Crowds were walking the streets of Baeleon, some going to their jobs, others shopping for groceries.
Laughing, a Magic Tool technician fixed a water fountain, much to the cheers of a crowd surrounding her.
There was a shoe shiner who wiped the sweat from his head as he happily received the money of a well-dressed man who seemed to be in a hurry for a job interview.
An artist painted with fire magic, burning images onto special paper.
Three children chased each other as they laughed.
A tired-looking construction worker chatted with a homeless man, both laughing self-deprecatingly.
Street performers juggled toy balls with wind magic or played instruments with sound magic,
And inside a carriage, a noble lady spoke to her younger sister,
"Huhu, despite how coldly he acts, Sir Galahad doesn't mean any harm."
Calrie chuckled, speaking to her little sister Relia,
'They really do look alike.'
Despite having different-colored eyes and different shades of blonde hair, the overall look and atmosphere the two noble ladies gave off couldn't help but make one think of family.
'They're siblings, Ren. It would be odd if they didn't.'
Ren nodded and glanced through the carriage's window.
'Anyways, this city is pretty neat, right?'
'Yeah… It's peaceful.'
After countless decades, memories of war and conflict were ever-present in their thoughts, yet for once, the peace washed them away, even if temporarily.
As Ren and Aria communicated through messages, Relia tilted her head.
"Sir Galahad? As in the Sky Sword?"
Claire nodded, causing Relia to widen her eyes, but before Relia could ask more, Claire looked at Aria and Ren, who were sitting in front of the sisters with a kind smile.
"Relia, why don't you introduce your friends?"
"Ah, Yes! This is Aria and Ren, and they…"
Relia briefly retold the story of the two saving her life from an assassin. Naturally, Relia left out the part about being from another world.
"They fell from the sky?"
Claire's smile couldn't help but twist in confusion, taking a glance at Aria and Ren, who returned the gaze with a polite smile and a bright smile, respectively.
Releasing some mana, Claire took a peek into their souls, finding nothing abnormal, only two lights, one golden and tenacious, while the other was dark blue and resolute.
'Eyes reveal the soul. Their origins are suspicious, but they seem like good kids.'
Her lovely little sister was still quite young. With such a high noble title and little experience interacting with people beyond her lessons and the family's workers, Claire couldn't help but worry about her.
'Especially with that talent.'
Reaching rank 3 at such a young age was unnatural.
Of course, Claire herself wasn't a good example, considering she was rank 6 while still in her 30s, but that was mainly due to special opportunities and a particular ability she had.
But for Relia, although she had talent and the backing of a Ducal family, even rank 1 was a call for celebration at such a young age.
The universally accepted age to start creating your core and becoming rank 1 was 18 years old.
This was when your body could properly withstand the massive power of a core without breaking down.
But Relia persisted, working until she coughed up blood or collapsed from exhaustion.
She created a core at 14 and spent two years creating her veins at 16, and finally reached rank 3 a couple of weeks ago.
'It was as if she was being chased by something.'
Claire believed it was a normal concern to have for a noble.
To be compared to others was normal for nobility; this was even more so, considering she was part of the 6 great families.
Many nobles worked hard to gain prominence, but most of the time, they fell short, and expectations would be passed on to their children.
It created a vicious cycle of wanting to climb the hierarchy without concern for oneself, a life without enjoyment.
'She must not have wanted to disappoint the family.'
It wasn't that she didn't want to disappoint the family; it was that she didn't want her throat to be slit!
Claire sighed, misunderstanding Relia's hard work.
'This adorable fool.'
She then smiled, grabbing and pulling Relia's cheek, much to her shock,
"S-sister!? There are people!"
"Huu, let them watch… this is for being such an idiot."
"I-idiot!?"
Relia's eyes teared up in embarrassment, realizing that she couldn't escape,
'But she looks happier, or I guess she isn't being chased anymore.'
Claire took a glance at the two other passengers. Ren was staring out the window in a trance as if seeing a different world, while Aria respectfully averted her gaze, not wanting to bother the sisters.
'Could it be because of them?'
Having two friends her age would be beneficial for her, though their backgrounds were unknown; that was also a benefit.
They could be friends for the sake of it, instead of noble prestige, which typical noble friendships were based on.
'And if they become lifelong friends, that's even better.'
Claire continued squeezing Relia's cheeks as the carriage took them to their destination.
…
A large round tower stretched hundreds of meters into the sky, similar to the skyscrapers on Earth.
Though different from those skyscrapers, it didn't have windows and strikingly pulsed out a beautiful green mana from its spire. This green mana then flowed into the large barrier that surrounded the capital.
Ren and Aria took a look around, seeing other towers similar to this far away doing the same thing.
The only difference was that they each pulsed different colored mana, implying a different element.
Claire smiled at their fascination,
"This is the Nature Magic Tower and is the place where I work. Like the other magic towers you see, it provides mana to the barrier above the capital."
Their gazes stared at the tower, which emitted green mana.
Greenery covered the tower; this wasn't placed haphazardly either, there was a harmony in the placement, creating quite a beautiful sight.
With golden eyes that reflected the mana, Aria muttered,
"Multiple elements…"
Claire's eyes glowed in slight surprise as she softly laughed.
'She figured it out already? Hmmm, She's Talented.'
"How impressive, Miss Aria, and you're right, there are multiple elements combined into the light."
When people thought of the name Nature Magic Tower, they would immediately assume that the green mana that flowed at the top was of the [Nature Element].
But that was inherently wrong for two reasons.
Firstly, although they were in theory elements for everything, [Nature Element] hasn't been discovered yet.
This was because there were many things that nature represented,
Weren't the 4 basic elements, fire, water, air, and earth, part of nature as well?
The closest thing to the [Nature Element] was probably the [Plant Element].
Secondly, the purpose of the mana flowing out.
Like the other magic towers, the pulsing mana was clearly helping power the large barrier that was covering the Baeleon.
The purpose of the various manas flowing from the different towers instead of just one large tower was because of the function of the barrier.
It was meant to gather different elements to build a barrier that could block an attack with those elements.
That's why even if the [Nature Element] was discovered, it would be added to the flow of mana at the top of the tower instead of replacing it completely.
The mana pumped into the barrier needed diversity in its elements,
This diversity would allow the barrier to block many elements, making it practically impenetrable.
As Claire finished her explanation, they walked up to the entrance of the tower.
Its doors were tall and wide,
Currently, they were open as hundreds of people entered and left.
But the door was so wide that it didn't seem all that busy.
As they entered, they were met with a luxurious hall that contrasted with the planets that were growing around the place.
Chandeliers were covered in vines that had buds; some of these buds blossomed into beautiful, glowing flowers that acted as lights.
The chairs in the hall looked to be mushrooms and were shaped for comfortable seating.
Nearby, some mages in white coats were in a glass room surrounding a large human-sized plant that looked like a venus fly trap from Earth.
The plant twitched before quickly, snatching one of the mages in its mouth, causing the others to panic or laugh as the mage screamed.
Claire let out a sigh, waving her hand towards the plant, causing it to spit out the mage, who groaned in gratitude.
"T-thank you… Tower Master!?"
The other mages turned in surprise, and others who were walking in the hallway also looked over.
"Ah, it's the tower master!"
"Good morning, Tower Master!"
"The Protrent family brought some gifts for your work yesterday. We left them in your storage."
"For the budget on that project…"
"Tsk, I asked first! Quit trying to cut the line!"
"Cut the line? I submitted it last month!"
"Tower Master, the new seeds you ordered have arrived and are by your lab."
The many mages greeted her, some informing her of the happenings of the tower, while others tried to take the opportunity to ask for more budget for their projects.
Claire smiled as she waved towards them, causing them to respectfully bow.
As the crowd thin Claire turned around and put her hand on her chest in greeting.
"I'm sure you heard, but isn't it appropriate to properly introduce myself?"
Her emerald eyes glowed as an insignia on her chest also glowed with green mana.
Her lips curved into a smile, her blonde hair shimmered with motes of green light.
"I am Grand Mage Claire Aureus, Tower Master of the Nature Magic Tower."
She then spoke with confidence and pride.
"When it comes to healing magic, you won't find anyone better than me in the Empire, and maybe even the continent."