Chapter 59: Lizard
In this world, the title Tower Keeper didn’t just mean they had some tower they were assigned to guard at the Academy. Sure, that was technically one factor, but there were other reasons behind the title as well.
Tower Keepers weren’t actually keepers of one of the towers within the academy itself—that title also came from another tower, located in a specific region.
Take Calice, for instance. She kept watch over a tower located in a city right next to the Sea of Demons, holding the title Tower Keeper of Defense, since that connected directly to her own Stigmata.
Then there was Estiel, who was actually the Tower Keeper stationed in the capital of Augusta—essentially the safest region around—which was why he’d chosen to look after the academy during the head of the academy’s absence.
And speaking of the head of the academy, one Lefandel Von Augusta, word had it he’d finally returned to the academy after being absent for several months over some particular matter.
Well, you’re probably wondering why he shared the same surname as the Imperial family. Of course, the reason was simple—he actually came from the Imperial family himself, the current emperor’s own brother, who’d managed to survive thanks to his extraordinary strength. Which left the current emperor with no choice but to hope Lefandel wouldn’t ever stage a rebellion.
Walking down a quiet corridor, right on the top floor of the academy’s main building, he couldn’t stop his lips from twitching, fighting back laughter.
’Ah, I really need to calm myself down.’
He took a breath, clearing his throat a few times. Right now, following the return of the head of the academy, Eiros had immediately been summoned to meet with him in his office.
That was exactly why he found himself in this quiet corridor. Specifically, on the floor where the head of the academy’s office was located—a floor no student was allowed to step onto without his express permission.
Three days had passed since Eiros had checked the ranking board. He’d managed to land first place, a result he’d never once expected. Around that same time, he’d also been transferred into the combat class, leaving Leiden in tears and Godon feeling utterly dejected, convinced he’d been left behind.
During that stretch, Eiros still hadn’t managed to see the Saintess even once, so he’d decided he’d go find her himself once he had some free time.
Ah, right, speaking of that ranking...
His shoulders shook, his lips twitching all over again.
’Ah, damn it. This is going to be a problem if I keep this up. I might actually burst out laughing just thinking about Valkas’s face.’
He steadied himself, and just as he turned a corner in the corridor, Eiros stopped in his tracks. He found himself looking at a young man who’d apparently just arrived, standing in front of the door to the head of the academy’s office.
Noticing him, the young man—his shoulder-length red hair catching the light—looked back at him too.
’Ah.’
Eiros went quiet, his lips and shoulders trembling for a moment, and he lowered his head, raising a hand to cover his face.
"Heuk..."
A strange sound slipped past his lips, but he quickly clamped his mouth shut, staring down at the floor, taking a deep breath and finally letting it out.
He raised his head, looking at Valkas with a perfectly flat expression.
"Hey there, Lizard?"
"....."
"....ugh..."
"....just laugh already."
"Pfttt....heuk."
Eiros honestly had no idea anymore—since when had Valkas’s face become such an absurdly hilarious thing to look at?
Just staring at him was already enough to make him lose it completely.
’No. No. I need to calm down, calm down.’
He held it back, genuinely trying his hardest this time. Even with his face and shoulders still shaking from the effort to stifle his laughter, he finally cleared his throat.
"Ahem. So, what are you doing here? Did the head of the academy call you too?"
Valkas looked genuinely gloomy, too worn out to show any expression at all. His voice even sounded utterly drained as he answered.
"...Yeah, that’s about it, you damn bastard."
Ignoring that jab, Eiros walked closer, doing his absolute best not to look directly at Valkas.
"Hey, do you know why we got called in?"
"...No idea? Maybe something to do with that attack incident that ended up killing a bunch of students back then?"
Hearing that, Eiros thought it over.
"Guess that’s probably it."
Yeah, true enough, the academy still hadn’t done or said anything official about that whole matter. They’d just stayed silent, giving out the bare minimum whenever asked.
Probably because the head of the academy hadn’t even been around at the time.
"Knock on the door already, or are you planning to just stand here forever?"
"Tch."
Well, Valkas really did seem genuinely irritated. Reluctantly, he raised his hand and knocked on the door three times.
"Come in."
Right then, they both heard an unfamiliar, heavy voice, one that carried a certain weight and presence to it.
Valkas hesitated for a moment, glancing over at Eiros, who just shrugged, before finally pushing the door open.
A light creaking sound rang out as the door revealed the room inside. Honestly, it was a genuinely simple room, packed with dusty old books, neatly arranged on shelves.
There were all kinds of collections on display, along with a few strange objects that were hard to make sense of. Instead of magic light orbs, the room was lit by candles, giving off a dim, minimal glow.
The whole space carried a genuinely warm feeling, along with the strong scent of old books.
’...Much better than Estiel’s place, honestly.’
Eiros gave a small smile, relieved that this room, at least, didn’t require careful footwork to avoid stepping on something valuable.
Besides that, he spotted a few other familiar faces. Of course, who else could it be but Alen, Godon, and Lovia.
Yeah, just them.
’.....Where’s Erness?’
If this meeting really was headed in that direction, shouldn’t he at least expect to find Erness here too?
But he didn’t see her anywhere.
"Oh, you two finally made it. What kept you? Eiros... uh... and, Lizard...?"
Eiros froze, his gaze landing on Lovia as she greeted them. But watching Lovia’s face hesitate, her lips twitching, before glancing over at Valkas beside him, who looked utterly gloomy and dark—
’Ah, damn it.’
Eiros felt like winning that bet the other day had genuinely been the single most brilliant decision he’d ever made, out of all the decisions he’d ever made in his life.
With Valkas around, he felt completely filled with positive energy.
"Ahem..."
He gave a small cough, his gaze then shifting to the figure seated at a desk, buried under a mountain of documents.
It was a man with a remarkably thick beard. His golden pupils stood out sharply as he went through the documents one by one, entirely unbothered by the students chattering away in the room.
His hair was black, long enough to nearly reach his waist.
Watching Valkas step inside, Eiros followed suit. He took a seat across from Valkas, who’d settled in beside Godon, with Alen perched at the end of the sofa while Lovia sat on a single armchair.
Hesitant, Eiros glanced at each of them for a moment, then his gaze settled on Alen.
"Is Erness coming too?"
"I think so. I mean, she got called here too, but who knows? She’s... been pretty scarce lately, hasn’t she?"
Eiros smiled awkwardly, sweat beading on his face.
"You’re right..."
Just like Alen said, he genuinely hadn’t seen Erness at all lately. Of course, that was partly because Erness and Eiros no longer shared the same building anymore, ever since Eiros got transferred to a different class.
That made meeting up difficult, to the point where Eiros might actually need to go all the way to the building where Erness’s class was held, if he wanted to see her.
Letting out a breath, Eiros found himself wondering whether he should just go to Erness’s class, or wait for her to show up on her own.
Besides, they still had that date of theirs, which had ended up getting postponed. Sure, that might’ve actually been convenient for Eiros, since it meant he didn’t have to deal with something that sounded like such a hassle.
But... a promise was a promise.
He rubbed his face, the silence around him filled only by the chatter of the webtoon characters beside him. Eiros wasn’t really focused on their conversation, so whenever something involved him directly, he’d just answer simply, nodding or shaking his head.
Until, right then...
He finally felt the air shift around him, that same familiar sensation he always noticed. But this time, it didn’t appear behind him—it showed up right by the empty single armchair.
Erness stepped out.
***