What? The Floating Castle is going to fall to the ground?
No wonder. Even though I came up to the Floating Castle, I didn't really want to. You can't build a nest on a broken branch. Let alone receiving the Sword Saint's attack? That is far more terrifying than falling from this altitude.
You can deal with a fall, but you can't deal with the Sword Saint's single strike.
Alright, I've decided. Let's just get our business done quickly and escape from here.
'Huh? Wait a minute. Come to think of it, isn't this the Floating Castle before it falls? Maybe this is an opportunity. I might be able to prevent the Great Fall, or at least weaken it.'
Do you have mind-reading or a similar skill? How can you flip your attitude like flipping your palm the moment I change my mind?
Shei softened her attitude a bit and said.
"Fine. Since we've come this far, I'll cooperate with you."
The Green Tower Master frowned at Shei's suddenly changed attitude. It wasn't because she became cooperative.
"You ignorant commoners should naturally cooperate with us. Packaging an obligation as a favor, you don't know your place. Are you expecting some kind of special treatment?"
"You should treat us well. The information we brought is about the Demon God."
And the mages freaked out at the word Shei had so casually spat out.
"Demon God?!"
"An ignorant commoner knows of that being!"
Even for mages living in the mystique of the Floating Castle, the name of the Demon God carried weight. Rather, because they knew magic better, it felt even heavier to them. The mages, who hadn't paid much attention while escorting me and Shei, began to gather and whisper among themselves.
"Lankart. So he was indeed chasing the Demon God."
"Was the rumor that he belonged to the Demon God War true?"
...Huh? Did she perhaps say something she shouldn't have? Sorry, Lankart. Shei revealed it. I'm not responsible.
"No matter what information you ignorant commoners have brought, what I have to do doesn't change. My given direction is to arrest you and hand you over to the Security Bureau."
Shei's words created a huge wave, enough to make even the one-track-minded Green Tower Master pause for a moment. But Shei herself, who made the statement, was calm.
"Isn't information about the Demon God outside their jurisdiction? Call Elisha."
An unfamiliar name came out of Shei's mouth. It was an unfamiliar and sudden name to me, but not to the Green Tower Master.
"Elisha...?! How does an ignorant commoner know that name?"
"Yeah. She was probably part of the Intelligence Agency."
"Part of the Intelligence Agency. You ignorant commoner. Are you saying that without really knowing who she is?"
"Who is she?"
'The only thing I know is that she was an agent of the Magic Federation's Intelligence Agency even after the Great Fall? All the mages were picky and dogmatic, but Elisha was reasonable. She was at least a mage who could be called a comrade.'
"You really don't know. That is the name of the Blue Tower Master."
"Huh? Is that so?"
The five magic towers supporting the Floating Castle, among them, the Blue Tower Master of the Blue Crystal Tower, who handles ice and crystal magic. The identity of the mage who helped her in Shei's regression was the Blue Tower Master.
In other words, if it's the Blue Tower Master, she could be called one of the most powerful sorcerers in the world... but Shei wasn't that surprised.
She wasn't much help, but Shei had also stood on battlefields alongside the Sword Saint and the Demon King.
"That works out well. Then you can guide us to the Blue Tower."
"...Wait. I'm a bit confused."
The Green Tower Master grabbed her brow and fell into thought. The other mages were the same. They were feeling curious about the unique existence called Shei.
"What exactly is her identity? Knowing about the Demon God, and even the Blue Tower Master's name."
"Even an ignorant commoner can know about the Demon God. But knowing the Blue Tower Master's name is impossible unless you heard it from someone in the Floating Castle. Even I had almost forgotten the Blue Tower Master's name."
"I heard the Intelligence Agency recruited many ignorant commoner informants in the lower world. Couldn't they be them?"
"There's a flaw in your hypothesis. When the Intelligence Agency recruits ignorant commoner informants, they approach them hiding their identities. Because the information handled by ignorant commoners ignorant of magic is nothing more than the trends of various countries, there's no benefit in revealing this side's identity."
"No. Lankart is a Federation Investigator affiliated with the Intelligence Agency. Considering that he brought them, it's a possibility."
"I heard that on the surface, even ignorant commoners have a hierarchy among themselves. Perhaps they are important ignorant commoners."
"Important ignorant commoners? That sounds like hot ice. Instead of dividing classes among ignorant commoners, they should learn magic and become the chosen people."
The mages were now ignoring us and chattering among themselves. They looked much more energetic debating fiercely with each other than when they were working earlier.
This is a mage. Their curiosity comes first, and they only fulfill as much duty and responsibility as necessary. If they feel their affiliation is like shackles, they are ready to drop everything and leave at any moment.
The world calls them anti-social beings, but that's spoken out of ignorance. To be anti-social, one must first acknowledge and accept society's strong influence more than anyone else. Mages simply build their own world. They don't care whether it clashes with society or harmonizes with it.
"Wait. There's something I need to confirm."
The Green Tower Master was the same. She was one-track-minded, but not a fundamentalist. Rather, she was closer to a civil servant who wants to get her work done quickly. Although she should hand us over to the Security Bureau, her curiosity aroused, the Green Tower Master aimed her umbrella at Shei without a word of explanation.
"Fire."
The jewel sparkled, and a sphere of magical power rose up and targeted Shei. It was a very sudden and unexpected attack. It didn't contain murderous intent, but it had enough power to break three or four ribs of a normal person.
Of course, Shei was not a normal person. The Cheonbangyeong, sensing the attack, flashed through her nerves. Before the umbrella even moved from the recoil, Shei had already cut the rope and was holding the Cheonaeng.
Whooosh. A stream of wind turned into a blade, bisecting the sphere of magical power. The divided sphere burst powerlessly in midair.
"What are you doing?"
The Green Tower Master stared quietly at Shei's Cheonaeng and the magical power residing within it, and said.
"The power to control wind cannot be ki. Are you a spirit user?"
"...I don't particularly rely on spirits."
"Spirits refer to external forces other than one's own will. You don't cast magic directly, but you stimulate the intent residing in your weapon to invoke magic. No wonder a bizarre magical power was surrounding you."
Cheonaeng and Jijan are Shei's weapons, but they are not her power alone. It's just that Shei was chosen now; another chosen person could wield a similar power. Perhaps Cheonaeng and Jijan are trapped within the shackles called Shei.
But using good tools is also a skill. The Green Tower Master acknowledged Shei.
"If you have been chosen by a spirit, I could barely say you are not an ignorant commoner. If you couldn't understand it even instinctively, you wouldn't have been chosen by the spirit."
Only then, as if all secrets were solved, the mages chimed in one by one.
"Ah, a spirit user? Then she can't be seen as a simple ignorant commoner."
"A bit lacking to be called a chosen person... but passable."
Isn't their attitude too different from before? When they called her an ignorant commoner, they just ignored her and listened to whatever she said roughly, but as soon as Shei was ruled not to be an ignorant commoner, their attitude changed.
Suddenly, my desire for status promotion is surging wildly. I can see why the people of the Magic Federation in the lower world admire mages so much. With such a difference in treatment, even a person living a normal life would want to learn magic.
"Still, we have to question you for illegally intruding into the Floating Castle, but if you are not an ignorant commoner, we could make an exception. I will relay the story to the Intelligence Agency."
"Well, I don't care what you think."
"But that's a story limited to you. The ignorant commoner next to you has no right to stroll around the Floating Castle. He has to stay here."
"Huh?"
It feels bad to be the ignorant commoner listening to this. Ah, should I show off my skills for the first time in a while? Even if I don't have magical power, I'm good at acting like I know things with mind-reading.
'Ah, they don't know Hughes? He's a bit lacking, but Hughes can also use magic.'
Shei, having finished her rude thought, pointed at me and said.
"Hughes also knows how to use magic."
"I don't feel any notable magical power from him?"
"His magical capacity isn't much, but in terms of knowledge alone, it's considerable. It's to the extent that even Lankart would yield a step to his knowledge."
"Lankart...?"
The Green Tower Master's brow flinched once again. She might not have intended it, but thanks to mentioning Lankart, Shei successfully aroused the Green Tower Master's curiosity.
"Yeah. He said he was in the same cohort as Lankart in the Military Empire. What was it again? That he beat Lankart and took first place?"
"Hoh. Then, please show us."
Is it now? The chance to show off my magic skills. The stage is set. I cleared my throat and spread my arms in front of the mages.
"Ahem, hem. Now, look. It's nothing compared to the illustrious mages of the Floating Castle, but I too can use magic..."
"You're noisy. If you want to prove it, show it with magic, not words."
"...Alright. I will."
That's cold. But a true entertainer is one who can make the cold response of the public burn hot. I formed a simple hand seal and drew up magical power in front of everyone.
"Set, Ri."
I draw out the magical power from my body. If it's the Military Empire's standard magic, it's a fast and convenient magic that uses the body as a medium. Let's weave this magic and perform sorcery. Even the mages of the Floating Castle wouldn't be able to resist this.
"Fahrenheit."
Flames bloomed from my fingers. And then I was going to trap the flames with wind and perform a trick.
"Waaaaaaaah!"
At that moment, the mages all started shouting together. I was flustered by the unintended fierce reaction.
"Huh? I haven't even started yet?"
I just lit a fire on my finger. Even a kid in the countryside wouldn't be surprised by this, what's going on? Did the mages' threshold lower because they've been trapped living in the Floating Castle?
...Or so I thought, but seeing dozens of staffs pointing at me, I instinctively felt that something had gone wrong.
"It's black magic!"
"Arrest him!"
Huh? What? Black magic? This?
"I just used standard magic... Mmph!"
There was no room for rebuttal. A whip made of magical power wrapped around my body, and an invisible film was placed over my mouth. Dozens of subjugation spells bound my body.
At the same time, an invisible wall surrounded me. I felt a sense of foreboding and reached out my hand, but my hand was blocked by the one-way wall and didn't move at all.
"To dare use black magic in the holy land of white magic. You must have guts... or not. Judging by your reaction, it seems you cast it without knowing, but that's just foolish."
Along with vigilance, gazes that viewed me as pathetic and stupid could be felt everywhere. Feeling unjustly accused, I twisted my body and shouted.
"What is this! I just showed you magic!"
"The word 'ignorant commoner' truly suits you perfectly. Take this one to the Security Bureau and imprison him. Since he's a black mage, put him in the special confinement cell."
The Green Tower Master left only those words and turned around as if there was no need to listen further.
Clang. And so, I ended up locked up alone in the special cell.