The Low-Ranking Civil Servant Wants to Achieve Success-Chapter 35: 3. The Circumstances of the Tower Master

A bizarrely towering structure stood in the middle of a wide expanse of land, completely surrounded by high walls and shrouded in fog.

The Magic Tower, a place that prioritized complete disconnection from the outside world.

From early dawn, an old man cut through the fog and entered the Tower.

“Tower Master!”

As soon as the old man with a large staff entered the Tower, the secretary jumped to their feet.

“You're here! It's been such a long time!”

Though wrapped in a black robe, his tall stature could not be hidden.

His long, flowing white hair and beard were splendidly thick.

His bulging, large eyes gleamed a piercing blue.

The Tower Master looked like a Grim Reaper.

“Yes, it’s me.”

The Tower Master strode forward and perched himself on his desk.

“Saying it's been a long time—are you throwing shade at me for abandoning the Tower, huh?”

Piles of documents and letters were ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ stacked like mountains on the desk.

Some of them even bore the Imperial seal.

“Well, yes. Anyway, welcome back. Have you had any success?”

The secretary quickly received the Tower Master’s staff as he spoke.

“Any results?”

“Goddammit.”

The Tower Master cursed first thing. It was effective communication—the secretary immediately understood that there had been no results.

He gave the secretary a sideways glance and grumbled.

“Don’t have kids.”

“Pardon?”

“Raising them is hard, and cleaning up after them is even harder.”

The Tower Master rubbed his forehead as if it hurt just thinking about it.

“I have to take responsibility because it's my own kid’s mess... but god, it's exhausting. So don’t even bother having kids.”

“Well, that sounds more like the Tower Master failed at child-rearing and has nothing to do with my hypothetical children.”

The secretary spoke as he reorganized the documents that had been scattered by the Tower Master’s arrival.

“To be honest, it seems Aran went astray because of the Tower Master’s problematic education methods.”

“Problematic?! I only ever told her objective facts from the time she was little!”

At the secretary’s words, the Tower Master jumped up and shouted.

“How could that have possibly made her go wrong!”

“Well, looking at Aran, it clearly did. I learned a lot from observing her.”

“Hmph, Aran will only realize after she has a crazy daughter like herself.”

“Who knows. She's already at the age where it wouldn’t be surprising if her daughter had a daughter of her own.”

The Tower Master groaned and clutched his forehead.

He had been wandering for almost twenty-five years, searching for the daughter who had caused a major incident and disappeared.

Now, he just wanted to clean up the mess she had left behind. But even that wasn’t going well.

The secretary said in a businesslike tone.

“Anyway, since you're back, please look over some documents. They’ve piled up like this.”

The Tower Master looked at the documents with a sickened expression and sighed. Then, trying to dodge responsibility, he said,

“I’ll just read the five most important ones and then rest, so hurry up and pick them out.”

“Hmm... It's a bit much for me to judge their importance...”

“If you do well, I'll give you a raise.”

“I’ll do my best.”

The secretary tilted his head, then selected five documents. The Tower Master glanced through them and immediately got annoyed.

“What’s this? Why are two of the five stamped with the Imperial seal? Do I have to care about outside matters too?”

“One is from the Crown Prince’s office, and the other is from the Scroll Management Department's Minister.”

The Tower Master picked up the one from the Crown Prince’s office first, grumbling.

“What’s this? Requesting a review and opinion? That impudent brat of a Crown Prince, this better not be anything major.”

“Um...”

The secretary hesitated, looking confused.

“Shouldn't you read the one from the Minister first? It’s a petition. Looks like something happened at the Scroll Management Department...”

“Hmph, what do I care about some scroll peddlers who can't even set foot inside the Tower properly?”

“...Then should we just officially remove the Scroll Department from the Tower’s jurisdiction? Hand it over completely to the Imperial government...”

The secretary’s voice was filled with hope—maybe then his workload would shrink.

But the Tower Master exploded in anger.

“No way! It's still a magic-related department. Why should the Imperial Family control it entirely? Absolutely not!”

“But you said you don't have time to manage even that...”

“I’ll have time once I settle the Aran matter! Once that's done!”

The Tower Master slammed the desk.

“Fixing the mess Aran made is way more important than overseeing some measly department! For the sake of the entire continent!”

“But at this rate, the Scroll Department will either be forcibly seized or dismantled.”

The secretary answered with an eager face, not giving up hope for the Scroll Department’s dissolution.

“Apparently, His Highness the Crown Prince has taken control of the document access rights. This petition is asking you to stop him. Judging by the situation, it looks like they've been looting the department pretty hard.”

The Tower Master let out a snort and made a displeased face.

He disliked the Minister of the Scroll Department—but he hated a meddling Crown Prince even more.

“That little snotty brat dares meddle with the Tower? That punk in his twenties?”

The Tower Master’s angry eyes scanned the message from the Crown Prince.

“He even dared to send this, asking for my opinion on a case where he almost died? What does he think the Tower is, some leisure house?”

Reading the document with a warlike expression, the Tower Master's eyes sharpened.

“Doesn’t even know what's going on, yet wants an opinion, huh.”

He twisted his mouth into a crooked smile and grumbled.

“Low-ranking officer suddenly deployed 172 defensive scrolls? Is this a joke?”

“Um, I also thought that was strange and double-checked.”

The secretary tilted his head and said,

“It’s confirmed. Namia Roafi, that low-ranking officer, did activate 172 scrolls, and she made 166 of them herself the night before.”

“...Hmm?”

The Tower Master’s brow furrowed.

Even while reading the grumpy old man's mood, the secretary added proudly,

“At this point, it’s an important document, right? Please raise my salary.”

“......”

The Tower Master stared silently at the report for a long while.

Then he stood up.

He grabbed his staff again, his eyes gleaming.

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“Don’t make me laugh.”

“Pardon?”

“If you wanted to be worth your salary, you should have shoved this document at me the second I arrived, regardless of the five-document rule!”

There was no time for the secretary to plead his case. The Tower Master, grinning like a lunatic, said,

“I’m going to see for myself.”

“Pardon?!”

Ignoring the secretary’s shocked voice, the Tower Master whirled his robe around and stormed out of the Tower.

***

To grant me a wish...

That was exactly the line I had been hoping for.

I had helped her with that in mind, too.

But although the result was the same, the feeling was different.

[I owe you my life. Thank you. Tell me anything you want. I'll grant it, no matter what, as repayment for saving my life!]

I had thought she would say something like that.

Instead, the Empress said she would reward me because I had helped save the Imperial Family.

Something warm bubbled up in my chest, filling me with affection.

“Yes... Your Majesty.”

I answered, my voice choking a little.

“Thank you. I won’t hold back.”

My heart felt unsettled.

It wasn’t that she favored me personally—it felt like she acknowledged me as a professional.

“You doubted your superior and exposed an enemy hiding within the Imperial Family.”

“Ah...”

“So you have the right to ask for anything.”

I took a deep breath.

And slowly opened my mouth.

“Your Majesty, then... would you please listen to my story? It’s a bit long...”

“Of course! I’ve got nothing else to do right now!”

The Empress laughed heartily.

“Cleaning up after this mess is something His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince can handle! Wahahaha!”

She offered me a seat and then sprawled out grandly.

She yanked a bell pull and shouted to a maid,

“Bring meat first! I think I lost some muscle mass from not eating properly yesterday!”

The Empress then looked at me and sighed.

“And our Namia clearly needs to eat a lot more too.”

I gave a sheepish smile.

A little while later, we sat at a table piled high with all kinds of meat.

And I began telling my story.

The circumstances of my birth tied to loan shark debts, how I ended up as an adopted daughter, and my father’s disappearance.

As I continued, the Empress’s expression grew increasingly serious.

“...So... if I ever find my father, even if he’s involved in a criminal organization, please spare his life...”

“Goddamn it, Namia, do you even have to ask?!”

The Empress bellowed.

“That’s obvious! And first of all, we need to destroy that bastard, Baron Roafi!”

Her eyes flashed with rage.

“And your mother too! What kind of wretch saddles their own child with their debt? Tell me everything you know about your mother right now!”