When Noelle pushed open the old oak door of the Truth Roundtable conference room, which was carved with runes, she found herself to be the last one to arrive, as expected.
Thirteen high-backed chairs surrounded the roundtable, which was said to be even older than the Mage Tower itself. Most of the seats were already occupied.
Representatives from various schools were either flipping through the documents in front of them or exchanging whispers, but she was the only one yawning.
The old men from the Evocation School and the Essence School looked at her disheveled appearance and sighed softly.
A middle-aged woman with auburn hair, a Grand Mage of the Resonance School and one of the few council members who wasn't an old man, pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. This was Colmar, the Third Seat, and she cast a dissatisfied gaze toward Noelle.
Noelle waved a hand to show she had seen her.
Wald sat in the position of the Chief.
Every time Noelle saw him sitting there, she felt a subtle sense of incongruity. She knew perfectly well that the soul inside that shell had lived for untold centuries, yet that face looked roughly the same age as her own.
The Chief Grand Mage of the Mage Tower, the holder of 『Wisdom』, a being close to the peak, and the man who had been driving the progress of magic since the beginning of the Era of Dragon Sovereignty.
As one of the Six Heroes, the greatest in human history, what kind of beings held a status equal to his?
There was the Recorder, who forged the Holy Sword and led the first expedition to victory.
There was the Pope, who spread the holy light and exorcised the masses.
There was the Emperor, who ended the Era of Dragon Sovereignty and founded the nations of humanity.
There was the Primordial Machine God, whose physical body is still stored deep beneath Esperfite, having resisted the Black Tide with its own will for a thousand years, though it now lacks consciousness and is treated as a person in a vegetative state.
And there was the Traveler, who founded the Adventurer's Guild and left behind countless legends and travelogues among the common folk.
Among them, the Recorder and the Emperor were confirmed dead. The Primordial Machine God had no self-awareness. The Traveler's whereabouts remained unknown.
It could be said that in terms of individual might, the current Wald was a figure who shared the human race's dominance equally with Beatrice.
As for why he could never break through to the peak, even as his personal disciple, Noelle claimed she did not know the internal details. Many possibilities existed, but there was nothing that could serve as direct evidence.
However, upon thinking about it, Beatrice hadn't reached the peak either, so she felt somewhat at ease.
She found the chair for the Deputy and sat down, her robes bunching up under the armrests, though she was too lazy to straighten them. One of her plush slippers accidentally slipped off under the table, hitting the floor with a soft thud.
Wald remained motionless, but Colmar shot her a look. Noelle couldn't see her eyes behind the reflecting lenses, but she read the entire message from the slight twitch of a fraction of a millimeter at the corner of Colmar's mouth: “Put your shoe on, don't embarrass us.”
Noelle maintained a basic principle of trying not to clash with this woman, who was neither too old nor too young. So, she hooked the slipper back with her toes and slid it on.
“Since everyone is here, let us begin discussing the new agenda.”
Wald's voice wasn't loud, but the whispers around the roundtable ceased the moment he spoke his first word.
He raised a hand and tapped the table. The runic array engraved in the center of the roundtable lit up in response. Blue-white light outlined the contours of the continent, with lines for mountains and rivers as thin as hair, slowly rotating in the air.
“The date for the Abyss Expedition has been preliminarily determined. According to the joint calculations of the Church of Radiance, the Storm Empire, and Esperfite, we have less than six months to prepare.”
He paused and reached out to point at the mountain range marked as the World's Spine.
“The forward outpost for this expedition will once again be set at Dragon Ridge Castle. The lists of personnel from each school must be submitted to me by the end of the month. The quota limit is the same as the last expedition, with each school required to send at least one Grand Mage to participate...”
The representative of the Elemental School frowned and tapped the table.
“Lord Chief, in the last expedition, we already lost nearly forty percent of our Grand Mages. This time—”
Wald pushed his glasses up.
“There is no room for discussion regarding the list...”
Noelle's eyelids began to droop again, followed by a normal wave of sleepiness. She had been paying attention to the Abyss Expedition for a long time, and she already knew the information being presented. She just didn't understand why Wald had specifically called her here today.
She was currently a member of the Hero's party. Logically, she shouldn't be involved in the expedition's organization in her capacity as the Deputy of the Mage Tower.
Then, Wald's next sentence made her eyes snap open.
“Furthermore, there is one matter I need to inform you all of.”
His tone was no different than before. The only reason Noelle could detect something was wrong was purely because she had followed this man since she was a child. She had heard him speak tens of thousands of times over many years.
“The Death Marchers' camp has recently added a new Rank Eight.”
Silence fell around the roundtable for a moment.
“Identity confirmed.”
Wald's finger made a light stroke next to the map, and a line of runic text floated in the air.
“Vivian Blackwood. A former member of the Mage Tower's Shadow School, now a Rank Eight Grand Mage. She was sighted a month ago in the core area of the Black Tide's contaminated zone. The timing of her joining is unknown, and her specific motive is unclear.”
The sleepiness on Noelle's face vanished. Her mind quickly pieced these words together, confirming she hadn't misread them. But the conclusion after piecing them together was so surreal that she did it again.
The discussion around the roundtable surged like a tide and then receded. Someone from the Shadow School seemed to stand up and say something, and Wald replied. She heard a few words, but they didn't register.
Her mind held only that face she hadn't seen in years and those deep purple eyes.
After Wald finished relaying the information and gave instructions regarding the allocation of supplies before the expedition, he ended the meeting. The representatives of the schools began to leave one after another.
“Noelle, stay for a moment,” Wald said.
Only two people remained in the roundtable room. Wald took off his glasses, wiped the lenses with his sleeve, and put them back on.
“Noelle.”
“...I'm not deaf.”
“You are very concerned about Vivian.”
“How could I not be?”
There was no point in lying to this man; he could analyze your entire strategy before you even uttered the first word.
“Is this why you wouldn't let my true body go to support Esper?”
“Yes. If you appear in any area that is not under the protection of human forces, she will immediately launch an attack on you until you vanish from her sight.”
Noelle sank a bit further into the back of her chair, huddled in the oversized seat like a snail retreating into its shell.
“Noelle, how do you intend to handle this?”
“I don't know.”
At any other time or regarding any other matter, this answer would have been the precursor to Wald scolding her. As Grand Mage Wald's personal student, giving an “I don't know” to his questions was usually equivalent to inviting a several-hour-long academic critique.
But Wald didn't scold her. He only fell silent for a while.
“When Vivian first left the Mage Tower, she came back to find me once.”
Noelle didn't speak.
“She said she hated me, hated the mages of the other schools, and hated the entire Mage Tower. But the one she hated most was you.”
Noelle remembered that night ten years ago, that laboratory beneath the slums.
“She told me to kill her as soon as possible, or else one day, she would come back to destroy the entire Mage Tower.”
“...Why didn't you do it?”
“According to analytical projections, the probability of her returning to the right path was far greater than the probability of her complete fall.” Wald pushed his glasses up. “However, probability did not stand on my side this time.”
“...So, what is her current status?”
“Peak Rank Eight. Her talent was never weaker than yours to begin with, and through the Black Tide, she has obtained even greater power.” Wald spoke quietly. “Within the Abyss contamination zone, the Death Marchers are able to connect to their own possibilities under the blessing of the Abyss, assuming their strongest forms.”
“...Mhm.”
“From the information previously obtained from Avalon regarding the current holder of 『Greed』, Landon, we know that within the Black Tide contamination zone, he should be able to exert power countless times stronger than before.”
“...”
“Noelle.”
“I'm listening.”
Wald took off his glasses and looked at Noelle.
“She hates you, so you must be prepared.”
Noelle closed her eyes.
“...I know.”
“Perhaps you can explain things to her.”
“Explain?” Noelle let out a cold, angry laugh. “Teacher, if you had spent even a little more effort back then analyzing her thoughts, you wouldn't be telling me to explain things to her now.”
“I told you, she chose the option with the lowest probability. Noelle, you spent so much time with her; you should be well aware of that.” Wald said calmly.
“...Then how do you think I should explain it to her?”
“I don't know.”
“Heh.” Noelle's eyes were slightly open, a cold smile lingering on her lips. “Is this why you can't reach the peak?”
Wald pushed his glasses up. “I don't know.”
“...”
“But Noelle, my order for you to join the Hero's party was also partly due to plans for the Abyss Expedition. Because you will inevitably represent the Mage Tower in the crusade against the Death Marchers. Therefore, you need to gain experience beforehand.” He walked over to Noelle. “Now, Vivian has joined the Death Marchers as well. I hope you can be prepared before then.”
Noelle lowered her head, looking at her plush slippers.
“...I understand.” She stood up and walked toward the door.
“Noelle.” She stopped in her tracks. “What are your thoughts on the Hero?”
Noelle was silent for a moment. “A very good child.”
Wald looked at her for a long time. “You get along well with her.”
“...Mhm.” The corners of Noelle's mouth moved; she didn't smile, but she wasn't crying either. “She's noisy, stubborn, does things without considering the consequences, and constantly lands herself on the brink of death, forcing me to work myself to the bone to save her.”
Her voice began to tremble slightly.
“If it were her... back then... she probably would have done much better than I did, wouldn't she?”
The door opened and then clicked shut.
Wald stood alone by the Truth Roundtable, taking off his glasses and slowly wiping away non-existent fog from the lenses with his sleeve. The star chart rotated slowly behind him, those blue-white points of light tirelessly orbiting the old coordinate system, just as they had for countless eras past.
Rate on N.U.
