Rumors spread faster than anything else.
For those who have been waiting for that rumor, it spreads even faster.
The Imperial Capital, the Holy Temple dedicated to the Sun God.
“Hehe…”
The angel of the Empire, the Face of the Empire, the 3rd Princess… Solana broke into a girlish laugh. It was an expression hard to imagine from her usually kind and mature demeanor.
“A bet. A bet with even the former commander of the Imperial Knights.”
However, there was no trace of concern on Solana’s face. Instead, it was just filled with interest.
“It’s simply amazing. To cause such an incident immediately upon taking office, a inspector like this must be unprecedented. Right?”
Meanwhile, the priest who brought the information thought quietly.
…Not unprecedented, but unparalleled.
Yet at this moment, he dared not voice his thoughts.
“Yeah. I’ve never seen an inspector like this in my lifetime.”
Still, he nodded. He could fully agree with the statement of an unparalleled inspector.
What is an inspector of the Magic Tower?
Most inspectors merely fill their term aimlessly while indulging themselves. As long as they don’t cause an incident, it’s a sweet position. That’s about it.
Yet, here’s an inspector who takes the initiative to stir things up.
…It’s truly been a long time since I’ve seen such a thing. No, it’s my first time.
“Ahem.”
In any case, Solana seemed pleased with the news the priest brought, occasionally leaking a mysterious smile.
The priest had nothing to say and thus spoke up.
“I apologize. It seems I’ve interrupted Your Highness’s morning prayer by bringing unnecessary news.”
“Not at all. It’s information I requested in the first place.”
“Then I will take my leave.”
Once the priest departed, Solana was left alone again. Now, she would have to start her day as a saintess.
She pushed aside all thoughts except for one person and clasped her hands together, shutting her eyes gently.
“Oh, Sun God…”
At dawn.
Without fail, Solana’s day begins with a prayer for the peace of a certain man.
“Your Highness.”
“Speak.”
“I must ask, what is your relationship with the inspector?”
On the top floor of the Magic Tower. While resting in a special guest room for the 2nd Princess, Hedera narrowed her brow.
“…”
Hedera silently glanced at Valken for a moment.
“Sigh.”
Finally, as if understanding, she let out a deep breath.
Now that she thought of it, it was true. The actions and dialogues exchanged when she met Ezekiel in the corridors of the Magic Tower… Valken had been observing everything blatantly.
Letters, sincerity, and so on. There were provocative words one might think indicate a romantic relationship. It wouldn’t be strange at all.
Fortunately, Hedera was in a position where she only needed to issue orders.
“Forget it.”
“Yes. Since you command it, I shall forget.”
Valken respectfully bowed.
“I knew it wasn’t my place to meddle. But Your Highness, what I was concerned about was…”
“I know what you’re thinking. You were worried about my Ascension Ceremony.”
Hedera cut off Valken’s words.
“Valken, I know your loyalty well. But there’s nothing I prioritize as much as the Ascension Ceremony. Whatever stance I take towards the Magic Tower and the inspector, it certainly isn’t driven by emotions.”
“…Yes. Your Highness is a perfect person.”
─Your Highness is a perfect person.
Words Valken had often uttered while serving Hedera countless times.
But for the first time, as he spoke those words, he felt a stone lodged in his heart.
Because the current 2nd Princess felt incomplete.
The Ascension Ceremony.
To pass it safely, one must exhibit perfection. In other words, it’s better to cast away human-like facets and be reborn as a true dragon.
…However, the current Hedera was definitely not that.
An experienced knight like Valken wouldn’t miss it. He could see how it subtly changed Hedera’s facial muscles and the movements of her fingertips when dealing with Ezekiel.
There was definitely some emotion present in Hedera at that moment.
‘Ezekiel, what in the world are you?’
Thanks to that, Valken only had that question on his mind.
“This proposal regarding performance was purely from curiosity about the inspector’s prowess. I engaged in a bet with you, and while things escalated, it’s probably not a bad thing.”
“Do you think the bet will hold?”
Valken asked incredulously.
But Hedera remained silent, continuing her thoughts.
“You can tell just by looking at the presentation. It’s not merely about being good at magic. He has boundless creativity.”
“Sure, he was impressive.”
“Impressive? That kind of word doesn’t encompass the feeling I have. So, how should I put it…”
She suddenly stopped speaking and waved her hand lightly.
“Um, never mind. I’m getting long-winded. It’s unbecoming.”
In Valken’s eyes, it seemed the princess got a little excited about continuing her words but consciously stopped herself.
“In any case, my escort knight will do his best.”
“…Your Highness. I am Valken.”
Valken replied somewhat suppressed.
The strength of knights wielding sword energy and sword strength is certainly on par with mages. In fact, Valken is a former commander of the renowned Imperial Knights. He rarely experiences defeat.
Sometimes, Valken felt a bit displeased with Hedera’s attitude.
Even in a position respected by other knights, Hedera often spoke as if Valken fell short compared to others.
As if she had witnessed something too extraordinary. Thus, she seemed unimpressed by most things.
“I know. I’m telling you because I recognize your excellence.”
But in the next moment, Valken doubted his eyes.
That feeling of awe.
He thought he glimpsed something in the princess’s eyes.
“You might find this bet quite burdensome.”
In the corridors of the Magic Tower.
The leader of the Practical Faction, Nox, was someone capable of enjoying a drink. The problem was that he was drunk in broad daylight.
“Hahaha! Hahahaha!”
He burst into laughter, almost maniacally.
“Finally! The Magic Tower has avoided the sale!”
But the next moment, he suddenly collapsed.
“Ugh… Hic…! Haaah!”
He panted heavily as tears streamed down his face, shaking his head wildly.
“It’s over. It’s over! A bet with the knight escort of the 2nd Princess… Did I leap for a bigger fall? What is going to happen to this Magic Tower now…!”
“…Is he bipolar? That’s unfortunate at such a young age.”
Ezekiel commented, watching the scene.
Anes, who was observing Ezekiel, also spoke up.
“Isn’t this all thanks to the inspector?”
While Nox seemed insane, in reality, the entire Magic Tower was enveloped in the same atmosphere. Although they had avoided the sale, how would they win the bet?
The situation was utterly unclear.
…Of course, Ezekiel remained remarkably calm.
“I’ll thank you after the bet is over. It’s still too early.”
“I’m not saying I’m thankful. It’s sarcasm. By sarcasm, I mean—”
“Enough. I’ll be grateful anyway. I will win.”
“What on earth is that confidence… Anyway, look.”
While walking through the corridor, Anes suddenly stopped.
In the center of the Magic Tower corridor was something resembling a massive chalkboard, covered with documents of various colors, all stuck tightly at regular intervals.
“The Imperial Magic Tower isn’t only funded by taxes. The requests we receive are posted here, and we get rewards for resolving them.”
“So, even though it’s filled, there are always requests coming in?”
“Hardly any come in. They stack up because we can’t resolve them.”
“That means it’s been running at a deficit for nearly a decade.”
“…Yes.”
Anes coughed lightly, maintaining a serious expression.
“In fact, these requests don’t exclusively belong to our tower. Other towers, knight orders… they come in simultaneously.”
“Of course. As long as someone resolves them, it doesn’t matter who.”
“The important thing is that we didn’t become this cluttered due to incompetence. What remains here are things that other towers and knight orders couldn’t resolve.”
Anes spoke with a deadpan seriousness.
In any case, something more eye-catching than the current tasks appeared, and it was the colors. There was one that stood out brightly yellow among the white papers piled around.
“Something with a different color exists. What is it?”
“We change the paper color according to the difficulty. White for medium, yellow for high, red for extreme. That sort of thing.”
Ezekiel scrutinized the yellow paper carefully.
[Erosion Phenomenon Purification Request]
[The erosion phenomenon in the Ruiple region is severe. Monsters, including fiends, are appearing. As quickly as possible….]
“Recently, the erosion phenomenon in the Ruiple region is serious. Although we have hunted evil creatures several times, they keep reappearing as if nothing happened, which is the issue.”
“It was a request not for extermination, but to identify the cause.”
“Exactly. The Blue Tower has already attempted twice but failed, leading to talks of raising it to a red request recently.”
Ezekiel understood why the paper was yellow.
Simply exterminating monsters isn’t difficult, but if the aim is to find and eliminate the recurring cause, the difficulty naturally escalates.
“I should take my time and choose by today. I understand for now.”
Anes silently nodded at these words.
At the same time, she felt relieved.
Is there any strategy more important than carefully selecting requests with a chance of success?
In fact, Anes was quite worried about what Ezekiel might propose regarding the Ruiple region’s requests.
…That’s practically impossible. A request we shouldn’t attempt.
Moreover, the Ruiple region’s request had already been accepted by Valken. If Ezekiel were to accept that, it would mean direct competition in real-time in the same area….
…It’s terrifying just to think about it.
Anes now understood Ezekiel’s greatness.
But.
‘Performance tasks should be done by at least three people.’
If the remaining two caught Ezekiel’s ankle, wouldn’t the situation get significantly harder? The opposing side would likely consist of at least three knights of Valken’s caliber, forming a trifecta.
So, a more optimal choice surely existed.
“It would be better if we handle several white requests. A quantity battle.”
Since yellow requests are worth 10 points and white requests 1 point, if we diligently resolved around ten white ones, we might just manage a draw.
Fortunately, Ezekiel nodded as well.
“Understood. I’ll consider it.”
After which, the relieved Anes impulsively added one more word.
“Yes. I will assist as much as I can.”
Then Ezekiel suddenly handed her a box.
“Fill this with sunweed.”
“…”
Anes tried to protest but closed her mouth. She had just proclaimed her intent to assist.
Just a moment ago.
Eventually, she fumbled her lips and expressed her objection.
“Nowadays, getting sunweed is quite difficult.”
Ezekiel’s gaze shifted toward Anes’ cube.
“…Is that really the case?”
A bead of sweat gathered on Anes’ forehead.
“You can’t threaten me by taking my cube hostage.”
“Then explain the reason.”
“The largest production area of sunweed is Ruiple. These days, they are struggling due to the erosion phenomenon. It’s not going well because of the fiends, and distribution has also been cut off.”
“I see.”
Anes finally sighed in relief.
However, the next moment.
She realized it was no time to relax.
“…!”
On the yellow request paper stuck to the board.
The request that knight Valken had already accepted.
The Ruiple region, high difficulty, identify the cause of the erosion — Ezekiel was carefully inspecting that request paper.
“…Arrogant fiends.”
The inspector murmured, looking very serious.
“I suppose it’s time to show them what fear is.”
“…”
Anes already had a feeling of what fear might be.
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