Adopting the Male Protagonist Changed the Genre

According to her master, without him, she would have been a penniless child left in the slums.

“Even though I supported your passion by allowing you, a mere apprentice, to freely use expensive research tools that you couldn’t even dream of, it seems that only fueled your greed.”

Her legs trembled. Mindlessly, she almost believed him and continued blaming the wrong person.

‘Vivian, look down below.’

Belinda’s voice from the previous day stopped her.

The terrace of the coffee house overlooked the main gate of the royal capital.

The tip of Belinda ‘s fan pointed at a group of people.

The hunters who returned from the dungeon were celebrating each other’s return and embracing their comrades.

‘Even if they have a reason to abandon their weapons, what is it that they never let go of?’

‘……The Lighthouse of the Stars.’

In the dungeon where even the compass lost its direction, the hunters relied on the “Lighthouse of the Stars,” which endlessly indicated the position of the stars.

The Lighthouse of the Stars magic tool was their only guide that led them home.

This time, Belinda’s fan pointed to the left.

The workers who got off the upper carriage in a row stood in line in front of an iron cage, waiting for their turn.

It was to convey greetings to their families in a distant hometown.

‘How are they able to send their greetings to their families so quickly?’

‘…..The Nest of Twin Birds.’

Good news spreads faster than anything else.

With that in mind, she created the “Nest of Twin Birds,” which could transmit voices to someone far away.

They were all Vivian’s creations.

Vivian couldn’t take her eyes off the faces of those who used her magical tools.

Always locked away in the alcoves of her tower, studying, she had never seen her master’s tools – or her own – used in real life.

‘That’s the value I see in you. When you feel like you are nothing, think of this view.’

Vivian, who had kept her head down, slowly turned to face her Master.

Belinda’s voice pushed her back.

“I, I’m…….”

‘If you can’t believe in yourself, believe in their happiness.’

“I… No.”

“What?”

‘I’m not just a poor child with nothing.

I’m someone who can make people laugh.

Someone Belinda sees as valuable.

I’m…….’

“I’m not as lacking as you say, Master.”

“You…….”

Bruno was momentarily lost for words at his pupil’s defiance.

As he stood there with his mouth agape, Vivian announced, “I’m the one who revealed the recipe for ‘Cecil’s Lullaby’ to the slums this time, and I’ve even applied for a patent for ‘Cecil’s Lullaby’ in my name at the Tower.”

“How dare this…… this is how this lowly thing returns the favor!” Bruno shouted, pulling out his cane.

But Vivian was no longer afraid of him.

Belinda had said that those with abilities had a responsibility to handle their own talents.

Vivian finally realized that she had been doubting her own worth and avoiding that responsibility, and she had been passing it on to someone like him.

She took off the brooch she had been wearing all along.

Returning it meant severing her connection with the Tower, as it served as her access pass.

It was an act of discarding the only thing she had received in exchange for eight years of work, but unlike before, Vivian had no hesitation.

“Thank you for everything, Master.” 

(T/N: Wow, she is too good for this world. How can she still say thank you?)

(E/N: Vivian must be protected at all costs.)

***

An upper-class bar in a commercial district.

Bruno’s face was flushed with anger as he gulped down drink after drink.

“How dare you, how dare you…… dare you?!”

With a drunkenly curled tongue, he didn’t stop spewing his anger.

Although Vivian had returned her identification, he believed she had done it out of dissatisfaction with her apprenticeship and to show off.

She would come back in the evening.

She had no money, no place to sleep, and she was a fool who would rather die if she couldn’t do alchemy.

But his golden goose never returned to beg for forgiveness.

Bruno had to admit that he had made a terrible mistake.

He was gnashing his teeth in anger at Vivian.

“Mr. Bruno?”

A woman he had never seen before naturally took a seat across from Bruno.

‘No, is it really a woman?’

He had drunk a lot, but his senses weren’t blurred to that extent.

He couldn’t distinguish the gender of the person sitting in front of him.

“Who are you?”

“Indeed, you must be Mr. Bruno! Oh, I’ve been searching for you for a long time. The teacher’s assistant sent me. They said you would be here at this time.”

“Useless trash, why are you finding me now?”

“Well, I’m not sure about the details, but I was told to complete the assigned task.”

“Assigned task?”

Bruno’s eyes, clouded by the effects of alcohol, widened. It was clear that the identity of the Fanthistle buyer had been discovered.

A cruel smile formed at the corner of Bruno’s mouth.

Yes, Vivian, who was ignorant of the ways of the world, couldn’t have planned all of this.

The orchestrator behind the scenes, the buyer of the Fanthistle, must have manipulated Vivian from behind.

‘I will make both of them regret ever crossing me.’

After all, the Tower was outside the jurisdiction of the law. Even if he committed murder, the kingdom’s law couldn’t punish him.

As the target of his revenge became clear, his power surged.

He abruptly stood up, swaying. He had confidence in his tolerance for alcohol, but it was strangely difficult to control his body.

“Oh my, looks like you’ve had too much to drink. Lean on me. Come on, let’s go.”

Leaning on the other person, he managed to take a step forward, stumbling.

But not long after leaving the bar, he realized something was off.

“Hey, where do you think you’re going? This is the slums. Even a passing stray dog knows not to enter at night.”

“Are you the one disturbing the order of the slums by any chance?”

“…What?”

“Even the slums have their own rules. If outsiders trample on those rules with their dirty feet, it won’t sit well with the rats living down in the darkness.”

Creepy.

Feeling the danger, Bruno quickly moved away from the person and tried to find his cane.

But there was nothing in his hand.

“If you only rely on a cane like this, it’s no wonder the sorcerer folk haven’t progressed,” Terry sneered as she skillfully snatched the cane away from Bruno’s grasp.

“Well,” Bruno rolled his eyes around, searching for help, and hesitantly opened his mouth. “There seems to be some misunderstanding.”

He had heard rumors before.

There were two powers in the slums that should never be touched.

The king of the Rats information organization, who controlled all the rats in the slums, and the unleashed wild Hounds.

He scoffed at the idea of a gutter rat and an unleashed dog.

“Now it’s about time to sleep. Are you the type with a very slow reaction time? Surely you haven’t even tried the medicine you sell?”

Whether Terry’s words were true or not, suddenly his eyelids felt unbearably heavy.

As if making a last-ditch effort, Bruno shouted, “How dare you touch the sorcerer of the Tower! Are you trying to turn the Magic Republic into an enemy? The Tower is outside the jurisdiction of the law!”

“You still don’t get it. Just like the Tower is outside the jurisdiction, this slum is a kind of jurisdiction itself.”

“W-What are you talking about?”

“Even if people are dying here, no one tries to find the murderer and punish them legally.”

Terry’s face had a radiant smile as she spoke. And she sweetly whispered towards the falling-unconscious Bruno.

“I hope you have a happy dream, Mr. Bruno. When you wake up, you’ll beg me to kill you, so that you can finally rest in peace.”

***

The warmth of autumn.

The aroma of fragrant black tea.

Sweet desserts.

And even the sight of Leo diligently studying with his lips pouted in concentration.

Ah, I can’t remember the last time peace visited like this.

“Miss Belinda, I’m done!”

“Alright, let me see.”

I began inspecting Leo’s homework with a red pen while Leo anxiously waited for the results.

And finally…

“Five macarons.”

Leo, who received a passing score, raised both hands in excitement, saying, “Wow!”

He picked out three of the five macaroons and gave one to me, one to Sir Penadel, and one to Vivian.

Leo was the happiest child in the world, even with only two macaroons in his hands; he was so adorable that I wanted to give him all the macarons and tell him to enjoy them to his heart’s content.

‘Hold on, we don’t want him to get any cavities.’

I resisted with tremendous patience and willpower.

Soon enough, a group of adults were sitting around the table, each trying to shove one of Leo’s macaroons into their mouths.

“What is everyone eating but me?” A new voice asked.

I nearly screamed at the sight of a familiar face poking its head out of nowhere.