Three months have passed since the reform of magic engineering.
By now, not only the Chief Mages but also the intermediate mages have grasped the basics.
They have reached a level where it is feasible to start actual projects using Magnesium.
- Magnesium material reinforcement.
- Enhancement of magic stone efficiency in Magnesium plates
And through the inspiration given by Dolores, a new issue was discovered.
- Magnesium reinforcement: resistance to elemental attacks.
Since Magnesium would be mainly used for armors, it was essential to increase resistance to elemental magic.
'This falls under the enchantment area, so it shouldn't be difficult.'
He would distribute related research to newly created magic engineering teams.
'It's faster to conduct research in reality than in the game.'
Usually, only one research could be conducted due to the lack of mages, but Reed had more than 100 mages.
So, by entrusting the projects to them, they could achieve multiple research results at once, even if the speed was slow.
"Phoebe."
"Yes!"
Phoebe came over with a smile.
"Please distribute these research tasks accordingly. And tell those participating in this research that they'll be rewarded with bonus pay based on their performance."
"Bonus pay... are you sure?"
Phoebe seemed dissatisfied.
"Ah, let them know they'll be considered for promotion as well."
"Eh? Promotion, too? There would be a lot of competition within the tower..."
'Did I go too far this time?'
Well, it didn't matter.
Wouldn't it be enjoyable to work extra hard if there were sweet rewards?
"Just relay that to them."
"Understood~"
Phoebe took the documents and went outside. As soon as she left, her dragged-out voice was heard.
"Oh, Miss, what brings you here?"
It seemed Rosaria had come.
Soon, Rosaria's cheerful voice was heard.
"I came to show this to Papa!"
"Ah, don't bother the Tower Master, Miss."
"But I have to show this to Papa!"
"What is it? Oh, that's so pretty! Is it me?"
"Yeah! It's Phoebe!"
"It's so lovely. Our Miss is so talented~."
'I feel like their conversation is making them forget the main purpose?'
Reed yelled towards the door.
"Stop chatting out there and let her in."
"Ah, yes!"
Phoebe, startled, opened the door and let Rosaria in.
A small angel with white hair and red eyes came running towards him, holding a drawing.
"Papa, I drew a picture!"
"You drew a picture?"
"Yeah!"
"Let me see!"
Rosaria came to his side and showed him the drawing.
It was a pure and naive drawing that looked exactly like something a 7-year-old would draw.
She began to explain each figure.
"This is me, Papa, Phoebe, and Dolores!"
They were all made of circles and stick figures, but Reed could tell who was who.
Phoebe had half-closed eyes and a smiling face, and Dolores had sparkling blue eyes and shimmering hair.
The most discordant figure was Reed's.
Perhaps because it was his own face, the gray-haired figure with a wide grin looked quite distant from him.
Reed looked at the drawing and looked at Rosaria.
She looked as proud as if she had produced a masterpiece.
"It's great."
"Yeah!"
Watching her puff out her chest, Reed couldn't help but smile.
While she was there, he checked her stats through「Talent Appraisal」.
———————————
Name: Rosaria Adeleheights Roton
Occupation: Daughter of the Tower Master
Age: 7 years old
Alignment: Lawful Neutral
Health: 100/100
Stamina: 80/80
Mana: 55,860/55,860
[Traits]
「Eternal Hole」
[Stats]
"Absorption Lv. 1", "Purity Lv. 3", "Mana Sensitivity Lv. 7", "Magic Lv. 3", "Elemental Sensitivity Lv. 3", "Magic Studies Lv. 1"
[Unreleased Traits & Abilities]
Traits: 「Magic Ruler」,「Master of Adaptation」
Abilities: "Magic Lv. 7", "Magic Studies Lv. 7", "Elemental Sensitivity Lv. 7"...
———————————
Her 'Purity' level was gradually decreasing, and the Lawful alignment settled in.
It meant that she now understood the importance of rules.
Reed's intervention must have had an impact on her alignment.
'Whether it's good or evil depends on what she does next....'
As for whether it's good or evil, it doesn't matter.
As long as she can uphold her own beliefs, Reed was prepared to accept her choices regardless of what they were.
'Rather, it's strange.'
Her stats had changed as Dolores consistently helped her study, and after not much time, the 'Magic Studies' stat was created.
It meant that Dolores was able to accurately address what Rosaria didn't understand.
Only a genius can truly understand another genius.
Reed was grateful to Dolores.
'Should I give her a gift later?'
Although she said it was just a hobby, it has been a great help to him.
Even if Rosaria later decided to go under the Tower Master of Wallin, Reed wouldn't have any lingering regrets since she had already played the roles of a friend, mentor, and sister.
'Yeah, let's give her a gift.'
If possible, something that women would like.
As he thought that, Phoebe's voice came across.
- Sir Tower Master!
He hears Phoebe's voice through a distant communication spell.
Reed asked her mentally so that Rosaria wouldn't hear.
- What's the matter?
- The Tower Master of Black Sky is here
- Black Sky?
- What should we do?
'Why did the Tower Master of Black Sky come here?'
Reed was puzzled and told Phoebe.
- Guide her to the reception room. Tell her I'll be down in 10 minutes.
- Yes!
To meet with Freesia, he needed some preparation.
Reed took the drawing from Rosaria.
"Very well drawn. Is it okay if I frame this and decorate it?"
"Really?"
"Of course! It's my daughter's first drawing, so of course, it can be framed! I want to hang it on the wall."
"Okay! I'll give it to you!"
Rosaria nodded.
"Now I have to work, so why don't you go back?"
"Okay. Papa, fighting!"
With her balled-up fist raised as an awkward cheer, she exited the room.
Reed tried to think about what Freesia would have come up with, but the situation didn't seem to allow for any leisure.
"Ah, Tower Master, um, you have to go to the reception room!"
Phoebe's urgent voice could be heard. She seemed to be trying to stop someone but was clearly struggling.
The office door flung open, and the figure of a girl and the restless Phoebe appeared.
Black gothic dress, black hair, and red eyes exuding an intimidating presence.
It was Freesia Vulcan Darkrider.
"It's been a long time since I've seen you, Reed Adeleheights Roton."
Reed greeted her respectfully without panicking.
"Welcome, Tower Master of Black Sky. I would have come downstairs to greet you in the reception room."
"Why? Would you have had to dress up? The way you are now is not bad."
Freesia approached Reed casually and looked closely at his face.
Her red eyes and pale skin.
Her attractive eye smile and moist lips were drawing his attention.
However, in Reed's eyes, she looked like a little girl trying too hard to act mature, no matter what she did.
"I haven't seen you in a few months, and I really missed you, Reed. How about you? Did you miss me?"
It was undoubtedly because Reed hadn't attended the last Tower Master's meeting.
Since he had informed them in advance that he had important matters to attend to, the chairman of the Tower Masters, Master of Sky Chamber, must have informed everyone, so there wouldn't have been any strange suspicions.
Reed just stared at Freesia, and she raised her finger.
"You shouldn't keep a lady waiting. Well, I'll give you 3 seconds. 3, 2, 1—"
"I didn't miss you."
Reed answered her sharply.
At that, Freesia made a face as if it was no fun.
"Really? At times like this, you could at least say, 'I've been suffering from a drought in my heart because I couldn't see the Tower Master of Black Sky.' Don't you think?"
"Lying is bad."
"Tsk!"
Despite his cold words, Freesia's smile did not fade.
"Hmm… What's this?"
Freesia leaned down and looked at the drawing on Reed's desk.
He didn't think her eyes would catch it.
After examining the drawing briefly, Freesia laughed and looked up at Reed.
"You really can't draw, can you?"
"…What are you talking about? That's clearly a drawing by my daughter."
"Isn't your daughter old enough to draw better than this?"
"She's only 7 years old now. She just started drawing the day before yesterday."
Freesia tilted her head as if to say, 'Is that so?'
'This woman really doesn't care about Rosaria.'
"Hmm... Judging by the colors, it seems to be you, the brat, the puppy, and the ice girl."
Everyone was strangely named, but it seemed she knew who they were.
Freesia threw the drawing back onto the desk, and Reed put it away with a storage spell.
Freesia's face was full of dissatisfaction.
"Why am I not in the picture?"
"Why, haven't you had no real interactions with my daughter, and you can't remember her, so it's only natural she can't remember you."
"What?"
Freesia made a puzzled face at his answer.
"Even though I bought her clothes and praised her, she must have seen me as a stranger. How ungrateful."
"You didn't have any special conversations with her, and since you don't remember her, it's only natural she doesn't remember you."
"I am her elder, so she should remember me even if I don't remember her!"
That was absolutely shameless.
Well, in the former aristocratic society, that would have been normal.
Like how seniors in the army don't remember their juniors but juniors remember their seniors.
"So, what business do you have? You didn't come here to protest about education like the other Tower Masters, did you?"
When he mentioned education, Freesia chuckled and said,
"That? That's simply the beginning of a romantic tale between you and Dolores. I won't interfere as a third party. Besides, education isn't my cup of tea. Breaking things is the most fun."
"So why are you here?"
Then Freesia smiled.
Her smile seemed to reveal years of experience, unfit for her young face.
"It's about the Hupper Kingdom."
Hupper Kingdom.
It was a topic that had not even been mentioned during the Tower Masters' meetings.
Everyone knew about it, but since a consensus had been reached and it wasn't causing any major problems, no Tower Master had raised the issue.
'I never thought she would bring it up.'
That was unexpected.
Anyone would expect her to make a sarcastic comment about such a boring matter.
Reed hid his thoughts and spoke to her with a polite tone.
"The matter with the Hupper Kingdom has been handled smoothly. There should be nothing to worry about."
"Actually, I don't care. It doesn't matter if you stabbed someone to death there or overturned the dinner table. It's just that if you interfere with what I'm going to do from now on, it'll be a problem."
At those words, Reed's expression became serious.
"Are you saying the Tower Master of Black Sky is going to get involved in the affairs of the kingdom?"
"No, even though I'm a Tower Master, why would I bother getting involved in the kingdom's affairs?"
Freesia smirked as she laughed.
"Instead, 'Brosa' will cause trouble, and that's the issue."
Brosa.
It was a pseudonym Freesia created by shortening 'Black Rose'.
Most likely, none of the other Tower Masters, even the Tower Master of Sky Chamber who was in charge of the chairmanship, knew about it.
Reed had been aware of it since he received the magical engineering equipment.
So, even if she caused trouble under the pseudonym 'Brosa', Reed knew it was Freesia's doing.
"What's the problem?"
"Your sense of Justice."
"Justice?"
"If there's someone who tries to prevent something like what happened in that small insignificant village, it would be a big problem for Brosa."
In short, she was saying he shouldn't recklessly step forward, driven by a sense of justice.
"In that case, you don't have to worry. I'm not so idle as to volunteer for such people."
His sense of justice had been lit simply by dealing with the fallen star village's matter.
If there were people who spread rumors and expected Reed to solve their problems with a 'Maybe he'll do it for us too?' mindset, Reed would make them pay the proper price.
"So, what are you trying to do, Tower Master of Black Sky, that you want to keep my mouth shut?"
Freesia placed her hand on Reed's shoulder and whispered into his ear.
"I'm about to do it right now."
She whispered in a sweet, devilish voice.
"If you don't have a sense of justice, Reed, why don't you come and take a look for yourself?"