Chapter 27

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 27

Chapter Title: I'm a Shut-In, But I Got Possessed into a Dark Confinement Novel

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"Uwaaaaaah!"

"O-our core...!"

"Nooooooo!"

The mages' screams echoed through the hall.

At the same time, my eyes met the Duke's from where he stood at a distance.

I could clearly see his gaze shift from my face to the hammer in my hand.

One of his eyebrows immediately shot up. I flinched and bowed my head in panic.

He must have heard from Liam that I had the hammer... but even so, he probably never imagined I'd smash the core outright.

I lowered the hand gripping the hammer and slowly backed away.

The core, having taken a massive blow, was wobbling unstably.

"What is the meaning of this?! Duke of Brail, was this your doing? We merely asked for your cooperation!"

The Magic Tower Master, who had been standing dazed, shouted as he rushed toward the core.

He stared at the now even more precarious-looking core, at a complete loss.

I cut in before the blame could splash onto the Duke unnecessarily.

"Ah, no. This has nothing to do with the Duke..."

"Shut your mouth, you rat! I'll summon hellfire and roast you alive! Do you think you'll get away with this?!"

The Tower Master was so furious his beard was trembling; he looked ready to blast magic from his staff at any moment.

Then, his face crumpled into despair as he hung his head.

"Why... why would you do such a thing?!"

Before opening my mouth, I slowly scanned the room.

The other mages were glaring at me as if I were their sworn enemy.

The Duke was the only one remaining calm and uninvolved.

Meeting his steady gaze, I slowly spoke.

"Um, well..."

"Well?"

"It... uh..."

My hesitation was brief. Before the frustrated Tower Master could raise his voice again, I squeezed my eyes shut and stammered out an excuse.

"Th-the Magic Tower's core... it was talking to me..."

'I'm doomed.'

Even I knew that flimsy excuse wouldn't fly.

But the arrow had already left the bow, so I pressed on.

"The core... it kept saying to me, 'Break me... break me...' Something like that..."

A large window overlooking the outside was right beside me.

I barely suppressed the urge to hurl myself out of it when an incredulous voice rang out.

"Do you seriously think that makes any sense?"

Of course not.

I bit my lip hard.

'Please, hurry up already...!'

A sidelong glance at the core showed it still wobbling unstably, with no other changes.

But the anomaly struck soon enough.

"Do you have any idea how many mages poured their mana into repairing the Magic Tower's core...? We can't just let this slide. If the core shatters completely, the Tower will...!"

Rumble.

As the enraged Tower Master yelled at the Duke and took a step toward me, the entire building began to shake violently.

The mana flooding the hall was rampaging wildly—enough for even me, with no magical talent, to feel it clearly.

At the same time, debris and dust fell from the ceiling, only to dissolve into purple mana and scatter.

"Th-the core...!"

"The tower's collapsing!"

Someone's shout turned the room into chaos for an entirely different reason.

Crackle.

'Did I mess up?'

I kept staring at the core, tension unyielding.

The Duke, sensing the danger late, was heading my way.

'Just a bit more!'

The core, cracking like an eggshell, shattered completely in a burst of bright light.

Totally.

"......"

"...Gods above."

It was such a dire situation that even these mostly atheistic mages instinctively called on the divine.

Those who had squeezed their eyes shut against the light from the core now stood dazed in the suddenly quiet hall.

"Ha..."

Thud.

Confirming the core's state, I slowly sank to the floor.

The precariously trembling core now floated silently, its surface smooth as if the damage had never happened.

I could see the fallen shell fragments slowly dissolving into mana and dispersing like gas.

"H-how did this...?"

The unstable mana flow had stabilized in an instant.

Not only had the tower, on the verge of collapse, been saved, but the core on the brink of explosion had calmed, and the eerie atmosphere that had unnerved every mage vanished just as quickly.

Anyone with even a drop of mana could sense it instinctively.

"The core's been restored!"

"Ha, haha..."

Realizing the crisis had passed, the mages patted their chests in relief or let out cheers.

'My legs are shaking.'

As I scooted back on my butt to avoid the approaching crowd heading to the core, a large hand extended toward me.

"Get up."

It was the Duke, wearing an inscrutable expression.

"...Thank you."

Unable to offer any excuse or explanation to him right then, I scratched my cheek awkwardly.

"Ha, haha. Well, it's all resolved now, right? I'm feeling a bit tired, so I'll head back first..."

There was no point drawing more attention here, so I planned to dump the aftermath on the Duke.

But before his reply came, the Tower Master approached, unable to hide his deeply moved expression.

His demeanor was worlds apart from before—now utterly polite.

"How did you know?"

"I-it really spoke to me."

Having missed my chance to slip away, and unable to lie straight to his face, I averted my gaze and turned my head.

"So, it was truly thanks to the Duke of Brail's retainer that the Magic Tower's core has been revived."

"That lady must be the once-in-a-millennium 'Mana Listener'!!"

"...Pardon?"

Exclamations erupted from all around, as if they'd been listening to our conversation. My face drained of color.

"Um, excuse me?"

"Exactly! No doubt about it. She might even be the 'Chosen One' from legend!"

H-hey.

I don't think it's that big a deal?

As my escape routes dwindled, the Tower Master, who had been silent, drove the final nail in.

"It seems my esteemed colleagues are correct."

The noisy hall fell silent.

"We have received a great favor from Lady April, who visited the Magic Tower alongside the Duke of Brail. In return, I wish to apologize for our earlier rudeness and express our heartfelt gratitude to both the Duke and the Lady. Especially the Lady...?"

"P-please call me April."

"Understood. Lady April."

Gone was the murderous aura from moments ago; the Tower Master bowed respectfully before me, despite being much older.

"We shall bestow upon you the title 'Ear of the Magic Tower' and draft documents to officially notify the Kletan Empire."

Ear of the Magic Tower.

Even a lazy homebody like me knew what that meant.

Recipients of a Magic Tower title could receive its aid three times in their life, free of charge.

Magic was convenient but astronomically expensive, making this an incalculable boon.

'I didn't want things to blow up this big.'

My plan to bail midway and shove everything onto the Duke had gone up in smoke... whatever.

'No reason to turn down freebies, right?'

I snuck a peek at the Duke beside me.

Now that I'd even earned a title from the Tower, maybe I could peacefully escape this awkward cohabitation?

Life in the duchy had been great so far, but who knew what the future held? A little insurance couldn't hurt.

"Thank you."

Having crunched the numbers in seconds, I bowed to the Tower Master in return.

"Let's wrap this up for now."

Then the Duke, who had been quiet, stepped forward.

I looked up at him in alarm, half-expecting him to snatch the title away, but he merely glanced at me with a businesslike expression before turning back to the Tower Master.

"The Tower has its own matters to settle, and we have ours. If the title for Lady April doesn't require official receipt, it would be preferable to deliver it to the duchy."

"We appreciate your consideration, Duke. And forgive our earlier blunder; we failed to grasp the situation properly."

In the suddenly warm atmosphere, I grew aware of my persistently pounding heart.

'Rushing to close things out like this usually means more problems come pouring in...'

Please let it be my imagination.

I hurried after the Duke, who had already finished up and walked off into the distance.