The next day.
The Imperial Magic Tower was in chaos from the morning.
“Is this… really happening?”
“How long has it been since we accepted a yellow-grade request?”
“That’s not the problem! How are we going to succeed?”
The reason they couldn’t sit still for a second was simple. It was the notice blatantly posted on the board.
== ==＊== == == ==＊== == == ==＊== ==
Ruiple’s insolence has gone too far.
As the Inspector of the Magic Tower, I cannot overlook this.
I will embark on a mission to uncover the cause one week from now.
Please gather this afternoon to select personnel.
== ==＊== == == ==＊== == == ==＊== ==
“…What?!”
Widro, the leader of the Theoretical Faction, exploded with rage. Nox, the leader of the Practical Faction? He had collapsed from drinking too much.
Maybe because Widro was the highest-ranking official among the nearby mages, everyone started throwing questions at the old man.
“Widro, are we really okay with just a week of preparation before heading to Ruiple?”
“Hmmm…”
But Widro could only groan in response.
“Is it okay? You should ask the Inspector about that.”
Everyone here shared the same concern.
“Currently, Ruiple is notorious. Do you really think a novice mage can grow enough in just a week to step foot there?”
“Exactly! Even if the Inspector is great, what about the rest of us!”
“Even worse, our opponents are three knights from the Imperial Knight Order. Winning the bet would be nice, but if we lose, the aftermath…”
“…”
Widro quietly stroked his beard.
…I don’t know. Why are you asking me?
Fortunately, Widro’s awkward situation didn’t last long. From down the hallway, Ezekiel appeared.
The mages rushed towards him.
“Inspector!”
“Inspector! We have a question!”
All of them had urgent expressions, but Ezekiel preemptively answered, as if he already knew what they were going to say.
“There will be no changes to this mission. Just follow my orders.”
“…”
The chilling tone he carried was as cold as the ice he conjured. In the end, no one could follow up with another question.
Thud-thud—
Everyone just stared blankly at Ezekiel’s back.
Just then, someone asked Agnes.
“Agnes, you’re the secretary. Haven’t you heard anything?”
Then everyone’s gaze quickly shifted to Agnes. They wondered if the personal secretary might have heard something.
“Y-yeah! I’m the personal secretary!”
“Agnes, have you heard anything about this decision?”
“…”
Secretary Agnes fell silent for a moment.
They said it was to promote Sunweed. Is it okay for me to say that?
“…”
No, definitely not.
No matter how much I think about it, I can’t say it.
“There’s a reason we have to head to Ruiple.”
A deeply meaningful statement.
This was the best Agnes could do.
In the afternoon, Ezekiel headed to the auditorium with Agnes.
“We will select only one novice to accompany us.”
He mumbled while chewing Sunweed. Perhaps because there were not many left, he savored it more slowly than usual.
“One? We should choose at least two!”
“Don’t worry. I already have one in mind.”
“When did you decide that? You just took office and haven’t interacted with the other mages at all.”
At that moment.
Whoosh—
A yellow badge suddenly stuck to Agnes’s chest before she could even notice. The person in question only blinked quietly in astonishment.
The yellow badge.
As far as she knew, it was the symbol worn by mages who were about to embark on a yellow-grade mission.
“What does this mean?”
“It’s you. The one I had in mind.”
“I’m not field personnel; I’m administrative staff!”
“Of course, it’s not forced. I’ll give you a choice.”
Ezekiel handed her a paper bag. When Agnes looked inside, there was an empty resignation letter.
The meaning was quite clear.
…Go with me or resign.
“Ah.”
Agnes shut her eyes tightly. Am I crazy to quit my job as an Imperial administrator? I must really be insane…
“Why am I getting picked?”
“Your telekinesis is useful. It’s a shame to let it go to waste. If you refine it properly, I think you could achieve great things later on.”
“…”
The woman quietly tucked her hair behind her ear.
Agnes had a strong sense of pride in her telekinesis, and it felt good that the magically accomplished Ezekiel recognized it.
However, there was something greatly bothering her.
The manual.
Agnes had lived her life strictly adhering to a predetermined manual. Thus, she liked predictability and naturally avoided the unexpected.
Agnes quietly looked at Ezekiel.
“…”
She couldn’t even predict what she would do just one second later.
But what can I do? I can’t resign.
“…For now, I understand.”
The two finally arrived at the auditorium.
A spacious area where novice mages stood at equal intervals. They were filled with tension.
Agnes broke the silence with a neutral expression.
“There are many candidates. This will take a while.”
“Not at all.”
Ezekiel replied easily and without hesitation.
It made sense, as he had done this countless times before, picking and polishing the raw stones among many people.
–You lead the organization, so choose the personnel yourself.
–What should the name be…? How about “Balance”?
–During the mission, you’ll also be responsible for personnel selection.
Who to pick to join the organization, who to take on this mission… Ezekiel had undergone such processes countless times, and he was adept at it.
Therefore, selecting people was now second nature to him.
‘But the problem is…’
Does Ezekiel want the gems that are here?
There’s no way to know.
‘There are only 10 Sunweeds left.’
If Ezekiel becomes incapacitated due to the lack of Sunweed, a capable replacement would be necessary, yet that seemed an overly heavy expectation for a novice.
It was then that Agnes spoke up.
“What will you do? Will you go around personally? Or should I call them one by one?”
“There’s no need for that.”
Snap—!
Ezekiel snapped his fingers.
“Huh?”
“Whoa…”
Simultaneously, the mages widened their eyes and looked up at the ceiling. A high ceiling, and a globe filled with chill began to slowly rotate, scattering snowflakes.
Agnes caught a snowflake with her index finger.
“…This doesn’t seem like an ordinary snowflake.”
“Right. This reacts to the mage’s mana and sticks to it.”
It was a wondrous magic that Agnes couldn’t even begin to fathom the principle of. Thanks to Ezekiel’s clever use, they could easily see who stood out the most.
Far away, someone was already turning into a snowman.
Ezekiel, after exhaling smoke, asked.
“Who is that?”
“That’s Leo. The top graduate of this academy’s most recent class.”
As expected, Leo would be selected. Just as Agnes thought this, she noticed something.
“Is that so.”
Ezekiel seemed uninterested and looked elsewhere.
Agnes inadvertently followed Ezekiel’s gaze and was taken aback. Strangely, there was a girl melting the snowflakes falling around her.
Ezekiel approached the girl and asked.
“You, what’s your deal?”
“Me…? Huh?”
The girl with pink hair pointed to herself, clearly on edge.
What was striking, though, was that she was sweating profusely.
Almost to the point of being excessive.
“Ah, hello! I’m Belka…!”
Belka shouted while wiping the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve. She even took a swig from the water bottle she was holding in one hand.
However, her nervousness about wanting to be chosen was somewhat overshadowed by a different expression—a fear of potentially not being selected.
“Please, don’t take me with you!”
Belka cried out.
“Explain your reasons.”
It was strange. Usually, candidates would plead to be taken along, but here was someone asking not to be taken while explaining why.
“I don’t know how to handle magic at all…! I can only use scrolls; I have no idea how I ended up at the Imperial Magic Tower!”
Agnes, who had been listening quietly, checked the details on the documents and nodded.
“Normally, you would have to fail to be accepted. It seems there were fewer applicants this year. Just checking your academy grades, you’re in the mid-low tier.”
“Yes, yes….”
Belka vehemently agreed with Agnes, not allowing herself to be offended.
However, Ezekiel noticed something peculiar.
Belka wasn’t stuck at the mid-low tier because she consistently obtained those grades; rather, she had received only top grades but was disqualified on other counts.
To get a top grade or be disqualified? That seemed remarkably extreme.
“Moreover, I’m not fit for team activities…”
Belka continued speaking, sweating profusely, to the point where her current robe was completely drenched, clinging to her form.
“I… my mana keeps boiling over… It spreads like a mirage, disrupting the mana control of the surrounding mages. It’s serious…”
“Your mana is boiling over?”
“Yes, yes! It’s true.”
When Belka stretched her hand to the right as if to show something, the snowflakes in that area immediately melted away.
“…”
Ezekiel picked up the stalk of Sunweed he had been holding.
He looked once at the Sunweed, then at Belka. Back to the Sunweed, then back to Belka.
“…”
…Right before him, the Sunweed sprouts were alive and breathing.
‘It’s a living Sunweed.’
Of course, Belka’s condition was still mild. It was still far less than the heating capacity of Sunweed, but this much was definitely worth cultivating. Very much so.
“Everyone else, please leave.”
The other novices exited the auditorium as if they had been waiting for the cue, and it didn’t take long for the space to empty.
Finally, Ezekiel nodded.
“Belka. You’re accepted.”
“…Huh? Y-yes?”
.
.
.
.
.
.
And so, the three individuals destined to embark on the mission were formed, and Belka, the one chosen, continuously visited Ezekiel.
Of course, the purpose of her visits was simply to cling to him.
“Inspector, I can’t do anything!”
“Just do nothing.”
“Whaaat?”
Meanwhile, the people inside the Magic Tower began to speculate eagerly.
Can we really go to Ruiple?
And if we do, can we solve the request?
Can we win the bet?
There was so much buzz that the mouths of the mages in the tower barely had a moment’s pause.
“…To overlook Leo, I can’t believe it.”
“Belka isn’t exactly a talented newbie… wait, could it be! Do they have confidence to cultivate even an inept?”
“Why do we absolutely have to go to Ruiple, anyway? What’s the reason?”
“For us, it’s just a matter of waiting to see the results.”
What kind of changes will Ezekiel lead in a week?
This was the Imperial Magic Tower’s most significant concern at that moment.
At the same time, anticipation and worry enveloped the entire tower.
It felt overwhelmingly enormous.
I faced the day of departure without any training.
‘This is the last of the Sunweed.’
And another thing.
“Can we talk for a bit?”
Hedera had come to find me.
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