The Innocent Mage's Spellbinding Nights - Chapter 2
‘Calm down, everyone! There must be a clear reason why the water levels of the oases in this area have dropped. We’ll need to investigate thoroughly, but the most likely cause is sandworms…….’
Irina’s voice was barely a breeze in front of the warriors of the clan who had drawn their swords. Just as it seemed bloodshed was inevitable, dozens of lightning bolts fell from the darkened sky, striking towards the warriors.
‘Vice Tower Master!’
‘Seeing the disturbance they caused in this once peaceful land and their lack of respect for our lord, even the heavens seem to be angry with them.’
Of course, the power was controlled, so no one died. They were merely knocked unconscious.
Hesed, anticipating Irina’s reproach, responded shamelessly without a moment’s hesitation. However, just as the saying goes that conversation is difficult while fists are convenient, after Hesed’s display of force, the two clans became somewhat docile and began to listen to Irina and the White Tower. As a result, Hesed stayed behind as the person in charge, gaining about a week’s time.
‘Yes, it’s foolish to expect a conversation to work with people who are worked up. In that respect, Hesed is appropriately bold and decisive. It’s no empty words… If, as everyone expected, Hesed had become the White Tower Master, wouldn’t it have been good for him, for me, who wouldn’t have had to suffer so much, and for the White Tower? What was the master thinking…’
‘Irina, I believe that you will become a greater Tower Master than anyone.’
Although the master had shown her strong faith, Irina herself could not agree with those words.
‘This time, the master made a mistake. Of course, I am trying to be a good Tower Master, but…’
There are things in this world that cannot be achieved through effort alone.
The headstrong and individualistic Red, Blue, and Black Tower Masters. The western clans tangled more complexly than a ball of yarn a cat has played with all day. The mages of the White Tower watching their young and fragile Tower Master with anxious eyes. And finally…
‘The overly talented and burdensome disciple.’
Even though he seemed to have had a cute side when he was younger.
Irina thought about the factors that choked her breath, and at some point, she fell asleep as if she had fainted.
***
The desert night was cooler and quieter than people imagined. Hesed, unable to sleep late into the night, left the tent and strolled on the sand.
While it seemed like a light walk, it was also an extension of his work. Hesed continued to cast detection magic as he walked, neither slowly nor quickly. He was tracking the sandworm that might be absorbing the oasis’s water and roaming around.
‘Sandworms during the breeding season need a lot of water.’
The White Tower had exterminated a sandworm in this area two years ago. Afterward, to prevent other sandworms from approaching, they had scattered dense magic and blood extracted from the corpse. It seemed the warning effect had worn off over time.
‘If we can capture and deal with the sandworm as soon as possible, it will help mitigate my mistake.’
Recalling the events of the day, a bitter smile appeared on his lips.
Even though the Batu and Maura clans acted arrogantly, he should have endured a bit more.
He had been furious because they seemed to ignore Irina’s words. In the end, his interference also turned into an action that disregarded her.
‘I know why she hesitated to use magic. With children and women present, she probably wanted to avoid appearing threatening.’
But understanding it intellectually and emotionally are different matters, and he couldn’t suppress his anger in the moment.
‘It’s a problem when my brain goes on strike in front of her.’
At that moment, his emotions took over, rendering the title of ‘the best brain of the White Tower’ meaningless.
‘You arrogant brat, let me give you some advice. If you keep acting that way, you will never win the heart of your adorable junior.’
He recalled what the first senior sister, Scarlet, had said shortly after Irina became the Tower Master and he became the vice master. Her words, which were more like a curse than advice, had come true.
Over the past three years, the distance between Irina and Hesed had only grown, never closing even slightly. Despite working together more often than before as Master and Vice Master, their relationship hadn’t improved at all.
‘It seems we got along better before we took on these positions.’
‘Aren’t you frustrated, Vice Tower Master? Clearly, the previous Tower Master favored you… What could the current Tower Master have whispered to make the previous one change his decision?’
‘The White Tower isn’t striving for peace right now; it’s stagnant and stuck. Only you, Vice Tower Master, can change this atmosphere.’
These people, who couldn’t even understand a fragment of the hearts of those in front of them, let alone the continent’s situation, had been expelled from the White Tower for making baseless claims. Their lightheaded and frivolous nature was infuriating.
‘Those who harbor such pitiful thoughts have a cockroach-like tenacity and are probably still lurking somewhere in the White Tower. Does Irina listen to such people and see me as an enemy?’
Hesed’s expression twisted slightly. He felt more hurt and sad than angry. It wasn’t just that she didn’t see him as a man—it felt like she didn’t trust him at all.
‘While I might expect that from the first senior sister, I’ve tried to be careful with my words and actions in front of the second senior sister…’
No, that’s not it. Without even realizing it, he might have committed a grave mistake that deeply upset her, just like today.
Understanding that and restoring trust was an urgent matter for him.
‘…But what’s even more urgent is dealing with the sandworm.’
Hesed levitated using floating magic and cast a large-scale tidal wave spell. Casting a wide-range water spell in a dry region like the west was quite challenging, but it wasn’t too difficult for a genius acknowledged by the White Tower.
