LTTH C85

Chapter 85

While Hansol and Kassie held their private conversation, the Tower Master and James were not idly passing the time.

“It looks like it’ll take a while. We should have a talk of our own.”

“Sure.”

At the topmost floor of the Magic Tower lay the Tower Master’s laboratory, guest rooms, meeting rooms—an array of spaces. Among them, the two men chose a simple room whose contents could safely be exposed to outsiders, utterly plain compared to the chamber Hansol and Kassie were using.

“Sit wherever.”

“…If only Darling could see how I’m being treated like this.”

James dropped onto a creaking chair. In contrast, the Tower Master settled into a single-seat leather sofa that was undeniably superior. The blatant disparity irritated James, who could not hide his displeasure. The Tower Master, however, merely shot him a cold glare, indifferent to such trivialities. His mind was tangled with the headaches yet to come.

“I imagine you’ve been getting flooded with messages from your side as well. How are you handling them?”

“What handling? I’m just ignoring all of it.”

James’s expression, relaxed moments ago, turned serious. He was receiving just as many inquiries from the U.S. as the Tower Master was from Korea.

To the outside world, the Tower Master and James were Hansol’s closest inner circle. Korea and the U.S. were well aware of this—and were scrambling to reach Hansol through them. Both men had been cutting off or outright ignoring those attempts before they could reach Hansol.

“We won’t be able to ignore them forever. And you, James—you can’t stay here indefinitely.”

“Why not? I totally can. Worst case, I’ll just naturalize and become a Korean citizen.”

“…America would love to hear that.”

It was a naive remark—but the Tower Master knew James well enough to realize he meant it quite literally. Pinching the bridge of his nose, the Tower Master dug his fingertips into his temples. Dealing with Hansol alone was already enough to fray his nerves; having to manage this unpredictable, amorphous playboy of a man on top of it left him exhausted. He would have liked nothing more than to teleport James back to America and seal the borders so he could never set foot in Korea again.

“If it weren’t for Hansol…”

“What about Darling?”

“…Nothing.”

For Hansol’s sake, the Tower Master decided to hold his tongue. There was no point arguing; nothing would be resolved between them alone. Once the magician from “the other side” finished speaking with Hansol, they would need a proper discussion.

“When their talk ends, let’s speak with Hansol.”

“Yeah.”

After that short reply from James, a brief silence settled between them. It didn’t last long. The Tower Master was first to rise.

“It seems they’ve finished.”

“What? How can you tell?”

James followed him, baffled. With all his points invested in stamina and defense, he could not possibly sense what a magician could.

“The barrier that magician erected just vanished. Their conversation is over.”

“A barrier? Inside the Tower?”

Even James knew the basics—barriers were common among magicians for private discussions. The issue was that they were inside the Tower. Ordinarily, only Tower-affiliated mages could cast spells here; all other magic was suppressed by the Tower’s artifact matrices. Yet Kassie had shattered those restrictions as though they were nothing.

“…He’s incredible.”

James spoke in pure awe, but the Tower Master’s mood only soured further.

“How dare he cast magic inside my Tower.”

“…Darling must be waiting. Let’s hurry.”

Noticing the darkening expression on the Tower Master’s face, James quickly overtook him, eager to escape before a magical storm erupted. Magicians—whether this one or the other—were terrifying.

Knock, knock.

“Hansol-nim. Have you finished your conversation?”

Just when Hansol and Kassie had grown silent for their own reasons, the Tower Master’s timing proved perfect. Grateful for the rescue from the awkward air, Hansol rushed to open the door himself.

“Yes, we finished a while ago. Thank you for giving us space.”

“I’m relieved to hear it.”

At Hansol’s warm welcome, the Tower Master and James peeked inside at Kassie. One look at Kassie’s serene, faintly satisfied smile made both men avert their eyes as though they had glimpsed something indecent. They did not know what was discussed—but they knew Kassie was pleased.

The Tower Master and James quickly stepped in and took their seats.

“Hansol-nim, may we have a bit of your time now?”

“Yes, of course.”

Hansol nodded casually, then glanced at Kassie. Was it alright for him to stay?

“Ah, unlike that other magician, we have nothing to hide. He can remain.”

Whatever had happened moments ago, the two magicians now radiated an atmosphere like a brewing storm. Hansol studiously ignored it. He had no desire to become a shrimp crushed between feuding whales.

“So, is something the matter?”

Since both men sat side by side with serious expressions, it was unlikely to be trivial. Hansol prepared himself mentally and waited.

“Hansol-nim, by now you must have some sense of the… position you hold.”

“…Yes. To some extent.”

Even Hansol could not deny it anymore. When he had been called Messiah or Saint, it had been mostly a nickname circulating among hunters. Now even civilians used those titles. Even someone uninterested in online communities like Hansol could sense the magnitude of it. Perhaps, he wondered, he could no longer show his face freely in public—did the entire country know what he looked like?

No… maybe that’s exaggerating.

“We’ve been receiving constant requests to arrange meetings with you. We’ve ignored them so far.”

Hansol’s world of relationships was extremely narrow. He had no living family. Thus, all attempts had converged on these two men.

I hope Mister Jung is alright…

The Association had been pestering him even before. Now, it must have become unbearable. Hansol debated whether he should reach out—or whether pretending not to know while hoping the attention died down would be wiser. In contrast, the Tower Master and James were more than capable of fending off unwanted approaches; no one could easily pressure them.

“Of course, if you do not wish it, we’ll continue handling things as we have.”

But that did not mean they had any obligation to shield him.

“You’re welcome to remain inside the Tower forever. I would gladly host you.”

The Tower Master cast his line like an angler waiting for a bite, but Hansol had escaped that trap before. He shook his head quickly. The Tower Master merely smiled, unfazed.

“A shame. Personally, I think showing yourself once might be wise. Those who fail to get what they want can sometimes become… dangerous.”

He spoke with the air of one who had seen such situations firsthand. Hansol sensed a complicated history there but chose not to ask. Regardless, he had already intended to make an appearance eventually—the question was when.

“Then… I’ll meet them.”

“A good decision. James and I will prepare an appropriate setting.”

The Tower Master brightened with genuine satisfaction, and Hansol, sensing how much strain they must have been under, felt oddly apologetic. James too seemed less tense than earlier.

“And—please don’t soften just because it’s Korea.”

“…Of course.”

Hansol suppressed a sigh. The Korean government or Association must have said something absurd again. Even without the Tower Master’s warning, Hansol felt little affection toward the Korean Association. If anything, he was curious to see what outrageous things they would say. Whatever it was, one thing was certain: the Association had nothing to gain from him.