Heroine On Strike

The Master of the tower began to grow over six feet tall. His cute and boyish appearance had turned into an intelligent-looking one in his mid-twenties. The man then took out a classical pair of glasses to put on and called out a few books with some hand movements with an irritated look on his face. Ella couldn’t hide her discomfort from her face after seeing such an unnerving sight. She tried to hide her face with a fan and look as innocent as possible. The man then looked down at her with his sky-blue eyes.

“What?” questioned the man. His voice sounded as if he was confronting her for having any questions or bragging about his transformation.

“Is this your true appearance?” Despite knowing he was actually 39 years old, she couldn’t resist asking him that question. His face, looking as annoyed as ever, made him look like he was in his twenties.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I’m asking because you looked like a little boy just now. Now you look like this. I’m not sure if this is the real you.”

“A bold question.”

“I’m just curious,” replied Ella as she tried to look as innocent as possible.

The man made a smirk and scoffed, “Your eyes are asking a different question. Are they not?”

“What do you mean?”

“I assume… you are wondering about my age.”

“Will you answer if I ask?”

“I’m 25 years old,” answered the man.

‘LIES! This fool is lying again!’ She wanted to point out that he was lying but couldn’t. In fact, she was mentally 38 years old and acted like an adolescent girl like when she kissed 28-year-old Evan a while ago. In the end, she wasn’t much different from this man after all. 

“I see. Thank you for answering my question.”

Leaving her body to do all the work, Ella gracefully smiled. The man, however, sensed her empty gesture and observed her. She wasn’t sure what he wanted to find out about her, but Luciella’s body was in full control. Therefore, there was nothing to find.

“You sure are Evan’s sister. Wait here while I get what you need.” The man shrugged and called a few more books over as he moved to call another magician. 

Ella, however, froze after hearing this unexpected information. ‘He knows Evan? Since when?’ she wondered. The man never mentioned Evan to Luciella in the book. She reached out and stopped the man by holding onto his arm. “Do you know my brother?”

“Yes, I know him well. I’ve been with him all the time at the Academy. Does that come as a surprise to you? So much that you grabbed my arm like this?” asked Xylos.

“Oh!” cried Ella as she became startled and quickly let his arm go.

New information began storming within her head. This man and her brother knew each other from the Academy? Was he really 25 years old? She had enough with characters from the novel doing things that weren’t in the book, and now there was a character with an entirely different background from the story. 

The man called a magician over and ordered him to fetch a few things. He looked at Ella, who was trying her best to hide her bewilderment. Then he asked, “Am I different from the me that you know of?”

Ella couldn’t find an answer to his unexpected question.

Xylos continued, “There are people like you out there who believe they know everything. As a result, they think the world revolves around them.” As he said those words, the man remembered a young girl who came to find him.

***

Eight months ago, a prideful girl was looking for a man by the name of Xylos Klassio Dielon ja Louie. The Royal Knights guarding the gate couldn’t stop this girl from entering the tower. She was able to enter as she knew the name of the Master of the Tower, which wasn’t known to the outside world. The girl burst into the tower and went straight to Xylos, who was working in the first-floor lobby.

“We finally met, Xyle. I wanted to meet you so badly. I know so many things that you will want to know. Serve me, and I will tell you what the future holds.” said the girl. 

Already the girl had given him the wrong first impression. She outright called his name and even called him by a nickname. Besides, how could she know what was going to happen in the future? ‘She wouldn’t have said that if she knew about an old saying within the Magical Tower of the Long Moonlight.’ 

Be wary of one who claims to know the future. It will cloud your eyes and break your future.

Xylos loved that saying himself. There were bookshelves full of records of people who ruined themselves by believing in people who claimed they had precognitive abilities. There she was, daring to claim such a thing to him. In response to her words, he said, “I don’t believe in your words. The only future I believe in is the one I will experience for myself without you telling me.”

“What I’m going to tell you is true! Whether you like it or not, these things will happen. I know you like it when things happen unexpectedly, but I know stories about a world that you aren’t aware of!” 

Soon, the girl was begging as though something was chasing her. His frustration, however, began to grow because he hated her clinginess. Even though he had coldly rejected her, she continued to plea as if he was her last hope. Seeing how desperate she was, he almost fell for it. Trying to figure out her motive, he asked, “What do you want from me?” 

“I want a friend. Be my friend,” requested the girl.

“I don’t have friends, nor will I make one,” snapped Xylos. 

“Then tell me how to become the protagonist of this book.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”