[V10C14] More of a Sage than the Seven Sages

Silas Page the Dragon Slayer Mage was perplexed at the scene before him.

“——So I tried changing the fertilizer blend to give the vegetables more vitality, but that just made them turn out watery and tasteless. It didn’t work very well with fruits either. Then I tried adjusting the soil composition, and now the new fertilizer works better sometimes. The field of agriculture is just so profound, don’t you think? Oh, did you want a turnip?”

The Fifth Thorn Witch, Raul Roseberg, pulled a turnip from his pocket and held it out. Silas glared back with a frown.

“…No, because we just ate. This is the third time you told that story, and the fifth time you tried to give me a vegetable.”

“Is that so? Um, then how about… Oh, do you need to go to the bathroom? I can show you the way!”

“Sixth time for that.”

This excessively handsome and friendly Raul had been ranting nonstop about toilets and vegetables for a while now. And whenever he ran out of things to say, he pulled a vegetable from his pocket or offered to show Silas the toilets.

(Is he testing me or something…?)

Silas glanced over to see the reactions of the other Sages.

The three former Sages——the Thunder Mage (Silas’s master), Second Abyss Shaman, and Aquamancy Mage——were chatting about various matters regarding the Mage Association. Silas wanted nothing more than to join their conversation instead.

Meanwhile, the three of the current Sages——the Starseer Witch, Barrier Mage, and Silent Witch——were absent from the table.

The Third Abyss Shaman stared gloomily at Silas while mumbling, “Struggle… struggle…” as the Artillery Mage fiddled around with the magical device Silas had invented.

“Hey, Dragon Slayer, can we try activating this thing?” Bradford interjected, holding up the magical device.

Silas attempted to consent, since he was looking for any excuse to escape the endless talk about toilets and vegetables, however…

“H-Hold on just one second! Bradford-san! Bradford-san, come on, let’s eat some vegetables!”

Raul interrupted with a shout, pulling out a carrot in each hand.

Bradford returned with a dubious look.

“Thorn Witch, are you hiding something?”

“No, of course not!”

Raul’s eyes were swimming, and he had sweat pouring down his face. He promptly asked the nearby Ray for help.

“Hey, Ray! I’m not suspicious at all, right?”

“Hehe… Hehehe… I have no idea what’s going on, but I love it when handsome people are in trouble… Yes… yes… struggle more…”

Raul frowned at Ray’s refusal to help and started nibbling on one of the carrots.

Silas found himself wondering if all the Sages were like this, as a knock came from the door. He assumed that one of the absent Sages had returned, but it turned out to be someone else.

Entering the room was a young man dressed in a flamboyant crimson outfit, adorned with gold embroidery. Many would find such an outfit ostentatious, if not for the man wearing it. Since he was equally handsome, the clothes ended up being a perfect fit.

With a sway of his vivid golden locks, the young man put on a charming smile.

“Excuse me for interrupting. I really wanted to greet the new Sage in person.”

The young man spoke in a dignified tone, prompting Raul to suddenly lift his face with sparkling eyes, as if his savior had appeared.

“The Mysterious Noble…!”

What in the world was he talking about? Everyone in the room, including Silas, gave Raul a suspicious glance. However, Raul quickly returned to his normal cheerfulness and casually patted Silas on the shoulder.

“Hey, Silas, look who it is! This sparkling Mysterious Noble is none other than the Second Prince of our country, Felix Arc Ridill!”

Second Prince Felix Arc Ridill. Silas had never been well-versed in politics, but even he knew the name.

The prince had a brief moment in the limelight as the hero who brought down a curse dragon, but then he relinquished his right to the throne and secluded himself in his own territory.

(Why is a retired prince like him in the palace?)

Silas pondered this doubt until he noticed Felix approaching him.

He quickly began to panic. Not only did Silas know nothing about the proper etiquette for dealing with royalty, but he belatedly realized that it was impolite to address someone of higher status while sitting down.

Silas quickly rose from his seat as Felix tilted his head slightly and asked, “I take it you are the new Sage?”

“…Uh, yeah. I’m Silas Page, the Dragon Slayer Mage.”

“Dragon Slayer? Since you are the Thunder Mage’s disciple, I had assumed you would prefer to be the second Thunder Mage. Did you choose that alias yourself?”

“Yeah. It represents my resolve as a mage to slaughter every last dragon.”

Silas panicked again, realizing that it was probably inappropriate to use the word ‘slaughter’ in front of royalty.

But rather than reprimanding Silas for his lack of manners, Felix smiled as if he found the lack of respect to be a breath of fresh air.

“Page-dono… Or perhaps I should call you Lord Page?”

“I don’t have a noble title or anything…”

“In that case, Dragon Slayer Mage-dono. Ridill has been suffering from many dragon disasters in recent years, so I am always glad to see veteran dragon slayers such as yourself. By the way, where might you be from?”

“Lugaroa.”

Silas answered the question, but his hometown of Lugaroa was a very small town in eastern Ridill. He understood that there was no way the prince actually knew about it.

Unexpectedly, the handsome prince responded with an apologetic frown.

“…The stampede of earth dragons was a tragic event. I don’t know much about it because I was still young at the time, but I remember feeling terrified when I heard the news.”

This slightly surprised Silas. The prince appeared to be around twenty years old, and the earth dragon incident happened sixteen years ago. He was clearly too young to remember anything.

(I guess the prince has to study about small towns in the countryside.)

Dragon disasters were a common occurrence in eastern Ridill, and the incident in Lugaroa was one of many such tragedies.

Sixteen years ago, a herd of earth dragons rampaged through the small town of Lugaroa. By the time the dragon knights arrived from the capital, everything was already over. The town was in ruins and there were countless casualties, including some of Silas’s friends.

As Silas recalled the events with a grimace, Felix continued his questions in a quiet voice.

“Is that why you call yourself the Dragon Slayer Mage?”

“…It’s part of it.”

Felix nodded and shifted his gaze slightly. It seems the magical tool in the Artillery Mage’s hands had caught his attention.

“I heard a rumor that you independently developed a magical tool for detecting the presence of dragons.”

“…Yeah. It’s still incomplete though.”

“Fantastic. Could you please tell me more about it? The territory I govern suffers from many maritime incidents due to water dragons. I would love to hear your insights on underwater dragon detection.”

“Underwater, huh…”

To tell the truth, the performance of Silas’s device fell sharply when employed underwater. This was because underwater detection possessed several inherent challenges.

Silas began explaining his perspective on underwater detection and the difficulty of the task. Meanwhile, Felix offered possible improvements while citing several research papers.

This forced Silas to revise his evaluation of this prince even further.

(W-Whoa! This prince… Is he more of a Sage than the Seven Sages?)

Silas glanced at the Sage who could only talk about toilets and vegetables. The aforementioned Fifth Thorn Witch was saying, “His Highness has always been really smart.” A profoundly unintelligent comment.

On the other hand, the Third Abyss Shaman was muttering, “Stop it, you’re obstructing my view with sparkles… My eyes, I’m going blind…” while covering his face.

Silas could not help but wonder if these two were really Sages or if this was just an elaborate prank. Meanwhile, Felix made a modest proposal.

“If you are interested, would you consider a collaboration on the research of dragon detection tools?”

“Well, that’s… I appreciate the offer, but, I mean…”

“If you will allow me to be more direct, I want to invest in your research, and I am willing to provide the necessary facilities.”

This was an incredibly enticing offer, since the development of magical tools was very expensive. Until now, Silas had been getting by with the bounties from dragon hunts, so gaining a sponsor would undoubtedly accelerate his research.

However, good deals always came with a catch. Dealing with royalty brought along the risk of being entangled in power struggles.

Noticing Silas’s hesitance, Felix put on a gentle smile.

“There’s no need to rush your answer. Feel free to take your time deciding.”

Silas responded with a slight nod, and simultaneously, the door to the room burst open. The one responsible was a petite girl with light brown hair——Silent Witch Monica Everett.

＊　＊　＊

(Raul-sama, Ike! Cyril-sama and Thule are okay!)

…Of course, Monica could not say that out loud, so she clenched her fists and signaled to Raul and Isaac with a wink.

The average onlooker would have only seen her awkwardly closing both eyes, but her intentions seemed to have gotten through.

Raul tilted his head and made a circle with his thumb and index finger, so Monica returned the circle gesture, followed by a vigorous nod.

(Thank goodness… I can finally relax…)

As Monica let out a sigh of relief in the doorway, someone placed a hand on her shoulder, as if offering congratulations.

(…Huh?)

Both Raul and Isaac were inside the room. In that case, who did this hand belong to?

Monica slowly turned around. The person behind her was Melissa, who had her eyes gleaming like a snake before its prey.

Melissa licked her bright red lips, then leaned in to whisper into Monica’s ear.

“Nice one, Moni-Moni. Good job on stalling the Second Prince until my arrival.”

Monica found herself emitting a “Gyeeh!” sound from deep within her throat, not wholly dissimilar to that of a strangled chicken. However, Melissa had already moved on from Monica and paid no attention to her reaction.

Melissa entered the room, putting a broad smile on her freckled face, then began delivering incredibly theatrical lines.

“Oh my, Prince Felix! Thank you for gracing us with your presence, I have been dying to have a leisurely chat with you. How about enjoying some tea together? Of course, Silent Witch-sama will be joining us!”

Monica went pale and vigorously shook her head from behind Melissa.

(Stay away, Ike! Melissa-oneesan is trying to trick you into buying expensive drugs! Please run! Ruuuuun!)

Either way, Isaac should have no real reason to accept Melissa’s invitation. Monica thought that it was only natural for him to politely decline.

But contrary to her expectations, Isaac nodded with a smile.

“What perfect timing. I was just thinking about how I wanted to talk to you, Lady Melissa.”

“Oh my, what an honor. I’ll prepare the room right away!”

Melissa assessed the Second Prince like a hunter appraising her catch, and her eyes were completely locked onto her target.

(No… at this rate…! Ike… Ike…!)

Why were there so many troubles today?

Holding down the knot in her stomach, Monica steeled her resolve.

(I must protect Ike… because I am his master…!)

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