In truth, nothing had changed in the Mado Federation.
The people of the lower realm didn't even know a meteor had fallen. Although the Floating Castle was damaged and fell, the mages living inside were safe and sound, and the Celsius Territory was perfectly fine. Judging purely by the facts, it was no different from the Floating Castle simply prolonging its descent.
However, the people of the Mado Federation were confused by the suddenly changed world.
“Oh my, Teacher. Welcome! I was so worried since you suddenly lost contact after that day!”
I visited the academy where I once taught children. The reason? Nothing special. If I go there, I can eat for free.
Last time, a luxurious meal awaited me, but this time it was even better. Steam rose from a massive table that looked ready to collapse under the weight. There was a stew simmered gently with various vegetables and fish, freshly baked bread sliced and spread with butter and cheese, and a whole roasted fish almost as big as my thigh.
The woman who set down the table spoke with a gentle, ingratiating smile.
“The salmon is quite large and plump, isn't it? I heard the Teacher was coming, so I went all the way to the outskirts to buy it. When I said it was for the Teacher, they gave me a big fish for free. Do you have some kind of connection with them?”
The kids who learned black magic from me. It seems they used black magic to increase the scale of their ice fishing. That's right. That is the most correct way to use knowledge. Originally, knowledge is acquired to put one more bite of food in my stomach.
“I taught those kids a few lines of magic.”
“My, when did you do such a thing again? It must be hard for you, so you should get some proper rest.”
There's a barb in her words. She's asking why I taught those failing students instead of teaching the kids at her own academy. I sprinkled lemon juice over the salt-roasted salmon and said.
“If I were going to rest, I would have rested at the Floating Castle. It's quiet and spacious there. Though it's a bit noisy lately with the construction and all.”
“...Oh my, look at my mind. I'm getting in the way of your meal. Enjoy your food! I'll come clear the table later!”
If I clearly show the power dynamic between employer and employee with the auntie, she desperately caters to my whims, which is comfortable. She'll probably badmouth me at the parent-teacher association later, but whatever. I let them chew on the salt-roasted salmon, so I should let that much slide.
‘Boss. How is it? Did they serve you a delicious meal?’
‘Ugh. Just stay out of it. I'll handle it.’
‘Handle it my foot. Is this only Boss's business? It's my business too, so why will you handle it?’
‘I'm right in the middle of buttering them up! Mages are the most finicky bunch of people; if there's something they don't like, they just up and leave!’
‘Why are you yelling... Fine. But you must ask them. About Babel's residency rights.’
‘Of course!’
As expected, I thought the treatment was exceptionally attentive compared to usual. So it was to ask about that issue.
Babel Residency Rights.
The Floating Castle, severely damaged from blocking the meteor, decided to let commoners in to facilitate the circulation of funds and self-sufficiency in food. The mages of the Floating Castle were on the rational side, so while there were complaints, there was no outright opposition. In the first place, the majority didn't even want to dip their toes into such political matters.
However, they had to protect the interests of the mages originally living in the Floating Castle. Thus, the residency rights were introduced.
The mages of the Floating Castle could use the residency rights to bring their families, or sell them to those in need.
In any case, that right, with its clearly defined form, caused an uproar not only in the Celsius Territory but across the entire Mado Federation.
When interests are at stake, people move. The Mado Federation, where each territory had its own rules and non-interference was the principle, now had the Celsius Territory bursting at the seams with guests and visitors coming from all directions.
“Well. Thanks to that, the hole in the Floating Castle has been plugged.”
The damage to the Floating Castle was at a serious level, making it impossible to even estimate how many years it would take to restore.
In the distant past, the Demon King designed it, but couldn't construct it with the technology and resources of that era, so they commissioned the Golden Mirror. To reproduce that, an enormous amount of manpower and alchemical wealth was needed. The mages were racking their brains to cover the shortage of manpower and alchemical wealth.
If the Golden Mirror were here, they wouldn't have to worry about such things. They would have just changed it with a click.
But the Demon God I possess is only at the level of replicating cards. I replicated tens of thousands of them to melt down and use as steel rebars, but making any more was beyond my patience. I immediately escaped and came out to play.
“Even if it's not me, someone else will do it. There's no rule saying only I have to work.”
They say the Mado Federation has a lot of talented people. That means there's an overflow of people to work besides me. Then isn't it fine for me to rest?
It was while I was taking a big bite of the salt-roasted salmon and savoring the leisure.
“E-Excuse me. Is Hughes here?”
It's Avangard's voice. She must have come to catch me.
Ugh. I haven't even rested much and they already found me? Auntie, cut me off quick.
“You're a mage from the Floating Castle, right? Oh my, you came to find the Teacher! He's right here. Please, come in!”
Damn. What a clueless auntie.
Avangard, who was unfamiliar with the lower realm, carefully stepped inside, looking around. Then, spotting me, she trotted over like a small animal.
“Where... So you were here, Hughes! You disappeared without a word, I was surprised!”
“Mumble mumble. They don't feed me there.”
“Hmm? We supplied plenty of bread, meat, and frozen vegetables, right? We provided enough spices, too.”
“Meals aren't factory-made products. It's not about assembling ingredients to make food. A true meal is something that contains human warmth like this.”
In the Floating Castle, where people found cooking bothersome, they just stuffed ingredients into magic tools and made do. There was a lack of variety in the food.
Then, as if something came to mind, Avangard twirled her fingers and said.
“T-Then should I... cook for you?”
“Senior, have you ever cooked before?”
“When I was designing magic tools, I briefly learned how to cook...”
“Then isn't the cooking magic tool practically doing your cooking?”
“Ugh, i-it'll be different! I'll make it tastier!”
“Alright. I've never thought the cooking magic tool made bad food. I was just bored of eating the same thing every day. If you make it for me, there won't be a problem. Every meal will be something new.”
“Yeah...!”
Avangard nodded her head repeatedly. She looks cute, like a dog wagging its tail. That's right. A talent like me should have a personal chef attached, yep.
“Eh? Wait. A call on the resonance crystal.”
Avangard took out the buzzing resonance crystal from her bosom. She aligned the crystals to connect, and hearing the voice from the other side, she spoke.
“Ah, yes. Tower Master! I found him. He's eating a meal at a house in the lower realm right now... Yes? The location? I-I'll turn on the resonance compass, so come track it!”
“Tch. Is there not a single moment of rest for me!”
“Ah, no. Hughes. The Tower Master said she'd just stay by your side and watch until you finish eating.”
“That's not resting!”
“Why? Are you uncomfortable with me here?”
Wait, how is she so fast?
The Blue Tower Master, holding an apple in one hand, immediately appeared from beyond the door. Her ears and face were red from the cold; she must have flown over in an instant with gravity magic. She's already used to the power of the Demon God. What a headache.
Grumbling, I shoved the rest of the food I was eating into my mouth.
“Ughhh. When my boss is watching, I feel so pressured I don't even know where the food is going... Mumble mumble.”
“There are three things wrong in that short sentence. First of all, I'm not your boss, and the food is going down your throat just fine.”
Striding over, the Blue Tower Master sat sideways on the chair I was occupying, and spoke while pressing closely against me.
“You're not bothered by me at all, Hughes.”
“That depends on the news the Blue Tower Master has brought. How is it? Any complaints from the Red Tower?”
The Blue Tower Master shook her head and said.
“The Red Tower mages are looking for you. They say they're short on iron to put in the furnace.”
“I made over 500,000 plates!”
“It's far from enough. 500,000 thin cards are barely enough to restore a single outer wall. They need ten times that just to put in the furnace right now.”
“Then are you telling me to do this raw grunt work hundreds of more times?!”
Even if the Demon God costs less, my rat-sized stamina and mana are still consumed! How am I supposed to deal with that?!
“You made me transmute ice into cards, right? Do you know how cold ice is? Putting my bare hands on freshly frozen, cold ice, and drawing up the power of the Demon God to convert it into cards?! Moreover, when the ice melts, the structural change makes transmutation difficult, so I crystallized it with the Blue Tower Master's ability so it wouldn't melt at all!”
“That's the most efficient way. If you transmute rocks or firewood, that much is consumed, but ice can be supplied indefinitely.”
“That's the most efficient way to grind me down!”
This is torture! I cried out, showing my still red and swollen hands.
“Look! My hands are freezing cold and I can't even move them. I make a living with my handiwork, if my hands get paralyzed, will you take responsibility?”
“I will take responsibility.”
“How?”
“Like this.”
The Blue Tower Master wrapped my hands with both of her hands. A brief silence fell. Holding my hands, she slightly averted her gaze, and a very faint warmth could be felt from our clasped hands. I focused on that sensation.
...It's cold.
I answered honestly.
“The Blue Tower Master's hands are also cold, so it's not really...”
Oops, did I ruin the mood a bit? But what can I do if it's not warm.
I'm not the only busy one. The Blue Tower Master was also moving around busily, with no time to even warm up her body. So how could she warm my hands?
“Then.”
The Blue Tower Master pulled my hands and placed them against her stomach. My hands, slipping in as if sucked through the gap of her clothes, touched her meager belly. The Blue Tower Master's stomach was so thin that it felt like I could feel her internal organs if I applied a little pressure. Feeling the cold, the Blue Tower Master shivered slightly.
“Hah.”
“It's a bit warm here.”
“Hnn.”
Even if she's the Blue Tower Master, her stomach isn't cold. It's warm?
I flipped and rubbed my hands as if grilling meat on a hot plate. Every time I did, the Blue Tower Master flinched at the cold. However, as if proving her promise to take responsibility, she didn't push my hands away.
Soft and warm. It's effective?
“Now my hands are finally thawing a bit. But your waist is so slender. There's no more place to touch.”
“...There are other places.”
Was it because I was too cold? The Blue Tower Master, whose ears and nape had turned red, whispered.
She must be talking about her sides? Hmm. What should I do? If it were just the two of us, maybe, but...
“U, uuu...”
‘I, I can't win... The Blue Tower Master is cool, beautiful, capable, and even acts as the Demon King's proxy. It would have been better when no one knew of Hughes's greatness. Back then, we could have been together...’
Okay. That's enough. I pulled my hands out of the Blue Tower Master's embrace.
“My hands have thawed enough. I'd like to warm them more, but soothing my empty stomach comes first. I'll finish eating first.”
“...Right.”
Perhaps she was a bit disappointed, or perhaps relieved. The Blue Tower Master thought with complicated feelings.
‘I braced myself... but he draws a line. Rankart said Hughes was particularly weak to women who approached him, but maybe that's not true?’
That bastard. I'll punch him once I see him. Spreading nothing but false rumors.
‘Or is it because of Avangard? Because I wasn't first? ...Is order really that important?’
What order? If I cared about that, I wouldn't be here.
“Blue Tower Master, please eat too. You too, Senior Avangard. The food here is hearty and homey, so it's delicious.”
“...Then, I won't hold back.”
“Y-Yeah!”
In a somewhat awkward atmosphere, the two slowly ate the food. Pecking at it, they didn't look very interested in eating. What a shame. Missing out on this delicious food.
Picking at the salad with a fork made of ice, the Blue Tower Master said.
“Hughes. Someone came from the Gauss Territory.”
“The mage family that handles iron? They came at the right time. Tell them to put iron in the furnace instead of me. I heard they even mine with magic, so they have tons of iron ore. Just melt that, right?”
“So that's why you quit?”
The Blue Tower Master put down her fork and quietly watched me as she asked.
“The Gauss Territory has high iron production and is well-versed in alchemy. But the Demon God you possess threatens their position just by existing. You stopped making iron because you were wary of that, right?”
Uh... Huh. I'm thankful you think of it that way.
To be honest, I really just don't want to work. Who wants to work by putting their bare hands on ice? I wish someone else would do it for me.
But if I reveal this truth, my evaluation will drop, right? If my evaluation drops, I'll move away from key positions, I won't be assigned important tasks, and fewer people will call for me...
Wait. That's nothing but good things, isn't it?
“No. The reason I left is really because I don't want to work. I want to be lazy. My dream is to spend my whole life idly playing with women by my side.”
“...I can let you have women by your side for your whole life.”
She's not saying she'll let me play idly, is she? Then I don't need it. I can get women on my own.
“I, I can... too!”
Avangard. What are you going to do and how.
They follow me even when I go out for just one meal. It seems about time I slip away.
“We still need you. We can provide anything, no matter what it is, no matter how much. So don't leave without a word. ...Because it makes me anxious.”
“Ahaha. I'm honored. I also need a place to stay, money, and food right now.”
When is Shei going to show me the Heavenly God? The preparations seemed to be going well, but there's no news.
Show me the Heavenly God quickly. So I can hurry up and skip town.