To my relief, the subtle atmosphere didn’t last long. 

Giving up on staring at me with unreadable eyes, Isis resumed his usual scowl and crossed his arms. 

“Well, whatever. But why did you bring a guy I haven’t seen outside?”

He seemed curious about the new face, perhaps because up until now, I had always come to the tower with Raeyan as my escort. 

 ‘Don’t he recognize Jansi?’

Considering his strong aversion to Duke Perdia, it was natural to think that he would know.

Well, when he first met me, he didn’t even know I was Elodie Perdia, so it wasn’t particularly strange.

 I wondered if Isis’s interest in Perdia was limited to the Duke of Perdia.

“He’s my brother, Jansi Perdia.”

“Brother? So, is he the firstborn of that Sylvester Ferdia? Ugh, I don’t like it.”

Isis openly grumbled about Sylvester Perdia’s eldest son, even though his younger sister was in front of him. I had heard much gossip about Duke Perdia in front of me, so it didn’t bother me. However, there was always one question that I was curious about.

 “But I’m his daughter.”

Isis doesn’t know that I’m not a real daughter. Yet, even after realizing that I was Sylvester Perdia’s daughter when he first met me, he didn’t show hostility, just a brief surprise. It was a situation no different from Jansi’s.

“But why are you treating me so well?”

In response to my question, Isis answered without any hesitation or consideration.

“Because to me, you are Arcelia’s daughter, not that guy’s daughter.”

It had been a long time since I had heard my mother’s name from Isis’s lips.

 In fact, no one who wasn’t Isis would say my mother’s name. 

Even after my family came to know that I was not the biological daughter of the Duke of Perdia, they would consciously avoid the subject.

 Anyway, since I was a foreigner in Perdia, I didn’t want to unconsciously be disliked.

But Isis was the only one who could freely ask about my mom.

“What’s your relationship with my mom, Isis?”

“I think I mentioned it when we first met. She is my benefactor.”

“More specifically.”

“More specifically?”

Isis, who seemed reluctant, took the cookie jar in front of me and grabbed one before starting to talk in a lower voice than usual.

“I was an ignorant street rat who didn’t even know that such cookies existed. But Arcelia took a beggar from the back alleys who had nothing but tattered rags and bathed and dressed him.”

Isis being a commoner-born Archmage was a publicly known fact, but I had never heard that he was a beggar.

“In a cold winter, either freezing to death or dying of starvation or maybe both, your mom took in a beggar who was about to die soon. It was Arcelia who first discovered that I had great magical powers, and who insisted that I take the test.”

 “I see.”

 “I thought I would be able to repay Arcelia’s favor the year I became a tower master, but I couldn’t. Your mother was expelled from Perdia, leaving only you behind.”

That was a misunderstanding on Isis’s part, not the truth as I knew it, but I couldn’t correct it. 

But I could vaguely understand why Isis held my mom so dearly and harbored such resentment towards the duke.

“You asked why I am treating you so well? Because I have not been able to repay Arcelia’s favor. As the daughter of a benefactor, I must repay you, and that is why.”

The fact that my mom, whom I have no memory of, did a favor in the past, meant that I could now receive favor from Isis.

‘Could mom have predicted even this?’

I wondered if Isis was part of the future my mom had arranged.

However, no matter how curious I was, this question could never be answered without meeting my mom again.

Isis, who was observing my somewhat complicated feelings, suddenly stood up from his seat and approached me.

“So, just be happy.”

Isis raised his little hand and stroked my hair. It was an uncharacteristically gentle touch. 

 “If Sylvester Perdia is bothering you, I want you to come to the tower at once. I’ve got enough money to take care of you.”

If there had been someone like Isis who would step forward for me in the past, it would have been nice. But even now, such comfort was not bad.

No, actually, it was very good. I lowered my head to make it easier for Isis to pat and chuckle.

“Okay. If I get kicked out of Perdia, please accept me.”

“Why do you keep saying that?”

“Because I don’t know about people and their affairs?”

 “I’ve always thought so, but you have a way of being so negative and extreme.”

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Isis clicked his tongue in disapproval. 

 “Master!”

The door burst open without a knock, and a mage from the West Tower stumbled in. Isis glared at the mage fiercely.

“I told you not to come in when I’m in a meeting with investors, didn’t I?”

“But the matter is urgent, so I judged that I should inform you as soon as possible.”

The mage looked quite nervous, perhaps because of Isis’s personality. 

Isis sighed and looked back at me. 

I nodded and scrambled to my feet, thinking he meant to ask me to leave, but Isis gripped my shoulders with both hands, forcing me to sit back down. 

 “You don’t have to leave. Sit down.”

 “What? But-.”

Ignoring my attempt to object, Isis asked the mage.

“What’s the matter?”

“The Southern Mage Tower is organizing a presentation for the upcoming magical device release…”

As the mage hesitated with vague words, Isis urged.

“And?”

 “But the magical device they are presenting is the same as the next magical device you’re planning to announce.”

It was news that furrowed my brows as well. Since Isis’s magical device presentations always reflected my investments, it meant that this time it was Gabe Jenade again.

“A while ago, our people withdrew in large numbers. They all transferred to the Southern Mage Tower.”

So, the Southern Mage Tower was planning to pre-announce the magical device they would release this time by snatching away talents from the Western Mage Tower. Isis’s sharp gaze became even more intense.

“The audacity of these bastards without a shred of decency…”

It seemed like he was ready to go find Gabe Jenade and unleash some magic on him any moment.

The mage also appeared to share my thoughts, tensing up as if ready to intervene. However, Isis, surprisingly mature, quickly regained his composure and turned to me. 

 “Lili.”

 “Yes?”

“Do you have a position available in the group that will confront Gabe Jenade?”

“……!”

I sensed it.

This was an opportunity.

 A golden opportunity with a huge amount of power behind it. Of course, I wasn’t going to pass it up. 

With sparkling eyes, I quickly responded.

 “Fortunately, there’s exactly one spot available.”

Well, there was plenty of room. 

Leon, Raeyan, and finally I were the only ones keeping Gabe in check. However, the impending sale of a product always makes people excited.

 “This body will join in the fight!”

Isis exclaimed curiously, slamming his fist into his chest. I struggled to suppress the rising corners of my mouth.

‘I acquired the Magic Tower Master as a colleague.’

It was a great achievement.

When I returned to the Perdia mansion at the end of the day, I locked myself in my bedroom and pondered. 

“How should I handle this?”

[Noisy.]

“How should I… teach him a lesson?”

Simply teaching him a lesson wouldn’t be enough. I needed to deliver an irreparable, colossal blow. Ultimately, my goal was to expose Gabe Jenade and his connection to the Irkala Sect, securing concrete evidence and making him a public enemy. Just thinking about it made me chuckle. Greed, observing my thoughts, chimed in.

 [What, this human is scheming again……. wicked…….]

 “I am proud and pleased to be called wicked by a sin.”

 [Not a compliment!]

After that, when I overheard the conversation between Isis and the mage, the summarized information was as follows:

Gabe stole a bunch of mages from the West Tower to get information about a new magic tool. He then beat the West Tower by announcing the release before they did. The West Tower mages found out and succeeded in repurchasing the mages who had switched sides. It was said that Gabe had stolen the recipe for the magical device to cover the exorbitant costs of his research, which was being sponsored by Duke Angellus.

Unfortunately, the information was limited as the mage who switched sides had not been part of the Southern Mage Tower for long. I couldn’t determine the nature or purpose of their research.

“Hmm, how do I interfere?”

[Oh no, not again.]

“How can I… make sure this news spreads widely?”

[If you’re going to talk to yourself, do it outside! Ugh, ughhhh!]

I scooped up the squealing Greed and cradled it in my arms. A figure suddenly appeared in my mind. 　 

“W-Well, after all, Lady Perdia worked a miracle as the savior of Ishtar…“

Gretel Sangpan. She was the lady who, during the last demonic beast subjugation, unexpectedly sided with me against Lady Lindgreen, the one who ignored me. 

 ‘I didn’t expect her to take my side there.’

In the original story, she becomes Estelle’s friend. 

The reason the name popped into my head was because Gretel Sangpan has a special ability that no one else knows about, and it’s mentioned in the original story that it helped Estelle a lot.

Certainly, with that ability, it seemed like Gretel could give Gabe a hard time.

Although I didn’t spend much time with that group, I could roughly grasp the atmosphere. In the gathering where Hyacinth, who harbored a one-sided crush on Jansi, was the main focus, Gretel was relegated to the role of being ignored.

Being a baroness with a gentle demeanor, everyone seemed to expect that.

’That’ll make things easier.’

I had set a goal. Become friends with Gretel, borrow her abilities, and put Gabe in a difficult situation. If I could splendidly rescue Gretel from being ignored in the group, I could win her favor, right? It was a perfect plan. However, there was one problem.

‘……I don’t have a single friend. How can I blend into the social circle?’

During the last monster subjugation event, I could interact with the ladies solely because of Jansi. If I were alone, as usual, no one would have approached me. Despite being a loner in the social scene until now, this situation was a bit regrettable.

But it wasn’t impossible. After all, to quickly integrate into the social circle, attaching oneself to a powerful figure was the best approach. I knew such a powerful figure…

The next day, I visited the Duchess’s exotic flower greenhouse after a long time.

 “Madam. Do you have a moment?”

 “Of course it’s fine. What’s wrong?”

Fortunately, the Duchess seemed to be in a good mood. That was good. 

 “Well, I have a favor to ask you.”

Instead of answering, the Duchess smiled bewitchingly, her eyes twinkling. Realizing it was a sign of affirmation, I quickly blurted out my request. 

 “I’d like to make a friend of the same s*x, could you help me?”

The Duchess, fluent in the language of the social circle and keenly perceptive, must have grasped my intentions. The deepening smile was proof of her positive understanding. Folding her fan, she grinned confidently and declared,

“Sure. Lili, I’ll make you the queen of the Socialites.”

“Uh…?”

Even though I checked her expression, wondering if it was a joke, there was no way it could be.

‘I’m not aiming to be the queen, though…!’

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