[V12C14] Please Say My Name

Cyril was flying to Sazandol mounted on the white dragon Thule, taking care to avoid the crowded roads and cities.

It took some time for him to get used to aerial travel, but of course, the dragon was much faster than a horse-drawn carriage. They reached the outskirts of Sazandol right after sunrise.

The problem was where to land. Getting too close to Sazandol would run the risk of being spotted.

Thus, Cyril decided to land Thule in the forest a slight distance away from the city.

“Sorry, Thule. Can you bend down a bit?”

Cyril had experience dismounting a horse, which felt reasonably high. But the colossal form of a white dragon? This was a far more terrifying leap.

After having Thule crouch as far as possible, Cyril still needed Pikeh’s help to dismount. Only then did he finally set foot on solid ground.

Immediately, Cyril removed his gloves and began rubbing his neck. Flying through the night sky had left him thoroughly chilled, even though it was early summer.

Noticing Cyril shivering, Thule and Pikeh transformed into weasels, leaped onto his shoulder, and covered his neck with their furry tails.

As an ice spirit, Pikeh had the ability to emit cold air on demand, but she could also withhold that to keep Cyril warm.

Most people would find a man wearing furs in early summer pretty suspicious, but there was no big problem until he reached the main road. Keeping warm was most important, after all.

Cyril petted the two weasels as thanks, before suddenly realizing something.

“You seem warmer now, Thule.”

The white weasel Thule gave off the warmth typical of living creatures.

On the other hand, the golden weasel Pikeh did not have any pulse or warmth, though her fluffy fur still helped to keep Cyril warm.

“Transforming works differently for spirits and dragons,” Thule explained. “Right, Pikeh?”

“Yes,” Pikeh answered. “My body is a mass of mana, so I only bleed mana when injured. Thule has actual blood.”

Now that she mentioned it, Cyril had seen this during the battle at Mount Kalug. The ice spirit only bled mana when her limbs were cut off.

However, Thule’s transformation worked differently. Magical creatures were truly shrouded in mystery.

Though suppressing a yawn, Cyril started walking forward.

They had taken a few breaks during the nighttime flight to confirm their location, but he was not able to get any sleep.

(Once I finish our business in Sazandol, I should grab a room and take a short nap.)

Cyril reached the main road after about an hour’s walk. At this point, Sazandol was only a stone’s throw away.

Having the two weasels walk on their own legs, Cyril headed straight towards the main gate of Sazandol.

However, he found himself frowning at the strange scene before him.

The gate was shut, even though it should have been opened hours ago. A crowd of people had gathered in front of the closed gate, apparently stuck.

Yet for some reason, they kept their distance from the gate, as if they were afraid of getting too close.

(…Did something happen in Sazandol?)

Cyril walked over to ask the crowd for information. Just as he was about to open his mouth, he heard a familiar voice from above.

“Oh! Vice President! You came too!”

Cyril looked up and widened his eyes.

He found a young man with dirty blonde hair dressed in a blue robe, energetically waving his hands from the sky. It was Glenn Dudley.

Glenn landed in front of Cyril, letting out a cheerful “Hey there!”

Upon closer inspection, Glenn was covered with bandages and gauze, with burn marks throughout his body.

“You’re injured…?”

“These are from a bit of special training… By the way, Vice President, what brings you to Sazandol?”

Cyril hesitated for a moment.

The matter concerning Gluttonous Zoe was classified information, but he had heard that the disciples of the Seven Sages were participating in the operation. Glenn probably already knew about Gluttonous Zoe and Theodore Maxwell.

However, there were civilians nearby.

“…Regarding the current incident troubling the Kingdom of Ridill, I am here to seek the opinion of the Sages as a representative of the Library Society.”

“Oh, so you came to see Monica then?”

“I suppose that is one way of putting it. By the way, Dudley…”

Cyril was about to ask Glenn why he came to Sazandol, but he was interrupted by people from the crowd. Most of them seemed like merchants, as they were waiting next to their carriages.

“Hey, you must be from the Mage Association if you can use flight magic, right? Do you know what’s going on in Sazandol right now?”

“The gates have been closed since yesterday, and we’ve been stuck here the entire time. And it’s not just this one, the other gates are closed too. My goods will spoil if I don’t get in soon.”

“I heard a rumor that they closed off the gates because of a felon lurking in Sazandol.”

“No, I heard that it’s because of a rogue mage trying to trap the citizens of Sazandol.”

One person speaking led to another, and others followed with their own questions and concerns.

The situation seemed to be spiraling out of control, so Glenn interrupted with a shout.

“Uh, yeah! There’s a rogue mage in Sazandol… and we came to defeat him! It might be dangerous, so you should stay away from the gate until everything is resolved!”

Leaving it at that, Glenn quickly chanted the incantation for flight magic.

Glenn circled around Cyril and inserted his arms under Cyril’s armpits, lifting him off the ground.

“Thule, Pikeh!” Cyril shouted, calling the two weasels to grab onto his legs.

While ascending into the sky, Glenn looked at the weasels clinging to Cyril’s legs with surprise.

“Are those your familiars or something?”

“Something like that. But more importantly…”

Cyril turned around and glared at Glenn.

“At least give a warning if you’re going to use flight magic! You can’t just grab people and suddenly fly off! Where is your consideration for safety?!”

“But they were about to bombard us with questions!”

Glenn flew over the city wall carrying Cyril.

Cyril was shocked to see the devastation on the other side. It had been blocked with huge piles of rubble. No wonder the gates remained shut.

“What on earth is happening in Sazandol…? Is this related to Gluttonous Zoe?”

“Oh, so you know about the ancient artifact stuff. That makes things a lot easier.”

Apparently, Glenn had also been unsure about how much to tell Cyril. After Cyril mentioned Gluttonous Zoe, Glenn began explaining with a relieved expression.

“Yesterday, that Theodore guy used Gluttonous Zoe in the city of Sazandol. He made some sort of black rain and covered a huge area.”

“What…?!”

Such an attack must have affected a considerable number of people. Moreover, the number of victims correlated to a further boost to the artifact’s power.

According to Glenn, Theodore had closed off Sazandol’s gates, with water dragons invading the harbor. This made it impossible to enter or leave without the use of flight magic.

“The capital wanted to send a bunch of people as reinforcements,” Glenn continued. “But some guy from the Library Society said that dragon disasters would happen throughout Ridill due to Gluttonous Zoe’s influence… That’s why they can’t send reinforcements right away. I’m here because they told me to relay the message!”

“…That’s me,” Cyril replied.

“Eh?”

“The Library Society officer who made that suggestion was me.”

Both Cyril and Glenn headed to Sazandol via flight, but Cyril had to take a few detours and breaks to catch his bearings. Meanwhile, Glenn was probably faster because he headed straight to Sazandol. This was a route he took often so he would not get lost.

Still, Glenn must have left the capital a short while after Cyril.

In other words, the Council had accepted Cyril’s proposal in a matter of hours.

(To think my proposal would be adopted so quickly…)

Surely, Raul must have worked hard to get the proposal approved as fast as possible.

As Cyril marveled at the outcome, Glenn let out an excited shout.

“Vice President, that’s amazing!”

“…I cannot take full credit. It’s all thanks to the knowledge of the Seven Sages and the advice of a wise predecessor.”

Cyril muttered, glancing at the middle finger of his gloved right hand.

It was still frightening him how many people his proposal affected.

But for now, Cyril paid silent respects to his friends who assisted him, as well as the monsters of the Forbidden Archives. Performing to the best of his abilities was the least he could do to repay them.

“Dudley, you’re headed to the Mage Association, right? In that case, I’ll accompany you. I can provide a detailed explanation about the documents you received.”

“Got it!”

Still carrying Cyril, Glenn flew straight toward the Sazandol branch of the Mage Association.

Melissa Roseberg had requested assistance from the capital immediately after the black rain incident. This was before they learned of Monica’s memories being devoured by Gluttonous Zoe.

In other words, the report of Silent Witch’s defeat had yet to reach the capital. Neither Cyril nor Glenn doubted that Monica was working hard at that very building.

＊　＊　＊

Upon reaching the Mage Association, Cyril and Glenn completed a simple identification process and were guided into a room by a young staff member.

Glenn walked in front, followed by Cyril with the weasels perched on his shoulders.

“This way.”

The guide opened the door to a room with a sign that read “Conference Room.”

The room had four long tables arranged in a square, with Melissa Roseberg the Fourth Thorn Witch sitting at the furthest seat. Ray Albright the Third Abyss Shaman and an unfamiliar-looking tall man sat on the table to the right.

The man was blond with a muscled, warrior-like appearance. Armor probably suited him better than his robes.

Since he was sitting at the same table as a Sage, he was likely the Dragon Slayer Mage.

(…Monica isn’t here?)

Puzzled, Cyril glanced at the table on his left. Seated there was a man wearing an ordinary coat rather than mage robes.

He was also blond, with an eyepatch covering the right half of his intimidating face.

The moment Cyril saw that man, he felt his entire body trembling.

“…Y-Your…??”

Cyril almost blurted out “Your Highness!” before barely holding himself back.

The prince Cyril knew was a handsome young man who always maintained a gentle smile and a dignified aura.

The young man in front of him had a similar hair color to the prince, but his face was completely different. His cold eyes exuded a ruthless cruelty, as if he was always glaring daggers into the person in front of him.

If his beloved prince embodied the compassionate spring sun, the man in front of Cyril was the merciless chill of a winter lake.

(And yet, why…?)

Cyril was unable to avert his eyes. He could not help but stare at the stranger sitting there.

Seeing Cyril quivering his lips and twitching his hands for no apparent reason, Glenn voiced his concern.

“Vice President, you’re acting strange. What’s wrong? Does your stomach hurt?”

“…”

However, Cyril was not even listening. He simply continued to stare at the eyepatched man.

The man glanced briefly in Cyril’s direction but quickly returned his gaze forward. There was no indication that he intended to address Cyril.

Cyril’s chest burned with impatience.

(Please speak to me. Please say my name…!)

However, Cyril’s wish did not come true, as Melissa was the first to speak.

“Thank you for traveling so far to see us, Cyril Ashley-sama. As much as I would like to give you a proper greeting, we are currently in an emergency, so I hope you’ll excuse us.”

Melissa gracefully smiled at Cyril, then turned her sharp gaze towards Glenn.

“Glenn Dudley. You’re the Barrier Mage’s disciple, right?”

“That’s right!”

“Is the Barrier Mage so stingy as to send a single disciple as reinforcements? Or is he just an idiot? If there’s another reason, then let’s hear it.”

Even throughout this exchange, all of Cyril’s attention was focused on the man with the eyepatch.

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