Professor Of The Mage Tower, Tommaso

“Professor Tommaso, welcome home.”

“Wahhh!?”

Two sturdy statues of two soldiers standing as if guarding the Mage Tower’s gate bowed respectfully, and Jonah let out a startled cry.

He didn’t know exactly how the mechanism worked, but on closer inspection the power source seemed to be mana.

“Tommaso, could these statues possibly be magical devices?”

“Sharp observation. They are mechanisms that run semi-permanently thanks to the mana produced by the Mage Tower.”

“Amazing…!”

Aside from the soldier statues themselves, Jonah couldn’t hide his excitement at Tommaso’s words.

That the Mage Tower generates mana on its own. That that mana never runs out.

They didn’t know when or who built this Mage Tower, but it was more than enough to recognize that this place was undoubtedly at the pinnacle of magical arts.

“Nuhuhu, you shouldn’t be surprised by something of this level. After all, this is a place where impossibilities can happen on a daily basis.”

“But the people of the Mage Tower try to unravel those impossibilities every day, don’t they?”

“…Unfortunately, even though many excellent mages have researched them, only a handful of things have been clarified. We simply receive the Mage Tower’s benefits each day without truly understanding them.”

Tommaso, who had looked pleased at Jonah’s excitement, clouded over and hung his head at Jonah’s offhand remark.

But.

“However, for that very reason we conduct research every day to unravel this Mage Tower’s mysteries… no, to uncover all of magic!”

Tommaso lifted his face with vigor and spoke passionately with a look full of determination.

From his stance, one could tell how much passion he poured into magic.

“Mr. Tommaso, that’s amazing!”

“Nuhuhu, what are you saying? Jonah, once you pass the exam, you’ll help me unravel the Mage Tower’s mysteries together!”

“Ah… r-right.”

Jonah answered a bit awkwardly to Tommaso’s joking, looking slightly embarrassed.

Jonah’s goal was to see with his own eyes the legend of the ‘Undying King of the Dark Underground Labyrinth’; although he was interested, he never intended to do magical research at the Mage Tower.

His desire to enter the Mage Tower was entirely to reach that legend.

“So then, this will be my laboratory.”

“W-whoaaa…”

Whether it was a cry of admiration or simply being left speechless.

Beyond the laboratory door Tommaso had thrown open, books and research instruments were scattered so much there was no place to step, and Jonah wore an indescribably awkward expression.

“Come, come, step inside.”

“W-wha!?”

Pushed from behind, Jonah entered the lab whether he liked it or not.

He couldn’t avoid stepping on several books and such.

“Then, here.”

“Y-yes…”

Tommaso shoved aside the roughly piled books and urged Jonah to sit in a chair.

But the chair was more dilapidated than expected, giving the impression its leg might break if someone sat normally.

‘I-it’ll be okay, right…?’

When he nervously sat down, the chair creaked and creaked, and Jonah could only pray it wouldn’t break.

“Um, so, as an assistant, my job is…”

“I’ll tell you that now.”

Tommaso sat down in an equally rickety chair and began to explain.

According to Tommaso, the assistant’s tasks were limited: mainly organizing documents and tidying and maintaining magical devices.

In addition.

“Of course, when conducting magical experiments you’ll help a great deal! Together we’ll unravel all of magic!”

“Ah, ahaha…”

Tommaso leaned in so close his breath seemed to reach him as he spoke fervently, and Jonah shrank back slightly.

Jonah figured he must love magic that much, but still wished he would mind the distance a bit more.

“W-well then, I’ll start tidying up right away.”

“Ah, Jonah!?”

Jonah jumped off the chair, which was creaking as if at its limit, and hurriedly began to clean up the books scattered on the floor.

Tommaso seemed about to reach out to stop Jonah, then gave a wry smile, withdrew his hand, and got to work on his research.

‘I wonder if I can finish this by today…’

Hugging the books diligently, Jonah looked around the room with a worried expression.