My Husband Is Not the Magic Tower Master - Chapter 20

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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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Episode 20

“Do Demon Beasts usually speak as well as we do?”
“…You’re saying such a dim-witted lower creature mimics human speech?”
“No, that’s not what I mean.”
I coughed dryly several times, the parched air catching in my throat.
How long had I been inside the Demon Realm now?
Even the few words I’d managed to speak came out rough and hoarse.
‘I can’t say what I want to say.’
I’d already given up on explaining the situation to Carlo—he wouldn’t believe me anyway.
It seemed more plausible that I’d been tense and heard a hallucination than that a Demon Beast had actually spoken.
Besides, with each step forward across the bone-dry earth, the ground cracked beneath us with an audible split.
Carlo, moving ahead of me, was methodically planting Mana Measurement Flags one by one across those fissured plains.
Eight flags were needed for the measurement in total.
Normally, surveying the mana concentration in the atmosphere of a single estate required an average of three flags, but this place was different from the Human Realm.
The mana concentration in the Demon Realm was approximately four times denser than in the Human Realm.
For a Mage to endure the Demon Realm’s mana concentration, they needed roughly sixteen times that amount of internal Mana Resistance.
Even if this world belonged to Mages….
‘With a ratio of seven Mages to three non-Mages, and less than half of those skilled…’
Not every Mage who’d awakened could cross the barrier and subjugate Demon Beasts.
Their ability to set foot in the Demon Realm was limited by their internal Mana Resistance, and they had to be skilled in combat besides.
Even if exploration continued by good fortune, who could say when or where grotesque Demon Beasts of every description might ambush Mages?
Soon enough, prolonged expeditions would be conducted by Mages with at least Intermediate Mage-level strength or higher.
…The hardship ahead was transparent. Entirely transparent.
“…Sigh.”
But thinking about it, I was someone with Intermediate Mage proficiency or above.
And a Water Attribute Mage to boot—rare as they came in this age.
“Ugh.”
“Is something the matter?”
“Nothing much. Just life.”
“…?”
Imagining myself doing this again in the Demon Realm someday, I suddenly felt a chill.
In that moment, I grasped once more how utterly pointless this expedition was.
I muttered darkly.
“Should’ve just waited quietly.”
Once Elyné reached the Archmage level, the exploration would unfold smoothly on its own.
I felt sorry for myself, crash-landed in this inferno ahead of schedule and toiling unnecessarily.
And this man too.
“Perhaps we should rest. The mana concentration measurement looks nearly complete.”
“The resistance values are unstable. Since we’re here, it would be good to determine them precisely, wouldn’t it?”
“Not really.”
Just do it half-heartedly.
Besides, the Crown Prince’s faction would seize every achievement made here anyway.
The epilogue already had an episode prepared where Elyné successfully stopped the Demon Realm’s assault.
In this incident, Lucas would grandly take credit for Elyné’s accomplishment, stamping his own name on it.
‘And so they would live happily ever after.’
I muttered weakly.
My will crumbled under the weight of helplessness.
In my heart, none of it mattered.
“I just want to go home….”
Then Carlo, who’d been steadily counting flags, suddenly spun his body forward to face me.
I didn’t notice he’d stopped, and my head crashed straight into his chest.
“Ow.”
“Did you not hear the sound?”
“Pardon?”
What sound?
Caught off guard as I rubbed my forehead, Carlo’s eyes suddenly sharpened.
“The last flag hasn’t been planted yet.”
“…What does that have to do with the sound I heard?”
“I embedded Protection Magic in the flag just in case.”
I could understand if it were Return Magic, cast before we entered the Demon Realm as a precaution.
But Protection Magic was something I was hearing about for the first time.
“And?”
“It appears the magic has begun to crack, one piece after another.”
Wait—that meant something had gone wrong.
Only then did I turn around and check the positions of the flags he’d planted, one by one.
Until moments ago, the magic had been steadily rotating with a violet glow from both his power and mine—but now it was fading, bit by bit.
‘Three, four, five….’
This was bad. The flag colors had bleached white, losing their form and crumbling away.
Crack!
I watched the remaining flags rapidly dimming as well.
Everything had fallen apart.
We’re still inside the Demon Realm. I was far too careless.
I pressed my forehead with a heavy heart.
I made my decision quickly and released my hand from Carlo’s.
“You said there’s one flag left, didn’t you?”
“For now, what I have in hand is all that remains—”
“Give it to me. Since we’re already here, let’s just finish measuring whatever Mana Resistance is left and get out.”
With that, I swiftly snatched the flag from Carlo’s hand.
Measurement Magical Artifacts were usually supplied in basic form—little more than miniature models unless you poured a small amount of mana into them.
But depending on the caster’s purpose, their function could change.
And right now, I was going to change that function.
“For just a brief moment, I’ll duplicate Magical Artifact models to match the number we lost.”
Placing the remaining one at the center, I cast measuring spells into seven Magical Artifacts, each one carefully prepared.
The moment I spoke, water surged up around me in the shape of flags.
Of course, this wouldn’t activate easily.
‘I hate Simultaneous Magic.’
It demanded that I steel myself for exhaustion, but the situation left no choice.
If things fell apart and we became trapped in the Demon Realm, it wouldn’t be the flags crumbling—it would be us.
Whatever sound Carlo had mentioned was likely the flags breaking under the weight of the Demon Realm’s essence.
When we returned to headquarters, reporting that further exploration was impossible was the wisest course.
I squeezed my eyes shut, and when I opened them, I felt unfamiliar mana coursing violently through my entire body.
Simultaneous Magic.
A forceful technique that pulled all the mana I could use in a day in a single, reckless moment.
As expected, Mana Overload struck, and my vision filled entirely with calculations.
My sight flashed black for an instant, and my body swayed without my consent.
“Ugh.”
“…I didn’t mean for you to push yourself like this.”
Carlo stepped directly in front of me, grasping my arm as if to hold me back.
“How long can you maintain it.”
“About ten seconds.”
“That’s enough time for your body to turn to ice and more.”
For the first time, I heard him exhale deeply.
Through my dimming vision, when I finally managed to focus ahead, Carlo’s brow was deeply furrowed.
“…This won’t end with just holding hands.”
“I’ll allow an embrace, then.”
Or perhaps a kiss on the hand.
“That’s hardly what I meant.”
Carlo shook his head with an alarmed expression. It was the harshest look I’d ever seen from him.
Well, I’d never actually been held by him before.
‘The severity might call for a kiss or something.’
Whenever we conducted research requiring Simultaneous Magic at the Security Division, he would always hold my hand.
If you drew too much from your attribute, your body could synchronize with it dangerously, triggering severe convulsions.
Water Attribute meant hypothermia, and in the worst case, freezing solid from being consumed by the attribute—death by cold.
Fire Attribute meant heat stroke, or in severe cases, full-body burns followed by burning to death.
To prevent this, whenever Simultaneous Magic was used, a stabilizing assistant was absolutely necessary.
Water and fire were especially prone to that.
It was probably why Carlo and I got along so well.
“…Forgive me.”
After a long moment of deliberation, Carlo drew me slowly into his arms.

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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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