"Okay, then go."
Mikhail tried to kick Pavel out with an annoyed expression. But...
"Oh my, you must be a really nice person to be friends with someone as ill-tempered as me. I should at least say thank you."
Pavel smiled kindly, lightly ignoring Mikhail's words.
"..."
A cold sweat ran down Max's back. Mikhail asked Pavel in a quiet voice, not knowing whether he was aware of his condition or not.
"What's wrong with my personality?"
"Are you really asking because you don't know? You run away every day, saying you don't want to work, or you cause trouble on a random day and pretend not to know what's going on and go off to play around."
"When me?"
"When, when? Have you already forgotten that you took the ice stone? at the end of last year, saying you were doing research, and froze the entire Magic Tower with it? You idiot!"
“Ah.”
"And then you ran away without saying a word, leaving behind just a note telling me not to come back."
"That's not running away, it's just going out..."
"And that's not all! Two years ago, you were bored so you set up some firecrackers and ended up blowing up the top floor of the tower!"
"..."
"You said you were experimenting with magic potions before..."
Pavel just listed facts and hit the nail on the head, leaving Mikhail with no room for rebuttal. Mikhail looked uneasy as he continued to bring up endless incidents and accidents.
"Those are all things that have already been resolved and solved. You too, Master, what was the big deal? You've really been using it for a long time."
At those words, Pavel pounded his chest and lamented his past self.
"Oh my. Why on earth would I have taken such a troublemaker as my disciple to enjoy such a life of wealth and honor?"
"If you don't like it, why don't you fire me right now?"
Mikhail shrugged his shoulders, speaking angrily. Pavel jumped at those words.
"Look at that punk talking about a pierced mouth!"
He was angry and even swore at Mikhail, but soon he spoke in a voice full of regret.
"When you were young, you were like a little chick who would always follow me around, calling me 'Teacher,' 'Teacher. I wonder why you became like that when you grew up."
Pavel shook his head and frowned.
"I feel wrong, too. You brought in a kid who didn't know anything and said, 'From today on, you are my disciple, If I had known this would happen, I would have run away a long time ago."
"What?"
Slam!
"Ugh! Why are you hitting me!"
In the end, Mikhail got hit in the back by Pavel.
'Phew.'
Max sighed inwardly as he watched the two bickering. It was a situation that was always repeated, like a predictable repertoire.
'Even though you say such harsh things, you still stick together well.'
In fact, Mikhail was a street kid that Pavel suddenly brought home one day. Pavel raised Mikhail, whom he brought to the Magic Tower, with great care. He even gave him his own last name, 'Oelich', and made him his adopted son and disciple. He poured out his attention and love, and generously taught and passed on all the infinite magical knowledge he knew. Like a natural genius, Mikhail absorbed everything Pavel taught him like a sponge. Pavel cherished Mikhail so much. If Mikhail had truly regretted being here, he would have left the Magic Tower without any regrets.
Max, who knew this fact, saw the two of them as nothing more than a childish fight between a father and a son.
'I wish you would express your affection somewhere else...'
Max wished the situation would end quickly. Pavel cleared his throat with an 'ahem' and folded his arms as he returned to the main topic.
"Anyway! I should treat her to a big meal to thank her for being your friend."
"It's just a useless concern. Don't worry about it and just leave it alone, please."
Mikhail acted like a prickly boy entering puberty.
"Oh, isn't this the first time you've brought someone to the rooftop? I just wanted to see their face, so why are you complaining about how hard it is?"
"Who said that I was whining?"
"Hmm?"
One of Pavel's eyebrows rose diagonally at this slightly different reaction than usual.
"This guy's reaction is a little strange today?"
Pavel seemed to be thinking about something, then opened his mouth with a sly expression.
"Are you sure she's a woman?"
"Ugh...!"
Max's shoulders shook violently in surprise at Pavel's sudden question. Mikhail didn't answer, but judging by Max's reaction, he couldn't help but be certain that it was a woman. Max realized that he had made a mistake, but it was already too late.
"She's a girl, right?"
The corners of Pavel's mouth went up and his eyes lit up.
"This guy kept taking it off because he was embarrassed!"
Pavel laughed heartily and his eyes sparkled with interest.
"Who is she? Which house is she from? Is she pretty?"
"..."
In the end, when he was caught, Mikhail's expression suddenly crumpled and he glared at Max. Max shut his eyes tightly. There was nothing he could do but shut his mouth like a criminal.
"Hahaha, our disciple brought a girl! He's all grown up now, all grown up!"
He patted Mikhail on the back with a surprised expression, then suddenly clapped his hands as if he had remembered something.
"No, that's not how it should be!"
Pavel took an antique-designed cape out of his inventory and draped it over his shoulders.
"I'm meeting the woman my disciple brought home for the first time, and I feel ashamed to wear something like this!"
It was a wizard's cape that he usually didn't wear because he thought it was too much of a hassle.
“Ha.”
Mikhail sighed, pressing his eyebrows together as he realized that there was no use in hiding it any longer.
"Seriously, stop. I only brought her to the Magic Tower for a brief treatment."
"Treatment? Why? Where does it hurt the most?"
"I'll take care of it...."
"My student's girlfriend is sick, so I can't just sit by and do nothing!"
Mikhail didn't even open his mouth to say who he had brought, but Pavel's mind had already determined that she was his protégé's girlfriend. Before Mikhail could finish speaking, he waved his finger and magically swung the door open.
"I need to use some healing magic quickly... Huh?"
Pavel's eyes widened as he entered the room.
Meanwhile, at the same time, the Grand Duke's family was turned upside down when Karina disappeared. Jeremiah, who had returned from the palace, was told of Jen's sighting.
"About an hour ago, I went to the Gran dDuchess' bedroom with medicine, and as soon as I opened the door, a white light flashed above the bed. For a moment, I thought I saw the Grand Duchess and her escort magician, but when I opened my eyes again, no one was there."
If what Jen said was true, then the wizard who was in charge of Karina's escort must have used magic to take Karina away.
"I searched the entire mansion, but I couldn't find the Grand Duchess anywhere."
Jeremiah was convinced by the butler's report that followed. He gritted his teeth with a fearful expression. He didn't know where Karina had been taken, but since Mikhail was a magician belonging to the Magic Tower, he would be able to find any traces if he went into the Magic Tower.
"Get ready to go straight to the tower."
He gave the order with an ominous air as if he was going to sweep away the magic tower at any moment.
"Your Highness, you are not thinking of going to war with the Magic Tower, are you?"
Ron asked cautiously, his expression puzzled. Jeremiah looked at him with a look of asking why not.
"How can I leave alone the man who dared to take my wife?"
Jeremiah's eyes flashed fiercely. If Mikhail were in front of him, he would tear his limbs apart and kill him right away. Ron hesitated as he watched Jeremiah's eyes burning with anger before finally speaking.
"But what if... the Grand Duchess followed that wizard of her own accord?"
"What...?"
Jeremiah's expression was blank for a moment at Ron's question. His face, which had been scrunched up as if he had heard something ridiculous, quickly became complicated. After marrying Jeremiah, Karina suffered greatly from being treated coldly in the North and getting entangled in various incidents. When she came to the capital, she declared that she wanted to divorce Jeremiah and even asked the information center to get her some fertility drugs. She had also acted recklessly and thoughtlessly recently. It wouldn't have been strange if she had left whenever she had the chance.
Furthermore, since she had been captured by a monster and almost died, Karina might have lost her composure and asked the wizard to take her to the Magic Tower first. And since the Magic Tower was not part of the Empire but a foreign country, it could be seen as somewhat free from the influence of Imperial law. If that were true, Jeremiah's invasion of the Magic Tower could have developed into a huge international issue. Ron was worried about this. But that wasn't why Jeremiah was shocked.
'Is it possible that she has abandoned me now?'
He was in shock. The mere thought of it running cold through his blood.
'Why on earth are you pushing me away like this?'
At first, Jeremiah thought he could open Karina's closed heart. He was confident that he could turn her heart back. However, he did not know that Karina would reject him so coldly. As time went by, he realized that the wall surrounding her heart was thicker and stronger than he had expected. A deep sense of despair came over him. However, he soon came to his senses.
'Stop. I don't know anything yet.
He didn't know if Karina had gone there herself or if she had really been kidnapped again. Either way, he had to go to the Magic Tower and meet her. He would know the answer if he met Karina again. But if she really had left him on her own...
His eyes wavered uneasily. A corner of his heart became as cold as ice. He felt as if he was barely hanging on to the edge of a cliff. Jeremiah raised his trembling hand and covered his eyes.
"Karina..."
He wanted to see her so desperately at this moment.
***
In the pitch-black darkness. A coldness dripped from Karina's face as she emerged from her memories. It was something she had already experienced in the past, and she was no longer so naive as to be hurt again by recalling such memories. It just felt dirty.
"Phew."
She sighed deeply and thought deeply.
'Why do memories from the past keep appearing in my dreams?'
She couldn't even guess why she kept seeing annoying memories from the past.
'Are you telling me to live a different life than before?'
If that was the reason, she was already trying her best to do it. But on the contrary.
'Surely this isn't some shitty situation where I have to repeat the same past, right?'
A sense of rebellion stirred within Karina. Even so, she had no intention of repeating the past.
'In that case, it would be better to die once more.'
Karina snorted in excitement. By the way. Usually, when she sees things from the past like this, she wakes up from her dream and opens her eyes to reality, not here. But this time, something was different.
'Why won't I wake up?'
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