Chapter 44
My head is still spinning.
After chugging not just the precious wine gifted by the Imperial Family, but even going out to buy and down 95-proof vodka.
I'd essentially guzzled down several bowls of internal-burning poison, so it would have been strange if my body was perfectly fine.
The world is still spinning around me. It's a miracle I didn't end up in a state where I could only babble incoherently.
But I forced myself to focus and think through the haze.
Even in my half-asleep state, with camera flashes assaulting my eyes, I quickly started piecing together what must have happened to create this situation.
And it wasn't particularly difficult to figure out.
There was a decisive clue that was almost too obvious.
'So in my drunken state, I finally went and did that...'
One of the secret techniques I'd devised to escape the Academy.
But a forbidden plan I'd ultimately buried and discarded completely to preserve my dignity and social life.
...Public indecency.
'No wonder my shirt disappeared.'
Seems I wasn't just hot and took it off before bed - I must have been walking around shirtless from the start. My drunk self tends to act first and think later, with zero filter.
Baseless confidence born from alcohol.
That must have given me the courage to break this taboo.
Even with my throbbing headache, I felt the shame. I had some doubts about whether I really would have done such a thing, even while drunk, but...
"Why did you suddenly decide to reveal such things to the students?! Please, give us your thoughts!"
The reporter's words confirmed my suspicions.
It seems I really did cause quite the incident.
Though my face was burning with embarrassment, since spilled milk can't be unspilled, I might as well try to make the best of it.
I forced myself to maintain a composed expression.
I ask back as if I'm the one who can't understand them.
"Rather, I'd like to ask you - why do you think such things need to be hidden?"
A sudden exhibitionist declaration.
Even the reporter, who must have seen all sorts of bizarre things, looked bewildered, as if they'd never encountered such a madman before.
But I expressed my opinion without the slightest hesitation.
"This closed-minded attitude is what's hindering humanity's progress. I have not the slightest intention of conforming to such narrow and outdated ways of thinking."
Words that might sound profound on their own, but when you look at the substance, they're just the ravings of a deranged exhibitionist.
The reporters all gaped in shock.
Though they all seemed greatly impacted, how many professional journalists here could resist sinking their teeth into such juicy material?
They all busily moved their pens.
Seemingly jotting down article headlines in their notepads.
[New Professor Rebukes Shameful Attitude of Hoarding Knowledge. Magic's Development More Important Than Worldly Values.]
[Delivers Satisfying Blow to Closed Magic Society!]
My vision was still spinning constantly.
Though there's no way I could make out the tiny writing the reporters were scribbling, I could make some guesses.
They must be detailing my shamelessness in articles about "The Genius Professor's True Nature Finally Revealed."
Just thinking about it makes me want to laugh, but I held it in.
The southeast wind had finally blown in. Since an opportunity like this wouldn't come again, I needed to row while the tide was high.
So I proudly opened my mouth before everyone.
"No matter how much I think about it, I just can't understand."
Reporters were always thirsty for scandals.
Sure enough, everyone gathered here looked at me with eyes full of anticipation. Gazes desperately begging for even more sensational material than before.
But they could rest assured. I'd been dying to spout some historically outrageous statements.
"Why is everyone making such a fuss? I truly cannot comprehend why you're all worked up over something so trivial."
An utterly shameless statement after causing an incident.
Naturally, the eyes of those hearing my words rolled back in their heads.
The reporters moved their pens even faster than before.
[Declares Deciphering Rune Script is Nothing Special. Just How Far Does This Genius Professor's Capabilities Extend?]
[Revolutionary Discovery Shared Without Any Self-Interest for Magic World's Development. Everyone at Scene Shocked by New Professor's Integrity and Selflessness!]
[Isn't Sharing Useful Knowledge for Public Good Only Natural? Ryan's Question Makes Everyone Ashamed!]
By this point, I was starting to get into it. Now what other nonsensical outrageous statement should I use to plaster tomorrow's papers?
As I was happily contemplating while holding back laughter.
...Hurried footsteps approached.
Breaking through the reporters cheerfully taking notes before me came a middle-aged man with brown hair.
The man looked at me and cried out with a sob.
"I was wrong about everything, Ryan! I can't live without you. Driving you away will be my lifelong regret!"
Though everyone was startled and tried to stop him, the middle-aged man's strength was beyond imagination. Pushing aside everyone blocking his way, he came before me and promptly collapsed to the ground.
"Please, I beg you to return to our White Magic Tower!"
The middle-aged man grabbed onto my pant leg.
Do I remember him? This man seriously claiming to be the White Magic Tower Master I met once when I was young.
My mind filled with bewilderment at the bizarre scene.
A single question escaped my lips without thinking:
"...The Magic Tower Master? You?"
Someone I had looked up to in my childhood.
Though he ultimately didn't believe my words, he didn't chase away the dirty slum kid either. A kind person who gave practical advice along with a gold coin.
I certainly remember his face.
I definitely remember that face, but...
To think that distinguished mage and this middle-aged man beaten down by society could be the same person. I just couldn't believe it.
They say time is cruel, but isn't this too much?
"No, I'm not even Tower Master anymore!"
But the man didn't deny my question.
The man who approached uncomfortably close shouted at me.
"Someone like me isn't qualified to be Tower Master! You're the one who deserves to lead the White Magic Tower."
What they sought was magic itself.
To explore and fully understand its essence.
For hundreds of years since the White Magic Tower's founding, countless people had desperately struggled to achieve this deepest wish.
But every attempt ended in failure.
The White Magic Tower was declining, paying the price for challenging the impossible, and most had given up on reaching that wish.
Then you appeared in such a situation where everyone had resigned themselves.
The middle-aged man's eyes sparkle as he rambles on about such things.
"You who deciphered the Rune Language alone are our only hope of achieving our wish! I know it's shameless to ask now, but please take the position of Tower Master!"
My head spun dizzily for a moment.
I wanted to believe this was just an impostor spouting nonsense, but the magical power emanating from the man before me was real.
Overwhelming, even shocking magical power.
Even in this situation where he's clearly lost his reason and running wild, he's unconsciously maintaining tens of thousands of defensive spell formulas.
This middle-aged man really was Merlin himself.
The man synonymous with genius.
The person all children looked up to without exception.
A mage of superhuman ability who once shook the world.
And such a big shot was telling me.
That he was wrong about everything. That he'd do anything, so please come back and take the position of Tower Master.
That he now believes I deciphered Rune Language.
Cold sweat naturally ran down my back.
My head that wasn't working properly due to the hangover suddenly cleared and suggested the worst possibility.
Could I have been mistaken about something?
Was what I did really just public nudity?
If...
This is just hypothetical, but.
If the hypothesis forming in my head is true, what kind of massive incident did I cause while drunk?
"If you don't want to be Tower Master, at least take me as your discipleeee!!"
But regardless of my inner turmoil, the middle-aged Tower Master wailed "hic hic" while sobbing.
Then comes the sound of clicks.
Hearing that, I had no choice but to accept the truth.
...That the situation had grown far beyond the point of no return.
*****
[Genius Professor Deciphers Language of the Gods?!]
[Shocking Truth Revealed - Interpreted Not Just Nine Characters But Tens of Thousands of Rune Characters!]
[Magic Tower Master Grabs Pant Leg and Sobs, Begging to be Taken as Disciple Even While Offering Position]
[Adventure Association President, Second Sword Emperor, and Now Magic Tower Master Too? Where Will New Professor's Rise End?]
I stared at the newspaper with a dumbfounded expression.
...That was the moment I resolved to never even look at alcohol again.