Chapter 180: A White Bouquet

“…Sir Billy, what is the meaning of this?”

Everyone present was momentarily silent; the first to speak was Charlie.

Although his voice sounded perfectly calm, his eyes looked as if he was out for blood; it was apparent to everyone present that his next move would depend on Billy’s reply.

[That’s understandable – One could say that Sayla was one of Sir Charlie’s best students… After she graduated from the Magic University, she even taught the Royal Capital Brave Guardians the arts of anti-magic. With Sir Charlie being the Commander at the time, one could even say that they were good friends, despite their age difference… Why would Billy kill her…?!]

Gaston searched for an answer he knew he couldn’t possibly find, while Billy kept silent.

“Not saying anything? …Well then-“

“-Please stay your hand, Sir Charlie. He’s not someone who does things for no reason!”

Russel shouted out, having gotten a grasp of the situation from everyone’s sounds and voices.

“You will explain to us what’s going on, won’t you, Billy?”

Irene asked as she folded her arms.

Billy promptly looked down, lifted up Sayla’s head in his right hand, and began to speak quietly,

“…Oh… What a sad development this is…”

He reached his left hand down, then held it up in both his arms.

“It has been discovered that Sayla was the leader of the Resistance…”

Hearing that claim, everyone present immediately looked at Billy with suspicion.

However, he simply continued, as if he was already expecting that reaction,

“There are countless pieces of evidence to back up that statement. I had recently gone to inspect her mansion personally, so there’s no mistaking it, Sir Charlie.”

“And you expect us to just believe you? Now that’s just stupid-“

“-Catherine, it’s Sayla that was being stupid. Although most of the information is now outdated, we have found documents containing the birthdates, ages, and brief descriptions of past members of the Resistance, as well as transfer records of newly invented magic spells, among other pieces of evidence.”

Irene’s face warped in pure suspicion as she listened to Billy’s explanation.

[What a load of bull. Even if she actually was with the Resistance, she wouldn’t be stupid enough to keep those stuff in her freaking house!]

The majority of the Duodecad, from the way they reacted, seemed to be of the same mind as Irene.

“…So, where is all this ‘evidence’ you speak of, sir?”

The question, asked by Barun, was as straightforward as it got – he had used his known immature personality to his advantage, getting to the point before anyone else.

“Everything has already been submitted to Lady Ishtar. They’re no longer available for your inspection.”

“We’ll just have to go ask her, then.”

Gaston took one step forward. As if to stop him in his tracks, Billy declared,

“Gaston, do you not realize that this scandal directly involves the Duodecad Conference? The case should be left to Lady Ishtar and Lord Lloyd, don’t you think?”

“Hell if I care. Should or shouldn’t, it is within my rights to ask questions – and I will.”

“You know who we are, Billy. You know who we are.”

Gaston and Irene now knew what Asley’s tip to them that one time truly meant.

A rumor surrounding Billy, as given by Dallas the Scarlet Blade – Asley had told just the two of them before his departure from Beilanea.

Gaston, as with Asley at the time, had not noticed anything unusual about Billy until then.

Even Irene, a fellow Magic University faculty member, had not noticed any change.

But now, both of them got to experience that ‘difference’ firsthand.

[That’s Billy… but not the Billy we know!]

[That fool Asley… would it hurt for him to sound more urgent than just an offhand comment that ‘Sir Billy seems kinda suspicious?! Then I’d be more aware of- oh, who am I kidding… As if he could ever do things seriously… Gah…]

Gaston and Irene, with those comments in their mind, proceeded to walk right past Billy.

But then, Billy threw Sayla’s head to the floor…

“I’ll use my authority, then. None of you have the permission to bother Lady Ishtar – that is an absolute order!”

…And grabbed the two by their shoulders.

Gaston and Irene, feeling a mysterious surge of energy on their shoulders where they had been touched, jumped backward.

Neither of them was able to move forward – Billy’s sheer strength was preventing them from doing so.

Irene, feeling a slight ache in her shoulder, now looked at Billy as if he were an enemy.

“YOUR authority? You, ordering us of the Duodecad Conference? I know you’ve got ‘holy’ in your title, but what makes you think you can just tell us what to do?”

“Oh, but I most definitely can.”

Billy pushed up his glasses, then pulled out a parchment roll from his chest pocket.

“Signed by both Lady Ishtar and Lord Lloyd, people.”

Billy threw the roll at the crowd, prompting Catherine to catch it.

Catherine slowly opened it up, read it, and was subsequently astonished by its content.

“…You’re kidding, right?”

“It’s the truth.”

“Catherine, what does it say?”

Irene asked, her voice hoarse and aggressive.

“As of today, Billy is entering the ranks of the Six Archmages. Charlie has been dismissed of his role as the leader of the Duodecad Conference, with Billy taking his place… that’s what it says.”

After a brief moment of silence, Billy grinned and continued,

“You heard her, Charlie. I’ll let you keep that ugly head… But you know, the blood is starting to stain the floor. Make sure to have it cleaned by the time I come back. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

It was now almost five months since Asley had departed on his journey.

The rebellion of Sayla of the Six Archmages, and her subsequent punishment, greatly shook the structure of the Nation.

In the deathly still Duodecad Chamber, one giant elderly man held Sayla’s head in his arms, silently shedding a single tear.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

Meanwhile, in Beilanea, the time was ripe for the Pochisley Agency to harvest the groundnuts that had been planted in their courtyard.

Tarawo, his white face stained brown, cried out,

“I don’t understand! Why must I occupy my free time with these groundnuts-“

“Shut up and work, or I’ll kill you.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Seeing Tarawo instantly retreat when faced with Lala’s piercing glare, Lina chuckled.

Tarawo, startled by Lala’s apparently sudden personality change when things concerned her crops, rushed to get help from Lina.

“Lina! Lina!”

“Hmm? What is it, Tarawo?”

“I’ve been wondering, how come Lala is so worried about her crops nowadays? Wait… Could it be due to the mutated monsters that have become so rampant lately?!”

“Well, that’s… just how she usually is, isn’t it?”

Tarawo, getting a worry-free answer from Lina, had his mouth agape in dumbfoundedness.

Lala was not about to give Tarawo time off, however.

“Come on, Tarawo, hurry it up.”

“Ngh… GAH! Do what, with what, and how?!”

Tarawo, looking as if he had given up resisting, grabbed a few of the groundnuts with both his front paws.

“Touch the shells of these groundnuts and confirm if the seeds inside are still there.”

“But how?!”

“You’ll be able to tell from how hot to the touch they are.”

The explanation was simple enough, but Tarawo could not feel any difference in each of the nuts’ temperature.

[Yeah, right, as if I can do that! Oh, I know… I can just press on the shell like so-]

Lala reacted almost instantaneously – Tarawo had only made a subtle movement.

“Wha?! Ngh?! Gah?! Ahh?!”

Tarawo found himself in the middle of a cage… with shovels staked into the ground forming walls on all sides. His screams echoed through the courtyard.

“Doing that is going to reduce its selling value by 2 Gold!”

“What?! That’s nonsense!”

“Don’t underestimate my farmer power, dog…”

Lala’s lecture – of the educational variety – went on for quite a while; then, when it was noon, Harunana came out to tell everyone present that lunch will be served.

Tarawo ran to the dining room, and once there, he found Tifa wearing an apron and holding a ladle.

“Fwahahahaha! Time for my offering, at last! Hmm…? Well, well, the food smells quite good! Most impressive, Tifa!”

“Just go wash your paws.”

“Hmm, that sure is an important ritual, isn’t it? I shall perform it without fail! Fwahahahaha!!”

Looking at Tarawo as he trotted away to the washroom, Tifa heaved a sigh.

At the same time, Itsuki peeked her face out of the kitchen and groaned up her nose.

Tifa looked back at her, unsure as to what she had meant with that gesture.

“You’re getting along better with Tarawo now, huh?”

“Not really… I haven’t changed anything. He’s been understanding more and more of the human world, that’s all.”

“Hmm, is that right~~? Mm-hmm, If you say so~~”

Tifa glared at Itsuki – particularly at the latter’s teasing tone.

“You’re really ticking me off, you know that?”

“Well, go fetch those plates before you tick yourself off more, all right?”

Seeing Itsuki promptly slipping back into the kitchen, Tifa heaved another, deeper sigh.

Lina, organizing the dishes on the dining table, suddenly felt a surge of arcane energy in the vicinity coming from the entranceway. She turned to look in that direction.

Standing outside the Pochisley Agency’s front door was a young man, holding a bouquet of white flowers.

“Hey, what the hell are you even here for, you little shit?”

…And at his feet was a foul-mouthed Murder Tiger.

“Ugh, get off my case already! Just try to stay quiet for a minute or two, Maïga!”

“What? That sounds like you still don’t understand the position you’re in… well, do you, Hornel?”

“Oh, I know. You’re my master, and I’m your servant, right?!”

“Exactly. As long as you know that, it’s all good, you little shit.”

Hornel, in an attempt to cover up his tension, took a deep breath and slapped his own cheeks again and again.

He dislocated his glasses a few times, at which points he would reach to readjust them.

Maïga, on the other hand, found himself fascinated by the smell coming from inside the Pochisley Agency.

“Hey, I’m hungry. If you’re going in, hurry it up and be done with it.”

“Oh, shut up… H-hey there, Lina. I happened to be passing by – Here, why don’t you decorate your room with this? All right, let’s try that again. Hey there, Lina. I happened to be passing by – Here, why don’t you decorate your room with this? …Good, that was perfect. Wait… what if Haruhana or someone else comes to answer the door instead? Hmm… Say, do you have any ideas, Maïga?”

“What? Hell if I know. Why don’t you ask the guy standing there instead?”

Maïga lifted his chin and pointed to behind Hornel.

“Huh?”

“…What’re you doing ’round here, Hornel?”

The one behind Hornel was none other than…

“Sir Bruce?! Since when were you there?!”

…The captain of the Silver Special Forces, Bruce.

“Well, ’round the time you said ‘Lina, I love you. I won’t let you go with someone like Asley, I swear!’ – yeah.”

“I-I never said that!! Oh, wait, no…? I was practicing that last night – AHHHH?!”

“Hahahahaha! You’re so dedicated to something that’s supposed to be just ‘practice,’ man!”

As Bruce patted Hornel on the back, Maïga nodded in agreement.

“He’s been doing that ‘practice’ all the time, night after night…”

“Just keep quiet for a minute or two, will you?”

“Heh, some servant you are. Watch your attitude, you little shit.”

Just as Maïga was starting to complain, the door to the Pochisley Agency opened.

And the one whose face peeked out was… Lina.

For Hornel, that was equivalent to a surprise attack.

Now there was no way he could possibly show the results of his practice here.

“One, two…” Bruce signaled.

“”Hey there, Lina. I happened to be passing by – Here, why don’t you decorate your room with this?””

Bruce and Maïga recited those words in his stead.

And Hornel, face turning beet red, slowly held forward the bouquet of white flowers in his hands.