A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special - Chapter 26

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 26. Outer (2)

Fram stood before Dezir Armang’s desk, an apron tied at her waist. Steam rose gently from the teacup set before him.
“I brewed a fresh batch of tea.”
“Thank you, Fram.”
“Don’t mention it. But what were you thinking about just now?”
“Hm? What do you mean, thinking about?”
“You haven’t been looking at those documents at all—you’ve been staring into space this whole time.”
“Oh, was I?”
Dezir swallowed hard the admission that had risen to his throat—that he’d been thinking of Jord.
He was about to fumble out some excuse when Romantica, unbidden, struck at the heart of the matter.
“It’s obvious. You were probably having some stupid thought.”
In that instant, Fram suddenly cried out toward Romantica.
“Dezir would never have a stupid thought! Dezir always thinks about tremendously important things! I’m sure he was just now! Surely he was pondering something vital—like the operational direction of our party, or some other critical matter!”
‘Wait—don’t defend me, Fram!’
In truth, he had been entertaining the sort of foolish thought he could never share with anyone.
“Isn’t that right?”
Fram looked at Dezir with eyes full of hope.
He found he couldn’t bear to betray that expectation.
“Ah, well… yes. Something like that, more or less.”
“See, Romantica!”
At Fram’s retort, Romantica quietly let the matter drop.
“…Yeah. I suppose so. If that’s what you say, then that’s how it is.”
Dezir felt a sharp pang of guilt at his conscience and, barely managing to steer the conversation elsewhere, took a sip of the tea before him.
“This tea is delicious, Fram.”
“Of course it is! I brewed it with such care! I used my own special method!”
“Impressive. I’d like you to write down the recipe for me sometime.”
“Of course!”
Dezir returned his attention to the pile of documents before him.
As the party leader, he had mountains of paperwork to process. Sorting through these documents, something came to mind.
‘Now that I think about it, around this time there should have been an application submitted by the Magic Tower.’
Dezir glanced at Romantica and Fram to gauge their attention.
Once he confirmed they weren’t looking his way, he carefully lifted the stack of papers and examined what lay beneath.
That hidden document was precisely why he’d buried his desk under such a mountain of paperwork—to have instant access to it while keeping it from view.
The paper was covered densely with numerous incidents.
Since his return, Dezir had compiled a table of memorable events to help coordinate his plans going forward.
Several of these had lines drawn through them. Listed in order from top to bottom:

5 points. Entrance Exam – March 1st
5 points. Single Ranker Promotion Tournament – May 1st
2 points. Exchange Tournament – sometime between May 10th–21st. Verify date
4 points. Magic Tower Support Announcement – July 5th
3 points. Magic Tower Aurelie Branch Attack – July 7th
1 point. Hebrion Academy Pharmacy Division Explosion Accident (0 casualties) – sometime between July 9th–14th
6 points. Shadow World Emergence – July 20th

The point values indicated the relative importance of each incident.
The higher the score, the sharper the memory—and thus the more accurate the date. Conversely, minor events had fuzzy dates. It was simply a matter of what the mind retained.
‘July 5th… the Magic Tower’s support application is tomorrow.’
Hebrion Academy was publicly recognized as the most prestigious magical academy on the continent, so countless corporations sought to gain promotional value through association with it.
Parties received corporate sponsorship to grow successfully and gain assistance in clearing the Shadow World.
In turn, these companies could generate enormous profit through the prestige alone of having fostered talented individuals—and so they gave their support generously.
And among those corporations offering such sponsorship was the Magic Tower.
The Magic Tower.
A multinational enterprise that pioneered cutting-edge Magical Engineering with advanced technology, dominating diverse sectors from military supplies to household goods.
The Magic Tower’s support—whether equipment, funds, or education—operated on an entirely different scale than any other company.
Among all of this, the Magic Tower’s equipment support—backed by the continent’s finest technical expertise—granted us a decisive advantage in clearing the Shadow World.
Yet there was one peculiar rule governing the Tower’s aid.
‘The Magic Tower supports only one party. Every year they accept applications, and from all applicants, they select just one.’
Each year, the Tower backed a single party—the one deemed most promising by their standards and no other.
To receive the Magic Tower’s support was itself something to take genuine pride in. It meant the Tower had recognized the party’s potential.
‘The Magic Tower…….’
The Tower held deep significance for Dezir. Its master, Jord Exarion, had been his companion.
Jord Exarion, ninety-one years old.
A mage who had transcended the supposed limit of humanity—6-Circle Magic—and achieved 7-Circle.
The titles that followed him numbered in the dozens.
Tower Master.
Great Sage.
Genius among geniuses.
‘He fought alongside me in the Shadow Labyrinth.’
Dezir recalled his memories of that man.
The Shadow Labyrinth.
The worst of all Shadow Worlds.
An expedition numbering fifty million souls had thrown themselves at clearing it.
Yet only six had survived until the end.
Jord Exarion was one of those six—one of the last survivors alongside Dezir Armang.
As a 7-Circle mage, he had made an enormous contribution to the expedition’s efforts.
Countless enemies fell beneath his spells, slaughtered, their very existence erased.
It was a formidable achievement by any measure, yet his true legacy lay not in magic itself.
The continent’s greatest mage and magical engineer both.
Jord’s knowledge had advanced the field of Magical Engineering by more than three centuries.
‘Without Jord, we would never have reached as far as we did in the Shadow Labyrinth…….’
In the face of that catastrophe, Jord had desperately innovated, creating technologies born from desperation that elevated the entire expedition’s equipment and capabilities.
Though the attempt to clear the Shadow Labyrinth ultimately failed, it would be no exaggeration to say that reaching it at all was due to his presence.
‘A good opportunity. I’d meant to contact Jord urgently anyway because of ‘that.’ If I could secure the Magic Tower’s support as well, all the better.’
First, I should submit an application.
With that thought, Dezir rose from his seat. He needed to obtain the application form.
‘But it’s strange that neither the official notice nor the application form had arrived by yesterday, the deadline before submission day…….’
A vague unease settled over Dezir as he turned toward the entrance.
If memory served, the professor overseeing applications for the Magic Tower’s support was Bridget.
‘I’ll have to go and get it directly.’

* * *

Dezir confirmed the nameplate reading “Professor Bridget” before opening the door. Bridget was just finishing her preparations to leave.
“Ah, Dezir.”
Upon seeing Dezir, Bridget turned, slipped off the coat she’d been wearing, and hung it on the rack.
“I was actually just about to come find you.”
“Lucky for us both. At least I’ve saved you the trip.”
“A wasted trip?”
“Well, Professor. I had business with you as well.”
“Go ahead, then.”
“I came to obtain the official notice and application form regarding the Magic Tower’s support.”
Bridget tilted her head as though she didn’t understand. Then she spoke in an unhurried tone.
“I’m not sure where you’ve gotten this notion, but the professor overseeing Magic Tower support applications isn’t me—it’s Professor Fragmen.”
“I’m sorry?”
Professor Fragmen Nipleka.
Head of the Blue Moon Party, and a man with whom Dezir shared a bitter history.
“I’d intended to take it on myself, but he was so stubborn about it that the Dean ended up assigning it to him instead.”
“Ah, haha, I see. I must have been mistaken.”
Dezir offered an awkward laugh.
‘The future has changed.’
He was well aware that diverging from past events could alter what lay ahead.
‘But of all people, it had to be Professor Fragmen…….’
The unease swelled inside him. He shook his head sharply, trying to dispel the ominous feeling, then spoke.
“Then I’ll need to receive the notice and application form from Professor Fragmen.”
“That’s impossible, Dezir.”
Bridget dismissed his words outright.
“I need to tell you why I came looking for you. The Magic Tower’s application period ended yesterday.”
“What?”
Dezir made a stupid sound. He felt as though he’d been struck hard on the back of the head.
“Dezir, why didn’t you submit an application?”
“Just a moment, Professor. Isn’t the application deadline July fifth?”
Bridget’s voice rose slightly.
“It’s July third. It was originally July fifth, but… it was moved up by two days through a meeting. Because of Professor Fragmen’s overseas business trip. In any case, the official announcement was July third. You didn’t check the notice.”
‘Wait, wait. A notice?’
Dezir hadn’t received any such notice.
“Professor, no matter how much paperwork I pile up like a mountain, I always read through every sheet. There was no such notice.”
“Yes…?”
“In other words, I never received any notice.”
“You didn’t receive the notice?”
“Any notice at all. No notice regarding the application ever arrived, which is why I found it strange and came here.”
“Wait, Dezir. So what you’re saying is……”
Bridget closed her eyes.
Her face flushed slightly. She pressed her hand to her forehead as if her head ached.
“So you’re telling me the notice was delivered to every party except ours.”
“I’ve searched through every document. I’d swear to it. Since I’ve never touched a single sheet, you can go check yourself if you like.”
“……You wouldn’t lie. If that’s true, then the problem lies with the person in charge……”
The person in charge was Professor Fragmen.
If Dezir spoke the truth, it meant Fragmen had failed to deliver the notice to his party alone.
“There’s no way that could have happened. No matter how much bad blood exists between you, he couldn’t act so recklessly.”
“I believe that too, Professor.”
“……Wait a moment, Dezir. I need to check something.”
Bridget opened the door and stepped outside. She appeared to be making a call on her pad.
Silence. It hung like the calm before a storm.
“Listen here!”
Bridget’s voice suddenly erupted in that instant.
From that point onward, her voice grew louder, and Dezir could hear her conversation.
“No contact…… you say…… regardless of…… responsibility…… mistake? I…… mis…… person…… because of…… damages…… don’t hang up…… don’t……””
‘Things don’t seem to be resolving well.’
Through the faintly audible conversation, Dezir formed that conclusion.
After a brief moment, Bridget came back in.
Flushed breathing. Cheeks flushed red.
“He said the notice failed to be delivered. An ‘administrative error,’ he called it.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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