The Male Lead Is Obsessed With My Health – Chapter 184

Author: Asternkm

On the way to the Mage Tower.

Chloe kept tilting her head, muttering, “Is this really okay?” over and over.

…My master did say she’d definitely welcome her and told me to please bring her, but still…

Considering how tightly the Mage Tower had always been closed off to outsiders, and how indifferent Arellin usually was no matter what she saw, the current situation felt utterly confusing.

In fact, Chloe had been receiving a certain kind of request from the star-rank mages for some time now.

All of it started after Chloe began talking with Arellin and grew close to her.

No one knew how the rumor spread, but star-rank mages had even come down to the lower floors and tried to bribe Chloe.

“Please, invite Lady Arellin to the Mage Tower.”
“Invite—!”

Even with her young mind, Chloe thought she absolutely must not show Arellin to these crazy people, but…

How did it end up like this?

Arellin, on the other hand, was brimming with excitement.

“The Mage Tower! I’ve been so curious!”

“R-really?”

“Yeah. I was actually wondering how I could get inside, but it turned out to be this easy! Life really is all about blood ties, connections, and school ties.”

“…?”

“Protagonist perks are the best.”

“…?”

Arellin occasionally muttered things Chloe couldn’t understand, but Chloe usually brushed it off as well, she is a grand noble, and let it go.

Pession did strange things too. So did the twins.

“I don’t know anymore.”

****

The Mage Tower.

The star-rank mages were in a frenzy.

“Lady Arellin is coming to the Mage Tower!”

“WOOOOOO!”

Naturally, the mages had no intention of just showing her the Mage Tower. They’d show her the Sky Tower, the laboratories, the indoor gardens—everything!

They would show her the very essence of the Mage Tower!

So she’d want to come again!

The mages were determined to massively raise Arellin’s favorability toward the Mage Tower.

“Things have been gloomy lately, inside and out, because of those defectors.”

“Those traitors are mages too! Shameless bastards—how can they toy with other people’s lives like that?”

“That’s why they became defectors in the first place. They don’t understand the beauty of magic. They even call themselves dark mages.”

“Ugh, dark mages? What’s that supposed to be?”

The ‘Nightmare of the Stars,’ the greatest natural enemy of mages, had been quiet—but starting with the recent terrorist incident, the activities of defectors had noticeably increased.

And on top of that, Arellin’s lunchtime concerts had stopped. Do you know how crushed they’d been?

“Ah, should we clean the outside too?”

“Just in case, wouldn’t that be better?”

“Damn it, I don’t want to be the one stuck with that job.”

They decided the ‘cleaning duty’ using a perfectly fair method.

Rock, paper, scissors!

As winners and losers were decided and emotions split sharply, the many winners who would get to greet Arellin fell into another dilemma.

“She’s a kid, so we should be careful, right?”

“First impressions are important.”

“Then how about this?!”

“Whoa!”

Bear characters that were apparently popular among children these days!

“Nice, nice—let’s go with this.”

In an instant, the mages transformed into various animal characters.

“She’s coming!”

Robert, the red-haired mage who had been tracking Arellin’s location through his disciple Chloe, announced her arrival.

“Everyone, get ready!”

With magic, they made flower petals flutter through the hall, sent paper birds and all sorts of flashy decorations flying around, and nervously stared at the door after constructing their own version of a ‘fantasy world.’

Creeeak.

The Mage Tower’s doors—designed to open automatically for visitors—swung open.

Bang!

「★☆ Welcome, Arellin, to the Mage Tower ☆★」

Confetti cannons went off, and a banner that no one knew when they’d prepared it fluttered down from above.

“…?”

Witnessing the entire spectacle, Arellin’s pupils trembled as confusion washed over her.

****

Was this the Mage Tower… or Di×ni Land?

I rubbed my eyes, thinking I must be seeing things wrong, but the bizarre scenery of the Mage Tower didn’t change.

Was this… normal daily life in the Mage Tower, by any chance?

I glanced to the side. Chloe, too, had her mouth hanging open, unable to hide her confusion.

Right. So it wasn’t just me.

“……”

Everyone had transformed into animal characters—and not cute ones, but disturbingly hyper-realistic costumes—and they were all staring at me without even greeting me. It was overwhelming.

What is this atmosphere…?

“Uh… h-hello?”

The moment I greeted them in a tiny, intimidated voice—

“Welcome!”

“We’ve been waiting for you!”

“So glad you’re here!!!”

“C-congratulations on entering the Mage Tower, Arellin.”

Greetings exploded from all directions as if they’d been waiting for a cue, and I grew even more puzzled.

What was that just now? A show of force?

Mage-style intimidation…?

This was all a misunderstanding caused by the fact that I didn’t know about the secret agreement between my father and the mages
(mages are forbidden from speaking to Arellin except under special circumstances),
but I wouldn’t learn that truth until much later.

“Come, come this way! We’ll show you around the Mage Tower!”

The loophole in that third clause was that once I spoke first, the mages were free to continue the conversation as much as they liked.

As a result, the mages—who had always wanted to talk to me—burst out all at once, chattering nonstop.

By the time I came to my senses after being swept along like I’d been caught in a storm, we were already done touring the Mage Tower and heading toward the Sky Tower.

“Only mages chosen by the stars are allowed to ascend the Sky Tower, but…”

“Lady Arellin is special! With the consent of ten or more star-rank mages, we shall grant her temporary access!”

And so we ascended.

The Sky Tower truly was a sight the mages could boast about.

“Wow…”

Clouds spread out below us.

Not an ocean view, not a city view, but a cloud view.
I’d heard that in my previous life you could sometimes see scenery like this from super-tall skyscrapers, but…

“I never thought I’d see it here.”

As I stared outside in a daze, the mages exchanged meaningful looks and began speaking one after another.

“If you go higher, even more magnificent sights await. I’d love to show them to you someday, Lady Arellin.”

“Oh dear, isn’t it such a shame we can’t show you right now?”

“…?”

The exaggerated, textbook-like emphasis made me tilt my head, and the mages immediately erupted.

“Kick that bastard out.”

“Ugh.”

With those mutters, they promptly sent the mage who’d spoken flying far away.

…What on earth is happening around me?

A mage with a long white beard—one whose face I’d seen often enough now—spoke to me. Was his name Hege?

“Is there anything about the Mage Tower you’ve been curious about? Anything you’d like to know?”

“Elixir manufacturing methods.”

“…?”

Puhahaha—laughter burst out from all sides.

“Lady Arellin, you’re good at jokes.”

Why does everyone think that’s a joke?

“I came because I’m genuinely curious. The elixir manufacturing method.”

“Ahahahaha, how amusing.”

“Heh heh. Not even a mage, yet you’ve mastered mage-style humor. Truly fitting of the savior of us star-rank mages.”

What are these guys even saying?

Meanwhile, Chloe had completely abandoned me and was holding her master’s hand, touring the Sky Tower as if they were in their own little world.

“Master, what’s that?”

“Ah, that thing? I think it was some strange research result Jemello developed.”

Hey. Protagonist?

…Fine. As long as you’re happy.

“Is it because she’s an esper? It doesn’t seem like Lady Arellin has magical talent.”

“The mana stones aren’t reacting at all.”

“That’s strange. Didn’t she enter the Secret Chamber? How is that possible without mana aptitude?”

“Right. Maybe she has some other ability we don’t know about…”

I can hear you. I hear everything.

The voices whispering behind me reached my ears clearly.

Did mages spend so much time holed up doing research that they’d lost all sense of consideration?

“So… I really don’t have mana aptitude.”

My plan to survive by becoming a Sword Master and then a Grand Mage was officially scrapped.

This rotten world!

Only the talented get to live!

What’s someone ordinary like me supposed to do?!

“Then what’s this music box?”

“Aaagh, put that away!”

“Don’t let anyone see that!”

For a moment, I could’ve sworn I heard Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite No. 8, ‘Waltz of the Flowers’ coming from the music box—but it must’ve been my imagination, right?

“M-magic… want to see some?!”

“Huh?”

A flustered mage who introduced himself as Raul hurriedly made the offer.

Mages who despised people treating magic like a show were volunteering to demonstrate magic?

Did they all take the same questionable potion or something?

The mages’ behavior was so different from everything I knew that I couldn’t help feeling unsettled.

…Or was I wrong? Maybe this is normal, and they’re just being considerate because I’m a kid?

“Now then, I shall show you the splendor of magic.”

No, I want the elixir recipe…

Still clinging to my original purpose for coming to the Mage Tower, I found myself tilting my head as I watched the magic circle being drawn in midair.

“This is how it’s done.”

Huh?
I can read the formula.

Why?

Because I know Selonean?

For some reason, I understood how the formula worked—how it produced the phenomenon.

“Um… could I try it too?”

“Hm? The floating light spell looks simple, but magic fundamentally requires mana aptitude and talent—”

“Like this?”

A bright light floated gently into the air.

“?”

“???????”

It was at that moment—when I was unintentionally collecting mage aggro—