Chapter 7
By now she had grown somewhat used to it, but still, Cassius was her one and only master and superior.
In the mage society, a master-teacher held enormous weight. And if that master wasn’t just anyone but an archmage, then when he said “roll,” you rolled, and when he said “crawl,” you crawled. Only then could a disciple draw much from him.
Cassius was a difficult man, but he possessed vast and exceptional magical knowledge. Fortunately, he never hesitated to teach Eki… and unfortunately, he also never hesitated to hurl insults at her.
Eki was content enough with humoring Cassius to a degree, pushing back at him to a degree, and meanwhile growing her magical skills. That was why, all things considered, she had found life in the Thousand Dog Tower tolerable.
But now…
‘What if this time I actually get kicked out this time?’
She had touched Cassius’s p***s. Even if it was over his underclothes, she had grabbed that hot, intimidating thing with her whole hand, feeling its weight and texture.
Cassius must have read the feelings spread across her face.
Shock. Confusion. And awe.
“AAAARGH!”
Eki let out a scream and slammed her forehead on the table. She had no idea why she had done that. If only she had jumped up right away, said, “Oops, my mistake!” and dashed out of the laboratory, Cassius might not have lost his temper so much.
‘Am I going to be fired? For touching my master’s d**k?’
She had money, yes, but she didn’t want to leave the Thousand Dog Tower. After clinging on stubbornly all these years, to be thrown out over such an incident?
‘No, I’ll just have to go back and beg on my knees, even now.’
Even if, at the root, it was Cassius’s spell mistake that had caused it all…
‘Wait a sec. I’m covered in ultra-strong luck potion right now, aren’t I? Shouldn’t fortune be on my side? Why is it nothing but misfortune?’
Just as she thought that, Milla, having finished pondering, offered her advice.
“This won’t do. Just tell him to touch you back.”
“What?”
“Twist the case into mutual harassment. Then maybe you won’t be fired.”
“Milla! Say something that makes sense!!”
Eki leapt to her feet, her face flaming red. At that exact moment, the communicator in her pocket began to blare, wee-woo, wee-woo.
At this hour, there was only one person it could be. Startled, Eki answered it without even realizing she was standing in the middle of a tavern.
“H-Hello?”
– …Where are you right now.
Cassius’s voice came through laced with irritation, perhaps from hearing the noisy din in the background.
“Ah, I just… stepped out for a bit. You told me to leave, so…”
– Come back now. I have something to say.
“Huh? Master, wait just—”
Click. The line was cut.
Eki stared blankly at the square-shaped communicator in her hand. Then, fury welled up toward her master, who had said his piece and ruthlessly hung up.
“That dog-like bastard…”
“What? Did he say he’s firing you?”
“Or did he report you to the City Guard?”
Eki shook her head, grabbed her coat off the chair, and stood.
“He told me to come now.”
“Yikes.”
“Ohh, boy.”
From the Pinon Forest, where the Thousand Dog Tower stood, to the capital took ten whole days by carriage. But with a teleportation device, the trip was instant. The problem was that using it required mana stones equal to the distance traveled.
As explained earlier, Eki needed three, and a single mana stone usually cost the equivalent of a month’s wages for an ordinary worker. But Eki, flush with wealth, had already paid for three in advance just to come see her friends.
“I’m going. I’ll cover the tab, so finish your drinks.”
“Forget it. We’ll get going too.”
“We came out to hear your troubles, anyway.”
In the end, the three of them squeezed their way out past the drunken crowd, paid for over a dozen glasses of Alber Mountain beer, and left the tavern.
Eki hurried toward the clock tower in the center of the plaza, her nerves on edge.
“The teleportation service closes soon.”
“Go on, then.”
“Thanks for coming out tonight. I’ll let you know how things turn out later!”
“Sure thing.”
Milla and Giyote waved lazily as Eki turned her back on them and darted off like a squirrel toward the teleportation station.
The time was 10:55 PM. Teleport stations usually closed around 11.
‘Can I make it if I run?’
Eki gritted her teeth.
Cassius might have been a bastard, but he had never once summoned her this late at night. Even if he needed her after work, he never, ever contacted her privately past 7 PM.
‘S**t, I think I really am getting fired.’
Otherwise, why would he be calling her back right this instant? It was obvious he was about to tell her to pack up and leave.
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