The Nerd Next Door Turned Out To Be The Magic Tower Master [Novel] Chapter 38

The rational suspicion struck her like a flash. If that were the case, even greater dangers might be lurking in the capital.

But……

“There’s no telling when the culprit will be caught. You know it’s better to go get the approval, if only for the sake of the Grand Temple’s and Weberdin’s reputation.”

“I’m not sending you into the jaws of death just to restore some reputation.”

“If the Saintess meets with harm in the capital, everyone will assume it was Dillanché’s doing — the Imperial House’s doing — even without evidence. So they won’t dare orchestrate anything on this scale.”

“There’s no guarantee of that!”

“I’ll bring as many knights as you want, and I’ll be careful. Please give me your permission.”

The Marquis’s brow furrowed at her repeated persuasion.

With a deep sigh, he reluctantly opened his mouth.

“……In exchange, I’ll be the one assembling the knight escort. The moment you receive the Emperor’s approval, you come straight home. Understood?”

“Yes!”

She nodded eagerly — praying that Nox, at least, would not be among them.

The meal ended with one person’s worry deepened, another’s concern unresolved, and another’s thoughts grown heavier.

Immediately after, Cecilia caught Nox as he rose to leave, following the Marquis.

“CiCi?”

“I have a favor to ask.”

“You, asking me for a favor…… What is it?”

“There’s something I’d like you to look into before I leave for the capital.”

“Something?”

“This.”

And she placed ‘it’—the thing she’d kept tucked inside her clothes throughout the entire meal — right onto his open palm.

Time passed quickly, and the day of departure for the capital dawned.

In the interim, she had looked into the former Cecilia’s personality and history, and researched the holy power that might save her own life.

She had also investigated the Imperial House and the capital on her own, preparing for what would unfold there.

It might have been more efficient to ask Rien for help. But Cecilia made excuse after excuse to avoid her lessons with him.

Each time, the sight of him trudging away, deflated, tugged at her conscience — but she reminded herself that survival was what mattered.

And so, by the time the fierce summer sun had begun to soften, Cecilia found herself packing luggage far more substantial than what she’d brought to the Holy Temple.

Passing Melanie and the maids — busier than the traveler herself — she approached the line of carriages, and the person waiting there greeted her.

“Cecilia, it’s not too late. If you don’t want to go, you don’t have to.”

“The knights have already been assembled. What are you saying?”

It was the Marquis, unable to let go of his worry even on the day of departure, and Nox, wearing a face haggard with fatigue.

Behind them, what looked like dozens of the house’s knights stood waiting in formation.

“All of them are my escort?”

“That’s right.”

“……With a crowd this size, it’ll look less like a visit and more like an invasion.”

“Bit early to be alarmed, don’t you think?”

“What?”

Nox, who had cut in, grabbed her shoulders and spun her a full 180 degrees. And she found herself face to face with the person who had been standing tall right behind her.

A painfully familiar man clad in silver armor.

“Saintess, it has been a long time.”

“Sir Miguel? Why are you here……”

Why was Sir Miguel here? And with a retinue of holy knights in matching armor, no less.

‘Surely he’s not saying he’ll be coming along.’

But bad premonitions were never wrong.

“I will be accompanying you on this journey to the capital. I look forward to working with you.”

“What? Why would a holy knight — when that many of our house’s knights are already coming along? What’s the point?”

In answer to Cecilia’s alarmed question, Sir Miguel produced a letter from inside his armor rather than a verbal reply.

The sender was none other than the Pope himself.

[To the Saintess,
Are you feeling better now? I can only express my regret that I was unable to meet you in person and must resort to a letter instead.
I have heard from the young Marquis that the Saintess will be traveling to the capital to obtain approval.
Such a noble decision must surely be for the sake of the Temple and the family.
Lately, it seems God has been placing trials both great and small upon the Saintess, and it weighs on my heart. I have no doubt that the Saintess will grow splendidly through them, like a lotus rising from the mud, yet even so, my inability to release this handful of unease must be due to my own inadequacy.
The people I have sent along with this letter volunteered gladly the moment they heard of the Saintess’s journey to the capital.
I humbly ask that you grant our children the glory of protecting God’s treasure.
Praying that you return safely, so that we may meet again with nothing but joy in our hearts.
Servant of God, Johan.]

She had ruined such an important temple ceremony so spectacularly, yet there was not a single word of blame — only worry.

She was moved, for a moment — but the feeling was short-lived.

‘With a force this size, people will genuinely think we’ve come to invade.’

It wasn’t as if they were advertising ‘the Saintess is here.’ The group had swelled to the point of being visible from a hundred li away, and it was making her dizzy.

Yet even this seemed insufficient to the Marquis. Still looking worried beyond measure, he pressed his reminders upon her again.

“If anything happens, you come back immediately.”

“I will.”

“And……”

The Marquis cleared his throat once, then continued meaningfully.

“The knights will protect you well enough, of course, but this is your first time going to the capital, isn’t it? You’ll need to attend social events, and you won’t have a chaperone.”

“……That’s true.”

“So I’ve asked someone who can help you with life in the capital to accompany you. Not a lady, but they should be of some assistance.”

“What?”

The holy knights had been surprise enough.

Someone to help with life in the capital — someone who wasn’t a lady.

The description alone was unsettling. And that unease materialized into a person, appearing before her with a ‘ta-da!’

“Lady Weberdin.”

In the form of Rien.

“Rien — no, you’re telling me my tutor will be coming along?”

‘You want me stuck with someone who might have tried to kill me? And we’re heading into enemy territory?’

At this point, the entire world was clearly conspiring to torment her.

The reality was so unbelievable that a hollow laugh was threatening to escape.

Rien, apparently interpreting her incredulous half-laugh in a positive light, answered happily.

“My leave happened to end just now. I was about to head back to the capital anyway, so I’m glad I can be of help to you, Lady Weberdin.”

“He’s the man who jumped into the lake to save you. I’m sure he’ll assist you with the same devotion in the capital.”

She’d wondered when he’d won over the Marquis to this extent.

‘So Rien jumped into the lake that day too.’

Now that she thought about it, he had been completely soaked when she last saw him before losing consciousness.

‘……A mage without a shred of holy power — it must have been even more dangerous for him.’

Rien was a contradiction.

He was the most likely to be on the Imperial family’s side, and he was connected to every incident. Yet in every one of those incidents, he had tried to save her.

Should she trust the desperation she’d seen in him, or the timing that was always one step too late?

‘Even if I refuse now, he’ll follow me all the way to the capital.’

Cecilia watched him with a troubled gaze, then gave a listless nod.

An uncomfortable journey had begun.

Less than an hour after boarding the carriage and setting off toward the capital.

Cecilia was certain: this world despised her.

The capital and the Grand Temple were so far apart they might as well be at opposite ends of the empire. Even after passing through a remarkably fantasy-like infrastructure called a ‘gate’—a portal with fixed coordinates — twice, the journey still took a full week.

They were currently on the road to the first gate, and the problem was that this road wound through the mountains.

Rattling through a steep mountain path strewn with rocks and potholes in a carriage made her miss the route to the Holy Temple.

‘My backside is going to wear away.’

She had long since given up on her head, her stomach, and her rear.

Given the scale of the entourage, she endured for a full half-day on sheer determination not to be the one causing delays.

When the rest stop finally came around noon, Cecilia staggered to her feet inside the carriage.

“Please step down carefully.”

Sir Miguel, who had been waiting below the carriage — apparently concerned by her unsteady state — came forward to support her.

“Ah, thank you.”

Cecilia practically fell into the man’s arms as she descended from the carriage.

Even through that haze, she caught a glimpse of the robed man also standing below the carriage — lifting his hand, then letting it drop.

But Cecilia deliberately pretended not to notice, and let Sir Miguel escort her to the shade of a tree.

The holy knight carefully chose a soft spot where only green grass grew, free of rocks and dirt, and gently seated her.

“It must be harder since this is your first time traveling such a distance. Shall we slow the pace a little?”

“No, it’s the first day. I can’t hold up the schedule.”

“But…… Then, please excuse me for a moment.”

After a brief hesitation, Miguel removed his gauntlet and rested his bare palm lightly against her wrist.

Clear, pure holy power flowed in like rolling waves, traveling up through her arm.

It felt exactly like sinking into warm water — a drowsy, languorous comfort that made the tension melt from her body.

“Oh, I finally feel human again.”

“I’m glad I could help.”

The hard, fortress-like set of the man’s eyes softened.

Beneath the green canopy, facing that smile spreading cool and bright, she felt the back of her neck flush for no reason.

Cecilia averted her gaze and fumbled for words.