Charlotte stared at the empty air where my construct of the reimagined Nine Circles had glowed, her face pale, her hands visibly trembling. She, a 9-Circle Archmage and Master of the Tower, understood the implications far better than anyone else alive. I had not just given her a few new spells; I had handed her the schematics for an entirely new engine of magic, rendering millennia of established theory obsolete.

She finally sank back into her chair, letting out a long, shaky breath. "My gods, Arthur," she whispered, her voice cracking slightly. "I... I will need time to process this. The Tower... this will rewrite everything. It will take years to fully codify and implement."

"I know," I said gently. "But it's a start. It's a foundation for the mages of the future to build upon, to give them a fighting chance against what is to come."

She nodded, her mind clearly still reeling from the sheer scale of the gift. She took a deep, steadying drink from a nearby mug – cold coffee, by the look of it – and visibly composed herself, the pragmatic Tower Master slotting back into place over the awestruck mage. "A gift of that magnitude... it indebts the Tower, and the entire Slatemark Empire, to you in a way I cannot even begin to calculate." Her sharp jade eyes narrowed slightly, the shrewd negotiator returning. "Which, I suspect, brings us to your 'business'. You did not just come here to drop a magical revolution on my desk and chat. What is the other reason you are here, Arthur?"

I smiled. She always did get straight to the point. "It is a smaller request," I assured her. "But a personal one. I am here about another genius, one who needs a different kind of nurturing. My daughter, Stella."

Charlotte's eyebrows, which had just returned to their normal position, shot right back up. "Stella?" she repeated, clearly surprised. "Arthur, I have read all the public reports on her, and Alastor has bragged extensively in private. The girl is a certified, off-the-charts prodigy, no doubt. Her non-mana-based patents are already causing waves in every corporate R&D department on the continent. But... that is the very issue, is it not? She has no mana affinity. This is the Tower of Magic. How can she possibly learn here? What could we possibly offer her, other than a very expensive library card?"

Her concern was genuine, her worry practical. "She does not need to learn to cast," I explained, leaning forward. "She needs to learn magic's principles. Its physics. Its limitations. Its fundamental interactions with the physical world. She is already reverse-engineering complex magical phenomena using only mundane science, but she's hit a wall. She is working from the outside, with limited, black-boxed data. I want her to have access to your resources. Your libraries, yes, but also your labs. Your brightest theoretical minds. She needs to see the systems she is trying to innovate outside of, up close. She needs to understand the engine before she can build a better one."

Charlotte frowned, tapping a thoughtful rhythm on her desk. "The archives, certainly. The theoretical forums. That is easily granted. But the practical labs... Arthur, you must understand, this entire Tower is a high-energy environment. It is saturated with raw, ambient mana, often in chaotic, fluctuating states from experiments. For a non-affinity individual, even with top-of-the-line shielding, it could be hazardous. And... to be blunt, the students here..." She sighed. "They are the best, but they are also ambitious, competitive, and often, cruel. A non-mana user, especially the famous daughter of the Second Hero, would be… isolated. A target for everything from simple bullying to more serious, politically motivated 'accidents'."

"I've already accounted for that," I said, appreciating her candor. "Both her safety and her experimental needs." I paused, then decided the direct approach was best. "I have assigned my Lich King, Erebus, as her permanent guardian."

Charlotte, who had been in the process of taking another sip of coffee, froze, her hand halfway to her mouth. She slowly, deliberately, set the mug down, her jade eyes wide with utter, unadulterated shock. "You… you what?" she finally managed, her voice barely a whisper. "Your Lich King? The Ancient Undead that shattered a Calamity at Avalon? The being classified as Low Radiant? You are assigning... that... as a... a bodyguard for a first-year student?"

"He will keep her safe," I confirmed calmly. "He will remain cloaked, bonded to her, at all times. He will ensure her absolute physical and magical safety from any 'academic rivalries' or... other threats. And," I added, delivering the final piece that solved her other problem, "he is a Radiant-rank entity with a massive, perfectly stable internal power core. He can serve as a direct, external mana battery for any experiments Stella wishes to conduct, allowing her to test her theories against an active power source without ever needing an affinity of her own."

Charlotte stared at me, speechless, for a full ten seconds. Then she let out a low, breathless whistle, leaning back in her chair and running a hand through her vibrant red hair. "A Radiant-rank guardian who also doubles as a portable, divine-level battery… My gods, Arthur. You really, truly, do not do things by halves, do you?" She shook her head, a look of grudging, amazed respect on her face. "That... certainly handles all my technical and security objections in the most ridiculously, overwhelmingly absolute way possible. Very well. She will be safe, and she will have a power source. I will grant her full access to the archives and labs up to the 180th floor, effective immediately. She can... learn under my personal direction, if she wishes. It would be fascinating."

"Thank you, Master. That is all I ask."

"Good." She tapped her console, the business seemingly concluded in her mind. A moment of comfortable silence passed as she processed the sheer magnitude of the two requests I had just made. Then, her expression shifted, the weariness of her station returning, but mixed with a new, different kind of planning. "Now," she said, "while my entire life's work is busy turning upside down... I had a question for you. A separate matter."

She brought up a new file, the image of a focused, dark-haired woman appearing. Clara Lopez. "I am planning to step down as Tower Master soon," she said. "This job, and the new, world-changing curriculum you just handed me... it is too much for one person. I am tired. I was thinking of nominating Clara as my successor. She is High Radiant, disciplined, and her administrative skills are second to none."

I nodded, considering the candidate. "Clara is an excellent choice," I agreed honestly. "Diligent, brilliant, and fair. The Tower would be in good hands." I paused, my gaze turning serious, meeting hers. "But I would advise you to wait, Master. Hold off on the announcement."

Her gaze sharpened instantly. "The war?"

"The war," I confirmed. "Alyssara is gone. But the 7 Demon Lords are still out there. The Demon Overlord is still a looming shadow. The real fight is just beginning. The world needs stability right now, and you, in this chair, are that stability. We cannot afford a power transition at a place this critical until the skies are truly clear."

Charlotte let out a long, weary sigh, the weight of my words settling on her. "The war. Of course. Always another war." She leaned back, the tension seeming to drain from her, replaced by a teasing, almost mischievous light in her jade eyes – a familiar tactic of hers to bat away the gloom. "Fine, fine. I will keep the dusty old chair. But you know… Clara is not even the best candidate. Not really."

"Oh?" I asked, sensing the probe.

"My own niece," Charlotte said, her smile widening into a sly grin. "Your fiancée. Rose. She's the best choice. She is Peak Radiant now, same as you were before your… ascension. Her creativity, her innate, conceptual understanding of life magic, her raw power… she would be a revolutionary Tower Master. She is far stronger and has more raw potential than Clara. Why not push for her? Put your thumb on the scale? It would benefit your family. Benefit you."

I could not help but smile, shrugging off the gentle, political jab. "Rose's path is her own. She would despise this job. She is happy in her gardens, running her company, healing the world one piece at a time." I met her gaze, letting her see the simple, unvarnished truth. "And you know I do not care about placing my 'people' in positions of power. I have no interest in that kind of influence."

Charlotte laughed, a genuine, warm sound that filled the ancient office. "I know, I know. That is what is so damned terrifying, and so… infuriating… about you, Arthur. You do not try to gather power, and yet, here you are." She gestured with her hands, as if encompassing the entire global stage. "A Divine-rank Hero, fresh from killing a god. Allied with Lucifer and Ren Kagu. And let's not forget your... 'attachments'."

Her eyes twinkled as she ticked them off on her fingers. "Betrothed to the Crown Princess of this very Slatemark Empire. Betrothed to the Saintess and Second Princess of the Creighton lineage. Betrothed to the Vakrt Heiress, who happens to be my niece. Betrothed to Marchioness Reika, a Peak Radiant swordmaster in her own right. Betrothed to the Princess of Mount Hua Sect, the most powerful force in the East." She shook her head, her smile wry. "You will have the entire world in your palm soon, Arthur, whether you want it or not."

"I just want a quiet life, Master," I said, standing up. The conversation, and my business here, was concluded. "You know that."

"The quiet life is the one thing you will probably never have, Arthur," she said, her expression softening, a trace of genuine, almost sad, affection in her eyes. "But good luck trying."

"I'll keep trying." I turned towards the empty air of her office. "Let me know what Stella needs. And... thank you, Charlotte. For everything."

Before she could respond, I tore a clean Grey seam through her meticulously crafted wards and stepped through it, leaving her alone in the sudden silence of her tower, her world, and the entire future of magic, fundamentally changed forever.

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