Chapter 46

Chapter 46

✠

After we finished our meal, we collectively decided to close down the dungeon for good. There wasn’t much to see in the dungeon with the exception of miles and miles of salt flats. It wasn’t like any of us planned to go into the salt production business, so we didn’t have any reason to leave it open.

I took one last look at the dusty, pale hills before jumping out of the closing gates. We were well into the early morning hours. The full moon no longer loomed directly over our heads but leaned slightly westward, casting a dim glow on the forest.

“It’s time for us to go our separate ways.”

Grandpa’s eyes began to glisten with tears again, but he no longer clung to his daughter like he had before.

Mom was on her way to meet her husband and son for the first time in six years. Our small family was on course for a long-awaited, long-overdue reunion.

“I-I look forward to seeing you this Thanksgiving,” Grandpa said.

“You should go first. We’ll see you off.”

“O-of course.” Grandpa looked back several times as he took a few hesitant steps in the opposite direction.

Mom waited patiently without a word as she watched him leave.

“We should go too, Allie,” she said.

“Okay.”

Hand in hand, we walked back to the cabin. About two and a half hours had elapsed since I entered the dungeon. Dad and Rinz would probably be very worried by now if they had discovered that I was missing.

“Allie! Allie, where are you?!”

Sure enough, we could hear Dad’s anxious cries calling out for me as soon as we got within earshot of the house. Dad, clad only in thin pajamas, frantically waved a lantern above his head as he ran about looking for me.

Rinz came running up from the backyard, panting heavily. “I looked all around the house, but I couldn't find her.”

“Where could she be at this ungodly hour?”

Mom gasped in surprise as her gaze shifted between the two of them. Her husband was now well into his thirties while her baby boy had become a teenager. I gripped Mom’s hand tightly, watching as she struggled to process her new reality and grappled with the unforgiving passage of time.

“Let’s go, Allie.”

We’d only taken a few steps out of the forest when my brother saw us.

“D-dad! It’s Allie!”

“Where?!” Dad snapped his head toward our direction. Just as he prepared to scold me, he stopped with his mouth agape as he caught sight of the person I was with.

“El... thea?”

“Leo.”

“How... What is...?”

Everything around Dad seemed to fade away as he slowly stumbled toward us, all while never taking his eyes off Mom.

Mom stood motionless, awaiting him with a teary smile. When they were finally within arm’s reach, Mom pulled my dad in close and embraced him.

“You did well, managing without me,” she said. “Sorry for being so late.”

“Is... Is that really you, Elthea?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

“E-Elthea...!” This time, Dad was the one who took Mom into his arms. A quivering, watery voice echoed across the chilly night air. “Why?! Where have you been all these years? I-I thought you’d left m-me behind...”

“I can’t go on living a day without seeing you. I would never leave you.”

“Then where have you been this whole time? A-are my eyes deceiving me? Why... Why don’t you look a day older than when you left?” he asked.

“Ah, you see, I was trapped inside a dungeon.”

“What?! A dungeon? What were you doing in such a dangerous place?!”

“I-it just sort of happened? Anyways, the demonic creature in the dungeon caught me by surprise with its evil spell. One thing led to another and I was petrified into a salt statue... and I got stuck inside. Um... I’ll fill you in on the details later.”

“Of course. All that matters is that you’re back. Thank you for returning. Thank you. Please never leave us again. Always be by my side.”

“Yes, of course. I promise.”

“Elthea...”

“Leo...”

Their heartfelt reunion was reaching its climax, bursting with longing and love. They caressed each other’s faces as if still trying to convince themselves that the other was real. Their lips drew closer, the air thick with anticipation.

Maybe I should just stay quiet and act like I don’t see anything… No, wait, I need to do something about Prinz first. But where did he go? The last time I saw him, he was standing off in the distance.

“Mom?”

“Oh, Rinz! My son!”

The couple came to their senses at the sound of their son’s innocent voice. Mom cleared her throat and looked at Prinz, who was still standing about five feet away.

“Yes, Rinz. I’m your Mom. Do you remember me?”

“I-I remember. You left... when I was six... wearing these exact same clothes with a garden hoe and chains in your hands to go catch some wild animals.”

“You’re right. My little boy, you were only six, but now you’re all grown up. Come here, son. Let me give you a hug.”

“Mom!”

Prinz threw himself into our mother’s embrace as tears streamed down his cheeks. Her adolescent son’s charge was fierce and passionate, but Mom not only easily caught him in her arms, but she also began to spin around with him still clinging to her.

While they did that, I quietly slid over to Dad’s side. “Sorry for leaving without telling you. Can you let me off the hook this one time since I brought Mom back?”

“Allie...” Dad’s teary eyes were as warm and affectionate as ever. His large hands drew closer to me. I stuck my head out, thinking he was about to pat me on it. He pinched my cheeks instead.

“Ow!”

“This is your punishment,” he said.

“Owie. I’m shorry...” I rubbed my cheeks where they tingled from being pulled too hard as Dad stroked my head.

“And this is your reward. Thank you for bringing back your mother, Allie.”

“Hehe, let’s go see her too now, Dad.”

I grabbed my father’s hand and led him to where Mom and Prinz were. Mom was wiping Prinz’s tear-splattered cheeks. When I started teasing him for all his blubbering, he just hid his face against our mother like a little boy. I hugged Mom from the other side and Dad embraced all three of us.

Our family stood there in the middle of the yard in silence, feeling each other’s warmth. We looked at each other’s teary faces and smiled.

✠

One month later, somewhere in the Duchy of Heathfenrir, the Golden Ivory Tower—hallowed and revered by all alchemists—was going through an unprecedented crisis, unlike anything it had faced in its illustrious three-hundred-year history.

I can’t let things fall apart like this! The Golden Ivory Tower may soon meet its end! Under my watch! The current tower master, Karlon Logos, was responsible for the growth and prosperity of the Golden Ivory Tower. And right now, he was absolutely miserable.

It all began about a month ago. The generous monthly donations that funded the tower’s research were slashed to half of what it usually received. Their finances took a significant blow when one of their most generous donors, Grand Duke Heathfenrir, announced the withdrawal of his support.

That wasn’t even the worst of it. A number of new rules and regulations supposedly aimed at maintaining the quality of goods and ensuring the integrity of distribution channels were enacted, imposing strict restrictions on the tower’s activities.

What made matters more dire was that the initial focus of scrutiny fell upon their healing potions. Much of the tower’s profit stemmed from selling the low-quality healing potions produced by the apprentices. Restricting this was a major setback to the Golden Ivory Tower.

All of our main sources of funding have been cut off! The entire tower is going to be foreclosed upon at this rate! Why did this have to happen while I was the tower master?!

To add insult to injury, the duchy’s tax inspectors even began to raid Karlon’s research lab and private residence. They expressed their sympathy to Karlon as they ransacked his place, but said they had no choice due to reports of tax evasion and fraud filed by an anonymous whistleblower.

He would at least be able to understand all of this if it were happening to a worm like Hikeem Sarmatan, but all Karlon had ever done was dedicate his life to his research and studies. Despite that, here they were, conducting a targeted investigation on him.

Karlon’s intuition kicked in the moment he learned about the “anonymous whistleblower.” He bristled with humiliation as he thought to himself, Damn you, you blasted duke! What did I ever do to deserve this from you?!

Karlon immediately began drafting up a letter to send to the grand duke. He fought to contain his anger as he stifled the string of curses he longed to unleash on the page. The tip of his pen trembled, but the words that flowed onto the paper were so graceful and refined, it practically read like a love letter. Underneath the eloquent language and euphemisms, though, the letter contained the following message:

[Say it to my face if you have a problem with me, you little sh*t!]

The grand duke did not take long to reply.

[Gotcha. I’ll come for a visit, you old fart.]

And so, the two leaders successfully scheduled a meeting within the Golden Ivory Tower.

Karlon looked as if he’d aged at least ten years over the course of the past month. He had a sullen expression as he poured the tea into an ornate cup.

The tea was an exquisite, one-of-a-kind blend. It was brewed with seven different types of herbal leaves that were strictly watered with holy water only. These leaves were then steeped in the finest grade of healing potions before being served.

Muscle supplements were chosen as the dessert to accompany this luxurious tea to accommodate the grand duke’s preferences.

Of course, the supplements made in the tower were too bitter to be served. However, by some miracle, they managed to procure a limited selection of Rodel’s products prior to the meeting. The supplements both looked and tasted like real chocolate, seamlessly harmonizing with the rest of the table’s offerings.

The grand duke’s artistically sculpted muscles rippled as he daintily picked up the teacup. “Hm! It’s been a while, tower master.”

“Yes, it has, milord.”

“You’ve grown thin and sickly since the last time I saw you. Are you eating right and getting enough exercise? Muscles become ever more important as we age. Shall I teach you a few muscle-strengthening exercises?”

This was all because of you! How dare you come here and feign innocence?!

I used to jog five laps around the tower every morning before you started to tyrannize my peace! Karlon felt his anger well up but managed to contain his frustration. Nonetheless, his patience was wearing thin, and he had no intention of beating around the bush.

“I’m well aware that you’re a busy man, protecting the duchy and maintaining the peace and good order of our lands. I shan’t take up any more of your time. I’ll get straight to the point. It seems to me that the source of your ill humor in recent days somehow stems from our tower. If you enlighten us as to whatever it is that’s angered you, we shall do our best to correct it and remedy your troubles.”

“Hm! I'll humor! It seems the tower master has misunderstood my intentions! I’ll have you know, I haven’t felt as good as I do now in quite some time! My pecs can attest to that!” The grand duke put on an innocent facade, striking various poses and proudly displaying his bulging pecs.

Karlon had a strong urge to just storm out of the room. Screw the well-being of the tower, screw his position. He just wanted to quit then and there.

Maybe I need to retire. It seemed like a good idea. His research-oriented lifestyle was much too naive to withstand the ruthless and manipulative tactics of political domineering.

I’ve made up my mind! I’ll hand over the position to Hikeem Sarmatan and escape this whole fiasco. Hikeem was a supercilious, greedy bastard, but his talent was indisputable. The consistent results of his research proved this.

Above all, no one in the tower could match his devious ways of manipulating the political landscape. He was a master of exploiting his apprentices to fabricate a positive public sentiment, and he was second to none when it came to brown-nosing rich donors.

As Karlon fell into a daydream, imagining ways to get out of this mess, the grand duke popped a piece of chocolate into his mouth and gave a delighted exclamation.

“Hm! This is very good!”

“I-is it to your liking?”

“Of course. It was made by my granddaughter and son-in-law.”

“I’m sorry?” Karlon stared at him blankly before asking, “Your son-in-law? When you say in-law... D-does that mean you found the princess?!”

“Yes, that’s right. I found her after thirteen long years of searching. But that’s not all. When I finally found her, I learned that I now also have a son-in-law, a grandson, and a granddaughter!” The grand duke roared with laughter.

Karlon suddenly felt motivated, spotting a glimmer of hope. Maybe he could turn things around if he made the grand duke even happier. “Amazing! May I express my most sincere congratulations on your discovery?! From what I understood, it seems to me that your new son-in-law is the acclaimed alchemist Rodel. His talent seems to be unparalleled, even among the bright minds within our tower. How about it? If it’s okay with you, I’d like to invite him into the tower and give him a position?”

The grand duke’s smiling face faded abruptly and was replaced by a stern, impassive countenance. “Now? You drove him out, and now, after all these years you want him to come back?”

“E-excuse me? What do you mean?”