Reed
tried to think about what Freesia would have come up with, but the situation
didn't seem to allow for any leisure.
"Ah, Tower Master,
um, you have to go to the reception room!"
Phoebe's urgent voice
could be heard. She seemed to be trying to stop someone but was clearly
struggling.
The office door flung
open, and the figure of a girl and the restless Phoebe appeared.
Black gothic dress,
black hair, and red eyes exuding an intimidating presence.
It was Freesia Vulcan
Darkrider.
"It's been a long
time since I've seen you, Reed Adeleheights Roton."
Reed greeted her
respectfully without panicking.
"Welcome, Tower
Master of Black Sky. I would have come downstairs to greet you in the reception
room."
"Why? Would you
have had to dress up? The way you are now is not bad."
Freesia approached Reed
casually and looked closely at his face.
Her red eyes and pale
skin.
Her attractive eye
smile and moist lips were drawing his attention.
However, in Reed's
eyes, she looked like a little girl trying too hard to act mature, no matter
what she did.
"I haven't seen
you in a few months, and I really missed you, Reed. How about you? Did you miss
me?"
It was undoubtedly
because Reed hadn't attended the last Tower Master's meeting.
Since he had informed
them in advance that he had important matters to attend to, the chairman of the
Tower Masters, Master of Sky Chamber, must have informed everyone, so there
wouldn't have been any strange suspicions.
Reed just stared at
Freesia, and she raised her finger.
"You shouldn't
keep a lady waiting. Well, I'll give you 3 seconds. 3, 2, 1—"
"I didn't miss
you."
Reed answered her
sharply.
At that, Freesia made a
face as if it was no fun.
"Really? At times
like this, you could at least say, 'I've been suffering from a drought in my
heart because I couldn't see the Tower Master of Black Sky.' Don't you
think?"
"Lying is
bad."
"Tsk!"
Despite his cold words,
Freesia's smile did not fade.
"Hmm… What's
this?"
Freesia leaned down and
looked at the drawing on Reed's desk.
He didn't think her
eyes would catch it.
After examining the
drawing briefly, Freesia laughed and looked up at Reed.
"You really can't
draw, can you?"
"…What are you
talking about? That's clearly a drawing by my daughter."
"Isn't your
daughter old enough to draw better than this?"
"She's only 7
years old now. She just started drawing the day before yesterday."
Freesia tilted her head
as if to say, 'Is that so?'
'This woman really
doesn't care about Rosaria.'
"Hmm... Judging by
the colors, it seems to be you, the brat, the puppy, and the ice girl."
Everyone was strangely
named, but it seemed she knew who they were.
Freesia threw the
drawing back onto the desk, and Reed put it away with a storage spell.
Freesia's face was full
of dissatisfaction.
"Why am I not in
the picture?"
"Why, haven't you
had no real interactions with my daughter, and you can't remember her, so it's
only natural she can't remember you."
"What?"
Freesia made a puzzled
face at his answer.
"Even though I
bought her clothes and praised her, she must have seen me as a stranger. How
ungrateful."
"You didn't have
any special conversations with her, and since you don't remember her, it's only
natural she doesn't remember you."
"I am her elder,
so she should remember me even if I don't remember her!"
That was absolutely
shameless.
Well, in the former
aristocratic society, that would have been normal.
Like how seniors in the
army don't remember their juniors but juniors remember their seniors.
"So, what business
do you have? You didn't come here to protest about education like the other
Tower Masters, did you?"
When he mentioned
education, Freesia chuckled and said,
"That? That's
simply the beginning of a romantic tale between you and Dolores. I won't
interfere as a third party. Besides, education isn't my cup of tea. Breaking
things is the most fun."
"So why are you
here?"
Then Freesia smiled.
Her smile seemed to
reveal years of experience, unfit for her young face.
"It's about the
Hupper Kingdom."
Hupper Kingdom.
It was a topic that had
not even been mentioned during the Tower Masters' meetings.
Everyone knew about it,
but since a consensus had been reached and it wasn't causing any major
problems, no Tower Master had raised the issue.
'I never thought she
would bring it up.'
That was unexpected.
Anyone would expect her
to make a sarcastic comment about such a boring matter.
Reed hid his thoughts
and spoke to her with a polite tone.
"The matter with
the Hupper Kingdom has been handled smoothly. There should be nothing to worry
about."
"Actually, I don't
care. It doesn't matter if you stabbed someone to death there or overturned the
dinner table. It's just that if you interfere with what I'm going to do from
now on, it'll be a problem."
At those words, Reed's
expression became serious.
"Are you saying
the Tower Master of Black Sky is going to get involved in the affairs of the
kingdom?"
"No, even though
I'm a Tower Master, why would I bother getting involved in the kingdom's
affairs?"
Freesia smirked as she
laughed.
"Instead, 'Brosa'
will cause trouble, and that's the issue."
Brosa.
It was a pseudonym
Freesia created by shortening 'Black Rose'.
Most likely, none of
the other Tower Masters, even the Tower Master of Sky Chamber who was in charge
of the chairmanship, knew about it.
Reed had been aware of
it since he received the magical engineering equipment.
So, even if she caused
trouble under the pseudonym 'Brosa', Reed knew it was Freesia's doing.
"What's the
problem?"
"Your sense of
Justice."
"Justice?"
"If there's
someone who tries to prevent something like what happened in that small
insignificant village, it would be a big problem for Brosa."
In short, she was
saying he shouldn't recklessly step forward, driven by a sense of justice.
"In that case, you
don't have to worry. I'm not so idle as to volunteer for such people."
His sense of justice
had been lit simply by dealing with the fallen star village's matter.
If there were people
who spread rumors and expected Reed to solve their problems with a 'Maybe he'll
do it for us too?' mindset, Reed would make them pay the proper price.
"So, what are you
trying to do, Tower Master of Black Sky, that you want to keep my mouth
shut?"
Freesia placed her hand
on Reed's shoulder and whispered into his ear.
"I'm about to do
it right now."
She whispered in a
sweet, devilish voice.
"If you don't have a sense of justice, Reed, why don't you come and take a look for yourself?"
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