Magic Monopoly: Reborn as the Sole Magic Tower Master-Chapter 265: Episode
I took a taxi back to the headquarters building with Seojin.
“Uh, wh-what?”
“Chairman, what on earth happened to you...?!”
Seojin’s dress shirt was burned clean off, and his suit pants were shredded into something resembling shorts. With only one dress shoe left, he looked every inch a vagrant.
The bodyguards, who had been staring at Seojin in shock, naturally shifted their gaze to me.
“You bastard! What the hell did you do to the Chairman...?!”
“He’s not at fault,” Seojin cut in with a smile. “Keep quiet so this doesn’t become a scene, and get me a change of clothes.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
Seojin borrowed a guard’s jacket and wrapped it loosely around his torso. We headed into the building and got into the elevator together.
A heavy silence hung in the air.
Standing side by side like this, it was obvious. The guy had gotten taller.
He’d already been well over five feet eleven inches, but now he was even taller...
Rustle, rustle.
I felt a hand on my head and glanced up. Seojin was patting my hair.
“...What do you think you’re doing?”
“Huh? Ah, sorry. I did it without thinking.”
He pulled his hand away and gave me a gentle smile.
“You haven’t changed a bit, Tower Master.”
“Of course I haven’t. Time was frozen for me for five years.”
I shoved my hands into my pockets and let out a long sigh.
“And it’s not that I haven’t changed. You guys are the ones who—”
I trailed off, rolling my eyes. Seojin was patting my head again.
I bared my teeth in a glare, and he hastily snatched his hand back, bowing his head.
“S-Sorry. I didn’t even realize I was doing it...”
’What the hell is with him all of a sudden? He’s giving me goosebumps. This isn’t like him at all.’
Anyway, the elevator arrived, and we stepped into Seojin’s office, which had been set up inside Alchemia’s headquarters.
’Wow, this place really screams CEO suite.’
I sank into a fur-covered plush sofa and opened my phone’s messenger app.
While I messaged Jin Bora ’Mission complete’, Seojin emerged in a fresh suit, carrying a tea set.
Even from a distance, I could smell it... jujube tea.
’Just like Seojin to know my tastes perfectly.’
Secretly pleased, I lifted the teacup for a sip, but Seojin suddenly dropped to his knees before me.
“...What are you doing?”
“This is the posture a sinner should assume.”
I let out a deep sigh.
“I told you, I only did that to check if you were a demon. You know I don’t actually think that, right?”
“Of course I know.”
“Then get up and sit down before I crack your skull open.”
In the end, Seojin sat in a chair.
I closed my eyes again and drank the jujube tea as if savoring it. As I savored the sweet, autumnal taste, I cracked one eye open.
Seojin was staring at me, his eyes sparkling.
“...Hey.”
“Yes, Tower Master.”
“God, you’re giving me the creeps. Why are you acting like this? It’s suffocating!”
Seojin finally seemed to realize he was staring and straightened his posture.
“Ahem, it’s embarrassing to say, but...”
“Hm?”
“I was just so happy to see you again, Tower Master.”
“...Ugh! What are you even talking about?”
It was disgustingly cheesy, but... well, it wasn’t completely incomprehensible.
I had been living in my inner world, but Seojin had spent five whole years believing I was dead.
Unlike Jin Bora, he was just clumsy at expressing affection. It wasn’t that strange, and I could understand it, I guess.
My only complaint was, why head pats? I’m the older one here. It’s not like he’s doting on some cute kid.
“Besides you, who else knows that I’m back?”
“For now, just you and Bora.”
“I see. Then the Tower...”
I shrugged.
“I plan to work alone until I find out who the demon is. I’ll go back once this is all over.”
Seojin nodded vigorously.
“I want to work with you again as soon as possible.”
“It won’t take that long. Oh, but even if I do go back, is there even a spot for me?”
The current Tower Master was, for all intents and purposes, Na Daeyong. The staff under him were his hires, not mine.
I wasn’t sure I had any justification to kick out someone who was doing a good job just to take my position back.
“What are you talking about? Daeyong would be happier than anyone to see you return, Tower Master.”
’He’s already calling the current Tower Master Daeyong.’
“Daeyong isn’t a formally recognized Tower Master, so he has no authority to move the Tower itself. He can’t appoint new administrators either, and with the current ones split into factions, the Tower’s power is slowly fading. For the future of the organization, it’s only right that you come back, Tower Master.”
I folded my arms.
“I’ll think about it. And keep this whole matter strictly confidential. I have to track down the others one by one and investigate them.”
“Understood.”
I slowly savored the jujube tea.
I wanted to relax for a bit, but Seojin was still staring at me with that oppressive gaze.
“...Yeah, yeah.”
I set the teacup down and sighed.
“Do you have anything to report?”
“I’d like to report on Alchemia’s achievements over the years.”
He was like a kid who’d gotten a perfect score on a test and was dying to brag.
“All right. Let’s hear it.”
“Thank you!”
Seojin hurriedly brought up a screen in the office and continued his explanation. I had only started listening half-heartedly, but before I knew it, I was getting drawn into the story.
’Impressive.’
Five years later, in the present, Alchemia had branches all over the world.
Thanks to a massive online marketplace and diversified logistics routes, hunters could now receive their pre-ordered potions right in front of any Dungeon in the world.
Potions had become indispensable to a hunter’s daily life.
The "commoditization" of potions I had pushed for had completely taken root. The price was also quite cheap, with a low-grade Red Elixir going for around twenty-five dollars a bottle.
“Wait, but isn’t twenty-five dollars a bottle way too cheap? It’s not like you have any real competition.”
“If you look at overall sales, you can consider low-grade elixirs a kind of investment.”
According to Seojin, the price jumped tenfold starting from mid-grade elixirs. The cost of high-grade and top-grade elixirs was, needless to say, extremely expensive. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂
However, hunters who started using potions during their provisional license days grew heavily dependent on them. Once they became fully licensed, they willingly bought the more expensive potions.
“Right, that reminds me—what happened with China? They were making such a fuss about launching knockoff potion brands.”
“We took care of that as well.”
It was impossible for Alchemia alone to supply potions to the entire world, so Seojin had willingly disclosed the recipes to facilities in each nation.
With one catch: the essential tool for making potions, the “magic cauldron,” could only be manufactured by the Tower.
The Tower only leased these cauldrons to companies with an official contract with Alchemia, on the condition that every potion brewed bore the Alchemia logo.
“The instance magic cauldrons we lease for export have a limited lifespan. Once the magic circle’s effect expires, they become unusable,” Seojin explained. “Companies then have to either purchase a new cauldron or request a renewal from the Tower. Over thirty percent of the Tower’s revenue comes from leasing these magic cauldrons.”
“Whoa! So you basically built an entirely new revenue model?”
“Yes.”
This way, even if another company managed to steal a magic cauldron, it would quickly become useless scrap. With layers of security magic and constantly changing patterns, copying the magic circles’ function was practically impossible.
“We let countries produce low- and mid-grade elixirs locally like this, but starting from high-grade elixirs, only Alchemia is allowed to manufacture and supply them.”
“Nice. You’ve completely cornered the market.”
Looking a bit bashful, Seojin went on.
“Even so, we made sure to do a lot of social contribution work so we wouldn’t be called an evil monopoly. Every year, we invest astronomical sums to support non-combat classes and mage candidates, who are among the most vulnerable groups. Thanks to that, Alchemia’s global image is extremely positive.”
’Classic Seojin. His clean, textbook-perfect execution was honestly impressive.’
“The potion division is completely stable. Once you’re back to tune up the golem and warp divisions, the Tower will become far more influential than it is now.”
“Oh, speaking of which, why did Sol and Samia leave the Tower?”
“I don’t know the details, but it seems they had a conflict with Daeyong.”
Those two? Back when I was around, they had gotten along just fine without any particular bad blood.
Then again, five years had passed. Anything could have happened. I’d have to meet them in person to find out.
Just then, my phone buzzed. It was a message from Ha Yerin, asking where we were training today.
“I should get going. I’ve got my own schedule to keep.”
“Understood.”
As Seojin rose to his feet, I quickly spoke up.
“Don’t see me out. You’re busy.”
“Not at all. Please, allow me.”
Honestly.
I put on my water-veil mask as I left the office. Seojin held the elevator, and we rode up together.
“Oh, right.”
He looked at me questioningly.
“Who do you think the demon is? Just a guess.”
Seojin answered without much hesitation.
“I can’t say for certain, but the first person who comes to mind is Association President Hong Yeon.”
“...You too? Bora said the same thing.”
The thought of meeting Hong Yeon again was starting to scare me.
Just how much had she changed?
As I was groaning with worry, I felt a hand on my head again.
“I said, cut that out!”
When I snapped, Seojin flinched and bowed his head.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything bad by it.”
“Did you forget I’m the older one he—”
I cut myself off mid-sentence and let out a dry little laugh.
“Is something wrong?”
“It’s nothing.”
The human heart really is fickle.
In front of Ha Yerin, I sulked about the five lost years and acted like a kid, but in front of Seojin, I still wanted to be treated as the older one. How ridiculous.
Anyway, the elevator stopped and we stepped outside together. At some point, Seojin had already had his car and driver pulled up to the front entrance. Even when I said I’d just take a taxi, he stubbornly insisted on seeing me off properly.
“All right, I’ll ride it then.”
“Please return safely.”
“...And also.”
I scratched my head awkwardly and gave a sheepish smile.
“I really am sorry about the car.”
Seojin beamed.
“It’s pocket change. Don’t worry about it.”
* * *
