The Emperor's Visit to the Magic Tower (1)

The emperor was coming to visit the Magic Tower.

It was the first time since the Magic Tower was established. Princes and the princess had visited before, but the emperor himself had never come even once.

Regardless of why the emperor was visiting the Magic Tower, they first had to come up with some countermeasures. They couldn’t just show him the way things were, with incidents and accidents happening every single day.

If someone asked if that was just a pretty apricot that tasted sour, he wouldn’t have anything to say, because it was true.

However, even a sour apricot would be left to ripen if it looked good. Since they couldn’t exactly change the flesh of the fruit, they might as well try to make its appearance look nice.

“Arian, pass this on to each department and association. We’re having an emergency meeting as soon as everyone comes to work tomorrow.”

“Yes, Magic Tower master.”

Arian bowed her head and slipped out of the Magic Tower Lord’s Office.

Left alone, Franz stared blankly at the letter placed on the desk before letting out a sigh and leaning his head back.

He had really hoped something like this wouldn’t happen…

* * *

Time passed, and it was the next morning.

“Isn’t this the first time the Magic Tower master has called an emergency meeting?”

“Well, wouldn’t it be to praise the excellent points of our Water Attribute Magic Association?”

“Hah, if that’s the case, our Fire Attribute Magic Association won’t fall behind either.”

Elderly people were gathered together, walking down the corridor.

They ranged from the association heads of each attribute to the department heads of individual departments. All of them were mages counted among the best in the empire.

The place they were heading to was, naturally, the conference room.

“Thank you for your hard work so early in the morning. Please take a seat.”

Franz greeted them with a smiling face as they entered the conference room.

They gave Franz a nod of greeting and sat in their usual seats. It was seating determined by the hierarchy within the Magic Tower, so while it wasn’t officially designated, no one voiced any complaints.

After confirming that everyone was seated, Franz carefully brought up the topic.

“The reason I gathered you all today is that His Majesty the emperor said he would be visiting the Magic Tower.”

Everyone’s faces showed astonishment. It was such a rare occurrence that even those who had worked in the Magic Tower for over several decades were taken by surprise.

“How could Your Majesty come all the way to the Magic Tower…”

“This is not a matter to be taken lightly…”

While everyone murmured and reacted in their own ways, someone quietly raised a hand.

The woman with her white hair neatly braided was the head of the Light Attribute Magic Association, Resian.

“Yes, please speak.”

“For what reason is Your Majesty visiting?”

“He didn’t tell me exactly, but if I had to guess, it seems he wants to personally check on the development of the spatial teleportation device underway in the Magic Tool Development Department.”

Of course, it was only a guess, not a certainty. Perhaps the emperor simply wanted to go on an outing.

But that wasn’t very important. The truly important thing was the fact that the emperor was coming to the Magic Tower.

“I would like you all to thoroughly inspect the overall condition of the Magic Tower, including the items stored in the warehouses and the cleaning we’ve neglected. I will do the final check, so please make sure it’s done properly.”

Even as he said that, Franz found it ridiculous. Whether he was in the military or at a company, whenever something like this happened, he would always think, “You should have just done a good job normally-.”

The meeting, which continued with questions and answers, concluded in less than an hour.

As they got up from their seats one by one and left the conference room, someone approached Franz.

It was the head of the Magic Tool Development Department.

“Magic Tower master, is Your Majesty really coming to check the spatial teleportation device…?”

“As I mentioned earlier, I don’t know for sure. But I think there’s a high probability that he is.”

“Then we will have to prepare even more thoroughly…”

He bowed his head in greeting and left the conference room.

Everyone was probably in a frenzy by now. After all, most mages terribly hated organizing things.

Still, what could they do? The emperor himself was making a visit. Even if it was annoying and they hated it, they had no choice but to do it.

Afterward, the Magic Tower was thrown into a frenzy, just as Franz had expected. There were people tripping while moving piles of documents, and incidents where magic tools stuck in the corners of warehouses exploded due to mishandling.

What was a little surprising in the midst of all that was that everyone, regardless of whether they were seniors or juniors, participated in the cleaning. Even the association heads came out and personally organized the warehouses.

While realizing anew the incredible power of the emperor, he could simultaneously see that the Magic Tower had changed a lot. If it had been like the old days, only the youngest members would have suffered, regardless of whether the emperor was coming or not.

“F-Franz, hide me for a moment.”

It was when Franz was organizing the Magic Tower Lord’s Office. Levi, who had suddenly come in, pleaded urgently.

Instead of answering, Franz let out a short sigh. It was obvious he was playing some sort of prank again.

Levi, who quickly looked around, hid under the desk. However, the tip of her long tail was left sticking out. It seemed she hadn’t quite thought about her tail.

“Anyway, the fact that Levi came here definitely means…”

Seri-ah and Zeni-ah would be coming this way.

“Franz-!”

“She’s here, isn’t she?!”

Just as Franz expected, Seri-ah and Zeni-ah entered the Magic Tower Lord’s Office.

They had their brows furrowed as if they had some sort of complaint.

“Franz, Levi came here, right?”

“Why? Where did she go?”

“She ran away when we had to clean the office.”

“Really? But what should we do? I haven’t seen her…”

Franz trailed off and looked at the desk where Levi was hiding. At one corner of the desk, Levi’s tail was moving busily from side to side as if she were nervous.

While he was conversing with Seri-ah like that, Zeni-ah was looking all around the Magic Tower Lord’s Office.

He had done as much as he could. The rest depended on whether Seri-ah and Zeni-ah could understand the meaning.

“Zeni-ah, it seems she really isn’t here. Let’s head back.”

“Is that so? Franz could have betrayed us and hidden that idiot kid, you know.”

“Even so, he wouldn’t do that. If he has a conscience, that is.”

“That’s certainly true. He’s not the type to lie.”

The two, having shared that conversation, nodded and took a step.

So he naturally thought they were going to go outside, but they didn’t leave; instead, they only gently opened and closed the door.

Creaaak-, thud-.

At the sound of the door opening and closing, Levi, who had been hiding under the desk, jumped up.

“Honestly, why should this great one have to clean such a small office…”

Following her gaze, she turned her head with a sigh of relief.

Seri-ah and Zeni-ah were standing right there.

They were smiling brightly, but behind those smiles, they were filled with anger.

“F-Franz…! Did you trick me…!”

“I said I didn’t see you, didn’t I?”

“Then how are they waiting for me right here…!”

Seri-ah and Zeni-ah slowly approached Levi, who was shouting as if she had been wronged.

Gulp.

Levi swallowed her saliva with a face full of fear and took a step to run away.

But Seri-ah and Zeni-ah weren’t about to allow that.

“Where are you going?”

“You have to go clean.”

Seri-ah and Zeni-ah grabbed Levi’s arms from both sides, as if to say they wouldn’t lose her a second time.

“L-let go of this! This great one is not a being meant to do something as trivial as cleaning…!”

“Let’s go eat sandwiches after we finish cleaning.”

“Mhm… If it’s for that much, there’s no reason I can’t do it…”

The three of them left the Magic Tower Lord’s Office side by side, as if nothing had happened.

Watching their retreating figures, Franz let out a hollow laugh, “Hah-.” He hadn’t expected her to be caught so obediently just for a single sandwich.

If she was going to be like this, why did she even run away in the first place…

“Should I go eat a sandwich later too?”

Thinking that, Franz resumed the work he had paused.

Some time passed, and it was late afternoon.

Late in the day, after everyone had left work, Franz slowly looked around the Magic Tower with Arian. The research labs, of course, as well as the warehouses and public facilities were inspected. They inspected every nook and cranny without missing a single spot.

“Magic Tower master, this is the first time I’ve seen the Magic Tower this clean.”

“Me too.”

Thanks to the hard work of the Magic Tower members, the Magic Tower wasn’t just clean; it was practically sparkling.

It probably wasn’t even this clean when it was first built.

Anyway, it was a relief that those stubborn and prideful mages had followed instructions well.

“Arian, let’s wrap this up soon and go eat some sandwiches together.”

“Is the Magic Tower master buying?”

“Yeah, I’ll buy them for you.”

“Hmm, what’s the occasion? The Magic Tower master I know isn’t that kind of person.”

Just what did she think of him?

Dumbfounded, Franz let out a sigh.

“I’m joking. Let’s hurry and go.”

Arian laughed brightly, “Hehe-,” and subtly linked her arm with his.

* * *

How many days had passed since then?

“Your Majesty, I will escort you to the Magic Tower.”

“I said I would go myself, yet you really…”

The emperor said that, but his eyes were sparkling like a child’s.

He was particularly fond of the carriage Franz had arrived in, so his excitement was only natural.