It was the 10th day since [My Home Tower] had been transferred to Earth.
"Haah..."
Tricia sighed deeply with a slightly annoyed expression.
Actually, the reason wasn't anything special.
Just the day before, they were about to hold a meeting on "how to bring Earth food into the tower," but...
Due to government intervention issues, the meeting itself had fizzled out!
And now, it seemed awkward to push for another meeting right away.
The response to the government wasn't finished yet, so it was premature to pursue both matters simultaneously.
Thus, Tricia was stuck in limbo, just sighing for no good reason.
For reference, although she is technically a "genderless" being, her appearance is clearly feminine, so there's no issue with referring to her as "she."
On this matter, Lilithis had once performed a clear assessment—
Wait, let's take a look at what happened in the past.
■ (Flashback Begins) ■
Long ago, in the days when tiger beastmen smoked cigarettes made of mana in Eriel...
Tricia was having a "conversation" with Lilithis.
"Huhuhu...♡"
"...Ungh..."
Lilithis, seductively licking her lips while staring at Tricia...!
Tricia, sitting stiffly in a tense posture...!
Lilithis was sitting across from her.
...with a psychological assessment form spread out.
"Why are you so tense? I just want to do a little psychological evaluation."
"I never thought I'd have to take a psychological test even here..."
"Succubi are a race specialized in reading minds. I pride myself on being the best counselor among them."
The psychological counseling proceeded with Lilithis asking questions and Tricia answering.
The topic of the consultation was this:
〈Should the genderless Tricia be treated as male or female?〉
After endless questions and a considerable amount of time...
Finally, Lilithis, having grasped Tricia's psychological state, revealed the results.
"Better than I expected. Emotionally, there's no particular issue."
"Right?"
"And about your mental gender..."
"Huh? Why that?"
"Surprisingly, the results show you're about 80% mentally female."
"What...?"
"For example, you have strong maternal instincts, when someone's in trouble you try to comfort their emotions first, and your preferred position is defense rather than offense..."
"Wait. That last one sounds a bit strange."
"Your combat style is rather defensive. Is there a problem?"
"...Oh, it's nothing. I must have misunderstood."
After this incident, tower residents began treating Tricia as female without much confusion, just as they had before.
In the process, they naturally started dressing Tricia in cute women's clothes, which led to...
The creation of a forbidden book called [Tricia's Sexy Photo Collection]!!!
Super exclusive secret just for you!!!
The legendary photo collection is hidden at-!!!
"Stop it, you jerk!"
CLANG!!!!
■ (Flashback Ends) ■
...Back to the present, Tricia was still sighing, lost in thought.
*I can't believe there are so many Climbers right in front of me, but not a single trustworthy person...*
Tricia was sitting right on the red carpet.
Her wings drooped, dragging on the floor, and her face showed slight annoyance with puffed cheeks.
The tower maids looked at Tricia's sudden behavior with questioning eyes.
And the Climbers around were murmuring...
..."Climbers"?
Honestly, by now everyone should have noticed something strange.
The place where she was sitting was—the lobby of the 1st floor of My Home Tower!
That's right!!
This attention-seeking angel had been sitting on the 1st floor lobby floor since morning!!!
Naturally, the presence of Tricia descending to the 1st floor was chaos incarnate for the Climbers!
"...Isn't that the [Tower Administrator]?"
"She looks exactly like in the videos?"
"Shh! Everyone be quiet! I don't know why, but she looks really upset!"
There was a reason the Climbers recognized her immediately.
Crow had mentioned her appearance before, and Tricia's image frequently appeared in advertisements constantly playing on the 1st floor lobby walls.
So for Climbers who frequently visited My Home Tower, the appearance of the [Tower Administrator] had become common knowledge!
Of course, this didn't apply to muscle-brained Climbers who only listened to information they wanted to hear and ignored everything else.
The situation was somewhat puzzling for the tower maids as well.
"Why is Lady Tricia acting like this...?"
"Don't worry! She must have something in mind!"
However, to the maids, Tricia was the greatest deity in the world and an object of faith, so they calmly observed the situation without making hasty moves.
Anyway, it was natural for Climbers to be in shock when a transcendent being they had only seen in videos openly appeared on the 1st floor.
"Wow... I want to take a picture, but my phone doesn't work inside the tower..."
"More importantly, why did she appear?"
Given that the [Tower Administrator] had appeared, Climbers couldn't bring themselves to approach her.
Some Climbers even fled outside the tower.
The expressions of the remaining Climbers were a mix of confusion, awe, and inexplicable fear.
Tricia was looking at those Climbers indifferently.
Right now, she was—peering into the Climbers' "souls."
With her unique ability, she could roughly read good and evil, tendencies, and values by seeing the color of souls.
So Tricia was planning to attempt conversation if she found someone with a "pure soul," but...
*This person has a murky gray, that one has a dark brown... I don't see anyone with a pure soul like Crow from before.*
There wasn't a single person who met Tricia's standard of a "pure soul."
Nevertheless, having come all the way down to the 1st floor, she felt it would be a waste to return empty-handed, so she decided to wait a little longer.
------
【Outside the Tower / Downtown Seoul】
The appearance of Tricia caused chaos outside the tower as well.
Just moments ago, a Climber who had rushed out of the tower shouted loudly enough for everyone around to hear.
"The [Tower Administrator] is sitting in the 1st floor lobby-!!!"
All eyes turned to him, and a government security officer questioned him.
"...What did you say? The [Tower Administrator] appeared directly on the 1st floor!?"
Security officer Kim Ha-cheong's voice rose about two octaves higher than usual.
At first, he naturally thought it was nonsense.
But when other Climbers who came out started giving the same testimony...
Finally, a government-affiliated Climber who couldn't stand it anymore went in to check for himself, and as soon as he returned, he shouted.
"It's true! The [Tower Administrator] is really sitting in the middle of the lobby! On the floor!!"
Hearing this, Kim Ha-cheong clutched his head.
"Why do these things always happen on my shift...!"
Just ten days ago, My Home Tower was just a "new tower."
But the situation changed rapidly.
The world was turned upside down because of a legendary recovery item distributed in the tower—[Holy Water of the Majestic Angel].
And at the center of it all was the absolute being, the [Tower Administrator].
The government had been acting cautiously.
They had never directly contacted the Administrator and were meticulously coordinating contact methods and negotiation personnel to avoid even the slightest mistake in the negotiation process.
In the midst of this, all the holy water being sold in the 12th floor market disappeared the day before.
When government Climbers who had been monitoring the situation urgently inquired, they received only one answer:
It would be sold again soon, so don't worry.
That statement... was even more unsettling.
And today, the final blow came!
The [Tower Administrator] had "descended" to the 1st floor!
Kim Ha-cheong immediately reported the situation, and the government responded much faster than expected.
What if withdrawing the holy water yesterday was a preliminary measure for this meeting?
It felt like an unspoken pressure from the tower, not even giving the government time to make a move.
It might have been an overreaction, but somehow it felt like "if not now, there would never be another chance."
The government's decision was swift.
Despite less than 10 minutes having passed since Kim Ha-cheong reported the situation, the government promptly issued an emergency order.
▶ Government Emergency Instructions ◀
- Attempt contact with the [Tower Administrator] immediately
- Convey intention to negotiate exclusive purchase of holy water and propose meeting schedule
- Report results after ensuring delivery of this information
Kim Ha-cheong froze the moment he received the order.
"...Are they crazy? Why are they telling me to deliver this...?"
A heavy responsibility weighed on his neck.
If he failed, it could end his career.
But at the same time, if they missed this opportunity, the government might never be able to contact the [Tower Administrator] again.
In the end, he had only one choice.
"Let's go in now. If we fail because we're even a little late, we're dead meat."
Lee Won-cheong, the security officer on duty with him, urged him to hurry.
As it happened, Lee Won-cheong had received the same order.
"Why... why us of all people..."
"Because we're Climbers. We're the only security officers who can access the 1st floor right now."
"...Even so... we're talking about the [Tower Administrator]...!"
"We'll find out when we get there."
The two security officers, bearing a heavier responsibility than anyone else, quickly entered the tower.
And Tricia, who was essentially the cause of all this commotion...
"What are you doing?"
"People watching."
"What? Let me join."
...was sitting on the lobby floor with Rukki, "people watching."
