The Magic Tower was so secluded that there was no common knowledge of the Magic Tower Master's private life.
"My wife died giving birth, so she's my only family.
It's been a long time since she's been gone."
The Magic Tower Master looked like he was in his sixties at first glance.
So his daughter would be middle-aged now.
I answered him desperately,
“My father passed away 15 years ago...”
“What?”
The Magic Tower Master's eyes widened in surprise.
“What!
Leaving a child like you behind?
Your father really has no sense!”
He clicked his tongue as he spoke.
“Of course, my daughter has no sense either.”
"truly?"
“My daughter was born and raised in the Magic Tower.
She was receiving constant care and attention, but one day she suddenly left the place without any preparation and went out into the harsh world.
There is no doubt that she had a major accident.”
For me as someone who has lived in this cruel world for 23 years, this was a completely uninspiring story.
However, I said cautiously,
“Really?
Is it possible that the middle-aged child was kidnapped and taken to a bad place…?”
The Magic Tower Master mentioned that she received constant care and attention.
Why did the rightful daughter of the Magic Tower Master, who was raised with love, suddenly go out and get into trouble?
If I were her, I would stay in the magic tower and live like a princess, never going anywhere.
“Well, I'm not sure.”
The Magic Tower Master sighed deeply and continued,
“One night, she stabbed me with a knife...”
Hmm?
Immoral act?
“I took some blood and...”
Physical harm?
“I emptied my wallet and...”
theft?
“And then I ran away from home.”
Did you run away?
“That was the last I saw of my daughter when she was 20.”
Oh God.
Even a person who has received constant care and attention may end up like this.
'No, compared to her, my father seems like a meek lamb.
“You mean that the actions of the daughter of the Master of the Magic Tower, compared to the actions of her father in leaving her all these years, are nothing?”
I drew a clear line at the Magic Tower Master's words.
The Magic Tower Master let out a sigh and groan before adding,
"Anyway, the fact that I can't find her yet makes me think she may have been involved with a dangerous organization.
I don't know when or how they might demand ransom, and I have no idea what kind of trouble she might be in."
One thing was certain.
It was undeniable that the Magic Tower Master's cultivation had completely failed.
“My daughter may have lacked a lot of things, but I did my best, didn’t I?
I loved her and took care of her.”
The Magic Tower Master muttered, his shoulders slumping.
“But why…why did this happen?
I thought everything was fine even if it was missing some things.”
The Magic Tower Master's troubled face was overlapping with my father's troubled face.
[You were good to your mother.
I assured her that everything would be fine… but why did she leave us?]
I knew the answer.
[It's because my mother didn't like my father.]
My response hurt my father deeply, and I could see it on his face.
But even when I was little I felt hurt when you said that.
Because… among the people my mother didn't like, I was one of them too.
'If my mother loved me... she wouldn't have left me after accumulating all these debts.'
The daughter who destroyed her father's life because her mother did not love her.
That was me.
Somehow...
I felt like I didn't deserve to be happy.
But at least, if I can bring my father's life back, I will feel proud of my life.
While I was silent, the Magic Tower Master muttered.
"The problem is… the more I try to find her, the worse I feel about it.
It seems she's caused a really big problem.
I need to fix it somehow, quickly…"
In the end, it was still about not being able to do a good job due to family problems.
This fact has not changed.
The Magic Tower Master had neglected the Scroll Management Department all this time, which was why things had turned out this way.
'Anyway, he made me a minister.
Thanks to him, I was able to abandon Operation Cinderella.'
I decided to forgive the Magic Tower Master graciously.
But to be honest, there wasn't much I could do.
“Yes, my flaws will come back later in the form of karma, that's for sure...”
The Magic Tower Master let out a groan of pain, then straightened up and looked at me again.
“Anyway, Minister, I want to talk about you.”
The appointment ceremony has not yet been conducted but it seems that the Magic Tower Master has decided to call me “Minister” from now on.
“Her Majesty mentioned that you created a very special and new manuscript, right?”
“Ah yes.”
I scratched my ears and chanted.
“It's a manuscript I developed when I was little because my father wanted to see the stars...and the principle is like this.”
She picked up a parchment that was rolling on the former minister's desk.
Then I started writing quickly.
This was a manuscript I made myself, so the formula wasn't in any books.
As I was explaining the principles and working method, the Magic Tower Master's face hardened.
“Oh… Her Majesty said she saw this thing for the first time, so she thought it was just a mysterious and unique scroll.
But it’s actually purely a personal creation?”
“Ah yes.”
"Minister, did you really do this?
Alone?
Without consulting any books?
At only eight years old?
And without any other wizards around?"
"Yes."
The Magic Tower Master nodded slowly and then muttered,
“Suppose I agreed that you made 160 manuscripts in one night.”
“It's 166 manuscripts.”
“Well, it's possible.
Sometimes, geniuses like this come along once every ten years.
Let's say you can activate 170 scrolls at once.”
“It's 172 manuscripts.”
“Well, it's possible.
Sometimes, geniuses like this come along once every twenty years.”
The Magic Tower Master was looking at my scroll and bit his lower lip.
“But this… is really… something really unusual.”
“Ah yes.”
“…Do people often ask what’s so special about it?”
When I nodded, the Magic Tower Master frowned.
“Creating a new scroll… Outsiders are ignorant of magic, but this is something only adults can do.
Normally, one would have to spend more than five years in the tower to refine pure magic!”
“Ah yes.”
"But you said you did it at the age of eight!
You've never been to the Magic Tower!
You're not lying about it, are you?
It's weird even when I see it!"
I shrugged as if I wasn't interested.
“It is this specificity that made me a minister.”
“What?”
“Passage Minister Namia Rawabi believes that is enough.”
When I referred to myself as the Minister, the Wizard Tower Master sighed.
Then he maintained his frown and asked,
“How old are you?”
“I am 23 years old.”
“Tell me more about your parents.”
After a moment of hesitation, I started talking about my father again.
Today, for some reason, there were a lot of people asking about my father.
The Empress asked the same thing earlier...
When I finished speaking, the Magic Tower Master looked at me intently.
“You were born in the Arbin area in the south, and you are 23 years old... and you don’t know anything about your mother?
Even her name?”
“No, my father said my mother used an alias...”
“Have you heard anything about your mother’s appearance?”
“Oh, I was once told that my mother, father, and I all have blue eyes.”
But blue eyes are the most common in the empire.
So it wasn't a distinctive feature.
“Dad said she was very beautiful, but the magic thing was that she didn’t know she was so beautiful.”
My father looked very sheepish when he said that.
As I watched him, I made a vow from an early age: never to fall prey to admiration.
If I only judged by appearances, I might become like my father.
'That's why I was able to maintain my senses even when Kiaros proposed!'
Honestly, his face alone is enough to satisfy anyone.
However, rationally, I was able to hold myself together and refuse.
“Hmm.”
The Magic Tower Master looked at me silently with a frown.
It's as if he's examining every detail of my face.