I have never met the Red Tower Master before. If I had seen a beauty with such an intense and fiery impression, it would be difficult to forget her easily. She's also the somewhat overwhelming type.
But for some reason, it seemed like she really liked me.
"How long are you going to stay trapped inside the snow globe, Celsius? Do you think you'll stay like that forever if you lock it tightly in the freezer? It will come someday. The time when you break your own hard shell and step outside."
Is she sociable? More than that, she has no reservations. The expression 'self-confident' doesn't quite suit her either. Her eyes, which seem to billow with flames, are not looking at this place. As if she might burn up and disappear at any moment.
"Miss Fahrenheit... Surely, were you behind this?"
Elsia's question didn't seem very entertaining. Her burning, scattering red hair suddenly settled down as if splashed with cold water.
"Is that all you have to say?"
"What more needs to be said? The topic of the Demon God Temple. If you were pulling the strings behind the scenes... even Celsius's defeat."
"Behind the scenes? Pulling strings? Those things aren't important! Wake up, Celsius!"
The Red Tower Master grabbed my shoulder strongly and pulled me. She is a bit shorter than me, but my body was pulled helplessly by her powerful gesture that refused resistance.
"Did you know of this man's existence? Did you grasp how dangerous and powerful he is? Or did you even guard against him? Impossible. If you had, you wouldn't have had the key to the Treasure Vault stolen and declare such a miserable defeat!"
A heavy listing of facts. Unable to retort, Elsia bit her lip.
"This man is just one of the many accidents that can befall you. Even a 'human' accident. He didn't massacre you, nor did he burn, freeze, or overturn your territory. Celsius should be thankful. That the disaster that visited this time was merciful enough to end it at this level!"
"Excuse me? It's not over yet."
The hand gripping my shoulder tightened. It hurts a little. I don't know what's going on, but I'll just keep my mouth shut for now.
"It takes power to uphold the rules! But your rules aren't that powerful. They aren't great enough that it's okay to just stop. They aren't solid and firm enough to stand against a changing world!"
The Red Tower Master snapped her fingers. At that moment, flames surged from beneath her hair, and a huge firework burst in the distant sky.
Boom, boom boom. Various colors of fireworks embroider the sky. Fireworks bright enough to shine even in the broad daylight. Even the Empire's fireworks wouldn't be this splendid. The Red Tower Master, who had displayed sorcery capable of burning the entire provincial finance of the Empire alone, shouted with blazing eyes.
"Ice Crystals? The Blue Tower Master's Crystallization Theory? Ridiculous! To be tense and afraid of just that, to be too scared to even lay a hand on it! Rather than living with fear! Wanting to obtain the means to overcome it is what makes a mage!"
"Again, just smooth talk... when you haven't even found a way to overcome it...!"
"Haven't found it? I found it. No, it exists right there, right above us!"
The Red Tower Master pointed at the structure visible in the distance. Next to the Celsius territory. An absurdly huge structure. The Floating Castle that arrogantly occupied a part of the sky, as if it had nothing to do with the chaos happening at the Celsius Ice Castle.
"Just a while ago, the Demon King suppressed the Blue Tower Master's unique sorcery in one breath! Using the power of space!"
Not just the Blue Tower Master's. The Green Tower Master, the Black Tower Master, and the Red Tower Master as well. They are infinitely powerless before the Demon King's spatial magic. Because no matter how mysterious the magic, it is bound by space.
"The Demon King is the Demon God of Space! If you establish rules with that power, something like Ice Crystals won't be a problem at all!"
Spatial power that is close to omnipotent. Interpreting that power and making it the foundation of the World Laws.
Since the Demon King monopolizes the power of space, this might even become a rebellion against the Demon King.
But the Demon God Temple decided to do so. To obtain spatial magic and leap to a higher place.
"Rules? Worthless! Trapping yourselves within limits only gains you this miserable sense of stability! Bleeding from a mere small scratch, groveling and whimpering, seeking a long-dead ancestor is all you are!"
"Ugh..."
"Decide! Will you adapt yourselves to the world, or will you make the world adapt to you!"
This was truly a threat with a knife at their throat. It was like a treaty a victor in war presents to the vanquished, forcing change upon the loser.
However, Celsius were also mages.
"...Miss Fahrenheit. For you to say that, it means there is a way, right?"
Elsia's words implied various meanings. Hearing those words, Rankin Celsius was startled.
"Elsia! What do you mean! Surely you aren't planning to listen to their demands!"
"Please be quiet, Uncle Rankin. Right now, the key to the Treasure Vault is in their hands."
"The key to the Treasure Vault is just a passage! That space is inside Rene's pocket. Just beg the Demon King, and receive another key connected to that pocket, and that's it!"
"That is the problem, Uncle."
Saint Rene. A saint who is said to be the origin of the Magic Federation, and the teacher of all mages.
Whether it's a relic or some kind of remnant, that pocket is a subspace that can only be opened in a specific way. It is probably something closest to a Demon God.
"Even if it's my negligence, if we lose the key, we become powerless. We are also using Rene's pocket, but we don't actually understand it. So if it's taken away, we have to rely on the Demon King."
"That's because it's the Demon King's authority..."
"If that authority becomes a rule, and we can use it."
Elsia stood up. Her pride was hurt, and she didn't completely trust us. But Elsia herself was preparing for a change in her own way.
'If an opportunity comes, it's better to ride along than to refuse. From the moment they were defeated by just one person, Celsius no longer has a choice. The rules are already broken, so even if we back down now, Celsius won't be as firm as before.'
"If we can use even a part of the World Laws, the reason to fear the Ice Crystals disappears. Elisha also gains the qualifications to return to the family."
"But..."
"If not, will Uncle Rankin retrieve the key and the rules for us?"
It's impossible. He couldn't even handle me alone, and if the Red Tower Master, one of the five Tower Masters and the essence of the extinct Fahrenheit, joins, there's no hope.
Rankin Celsius fell silent. Elsia glared at him slightly, then turned her gaze back to me and the Red Tower Master.
"Celsius will accept your demands. Be happy. Because the most outstanding rule in the Federation is supporting you."
"Elsia!"
"If there is a way to handle the Ice Crystals, it's not impossible to increase the reach of warmth. The reason Celsius stopped expanding until now was because of the limit called Ice Crystals. We will adjust the rules so that they can also reach the outlying districts, and we will let the black magic matter go unpunished."
Perhaps it was because I broke the rules right in front of her several times. Elsia had a much more obedient attitude than before. I thought she would be more stubborn, which is surprising. I still had more to show.
"And, we will officially invite the Demon God Temple, and have you take a seat at the magic demonstration conference to have an audience with the Demon King."
"Elsia! That's...!"
"You must have come hoping for that too."
The Demon King protects magic. The only reason the Demon King, who reigns aloofly in the Floating Castle, sometimes descends to the ground is to see the magic found on the ground.
Compared to the Floating Castle where brilliant talents gather like the night sky, the achievements on the ground are terribly lacking, but diversity has its own value. The Demon King visits the landing site, listens to the achievements made so far, and bestows grace accordingly.
For example, like Rene's pocket which became the Celsius Treasure Vault.
When the desired answer came out, the Red Tower Master laughed heartily.
"I accept!"
Everyone is watching. We've come too far to pretend we don't know about the verbal agreement. A dramatic compromise between Celsius and the Demon God Temple was reached.
Good. It's good, but.
"...So why are you deciding that? What relationship do you have with me?"
She suddenly came, intercepted everything I was going to say, and is making demands. My magic show has been reduced to a sideshow.
The Red Tower Master brushed off my complaints refreshingly.
"We're already in the same boat!"
"Since when?!"
"Weren't we?"
"We haven't even exchanged a word yet, have we? What kind of connection do you and I have..."
I was about to deny it since it was the truth. Until something fell from the sky.
Pitch-black figures fell through the fluttering fireworks. Seven mages wearing black robes. On their robes were drawn a circle and six rings surrounding it.
Demon God Temple.
The most dangerous mages who make the world itself the subject of their magic.
Maybe not as much as the Red Tower Master, but there are already seven of them who are dangerous enough to be compared to her. There were also a few faces I knew.
"Huey! My friend! If you're going to start something, give me a heads-up. I could have come to watch if I had prepared in advance!"
"Lankart Spendrida!"
"Crazy Sorcerer!"
Who are you to have your name known even in the Celsius territory. Tsk. Being in the same cohort as that guy makes it awkward to deny it.
...More importantly.
"Hughes?"
The youthful face revealed by pushing back the robe was, surprisingly, Shay. For some reason, Shay, who appeared with the Demon God Temple, muttered as if in disbelief.
"You suddenly went off the grid. What? Why are you there?"
That's what I should be saying. Why are you there?
***
A fight between one mage and the Celsius family. Surprisingly, the winner was a single mage. He achieved victory after an even fight against Celsius' renowned mages and the rules of the Treasure Vault.
...One could think so, but Missionary Casas realized that this fight was a one-sided victory.
"We were played on the board he created."
It looked like a fight where Celsius, who held an overwhelming advantage, had the key to the Treasure Vault stolen in a brief moment of carelessness and was defeated helplessly. But the reality was different.
Magic didn't work on him.
Unlike divine power, he overcame magic purely by understanding and countering it. Celsius would have probably lost even if they continued to use the Treasure Vault. The fact that Celsius managed to save face at all was probably thanks to his comical staging.
Anyway, he won. Thanks to that, Missionary Casas was able to save the people caught up in it.
"Still, he was a man who took responsibility for his misdeeds. Teaching black magic is detestable, but if the range of the rules expands, Richard too..."
The outlying districts are lands outside the influence of the rules, so they cannot use temperatures above freezing and boiling points. They barely survive by eating the scraps thrown away by the territory. In a situation where it's hard enough just to make a living, there was no spare capacity to teach magic.
However, if the range expands, the outlying districts will essentially no longer be outlying. Even if they could just set up greenhouse farms, their circumstances would improve significantly.
Since they also promised to overlook the black magic, the danger to Richard had essentially disappeared. Missionary Casas felt relieved, and also rejoiced.
"...Father."
Then, Missionary Casas lowered his gaze at the sound coming from his bosom. Having woken up at some point, Richard was staring at the Red Tower Master's fireworks with wide open eyes.
He must have woken up long ago. He probably kept his eyes closed with the cunning thought unique to children, knowing that waking up now wouldn't help.
That was better. At least the unconscious child and the priest holding the child were not in danger. If he were a missionary with nothing to protect, Celsius might have made a move on him.
"Richard. Right. Rest easy. Thanks to the Lord's will, everything ended well. This too must be the protection of the Heavenly God..."
He was relieved that it ended as a great fortune, but Richard's gaze was not there. Richard looked at the mystery beyond with sorrowful yet longing eyes.
"If I learn magic too. Can I become like that?"
Beyond there, fire and ice were mingling and dancing together. Ice and fire. They are two phenomena at opposite extremes, but there was no need to distinguish them. For making the two coexist is magic.
'He's bewitched by magic.'
Richard was fascinated by that mystery. He will probably live chasing the mystery until he dies.
He must give up. Richard has neither the environment nor the opportunity to learn magic. He learned black magic, but the Celsius family is just turning a blind eye, they won't acknowledge it. He's just cunning, not exceptionally talented, so even if he's fascinated by that light, he'll just burn to death like a moth flying into a fire.
He should rather know his place, be grateful for what he is given, believe in the happiness of the afterlife, and live satisfied with reality. That is the right thing to do.
A today like yesterday promises the arrival of tomorrow.
That is the purpose of faith, and the purpose of the teachings.
However.
"...If you rely on black magic. You'll never make it even if you die and wake up! Seal the black magic and somehow learn white magic!"
Since things had come to this, he wouldn't give up just because of a word from the priest.
But the priest couldn't bring himself to say the harsh and heartless words that would make him give up.
"As you live, an opportunity will come someday! So hold your breath and watch for the opportunity, you cunning brat!"
The white lie was gray. It was not the truth, and the possibility was extremely low. But Father Casas breathed gray hope into the boy.