Meanwhile, Reed was looking down at Rosaria with a headache.
He had kept a secret back door so he could sneak things in.
So if she hadn't been caught yet, the only one who knew she was here would be Reed.
'How did she break the barrier again......'
In fact, breaking the barrier in the children's social room wouldn't have been difficult.
Because Rosaria was an exception to the rules.
She probably broke through easily.
'One is Morgan the second, and who is the other one?'
A redhead girl.
Judging from her clothes, she seemed to be the daughter of a high-ranking wizard, but she seemed a little naive, staring blankly at him.
"Excuse me, but may I ask who you are?"
"Ah, I, I, I, I......!"
Yuria, who had been standing still as if her brain had stopped, introduced herself.
"I, I, I, I am Yu, Yu, Yuria, the eldest daughter of the Fr, Fren, Frenda family......"
She barely finished her greeting, trembling.
'Yuria of the Frenda family...? Yuria Frenda?'
Reed was taken aback.
He knew who this person was.
'Isn't she one of the main characters who follow the protagonist?'
A girl who showed prodigious talent and awakened her mana from a young age.
A naive girl who started her adventure to make a great achievement in the turbulent world and make a name for herself as a wizard of the Empire.
She was one of the most promising wizard characters Reed knew of.
Her "Magic" level was as high as 7, and her "Mana Reaction" reached level 6.
However, she had a fatal problem.
-So annoying.
It was her personality.
As if to prove she was a high-nosed noble, she often disregarded the party members, including the protagonist.
As soon as they started camping, she would whine about the bugs and shatter the protagonist's mental state.
Of course, she still whined even when they were in an inn.
She was just that kind of woman.
'I threw her away at the first playthrough because I didn't know her performance, but she's absolutely necessary for defeating the final boss...'
Reed recalled his past self, fawning over her and doing all sorts of humiliating things in front of her.
But overcoming such humiliation and embarrassment, Reed figured out how to win her over.
'She's weak for handsome guys.'
If you put in the most handsome character among the supporting characters, and Yuria, her complaints would disappear.
The woman who threatened to kill if bitten by a bug coquettishly asked to be comforted instead.
No, asked to be comforted...
Even now, Reed found it unbelievable.
It was clear she was smitten by him, proving that nature doesn't change.
'Being handsome sure is nice in these situations.'
He never expected to see the whiny Yuria stuttering like this.
Putting his astonishment at such a rare sight aside, Reed started to lecture the two who came with Rosaria, looking down at them.
"But this is a social event for adults. It's a problem for all of you to be here."
"Uh, I don't like that..."
Rosaria frowned.
Morgan calmly acknowledged the fact.
"That's fine. If we were to make a scene, it would be a discourtesy to the Tower Master. We shouldn't cause any more trouble."
As Reed was pondering what to do, someone knocked on the back door and entered.
Reed quickly stepped forward to prevent them from seeing the children.
The one who entered was a court magician.
Seeing Reed's face, he quickly apologized.
"Oh, I didn't know this was the backstage door. I'm sorry, Tower Lord."
"It's okay. But what's the matter?"
"Oh, well... the barrier of the children's social gathering has been broken. And......"
"Yuria Frenda, Morgan Hopper II, and my daughter, Rosaria Adeleheights Roton have disappeared, haven't they?"
"Wha? Ah, yes, that's correct."
He was taken aback when Reed accurately named the three missing people.
"Anything else? Any other missing people or witnesses?"
"None. Everyone else is carrying on with the event as usual."
The court magicians must have been thrown into chaos, but if there was no problem for the others, then...
That meant the people at the banquet were still unaware of this situation.
Having finished thinking, Reed spoke to the court magician.
"In that case, let's not report this incident and just let it pass."
"But..."
"You don't understand. If you report this, you'll only be reprimanded. It seems the others at the children's event haven't noticed, so is there a need to cause a big commotion?"
Upon hearing Reed's words, the magician's face turned thoughtful, as if he finally understood his situation.
"The three who escaped from the social event are under my supervision now. As soon as the demonstration is over, I'll take them back, so start working on restoring the barrier. Again, this matter must be kept strictly confidential, understand?"
"Ah, understood!"
The court magician, grateful for Reed's mercy, quickly ran out.
With this, the disappearance of the three wouldn't lead to an uproar.
Reed, having let out a sigh of relief, turned his head to look at Rosaria.
"You little troublemaker."
"Hehe."
He fondly stroked her cheeks that were still babyish.
It was a punishment in Reed's own way, but whether she knew that or not, Rosaria only giggled like a dumpling.
Afterwards, Reed looked at Morgan and spoke respectfully.
"I made a big mistake with Your Highness. I had made such a promise, but I forgot about it."
"No, that's not the case. That promise could have been kept at any time, it was my impatience that was at fault."
"From now on, this escape will be as if it never happened. Please bear that in mind."
"Understood. Thank you for handling this well."
"Now then... I’ll let you sneak in, but may I ask for your understanding on one thing?"
"What understanding do you mean?"
Reed spread a red cloth over the table.
As he lifted up the cloth that covered even the legs of the table, he spoke.
"In a way, this could be considered a VIP seat where you can hear my music from the closest point. I'd appreciate your understanding despite the tight space."
Prince Morgan nodded.
"We've already done it five times, what's the problem with going in one more time, right?"
"Yeah!"
"Yes, yes... that's right."
Yuria also nodded.
The three crawled under the table that Reed had pointed out.
***
Meanwhile, all the nobles, excluding Reed, the host, stood in front of the stage waiting for Reed's demonstration to begin.
During the ongoing banquet, King Morgan Hupper, who had been nowhere to be seen, entered with Adonis and stood at the front of the demonstration.
Finally, the red curtain slowly rose, and the spotlight illuminated the gray-haired man and the object placed on the table.
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for waiting. We will now begin the demonstration."
He finished his opening greeting simply.
Reed held up a crystal sphere and said.
"A record crystal. It may be a very unfamiliar object for those who can't use magic, but it's very familiar to magicians."
The nobles, who were seeing a record crystal for the first time that day, nodded.
"It's a magical tool that records everything and can show it as is. However, those who can't use magic can't use this object. So, I've made this item for such people!"
Reed put down the crystal and held up an object that looked like a timer.
Unlike the simple design of the recorder that Reed had previously shown, this was covered with a lavishly carved golden case.
Greed swirled in the eyes of the nobles.
That was the reaction Reed wanted.
"This object is an improved version of the record crystal that magicians use, so even those who cannot use mana can use it."
"We can use it as well?"
"Ho, ho..."
The nobles exclaimed in admiration.
It may seem like nothing special.
But the fact that they could use something considered exclusively for magicians was extremely attractive.
Nobles and bourgeois are those who value themselves.
Those with wealth might think it's easy to hire a magician to serve them, but in reality, hiring a magician was a risky and difficult task.
Magicians, who understand and indulge in mysteries, were always a dangerous presence.
But what if they didn't have to bear that risk?
And even though it was just a recorder if they could touch the mystery exclusive to magicians?
The temptation was irresistible.
And that was exactly why Reed chose magic engineering.
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