[V16C20] A Capable Master Chooses the Perfect Restaurant Too

After the magical battle between the disciples of the Seven Sages, Louis Miller returned to his office to analyze the documents submitted by Isaac, as well as the records of today’s match.

The Library Lord was apparently hosting an afterparty, but Louis had no intention of attending. He would much rather share a meal with his beloved wife.

Louis took a sip of his jam-infused tea as he furrowed his brow at the records.

(…The numbers don’t add up.)

He could think of a reason for this, but it only made him more irritated.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Louis said, “Come in,” and Bradford promptly entered his office.

“Yo, Barrier Mage. Hope you don’t mind the company.”

In addition, Mary and her disciple Clarence followed Bradford inside.

Bradford and Mary were empty-handed, but Clarence carried a tray with wine bottles and glasses.

Bradford had declined the afterparty to “let the young folks have their fun”, while Mary and Clarence claimed to have “stargazing duties tonight”. It seems that was just an excuse.

“How about a little drink while we reflect on today’s match~?” Mary suggested with a cute tilt of her head.

“Let’s,” Louis replied.

As Louis moved to the sofa, Mary and Bradford took their seats across from him.

Clarence quietly placed the glasses in front of them and poured their drinks.

It was a fine vintage. Not the kind of wine one should gulp down.

However, Louis wanted to wash down the frustration in his chest with alcohol and let it all out with a big sigh. That’s the kind of drinking he was in the mood for.

As Louis glared at the wine, Mary pinched her glass between slender fingers.

“So? What did you think about today’s match~?”

“…I was checking the mana consumption of the Silent Witch’s disciple,” Louis answered. “And the numbers don’t add up.”

“Ah, I thought so too,” Bradford agreed, stroking his beard as he glanced up at the ceiling.

Mana consumption was not something that could be broken down into a strict numerical value.

Even if two mages used the exact same spell, one may end up using more mana due to a flawed formula, or poor skill at mana manipulation. Glenn, for example, used nearly twice the expected mana when he first started learning magic.

In addition, environmental conditions or physical state often affected mana consumption.

Just like how it takes more firewood to warm a cold room, fire magic consumes more mana at lower temperatures.

Still, someone with enough experience could estimate the mana used after a quick glance of the records.

“The documents have Isaac Walker with a mana capacity of 153…” Bradford muttered as he folded a few fingers to do the math. “Seems like he used about half of that during the match.”

“Exactly,” Louis replied. “Which means he probably started at half capacity.”

“Well, you saw how strict the Silent Witch was. Maybe she forced that restriction on him?”

Louis found it difficult to dismiss that idea outright. This was one of the scary things about Monica. When it came to magic, she sometimes casually demanded the impossible.

But in this case, Louis had a hunch as to why Isaac started with half his mana.

(It was probably necessary to maintain his face.)

Isaac had not mentioned anything about this to Louis. He simply accepted the handicap of half his mana and produced solid results regardless. This was why Louis wanted to drown the thought of “how dare you hold back” with a drink.

He took a sip of his wine to suppress the urge to click his tongue.

“…Also,” Louis muttered. “That spell he used at the end to protect Glenn.”

When Glenn was knocked unconscious and sent flying into the air, Isaac caught him with a film of water. This was not like any of the water spells he used during the match.

At that point, Isaac had been hit by Hugo’s lightning, which dispelled all of the water threads.

And yet, he somehow managed to conjure the water at a distance in such a short time, precisely at the location of Glenn’s fall.

“It seems the Silent Witch’s disciple still has a secret weapon.”

“But you got to catch a glimpse of it at the end. Isn’t that good enough for now~?” Mary asked.

“…Fair enough.”

Louis glanced briefly at Clarence standing beside Mary.

“By the way, Clarence-dono, it seems you were being rather kind today. You could set some nasty traps if you used mud and stone in addition to your sand.”

When searching for Sage candidates, Louis had read through the records of the country’s top mages.

The Astronomy Mage, Clarence Hall, shined in defensive battles, protecting the observatory and the stargazer Mary within it.

His style was somewhat similar to Raul’s Rose Fortress. Most earth mages tended to be better at defense.

There was even a story about how bandits tried to break into an observatory where he was present. By the time he was done with them, they were encased in mud and stone, turned into statues decorating the entrance.

Clarence shook his head with a gentle smile.

“Going that far would affect the terrain, and that is a bit too messy… I couldn’t possibly do that in front of Milady.”

“Oh, but you used to love playing in the mud when you were little, right~?”

Mary chuckled, and Clarence returned a modest smile. It was hard to get a read on their master-disciple relationship.

After downing the last of his wine, Louis opened his mouth again.

“You intended to make Hugo Galletti the leader of the disciples from the beginning, didn’t you?”

“Oh? Really?” Bradford said with a chuckle. “You like my Hugo that much?”

Mary deflected the question with a silent smile, but Louis was convinced. She had planned to give Hugo the role of leader all along.

“Everything has gone exactly as you predicted, hasn’t it?”

“Oh, but there are some things that even I can’t foresee… like the actions of a certain Library Lord.”

“…”

Louis was forced to close his mouth.

The Library Lord, Cyril Ashley, disguised himself as one of the recorders, before suddenly breaking his cover to scold Glenn. He gave a solemn apology for his actions, and allowed Ray to curse him. Monica and Raul rushed over when he collapsed, as his hair got pulled by what appeared to be two weasel familiars.

Not to mention what happened the other day at the Ascard Grand Library, where Monica and Raul carried him in with a bleeding wound on his head.

These events were so absurd that simply remembering them gave Louis a headache.

While Louis rubbed his forehead, Bradford nodded as he swirled his wineglass.

“I figured you brought him in for a show, Starseer… So when I saw you laughing the hardest, I was shocked to tell you the truth.”

“I do my best to look into the future and prepare for emergencies, so it’s been a while since I saw something so unexpected~. I laughed so hard that it almost ruined my makeup… Oh no, the memory is going to make me laugh again… Hehe…”

Cyril Ashley the Library Lord.

At the Supreme Council a few years ago, he conspired with the Silent Witch and Glenn to stall Louis (in other words, picked a fight with him).

In the recent Gluttonous Zoe incident, his insight highlighted the potential for a nationwide dragon disaster. He fulfilled his duty as a member of the Lineage of Knowledge and contributed to saving the country.

Next, he showed up in the Ascard Grand Library bleeding from the head. And today, he entered the spectator room in some bizarre disguise. None of it made any sense.

Louis voiced his honest thoughts.

“What is wrong with that guy? Is there no one sane around the Silent Witch?”

Both Bradford and Mary laughed at his cutting remark.

“Seriously, what was that all about?”

“Not understanding is half the fun, Louis-chan.”

“…”

It seemed the two older folks were already a little drunk.

Louis haphazardly poured the last of the bottle into his glass, downed it in one gulp, and let out an audible sigh.

He was tired of thinking by now. It was time to go home and spend some peaceful time with his beloved wife and daughter. Enough of this.

＊　＊　＊

Mary, Bradford, Louis, and Clarence declined to attend the afterparty, citing reasons of work to do, or preferring to spend time with family.

Also, Ray had declared, “I am definitely… definitely eating Frieda’s cooking… I’m going home right now!” and left earlier than anyone else.

In the end, a total of seven people joined for the afterparty. From the disciples, there was Isaac, Glenn, and Hugo. From the Sages, there was Monica, Raul, and Silas. And finally, one completely unrelated party who would be treating them, Cyril.

The group took off their robes and changed into casual clothes, walking through the city right as the sun started to set. The distant sky took on an orange hue, but since it was the height of the summer, the streets were not yet dark enough to require lanterns.

Isaac looked ahead to see Hugo chatting with Raul and Silas.

“Thorn Witch-sama, is something the matter?”

“Uh, nothing really,” Raul replied. “I just have a bad feeling about this direction for some reason… Hey, Silas, do you come around here often?”

“The places I drink at are usually more downtown. I recently found a place with Eastern food and…”

Isaac listened to their conversation while glancing at Cyril, who was walking even further in front.

Ray had placed a curse on Cyril’s tongue, but as promised, he undid it after Cyril finished the oversized serving of tea.

That said, Cyril did not look like he was in the mood to put anything in his mouth. He seemed very haggard and worn out.

The weasels, who had been busy climbing all over Cyril and tugging at his hair, were nowhere to be seen. Apparently, they had gone off to do their own thing.

“President, President.”

Glenn, who was walking beside Isaac, called to him in a quiet tone, so Isaac slowed his pace a little.

“What is it?”

“You know when you launched me into the air during the match?”

“Sorry for being so mean.”

“I’m fine as long as you’re not mad… Anyway, I blacked out so I didn’t see what happened. But later, I heard that you caught me with water, so…”

Isaac slowed his pace even further until he was at the very back of the group.

Glenn also confirmed that no one was close to enough to overhear, before continuing in a whisper.

“Could it be that the one who saved me is…?”

“Wil,” Isaac called out, lightly tapping his pocket.

Wildianu, in the form of a white lizard, slithered out of his pocket and climbed onto his shoulder.

Wildianu was Isaac’s secret weapon, but Glenn had already seen the spirit during the battle against Gluttonous Zoe. There was no point in hiding his existence from Glenn.

“I suppose I haven’t given you a proper introduction yet. This is my partner, Wildianu.”

“Whoa…”

It shouldn’t have been that special to him, since his master Louis was contracted to a greater wind spirit. But for some reason, Glenn gasped in admiration with sparkling eyes.

“Thanks for saving me, Wil-san!”

“…It was nothing.”

Wildianu swayed his tail slowly from side to side. He seemed to find the situation awkward, as he was unaccustomed to this kind of attention.

Completely oblivious to the water spirit’s confusion, Glenn spoke excitedly.

“President, President, can I hold Wil-san in my hand?”

“Is that alright with you, Wil?”

“Yes.”

Isaac raised his hand to his shoulder for Wildianu to ride, before transferring the spirit to Glenn’s hand.

Glenn seemed to enjoy it very much, judging by his smile.

“Having a lizard as your partner is pretty awesome…”

“…Is that so?” Wildianu asked, even more confused.

On the other hand, Isaac understood Glenn’s feelings completely.

His reptilian partner often stirred up the boyish wishes he had all but forgotten. After all, Isaac was a child who enjoyed collecting shed snake skins.

“Huh? A lizard partner? What are you guys talking about?”

Hugo turned around to join them, apparently having overheard part of their conversation. Glenn quickly hid Wildianu behind his back and changed the subject.

“Hugo-san, if you could choose an animal partner, what would it be?”

“Oh yeah, reptiles are cool. You’d give off some serious ‘don’t mess with me’ vibes if you had a snake following you around. But, you know, I’ve always loved birds of prey too…”

Hugo and Glenn engaged in a lively debate about what animal would make for the best partner.

In the meantime, Isaac noticed something more important.

Monica and Cyril were walking ahead of the group and talking about something.

(Alright, time to interfere with him.)

He had already announced himself as Cyril’s rival. There was no need to hold back any longer.

＊　＊　＊

Monica led the way to the venue for the afterparty.

She was determined to reward Isaac for his hard work today, so she had taken the initiative to research a good place beforehand.

As they made their way to the restaurant, Monica kept sneaking glances at Cyril, who was walking beside her.

Apparently, Cyril had conspired with Raul to disguise himself as one of the match’s recorders—all to play a prank on Isaac.

(Cyril-sama… pulling a prank…)

Monica still found it a bit hard to believe that the ever-serious Cyril would do such a thing.

But at the same time, she felt a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Some people played malicious pranks in order to hurt others, but Monica knew that Cyril would never do that. It was just a lighthearted prank between close friends.

This realization filled her with a certain feeling…

(I wish that was me…)

This was jealousy.

Would Cyril ever play a light prank on her? Surely not.

And yet, Monica wanted to be closer to him, to take a step toward the man she loved. If one step was too much, then perhaps a half step would be fine.

Monica had recently learned how to be a bit more greedy, so she took the plunge and opened her mouth.

“C-Cyril-sama!”

Cyril awkwardly turned his head to answer Monica. He replied with a face of half embarrassment and half melancholy.

“I must apologize for my embarrassing display earlier…”

“P-Please do something special to me too!” Monica interjected.

Cyril suddenly choked on his words mid-sentence.

It felt like her attempt to take a half step forward resulted in making a head-first slide instead. Perhaps she had blurted out something incredibly improper.

The two fell into an awkward silence. Unable to bear it, Monica frantically offered an excuse.

“Um, y-you do pranks with people you are close to, right…? So, er, I’m interested in them! I want to get some experience!”

“Monica.”

Cyril muttered her name, keeping his eyes fixed straight ahead. Monica clamped her mouth shut, waiting for him to continue.

“You need to take better care of yourself.”

“O-Okay…”

“You’re making me worry.”

“Okay…”

“Please do not test my restraint like that.”

“…? Okay?”

Monica looked at the side of Cyril’s face, and it showed a complicated mix of emotions. Rather than angry, he seemed more concerned for her.

He must be worried about his helpless junior again. It was out of consideration that he quietly cautioned her rather than giving a loud scolding.

Monica shrank back, feeling a bit guilty, when a voice suddenly called out from behind.

“Oh? Is my esteemed master interested in pranks? Let me show you some as a demonstration.”

Isaac kicked Cyril in the back of the knee, causing him to stagger.

“Like this.”

Once Cyril stumbled, Isaac caught him in a one-armed chokehold.

“Like this.”

Then, he mercilessly poked Cyril’s cheek with his other hand.

“And done.”

It was an incredibly smooth three-step sequence, flowing from one action to the next.

After watching Isaac’s demonstration, Monica hesitantly spoke up.

“Um, that looks more like bullying than a prank…”

“Ike… Ike… please stop! Ike… fyguh…!”

Ignoring Cyril’s protest, Isaac poked his cheek again while flashing Monica a smile.

If he had been wearing the face of the prince, then he would have released countless sparkles into the air.

“See? Funny face, right?”

“T-That’s just being mean! Bad Ike, no bullying!”

While watching the exchange between Monica and friends, Glenn murmured thoughtfully to himself.

“The President looks like he’s having a lot of fun lately. He’s always excited when we get together at the Meat Cuisine Club too.”

“Huh, Meat Cuisine Club? That sounds awesome. Count me in! I’ll teach you how to make Alpatra-style meat dishes!”

Hugo eagerly latched onto Glenn’s comment and the two continued into a heated discussion.

Meanwhile, Silas paused and looked up at the shop on their right.

“Hey, is this the place? I think Silent-neesan said we’re going here for the afterparty.”

Monica hurried back to check the sign on the building, and Silas was right. This was the place she had been recommended.

“Ah, yes, this is it! Look, Ike, we’re here! It’s a very, very good restaurant…”

So you can stop it with the pranks, is what she was about to say, but she trailed off when she saw the people standing in front of the store.

There were four young men with gaudy outfits. And for some reason, they all wore silk shirts with a very deep neckline.

The shopfront looked just as extravagant, with several layers of thin curtains draped over the doorway. The strong scent of an exotic incense wafted from within.

This reminded Monica of the bar owned by Throth that Melissa had taken her to in Sazandol. Throth’s bar had dealt in illegal drugs, and the building in front of her looked just as shady.

As Monica quivered her lips in stunned silence, one of the men approached her and snapped a wink.

“Hey there, welcome, little kitten. Come with me. I’ll show you the most wonderful dreams you’ve ever had tonight.”

“Um, actually… I’m not looking for a place to sleep. I just wanted some good food and drinks…”

Monica gave a flustered response as Raul, who had been unusually quiet on the way there, stepped up and whispered in her ear.

“Hey, Monica. I’ve had a bad feeling about this direction ever since we started walking… Please don’t tell me you got the recommendation from my sister.”

“Y-Yes, I did. I thought Melissa-oneesan would be knowledgeable about the restaurants in the royal capital…”

Monica wanted to reward the hardworking Isaac with delicious food and drinks, but she did not know many restaurants in the capital—especially when it came to ones that served alcohol.

Thus, she asked Melissa, who was familiar with the capital, for her recommendation.

This was her response: “Hmm. A capable master has to know at least one or two good spots to treat their disciple. You know what, Monica-chan, your big sister has just the perfect place. I guarantee that stupid mutt… I mean, your dear disciple will be crying tears of joy!”

“I see,” Cyril said. “Surely, Lady Melissa must have written down the wrong address.”

“Monica, Cyril,” Raul muttered. “You guys really need to learn how to doubt my sister.”

At that moment, the man trying to attract customers put his arm around Monica’s shoulder with a smile.

Perhaps he was also a practitioner of chantless sparkling magic, as his white teeth looked like they were shining, though he was no match for the handsome Second Prince.

“We have food, drinks, and anything else you need, little kitten. I can get you whatever your heart desires.”

“Um, well, erm…”

As Monica stammered helplessly, Isaac brushed the man’s arm off, and Cyril pulled her away.

Then, the two of them grabbed her arms from the sides, turned their backs on the restaurant, and started walking away.

“Ike, we should go to a different restaurant,” Cyril said with a frown.

“Yeah,” Isaac replied with a sigh. “Take us to your usual place, Silas-niisan.”

Monica sniffled as they dragged her away.

“Ugh… I’m sorry, I’m sorry… I’m sorry for being a failure of a master…!”

Her pathetic apologies echoed under the sky of the royal capital, where the first stars of the evening had just started twinkling.

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