Father, I Won’t Do Anything

Neither Hilvenzia nor Mikael were acting like their usual selves.

First, there was Hilvenzia, looking utterly forlorn as if she had lost everything.

Where had her ever-confident, carefree smile gone? What did it mean for her to just sit there, hand covering her mouth, staring at the ground?

And Mikael kept letting out deranged laughter.

“Heehee, heeheehee…”

The laughter spilling from his mouth sounded like a broken music box, repeating itself. He wasn’t angrily shouting, just laughing to himself like this…

As Jaina couldn’t continue speaking, fortunately Hilvenzia regained her senses first and spoke up.

“It’s not strange for you to have a birthday party outside on your birthday. I know, I know…”

“Y-Yes…”

“But I suppose I still wished to personally throw you a birthday party. You’re seventeen now, but I kept treating you like a child. I’m sorry.”

Hilvenzia added that she didn’t mean any ill will towards Jaina making friends.

However, Mikael seemed to think differently. Reverting to his usual face, he shouted gruffly.

“I don’t like you making friends!”

Come to think of it, Mikael had always disliked it whenever Jaina spent time with Rosian.

Mikael’s face flushed as he yelled.

“Do you really need friends? Just… Yeah, put up with this old hag and your cat and hang out with me! Don’t go outside the Magic Tower!”

“…”

Jaina hadn’t expected the self-respecting Mikael to go this far.

As she was at a loss for words, Hilvenzia spoke with a pitying tone.

“While I’m sad we can’t celebrate your birthday together, you do need friends your own age, Jaina.”

“Why! I don’t have a single friend, but I’m doing just fine!”

“That’s because you end up becoming like you are now if you don’t make any friends.”

“…”

Mikael immediately shut his mouth. It seemed Hilvenzia’s blunt remark had left him speechless.

Taking that opening, Hilvenzia spoke to Jaina with a solemn expression.

“I’m sorry, we were being immature because we care about you so much.”

“No, Hilvenzia.”

“We kept clinging on, even knowing it would annoy you… Phew.”

Hilvenzia let out a deep sigh, leaving Jaina confused.

‘Is staying out on my birthday really that upsetting?’

As if reading Jaina’s mind, Hilvenzia spoke.

“You might be wondering why we’re making such a fuss. But I’m still worried about a young girl like you staying out overnight.”

Only then did Jaina realize what Hilvenzia was worried about.

She wasn’t an ‘ordinary young girl’. She was ‘evidence of injustice’ who had faced death threats numerous times.

“Until now, I’ve only had birthday parties at the Magic Tower. But I thought the more people celebrating my birthday, the better…”

If it had been last year, she would have backed down by now.

But this year was special. It was the year she turned seventeen.

Before her death as a dragon, she wanted to experience a birthday celebration surrounded by friends at least once.

“But I can’t have a birthday party at the Magic Tower either, since outsiders are prohibited from entering.”

“Why not?”

“Huh?”

At that moment, Hilvenzia’s expression brightened. Even Mikael shrugged his shoulders.

“Just invite your friends to the Magic Tower for a party.”

“You two approving it doesn’t make it possible. What if we incur the Tower Lord’s wrath?”

“I think it might be alright.”

“But since Jaina is concerned, shall we ask for permission first?”

Jaina naturally assumed Diamid would oppose having a birthday party at the Magic Tower.

“I’m even hesitant to bring it up…”

But the result Mikael and Hilvenzia received from the Tower Lord was surprising.

* * *

“Happy birthday, Jaina! This is my birthday present for you.”

After returning from a trip to the opposite side of the continent, the gift Marilyn gave Jaina was a renowned perfume from a workshop located there.

“I had to wait months just to get my hands on this!”

“Thank you so much, Marilyn.”

Pleased by Jaina’s gratitude, Marilyn puffed up with pride, her lips curling into a smirk.

“Heh, no one thinks about you as much as I do. You’ll be making your debut soon, so you need a perfume that suits you perfectly.”

Insisting it would be a perfect match, Marilyn urged Jaina to try it on right away.

“I knew my choice was right.”

Marilyn nodded in satisfaction. Indeed, her words rang true.

“It’s just like a refreshing summer ocean.”

Neither too heavy nor too light, the crisp scent suited Jaina well.

“Use this one for spring and summer, I brought separate ones for fall and winter. You were born in spring, but you give off more of a winter vibe.”

As she spoke, Marilyn took another look at her friend who exuded a composed aura at seventeen.

“But I thought you couldn’t stay out on your birthday, how did you convince them?”

“I didn’t get permission.”

“What?”

Jaina tilted her head and smiled wryly.

“The venue for my birthday party this time is the Magic Tower. I came to take you there last, Marilyn.”

* * *

The friends Jaina spoke of were Marilyn and other young ladies she had met through the social gatherings Princess Elia had invited her to years ago.

“Invited to the Magic Tower… Is that even possible?”

“The Lord of the Magic Tower allowed outsiders to enter?”

The young girls looked as if they were in a dream.

Even Jaina herself was surprised, so she tilted her head sheepishly.

“To be honest, I didn’t expect to get permission either.”

“Goodness, how incredible.”

When they had first met Jaina and learned she lived at the Magic Tower and was close enough with the Tower Lord to attend concerts together, the ladies had been astonished.

But after Jaina avoided mentioning the Magic Tower afterwards, the fact that she lived there gradually faded from their minds.

And now this bombshell had dropped today.

“Since the other magicians will be studying, we can’t draw too much attention to ourselves until we reach the birthday party venue.”

“Yes, yes!”

Like lambs following a shepherd, the young ladies obediently trailed behind Jaina.

However, seeing the unfamiliar interior of the Magic Tower for the first time, they couldn’t help but whisper in awe.

Noticing the ladies’ behavior, Jaina asked,

“Would you like to take a tour of the Magic Tower?”

“A little… Since we might not get another chance to come here…”

After a brief consideration, Jaina said it should be fine to take a detour through areas without people for some sightseeing.

“But there might be something a bit scary…”

“It’s okay, it’s okay!”

“Thank you so much, Jaina!”

Thus, Jaina began leading the ladies on a tour of the Magic Tower.

As they followed behind, the ladies glanced around before asking a question.

“Jaina. Why does the scenery seen through the southern windows show autumn, but the scenery through the northern windows shows winter?”

“That’s because they’re not windows, but magical frames. If you look closely, you’ll see they only show a single scene.”

Low gasps escaped everyone’s lips. Even though the scenes were no different from what they had seen elsewhere, or rather, precisely because they were identical, it seemed all the more wondrous.

“Say, Jaina…”

After walking a few more steps, another question was posed.

“Why are the ceilings in the Magic Tower so high?”

“It’s because many use flight magic here.”

“Then why are there stairs?”

“The spiraling staircases are considered elegant. But in reality, you can’t actually walk up those stairs. You’d need the skill to suspend yourself in midair since the stairs flip upside down halfway.”

“Ahh.”

Like a museum guide, Jaina led the ladies along, tutting.

“Don’t touch the patterns on these walls. It’ll trigger a trap.”

“What? A trap?”

“You could die if you make a mistake. Be careful.”

The ladies’ faces turned pale. The boldest of them, Marilyn, bravely confronted Jaina.

“What kind of trap is it?”

“Magically crafted arrows will shoot out from somewhere.”

Jaina demonstrated with her hands the shape of someone pierced and killed by arrows.

“If you get hit by mistake, it’s instant death.”

At those words, Marilyn flinched and took a step back.

“Though no one has actually died inside the Magic Tower since it was built.”

“Well, of course…”

“But that’s because everyone here is a magician.”

Seeing her friends gripped by fear, Jaina kindly said:

“Shall I trigger a trap for you all to see?”

“Ah, no!”

“We don’t really need to see it!”

However, when Jaina explained she could block it with wind magic, one of the ladies seemed intrigued.

Forgetting her earlier retreat, Marilyn once again approached the trap area.

“Is it really safe?”

“Yes.”

With one of them confidently stepping forward, the other ladies also showed faces tinged with curiosity.

Standing in the middle of the corridor, Jaina told Marilyn, who was near the exit, to touch one of the square geometric patterns.

“This, this one?”

And the moment Marilyn touched the pattern:

Fwooosh! Fwooosh!

“Kyaaaah!”

Magically crafted arrows rained down on Jaina from all directions.

Expecting only one or two at most, Marilyn was terrified, but Jaina calmly waved her hand.

A powerful gust of wind formed from her hand, rushing towards the incoming mana arrows.

Baaang!

An earsplitting roar, the air rippling.

Even the ladies who couldn’t sense mana could feel the wind clashing against something, causing intense shockwaves.

“…”

“…”

Jaina’s eyes sparkled at the ladies, as if asking if it wasn’t entertaining.

With dazed expressions, the ladies nodded.

“The Magic Tower is truly incredible.”

“Yeah, Jaina living here is incredible too.”

“I couldn’t survive here…”

And the ladies’ resolve only solidified further upon seeing a stuffed monstrous bear that looked five times larger than a regular bear.

“Aaaah! Jaina, save me!”

“…It’s already dead.”

They regretted ever asking for a Magic Tower tour.

They should have just obediently gone to the birthday party venue.

The ladies inwardly wept bitter tears.

However, the ladies’ gloomy feelings instantly vanished upon arriving at the birthday party venue.