Chapter 1326: 84. Peace and Quiet

"Origin Tower?"

Muen narrowed his eyes, and his expression immediately turned solemn.

On this continent, whenever the word magic was mentioned, the first thing people thought of was definitely not Saint Maria Academy, nor the Empire's Royal Mage Corps, nor even the Church of Life, whose Goddess's radiance illuminated the world.

It was......

That tower known as the cradle of the finest mages.

As the largest mage organization, the origins of the Origin Tower could be traced all the way back to the end of the great chaos a thousand years ago.

At that time, the Demon God had been sealed, the crisis threatening the world's destruction had temporarily passed, and humanity, having survived a catastrophe that had nearly wiped them out entirely, began rebuilding everything.

Humanity's most powerful weapon—magic—was naturally part of that reconstruction.

However, because the disaster caused by the Demon God's descent had been far too horrific, ancient magic had nearly been lost altogether. The people of that era could only attempt to feel their way forward through the ruins of what had once existed, searching for a path they could actually walk.

The current magic system had essentially been born from those brave attempts at exploration and reconstruction.

And when the genius mages who had laid the foundations of modern magic gathered together, they founded what was now the renowned Origin Tower.

It could be said that the words "Origin Tower" themselves had become a symbol of modern magic, an indelible mark that could never be erased. Unless human civilization once again suffered a devastating blow like the one from a thousand years ago, those words would surely remain vividly engraved in human history forever.

But now......

"If the Origin Tower really is colluding with the Love God......that would truly be enough to shake the entire continent."

Muen frowned.

After all, this was the Origin Tower.

The probability of them colluding with an Evil God was probably even lower than the probability of Pink Bear suddenly reforming himself and giving up dirty books altogether. Muen had never imagined that such a colossal organization could possibly become one of the Love God's chess pieces.

And yet, right now, he couldn't directly dismiss the possibility either.

Because he remembered a few things.

Back during the events that had helped Liya become the Saintess, there had been that man corrupted by the Love God, the one who had stubbornly survived all the way to the end and nearly caused irreversible consequences—

Ailag.

He had been a member of the Origin Tower.

And he hadn't been some insignificant nobody either. The fact that he had been qualified to participate in that Saintess ceremony meant he had naturally been one of the most highly regarded young talents within the Origin Tower.

It was said that he had studied under the renowned Master Hoggu. Had that incident never occurred, he might even have inherited the Illusion School several decades later and become a true heavyweight in his own right, with limitless prospects ahead of him.

"If even an apprentice of the Origin Tower could be corrupted, then the possibility that such a massive organization has been infiltrated by the Love God doesn't seem particularly difficult to understand."

Muen sighed softly.

After all, the Love God's Authority didn't care about your strength......

It only cared about your heart.

The moment even the slightest crack appeared within, it could exploit that weakness and gradually turn you into its puppet.

That was precisely what made it so disgusting.

"This matter is too serious, so we can't draw any conclusions yet. It's also possible that someone within the Origin Tower simply wanted to make a little extra money and therefore traded magical materials with those people," Anna said.

"That's true......"

Muen nodded.

There were parasites everywhere.

They were always disgusting.

But this time, he sincerely hoped that it really was nothing more than a few parasites.

"The Church of Life maintains close ties and exchanges with all the major organizations, and its connection with the Origin Tower isn't exactly weak either."

That much could be seen from the fact that Miss Feier had been able to study magic at the Eternal Tower while also learning Holy Light techniques from the Church.

"So since the Church hasn't made any moves yet, even if something really is happening, it probably hasn't reached an irreversible stage."

Muen let out a long breath and stared at the pure-white ceiling, temporarily pushing those complicated thoughts aside.

It was still the same principle.

If the sky collapsed, the taller people would naturally be the ones holding it up.

Although he had already promised Miss Dragon that he would save the world, the world was still doing perfectly fine right now. It was only the Love God making trouble. Surely there was {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} no need yet for Belrand's number one good man to personally step onto the stage.

What he should be doing most right now was recovering properly and continuing to grow stronger.

Judging from his current state, even though his frail little body had received a tremendous boost, it still wasn't strong enough to withstand even more terrifying storms.

"Later, I'll privately discuss this information with the upper ranks of the various powers, especially the Church......"

Muen turned his head.

"Senior, want to come with me?"

"I'll pass."

Anna shook her head. "The Silent Bureau and the Church have never exactly gotten along."

"Huh? Don't you get along pretty well with Liya?"

Muen was surprised.

Among the women around him, some of their conflicts with one another were extremely obvious.

For example, senior and Celicia.

Liya and Ariel.

An and every other "pest" in existence......

But senior and Liya......

Muen thought about it carefully and realized he really couldn't recall any particularly obvious clashes between the two of them.

In fact, a lot of the time, they seemed to share some inexplicable understanding.

"The Silent Bureau is the Silent Bureau, I am me, the Church is the Church, and she is her. Just because I don't have any direct conflict with her, does that somehow stop my subordinates from wanting to pick Church people up like earthworms off the ground and split them vertically in half the moment they see them?"

Anna rolled her beautiful eyes.

"......"

Muen scratched his head.

Apparently......

It really didn't.

"And besides......"

Anna smiled ambiguously.

"That girl may look harmless, but she's actually extremely scheming. Are you really sure that just because she doesn't seem to have any conflict with me right now, she won't someday catch me off guard and hit me with that 'holy sword' of hers too?"

"......"

Cold sweat covered Muen's forehead.

That......

Actually wasn't something he could guarantee.

If it was Liya, she might genuinely do something like that.

"So let's leave things as they are for now. It's not as though the Silent Bureau has never cooperated with the Church before, but this matter clearly requires as few people to be alerted as possible. Official cooperation would only attract attention and risk startling the snake. According to what junior said, the Love God has just suffered another serious blow. That means it's weaker now, but also much more cautious."

"Of course, if I uncover any new intelligence, I'll share it with junior immediately. As for who junior chooses to share it with after that......I'll leave that to your own judgment."

"You really trust me that much......"

Muen sighed with emotion.

This was basically the same as handing all authority over to him.

The mighty Silent Bureau was practically serving as nothing more than his personal intelligence-gathering tool.

Even the Emperor of the Empire probably couldn't enjoy treatment like this.

"Of course I trust you. After all, I'm your most beloved senior, and you're my beloved junior, aren't you?"

Sunlight streamed through the curtains.

Anna gently held Muen's hand, her smile soft.

......

......

At some point, Muen fell asleep while holding Anna's little hand.

He slept deeply this time.

There was no outside interference, no crisis severe enough to make his heart stop.

Counting from the day Miss Dragon had taken him away, this was probably the first time Muen had slept this peacefully.

He didn't even dream.

It was simply sleep so comfortable that it bordered on perfect.

When he woke, the warmth and softness in his palm were still there, making him instinctively want to remain immersed in them forever.

But when he carefully felt it, he realized the sensation had changed slightly.

"An?"

Beside the bed, the pale-colored skirt had been replaced by a black-and-white maid's long dress.

The young woman sat upright there, back perfectly straight, every movement so precise it seemed to have been measured with a ruler.

"Young Master, you're finally awake."

But the instant Muen opened his eyes, all that perfect etiquette and dignified bearing vanished.

An bent over him like a little girl terrified that her most precious toy had been damaged, carefully touching and examining Muen from head to toe.

"Are you all right? That evil dragon......no, that slightly larger pest didn't do anything to you, did she? Does it hurt here? Do you need me to give you some special treatment?"

"D-Don't touch me everywhere, and I don't need any treatment! Can't you tell how I'm doing just by looking? Hiss......why are you touching there? What the hell are you even trying to treat?"

Muen grimaced and struggled hard.

Was this supposed to be an examination, or what?

Why did it feel like An's little hands kept drifting toward increasingly strange places?

"As long as Young Master is all right."

An let out a relieved breath and reluctantly withdrew her hands.

"I was already thinking that if anything truly happened to you, I'd immediately go fight that dragon-shaped pest to the death!"

"D-Do you really have to be that extreme?"

"Hmph. Young Master's safety will always be the most important thing. It even takes priority over the safety of the world!"

"Then I guess I really do have to work hard on recovering."

Muen smiled.

"After all, I don't want my most, most beloved little maid going off to fight anyone to the death."

"Young Master......"

An's little face immediately softened.

She gently leaned against the hospital bed, as though abandoning the dignity and etiquette she had always upheld.

As Young Master's personal little maid, she committed an almost scandalous breach of decorum and rested her cheek in his broad palm.

That warmth was reassuring.

In truth, Muen felt that hand had gone slightly numb from being held for so long.

But seeing An like this, how could he possibly bear to pull it away?

Thinking about it carefully, although An was his closest personal maid, there were surprisingly few occasions when they simply spent time together quietly like this.

So he let her be.

Muen relaxed again, chatting with An now and then while quietly enjoying this rare warmth.

No arguments.

No fighting.

No romantic battlefield.

Mm.

He really wished things could stay like this forever......

"How much longer are you planning to cling to him without leaving?"

Suddenly, a cold wind swept into the room, blowing away every trace of warmth and intimacy.

A silver-white figure pierced through the sunlight, casting a huge shadow that enveloped both Muen and An.

"C-Cia?"

Muen shrank his neck slightly.

"Why are you here too?"

"......"

Celicia didn't answer.

She didn't even spare Muen more than a glance.

The moment she entered, her icy-lake eyes locked onto An, who was half-leaning over the hospital bed as though she might crawl on top of Muen at any moment.

"You call yourself a personal maid, yet behave with such shamelessness? In any respectable noble household, conduct like this would have gotten you thrown out long ago as a slut trying to seduce her master!"

"What does it have to do with you? Young Master likes me this way."

An immediately stood up straight, raising her fair chin.

Even beneath Celicia's pressure, she showed not the slightest fear.

"You've taken up too much time."

"Young Master was asleep just now. That doesn't count."

"If you had something to say, you could simply have woken him."

"Do you think I'm as rude as you are?"

"Heh. Speaking to the Empress of the Empire like that—who exactly is the rude one here?"

Celicia sneered.

The two women faced each other.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop by several degrees in an instant, and even the curtains beside them began to gather a thin layer of frost.

Seeing the atmosphere between them grow increasingly frozen, with every sign that the situation was about to escalate, Muen immediately became furious.

At a time like this, they were still going to start this pointless romantic battlefield nonsense?

Ridiculous!

They clearly weren't taking him seriously at all!

Muen was just about to slam the table and sternly denounce this meaningless fighting, using his absolute authority to put an end to their dispute......

But then he reconsidered.

He wasn't feeling well right now.

He was still in the middle of recovering.

Displaying his authority at a time like this really wasn't appropriate.

If it caused his old injuries to flare up again, the losses would outweigh the gains.

He'd better write this down for now and discipline them properly later!

With that thought, Muen temporarily abandoned the idea of stepping forward directly and silently retreated into the warmth of his blankets to consider the matter from a longer-term perspective.

"I'm absolutely not scared. Definitely not scared! This is merely because, as Belrand's number one good man......I simply cannot bear to hurt or harshly criticize these delicate young women."