Chapter 124

Based on my 40 years of experience, such conversations are best held not in a quiet high-end tavern but in a noisy coffee house near the Street of Learning.

“Did you hear that Duke Valencius tried to kill the northern duke this time?”

“When carving this spell, adding this formula makes it more stable.”

“I want to get married after I graduate, but will I even be able to graduate?”

“Do you think the recently passed vigilante law makes any sense?”

“Did you see the student council dragging all those ‘Old School’ kids away earlier?”

Energetic students were engaged in various conversations about rumors, studies, careers, and current events.

Even if an ordinary topic was brought up, it would be drowned out by that noise, so there was no need to worry about eavesdropping magic.

“Your Excellency Valencius. You cannot keep a busy person waiting like this.”

Parnesia said with her red eyes sparkling.

If Lady Trentia’s eyes were as red as blood, Parnesia’s eyes were as red as flames.

“Count Parnesia. How could you find time to visit my guild when you claim to be so busy?”

Someone with similar eyes to hers was sitting at that table.

A genius mage wearing a pointed hat, with two different colored eyes shining, unleashing sharp retorts with a haughty expression.

“Since a junior is about to make the same mistake, as a senior, how could I just stand by? Princess Sererassie.”

“Isn’t there too much to gain from that to call it a mistake? Senior.”

It seemed that sparks could fly between their gazes.

Not as a metaphor, but for real.

I lightly interjected between them to diffuse the tension.

“Parnesia. We just need one more person to arrive. It’s the kind of face that Councillor Marcus would appreciate. Please wait. You might even come to like her. …Ah, here she comes.”

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The coffee house door closed, and the sound of a cane followed.

The youngest councillor, Konel, with chestnut hair and a sly, sharp visage, entered.

As soon as Konel walked in, he sat down facing Councillor Marcus.

Sererassie faced Parnesia, and I sat at the end of the table, acting as a mediator.

Of course, I was a mediator who would lean heavily towards one side.

But besides me, is there anyone who knows all the ins and outs of the magic guild, the council, and redevelopment? Certainly not, so I smugly smiled and acted like the goddess of the scales.

Considering she was also dressed in white, it could be twisted to work in my favor.

“Alright. It seems everyone who needs to be here is present.”

The two mages and two councillors looked at me.

A young old man with a Master title, fire mage Parnesia.

The guild master and councillor from the northern region, Marcus.

The extraordinary genius, Sererassie.

The youngest councillor, Konel.

I checked their faces one by one.

They were more than qualified to be referred to as high-ranking individuals from Silentalouon.

“Sister Sererassie? I think we can start.”

“Sure, little brother. Senior?”

She coolly smiled while looking at Parnesia.

“A junior has brought forth a hypothesis, would you listen?”

Her mouth smiled, but the blue and yellow eyes did not share that smile.

“I hope it is a hypothesis rather than fiction, Your Excellency.”

Parnesia literally didn’t blink.

With an expression of ‘I don’t know anything’ that matched her childish appearance, it might seem at first glance that Sererassie was tormenting a child.

However, I knew that Sererassie treated people regardless of age.

“Lightning is quite efficient for offensive magic, but it has the drawback of being difficult for area attacks, so it has only been used to target strong opponents until now, hasn’t it?”

“That’s right, junior.”

“But thanks to the diffusion magic circle I developed, now that efficient lightning can also be used for area attacks.”

Parnesia still appeared confident.

“Senior, you succeeded as a mage with area attack fire magic scrolls and fire magic tools, didn’t you?”

Sererassie seeped through like lightning penetrating armor.

“So, you were probably worried that I’d take that market from you and hurt your sales.”

* * *

Parnesia shrugged.

It was a contrived demeanor that didn’t suit her appearance.

“What an interesting hypothesis.”

“It’s not just you who felt worried. The councillor of this street, where your guild is located, felt worried too.”

Both Sererassie and Parnesia looked simultaneously at Marcus.

Marcus trembled, surprisingly incongruous for such a large stature.

“He’s a councillor and also the factory owner. He must have been irked by a new councillor who is absorbing several guilds into his territory with cheap land prices and labor.”

Sererassie dislikes Parnesia.

Marcus dislikes Konel.

“You’re creating employment and investing in this street, senior. I would think the two of them had various acquaintances. So, the two of them decided to team up to screw you and Konel, didn’t they?”

Parnesia’s childish face contorted.

It was the expression of an old hag who had survived decades in the Imperial Magic Guild.

“Do you have any evidence, Your Excellency?”

“Of course. Unlike my little sister, I don’t gamble on losing battles.”

Neither do I.

Do I appear that way?

It was all calculated and acted out.

I swallowed those thoughts internally.

Sererassie pulled out a few grimoires.

“Isn’t this a mass-produced grimoire? When I checked, it was a direct copy, and the original was written by you when you were a student, right?”

A grimoire has originals, copies, and mass-produced versions derived from them.

Since the act of capturing knowledge itself imbues mana, the closer it is to the original, the better the grimoire.

No matter how much it was for students, the quality of that grimoire was not something that should have several copies circulating.

“Why in the world would those ‘Old School’ thugs have this?”

“!”

Councillor Marcus’s eyes turned round.

Parnesia clicked her tongue.

Sererassie smiled at the two councillors.

“A few days ago, Councillor Konel revised the vigilante law. Isn’t it the case that in old slums, it’s vigilantes, while in places like this, it’ll just be thug pets?”

“Oh.”

“You didn’t seem too pleased with it either, but now I understand why. There were enough student thugs already under their thumb that there was no need to revise the law, but when other councillors can have their own pets, that must have stung your pride.”

If I gain nothing, yet others gain, that means a significant loss from the perspective of competitive rivalry.

“I…”

Marcus’s face was glistening with sweat.

Konel let out a short sigh.

Even an ordinary Konel seemed unable to think that far.

Sererassie continued with a chilling smile.

“After the two of you decided to join forces to screw over me and Konel, it was you who hired the student thugs that Marcus had been holding onto by giving him grimoires.”

Her two differently colored eyes burned with righteous indignation.

“Senior. How can this be? We are not councillors but noble mages, aren’t we?”

The councillors’ faces turned sour, but the two mages were unfazed.

After all, it was because it was about others.

“We might bow our heads to secular lords for research funding and protection, yet were we not pursuing unchanging truths? I thought you were a respectable senior who, despite being shaped by the crude competition of other seniors, stood up without bowing—why?”

If Parnesia had suggested fighting Sererassie, Sererassie wouldn’t have shown that expression.

“We renounce the vanity of worldly power play and pursue unchanging truths. Didn’t you also like those words? Has time burned away that passion?”

“Your Excellency.”

For the first time, Parnesia’s voice wavered.

Sererassie cut in like a lightning bolt.

“Why did you drag me back into this filthy muck after I had lived above the clouds! Why am I forced to utter words meant for my sister!”

It was a statement that punctuated the air.

* * *

Parnesia let out a deep sigh.

She took out a luxurious pipe from her bosom, filled it with tobacco, and lit it with a magic tool.

I couldn’t feel even a hint of guilt from that face.

An old hag who had survived for decades in the Imperial Magic Guild wasn’t so easily swayed.

As she exhaled smoke, she smiled like a girl possessed by a demon.

“Your Excellency. I regret that an accident occurred at my guild. But do I have to have a reason to ally with Marcus?”

“This…!”

Sererassie’s eyes turned bloodshot.

“I have received the title of Count, while he is merely a councillor of four years. To claim we joined forces due to aligned interests would be a bit… inappropriate, don’t you think?”

I shook my head and tilted the scales.

Sererassie had made a good point, but she wasn’t the kind suited for a debate in pursuit of truth.

There is a saying: trash goes in the trash can.

With absurd arguments met with absurdity, and corruption met with corruption.

I proudly declared that I had reached the peak in all those fields.

“There might be no appropriateness, but there are aligned interests.”

I lowered my voice and made a circle with my thumb and forefinger.

The gazes of both councillors and mages focused on me.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Are you saying you have something to claim from a councillor?”

Both Marcus and Parnesia showed puzzled expressions.

This time, I could tell it was an act.

It was a face I often made in front of Jeilliris.

In this life, I wanted to diligently hone swordsmanship and magic more than such abilities.

Yet, even in this life, the falsehoods piled atop often overshadowed the truth.

I smiled wryly and said, “The royal grant rebate.”

“!”

“I’ve heard it’s typically set at 15% as an industry standard.”

A slight twitch appeared on Parnesia’s child-like face.

The hand holding the pipe was trembling too.

I continued in a languid tone.

“Parnesia. Haven’t you built quite a few guilds in this street until now?”

There’s a thing called rebate.

It’s a system where a portion of the money paid is returned afterward.

The problem is that it’s initially paid with guild funds, merchant funds, or royal funds, but when it’s returned, it’s received personally by that clerk or administrative officer and embezzled.

It can often be used like a bribe.

Let’s say the palace announced an event where 1,000 flowers were needed for decorations.

At that point, the administrative officer in charge wouldn’t go to a florist selling 1,000 flowers for ten gold coins but would intentionally go to a florist selling 1,000 flowers for fifteen.

They’d buy the flowers at that markup and the florist would return about three coins to the administrative officer.

Both the florist and the officer make a profit.

It was my job to catch and execute such scoundrels.

Second, royal grants.

The magic guilds don’t only make military scrolls or magical tools.

Markets for civilian magical tools like the ‘lighter’ that Parnesia just used are considerable and much easier to create.

Naturally, mages want to produce civilian magical tools.

Thus, the royal palace promises to focus on making military magical tools during the war and provides funding to those mages constructing large guilds.

“I’m sure you’ve garnered substantial funding while building your guilds.”

During this time, just like Konel did for Sererassie, the councillor or construction guild from that street actively cooperates.

No matter how overpriced they quote, the mages coming with the royal grant provide it without question.

Initially, they might not have understood worldly matters while only researching, but eventually, they come to realize they can receive rebates and do so.

“The budget received for building guilds is technically royal funding, but when it’s returned, it’s money that ends up in my own pocket.”

Before my return, I had caught a lot of these and had done just as much.

I reminisced bitterly.

“It must have been sweet. Like awakening to the secrets of the world. The thrill of receiving a large amount of money all at once is exhilarating. There’s friendship felt only with those shady partners who share dark secrets.”

Sererassie’s face hardened, and Konel gritted his teeth.

Parnesia also clenched her teeth along with them.

“But once you accept a bribe, you must keep accepting. If a councillor mentions that our guilds might slip away from this street, then you have to hand over those direct copy grimoires to thugs you wouldn’t have even looked at before. Sharing secrets means you have vulnerabilities too, you know.”

I turned to Marcus.

For the first time, he smiled.