My Husband Is Not the Magic Tower Master - Chapter 78

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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 78

Carlo worried about me until the very end, but it was I who pushed him toward the Research Laboratory.
My mind was a tangle, and I thought I might benefit from some time alone to collect myself, so I told him it was fine—
‘It’s not fine at all.’
I’m a patient now.
My face, reflected in the mirror of the Elevator that arrived with maddening slowness, was drained of all color—pale as ash.
The moment I saw myself barely able to walk properly, I wasn’t just struck by how ridiculous I was; the sheer wretchedness of it was unbearable.
The old saying held that Mana Exhaustion was akin to making peace with death.
“…And this wasn’t even my choice. Life really is cruel, isn’t it?”
I drove my forehead against the wall—bang, bang—and released a long, weary sigh.
Living a second life, difficult as it was, I’d managed to scrape by well enough up until now.
But the moment Rose Stein—the villain of this novel—vanished, a certain king took it upon himself to torment me with his cunning.
“I don’t care anymore. Just come. Come quickly—”
Another wave of nausea crashed over me, and I clamped my mouth shut.
Ding.
By the time I’d weakly boarded the Elevator, someone had already entered alongside me and was supporting my weight.
“My goodness! Are you alright, Rose?”
“…?”
“Don’t worry. It’s me—Elline.”
The warmth from the arm around me made me slowly open my eyes, which I’d kept squeezed shut.
Between her familiar pale-pink hair, a gently curved, kind gaze came into view.
I recognized that sunlit smile of hers at once—the one she wore at every moment—and quietly closed my eyes again.
“…When did you arrive? You made no sound at all.”
“Just now. I was passing by and caught sight of a familiar back, so I came rushing over.”
I’d thought she was taking my arm to support me, but she’d quickly pressed her face against my shoulder instead.
“Move. You’re heavy.”
“We’re heading to Delphinide, right? Should I press the 100th floor?”
“Hmm.”
I actually found myself wanting to be alone again.
As it was, with each passing floor my stomach churned and roiled; it was difficult just to stand still.
I pressed my forehead to ease the throbbing in my head, but when Elline—who clung to my arm like gum—leaned her face against me, I pushed her away with my hand.
I heard her voice register disappointment for only a moment before something seemed to occur to her, and she spoke.
“Have you seen Carlo? He said this afternoon that he was coming to see you.”
“I saw him. He’s gone back to the Research Laboratory now because of the Monster Outbreak.”
Though if I’m being precise, I sent him away by force.
I said this with a bitter edge, and Elline answered.
“I actually ran into him on my way out of the Research Laboratory. He asked me to look after you.”
“I’m grateful, really. But you must be busy right now too. Can you afford to be taking it easy like this?”
While it was nice of him to care, I was genuinely concerned knowing the situation.
When a Monster Outbreak occurs, the first to grow frantic are those who manage the balance of the defensive barriers between the Demon Realm and the human world—the Earth Magic practitioners.
“Did you check the Mana flow to determine what’s causing the outbreak?”
“I did. But the reason is always the same.”
Floor 93. Floor 94. Floor 95.
As Elline’s gaze drifted upward at the ascending floor numbers, she slowly turned her head toward me.
“You know what, Rose?”
“What?”
“There’s a Demon Tower Master hiding in this tower where we work.”
“…What?”
For a moment I was so taken aback that I turned to face Elline directly.
My expression made it clear I thought the idea absurd, but she looked entirely serious.
However, I was the opposite of someone blessed with imagination—I was rigorously practical.
“That’s sudden. Where did that nonsense come from?”
“Hmm, you don’t believe me? For some reason it feels true to me.”
“Of course I absolutely don’t believe it.”
I narrowed my eyes sharply.
“There are endless baseless rumors swirling around the tower. Even if evidence existed, people would barely believe it.”
Never mind all that—right now I felt sick enough to retch.
‘The Demon Tower Master this, the Demon Tower Master that…’
Just descend somewhere around the 97th floor and leave me alone.
Listening to the trivial jokes she kept tossing my way with that amused expression made it impossible to keep my face composed.
At that moment, cold sweat trickled down my forehead.
And with it, my patience finally bottomed out.
“Whether the Demon Tower Master is hiding somewhere in the tower or not, I couldn’t care less. I’m too busy just trying to stay alive right now.”
“Is that so? I brought it up thinking you’d find it interesting, but what a shame.”
Elline still couldn’t suppress the bright glimmer in her eyes as she clicked her tongue in disappointment.
Looking at her like that made my fists clench of their own accord. I should have told her to stop riding in the elevator with me and go do her work instead.
“Don’t you think it’s interesting though? Every single monster outbreak incident that’s happened so far has been impossible to explain—but if you chalk it up to some wandering Demon Tower Master’s idle amusement, it almost makes sense, doesn’t it?”
Elline tilted her head as she asked.
I’m sorry, but I couldn’t answer her directly.
A wandering Demon Tower Master’s idle amusement, with nothing but unfounded rumors to show for it?
‘That’s not what this is at all, and that’s the problem.’
Elline had no idea.
That the culprit behind all those inexplicable and incomprehensible incidents was standing right in front of her without shame.
I didn’t need anything else anymore—I was almost passing out.
With a face that had gone even paler than before, I weakly brushed the sweat-dampened hair from my forehead.
“Anyway… what’s your business? Did you just bring me here to crack terrible jokes?”
Truth be told, there was no need for Elline to escort me all the way to the 100th floor.
Delphinide was thoroughly protected by security wards anyway—she wouldn’t be able to see it with her own eyes.
As I spoke with a sardonic tone while leaning against the elevator wall, Elline’s lips curved into a smile again.
“Of course not!”
“Then what?”
“I came to pass this on to you.”
Floor 98. Floor 99.
Finally, floor 100.
As the elevator doors slid open slowly, Elline produced a small potion from her pocket.
“According to Carlo, this medicine should be helpful?”
“…What kind of medicine is it?”
“Who knows? Based on the magical aura it gives off, it seems like some kind of mana recovery potion, or maybe a supplement?”
Elline turned the vial over in her hands, clearly unsure.
She’d met Carlo in passing, but apparently hadn’t gotten a proper explanation from him about it.
Besides, the Mana Stabilization Medicine that was still in the experimental stage was supposed to be at the Residence.
‘How urgent must things have been for him to just thrust it into Elline’s hands without even explaining properly.’
The situation was pressing enough that I’d have to go work at the Research Laboratory, yet he still needed to get the medicine to me.
I found myself smiling without meaning to, imagining Carlo’s flustered face in my mind.
As I accepted the potion from Elline, she took my hand and spoke with concern.
“You look pale. Drink this and get some rest right away, Rose.”
“Okay, thank you.”
I wanted to smile and say goodbye, but my lips trembled involuntarily as if my muscles were convulsing.
It seemed my body, held together by sheer willpower, had finally reached its limit.
I forced my heavy eyelids open and slowly poured the potion into my mouth.
“Give me the empty bottle. I’ll throw it away on my way out.”
“Okay.”
After exchanging brief goodbyes with her, I went straight to the Residence and collapsed onto the bed.
I knew better than to expect the medicine to work immediately, but the pain was absolutely unbearable.
Even just staring at the ceiling, the world spun dizzily before my eyes.
“…I’m really going to die like this.”
I groaned in agony with one arm covering my eyes.
Having never experienced anything like this in my entire life, the pain was worse than any hangover I’d ever felt.
On top of that, the bitter taste of the potion I’d drunk earlier still lingered on my tongue, and my mouth felt slick and tacky.
What kind of medicine tastes like this? The color was blood-red, and the consistency was thick as syrup.
“I should drink some water…”
I was reaching out from the bed, fumbling around the nightstand, when it happened.
Clack—
Crash, crash, crash!
“…?”
Something round and glass-like settled into her palm.
“This is….”
The same reddish tint suffused a thin liquid inside the bottle, just as before—though this solution was far more dilute, and held in a fraction of the previous volume.
She drew out a note in familiar handwriting that lay beside it, reading carefully.
[This is the Mana Stabilization Medicine I mentioned earlier.
However, since it is a potent remedy, you must drink it in small sips with intervals between each dose.]
Her eyes glazed as she murmured the same passage several times before understanding struck her.
“Then… the potion Elline gave me before….”

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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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