What on earth is all this?
Ariel's golden eyes darted around in utter confusion.
As soon as Caelus ordered Alfredo to prepare, people wearing Northern Magic Tower uniforms filed into the reception room, carrying piles of reagent bottles and containers full of unknown liquids. Right behind them, a massive device on wheels was dragged inside.
Ariel stared with wide, bewildered eyes at the reception room, which had been taken over in an instant. A machine tangled with complex wires and mana stones was being set up right in the middle of the room. It looked crude, yet somehow expensive. No, it was definitely expensive. Just counting the embedded mana stones visible to her, there were dozens.
Once the machine setup was finished, Caelus spoke briefly to the researchers.
"Explain."
At that single word, the researchers all tried to step forward at once, bumping into each other. After a brief battle of silent glances, a researcher with messy dark brown hair stepped up.
"Greetings! I am Chief Researcher Alvin!"
Finishing his greeting, he straightened his back with solemn determination.
"This is the newly completed Mana Controller No. 57! A masterpiece infused with the very essence of the magic tower! Now, we have no need for something like a temple saintess!"
No. 57? So you failed fifty-six times.
Ariel let out a dry laugh internally.
Right then, Caelus stood proudly next to the machine. Connecting his arm to the device, he looked straight at Ariel.
"Saintess, watch closely."
Whirrrr.
The machine started operating, emitting a low, heavy hum.
The mana stones embedded in the machine glowed one by one, their light spreading across the intricately tangled wires.
Soon after, the blue liquid filling the tube caught the glow of the mana stones, shining softly as it slowly flowed into the port connected to Caelus's arm.
As if the liquid were spreading through his blood vessels, a faint blue energy dispersed across his forearm like tiny capillaries.
"Now this is magic engineering."
The moment Caelus finished speaking, the researchers burst into cheers all at once.
Ariel quietly looked back and forth between the machine and the numbers on her status window.
Sure enough, the numbers began to change bit by bit, extremely slowly.
80%… 79%… 78%.
"Your Grace, it seems to be a success!"
Alvin shouted in admiration.
"Of course."
Caelus looked at Ariel with a triumphant expression.
"Vague nonsense like temple prayers or saintess purification is no longer needed! This is truly the triumph of magic engineering!"
Alvin raised his voice even higher in excitement. The other magic tower researchers also joined in, celebrating the victory of magic engineering.
"I see…"
But Ariel's response was lukewarm at best.
All I did was tell him to call me if he needed help. Was it really necessary to go this far?
And by the Grand Duke of the North, no less. With the Mad Dog of the North himself giving a personal demonstration.
She felt almost pathetic for having trembled in fear of death just moments ago.
Ariel spoke indifferently.
"It is shiny and nice."
"...Is that all you have to say?"
"Well, as technology advances, outdated professions are bound to be replaced. Congratulations."
Ariel clapped half-heartedly.
Caelus furrowed his brows at Ariel's unenthusiastic reaction.
"Saintess, look at this."
Caelus pointed at the output figure and began explaining.
"This output figure is a 30% improvement over the previous model, thanks to changing the mana stone arrangement to a dual-stabilization structure. Instead of simply raising the output, we focused on reducing the mana loss rate. Isn't that right, Alvin?"
"Yes! Absolutely correct! To add to that, during the circuit design stage..."
Ariel was not listening. Her mind was wandering with thoughts like when this would end and how she would make money from now on.
"Saintess, are you listening?"
"Yes, yes! Amazing, as expected!"
She nodded and gave a response, but none of it registered in her ears.
"Well, you seem busy, so I will be on my way..."
"Saintess, we are not done yet. Alvin, continue explaining."
"Yes. I can explain non-stop for three days straight."
Alvin's eyes gleamed with madness.
"Starting with the cause of failure for Model No. 52!"
Keeping a smile plastered on her face, Ariel slyly picked up her coat.
"Yes, yes, I fully understand how impressive it is. Commander Ian, let us go."
"Pardon? But His Grace is still..."
"Hurry."
While Ian hesitated, Ariel grabbed the unconscious Gion by the arm and started dragging him along. Right then, a translucent warning message flashed in the air above the device.
[⚠Warning: Overload Occurred!]
[Energy Efficiency: 15% (Severe Leakage)]
[Internal Mana Circuit Clash in Progress...]
...Is that really going to be fine?
Ariel's eyes narrowed.
In her previous life, people had attempted similar things, but every single one of them had failed.
Still, this one seemed fairly well made, so wouldn't it be alright? They had things like mana stones here, after all.
"Increase the output further."
Caelus commanded coldly.
"Control it completely."
"Yes, Your Grace!"
As the researchers raised the lever, the mechanical whine pitched higher and higher.
Whirrrrr!
Ariel instinctively stepped back.
"Um, Commander Ian? Wouldn't it be better if we stepped back a bit?"
"Pardon? Why do you ask?"
Just as Ian looked puzzled, Ariel reflexively hid behind Ian and covered her ears.
KABOOM!!!!
With a roaring explosion, a portion of the reception room blew away.
* * *
Ariel raised her head from behind Ian's back.
The perfectly fine reception room was now a complete mess.
Cold outdoor air poured in through the spot where an entire wall had been torn off. Plaster dust fluttered down from the ceiling like snow. The magic tower researchers, who had just been shouting about the triumph of magic engineering, were screaming and crawling on the floor.
Ariel's gaze swept through the thick cloud of dust. Amidst it, dark red eyes flashed.
At that moment, the space shook as if an earthquake had hit. The chandelier on the ceiling snapped and crashed to the floor, and the stag antler ornament hanging on the wall fell and tumbled around.
"Everyone take cover! Get out, all of you!"
"Your Grace!"
Ian drew his sword and struck away the flying debris. The shockwave pushed Ariel to the side, causing her to plant her hands on the floor.
Coughing, Ariel stood up and clicked her tongue while brushing off the dust.
Trying to stop unstable mana with something as simple as a machine had been arrogant from the start. She had been far too complacent, thinking, maybe it's different here.
Right now, that man was a ticking time bomb. Escaping before it detonated was the best course of action.
Ariel turned around without a second thought.
Sorry, but my life is more precious. As promised, I will stay out of your sight.
It was enough to quietly slip away like a rat. She would never have to step foot in this unlucky castle again.
Just as Ariel was about to leave…
A sticky, fishy, and sickeningly revolting aura washed over her from behind.
Her feet came to a sudden halt.
It wasn't just the feeling of mana overloading. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
This feeling.
Ariel turned her head back as if spellbound.
At that moment, her heart sank.
Caelus was slumping against the wall, writhing in pain. It was on a completely different level from when he intentionally released mana earlier. Uncontrolled mana wrapped around his body.
Dark red.
...Junhyuk Yoon?
Dark red mana, identical to Junhyuk Yoon's, making her nauseous and ruining her mood just by looking at it.
Over the figure of the man buried within it, that rotten face from her past life overlapped.
Was it a coincidence? Or was there some kind of link between this world and her previous life?
If that dark red mana was a clue linked to Junhyuk Yoon, missing it now meant she might never catch it again.
I need to check.
"Out of my way!"
Ariel shouted testily, taking large strides toward Caelus.
The unknown force spewed from the exploding magic tower machine and Caelus's overloading mana intertwined, distorting the surrounding space.
The floor tiles rippled like waves, and sharp mana crystals floated in the air like glass shards.
Ian blocked Ariel's path as she walked toward the center of it all.
"Saintess, it is dangerous."
"There is something I need to check."
"Do not move! Have you lost your mind?"
Ian shouted in a hoarse voice.
The way he blocked her path was identical to when they first met and he told her to turn back.
Ariel looked straight into Ian's eyes and spoke.
"It is fine, commander."
"Even if you are a high-ranking saintess, touching him recklessly won't leave a single bone intact!"
Ah, he doesn't know that I am low-rank.
Ariel formed a brief, bitter smile.
"Commander, I am..."
"You must not jump to conclusions thinking it is fine!"
"No, what I mean is..."
"Even if you were a highest-rank saintess, absolutely not!"
He had no intention of listening.
Ariel quietly gave up on trying to say she was a low-rank saintess.
Right at that moment, a mana wave erupted from Caelus. The instant the sharp, blade-like force pushed Ian back a step, Ariel didn't miss the opening, slipping right past his side.
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