Chapter 133

CHAPTER 1 The Three Young Sages Assemble The New Year’s magecraft dedication performed at the royal castle of Ridill was a huge hit. The people were treated to the brilliant flames of Bradford Firestone, the Artillery Mage, and the wondrous tones of Alteria chimes created by Monica Everett, the Silent Witch, and they showered the Seven Sages with praise. Now that the dedication was over, the kingdom’s highest mages were waiting in the Jade Chamber—a space open only to the Sages and the king himself. They would remain there on standby until the next ceremony commenced. The Barrier Mage Louis Miller, seated at the chamber’s round table, rested his cheek on his hand. “What an astonishing display we had this year! Truly unprecedented!” he said, his voice bright and cheery. Then he pushed his monocle up with one fingertip and plastered a thin smile on his face. “After all, we were missing one of the Sages, and another passed out while standing up!” The Sage who had passed out while standing up—Monica—buried her face in her hands. “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry!” she repeated between sobs. Monica had sworn an oath to do her best to be brave around other people. That was part of why she’d pushed herself to produce the Alteria chimes for the magecraft dedication a little while ago. …It had all gone so well. Up to a certain point, anyway. Monica needed to do a massive amount of calculations to make the chimes ring beautifully. And so, while she was using the spell, she’d been able to forget all about how many people were watching. The problem occurred after she finished. As she dispelled her Alteria chimes, she found herself suddenly engulfed by raucous applause and cries of adulation. Realizing how many people had their eyes on her, Monica began to panic. It got so bad, she actually managed to pass out while still standing upright. According to Louis, she’d made a strange sort of pffhhh noise, and her eyes had rolled back into their sockets. Bradford noticed her lose consciousness, and he and Louis held on to her from either side, keeping her upright and helping drag her away so that no one would notice. To make matters worse, one of the Sages—the Witch of Thorns—was late and completely absent. Mary Harvey had used her illusions to fake his presence. In the end, one of the Sages had been an illusion, and another had passed out mid-ceremony. It was indeed an unprecedented state of affairs. The people had lauded the Seven Sages’ magecraft as a miracle, but for the Sages, it was a much bigger miracle that they’d managed to keep the crowd from noticing their ridiculous situation. Right now, all six of them, excluding the Witch of Thorns, were seated at the round table. They had assigned seats that ran from the room’s entrance clockwise in this order: the Starseer Witch, a beauty of indeterminate age with her silvery hair tied back; the Artillery Mage, a large man with black hair and a beard; the Gem Mage, an elderly man adorned head to toe with jewels; the Abyss Shaman, a gloomy man with purple hair; the absent Witch of Thorns; the Barrier Mage, his chestnut hair in a braid; and finally, the short-statured Silent Witch. Mary served as the facilitator of the group. She looked at Monica and Louis to her right, and gave a gentle smile. “Now, now, Louie. Don’t be so grumpy. My dear Monica’s Alteria chimes were truly a sight to behold!” Emanuel Darwin, the Gem Mage, quickly added his own praise to Mary’s. “Indeed, indeed. Not everyone can use large-scale magecraft like that at the drop of a hat! Well done, Lady Silent Witch!” The man spoke quickly in an insincere, theatrical tone. Then, as though just remembering something, he pounded his palm with a fist. “Ah, yes. I heard you and Prince Felix slayed a cursed dragon. Truly remarkable! As a fellow Sage, my chest swells with pride.” “Umm… Well…,” Monica stammered. “First the Black Dragon of Worgan, and now the Cursed Dragon of Rehnberg! You are a hero of this kingdom, a slayer of two great and wicked dragons!” His attitude and heaps of praise had an obvious motive—he wanted Monica on his side. Emanuel was a vehement supporter of Duke Clockford and the second prince. Among the Seven Sages, Louis backed the first prince, Emanuel the second. The other five Sages were mostly neutral. If even one more of their number decided to support the second prince, it would massively tilt the scales. And now that Emanuel had heard about how Monica fought a cursed dragon with the second prince, he wanted her in his camp. H-how am I supposed to turn him down in this situation…? she wondered desperately. “To tell the truth,” said Emanuel, lowering his voice to a whisper, “I’ve been doing some research on imbuing a magical item with a reflective barrier. What do you think? If you’d like, Lady Silent Witch, we can discuss the specifics over lunch—” “Lord Gem Mage,” interrupted Louis, his voice cold. Playing with his long braid, he shot a glance at Emanuel. “Reflective barriers consume a terrific amount of mana. Imbuing a magical item with one would require a very high mana capacity, would it not?” “Ah, you’re curious, are you? …I suppose the completion of such an item would put you in a vulnerable position. Mm, yes.” Reflective barriers were just what they sounded like—barriers that could send an enemy’s magecraft back at them. They were extremely powerful, but extremely difficult to use, and thus uncommon. The capacity of such barriers was rated according to a class system; Monica had once heard that Louis was capable of using up to class two. These could reflect most attack spells. But if a magical item could be made with the same effect, then it was logical that some would think Louis—whose barriers were his calling card—might find himself in a precarious position. Not Monica, though. She knew that his talents went well beyond the strength of his barriers. Louis was perfectly aware of this, too; his confident smile never faltered. “If you were able to create such an item, I would be overjoyed. It would mean less work for me.” He chuckled at Emanuel’s jab, then shrugged dramatically. “But you need a great quantity of mana to make an item like that, right? I know your capacity is rather low, Lord Gem Mage, and I worry the strain may cause you to drop dead from mana deficiency— Ah, I apologize. I meant to say that I’m worried you might damage your health.” Emanuel grimaced. He had the lowest mana capacity among the Sages, and he was rather self-conscious about it. Monica, stressed by the charged air between the two men, put one hand on her aching stomach. “I’m surprised Thorns still hasn’t shown his face,” said Bradford, stroking his beard. “I thought for sure he’d be here before the ceremony.” On the first day of the new year, once the royal procession and magecraft dedication were finished at the gates, a ceremony was held in the throne room. The Sages were currently waiting for this event to begin. Everyone figured the Witch of Thorns would come back during the interim, but there had been no sign of him. Mary put a hand to her cheek. “Yes, I’m a little worried about him,” she said gently. “Monica, my dear, would you mind taking a little walk and looking for him? I’m sure he’s somewhere in the gardens.” Monica was struggling to endure the room’s awkward atmosphere, so she nodded without a second thought. Mary smiled sweetly, then addressed Ray Albright, the Abyss Shaman, who had been snoozing, head down, on the table the entire time. “Would you go, too, Ray dear? Have a walk, soak in the sunlight, and take your mind off things.” Ray sluggishly lifted his head and stared into space with empty eyes. A creepy smile appeared on his lips. “A walk… Just the two of us… A walk alone with a girl. They call that a walking date, right? Ah, a walking date. How wholesome. I, a shaman, feel loved in a wholesome way. How nice. Yes, how wonderful.”