I don't know the full story behind why Luca Osijek ended up at odds with the Magic Tower.
However, about ten years later, a rumor spread that the famous youngest archmage, Luca Osijek, was actually wanted for plotting a sinister scheme in the Magic Tower.
'Those who knew already knew, but I was surprised to find out so late.'
He was said to have been on the run for a short time before being caught, having all his magical powers removed from the tower, and being released.
That fact was brought to light again ten years later and became known to me.
The reason his story was finally brought to light was that Luca Osijek regained his lost magic and attempted revenge on the Magic Tower ten years later.
It was a huge event.
'One man annihilated countless armies supporting the Magic Tower, sending trembling tremors across the continent.'
He was barely captured by the Arrental army and executed.
People whispered and talked about the Kavala's involvement in the split of the tower, which they thought was solid.
And at that time, Andrea was desperate to find out the recipe for the potion that Luca Osijek had developed to restore magic power.
'He coveted that drug, thinking he could make a lot of money if he made it and sold it.'
Andrea knew that the drug was made with Restio as its main ingredient and was very busy importing Restio.
Andrea remembered that Restio was a rare herb that did not grow in Arrental, where the weather was not that cold even in winter, and that it had been quite difficult for him.
'But I thought that was a medicinal herb that was widely available in Ronheim.'
Anyway, thanks to that, I was able to recall that time and realized that around this time, Luca Osijek would need Restio to restore his magic power.
Also, he might not have good feelings towards Kavala.
There is a saying that the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
We had a common enemy, so we were in a relationship where we could cooperate sufficiently.
“I don’t know how you figured that out, but what do you want me to do?”
His eyes were full of wariness.
"Is this a threat? Is that why you've captured me like this? If I don't help, you'll throw me in prison and leave me to rot?"
I spoke softly to him, as if to soothe him, who was counting the days like a ferocious cat.
“I’ll want to help.”
“Me? Why?”
“I am asking you to join me in destroying Kavala.”
“...”
Luca's momentum was instantly broken.
After a moment of silence, he looked at me with his purple eyes, full of rebellious light like a teenage boy, and then opened his mouth again.
“Let's hear it.”
'Those who knew already knew, but I was surprised to find out so late.'
He was said to have been on the run for a short time before being caught, having all his magical powers removed from the tower, and being released.
That fact was brought to light again ten years later and became known to me.
The reason his story was finally brought to light was that Luca Osijek regained his lost magic and attempted revenge on the Magic Tower ten years later.
It was a huge event.
'One man annihilated countless armies supporting the Magic Tower, sending trembling tremors across the continent.'
He was barely captured by the Arrental army and executed.
People whispered and talked about the Kavala's involvement in the split of the tower, which they thought was solid.
And at that time, Andrea was desperate to find out the recipe for the potion that Luca Osijek had developed to restore magic power.
'He coveted that drug, thinking he could make a lot of money if he made it and sold it.'
Andrea knew that the drug was made with Restio as its main ingredient and was very busy importing Restio.
Andrea remembered that Restio was a rare herb that did not grow in Arrental, where the weather was not that cold even in winter, and that it had been quite difficult for him.
'But I thought that was a medicinal herb that was widely available in Ronheim.'
Anyway, thanks to that, I was able to recall that time and realized that around this time, Luca Osijek would need Restio to restore his magic power.
Also, he might not have good feelings towards Kavala.
There is a saying that the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
We had a common enemy, so we were in a relationship where we could cooperate sufficiently.
“I don’t know how you figured that out, but what do you want me to do?”
His eyes were full of wariness.
"Is this a threat? Is that why you've captured me like this? If I don't help, you'll throw me in prison and leave me to rot?"
I spoke softly to him, as if to soothe him, who was counting the days like a ferocious cat.
“I’ll want to help.”
“Me? Why?”
“I am asking you to join me in destroying Kavala.”
“...”
Luca's momentum was instantly broken.
After a moment of silence, he looked at me with his purple eyes, full of rebellious light like a teenage boy, and then opened his mouth again.
“Let's hear it.”
'I knew it.'
I smiled brightly.
"I'll set up a moving magic circle. A secret magic circle that no one, including the Magic Tower and Arrental, knows about."
“How so?”
I stared at him.
He snorted in disbelief, finding the answer in my eyes.
"Are you telling me to set up a teleportation circle? You seem ignorant of magic, don't you? Even the most exceptional wizard can't do that alone."
“I know you can do that.”
“I appreciate your high praise, but what can I say, you overestimate it.”
“Absolutely not.”
Let's say it with firm conviction. Luca sighed deeply as if to ask if I really thought that.
"I don't know where to begin with this explanation... Um, yes. It might be theoretically possible to set up a magic circle on your own. But realistically, it's impossible."
“Why?”
"The magical power needed to set up a magic circle isn't enough for a single human. Even for a wizard like me, no matter how powerful his magical powers are."
“So, don’t wizards use mana stones to supplement their lack of magical power?”
“Look here, Your Highness.”
“Please call me Marchioness Rodrian. Chloe is fine, too.”
Callius, who had been sitting silently next to me, intervened.
“I would like the Marchioness of Rodrian.”
Luca looked back and forth between us and said, as if that wasn't important right now.
"Very well, Marchioness Rodrian. The teleportation magic circle requires tremendous magical power. To generate that much magical power, you'll need at least three or four powerful wizards and a large quantity of refined, top-quality mana stones. And obtaining that amount of mana stones is impossible without going through the Magic Tower."
Luca emphasized.
"Even if you somehow manage to set up a moving magic circle, it's impossible to do so without the Magic Tower noticing. Therefore, in many ways, what the Marchioness thinks is impossible."
I silently searched my pockets and took out a stone I had taken from my dressing room.
It was a mineral mined from the Rosendal territory.
“What if I had infinite amounts of this?”
Luca took the stone from me with a half-hearted attitude, as if he didn't even care what it was.
But soon he jumped up from his seat, his face flushed with excitement.
I stopped the knights from hastily trying to force him down because of his impulsive behavior.
“What is this... what is this?”
He stood there, his mouth wide open, looking at the minerals.
"This... is the first time in my life I've seen a mana stone imbued with such strong and pure magic. I've never seen anything like it, not even in the Magic Tower...! And it looks like it hasn't even been refined!"
Looking at his aforementioned face, I felt so thrilled that I couldn't help but laugh.
“What is that...?”
I felt Callius looking at me with a puzzled expression as I giggled and couldn't stop laughing.
He also seemed curious about how long I had had such a mana stone.
I was under the gaze of two men, and I forgot about my pride and continued to giggle like a crazy person.
I couldn't stop because.
“That’s a mineral that only comes from the Rosendal Estate.”
I quickly added.
"Rosendal is a barren land that Kavala gave me as a wedding gift. She readily gave me ownership, thinking it was useless."
I muttered to myself.
“What should I do? She gave me that land without knowing that it contained a huge amount of mana stones.”
It was a pity that Kavala was not present here.
If she had seen my expression just now and known how great it was that she gave me, she wouldn't have been able to stay still.
Of course, the two men next to me and in front of me couldn't stay still for another reason.
“So, are you saying that all the minerals Montril sent were mana stones, Chloe?”
“Are there more like this, Marchioness?”
The outpost was filled with laughter for a while.
The two men who harbored hostility toward Kavala couldn't stop laughing, just like I had just a moment ago.
Luca, forgetting all his guard, gave a long speech about how amazing the Mana Stone I had shown him was.
I wondered if it was like that when you were teaching students at the top of the mountain.
Callius and I, who had nothing to do with magic, couldn't understand even a single word of what Luca was saying in excitement.
All I could tell was that it was something so great that he had to talk about it for so long that he had to stop me.
“How on earth did you know this was a Mana Stone, Your Highness?”
“By chance.”
Luca couldn't believe it.
I just laughed in response as he muttered something nonsensical.
'Rosendal became a barren wasteland where no plants could grow due to the strong mana emitted by that mana stone.'
In my past life, Kavala briefly lent the Rosendal territory to the Magic Tower in exchange for running a black magic training academy.
This was because the Magic Tower had requested territory for large-scale experiments, and the wizards who had unpacked their belongings in the Rosendal territory to conduct various experiments were happily researching while wandering around the wasteland when they discovered, quite by chance, a huge amount of mana stones buried there.
So, in a way, what I said about it being a coincidence wasn't a lie.
At that time, Kavala collected huge sums of money every year in return for exclusively providing the mineral to the tower.
That doesn't mean that Magic Tower suffered any losses.
Because of the mana stone, the Magic Tower was able to successfully carry out numerous research projects that had been sluggish for a long time, and the Magic Tower was able to make a fortune by releasing more powerful and innovative magic items than before.
I suggested to Luca.
"Let's get back to the main topic. If I bring you as many of these as you want, can you set up a movement magic circle?"
Luca looked down at the Mana Stone and swallowed dryly.
There was a positive light in his eyes that said, 'Wouldn't it be worth a try?'
“Will you use the magic circle I created to destroy Kavala?”
I wiped the smile off my face and looked at him.
“I promise you more than that.”
Regardless of how you use the magic circle.
"I will stake everything on destroying Kavala. Believe me. It's also a promise to myself."
The corners of Luca's mouth slowly rose and then peaked.
“You’re a more interesting person than I’ve heard.”
Then he smiled like a kid and whispered to us.
"Anyway, I think it would be best to start by dealing with the wizards hiding in Ronheim. Lamia found a group of their belongings nearby. As far as I know, they're Kavala spies."
“...!”
"I can sense their mana. We're like archenemies who experimented together."
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