[Vol. 7] Chapter 251: Catching a Ghost
When the young apprentice gave him a strange look, like she thought he was some kind of idiot, and acted like she didn’t care about anything, the Tree Spirit Tower Master, who looked quite old, immediately became furious. His anger, which had nowhere to go before, suddenly had a target. He stomped forward, trying to grab her arm.
“You little brat! Have you gotten too full of yourself lately?! You dare pretend not to hear your teacher talking? This time, if you don’t write a 5,000-word apology…”
But just as he reached out his hand, the girl, who had never once looked at him directly, suddenly turned her head and lightly shifted her body, easily dodging his fast grab. Before the Tower Master could even be surprised by how different her attitude was from usual, or by the strange glow flickering in her green eyes, she calmly smiled and said,
“Tower Master, losing your temper like that doesn’t really match the way of nature, does it? Weren’t you just looking for the traitor in the tower? I’m helping with that, actually.”
“…Tower Master? Wait… you’re not Tiffany! Who are you? Where’s the real Tiffany!?”
Even though he had a short temper, the Tower Master wasn’t clueless. After all, he was one of the highest-ranking leaders of the seven towers. From just a few words and actions, he quickly realized something was wrong with the girl in front of him. His face changed at once.
“Alert!!”
Without hesitation, the Tower Master stepped back several steps. A staff wrapped in green vines appeared in his hand. Others nearby also reacted quickly, pulling out their weapons and pointing them at the tree spirit girl, who still looked innocent and harmless.
Even in such a dangerous and tense situation, “Tiffany” didn’t look nervous at all. She just shrugged, showing she had no weapons and meant no harm. She didn’t care about the tense mages around her and simply continued smiling calmly at the Tower Master.
“Is this really the best way to handle things? As the master of the [Tower of Nature] and one of the top leaders of the Sainz Academy, is attacking first really the right move when things are still unclear? Let’s say I am your enemy, have you even thought about what might happen if a fight breaks out here? What about poor Tiffany’s body? Isn’t she your student?”
“You…?”
Her confident and cocky attitude made people want to yell, but strangely, instead of getting angrier, the Tower Master actually began to calm down. He even raised his staff upright in a more peaceful gesture, showing he was willing to talk.
“Tower Master?”
“Listen up. Unless I give the order, no one is allowed to attack!”
"Uh... yes, sir!"
With just that one sentence, the Tower Master calmed the tense crowd. He looked to be in his fifties or sixties, but as a Tree Spirit from the Lingmu tribe, his real age was probably nearly ten times that. He looked “Tiffany” up and down a few times and spoke in a serious tone.
“I’ve watched that girl Tiffany grow up since she was little. At least until today, before this surprise attack happened, she was acting completely normal. With her level of access, there’s no way she could have gotten past the tower’s core defenses or let any enemies sneak in…”
“So, you probably aren’t the traitor. More likely, you're some powerful expert who temporarily borrowed her body to appear here. Whoever you are, this [Tower of Nature] is an important part of Sainz Academy, regular people are not allowed inside. If you’re not an enemy, I ask you to leave soon and return the body to Tiffany.”
“Heh, at least you’re not completely clueless~”
Pretending to be an experienced elder, the girl put her hands behind her back and gave the Tower Master a casual glance.
“What’s your name?”
The old Tree Spirit’s eyebrows twitched slightly, clearly not used to being spoken to in such a high-and-mighty tone, but he held back his irritation and answered seriously.
“…I am Carol Lingmu.”
“Hmm... Enrique Lingmu and Sophie Lingmu, what’s your relationship with them?”
The Tower Master blinked in surprise and replied with a question of his own.
“You know my son and daughter?”
“Of course. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be here at all~”
Her words sounded mysterious, as if she knew a lot, but in truth, she wasn’t giving any real answers. Still, it was enough to confuse and impress Carol, who fell silent in thought. Without wasting more time, the girl kept walking forward.
“Wait, wait, miss…!”
Clearly, her vague words had worked. Though the Tower Master looked like he really wanted to stop her, he didn’t dare make a move. All he could do was follow behind “Tiffany,” trying to keep up as she walked ahead confidently, with many eyes watching them.
They soon reached a middle-aged Tree Spirit woman, who was dressed in a uniform like the other [Tower of Nature] workers. The badge hanging over her chest showed she held an important position here. When she saw “Tiffany” walking straight toward her with Carol by her side, she didn’t dare act without orders. She looked slightly nervous, resting her hand on her bow, and watched the girl with sharp, cautious eyes.
"What are you doing?"
"You’re one of the deputy leaders of this tower, right? Have you been to any strange places recently?"
"Strange… places?"
Although this beautiful woman looked like she was fully grown by Tree Spirit standards, with a curvy figure and a strong natural aura, her personality still seemed a little immature. She tilted her head slightly with a confused look, like she didn’t understand what the girl was trying to ask.
"No, I haven’t. What do you mean?"
"What I mean is..."
Staring calmly at the woman who stood so close yet seemed completely unaware of the danger, "Tiffany" smiled, then suddenly raised her hand and pointed straight at the woman’s forehead!
Her speed was so fast that even though Tower Master Carol and the Deputy were already on alert, they still didn’t have time to react...
...Or at least, it should have been that way.
"Oh... so you're done pretending already?"
Seeing a shield made of gray mist suddenly appear in front of the woman’s forehead, blocking the attack, the girl wasn’t surprised. She just smiled again.
"But… this is nowhere near enough!"
In an instant, her hand instantly changed from a thrust to a slap. With just a short distance between them, she suddenly released a powerful force. The gray mist shield shattered on the spot, and the Tree Spirit woman it was protecting let out a muffled sound, unable to keep her balance. She was sent flying backward, slamming hard into the stone wall of the tower’s control room. Only after a loud bang! did she stop.
"Lady Sillu?!"
"How dare you attack someone in the [Tower of Nature]?!"
"Tower Master, she—!"
The sudden attack caused the already-watchful crowd to panic. The mages began charging their spells by instinct, and the close-combat fighters rushed forward, ready to defend the injured Deputy.
But at that moment, Carol’s angry and commanding voice boomed again, instantly freezing everyone in place.
"Silence! Don’t move without my order!"