The Nerd Next Door Turned Out To Be The Magic Tower Master - Chapter 40

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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 40
As a small mercy, the journey after passing through the first Gate proved relatively smooth.
The remaining road consisted mostly of flat terrain, and rest stops became more frequent as a result.
The latter, it seemed, was Miguel’s deliberate consideration for her.
In any case, she managed to reach the Monastery safely thanks to Miguel’s devoted attendance and Rien’s orbiting presence nearby.
Belatis, the new capital of the Lishatria Empire.
A land that thrummed with vitality in a way distinct from Weberdine or the Holy Land.
Cecilia pressed her face against the carriage window, studying the people in the streets.
‘I heard we’d traveled north,’ she thought.
This planet, like Earth, was an ellipsoid tilted in its orbit, and since the Empire occupied the northern hemisphere, clothing had grown considerably thicker.
People wrapped in plush coats that appeared to be made from animal fur had complexions slightly fairer than those from other regions, and their hair tended toward darker tones.
Very much like Rien’s.
‘Rien did say he was from the capital, after all.’
Yet apart from his hair color and complexion, she spotted no one who bore his distinctive features.
‘So his face wasn’t a common one here either.’
Her attention drifted quickly elsewhere, interest waning.
Her next focus shifted to the architecture.
‘It feels more urbanized than Weberdine.’
Rather like industrial-era Europe than medieval times.
Well-maintained roads, brick buildings of two stories, and most striking of all—the vehicles.
From Rien’s lessons, she’d learned that the capital was sometimes called the “City of Mages.”
Perhaps that explained it.
Magical Carriages were the norm, but occasionally other conveyances that resembled vehicles passed through their midst.
‘There were cars,’ she marveled.
Though they moved at a pace comparable to ordinary carriages, the sight was striking to Cecilia, who had suffered through endless carriage travel.
She gazed enviously after one departing Magical Carriage before finally withdrawing from the window.
Her enthusiasm faded quickly, and she’d noticed that their procession of dozens of knights was drawing considerable attention.
‘I really should have left some of the Weberdine knights or the Paladins behind,’ she reflected with belated regret.
While she ruminated, the carriage pressed onward and finally halted before their true destination.
“You may disembark now,” Miguel said.
He had been riding alongside the carriage on horseback all along.
Cecilia surveyed the destination through the half-open carriage door.
A beige building with a trapezoidal, muted teal roof; delicately carved arched steps; white columns arranged symmetrically around it—
This grand, luxurious two-story structure was not a temple but a town house of the Weberdine family located within the capital.
In truth, every temple in each domain was little different from the saint’s residence. However, Belatis was the sole region in the Empire without an official temple.
As a provisional saint-in-training ascending here and traveling with Paladins, there was no choice but to lodge at the Weberdine town house.
‘I’d thought it was just a villa, since Weberdine people rarely had business in the capital,’ she mused.
Though not comparable to the Weberdine manor, the scale was larger than expected.
As she stood mesmerized by the sight, an elderly gentleman approached to greet her.
“Welcome, Miss. I am Leto, the town house butler.”
“Oh, how lovely to meet you.”
Given his timely arrival to greet them, it seemed the Marquis had made arrangements in advance.
Behind the butler, servants in black maid uniforms bowed respectfully to welcome her.
“It is an honor to serve you.”
“I’m Cecilia Weberdine. Please take good care of us during our time here.”
She wasn’t certain whether news of the Relief Festival had spread to the capital, but she offered her greeting with the gentle demeanor befitting a provisional saint.
Fortunately, the staff seemed well-disposed toward her.
Among the servants offering gazes mingled with curiosity and goodwill, Leto spoke up.
“The journey must have been taxing. Shall we begin with a meal? I have prepared ample portions for you and your party.”
“I think I’d prefer to unpack first and rest.”
Though her stomach was indeed hungry, what she craved more was to bathe thoroughly and sink into a soft bed.
During the journey to the capital, she had stopped at temples occasionally to wash and eat warm meals, but the schedule had forced her to sleep outdoors for roughly half the journey.
Scanning the still-immaculate knights beside her, Cecilia turned to the butler.
“First, please prepare rooms for the Paladins and our knights. If anyone requires food, see that they’re provided for.”
“Very well.”
“And as for him…”
Her words faltered upon noticing Rien dismounting from his horse.
He approached her side as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
‘I assumed he’d go home since the capital was his home,’ she thought.
But judging by his behavior, clinging like an anxious dog, he had no intention of doing so.
“You’ve only just returned to the Monastery, and I shouldn’t meet with my family?”
“……Would it be acceptable if I left?”
‘There’s no reason it wouldn’t be.’
The conclusion came swiftly, but she held back the words tactfully. Yet her silence only seemed to deepen his unease.
“As you know, I was born and raised in the Monastery. It will be helpful for our future plans going forward. Or rather, it will be.”
Afraid of being turned away again, Rien dared not grasp her hand but instead clung tightly to her sleeve.
He had avoided and evaded her several times on the way here, and now he seemed considerably cowed.
His usually broad shoulders drooped more than before, his round head hung lower—and she couldn’t understand why it troubled her so.
It must have become a habit. Even amid conflict and mistrust, the moment she faced him, her guard slipped, concern stirred, pity took root, and she wanted to take his hand. That was all the proof she needed.
In the end, Cecilia let out a quiet sigh.
“Leto, this is my Etiquette instructor. He’ll be helping with life here at the Monastery, so if there’s a guest room available, please have it prepared.”
Rien’s face brightened instantly, his head snapping up.
But instead of smiling back at him, Cecilia continued calmly.
“Still, you should go home and visit your family and colleagues. It’s been so long since you’ve seen them……Don’t you want to?”
“…….”
In a place where ears were everywhere, she couldn’t ask directly about the Tower Master or anything like that, so she’d phrased it this way instead.
Rien, unusually, gave no answer or reaction at all.
Blinking as if he’d just heard a foreign language, he smoothly changed the subject.
“Then I’ll return before dawn tomorrow.”
“There’s no need to rush……”
“I’ll go as quickly as I can. Because I’m the one who can help you, Cecilia.”
He curved his lips into a faint smile, then spoke with unmistakable firmness.
Not so much a promise as a necessity—something he simply had to do.
* * *
Despite his bold declaration, Rien did not return the next day. Two days passed, and now it was the fourth day.
Whether sent by magic or otherwise, a note had appeared on her table saying he would be delayed, but it offered no explanation.
‘If his subordinate came all the way down to Weberdine last time, he must have his hands full.’
She tried to dismiss it carelessly, but whether Rien was in sight or not, she couldn’t help but think of him.
In the most luxurious room within the estate.
Cecilia sat on a sofa, sipping her afternoon tea, and gazed out through the quiet window.
The intimate garden visible beyond the pane felt strangely familiar.
‘It’s different from the main residence……though I suppose Charles would have liked it.’
Suddenly, she remembered her walking companion—the one who used to curl up and doze at her feet or beside her on the path.
‘I wonder if he’s getting his walks. ……Where on earth did he disappear to?’
After she’d checked the journal, Charles had vanished without a trace.
Once she’d recovered, she’d searched for him everywhere, but Charles—or rather, Resto—had not appeared in the mansion, the garden, or even in Rien’s Flower Garden.
She’d waited, thinking that just as the journal had suggested, he would vanish and return again someday. But……until the day she left, she never saw Charles again.
As she slowly turned over the unsettling absence in her mind, a light knock interrupted her thoughts.
“Miss, may I come in?”
“Yes, come in.”
Beads of sweat had gathered on Melanie’s nose from hurrying about.
“A girl who works in the kitchen recommended these cookies, and I thought you should try them, so I brought some!”
“Cookies?”
“Yes, they’re a famous dessert in the Monastery these days!”
Melanie set the brown cookies from the plate in front of the teacup.
With her natural affability, Melanie had quickly grown close to the household staff, and she often returned this way with information about the Monastery.
Not just gossip about trendy desserts as she’d just mentioned, but also how the salons in the Monastery were hard to book because preparations for the upcoming social season were keeping everyone busy, and rumors about how a few days ago the center of a grand procession had been a Candidate Saint who’d come to the Monastery to attend this season’s social gathering—all manner of stories had spread.
‘They certainly do love their gossip here, don’t they.’
Cecilia clicked her tongue and took a bite of the cookie. It had a ginger flavor.
“Oh, and the butler asked me to deliver an Invitation to you. He said it would be best if you confirmed it yourself.”
“An Invitation?”
Melanie pulled a thick stack of neat envelopes from her bosom and handed them over.

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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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