It wasn't just similar. It was identical.
But there was no way this tower could be here, so it had to be a lookalike.
If that was the case, then what on earth was this tower doing here?
"You must be surprised. I was too, at first."
"...Yes. It's my house's watchtower, down to every detail..."
"The fact that it's this similar might mean there's some connection."
"A connection?"
"Shall we go inside?"
"Are you sure?"
"Why not?"
This tower had a door. A wooden door, but it was locked.
Pakira showed me a key and indicated it was the right one.
I opened the tower door.
Immediately, a musty, lukewarm wind blew out. I covered my nose and mouth and grumbled.
"Had you never been inside before?"
"That is correct."
The interior structure was the same too. A spiral staircase led up to a small room, and from there a further climb took you to the top.
The view from the top was... you could barely see the mansion's roof, and that was about it.
That was because this tower was roughly the same height as the mansion's roof.
I gave a bitter laugh—the watchtower wasn't much of a watchtower.
The rooftop was the same size as the real one too. It had an open ceiling but wasn't very spacious.
There was just a single chair.
I suddenly wondered what had become of my house's watchtower.
I knew Mineha had moved all sorts of things in there.
Since a girl was using it, I couldn't go inside.
"Well, well... the view certainly is... that, isn't it," Pakira said, making no effort to hide her disappointment.
Naturally—no matter which direction you looked, all you could see was the mansion's roof. That was pretty underwhelming.
"I think the tower was here first, and the mansion was built around it."
"Hmm. That does seem likely. So then, what about the inside?"
"Completely identical."
"Hmm. All that remains is the room, then."
"...Room...?"
I racked my memory. Did the watchtower in my house even have a room?
It had been ages since I'd climbed up there.
Pakira unlocked the room's door.
The room was thick with dust, and all manner of junk was scattered about. There were wooden chests piled up, scrolls coated in dust, and various statues and paintings.
"*Cough, cough, cough, cough*—"
"Th-this is dreadful."
Unable to bear it, Pakira threw open the window. Or rather, it wouldn't open, so she smashed it with her staff. Good grief.
Sunlight streamed in and a breeze followed. The dust was truly awful.
It took a good while to clear most of it away.
I looked around the room again.
"There's quite a lot in here."
Wooden chests. Scrolls. Stone statues. Paintings. They were all jumbled together—this was completely a storage room.
I tried using the Relic [Wheel of Fortune].
Hmm—reaction... a wall? Wha—? The wall was glowing yellow.
Yellow. Yellow... yellow. Yeah, figures.
Ahh, yellow. Super rare. That never means anything good.
"What is it?" Pakira asked.
"Hmm."
I gave it a knock. Hmm. Just an ordinary wall.
Still, this one wall was pure white. Only this one—the rest was old stonework.
This single section was perfectly white. Way too suspicious.
"What's wrong with that wall?"
"Well, ah—I just realized—"
Pakira's face was very close. A single lock of white hair mixed into her green.
Fluffy white cat ears. Translucent, fair skin.
Beautiful, glittering jade eyes. Soft pink lips, lustrous and lovely.
"What is it?"
"Oh, no, it's just... that."
At the very bottom of the wall—the far-right edge of it—was glowing green.
I crouched down and touched that part. This section was definitely not wall.
When I pressed lightly, it slid inward, revealing a hollow space, and the green light vanished.
"............"
I'd been thinking this for a while, but had [Wheel of Fortune] been evolving?
Anyway, I reached into the hollow space.
Nothing inside. But near the top was something like a switch. I pressed it.
*Clack-clack-clack-clack*—a mechanical sound echoed from above.
"Wof, what did you do!?"
Pakira's voice shot up in alarm.
"What do you mean? I just pressed a switch."
"Look at the wall!"
Wall? Still hearing *clack-clack-clack*, I raised my head.
I was speechless. The white wall was spinning through block-like segments at dizzying speed.
Looking closer, each block was rotating—they were flipping over.
Gradually, images formed across the wall. It was a bit like dominoes toppling to reveal a picture.
What was this image? The hull of a capsized ship?
"This resembles... the Ark Ruins on the twelfth floor of the city's dungeon..."
"The same thing is on the twelfth floor?"
"Y-yes. It bears a resemblance."
The Ark Ruins... why were they painted on this tower's wall?
Once every section had transformed, text appeared at the end. Ancient script.
"...Let me see—'The Legacy of Hyarn. An unending dream. To those who would reach it: bear the sacred seal and ascend the second tower'... A sacred seal?"
"Like this."
*Click*—Pakira pulled something from the wall.
In that instant, *clack-clack-clack-clack-clack*, the images reverted to the original white wall.
What Pakira had extracted was shaped like a round medallion.
On its face was a unique pattern—not lettering, but an intricate design. From the color, the material looked like copper.
Wait a second—I felt like I'd seen this pattern somewhere before.
"Is this the sacred seal?"
"So it appears. Here." Pakira handed it to me.
"Huh?"
"It's yours."
"Are you sure?"
"It's far from adequate, but consider it a token of gratitude. Besides, the second tower is near your home, isn't it?"
"Probably... I think so."
There might be other towers, but I couldn't very well avoid investigating the one at home.
Pakira murmured softly.
"The Legacy of Hyarn..."
"Do you know about it?"
"'An unending dream.' I seem to recall seeing that phrase in some book long ago. I can't remember the details. However, if the Ark Ruins are involved, things could get quite complicated."
Pakira twitched her cat ears and swished both tails—one long, one short.
"...Is something wrong?"
"I don't know if 'wrong' is the right word. The twelfth floor is a megalithic complex, and the Ark Ruins in particular are a complete mystery. Nobody understands why that floor contains a colossal stone slab shaped like the hull of a sunken ship."
"It's made of stone, then. So why is it called an 'Ark'?"
"Nobody knows that either."
"But the city's dungeon... it's been closed down, hasn't it?"
"That's right. We'll have to wait until the investigation team returns."
Which meant a while yet.
Either way—I wanted to investigate my home's tower once I got back. The mystery was nagging at me.
The problem was Mineha, though.
On the way back, a voice called out from behind me.
"Hey. You."
I looked around. Nobody else was here. Me?
"What is it?"
I stopped and turned around. Two guys.
One was lanky and the other was fat. To put it plainly: lanky and fat.
Their outfits were... well, there was nothing particularly noteworthy.
The vibe was unmistakable—henchman A and henchman B.
The lanky one, A, spoke up.
"Y-you just came out of Torquetam's place, didn't you?"
"That's right. What about it?"
"You—what business did you have with them? And what's with that bag?"
The fat one, B, glared and snarled at me.
Ugh. This was a headache. What was with these two clowns?
"Hey! Don't just stand there—answer me!"
"H-hey, Nopo. Let's just kill the bastard already. A pest like him."
"Y-yeah. Deb! He's a pest that's gotten close to our Torquetam!"
Pest? Lanky and Fat drew their swords—a longsword and a thick blade.
Swords? Shouldn't they be carrying knives?
And seriously? This wasn't some back alley. We were on a busy street in broad daylight. People were watching from a distance, some even rubbernecking.
Drawing weapons out here? What were they thinking? They'd get arrested.
Plus, my hands were full of bags. Lupinus had loaded me down with sweets as a thank-you on the way out. The apple on top was one Riv had given me.
"Dieee!"
"Take that, you peeeest!"
Lanky and Fat charged. The momentum was there, at least. Just the momentum.
Well, this was a problem. Both my hands were occupied. Oh well.
I dodged Lanky's sluggish longsword and deflected Fat's slow, heavy blade with a spinning back kick.
My witch training had really built up my core strength.
"Buhiii!?"
My hands might be full, but my legs weren't.
"You bastard!"
Lanky flinched and stepped back. I used Fat as a springboard and leaped.
Fat hit the ground flat.
"You used me as a stepping stoooone!?" Lanky shrieked. "Guh, you little—"
I drove my heel straight down onto the crown of Lanky's head.
A direct hit to the skull. Lanky crumpled to the ground.
Somehow, I'd taken down the lanky one and the fat one.
Seriously. What was the deal with those two?