Auction house?

Elodie’s curiosity was piqued at those words.

It’s true that there wasn’t much time left for the final exams. She felt a level of frustration that she hadn’t felt during the midterms.

Elodie is unable to control the strength of her magic. When she thought about it, it didn’t seem like something so important, but it wasn’t easy for the students to carry out missions within the fields where there were students everywhere.

If there were an artifact that could help with mana control, I would be able to display my abilities better on the final exams.

“What’s coming in?”

“Hm, don’t be surprised. The legendary metal ‘Viper Steel’ is coming in!”

“…….”

“I’d be troubled if you weren’t surprised.”

“Yeah. Right. Viper Steel.”

Whatever. That’s something amazing. Where on earth did you get that.

The fact itself was surprising, but Elodie felt nothing in particular. Of course, to Elodie who was a wizard, it was completely useless.

“Elodie, if it’s Viper Steel, it might be able to withstand your magic output.”

“Withstand it? Why? I’m supposed to be reducing my output.”

"Being able to withstand means it can also be stored. It means you can control your output and store that mana."

Whoa.

That is interesting.

"How about it? Will you give it a try? Since it's something that will belong to you, we'll have the best magical device company make it. If possible, we should place an order with 'Hitchcock'."

"Hmm..."

Elodie pondered for a moment.

Even though things went this way and that, she felt better while talking to Revet.

It would have been nice if things ended there, but even though Revet was considerate, he was tactless.

"By the way, I heard you've been speaking with the second son of the Roach family frequently in Constel these days. Even at the social gathering the other day. Of course, I didn't see it myself, but-"

Elodie sighed naturally. She wondered why her brother wasn't talking about Frondier.

"Don't you start too, brother. I'm already feeling down."

"What? Is it still because of that punk, Frondier? I'll grab that bastard, and-"

"If you do that, won't you have to face six opponents?"

"...Six? Did Frondier gain followers? But, a mere student from Constel can't possibly be my enemy-"

"Hm. Me, Agni, Rudra, Indra..."

"Elodie...!"

Revet let out a desperate voice filled with anguish.

Of course, he was outside the room.

* * *

In the southern part of the continent, there is a territory the Empire has yet to reach.

It's part of the Empire's territory, but it's too desolate for any living being to inhabit.

The southern end, where no humans, animals, or monsters reside.

In this place, there is a cliff with a cross-section that forcibly separates the land and the sea. A large river flowing from above falls down to form a waterfall.

Somewhere inside this gigantic waterfall with a diameter of over 3km, there is a cave that uses the entire cliff as its space.

Manggot. It's said that those who live closest to the 'outside' are relatively safe because monsters don't come near it, ironically.

[Has something changed?]

A meeting is currently underway in the cave, in its deepest darkness.

Hagley said.

"His arrogance remains the same. However, he wasn't under any enchantment."

[Did he notice you using magic?]

"It didn't seem that way."

[Hmm. Even an incompetent fool will show some growth after that much time. Besides, humans tend to develop immunity to enchantments.]

Hagley simply bowed his head deeply at those words.

He, too, never believed that magic would work indefinitely. It had worked too well with Frondier up until now.

However, the problem at hand was different, and so was the reason for the meeting.

"It has become difficult now."

[What has?]

"It seems that Frondier has given up on interpreting ancient languages. And it looks like he's also reluctant to use magic on the female offspring of the Rishae family."

The voice that had been speaking to him paused for a moment.

[He won't eliminate Inies' divine power?]

"Yes. Not only that, but he told me to protect her. I'm not sure what changed his mind."

This time, another voice chimed in.

[That's troublesome. Inies is the biggest obstacle we need to remove to cover the center. Thinking about those idiots who banished me and are still snickering...]

Hagley let out a sigh unheard by anyone.

The owner of that voice always seemed to be on the verge of anger.

[Then we need to find a new tool. Left alone, Frondier will self-destruct.]

"Frondier is the only one capable of interpreting ancient languages. I'm not sure who else could, but it would take as much time to find someone as it did to discover Frondier."

The ability to interpret ancient languages goes beyond a matter of difficulty; it requires talent. It's such a powerful talent that it divides what is possible from what is not.

Frondier, who had been called incompetent, had that talent. If the Roach family had known about it earlier, they wouldn't have disregarded Frondier so much.

However, it seems neither Frondier himself nor the Roach family knows the value of ancient languages.

──Incompetence ultimately remains incompetence.

[Then, for now, keep staying by his side. Pretending to be an ally might change his mind again.]

"I'm not sure. Frondier has ordered me to protect Inies. Whether his mind will easily change..."

[That's how inferiority in a person is, Hagley. The thing that ignites Frondier's inferiority the most is not the family or the Constel, but Inies. The environment around Frondier is something that anyone would find hard to endure. He will soon collapse back into darkness.]

With a voice full of conviction, Hagley simply bowed his head deeply again.