Since the time of bidding farewell to Pingballez, the sky had turned gloomy, and it had been raining continuously for days. At times like these, one can’t help but feel grateful for the existence of magic.

In a past life, I would have been waiting hopelessly for the sun to dry the laundry. The damp clothes hanging on the drying rack would have only added a musty smell.

But now, things are different. With just a flick of magic, everything’s dry, no need for an expensive dryer.

“…So, you called me here to dry the laundry, Professor?”

“Exactly.”

“If it weren’t for the professor… sigh.”

Selvier, the human laundry dryer, sighed deeply as she chanted her spell. Flames flickered from her hands, twisting and dancing around her body.

I even asked her to dehumidify the lab, and nearly got my shins scorched. If I hadn’t dodged with a clever step, I would have taken quite the damage.

Zzzing.

I could see the laundry drying in real-time. The flames that mercilessly dried my underwear and thermals to a crisp, now targeted Pingballez’s undergarments.

“Tch.”

Selvier clicked her tongue irritably, guessing the daunting size from the shape and volume of the underwear. She was never on the busty side, after all.

To put it in perspective, it was bigger than an apple…

“Shall I make your eyes dry and crisp as well?”

“I’ll pass.”

I averted my gaze and raised my hands. It was a gesture of surrender and submission.

Pitter-patter.

Was it the slight breeze or the raindrops that tapped the lab window a couple of times, as if asking to be let in?

I glared at the annoying raindrops. It’s not you who should be knocking. It’s my friend with pink hair who’s good at s*xual harassment.

No matter how lonely I get, I wouldn’t invite raindrops into my lab. If you want to come in, bring Pingballez with you.

Even as I fill my head with these random thoughts, the anxiety refuses to fall away from my mind.

“What’s wrong… Have you had any bad news recently?”

“I’m just a bit anxious because I haven’t heard from a friend.”

“Ah, the one with the pink hair. It’s true, I haven’t seen her around lately… So that’s why you’ve been as deflated as a flame-toad that’s swallowed fire?”

“What kind of comparison is that?”

To grit your teeth and avoid the word ‘water’ even in idioms, how strong is your rivalry with the Snow of the Ivory Tower?

The emotion of anxiety isn’t the problem in itself.

It’s the emotion that anxiety clings to that’s the issue. If I hadn’t been fond of Pinkbalez, the anxiety would have had no power and vanished. Just as one wouldn’t care about messing up the college entrance exam if they were certain of their admission.

So to remove anxiety, one must remove its host.

It’s like when chewing gum gets tangled in your hair. Even if you remove the big lump, a sticky residue remains, and it’s hard to get rid of it completely, even after washing your hair several times.

Eventually, you have no choice but to cut out the tangled part of your hair.

“What kind of foolish thought is that?”

“…Why?”

“A childhood friend told me, you have to accept emotions as they are, not bury or cut them away.”

“…That’s quite a profound statement.”

The sentence Selvier spat out seemed to pierce deep into my heart. It felt like someone was pointing out a part I had always ignored, to the extent that I felt a bit ashamed.

Selvier must really like that childhood friend. Happiness is already brimming in her expression. Like someone taking a cake out of the fridge.

She spoke on behalf of her childhood friend.

“They said, if you get rejected by someone you like, and then deny that love as if it ‘never happened’… How can you trust the love that will come to you later?”

“……..”

“That kind of emotion is proof. You’re so anxious because you’re very close to that person, right? Then you should be happy about that fact. You can cherish the preciousness as much as the size of your anxiety.”

The taller the building, the longer the shadow it casts.

So instead of trembling in the shadow or being outraged and trying to tear down the building. Maybe it’s about climbing to the top of the building to enjoy the view.

“If it were as easy as saying it, I wouldn’t be suffering inside.”

“Honestly, it’s a bit difficult. But isn’t it a beautiful sentiment? It feels like a principle.”

It was an idealistic statement.

“Thanks for the comfort, Selvier. Should I leak the next performance evaluation content for you?”

“No need. I just said it because we’re in the same boat. I’ve been waiting for that childhood friend for over 10 years too.”

“I’m all dried up, so I’ll be going now,” she said. Selvier waved her hand and left the lab. Her red hair fluttered and then disappeared in a swish. Over 10 years…?

10 years, has it been that long?

I imagined the dreadful and terrifying possibility that Pingballez would disappear and I’d have to wait for 10 years without promise. I tried to simulate it in my head, but I stopped.

They say even a tiger appears when you speak of it, and the fear that such a ‘what if’ might actually come true made me shudder.

I didn’t have the courage to face such a loss.

I don’t want to lose anything.

Not the tower master, not Pingballez, I don’t want to lose any of it, in any form. What if I reveal a bit more of my cunning intentions and hear ‘Eek, let’s just be friends…’

What if, after connecting with one, the other leaves saying, ‘You did not choose me. Then I, too, will not choose you.’

Frozen stiff by the fear of such an unrealized possibility, I stand here, nailed to the spot, unable to move forward or back.

I wonder if all three of us feel the same way.

Not wanting to lose, Yuna doesn’t define our relationship with clear-cut words, suppresses jealousy, and never crosses the line.

Knowing she might leave someday for revenge, Yuri Lannister has drawn a clear line in our relationship, approaching yet keeping a distance.

What about becoming lovers? That single phrase is tightly bound and hidden in the shadows of my heart. I’ve been soothing my cold heart with meaningless physical touch.

Just because our bodies are pressed together doesn’t mean our hearts align, does it?

Truthfully, I wish.

I wish for a tighter bond, one that will never break. I’m hoping to become a family.

…

What about having a talk?

When Yuri Lannister returns, the three of us could sit down together. Carefully start the conversation. Honestly, I think I want to get closer to you both.

To open up a bit more, to share the more intimate parts of our hearts.

Of course, revealing oneself might invite conflict. We might argue over incompatible personalities, raise our voices. But I’m willing to take all those risks.

To adjust to each other, to take a step beyond the lines currently drawn. To become a bit more intimate.

So, that’s what I’m asking.

Tell me, Yuna, what the emblem on that pointed hat means, and why you sometimes cry so suddenly. What happened in the purple tower in the past.

Yuri, what incident sparked your desire for revenge. What happened in the past that made you manifest such a metaphor.

Let me solve your worries, or at least comfort and soothe you if I can’t.

Let’s do that.

Let’s go ahead with it.

When Pingballez returns from the business trip, let’s muster the courage to speak up. Prepare a few jokes in case the mood turns sour. Maybe write a script. Practice in front of the mirror.

Is that all? What about after that?

How about a trip? Like a real family, to the southern continent for a long journey. I heard there’s a beautiful beach there, where we can enjoy the water.

Maybe I should use the wish ticket I got from Irid. Ask to have Pingballez assigned as my personal attendant. To ensure no sudden missions take them away. Sounds like a good idea.

The rain still falls. With each drop, I harbored hopes for our encounter.

If all goes well, we’ll be… happier and more fun. So please, come back unscathed.

In that moment of prayer.

Bang.

The door swung open.

I turned, hoping to see the dazzling Pinvallez make an entrance at just the right moment. But there stood Yuna, drenched and looking like a drowned rat.

“……..”

“Why, why do you look like that? Tower Master. With such an expression, in that state…”

I stuttered without realizing it. The shade over her expression and the meaning behind her tightly clenched hands. Out of fear.

Amidst gnawing anxiety, I comforted myself repeatedly. It’s nothing serious. It’s a trivial matter. Tell me that’s true.

But reality is always cruel.

“…Yuri is, unconscious.”

“……..”

With a gasping sound, I seemed to freeze, like a pinned butterfly, for a long time.

—

Yuri Lanster lay asleep.

She was found by a passing academy student, who reported seeing Yuri abandoned in an alley.

A defense agent remaining at the academy confirmed her identity and handed her over to a priest first. And after receiving the answer ‘incurable’ from the priest of the Goddess religion.

They contacted me for assistance.

She lay there, sleeping so peacefully. To the point where I felt all the pettiness. I cautiously called out to her closed eyelids.

“…Pinvallez?”

No response.

Why won’t she answer?

Did she secretly dislike the nickname? …Maybe it was offensive. After all, it was a name given for personal attack.

Then, albeit a bit embarrassed, let’s call her by her name.

“…Yuri. Wake up?”

Still no answer.

Strange.

It was only after pondering the silence for a while that I could accept the fact that Yuri Lanster was in a vegetative state, no different from a plant.

Tick.

As the stress levels sharply rose, the “Psychopath Module” in my head activated.

Yes. It’s nothing serious. Just… a succubus half-dead. No reason to make a fuss or panic.

No reason to feel pain either. Just a stranger, unrelated to me. How many would stress over an ant crushed in passing?

Her intentions must have been impure from the start. A selection by the Second Prince for my surveillance, aiming to curry favor and extract information.

A bewitching fox that had ensnared me has now fallen away; this is a gain. Without a watcher, I am free at the academy. Right? Yes.

So, it’s nothing…

No.

Slap.

I slapped my own cheek with magical force. The module was crushed. And so were the innocent modules beside it.

I shook my head violently to clear the intrusive thoughts. She’s not dead. It can be reversed. If it’s a matter of the mind, I can do it.

I float a magic circle and channel mana. The necessary magic is created on the spot. I meticulously examined the inside of Yuri Lanster’s head. I felt resistance.

Traces of artificial mana were detected.

I recall. This is the same as what was implanted in the Third Prince’s head. The Succubus Queen’s doing. And there’s something else… a complex web too intricate to touch.

Yuri Lanster is trapped in her own mind by the Queen’s magic. Essentially, she’s wandering a dungeon created inside her head.

I know it. She must be having a nightmare. Dark sorcerers inflict pain, wounding the soul to absorb mana. She must be suffering even now.

Can it be extracted or expelled through external procedures?

Impossible. The Queen’s magic is sloppy and full of gaps, ripe for tearing apart, but there’s this strange… tar-like thing supporting it. Too cunning. Malicious.

It’s like an Iron Maiden bristling with spikes. If I force the entrance open, hundreds of holes will be pierced in Yuri Lanster’s trapped mind.

I felt a level of magical skill from it comparable to my own.

The Purple Tower Master, who was examining her with me, said,

“…It seems to have a complex sublimation ability attached. I thought to erase it with ‘Subtraction,’ but it’s no use. Yuri will be swept away too…”

“……”

I’m anxious. Becoming more anxious. Then what other way is there? Can I really just leave her like this? No. It can’t be.

There’s an entrance. I’ve found the entrance.

From noble mtl dot come

The trap set in Yuri Lanster’s head is vulnerable from the inside, with a well-crafted side path set for easy infiltration. It’s not a flaw. I can feel the creator’s intent.

It’s inviting me in. If I want to save her. Inside.

It’s a trap.

My reason warns me. A well-crafted trap, adorned with an unknown sublimation picked up somewhere. It’s dangerous. A small dungeon has been built in her head.

Like a session, if I detach only my consciousness to infiltrate… I become as defenseless as a player participating in my session.

So?

That’s not important. I suppressed the boiling anger and sorrow in my heart, grinding my teeth, fearing it might interfere with my magical performance.

Just then, Yuna grabbed my sleeve and pulled hard. She clearly warned me of the danger, standing in my way.

“…Even you could die, you know…?!”

“I know.”

“No, you don’t…!! Elaine too, and even she, who had a mature metaphor, was deceived by your immaturity. Even I… even I, who possess at least half a metaphor, found it overwhelming! There’s such a gap between a prepared magician and one who is not!”

Yes.

That’s right. Once the traces of metaphor are found, the danger multiplies exponentially. But, but that doesn’t mean… I can’t leave it be.

“Hey, you don’t have to rush it. Right? There might still be time. At least. It’s not like you’re going in unarmed. It’s dangerous!”

But, there might be no time left. Right now, Yuri Lancer might be dying. No, she is certainly dying.

“I’ll try harder. I’ll summon the entire Purple Tower, we’ll help. We can surely do it. It’s not too late. So…!!”

I can’t contain the anxiety. Summoning the tower’s personnel, assessing the situation, it will surely consume a lot of time. Can she hold on until then?

If I go in now and successfully rescue Yuri Lancer. Everything will be alright. The happy future I’ve envisioned in my heart won’t waver.

I can do it. I must do it. Am I not a genius? Right?

Let’s go. Let’s go save her.

Did she read such determination in my expression? Yuna’s face twisted greatly, and she began to sob. Her eyes quickly reddened, and tears rolled down.

“…What about me? Then, what about me?!”

“……..”

I froze.

While I was at a loss and panicking, Yuna poured out her grievances to me. It’s sad. Of course, it’s sad that Yuri Lancer has come to this. But.

“If you just barge in recklessly, and you end up like this too… How am I supposed to live…?

“I…”

As I struggled to find the words, silence fell.

“I won’t let it, I can’t let you go. I hate it-!!”

With a cry almost like a scream, droplets of water rose around Yuna and from the tips of her fingers. It’s a precursor to magic.

Whoosh.

I was pushed back. No, the space stretched. The distance between me and the bed where Yuri Lancer lay increased exponentially. It’s Yuna’s illusion magic.

I respond…!!

“『Illusion Shatter』, 『Spatial Coordinate Chaos』, 『Blind』…!”

I fired waves in all directions with attributes opposite to Yuna’s magic power, shattering the illusion magic. I caused annihilation.

Then I shook to make myself untargetable and fired a restraining illusion magic.

As I stood against the first wave with my technique, what was fired at me again was an even higher wave. Yuna’s incantation reaches my ears. The incantation is long, it’s a high-level spell!

“Collect the light, close your eyes. ‘Blackout’!”

All light was extinguished. My sensory organs collectively lost their taste. I couldn’t read any information.

Before the lights went out, I saw a bubble floating gently on Yuna’s chest, slowly filling with black liquid inside. It’s a spell I know.

“The concentrated memories of Violet Iris, the explosion of the demonic crystal.”

I plan to sweep it away with force. If that’s completed, I lose. I tried to escape from the blackout before the casting was complete, firing attacks to disrupt the completion of the magic.

“Spell dispersion, reassembly, texture disintegration…!!”

I can’t concentrate. My head is spinning. That expression keeps lingering in my mind. My response was also half reflexive. And then──.

“No one, no one can enter here, no one can go to die. You too…!!”

────.

An information bomb exploded.

“…uh, oh.”

I can’t tell up from down. Were my legs attached to the top of my head, or were my eyes stuck to the soles of my feet? After floundering for a while, I finally came to my senses in front of the lab door.

Somehow, I had been kicked out. I tried to enter the lab, but the door wouldn’t open. It seemed like Yuna was blocking it.

I pounded on the door for a long time, trying to open it. Then, I slumped down against the door.

“……..”

My head hurt.

—

My head cooled down a bit.

I can understand.

I can understand. I would have done the same. If Yuna had gone berserk, insisting on entering Yuri’s mind right away. If I had said I would save Ping Ballez even if it meant dying. Ironically, I think I would have stopped her.

Does that mean I should let Yuri Lanster go?

No, I can’t. It’s not that there’s no chance, nor is it absolute. It’s just dangerous. Yuna, who likes Yuri Lanster as much as I do, is trying so hard to stop it.

It’s a loss to waste time pondering like this. But I don’t have the confidence to break through the lab that Yuna is occupying. The sincere Violet Tower Master is strong, and I can’t sincerely attack her either.

Then it’s neither this nor that.

I staggered, unable to find a solution. I wished someone would tell me the right answer. Although I said my head had cooled down, it seems it’s only relatively cooler compared to the intense heat.

After wandering for a while…

“So you came all the way to the girls’ dormitory, soaked to the bone?”

“…Yeah.”

For some reason, I instinctively sought out Selvier.

“Are you a fool?”

It seems so.