The silence settled in the auditorium of the Imperial Magic Tower.
Cue crickets chirping.
Sure, it was quiet, but chaos was brewing.
Boom!
I mean, the chaos had been around for a week, but now it was hitting the limit where it couldn’t be contained anymore.
Rumble!
Thus began the Silent Clamor from every corner.
Whisper, whisper…
Innumerable telepathic messages started bursting forth.
—Should we just stick to the original agreement?
—Why are we sticking to the original agreement? Did we win or something? You feeling confident, huh?
—No way! The Princess seemed to have tried to help the Magic Tower, so what’s going on?
—Exactly what I’m saying!
In the midst of it all, someone threw out a plausible guess.
—Could it be because of pride?
Not the craziest idea. Ezekiel had been strutting everywhere like he was swimming in confidence since he showed up at the Tower.
—But pride is just…!
—We’re doomed.
—It’s barely been any time since the sale got canceled, and look at this mess!
—You really blew the scale of the bet out of proportion. Competing against the Princess’s knight?
Ezekiel’s feelings? Well, only he could know. But for the mages in the Tower, this was downright despairing news.
It was obvious the performance of Ezekiel, who stayed half a day in Ruiple, versus Valken, who stayed a week, was a no-brainer.
Facepalm!
Even the Princess generously showed some mercy, and…
Thud!
…he just threw it all away? Like, really?
Cue eye roll!
Just maddening!
But they couldn’t send a telepathic message to Ezekiel, so the mages’ messages took a different direction.
—Agnes!
—Hey, Agnes!
—Lady Agnes!
Naturally, they aimed it at Ezekiel’s secretary, Agnes.
—Agnes, can’t you intervene here?
—Isn’t this going too far?
—There’s a limit to pride, you know!
—Now that we’re in this mess, let’s know the result already.
—Just say something!
Silence…
Agnes silently closed her eyes.
Swirling thoughts…
Her head felt like it was about to burst.
Bing!
She thought her ears might just peel off with the sheer volume of telepathic messages bombarding her.
—Agnes! Do something!
—Our inspector has lost it!
She didn’t exactly find their feelings hard to understand.
If she’d stayed in the Tower, or if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes in Ruiple, she’d be just as worried. What Ezekiel pulled off was hard to believe without witnessing it.
Tick, tick, tick…
Eventually, Agnes opened her eyes.
—You think he’s insane?
—Agnes, do you think differently?
—No. You’re right, he’s definitely not in his right mind.
The flood of telepathic messages directed at her came to a halt. No one could grasp her intentions, causing everyone to be quite flustered.
—But.
In that silence, Agnes sent out one last telepathic message.
—I assure you, this inspector is by no means incompetent.
Then, there were no more telepathic messages coming back.
Awkward silence…
But.
Blushing!
She realized she might have overdone the compliments a bit.
Nyah!
That felt a little awkward.
—Just so you know, I don’t like that inspector very much.
Agnes added a hasty follow-up.
A week went by, and the 2nd Princess Hedera was filled with concern.
Biting nails!
Since learning about Ezekiel’s health, her mind hadn’t been at ease, and since it was her suggestion for the bet, she felt even worse. What if something went wrong? Guilt gnawed at her.
—The inspector has returned.
And sure enough, Ezekiel, who had left for Ruiple, came back in half a day. Had his health worsened in that time?
Half a day back, basically a cut-short visit.
Yikes!
Hedera was internally convinced of Valken’s victory. No need to even think about it. The performance of someone who stayed a day in Ruiple against someone who stayed a week? Clearly one-sided.
Pacing back and forth!
She didn’t want to disadvantage Ezekiel.
To ensure he didn’t hit rock bottom, Hedera stayed up all night, pulling her hair out in worry.
Pulling her own hair…
She thought and thought and thought.
Pop!
Thankfully, her headache didn’t last long. A brilliant idea lit up in her mind.
—A draw.
Yeah, let’s go for a draw.
Hedera, being the 2nd Princess, had enough clearance to freely open up the first floor of the Imperial Report. Let’s concoct a draw by offering rewards to both sides.
Once that thought hit her, all her worries faded away.
Bingo!
How could it not work?
With no clear loser, there would be two winners, meaning both sides would come out ahead. No counterarguments to that!
This way, everything could proceed exactly as Hedera planned. There wouldn’t be any discrepancies. At least, that’s what she thought.
Doubt rising…
But when Ezekiel walked into the auditorium, Hedera had a feeling that something strange was in the air. It was unavoidable.
Heartbeat racing!
No sense of defeat in his gaze, just nonchalance. Or maybe a look of apathy towards everything. It was like he couldn’t care less and just chewed on Sunweed.
Crunch, crunch…
She hadn’t felt anxious in ages.
Ping!
Was he exhausted from everything? Had he become so apathetic that he lost all motivation? Anxiety flooded in.
Worries crushing her heart…
His neglect of his own health for Hedera’s sake somehow hit her hard. Out of guilt, she quickly offered an opportunity.
—Your Highness, not that!
Predictably, Valken reacted as expected, but that was fine. As Hedera’s knight, surely he could be lured and soothed.
Calm down, calm down!
However, a shocking event unfolded right before her eyes. Boldly.
—“I’d prefer if you just stuck to the original agreement.”
Thud!
Why respond like that? Hedera thought she was smart, and the opportunity she provided was calculated to perfection.
But among all possibilities, she never imagined Ezekiel would audaciously reject her proposal.
Raises an eyebrow!
Of course not; his health was in dire straits!
There had to be plenty of helpful resources in the Imperial Report on the first floor. Wasn’t this the opportunity he needed?
Blink, blink…
Or was he just tossing out words he didn’t mean, just to bounce back? Questions filled Hedera’s mind.
But soon, she realized that wasn’t the case.
Open eyes wide!
The sincerity on Ezekiel’s face was unmistakable. Regardless of what Hedera thought, he was merely munching on Sunweed while waiting for the announcement.
Silent resolve…
—Should I turn the opportunity into an order? A choice that she had no option but to give up. Even she found it unreasonable.
Defeated sigh…
Now there was nothing else Hedera could do.
Deep breath…
—…Fine.
All that was left was to hear the results of the performance.
Tick, tock…
But if Ezekiel was heartbroken over this defeat, how should she react? That thought kept circling her mind.
—“Yes. Then we’ll announce first.”
Valken offered a courteous introduction.
—“We defeated 104 low-level demonic beasts.”
A number that was surprisingly low, leaving everyone puzzled.
—“In Ruiple, here’s the situation—”
After hearing Valken’s elaboration, it was evident as expected.
Womp womp!
Ruiple was nothing like what they had anticipated; after a week of frantically searching, that was their result.
Biting nails again!
Hedera felt anxious.
Valken’s lead was something she had already anticipated, so it should have been obvious. Despite thinking about it beforehand, she couldn’t shake off the feeling.
What if…
What if Ezekiel didn’t step back from his role as inspector?
What if…
And what if he vanished again?
She was caught in those thoughts. Ezekiel seemed to have made a firm decision and bore a calm demeanor. She felt a twinge of fear about what his conclusion would be.
—“Now it’s our turn.”
Finally, Ezekiel spoke.
Thud! Thud!
Hedera’s heart raced.
Drop the mic!
If his defeat was certain, how should she react? Should she feign disappointment and lose interest as usual?
But knowing his situation, how could she do that? Should she comfort him? But was it okay for her, given the fairness she needed to uphold?
Palpitations!
Her heart’s unease intensified amidst the swirling dilemmas.
Tick, tick, tick…
But the standoff didn’t last long. Ezekiel gestured to Agnes, and she pulled something out.
Gasps echoed…
Silence fell over the auditorium.
Everyone was perplexed, unable to identify the object as Agnes held it up for all to see.
Squinting and whispering…
Then, shortly after…
—“Performance: One high-ranking fiend defeated.”
Ezekiel’s report was strikingly straightforward.
—“And I have cleared the Ruiple area simultaneously.”
Hedera’s assumptions were fundamentally flawed from the start.
Boom!
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