When the parlor door was pushed open, the first thing Esper saw was a pair of fluffy slippers.
They protruded from beneath the desk, hanging askew on a pair of ankles so white they seemed to glow.
Then came a crumpled, dark blue mage robe, long silver-and-black striped hair spread across half the desk, and Noelle, who was fast asleep on the table.
Her face was buried in her crossed arms, her breathing steady and even, a small dark patch of drool soaking into her cuff.
“...”
Esper walked over, reached out, and pinched her nose.
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.
Noelle snapped her head up, her silver-gray eyes glaring through a watery mist.
“Puh-ha! Cough, cough... Why do you only pick up bad habits instead of good ones? Who taught you that?”
“Does someone need to teach me that?”
“You shouldn't wake me up like that! You should say respectfully, ‘Lady Noelle, please wake up, the weather is beautiful today...’”
“It's raining outside.”
“Then say, ‘Lady Noelle, please wake up, today is a perfect day for sleeping.’”
“Then why would I wake you up?”
Noelle buried her face back into her arms.
“...That makes too much sense. I'm going back to sleep.”
“Why is your true body here?”
Noelle stopped, sighed, and pushed her upper body up from the desk.
Her silver-and-black striped hair slid off her shoulder, a few stray strands sticking to her cheek, with a trace of drool still at the corner of her mouth.
“Just a task from Wald. He said something about maintaining diplomatic appearances, so I can't just lie around sleeping in the tower anymore. The Deputy Grand Mage of the Mage Tower must attend the joint conference in person.”
“My condolences.”
“Condolences for what? I'm not dead. Though I felt pretty close to it when I was dragged out of bed.”
Muttering under her breath, she pulled two palm-sized tokens from her robe pocket, tossing one to Esper and the other to Eladia, who was standing by the door.
The surface of the tokens was carved with the standard blue-and-white patterns of the Mage Tower, cold to the touch.
“The pre-war joint conference officially starts in forty-two minutes. If you channel your magic into it, you can temporarily project your consciousness into the Mage Tower's Roundtable.
Everyone probably hasn't arrived yet, so you can go get acquainted first. They're likely very curious about what kind of person the famous new Hero is.”
“...Me, socializing with those big shots?”
“They'll have their trusted aides attending as observers too. For example, the Empress will bring the Sword Saint, and Esperfite will bring the Conquest Knight.
Wald and Beatrice were originally supposed to bring me and the Saintess, but since the two of us are now counted as members of your team, they'll probably choose someone else. Hmm... let me see. Here's the newly issued attendee list. Here, take a look.”
Noelle handed Esper a document as well.
Esper took the document and began to flip through it.
【First Pre-War Meeting of the Abyss Expedition Attendee List】
【Storm Empire: Emperor—Veronica, Sword Saint—Rihanna】
That Empress who looked like she could kill with a glance, and the legendary Sword Saint.
【Church of Radiance: Pope—Beatrice, Disciplinary Cardinal—Cecilia】
The bitch and the pink-haired girl she had met a few times.
【Mage Tower: Chief Grand Mage of the Truth Roundtable—Wald; Third Seat of the Truth Roundtable, Grand Mage of the Resonance School, Messenger—Colmar】
“Do you know this Colmar?”
“A pretty decent person, she just doesn't like me very much.”
“...You really are quite disliked.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
【Esperfite: Pope—Ann, Conquest Knight—Riddell】
The timid youth she had met before, and the so-called pacifist knight Fina had once mentioned.
“...How could there possibly be a pacifist in a nation full of lunatics?”
【Heart of the Forge: Ultimate Smith—Barton, Princess—Brynhild】
Considered one of the greatest blacksmiths of the present age, along with his daughter.
Speaking of which, Esper was actually a little curious about who was better at smithing—the Human Ancestor or this guy.
...Whatever, forget it.
【Fanged Wastelands: Beast King—Fenrir, Kane】
“Is there no title or introduction for this Kane?”
“Ah, that name is a first for me too. There's no record of it in the archives.”
【Sky Crown: Cloud Lutist—Icarus, Princess—Astra】
Supposedly, he was a king obsessed with art, as evident from his title of "Cloud Lutist."
“Oh, by the way, this Astra is currently the strongest fighter among the entire winged race.”
“...The princess is the strongest fighter?”
“The winged race has a culture that values literature and art above all else, and they mainly study defensive tactics. Their Heavenly Wing Array is still quite troublesome to deal with, even if their individual combat power is trash.”
【Forest of Star Whispers: High Priest—Galadriel, Princess—Elanor】
The legendary elves.
But to be honest, Esper didn't have any grand fantasies about this race.
They felt essentially the same as the Scavengers—both lived for a very long time, both of their representative colors were green, and both were highly out of touch with the outside world...
【Fibores: Machine Lord—Nephelia, Guard—Viola】
The city of the Dinomen.
Thinking about it, the Abyss Expedition was truly a wondrous thing, actually capable of uniting bitter enemies like the dark elves and the elves.
...But the demons would be coming too, right? She wondered who would be accompanying them.
【Endless Sand Sea: Sand King—Naga, Daughter of the Sandstorm—Lyla】
Supposedly, he was a young king whose methods were not yet mature, and he wasn't very well known.
But she did have some impression of the Daughter of the Sandstorm listed next to him; she seemed to be quite popular.
Apparently, she worked as a tour guide.
【Dragon Clan: Fire Dragon—Ignis】
“Only a single fire dragon is coming from the Dragon Clan?”
“The Dragon Clan is almost entirely dead. The few survivors either said they were busy or flat-out refused to come. Originally, everyone planned to drag one over by force, but then the fire dragon signed up on her own.”
Esper paused on the name Ignis for a moment.
“She's quite enthusiastic.”
“Yeah. You've read 《How to Tame a Fire Dragon》, right?”
“Yeah, why...”
Esper choked.
《How to Tame a Fire Dragon》
The most famous smutty book on the entire continent.
It detailed various ways to tame a fire dragon.
“...The fire dragon in there...”
“Yep, she's the prototype.”
Many images suddenly flashed before Esper's eyes.
“Hey, hey, don't dwell on the past. Keep reading.”
【Hero's Party: Hero—Esper, Saintess—Eladia, Deputy Grand Mage of the Truth Roundtable—Noelle】
“...Can I be counted as an independent faction?”
“You're the Hero, after all. You get special privileges.”
Esper sighed and continued reading down the list.
【Demon Realm: Demon King—Rafina, Head of the Vampire Royal Court—Eliza】
Esper's hand trembled slightly.
Noelle flopped back onto the sofa, grabbing a cushion and stuffing it under her head.
“I'm going to take a nap first. You and the Saintess go get acquainted with everyone.”
“...You're not going?”
“My face is too familiar. Going there would just be a social disaster. Besides, none of them want to get to know me any better. Anyway, go on ahead yourself. I'll head over when it's time.”
She rolled over, burying her face in the cushion, her voice muffled.
“Good luck.”
“...”
Esper stared at those two names.
She didn't want to go.
It had been so long. Were they really going to meet so suddenly like this?
“...”
Eladia stepped up behind Esper.
“Esper... are you unhappy...?”
“...It's nothing. Let's go in.”
She looked at Eladia, and ultimately channeled her magic into the token.
In an instant, her vision was engulfed by a white light.
When the light dissipated, Esper found herself standing in an extremely spacious circular hall.
Eladia appeared behind her shortly after.
The dome here was incredibly high, embedded with glowing runes, casting even light from all directions.
In the center of the hall was a massive roundtable. The tabletop was made of some dark wood, its surface carved with intricate lines that looked like a simplified map of the continent.
Arranged around the roundtable were over a dozen chairs of various styles, some already occupied, others still empty.
But Esper's attention was not drawn to the chairs or the table first.
Rather, it was drawn to a person walking straight toward her.
Rate on N.U.
