Carl suddenly came looking for Elodie. She frowned. "Didn't I tell you not to come here anymore?"
Carl looked utterly wronged. "I'll just sit beside you. I promise I won't get in your way."
Right then, Carl's stomach betrayed him, growling loudly. Elodie had no choice but to let him fill his stomach first.
While they were eating, Carl asked, "Why are there so few people at this annex?"
Elodie replied calmly, "The reason is simple. No one wants to get involved with a bad-tempered, illegitimate girl. Here, it seems that only Martha can walk around freely without minding my mood."
Carl felt a bit guilty, but Elodie did not care.
Taking advantage of the pause, Carl reported that after he and his brother investigated, they had found that the people who attacked them last time showed signs of mana poisoning. Mages generally have mana affinity, so they are basically unaffected. But if ordinary people are exposed to mana over a long period, they develop mana poisoning. This showed that the attackers were connected to a magic tower. Coincidentally, the assault had taken place at the crossroads leading to the magic tower.
Elodie also realized that their target had not been Carl, but herself. They wanted to profit off her.
She immediately decided to go to the magic tower and get to the bottom of it.
The magic towers were divided into east, west, south and north branches, each strongly independent. Though they were all called magic towers, they were a group that was hard to unify.
On the way, Elodie stopped by the western magic tower, because she happened to have business there as well. As for why she brought Ryan along, it was because he was not only her savior, but also the only person who knew her secret. Ordinarily, having someone know your secret would make you uneasy. Yet Elodie felt at ease instead.
So she asked Ryan, "Does your mercenary company take commission requests?" She told him, "I want to find a woman named Estelle."
Giving that name was actually a way of testing Ryan, but from his expression it was clear he was different from her. He was not someone who had come out of the book, because anyone who had read the original would never not know Estelle.
Elodie told Ryan to keep an eye out for this girl. Brown hair and bright green eyes. The original had given no further information, which was why she asked Ryan to search.
This time at the magic tower, sure enough, she had come to invest again. When the tower staff verified the investor's identity, they discovered that the person before them was the famous Lily Arsel. But Elodie did not care in the slightest, turning on her heel and leaving with great nonchalance.
She saw Ryan talking with some people from the tower and assumed Ryan was familiar with them, but Ryan told her, "They're asking me about someone. Someone named Lily Arsel."
Only then did Elodie realize that the person the magic tower was looking for was her.
In the next second her identity was exposed, and the tower folk crowded around her. Ryan immediately drew his sword and stood in front of her.
They rushed to explain. "We mean no harm. We only wish to ask Miss Lily Arsel to come with us, because the master of the magic tower is looking for you."
The moment she saw the tower master, Elodie could not help blurting out, "The tower master is actually just a snot-nosed brat."
The tower master's face went dark on the spot. "How rude." He then raised a hand and stated his identity. "I am Aces, master of the Western Magic Tower."
Elodie asked directly, "What do you want with me?"
Aces fixed his gaze on her. "You invested in the mage Elbi. Why did you choose him?"
Since Elodie had read the script, she answered naturally and crisply. "Because I believe he'll do well."
Aces judged that she had a good eye and said she would have a bright future.
Elodie shot back, "Why are you using the identity of Elbi to work as a mage?"
Aces admitted, "If I used my real name, things would obviously sell like crazy. But my goal is to create truly useful magical tools. The kind of magical tools that everyone can acknowledge."
After hearing this, Elodie only wanted to give him an extra push. She suggested he try heating a magical tool until it was nicely warm, then tucking it into a bed and pulling the covers over it. It would become super cozy. Conversely, if you put a cold magical tool into a box, then even in summer it could keep food fresh and chilled. It could even be used directly as military equipment.
Aces was completely won over by her creativity and thought process, and immediately asked her to be his assistant, but she refused without hesitation. No matter how generous the conditions the tower master offered, she remained unmoved.
With no choice, the tower master took a step back and said he hoped she would come often in the future to give him suggestions for magical tools. That, at least, Elodie felt she could consider.
Her smug little expression was seen in full by Ryan, from beginning to end.