Seren not only looked at the dog collar with distaste but also gave a benevolent smile. It was a smile full of what he thought was respect.

Then he belatedly noticed the most important fact.

“Ah, come to think of it, you came to the Magic Tower alone, Saint?”

How?

As if completely forgetting the tender gaze he had just given, his hand remained suspended in midair for a while, pointing at Merrien.

“I’m not sure myself. It seems I can use all the portals Ariel made.”

“Well… anyway, the fact that you came all the way here means there must be something important.”

“Yes. The newspaper….”

Ah.

That’s what felt missing.

Not having expected to suddenly transport to the Magic Tower, she hadn’t brought the newspaper. Her confidently outstretched hand held only the dog collar.

“……”

Merrien waved her hand in the air before lowering it, feeling foolish.

Then, silently, put the dog collar back on.

Suddenly, she wondered what expression the man in front of her might be wearing.

No, actually, she was too embarrassed to look and didn’t want to see.

As light began to emit from the dog collar again, she, who had been staring at the floor with unfocused eyes, disappeared instantly.

When she reappeared with the light, she was holding a newspaper and a letter in her hand.

“…Well done.”

Seren’s gaze touched the dog collar once, then the dramatically haggard face of Merrien, who had aged in those brief moments. Only after his eyes finally landed on the newspaper did he seem to believe her words.

He even gave her a look of pity or sympathy.

Merrien was somewhat relieved that the strange misunderstanding had been resolved.

Though her face had deteriorated rapidly, she managed a faint smile as she removed the dog collar first.

“Look at this.”

She calmly handed over the newspaper.

There was no need to point out any specific part.

“What?! Dragons are related to magical beasts? That’s nonsense!”

Just like Merrien, Seren let out a scream close to a shriek as soon as he saw the front page and snatched the newspaper.

As if wondering if he had seen it wrong, Seren repeatedly moved closer to and then away from the newspaper. It seemed like he might have actually entered the print if he’d gotten any closer.

After burying his nose in the newspaper, Seren slowly pulled his face away and asked cautiously.

“You don’t believe this, do you, Saint?”

“No. That’s impossible.”

“That’s a relief… but wouldn’t the best solution be for the Tower Master to explain directly? He can reveal that he’s the Tower Master now, can’t he?”

“That might be the culprit’s real goal, so we need to think carefully. And if Ariel had returned, I wouldn’t have come here wearing this dog collar.”

Merrien pointed at the dog collar and spoke indignantly. Though for such a statement, her voice lacked strength.

“Ah, I see.”

Seren deliberately avoided looking at the dog collar and stared intently at the innocent newspaper instead. It was his way of being considerate.

“This is what Ariel sent me about an hour ago.”

She also handed him the letter Ariel had sent.

[Merri, I’m sorry. There are more magical beasts than I expected, so I’ll be a bit late.]

“The magical beast subjugation isn’t over yet. Something seems off.”

In the middle of pointing out the strange aspect, Seren frowned.

Wow, he scribbles so badly when writing to me that it’s hard to read, but he writes this beautifully to the Saint? Even during magical beast subjugation?

The letter nearly crumpled in his hand. Seeing marks that suggested it had already been crumpled once and then smoothed out by someone, he barely restrained himself.

Instead, he inwardly threatened that if the person in question were here, he would have grabbed him by the neck and shaken him. Though in reality, he probably wouldn’t have said anything if Ariel had been present.

Moreover, even though Ariel had tried his best to write neatly, his handwriting was still terribly crooked.

Merrien approached Seren, who was glaring at the letter, and waved the newspaper.

“Yes, as soon as Ariel went out for magical beast subjugation, someone delivered this newspaper as if they had been waiting for it.”

“Wasn’t it His Majesty the Emperor who sent a letter asking the Tower Master to go out for magical beast subjugation?”

“That’s why I’m most suspicious of the Emperor right now.”

Seren had cautiously added “His Majesty” when referring to the Emperor, but Merrien referred to him simply as “the Emperor” without hesitation.

Startled, he dropped the letter but managed to catch it just before it hit the floor.

You’re quite bold, Saint. As expected of the Tower Master’s lover, Seren grinned.

Besides, the Emperor he had known wasn’t the type to commit such acts.

Yet there were too many suspicious aspects to exclude him as a suspect.

Seren checked the letter again.

Looking at Ariel’s handwriting made him irritated again, and he glared at the letter as if he might tear it apart before continuing.

“The Emperor sweats profusely just seeing the Tower Master. Last time, he even embarrassed himself in front of us when he saw Christopher, whom the Tower Master brought along. He’s not the type of person who would dare such a bold act.”

Despite speaking ill of the Empire’s Emperor, Seren confidently raised his hand into the air.

“Let’s urgently send a letter to the Tower Master first.”

“…Is that possible?”

“Of course. The Tower Master might have forgotten because he’s so powerful, but as you can see, I’m also a wizard.”

He always takes all the credit for the cool stuff.

Seren grumbled loudly enough for her to intentionally overhear, and began writing something. Letters appeared one by one in the air following his hand movements.

[Tower Master. Something terrible has happened. You need to come to the Magic Tower.]

Seren scribbled it roughly and then clapped his hands.

Merrien, who had been watching with shining eyes until then, belatedly opened her mouth.

“Wouldn’t it be better to mention that I’m here…?”

Too late. The words in the air had already disappeared with a cheerful clap! sound.

“Ah, you’re right.”

Seren froze momentarily with his hands still clasped together. He scratched his ear thoughtfully, but quickly seemed to finish his deliberation and shrugged.

“Well, if he went all the way to subjugate magical beasts and I send a letter like this, he’ll come even if it’s just to kill me.”

“I see.”

But soon, it was Agnes who arrived at the Magic Tower, not Ariel.

“That crazy bastard. I haven’t even sent the griffon back to its nest, and he’s giving me more chores…”

He freely expressed his irritation toward Ariel, who had opened a portal to the Magic Tower and kicked him through it.

Walking with the intention of immediately grabbing and punishing Seren, his target for venting, he stopped abruptly.

“…Merrien?”

As if wondering if this was a dream, he blinked several times even after speaking.

But no matter how much time passed, Merrien captured in his sight showed no intention of disappearing.

Meanwhile, Merrien was tapping Seren’s arm with a perplexed expression.

“Didn’t you say you called Ariel? Why did Mr. Nes come?”

Though she whispered quietly, Agnes, who couldn’t have missed hearing it, intercepted the answer.

“Uh, well… Ariel sent me instead, saying that if Seren was sending a letter now, it must be something quite important.”

But actually, he pushed me into the portal, forcing me to come because he was busy and annoyed.

He was so polite that it was hard to believe he was the same person who had been cursing just moments ago, and he was busy hastily dusting off his clothes.

When the red liquid thickly smeared on them wouldn’t come off, he even used magic to clean it thoroughly.

“Shouldn’t Ariel come in person then?”

At that moment, his heart sank. Her voice, completely devoid of malice, sounded so disappointed.

Right now, Merrien didn’t care at all about his clothes or anything else.

After a brief pause, Agnes cleared his throat, pretending to be nonchalant.

“The magical beasts are coming relentlessly, and something seems strange. They come in droves, and when we wipe them out, another group comes shortly after. As if they were waiting.”

While top-grade magical beasts might behave that way, lower-level ones don’t have intelligence.

Yet the way they were advancing methodically, as if planned, clearly indicated something unusual was happening.

“So Ariel is extremely angry right now. He said he needed to quickly return to the mansion because he had something to do there.”

“……”

Merrien, who had been listening with a seemingly serious expression, suddenly lost all strength and nearly collapsed.