V16C13: The Coolest Job Title I Came Up With

“…As stated in the report, it’s decided that all causes lie with the shaman Peter Sams. And the Second Prince, who escaped execution, will likely leave the capital after graduating from Serendia Academy under the pretext of recuperating from the curse.”

While listening to Heidi’s report, the Emperor carelessly raised his goblet.

Yuan, standing by his side, poured grape wine into it, and the Emperor sipped its contents.

“I see, with this, Duke Crockford will lose his influence, and eventually the First Prince will become king… Silent Witch has fulfilled her promise to me.”

With this flow of events, it seems there will be no war between the Empire and the Ridill Kingdom for the time being.

As the Emperor, he wouldn’t have minded even if Duke Crockford was executed… In fact, that would have been more convenient for him. The Duke was a capable man with immense power. Losing him would be a heavy blow to the Ridill Kingdom.

And the Emperor secretly schemed to take advantage of their weakened national strength.

“Hmph, what a dull and uneventful result she led us to. Just as expected of that ambitionless girl.”

“If it were Your Majesty, you’d probably have taken Duke Crockford’s position for yourself.”

At Yuan’s murmur, the Emperor chuckled hoarsely.

That’s right. It’s precisely because he has kicked down the incompetent and those in his way that he now sits on the Emperor’s throne.

The Emperor drained his grape wine, licked his lips with a smack, and gazed at the goblet in his hand.

“While the ending lacked excitement… that Black Chalice mentioned in the report is intriguing. Silent Witch surely creates rather interesting things.”

The existence of the Black Chalice has not been made public within the Ridill Kingdom. Currently, the Kingdom’s Association of Magicians and Magic Tool Union are frantically analyzing the Black Chalice.

As an Empire promoting medical magic, the Empire desperately wants the technology of the Black Chalice, which can analyze genes.

“Surely Silent Witch didn’t create it alone? Was Minerva involved in its development?”

“No, it was manufactured in the workshop of Marquis Anvard’s territory.”

At Heidi’s words, the Emperor tapped his temple with his fingertip.

He had heard the name of Marquis Anvard’s territory several times before. When it comes to producing high-quality large magic tools in the Ridill Kingdom, it’s the first name that comes to mind.

Just as the Empire leads other countries in medical magic, the Ridill Kingdom is one step ahead in magic tool technology. If they could cooperate technologically, it would benefit both sides.

Moreover, while the Empire has a larger territory than the Ridill Kingdom, it has less land suitable for agriculture. For this reason, the magic tool industry is something the Empire wants to actively adopt, to provide jobs for people living in such lands.

“Hmm, very well, let us establish a new treaty with the Ridill Kingdom. By promoting technological exchange with the artisans of Marquis Anvard’s territory, or enhancing the exchange student system between institutions for training mages, it will eventually bring great benefits.”

“But I don’t think the Ridill Kingdom will easily let go of their own technicians, do they?”

At Yuan’s point, the Emperor snorted.

“Well, then we’ll just have to improve the facilities of our own universities and workshops to the point where magicians and magic tool technicians from other countries will want to come to our country of their own accord! The alliance is merely a means to facilitate movement between the two countries.”

The Emperor does not hesitate to invest in facilities for the sake of developing his own country.

More prosperous! More convenient! And more importantly, more fun! That is the Emperor’s motto.

“For that purpose, we shall establish a new position in our country! The pinnacle of magic technicians in our nation! Its name shall be: ‘Magic Technology Honorary Adviser, Imperial Magic Cross Blaze Four Heavenly Artisans’!!”

──Magic Technology Honorary Adviser, Imperial Magic Cross Blaze Four Heavenly Artisans.

Yuan repeated the words with a blank expression and commented,

“…Your Majesty, that doesn’t sound like a title for a crafting position.”

＊　＊　＊

Twenty days had passed since the Supreme Council, but the upper echelons of the Ridill Kingdom were still busy with the aftermath of the scandal surrounding the suspicion that the Second Prince was an imposter.

A prime example of this was the Seven Sages.

Starting with the fact-checking of the petition brought by the Silent Witch to the council, they also had to analyze the magic tool “Black Chalice” she created, as well as investigate the sorcerer she mentioned in her statement.

On top of all the council-related work, they had another major task.

That was the selection of a new member for the vacant seat among the Seven Sages.

In the Jade Room within the Ridill Kingdom’s castle, Louis Miller the Barrier Magician, Raul Roseburg the Thorn Witch, and Ray Albright the Abyss Shaman were engrossed in narrowing down the list of candidates to become the new Seven Sages member.

Since Louis was a former Magic Corps commander, he was well-versed in capable battle magicians. Raul and Ray, on the other hand, came from long lines of magician and shaman families, so they had plenty of interactions with prestigious mages. Therefore, these three were tasked with initially listing promising candidates and roughly narrowing them down.

“Seriously, not a single impressive one among them.”

As Louis flipped through the list, he had an obvious look of annoyance on his face as he wrote comments next to the names.

The comments included scathing remarks like “zero battle experience, just fluff,” “famous professor’s pet goldfish,” “third-rate in their papers,” and “only redeeming quality is connections.”

Louis then divided the files with comments into three piles.

Watching from the side, Raul asked puzzledly, “What are those piles for?”

“‘Outright rejected,’ ‘Mediocre,’ and ‘Barely worth considering’… Hey, who recommended my idiotic disciple?”

“Oh that? I thought it’d be fun.”

As Raul raised his hand, Louis clicked his tongue openly.

“‘Outright rejected’!”

“Eh~ I think he has some redeeming qualities. A magician who was trained in barriers by Barrier Magician and had his magic formulas instructed by Silent Witch. You don’t find many like that, do you?”

After all, Louis’ disciple Glenn Dudley possesses a mana capacity comparable to Raul’s.

As Raul praised Glenn, Louis frowned and dipped his quill pen into the inkwell.

“I’ll admit he has great potential. Yes… perhaps too much potential, which is why now is not the time to let him spread his wings.”

“So you’re actually being a proper mentor, huh?”

As Raul laughed, Louis snorted and moved on to the next file.

Following Glenn’s recommendation was Hubert Dee, nephew of the Artillery Magician and a troublemaker expelled from Minerva.

Louis crossed out his name with a large ‘X’.

“‘Outright rejected’!”

“Hey, hey, don’t tell me you’re still hung up over that magic duel the other day?”

“……..”

Unusually, Louis furrowed his brow and muttered resentfully.

“…Do you know what my daughter said to me when I came home that day with insect-repellent grass stuck to my coat?”

“Huh? But your daughter was just born, right?”

“As I approached the bed to see my daughter’s sleeping face, she opened her eyes, just like her lovely mother, and said… ‘Stinky’.”

It’s hard to believe a newborn would know the word “stinky.”

Raul thought she might have just let out a hiccup or sneeze that sounded like “hinghi,” but Louis’ expression was utterly serious.

“…Can you imagine a father’s feelings when his own daughter calls him stinky? Eh? …Are you listening, Shaman?”

Of course, Ray was ignoring Louis’ snide remarks and silently sorting through the candidates.

However, upon closer inspection, Ray had divided the list into just two piles. Young women, and everyone else.

“…New Seven Sages… colleague… I want a girl who will love me…”

So much for doing his work seriously. This is what he was up to.

If Raul passed Ray’s piles to Louis, he would likely have a fit. So Raul decided to re-sort them himself.

As he worked on re-sorting the candidates, Raul returned to casual conversation with Louis. He preferred chatting while working whenever he was with someone.

“But you know…”

“What is it?”

“For someone who’s still hung up on it, you didn’t really lash out at Monica, did you?”

After the Supreme Council ended and Louis belatedly arrived at the castle, he was brimming with killing intent while Monica had the look of someone resigned to death. However, all Louis said to her was a single line.

──You did well, little girl.

He said just that and left the scene.

When Raul brought up that moment, Louis shrugged slightly.

“The barking of a defeated dog is not my hobby. Honestly… that was the second time I was cleanly defeated by that little girl.”

He must be referring to the time Monica beat him in the magic duel in the selection of the Seven Sages.

“But you know, deep down you respect Monica the most, don’t you?”

“One cannot turn a blind eye to facts. The fact is that girl possesses exceptional talent… When I witness that talent firsthand, this entire list starts to look like trash that should be burned.”

He remarked so despite his own disciple being on that list.

What a frightening statement, Raul muttered to himself. Then he remembered something and mentioned it.

“Speaking of Monica, I saw her rushing out of the palace in a hurry earlier. Did she have some urgent business?”

“Well, that’s because…”

Louis stopped moving his quill pen and looked out the window.

“Today is the graduation ceremony at Serendia Academy.”

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