NOVEL NEXT 11 - Yes. I Asked If You Could Take Responsibility
At Jeff’s words, Selina laughed incredulously and replied.
“You’re asking if I can take responsibility?”
“Yes. I asked if you could take responsibility.”
“I questioned you within the bounds of common sense. After all, it doesn’t make sense that someone expelled from the magic tower would break the all-time record in an exam by none other than Inspector Mellin.”
“Yes. I understand it’s a question based on common sense. But from my perspective, wouldn’t it be unfair if I’m innocent? Whether your questioning is reasonable or unreasonable doesn’t matter to me. What matters is that I’m being suspected unjustly. If it’s proven that I didn’t commit fraud or cheat, I’m saying you should take responsibility. If it turns out I cheated, I’ll take responsibility too.”
“….”
Selina’s expression becomes slightly distorted at Jeff’s seemingly overly confident attitude.
“Look, if you’re doing this because of your pride, seriously, don’t. If it’s later discovered that you cheated, Ariel will lose her qualification to apply for the academy instructor exam for the rest of her life, and she’ll live forever regretting that she trusted someone else. I can’t bear to see that. If that happens, I will never forgive you.”
Jeff looked at her and smiled. Ariel was nervously fidgeting with her hands beside them, not knowing what was going on.
Seeing Ariel’s expression, anxiously sweating and not understanding the situation, wasn’t unpleasant. After all, Selina was doing this not for herself but for her sister Ariel. He had received drinks from Ariel and a generous payment, so he was rather grateful. For Ariel’s sake, he spoke while suppressing his emotions as much as possible.
“If I don’t commit any fraud and help Ariel pass the instructor exam safely, will you grant one of my requests?”
“Request…?”
“Yes.”
Judging by her appearance, Selina is an elite magician of the magic tower. By using her, he could pull off various interesting things against those in the magic tower.
Selina thought for a few seconds and then answered.
“By all means. But if you don’t keep your word, you’ll be held accountable.”
“Do as you please. However, you must not refuse my request. If you’re certain, that shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
A request whose nature is unknown. It could cause enormous harm to her, but Selina willingly agreed.
“Let’s do that.”
With those words, Jeff immediately walked to Ariel.
Ariel looked at Jeff with anxious eyes and said.
“Mr. Jeff… you looked upset… did you fight with my sister? Did my sister apologize properly…? Ahhh… I’m really sorry…”
Ariel fidgets anxiously with an apologetic expression. Jeff spoke to such an Ariel.
“Your sister apologized properly, so don’t worry. She even said she’d grant my request later.”
“That’s a relief, but….”
Ariel continues to be anxious. This is not good. If she has a panic attack during the exam, it would be a big problem. To care for her mental state, Jeff rummaged through his spatial pocket and pulled out some alcohol.
It’s the ‘Tears of the World Tree, 17 years aged’ that he received from Ariel at the tavern.
“Would you like a drink? There’s still some time until the exam anyway.”
“Is… is it okay to drink before the exam…?”
“A moderate buzz often brings courage. Rather than being in a state of extreme tension, it might be better to have a slight intoxication. Since the second and third stage exams require competing or cooperating with others.”
Ariel thought for a moment, then looked at her trembling hands and answered.
“Then just one glass….”
“50 gold.”
Jeff extends his hand. Ariel looks at him with a puzzled expression and asks.
“Pardon?”
“For you, Ariel, I’ll charge only 50 gold, half the original price.”
“Really? Thank you, Mr. Jeff!”
Selina’s expression, who was listening to the conversation from afar, becomes severely distorted. Wasn’t that alcohol given by Ariel in the first place? She looked at Jeff, who was chuckling and counting money, and thought to herself.
‘How did my sister end up with such a scammer…’
Eventually, she made a resolution. If there’s any sign that Jeff might hurt her sister, she’ll immediately and thoroughly crush him. She doesn’t care what happens to her own life. She’ll use every means to protect her sister. Selina thought that day was not far off and stretched her body while circulating her mana.
◈◈◈◈◈
Near the main entrance of Riness Academy.
“Please confirm your invitation and magician ID.”
After checking the invitation, security guard Podrick’s face slightly wrinkles.
“Magic tower…..”
Cloria looked down at him and said.
“That’s right, we’re from the magic tower. Why? Is there a problem?”
Podrick is a figure who inherently dislikes the magic tower. Didn’t he pick a fight with Jeff before? But strangely, Podrick couldn’t take the same action this time.
None other than because Cloria and Lunia were currently affiliated with the magic tower.
“No… problem.”
Podrick just clenched his teeth and forcibly smoothed his distorting expression.
Jeff, who was expelled from the magic tower, was easy to handle. He was a 1-element magician with no connections. From Podrick’s personal perspective, Jeff was just a 1-element magician without backing, so Podrick could treat him with contempt.
But Lunia and Cloria were listed as 2-element and 3-element magicians on their magician IDs, respectively. Not only do they have excellent personal power, but they also have the magic tower’s backing if things go wrong.
No matter how much he disliked them, they were people Podrick didn’t dare to speak ill of.
Most magic tower haters take attitudes similar to Podrick’s. They extremely despise those who are low-ranking enough for them to step on, or those who have been expelled or exiled, while not daring to treat active members carelessly. The reason is simple. They were afraid of what kind of retaliation or disadvantages might come to them.
Cloria, seemingly noticing Podrick’s strange demeanor, whispered as she passed by him.
“Next time, keep your eyes straight. Otherwise, I’ll gouge them all out.”
Podrick bowed his head deeply. Lunia and Cloria slowly walked past him.
“Director… what happened?”
When Lunia, unable to grasp the situation, asked, Cloria replied.
“That trash-like guy looked at us with killing intent. Well, judging from him muttering ‘magic tower’, he seems to have some grudge against the magic tower.”
“What a strange person. We don’t even know his face.”
“Don’t worry about it. Anyway, just like all those bottom-feeders, they bow their heads to people they judge to be above them, whether it’s an enemy or whatever.”
Cloria laughed and said.
“It suddenly reminds me of Jeff. He always used to lower his head and make a face as if he was about to die of injustice when I bullied him.”
When Jeff’s name came up, Lunia asked with anxious eyes.
“Director Cloria. Perhaps… Jeff won’t perform excellently in this exam, right?”
“No way.”
Cloria shook her head and replied.
“The only things he knows how to do are artifact creation and artifact enhancement, right? Well, that’s not bad, but just knowing how to enhance a few tools wouldn’t allow him to perform excellently in Inspector Mellin’s exam. My investigation shows that he took the first stage exam with a 3-element magician, and it seems he just tagged along thanks to that, but it will absolutely be impossible in the second and third stage exams. We just need to watch that stupid guy fall apart.”
In the midst of Cloria and Lunia’s conversation, an incredibly huge stadium, reminiscent of a colosseum, came into view.
Already, close to a thousand people were waiting there, chattering boisterously.
“Why are there already so many people gathered?”
“Mister… I told you before. Today’s exam inspector is Magician Mellin, right?”
“Mellin…? What on earth is Mellin that so many people have gathered like this?”
“If you’re a magician, you can’t not know the name Mellin… Born with outstanding magical talent, she received an incredible offer from the Tower Master, but she came to Riness Academy, leaving only the words that she had no intention of going to such a trivial place.”
“Wouldn’t she earn more money being in the magic tower than as an academy instructor?”
“Eh… do you know how much wealth Inspector Mellin has? Dozens of mansions around here belong to her….”
“Why would a rich lady be an inspector?”
“People say that she seems to be doing it just as a hobby… who knows. If she wanted, she could become the vice president at will, but I wonder why she’s still an inspector….”
Cloria and Lunia passed through the chattering people and sat in their seats.
At the moment the clock pointed to 3 o’clock.
— Thud!
With the sound of something falling, the surroundings began to darken completely.
“What… what is this? The electricity is out!”
“Calm down, mister! Why do you keep embarrassing yourself… Please just stay still…”
Soon, the lights turned back on.
— Rumble!
The stadium and the place where people were sitting began to separate. The stadium area grew larger and larger, eventually becoming the size of a small village.
In the center stood Inspector Mellin, using floating magic.
As she extended her hand, one huge object after another began to fall with a thud onto the stadium.
“Roaaaaaar!”
The beast’s voice echoes throughout the stadium.
[Is… isn’t that a Minotaur? How many are there?]
[Whoa… isn’t that something you only see when you climb to the upper floors of the tower? Could killing that be the test? Why is the difficulty of the exam like this…?]
Voices of concern from people. As if she heard these chaotic words, Inspector Mellin used amplification magic and shouted.
“I’ve prepared this exam with my utmost sincerity. Please do not worry about the difficulty. It’s tailored to the level of the participants, and also, I have someone I particularly expect from in this exam.”
At her brief words, people begin to be shocked.
[What… has Inspector Mellin ever said such things? Expectations? Who on earth is there?]
[Who is it? Find out quickly! Has a 4-element magician emerged among the instructor applicants this time?]
[Scout! Check the participant list immediately!]
[Quickly confirm with the guild master how much more budget can be used for scouting!]
The clamorous sounds of people.
Inspector Mellin’s gaze was solely directed at one man waiting in the stadium.
A man waiting below the stadium, gulping down alcohol with a young girl.
Looking at Jeff, Mellin muttered.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of performance you’ll show this time.”