The Nerd Next Door Turned Out To Be The Magic Tower Master - Chapter 24

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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 24
Clang!
And remarkably, it was the Axe that broke—not her hand.
Cecilia lowered her arm, staring blankly at the Axe head that had clattered to the ground.
Just as when she’d blocked the shower of glass, a soft luminescence now poured from her hands and forearms.
“……It’s glowing?”
‘But it wouldn’t work when I practiced so hard!’
Humans truly did grow stronger in the crucible of crisis.
“It’s glowing, it’s glowing!”
The nights she’d spent boasting about using Holy Power flashed before her like a lantern show.
Fear’s place had been taken by exhilaration.
“Ha, ha ha! Look, it’s shining!”
The delirious Cecilia thrust both hands straight at the villains’ faces.
“See? It’s glowing, right? You see it! Right?”
“W-what.”
“Ha ha ha! And now I can turn it on, on and off!”
Faced with the Saint’s madness, even the villains faltered and stepped back.
“Damn! What—what the hell!”
The man gripping the Axe’s handle cursed one oath after another, his confusion laid bare for all to see.
He soon cast the broken weapon aside and drew a blade from his belt as long as his forearm.
“Die!”
The sinister blade came slicing down in a wide arc. But it stopped cold, a metallic ring, unable to touch her skin even slightly.
Cecilia stared dumbly at the blade hovering some three centimeters from her skin, then casually gripped the edge and snapped it clean off.
Physical purification was truly child’s play.
Was this how those Martial Arts Masters felt in all the wuxia novels she’d devoured?
The villains who’d terrified her before now seemed no more than insects she could crush beneath her heel.
“My goodness, look at that Holy Power! So the legends were all real!”
“I never doubted you for a moment! Truly, you are the Saint!”
Admiration and praise poured down behind her.
Her shoulders squared in proportion to the compliments. Cecilia’s expression darkened, a confident smirk spreading across her face.
They were all done for.
This was truly a festival of blood. God would surely forgive the righteous in their just dispensation.
She’d never thrown a punch at armed thugs before, had never truly inflicted violence on anyone, but couldn’t she just clench her fist and strike? Surely something would happen?
‘After all, I have Adamantine Body!’
The moment she finally reached out to play the role of an Apostle of Justice, the thugs went flying backward like sheets of paper, slamming into the wall before her fist even landed.
As if an enormous invisible hand had simply shoved them away.
Cecilia lowered her hand, completely stunned.
‘Wow, my own strength scares me.’
Adamantine Body—beyond mere brute force, had she now awakened Palm Strike Force as well?
She was staring seriously at her own hands when—
“Cecilia!”
At the mouth of the Alley, someone appeared with a flourish of robes. The male lead, several beats too late.
‘Seriously, what was that timing.’
Cecilia and the gathered onlookers turned disappointed eyes on Lien.
Lien arrived at a sprint with a grave expression, then skidded to a stop. He noticed her displeased face and began wringing his hands nervously.
“……Should I help them back up?”
He was gesturing toward the trash scattered about with their eyes rolled back in unconsciousness.
What was the point of hitting someone already knocked out?
‘Guess I didn’t awaken Palm Strike Force after all.’
Cecilia’s excitement evaporated instantly. She shook her head.
Not long after, the Security Force members came rushing in, arriving even later than Lien.
“Gasp! It really is the Saint!”
“We, we meet the Saint!”
The officers greeted her with such urgency they looked ready to bury their faces in the ground.
“I witnessed these men extorting money. Would you be able to handle their disposition?”
“Of c, of course!”
One officer nodded stiffly, then approached the scattered trash on the ground.
And cried out in shock.
“These—these aren’t!”
“Are they familiar faces?”
“Yes. He’s caused quite a bit of trouble around here — a real nuisance. But you’re truly remarkable!”
“Thank you so much!”
“You’re beautiful!”
“You idiots! Show some respect to the Saint!”
One of the members who appeared to be a superior struck the vacant-eyed officers across the head.
The blow landed hard enough to crack audibly, yet the members laughed like fools who’d had the wind knocked out of them, too busy lavishing praise on the Saint to mind the pain.
‘Strictly speaking, Lien was the one who caught them…….’
Cecilia watched the accolades directed at the Saint grow larger and larger, and something crystallized within her.
Tomorrow, she’d be front-page news again.
She sighed quietly, already dreading what excuse she’d offer her father and Melanie when they read tomorrow’s paper and grabbed her by the scruff of the neck.
But not a single plausible excuse came to mind.
‘If worst comes to worst, I’ll just flee to the Temple. So what.’
While Cecilia was making this decision — increasingly exasperated — the responsibility for handing over the prisoners fell to Lien.
“Where will these men be detained?”
“Ah, yes — for now, we’re planning to lock them in the nearest Temporary Detention Center.”
“……The Temporary Detention Center.”
His gaze as he looked down at the slovenly sprawled thugs was chilling.
For a moment, the fact that he was once the infamous Mage Tower Master seemed suddenly, acutely real.
“W-well then, we’ll be going!”
The cowed members dragged the barely-conscious thugs away, their feet scraping the ground.
“We’ll see to it that the victims are returned safely. Thank you so much for your help.”
The Security Force captain offered a final bow, dispersed the gathered crowd, and departed the scene with Sena.
There had been hardship and adversity, but overall the matter had been resolved well enough.
If only Lien would stop standing there like a statue.
“Lien?”
At her gentle call, the rigidity melted from his expression like spring thaw.
He let his head drop, his broad shoulders hunched forward, and spoke in a dejected murmur.
“If I’d known this would happen, I should have come back sooner. Or better yet, I should never have left your side in the first place.”
“Don’t blame yourself. Everything turned out fine, didn’t it?”
Seeing that he was about to spiral into further self-recrimination, Cecilia moved to soothe him.
She hadn’t been able to handle the final strike herself, but this whole event had still resolved one major headache.
If the Holy Power issue could just be solved, she could endure this sort of cliché a hundred times over without complaint.
But Lien still seemed troubled.
“But you are injured, are you not?”
‘Me?’
Lien gently lifted her hand with his gloved fingers.
He’d been clumsy with his Holy Power, and thin beads of blood dotted the fingertips that had gripped the blade.
“Oh, that’s right. I didn’t even notice the wound.”
‘But it stings when I look at it directly.’
As an unpleasant sting began to creep in, Cecilia clicked her tongue softly.
Just as she was about to wipe it away on her sleeve, something warm and soft pressed against her fingertips.
Startling as it was, the “something” proved to be his lips — a cliché worthy of its own right.
Cecilia briefly considered bacterial infection, then chose to savor the thrill instead.
Whether he’d applied magic after licking the blood, or whether the act of licking itself was magic, she couldn’t say — but her fingertips had healed without a trace.
“Cecilia.”
At the low voice that came from above her head, she looked up.
“This time, I will protect you. I swear it.”
His deep purple eyes, darkened by the falling dusk, were deeper red than usual.
Cecilia observed the trembling firmness of his hands, the quivering of his throat, his lips stained faintly with blood.
She saw a desperation and yearning without clear source or reason.
In this moment, she couldn’t know whose reflection he was seeing in her.
But one thing was clear: this was no plea for answer. It was simply a vow he was making to himself.
And so she merely drew the corners of her mouth upward.
“The outing’s gone on longer than expected. Shall we head back?”
The moment Cecilia turned from him and stepped into the slanting dusk light,
a lukewarm, almost burning warmth touched the nape of her neck.
“Pardon me for a moment.”
An arm extended from behind her, brushing through her hair.
It wasn’t until his presence and warmth had withdrawn some distance that Cecilia raised her hand.
As her fingers found her neck, they met the cool touch of metal and the hard texture of stone.
“It’s a small token of my gratitude for the gift you’ve given me.”
Lien, who had stepped back a pace or two, spoke hesitantly.
The “token” he’d personally fastened around her neck was an amber necklace—unmistakably costly at first glance.
She’d been so focused on pleasing him and winning his favor that she’d never imagined receiving a gift from him in return.
Cecilia took a deep breath, searching for words to match the unspeakable feeling blooming in her chest.
“Is that why you were late? Because you were buying this?”
“…Yes. You said we wouldn’t see each other for a while. If it doesn’t trouble you, I hoped you’d wear it even when you go to the Temple……”
‘Since when did the nearby vendors stock anything this fine?’
She couldn’t fathom where he’d found such a thing, but regardless, the unexpected gift stirred far more emotion than she’d anticipated.
Enough to make his late arrival and his having seized all the best moments suddenly, perfectly understandable.
Her golden eyes, which had been fixed on him, widened with sudden clarity.
“So… you’re saying that whenever I look at this necklace, I should think of you?”
“What? No, absolutely not! It wasn’t some cunning scheme like that—truly, I mean it……”
“I won’t misunderstand.”
Just as she was nodding vaguely, fearing he might cry any moment—
“Well, I mean, just a little bit, if you could……”
His voice trailed into barely audible mumbling.
Cecilia caught herself before an inelegant smile could spread across her face, pressing her knuckles against her lips instead.
‘It looks like Plan D is turning out to be a resounding success.’
“I’m your close friend after all!”
…It had been a miscalculation after all.
‘Well, what does it matter.’
“I will. And thank you for the gift.”
A soft laugh escaped her as she tilted her head toward the crimson-stained sky.
The day had spiraled far from the plan, turning into utter chaos—and yet she couldn’t deny the rich harvest this outing had yielded.

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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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