Protecting Something (3)

Reed went to see Kaitlyn.

As the chief engineer, he actively arranged for a part of the tower’s research building to be turned into her personal laboratory.

Reed knocked on the open door and caught Kaitlyn’s attention.

Kaitlyn greeted Reed warmly.

“Oh, Tower Master, what brings you to this humble place?”

“I have something to discuss. Do you have a moment?”

“Of course.”

Kaitlyn stood up from her seat.

“I went to Escolleia to recruit graduates.”

“Ah, right.”

“That day, I went to the department head to request your records because of your expulsion.”

“……So?”

Reed bit his lip.

It was difficult for anyone to admit their mistakes.

But he had to do it.

Reed composed himself and told Kaitlyn all the facts.

He brought up everything in the records, as well as his memories, and confessed that he had been complicit in the plagiarism issue.

Kaitlyn listened to the story calmly.

After conveying all the facts, he waited for her response.

“Well……”

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Kaitlyn scratched her head, showing a bewildered reaction.

“Actually, I’ve known about that since two years ago.”

“How can that be?”

“I found out by chance when you first gave me a vacation.”

It must have been during the time when they were working on Project: Sound of Music.

Reed had given Kaitlyn a reward and a vacation, allowing her to take a short break.

“Why didn’t you say anything until now?”

“Well… I thought it didn’t really matter now, and bringing it up might cause unnecessary conflict, so I let it go.”

“Didn’t you regret not being able to graduate from Escolleia?”

While playing the game, Kaitlyn sometimes talks about her past.

She says that if she becomes a prominent figure, she wants to confront the person who accused her of plagiarism and show them what she’s made of.

“Regret… I might have had regrets. When I was hungry and wanted to blame someone.”

Kaitlyn laughed nonchalantly and said to Reed,

“Do you know the saying that nobles are tied to the past, and commoners are tied to the future? I am a person who lives in the present rather than the past.”

As they talked, even the time to wet their dry lips became awkward.

“We should be having a drink while talking about this. I can’t do it sober.”

Kaitlyn took out a bottle and glasses from her cupboard.

It was fruit wine that Reed had brought from Yggdrasil’s territory.

They filled their glasses and drank the first round.

The strong alcohol content quickly took effect.

As the smell of alcohol rose through their stomachs, their words flowed more easily.

“As I said, I live in the present. I do have thoughts of wanting to return to Escolleia, but I like the present. I like it when Miss Rosaria brings me her proud doodles as ideas, when the confident magicians become fledglings under me, and when I solve the tasks given by the Tower Master here.”

As Kaitlyn tried to pour herself another glass, Reed picked up the bottle and poured it for her instead.

They drank the second round without hesitation.

Her reaction was tough, more like a man than a woman.

“When I got my first vacation… I went to see the senior who had framed me with my own eyes.”

Kaitlyn leaned back in her chair and opened her mouth as if to say she was enjoying herself.

“Is that so?”

“That day, the first place I went was actually my hometown. I thought about where to go and what to do with the money, and that’s what came to mind first.”

“And then?”

“I couldn’t go back because I was afraid of being called a fool for not getting a scholarship and not graduating… So I decided to go to my hometown first to pay my debts.”

Kaitlyn wore a happy expression.

Seeing her smiling while talking about her hometown, which should have been a sore spot, put Reed at ease.

“I wanted to succeed and repay them somehow, but I never thought I’d step foot in my hometown again… When I went back, my mother said, ‘If you’re ashamed, why don’t you show your face!’ and slapped my back. I went from house to house apologizing, paying back the money borrowed from the village, bragging about the person I am at the tower… With some leftover money, I bought a pig, bought stew ingredients, and had a festival with the villagers.”

“It seems things went well in your hometown.”

“I couldn’t just pay back the borrowed money. I had to pay back the interest, too, to make up for the frustration.”

She still had debt, but her face looked relieved.

“Anyway, I left the village after the festival. I was thinking about where to go next… and that bastard’s face came to mind. Simon von Ettwar!”

It was the name of the man who had accused Kaitlyn of plagiarizing her paper.

Seeing that she still remembered his name, it seemed that the grudge was still strong.

“So, did you go and take revenge?”

“I intended to, but… there was no need.”

“Did he die or something?”

“He was as good as dead. When I went to see him, he was living a pitiful life. He was barely making a living as a coachman for some remote noble family. It turned out that even with a good lineage and a good university, one political move from powerful people could bring him down to rock bottom. So, I just greeted him.”

She didn’t take revenge.

What good would it do to spit on someone who had already fallen into the abyss?

Showing the one who had fallen that she was living well was the best revenge for her.

“That’s when I thought, life is really futile. The guy who was boasting about his bright future is now a coachman, and the commoner who couldn’t rely on lineage and couldn’t even raise her voice is now a respected engineer in the tower… It seems like there’s a predetermined fate in life.”

“A predetermined fate…”

Though it must have been an unintentional, thoughtless remark, Reed found it annoying.

“Do you believe in a predetermined fate?”

“Yes, I do.”

Kaitlyn nodded her head and showed her glass to Reed, asking for a toast.

“Isn’t it a predetermined fate that my senior and I met like this again?”

The revival of magic engineering, too, is all predetermined fate.

Yes, if this changed future is predetermined, then Reed’s fate was good as well.

“Still, there’s something I’ve done wrong that remains. I will clear the false charges you’ve been accused of. Let’s put an end to this.”

One must not simply accept the world as it is. If things need to be settled, they must be settled properly.

Kaitlyn nodded her head.

“It seems that it puts your mind at ease, then.”

“I’ll go now. Don’t drink anymore, rest for about two hours and then get back to work.”

Kaitlyn took another sip as Reed left.

‘Tower Master, you are such a good person.’

People who judge others by their abilities tend to fall easily.

But instead, Reed seemed to be getting better and better.

From accepting her to treating her differently from other commoners, everything was different.

She felt he was a good person from the beginning, but gradually she was drawn to his humanity.

‘I never thought he would come to apologize for that.’

She was ready to let it go as if nothing had happened.

The opportunities and work that Reed had given her were enough to wash away her grudges.

‘So this is how good it feels to have someone believe in me.’

Her spirits were lifted.

Even the unresolved, painful things now felt comfortable enough to be enjoyable.

‘Let’s work harder, even more.’

To not betray the expectations of the person who trusts her.

She had no choice but to work hard.