[V10C16] Aight!

Only the Seven Sages were allowed to enter the Jade Chamber. And seven individuals, including the newly chosen Silas Page, were seated there.

It had been quite a while since the last time all seven seats were filled at the Jade Chamber’s round table.

Monica glanced around the table. The seats were arranged clockwise starting from the furthest back: Mary, Bradford, Ray, Raul, Louis, Monica, and finally Silas.

Even before the Gem Mage’s passing, it had been rare for all members to be present, so this sight felt somewhat nostalgic to Monica.

“Before we begin, can I ask something?” Silas raised his hand. “The king hasn’t given me any official appointment or anything… so is it even okay for me to be here?”

A reasonable doubt, as Silas had yet to be given his Sage staff and robes. He seemed to be feeling out of place in this room.

His question was answered by the Starseer Witch, Mary Harvey.

“Yes, that is completely fine. You will be participating in the Sage meetings to learn the ropes until your official appointment. I have already explained this to His Majesty and obtained his permission.”

It had only been a few hours since Silas was chosen to join the Seven Sages, so this sounded like an incredibly quick response. Perhaps that was why Mary left during lunch.

“Consider yourself a full-fledged member of the Seven Sages, and please listen to what I am about to say with that in mind.”

Mary usually spoke gently and had a somewhat dreamy gaze, but her current tone was the stern voice she used when speaking in public.

Silas gave a slight nod under her pressure, so Mary passed the floor to Louis, who cleared his throat and began explaining.

“A moment ago, we received a request from the 7th Investigation Division of the Dragon Knights. There have been reported sightings of a red dragon in Dalsmore, and they have asked the Sages to assist in their investigation.”

Dalsmore was a mountainous region in eastern Ridill, known for having one of Ridill’s Three Dragon Peaks, where many dragons called home.

These dragons tended to stay in the mountains as the mana density was exceptionally high, making them a comfortable place for magical creatures to live.

But this was not absolute. They still descended into human territory on occasion.

If the trespasser was a lesser dragon, then slaying it was a quick and simple solution. However, things got complicated if it happened to be a greater dragon.

“So you want us to search out and kill that red dragon?” Silas asked.

His bloodthirsty statement only earned him an exasperated sigh from Louis.

“I just said that it was an investigation. Greater dragons are creatures with intelligence, so we cannot simply kill on sight.”

In the Kingdom of Ridill, dragons indicated by color, such as black dragons, white dragons, or red dragons, were classified as higher-ranked species.

These greater dragons possessed significantly higher mana than lesser ones, but most importantly, they were characterized by their high intellect. As greater dragons were clever enough to understand the boundaries of their own territories, they hardly ever showed themselves near human settlements.

Humans also refrained from venturing into the dragon peaks, not wanting to provoke greater dragons. Because if provoked, greater dragons were capable of gathering allies and retaliating.

“In the event of a greater dragon sighting, we must investigate if it requires subjugation or not. Immediate subjugation is solely reserved for First-Class Dangerous Species, such as black dragons and curse dragons.”

The reported sightings were of a red dragon. As a higher-ranked species of fire dragon, red dragons could breathe fire and possessed the ability to fly. The threat they posed gave them the classification of a Second-Class Dangerous Species.

“I would generally ask Louis-chan or Bradford-chan for this kind of job, but…”

Mary let out a tired sigh as she placed her hand on her cheek.

“According to my starseeing, ominous signs are present for all the Seven Sages aside from Silas-chan. And unfortunately, both Louis-chan and Bradford-chan have important tasks and can’t leave the palace.”

This was the first time Monica had heard of any important tasks being assigned to Louis or Bradford.

The Seven Sages were usually assigned individual jobs, and, like Monica, they sometimes received confidential missions directly from the king. As such, it was normal for Monica to not know what Louis and the others were up to.

However, the implication that Bradford had business in the royal capital was concerning.

(Artillery Mage-sama’s magic is too powerful to be used in urban environments… I wonder what his assignment is.)

Bradford Firestone was the unstoppable sword——or rather, cannon——of the Seven Sages. And his counterpart as the immovable shield was the Barrier Mage, Louis Miller.

Bradford’s main flaws had always been the length of his incantations and the extensive collateral damage.

However, the presence of Louis compensated for both of these flaws. Louis’s well-rounded fighting style could easily buy time for Bradford to chant, and his defensive barriers were tough enough to prevent the destruction of the city in the aftermath.

What’s more, this was something that only Louis could do. Monica’s defensive barriers lacked the required durability and precision.

(What kind of emergency would require both of them to stay at the palace…?)

As Monica quietly pondered the possibilities, Mary turned her gaze to Silas.

“For this red dragon investigation, I’m thinking of having our new member, Silas-chan, give it a go. What do you think?”

“Got it. I’ll find the dragon, then if I sense any danger, I’ll take it down immediately.”

Silas pounded his right fist into his left palm, his eyes gleaming with bloodlust.

Sensing a lack of intent to actually investigate, Mary followed with a whisper.

“Hmm, perhaps we need to send someone else to watch over him~…”

Mary gazed at Ray, Raul, and Monica in turn, tapping her lips with her index finger as she contemplated.

Louis quickly interjected, “In that case, how about we entrust that role to Silent Witch-dono?”

“M-Me…?”

“Yes, you. On the off chance that we must fight the red dragon, wouldn’t you be the most suitable for the job?”

Louis was right. Dragons could shrug off Ray’s curses with their high magical resistance, and those with wings could easily dodge Raul’s vines by fleeing into the sky.

Meanwhile, Monica was capable of casting all the basic schools of magic without incantation, giving her the ability to adapt to any situation.

“I-I understand,” Monica nodded.

“…Aight. I’ll be counting you, Nee-san,” Silas followed, bowing his head to her.

He had lowered his head with such force that Monica half expected him to slam it against the table. In addition, the volume of his voice caused her to flinch slightly.

(I-I’m the senior here… so I have to give a proper response…)

Monica clenched her fists on her lap, then turned to Silas.

When trying to understand someone, the first step was placing yourself in their shoes. Thus, Monica decided to start by mimicking Silas’s manner of greeting.

“I’ll be counting on you too. Um… A-Aight!”

An awkward atmosphere filled the room.

Monica noticed Silas’s bewilderment and blushed to her ears in realization.

(D-Did I make a mistake? Maybe the pronunciation was off? E-Everyone is staring at meeeee!)

This silence was broken by a stifled laugh from her right. Louis was covering his mouth to hold in the laughter.

“I am glad to see your enthusiasm,” Louis began. “If our new Sage here starts acting cheeky, make sure to put him in his place.”

“Um, can you give a… peaceful example of how to do that…?”

“Shall I show you the style of guidance we teach at the Magic Corps?”

Monica vigorously shook her head.

After all, Louis had once served as the captain of the Magic Corps. Under his lead, it transformed from a ragtag team of intellectuals into a full-fledged branch of the military.

＊　＊　＊

After the meeting, Raul Roseberg, the Fifth Thorn Witch, strolled down the hallway while nibbling on a carrot.

It was about time for the gathering of the Library Society to end, so he intended to invite Cyril on a tour of the royal capital.

Raul had originally wanted to invite Ray and Monica as well, but Ray had managed to escape, and Monica was busy with preparations for the red dragon investigation.

(Should I try inviting the ‘Mysterious Noble’ too? …Eh, probably not going to work in the capital.)

As he walked down the hallway pondering these thoughts, Raul noticed two figures walking in front of him: Mary Harvey the Starseer Witch, and Louis Miller the Barrier Mage.

Raul would normally greet them with a cheerful “Hey there!” but something seemed off. The two were whispering to each other with stern expressions.

Raul paused and listened to their conversation.

“You know, back when I was still a student of Minerva, there was an incident where a baby red dragon wandered onto the grounds. My master, Carla, and I went to Dalsmore to return it.”

Louis grimaced, then continued an irritated tone.

“And that magical creature biologist accompanied us there. This feels like a very unpleasant twist of fate.”

“Regarding the disclosure of information,” Mary began. “I’ve already reached out to the Noble Council for their permission. We should be able to start immediately once Monica-chan and Silas-chan return from their investigation.”

A disclosure of information requiring approval from the Noble Council? Moreover, Raul and the other Sages had yet to be informed. This was clearly an extremely serious matter.

“By the way,” Mary continued. “Why did you recommend Monica-chan to watch over Silas-chan?”

In response, Louis adjusted his monocle and gave his reasoning.

“If that man is targeting the Seven Sages… then Silent Witch-dono is the least likely to be targeted. The incident happened eight years ago, so she was still in her early teens. I find it hard to believe he would have any connection to her.

“What about Raul-chan and Ray-chan?”

“Those two were young as well, but they have blood relations to the former Thorn Witch and Abyss Shaman. The chance of them being targeted is non-zero.”

“…Fair enough.”

Sensing that the conversation had become rather ominous, Raul finally paused eating the carrot.

Based on what he just heard, it sounded like there was someone after the lives of the Seven Sages.

(So there’s a non-zero chance that Ray and I could be targeted, yet they can’t reveal the circumstances. And even the Noble Council is involved… This seems really bad.)

Raul already knew that the Roseberg witches and Ray’s grandmother were busy with something recently. That something was likely related to this.

(There was probably some incident that happened before Ray and I joined the Seven Sages.)

Raul silently left the scene, suppressing his footsteps.

While he was curious about the secrets Louis and Mary were keeping, judging from their tone, he would be told once Monica and Silas returned from the investigation.

(Guess I should just lay low until then. Hmm, I wanted to hang out with Cyril since he’s finally in the capital, but… huh?)

Raul paused in the corridor below the Jade Chamber, where the offices of the Seven Sages were lined up.

As the man with the highest mana capacity in the country, Raul had always been able to sense mana better than the average mage. His senses were nowhere near as accurate as detection magic, but he could get a vague feeling of “something seems off.”

What caught his attention was the office of the Starseer Witch.

(…Something gives me the creeps.)

It was an unsettling sensation, as if his hairs were standing on end. Raul unconsciously stroked the back of his neck.

This seemed like a good time for a carrot divination, but he had already eaten more than half of the carrot in his hands.

Raul quietly stared at the door to Mary’s office while nibbling on the remaining half.

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