Thinking of the eccentric old man who must be at its top floor, Oscar asked,

“This is where the Designer was spotted?”

“Yes. More precisely… ah, this address. A pub on Camden Street 3, number 17.”

“Let’s move.”

Leaping swiftly from rooftop to rooftop, they reached their destination in under ten minutes.

Oscar looked down at the entrance of the pub below.

“Treatment for dizziness, huh.”

A strange name for a pub.

Despite it being nighttime—when such places should be bustling—the street was quiet.

The pub itself was also located on the outskirts.

Descending from the rooftop, Oscar and Sasha entered.

Creak, creak.

The first thing to approach them was a humanoid machine dressed as a nurse.

“…Or is it a person?”

A grotesque figure that looked like a fusion of human and machine.

Reading Oscar’s complicated expression, it spoke.

“Oh? Is this your first time visiting our establishment?”

“It— it’s talking.”

Sasha exclaimed in surprise.

The waiter glanced around, then covered his mouth with a mechanical hand and whispered.

“Ah, please don’t be alarmed. I’m the waiter here. This is just cosplay.”

“Co– what?”

“A costume. It’s all attached. Look.”

He spread his mechanical arm slightly, revealing a human arm inside.

Only then did Sasha lower her guard.

“Whew… I thought it was a monster.”

“Well made.”

“Our concept is a bit… unique. Anyway, two guests, correct?”

[Translator - Night]

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“Yes.”

“Then please come inside— ah, wait.”

After checking Sasha more closely, he frowned.

“I’ll need to see this guest’s ID. We don’t allow minors.”

“I-I am an adult!”

“Yes, yes. I understand. Just show me your ID.”

Sasha looked at Oscar helplessly.

Showing ID here would be the same as advertising that she was the White Tower Archmage.

With a heavy sigh, Oscar spoke.

“It can’t be helped. Wait outside.”

“…Okay. I mean— yeah.”

Dejected, Sasha muttered, ‘I really am an adult… seriously…’ as she left the pub.

Watching her go, Oscar reached into his pocket and apologized.

“I’m sorry. I am an adult, and my ID is—”

“Oh, you’re fine, sir. You clearly don’t look underage. Please, this way.”

“……”

That felt oddly insulting.

Oscar withdrew his awkward hand and followed the waiter while observing the interior.

Having a waiter in a pub was strange enough, but the interior design was even stranger.

“It looks like an operating room.”

The tables were silver metal, like surgical beds.

The ceiling lights were the kind used in operating theaters.

Instead of liquor bottles, glass containers holding various body parts lined the walls.

“Those are…”

“Ah, obviously fake. I was shocked too when I first applied for this job.”

Once seated, the waiter handed him a booklet labeled Prescription—the menu.

“Our most popular items are Troll Heart Steak and Orc Eyeball Infusion.”

“…That doesn’t make me want to order.”

“T-The steak is beef, and the infusion is just regular wine.”

The waiter whispered again.

Oscar nodded, flipping through the menu, then paused.

[Special Prescription – 30,000,000 Bels]

The price alone was on a completely different scale.

“What’s this menu item? It costs more than most people earn in a year.”

“Ah… that one. How should I explain…”

Creak, creak.

Scratching the back of his head, the waiter said,

“I don’t really know either, but VIP guests buy it sometimes. They always leave looking satisfied.”

“You don’t serve it yourself?”

“No. There’s an operating room in the back. I think they consume it there.”

“An operating room?”

Oscar looked in the direction indicated.

Even with his senses, he felt nothing unusual.

“No obvious danger…”

A menu item even the waiter didn’t understand, with a suspiciously high price.

After tapping the metal table thoughtfully, Oscar said,

“One Special Prescription.”

“Ah… sir. I’m sorry, but that’s the only menu item that requires advance payment.”

“One moment.”

Pretending to reach into his pocket, Oscar accessed his subspace and retrieved the money.

“Thirty million Bels.”

“P-Payment confirmed. I’ll escort you inside.”

Seeing such a massive sum produced like loose change, the waiter’s eyes changed.

Swallowing hard, he moved his mechanical legs with a creak.

Two massive nurses guarding the corridor spoke.

“What is it?”

“S-Special Prescription order.”

“Advance payment?”

“Received. Here.”

When the waiter handed over the money, the burly nurses stepped aside.

“Enjoy your treatment.”

As they passed, the waiter whispered,

“They’re terrifying. Last time someone tried to snoop around, they folded him up like paper.”

“I can see that.”

Both were level-6 knights—powerhouses anywhere on the continent.

“And they’re wearing those ridiculous outfits?”

As questions piled up in his mind, the waiter pointed to a room down the hall.

“Please go inside, change into patient clothing, and lie down.”

“…What?”

“To enter the operating room, you must wear patient clothes and lie on the patient bed. Rules are rules.”

Damn this concept.

With a faint sigh, Oscar quickly changed and lay down.

“Out of pure curiosity—this place is officially licensed by the city, right?”

“Uh… probably?”

“Tch. My fault for asking. Let’s go.”

“Y-Yes!”

As the bed rolled forward, Oscar stared at the ceiling.

Boom!

The bed entered the operating room, and—

“……!”

A cold sensation washed over him.

Not just temperature—something deeper.

A voice followed.

“How’s the patient’s condition?”

“Uh— uh— gold? Gold hour?”

“Golden hour.”

“Oh! Yes, golden hour! Critical!”

“I see. Get out, then.”

“Yes! Brr, cold…”

After the waiter left, Oscar slowly sat up.

This operating room wasn’t merely cold.

“Eternal Froststeel…”

A mineral mined in vanishingly small quantities in the Yan Empire—worth a fortune.

The walls, floor, and ceiling were all made of it.

Its defining trait: an intense cold that ordinary people couldn’t touch barehanded.

And—

It completely blocked all magic.

“So, patient… what seems to be the problem today?”

Oscar slowly turned toward the man behind him.

“….”

A doctor in surgical attire.

Even behind the mask, Oscar could tell he was smiling.

The aura he radiated belonged to a late-stage level-7 mage.

There were many masters in the world—but instinctively, Oscar knew who this was.

“The Designer.”

A member of the Violet Brigade.

A special-grade criminal with a bounty of 300 million Bels issued by the Imperial Court.

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