[V15EX6] Huh?

After sipping a cup of warm tea in his office, Louis Miller looked down at the empty cup and let out a satisfied sigh.

A colleague had given him ice cream as an apology for ruining his vacation, and everything about it was amazing. It even overturned his belief that cold food could never be a delicacy.

Apparently, this ice cream was the work of the Silent Witch’s disciple.

Back when Monica was living in a mountain cabin, Louis had suggested several times that she consider hiring a servant.

Each time, Monica lowered her eyes and replied, “I… I prefer to be alone.”

She was quietly, yet stubbornly, shutting everyone else out.

Louis didn’t particularly care about Monica’s past or lack of relationships, only that she maintained the bare minimum of a human lifestyle. Otherwise, it would interfere with their jobs.

If Monica were to fall dead from her unhealthy life in the cabin, then Louis would almost certainly be the first to discover her body.

Dealing with that was sure to be a huge hassle, so Louis wanted someone to ensure her survival.

(It seems the Silent Witch took a disciple after moving to Sazandol.)

There were clearly many improvements to Monica’s lifestyle. To put it bluntly, she lived like an actual human being now.

Louis had assumed this was the result of hiring a caretaker, so he was surprised to learn about her disciple.

The girl had shut out everyone. Who could have possibly convinced her to accept them as a disciple?

The first image that popped into Louis’s head was an elderly person. A gentle, mild-mannered old man—or perhaps woman—with deep knowledge of magecraft and a hobby for cooking.

The child-like Monica teaching magic to an old man would certainly make for a bizarre scene, but it made logical sense to Louis.

(Hmm… have I heard about her disciple before…?)

When Monica mentioned her disciple, Louis had a vague sense that he heard about something like that before.

Monica taking a disciple should be an incredibly surprising event, so why was his memory so vague?

Louis’s curiosity got the better of him, so he casually flipped through some recent documents. He came across a particular report—one from the Dragon Slayer Mage, Silas Page, about a new line of research he was pursuing.

Silas did not work for Louis, so he wasn’t obligated to report to him on research.

However, when mages are looking for co-researchers or investors, they often submit a portion of their research to famous mages. This report was an instance of that.

When Silas handed the report to Louis, he added, “Duke Erin found us a pretty generous sponsor, but it’d be even better if we can get more people to help out. Barrier-niisan, tell me if you know anyone who might be interested, I’d really appreciate the help.”

Louis was irritated by the mere mention of Duke Erin, but the research itself was intriguing. Everyone with experience in dragon subjugation knew the value of highly accurate reconnaissance magic.

“Not a bad piece of research,” Louis had commented while looking through the document. In response, Silas scratched his head bashfully for some reason.

“My co-researcher is someone from Silent-neesan’s circle. And an old friend of mine too, actually. He’s really good at what he does.”

Someone from the Silent Witch’s circle? What was that supposed to mean?

Louis wanted to ask for details, but then an emergency cut the conversation short. That must be why his memory was fuzzy.

(I see. So the Dragon Slayer Mage’s co-researcher must be the Silent Witch’s disciple.)

Louis flipped through Silas’s report to find the name of the co-researcher.

——Isaac Walker.

“…Huh?”

Up until recently, Louis had been traveling in search of candidates to join the Seven Sages, so he was well-versed in the names of all the nation’s prominent mages.

He even kept track of mages at the intermediate level, including those without an alias, as long as they possessed sufficient skill.

But he did not remember any mage with the name of Isaac Walker. And yet, for some reason, it rang a bell in his head.

The name sounded familiar to him… and not in a favorable context.

(Where? Where did I see it…?)

Louis leaned back in his chair and tapped his temple with a finger.

It had to be connected to a major event from the past few years. One involving the Silent Witch.

Recently, the Silent Witch subjugated the Black Dragon of Sazandol and guarded Princess Cecilia. Going further back, there was the Supreme Council, the curse dragon in Reinberg, the secret mission guarding the Second Prince…

“…Huh?!”

Louis glared down at the name again.

Thank you for your patience.

Next up is Gaiden After 3: Battle of the Sage Disciples

View the latest chapters at seeker142.github.io