Looking up at the cyclopean tower stretching into the sky above, Harita couldn't help but take a deep breath and went inside.
Bian walked slightly behind him.
Taking a deep breath, he reached the reception desk, then inquired with a tone and pitch unlike his regular voice.
"Excuse me, miss. May I inquire Magician Barn's presence? I believe he is expecting me and my constituent." Deliberately altering his voice to sound more eloquent and pompous, he gestured to Bian with an exaggerated flourish.
The receptionist looked down, skimmed through a long list with her finger, then said in a somewhat lame tone.
"He's at the main tower; the top floor. But I don't remember—nor have been notified—of any visitors for one Magician Barn.
"I'm sorry, but no visitors may enter. Or else I'll call security. If you want to schedule an appointment, then I would like to see some credentials." She smiled at the end, politely.
Harita deliberately knotted his brows in a frustrated manner. His tone and pitch was still the eloquent, pompous one he started with as he guffawed.
"Hah! The nerve! Who do you think you are?"
Bian couldn't help but roll her eyes.
'Idiot. This is what you get for starting such a foolish lie. You reap what you sow.' She mocked inwardly, crossing her arms and acting her usual self.
The attention from the passerby Adorned and Mages disturbed her peace of mind.
…And it was one of those passersby that caught her attention.
'Bingo.' She grinned, tapping Harita's shoulder.
Following her gaze, he saw a familiar figure hunched over, as if to make himself smaller.
"Barn, my friend!" He yelled purposely, earning a weird look from the receptionist.
The receptionist was holding an small crystal the size of her little finger.
Bian eyed this very carefully, keeping her gaze reserved.
With a huge smile on his face, Harita sauntered over and gave the man a bear hug, whispering menacingly in his ear:
"I told you to keep yourself open for visitors, didn't I? Whatever happened to our previous arrangements, hmm?"
The man, who had auburn hair and silver spectacles, flinched in fear and surprise as a creeping sensation ran down his back. Caught in Harita's one-handed hug, he didn't move much, but his face turned a terrible complexion.
The receptionist still eyed this scene warily, holding the small crystal between her fingers. It was an Messenger Shard, used to send short messages across the country to an answering apparatus it had been attuned to beforehand. Though, this particular one's destination was clear as day: a request for battle mages to take care of possible trespassers.
The Messenger Shard glimmered in Magician Barn's silver spectacles, and Harita slipped off him with a grin.
"No, no, Mary. It's fine; these people are with me. Next time, when they come here like this again, please allow them entry to my chambers; we have business to talk about." Barn spoke in a hurried tone, squirming slightly.
Mary, the receptionist, lingered for a moment, then lowered the Messenger Shard and stowed it in her pocket. She bowed.
"Yes, Magician Barn. As you wish." Sitting back down, she returned to her duties and began sifting through a couple of documents.
Harita smiled brilliantly.
"That can't be good." Bian mumbled, moving to stand beside Magician Barn.
Leaning his one arm on the table, Harita flashed a bold grin. "Hey, Miss receptionist, don't you have something to say to me?"
Bian almost slumped. 'He didn't have to take the act so far… Should I just leave him and go upstairs with the Magician? Hmm…'
Decisions, decisions.
As she mused, Magician Barn sneakily stole glances at her from the corner of his eye.
Magician Barn fiddled with his fingers, fixing his spectacles on the bridge of his nose
…The receptionist, Mary, looked up with a flat expression. She said with absolute clarity:
"Yes, I do have something to say. Something important…"
She paused.
"Piss off, loser."
"Pfft!" Bian couldn't help it. With a wide grin, she laughed out loud. She couldn't help but ridicule. "Yes, yes. Why 'don't' you piss off? Hahaha!"
Noticing this, Magician Barn next to her did the same. "Hahahaha!"
"You…" Harita narrowed his gaze. He wasn't acting anymore.
Indignant, he turned on his heels and shouted to Barn in an enraged stupor:
"Come on, Barn. To the top floor, now!"
The Magician quickly stopped laughing, as if snapping out of a trance, then glanced at Bian. She nodded as she wiped the corner of her eyes, wet from laughing.
"Just follow the angry man, Magician Barn. We wouldn't want him to piss himself from rage."
"Shut up!" Harita echoed down the hall, then turned to a winding set of concrete steps.
The two followed with amused expression on their faces, grinning and snickering as they went up the stairs.
…The whole city of New Mireton was visible in the wide opening serving as windows in the winding tower of the Council of Manas. It allowed one to take in, and then turn away, from the scenery before them.
That's what Bian did, anyway. Something about being up high, standing above the world like those men she loathed so much struck a nerve within her. She grimaced in disgust and focused on the steps before her and listened to the sounds of her own footsteps and the others'.
Chatter—serious and idle—resounded down the winding staircase from the various openings—different floors for different departments of the Council.
Some were familiar and some were not. She listened absentmindedly as she walked monotonously up the stairs.
"…Did Maribelle tell you to eat my lunch again?! I swear, that girl never learns… even roping you into her gluttonous escapades… Ah! It's not that I'm mad at your anything. Don't worry…"
"Ugh, whoever thought of starting a sudden death game in the middle of a war between families must be a real idiot. Just think of the paperwork! The horror…
"Several people have died last night again… eight of them this time. The Ripper has struck again. Sigh. At this rate, will I be next? I sincerely hope not, what will my wife think…"
"Hey, hey. Have you heard? I heard a high speed response squad is being made, with some Knights of the Knight's Order, no less! Apparently, the one-armed guy that's been visiting her lately and the silver-haired lady is their envoys. Though, I also heard rumors that she's also with one of the main families… but it's just rumors, I don't know for certain if it's true…"
"Hey, isn't that guy pretty hot? His hair's a little disheveled, but his face is… Oh, there's a girl with her. Too bad… But they don't seem close. Maybe I should shoot my shot… I have nothing to lose, anyways…"
As various mutterings and fleeting rumors fluttered about in the wind, Bain couldn't help but sigh in exasperation.
Beside her, Magician Barn spoke with a stammer:
"Mi-Miss Bian, I'm very sorry about the ongoing series of rumors. I know how much you hate such things. I've tried to use some of my authority to calm them down, but some of the younger ones just keep blabbering about.
"Truly, I'm very sorry."
She shrugged. "It's fine, nothing I can do about that at this stage."
'Besides, the more interpretations there are of my identity, the more muddled it becomes. Though, that does mean that the mere mention of my characteristics can garner the attention of most people.' As she began to seriously contemplate the value of a second persona, an opulent wooden door came into view atop the winding staircase.
Harita stood beside the door and leaned on the wall, tucking his one arm and signaled the musing Barn with a shake of his head.
With a sudden start, the Magician walked over with hurried footsteps, placed his hand on the copper doorknob, and opened the door himself.
If he hadn't done so, then something terrible could have occurred.
Heading inside without another word, Bian locked the door behind her with a click, surveying the room for any listening devices.
Harita did the same, albeit more flippantly; he casted a simple glance around the Magician's chambers, then nodded knowingly to her.
After a second, he began:
"How's the Council been entertaining our pleas?" There was no longer any pompous and contemptuous tone in his voice, turning sharp as steel as he recalled his usual tone and pitch.
Magican Barn lingered for a moment, then picked up a stack of papers on his desk and placed it before the two's table as they took a seat collectively in front of a glass table.
Watching Bian and Harita skim through the thick stack of documents, Barn continued:
"I'm afraid they're still unsure about the value of your proposal. A high-speed immediate response team consisting of four Mages from the Council; one Paladin and two Knights from the Order, and a single mercenary as a guide just doesn't seem like a stable and viable option.
"The Council has expressed in the value of a high-speed immediate response team, though, as written by the letter I received the other day…
"So, they have offered a few small tweaks to the composition of the response team concerning the recent rise of murders, larceny, and other heinous crimes that appeared after the sudden announcement of the Exousia marriage competition.
"However, with the recent appearance of an Special S-rank monster in the middle of the city's residential district, the higher-ups would like me to stress their recent deficiency of combat-able personnel, especially concerning the number of possible candidates for the high-speed immediate response team."
He paused to take a breath, then continued:
"And so, with the intent of forging a fortuitous connection with the Knight's Order, the Council of Manas have ultimately come to a conclusion: that a high-speed immediate response team is necessary."
'Yes!' Harita pumped his fist in his mind's eye, then hardened his expression as he skimmed through the stack of documents atop his lap, confirming the validity of Magician Barn's words.
He lingered for a while, then said with low voice:
"So, what are their terms?"
Barn fixed his silver spectacles, making them shine for a brief moment.
"Two Mages and one Adorned from the Council; one Paladin and four Knights from the Order, and one mercenary as a guide. That is the terms that the Council of Manas offers.
"Please note the lack of combat-able personnel brought upon by presence of a Special S-class monster in a residential area."
A long stretch of silence lingered on the opulent office room.
Bian broke it after a minute when she spoke aloud, her voice crystal clear:
"That's nowhere near enough Mages.
"When this proposal was submitted, we had fully expected a somewhat negative answer from the Council; even the possibility of getting rejected outright was within likely expectations.
"However, these terms are just unfair! The Order is suffering, too, possibly even more than the Council! The Special S-Class monster's presence has affected them, too, and their Vow of Civil Responsibility has pushed them to take more than few risks."
In the high, opulent office chamber of Magician Barn, her complaints rang out loud.
Harita nodded knowingly. As a Paladin of the Order, he was privy to these matters, though his recent absence in various meetings have caused him to lack more than a little bit of information.
Leaning back on his chair, he said with a stern expression:
"The Order has suffered quite a bit of casualties, as well. More than thirty Knights have died, two are in critical condition, and more than a dozen have been injured. There's even a Captain in an ongoing fight with the damn beast at this very moment.
"Compared to the Council's rather… conservative support, we find it suitable that the Council provide more help in this matter."
Dropping the professional air, Magican-rank Barn sighed and leaner back on his own chair, the pressure that Harita was silently emitting causing him to sink further into his leather chair.
"Yes, well, that's not really my call to make. Not anymore.
"If you have further complaints, please send it higher-up… Thro—through somebody other than me, please. I would like to keep my job." The Magician stammered to say, sweat falling down his cheeks.
A small grin crept up the corner of Harita's lips at those words. A mischievous, playful grin.
◇◆◇◆◇
Deep and measured breaths; a focused mind; absolute clarity; precise control; heightened internal awareness; mana sensitivity to its extreme; a mind isolated from any and all outside influences.
Closing his eyes, Lieren tried and failed to attain all of these things at once through sheer willpower, stretching his mind like the sap of a rubber tree.
His previous attempts at manipulating his wild mana in a precise and intricate way, one that needed his channels to be more refined and tempered, has resulted in a somewhat suicidal mental state—one that put him on Death's Edge with every step, circumventing the illusory cliff like a madman on his last years.
Every now and then, he would hear something break. Whether it was real or something he just dreamt up was as good a guess as anybody's, making him doubt the validity of his own lucid thoughts.
Taking a deep breath, he sent suppressed heat to his body. The damp and turbid cell kept most heat from permeating his body, somehow, and only the cold remained.
Still, as long as he could think, he could manipulate mana; That was the most important part.
The concept of time seemed to disappear all together as all external input faded away, leaving him alone in the impenetrable darkness of his own making, where the rest of the world were but a mere fantasy.
The abyss. In here, only him and his thoughts remained.
And those thoughts were whispering to him, telling him to push outward, slow down, sharpen, temper, and other instinctual insights to his own mana channels, allowing him to slowly but surely improve upon his past mistakes.
Soon, after what felt like an eternity, he opened his eyes.
And when he did, he noticed that the world had become just a little clearer.
His blue eyes glowed subtly with the light of Manavision.