The Nerd Next Door Turned Out To Be The Magic Tower Master [Novel] Chapter 24

Clang!

And remarkably, it wasn’t her hand that broke — it was the axe.

Cecilia stared blankly at the axe head that had fallen to the floor with a thud, then lowered her arm.

Just like when she’d blocked the shower of glass shards, a soft glow was emanating from her hands and forearms.

“…It’s glowing?”

‘It never worked no matter how much I practiced!’

As expected, humans evolved in the face of crisis.

“It’s glowing, it’s glowing!”

All those nights she’d made a fuss about trying to use holy power flashed before her eyes like a life review.

What replaced fear was elation.

“Ha, haha! It’s glowing!”

The unhinged Cecilia thrust both hands right into the thugs’ faces.

“See this? The glowing? You can see it too, right! Huh?”

“Wh-what the hell.”

“Hahaha! And now I can even turn it on and off!”

Perhaps rattled by the saintess’s madness, the thugs faltered and stumbled back.

“Damn it! What, what the hell is that!”

The man clutching nothing but the axe handle spat out a string of curses, his confusion laid completely bare.

He soon discarded the broken weapon and drew a forearm-length blade from his waist.

“Die!”

The chilling edge swept toward her in a wide arc. But it couldn’t touch her skin at all — it stopped with a clang.

Cecilia stared blankly at the blade hovering about three centimeters from her skin, then casually gripped it. And snapped it clean in half.

Truly, physical purification was the greatest thing ever.

Was this how those martial arts masters in all the wuxia novels she’d devoured used to feel?

The villains who’d terrified her moments ago now looked like nothing more than bugs she could stomp to death.

“Good heavens, look at that holy power! All those stories must have been true!”

“I never doubted it for a second! As expected of the saintess!”

Exclamations and praise poured from behind her.

Her shoulders squared in direct proportion to the compliments. Cecilia, now brazen as if she’d flipped a switch, curled her lips into a sinister smile.

You’re all dead.

Now it was truly a blood festival. Surely God would gladly forgive a righteous punisher.

She’d never thrown punches at armed thugs before — actually, she’d never seriously committed violence against anyone, period — but if she just clenched her fist and swung with all her might, wouldn’t it work out somehow?

‘I’m indestructible anyway!’

She was finally about to enjoy playing the role of righteous avenger when, before her outstretched fist could even connect, the thugs were blown back like sheets of paper, slamming into the wall.

As if some invisible giant hand had shoved them away.

Cecilia, utterly dumbfounded, quietly lowered her hand.

‘What the… my own strength is terrifying.’

Beyond indestructibility, beyond superhuman strength — had she now unlocked the ability to fire force blasts?

She was staring gravely at her own hand when it happened.

“Cecilia!”

At the end of the alley, someone appeared with their robe billowing. The male lead’s entrance, several beats too late.

‘Oh, what kind of timing is that.’

Disappointed stares from Cecilia and the onlookers alike converged on Rien.

Rien, who had rushed over with a grave expression, came to an abrupt halt. After studying her less-than-pleased face, he fidgeted with both hands and asked:

“…Shall I stand them back up?”

What he was indicating with his eyes were the thugs sprawled on the ground, eyes rolled back white.

What was the point of hitting someone who was already unconscious?

‘I thought I’d mastered force blasts, but I guess that wasn’t me after all.’

Her excitement thoroughly deflated, Cecilia shook her head.

Shortly after, even more belated than Rien, the guards came swarming in.

“Goodness! It really is the saintess!”

“W-we greet the saintess!”

The guards scrambled to bow with enough force to crack their skulls against the ground.

“I witnessed these people extorting valuables. May I leave the disposition to you?”

“O-of course!”

One guard nodded stiffly and approached the trash sprawled across the ground.

Then cried out in apparent surprise.

“Whoa, these guys!”

“Familiar faces?”

“Yes. They’ve been causing trouble around here for a while — quite the headache… As expected, you’re remarkable!”

“We’re truly grateful!”

“You’re beautiful!”

“You idiots! Don’t be rude to the saintess!”

The one who appeared to be their superior smacked the dazed guards upside the head.

Despite the blows landing hard enough to make a sound, the guards just grinned like the wind had been knocked out of them, too busy singing the saintess’s praises.

‘Strictly speaking, Rien was the one who caught them though…’

As Cecilia watched the praise for the saintess grow while standing by in silence, she had a sinking realization.

She was going to end up on the front page of the newspaper again tomorrow.

With a short sigh, she began thinking ahead about what excuses to give her father and Melanie, who would undoubtedly clutch the backs of their necks after reading tomorrow’s paper.

But not a single decent excuse came to mind.

‘If push comes to shove, I’ll just flee to the Holy Temple.’

While Cecilia, increasingly fed up with everything, made that decision, the one who took charge of the handover was Rien.

“Where will these people be detained?”

“Pardon? Oh, for now we plan to hold them in the nearest temporary detention facility.”

“…Temporary detention facility.”

His gaze as he looked down at the thugs splayed out in their pathetic state was chilling.

For a moment, his coldness was enough to viscerally remind her that he was the infamous Magic Tower Master.

“W-well then, we’ll be going!”

The thoroughly intimidated guards dragged away the thugs — who may or may not have still been breathing.

“We’ll take responsibility for the victims and see them home safely. Thank you so much for your help.”

The guard captain, offering a final salute, dispersed the gathered crowd, then left the scene with Sena.

There had been hardship and adversity, but in the end, things had wrapped up well enough.

As long as she could deal with Rien, still standing there frozen.

“Rien?”

When she called out to him gently, his rigid expression melted away like snow thawing in spring.

His head drooped, his broad shoulders hunched inward, and he opened his mouth glumly.

“If I’d known this would happen, I would have come back sooner… No, I should never have left your side in the first place.”

“Don’t blame yourself. It was resolved safely.”

He looked ready to burrow into his own mantle again, so Cecilia quickly reassured him.

She did regret not getting to deliver the final blow herself, but in any case, hadn’t this event solved one major problem?

If the holy power issue could be resolved, she could honestly endure dozens more clichés like this.

But Rien still seemed upset.

“But you were hurt like this, weren’t you?”

‘Me?’

Rien’s gloved hand gently lifted the tips of her fingers.

Perhaps she’d been clumsy at wrapping herself in holy power — beads of blood were welling up on the fingertips that had gripped the blade.

“Oh, so I was. I didn’t even realize I was cut.”

‘It always starts stinging the moment you see it.’

As the unpleasant sting crept in, Cecilia clicked her tongue softly.

Just as she was about to carelessly wipe the blood on her clothes, something warm and soft touched her fingertips.

Surprisingly yet predictably, the ‘something’ was his lips.

Cecilia briefly considered bacterial infection, then simply savored the flutter.

Whether he’d used magic after licking the blood, or the licking itself was the magic, she couldn’t tell — but by the time his lips left, her fingertips had healed as if by a lie.

“Cecilia.”

A low voice from just above her head made her look up.

“This time, I will protect you. Without fail.”

His violet eyes, steeped in the sunset’s glow, were redder than usual.

Cecilia slowly took in his resolute hands, trembling faintly. His bobbing Adam’s apple. His lips faintly stained with blood.

She saw a desperation and longing she couldn’t account for.

Who he was seeing reflected in her right now — she had no idea.

But one thing she could tell. These weren’t words seeking an answer. They were merely an oath he was making to himself.

And so she simply drew the corners of her lips upward.

“Our outing has gone on much longer than planned. Shall we head back?”

She spun lightly, turning away from him, and the moment she stepped into the slanting sunset—

Someone else’s warmth, neither quite lukewarm nor quite hot, touched the nape of her neck.

“A moment. Pardon me.”

An arm extended from behind her, brushing through her hair.

Only after his presence and warmth had fully withdrawn did Cecilia raise her hand.

Feeling around the spot on her neck where something unfamiliar sat, she found the cool touch of metal and the firm surface of a stone.

“It’s a poor return for the gift you gave me, but.”

Rien, now standing a couple of steps away at some point, spoke haltingly.

The ‘return’ he’d fastened on her himself was a necklace set with an amber gem, clearly expensive at a glance.

She’d been so focused on pleasing him or winning his favor — she never expected to receive a gift in return…

Overwhelmed by an emotion she couldn’t name, Cecilia drew a deep breath and parted her lips.

“Is this why you were late? You were buying this?”

“…Yes. Didn’t you say we wouldn’t see each other for a while? If it’s not uncomfortable, I hoped you might wear it even at the Holy Temple…”

‘Was there really something this nice at a nearby stall?’

She had no idea where he’d found something like this, but regardless, the unexpected gift stirred a far greater emotion than she’d anticipated.

Enough to instantly make sense of his late arrival and his stealing the best scene.

Her golden eyes, gazing steadily up at him, curved into soft crescents.

“So you mean you want me to think of you whenever I see this necklace?”

“What? That’s absolutely not the sort of underhanded ulterior motive behind it! Truly, truly…”

“I won’t read into it.”

He looked like he might cry any second, so she casually nodded — and then.

“B-but, if you could… just a tiny bit…”

He mumbled in a voice that shrank until it was barely audible.

Cecilia pressed the back of her hand firmly against her lips, which threatened to split open gracelessly.

‘I’m pretty sure Plan D just succeeded spectacularly.’

“Because I’m Cecilia’s f-friend!”

…Was she mistaken?

‘Well, whatever.’

“I will. Thank you for the gift.”

With a small smile, Cecilia tilted her head up toward the reddened sky.

The day had been a complete mess compared to her plans. But she couldn’t deny it had been an outing rich with gains in more ways than one.