The Seed Thief

Ervandas gazed at the Magic Tower, its peak seemingly touching the heavens. It was so tall that even when he tilted his head back as far as it would go, he could barely see the top.

“So, this is the Magic Tower…”

His voice, laced with awe, was swallowed by the fierce wind swirling around the Tower. Ervandas couldn’t hide his bitter expression. Just a few months ago, who would have imagined that he, a former Temple Knight, would be standing before the Magic Tower, the antithesis of the temple?

Gazing at the Tower, arrogantly piercing the sky where God resided, Ervandas instinctively reached up to make the sign of the cross, then stopped.

He was no longer a Temple Knight. Of course, that didn’t mean he had abandoned his faith. But having left the place where he had spent more than half his life, even making the sign of the cross felt like a hypocritical act.

“Your Highness, the mages are approaching!”

The royal knight beside him exclaimed, seeing the Magic Tower’s gate opening.

The massive iron gate creaked open with a deafening roar, its sheer size amplifying the sound. The kingdom’s knights’ horses whinnied in alarm, startled by the ground-shaking noise.

Ervandas swallowed nervously, witnessing the imposing gate opening without anyone pulling it. This was the power of the Magic Tower.

He raised a hand and commanded,

“Silence. Calm the horses and fall back.”

The knights immediately retreated at his order. Ervandas, standing alone at the front of the knights, watched as the mages emerged from the Magic Tower. There were three in total. None of them had red hair.

‘As expected…’

Lulu, the red-haired Tower Master.

When he first heard that name, he had asked repeatedly if that was really a name someone would give a child, but he was assured that it was. Apparently, it was a name given by her mentor, and the Master was very proud of it.

‘They say the fool who mocked her name was thrown from the Magic Tower.’

Fortunately, that fool happened to be a prince from an enemy kingdom. But it wasn’t entirely good news. Because of that incident, the Master had decreed, “Throw out any fools who come seeking aid in war!” And Ervandas… he was here seeking aid in war.

Ervandas dismounted his horse and waited for the approaching mages. He couldn’t afford to appear arrogant from their first meeting. He was here seeking their cooperation.

So he felt uneasy when he realized she wasn’t among the mages emerging from the Magic Tower.

He hadn’t expected her, the Master of the Magic Tower, to personally greet every visitor, but he had secretly hoped that she might make an appearance for him. Ervandas, hoping that these mages weren’t here to dismiss him, waited patiently.

As the mages drew closer, their voices reached him.

“So, you’re saying you’re the only one who got to hang out with Master Lulu, Sharia?”

“Well, who told you to take a vacation? If you had been there, you would have gone with us too, wouldn’t you?”

“I worked overtime for three weeks straight! And you go out and have fun on the one day I decide to take a break? You must have seduced Master Lulu!”

“What? Are you grabbing my collar right now?”

Their conversation was surprisingly cheerful and lighthearted, unlike what one would expect from mages representing the Tower when greeting an envoy from another kingdom. They stopped before Ervandas, who stood alone and circled him, examining him from head to toe.

‘Is this how mages greet people?’

He had never heard of such a greeting from the mages in his kingdom. But it was difficult to question their behavior at this point. Ervandas struggled to suppress the disgust rising within him as he felt their gazes lingering on his face and body.

Even though it had been several months since he left the temple, his aversion to the opposite sex hadn’t lessened at all. In fact, it was the very reason he had joined the temple in the first place. 

Just as his patience was wearing thin, the mage called Sharia clapped her hands together and said,

“Alright. I think this will do. Don’t you agree?”

“Yes. Master Lulu can be picky, but with a face and body like this, he’ll definitely pass.”

They were blatantly judging his appearance. Having never been so openly appraised before, Ervandas gaped at them, speechless.

“Welcome to the Magic Tower. I’m Sharia Lanen, Master Lulu’s First Assistant.”

The mage who had emphasized the “First Assistant” part greeted Ervandas with an elegant bow. Since they didn’t seem to be planning to dismiss him immediately, Ervandas returned the greeting politely.

“I am Ervandas Richard Arsipen, Prince of Tehern, and once known as the Divine Sword. I have come to meet Master Lulu.”

Mentioning his former affiliation with the temple wouldn’t be helpful before the mages, but he felt it might at least lessen their blatant stares.

Sharia, as if understanding his intention, spoke to the two other mages behind her.

“Stop staring, you two. You’ll wear the prince down before he even reaches the top.”

“…”

Ervandas closed his mouth again at her blunt remark. Were all mages like this? Then what about the Master, their leader…?

“Alright. You’ve passed the conditions Master Lulu set, so you may enter the Tower. But only Prince Ervandas. The rest of you can wait here or return to the kingdom.”

“What do you mean?! You’re saying Lord Ervandas has to go in alone?!”

The vice-commander of the knights, who had been listening from behind, protested. What kind of place was the Magic Tower? Even from the outside, it was clear that the massive structure was laced with thousands of spells, making the interior far more expansive than its outward appearance suggested. And within that space resided all sorts of bizarre creations of mages, spanning over a thousand years. Of course, many mages were just as eccentric as their creations.

To have Ervandas enter such a place alone… It would be dangerous for any knight, but he was the current commander of the kingdom’s knights and a prince. They couldn’t let such an important figure enter this den of madness alone.

Just as the vice commander was about to raise his voice, Ervandas held up a hand, signaling him to stand down.

“Very well. I will enter alone.”

“Lord Ervandas!”

“Allowing me into the Magic Tower means accepting me as a guest. I trust that the Magic Tower will guarantee the basic safety of its guests.”

Sharia nodded vigorously at his words.

“Of course! It’s not like we capture everyone who enters and use them as test subjects for our magic experiments!”

Ervandas understood the hidden meaning behind her words. Not everyone, but some had met such a fate.

He handed his horse’s reins to the vice-commander and straightened his clothes. The vice-commander tried to dissuade him again, his face etched with worry, but there was no other way.

The war was dragging on. His kingdom still held the advantage, but no one could predict the future. Because of the war, they hadn’t been able to properly sow their crops in the spring, and as a result, the wheat harvest this fall would be drastically reduced. If they couldn’t even plant winter barley before winter arrived… countless people would suffer and die. Whether friend or foe, Ervandas wanted to avoid such a tragedy.

‘That’s why I need a mage.’

A powerful mage, capable of ending this war.

As Ervandas finished his preparations, Sharia led the way. They followed her into the Magic Tower, and the massive iron gate closed behind them with a deafening clang. Trapped inside, with no way out, Ervandas asked Sharia,

“Why am I the only one allowed to enter? Having one more knight with me wouldn’t pose any threat to the mages.”

“Ah, that’s because you’re the only one who meets the conditions Master Lulu set, Prince Ervandas.”

“Conditions?”

“Yes.”

Sharia nodded seriously and said,

“She said that no one is allowed to enter unless they have silver hair, blue eyes, and a body and face so handsome it’s like nothing she’s ever seen before.”

“…”

Ervandas felt a wave of unease, unlike anything he had experienced before, at her words.

…Should he try to leave now?

* * *

Ervandas didn’t leave. Instead, he followed Sharia, ascending countless floors, marveling at the Magic Tower’s interior. When he tried to count the floors, Sharia shook her head.

“The number of floors and the layout change all the time, so it’s pointless to try to remember. Let’s see… it should change again in about four hours.”

“Then how do you get to where you want to go?”

“By feel?”

“…”

Ervandas gave up on trying to understand and silently followed her. Sharia said they had to reach the top floor, where the Master resided. But at this pace, it would take them an entire day. So he asked, half curious, half concerned,

“You’re giving me a tour because it’s my first time here, aren’t you? Shall we just go directly to the top floor then?”

“…Okay.”

He didn’t think she was intentionally trying to torment him, so he nodded. At that moment, Ervandas felt a weightlessness, as if his body were floating. The scenery around him blurred and sped up, and when he came to his senses, he realized he was in a different place.

“This is…”

“Welcome to the top floor of the Magic Tower!”

The reply came not from Sharia but from above, from the railing of a hallway. He looked up, and a red blur jumped down from above.

“Watch out!”

Forgetting where he was, Ervandas rushed towards the falling figure. He braced himself to catch her, anticipating the impact of the weight… But instead, a soft breeze brushed against his outstretched arms. And staring back at him, her eyes wide with surprise, was a pair of deep red eyes, unlike any he had ever seen before.

“…”

As he stood there speechless, stunned, the owner of those eyes asked,

“Were you trying to catch me?”

Her voice was clear and bright. Ervandas, involuntarily, nodded. The red eyes crinkled into a smile.

“You’re unusual. Everyone else flinched and closed their eyes in fear. You’re Prince Ervandas, right?”

He nodded again.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lulu, the Tower Master. But you…”

Lulu smiled brightly and said,

“You’re really handsome.”

He found himself nodding yet again, her words failing to register. His mind was focusing on his outstretched arms, the ones that had instinctively reached out to catch her.

He felt a genuine pang of regret.

* * *