Chapter 45: Let’s spice things up a bit.

Chapter 45: Let’s spice things up a bit.

Chapter 45 – Let’s spice things up a bit.

“This is unverified information, right? Discard it.”

The editorial department of the Märchen Daily. Sephia’s nagging continued even as the morning dawned.

But then it happened.

“What’s all this commotion so early in the morning?”

A man in a suit appeared, frowning.

He had a large build, neatly combed white hair, and a slightly provocative attitude. The reporter greeted him hastily.

“Oh, Vincent, the head of the news department, is here.”

Vincent, he was the head of the news department of the Märchen Daily.

He didn’t even glance at Sephia, and asked the reporter.

“What’s going on? So early in the morning.”

The reporter glanced at Sephia nervously, and opened his mouth cautiously.

“It’s about the combat event. I wrote a few articles in advance, saying that the journalism department’s Ivan won. But it seems that Sephia didn’t like it.”

“What’s the problem with that?”

Vincent looked incredulous, and his gaze turned to Sephia.

“Sephia, don’t you know that time is the most important thing for us? We have to prepare these things in advance.”

Sephia’s eyes became sharper than ever.

“Time is to be used efficiently under the premise of dealing with the truth. This is a waste of time with lies.”

“Oh, here we go again.”

Vincent thumped his chest, as if he was frustrated.

“If this is not a truthful content, then what is it, observing the ecology of some passing ants? Let’s go easy, easy, huh? How many times has the magic department beaten the journalism department so far?”

“Even so. I wouldn’t be too late to write after confirming the results, right?”

“You’re late, you fool. How can you still not know anything after working in this field for so many years?”

“I know better than you.”

“Yeah? Then what is this?”

Vincent slammed something on Sephia’s desk.

[ A controversial poster on the Agora board. ] *A shout from the entire faculty of the magic department of Märchen Academy

It was a headline based on Plan’s poster.

“I checked it on my way to work. If you know so well, why are you spreading this gossip?”

“I spread it because it’s worth spreading. Didn’t you read the content?”

“Ugh... I really.”

Vincent rubbed his face with his palm, as if he was exasperated.

“Sephia, you know that the editor-in-chief will be replaced by someone else after the event, right?”

“How can I not know?”

“You seem to have no idea right now. Sephia. He’s from the news department!”

Vincent shouted.

“Magicians don’t bend, they resist, they deny the world... You’re turning this kind of content into a headline? What do you think they’ll say from above?”

“Vincent.”

Sephia spoke calmly.

“Are you going to keep doing this?”

“Then what do you want me to do? Try something different?”

“You’re already doing something different enough. A reporter who only writes what they tell you to, even a pet can’t do that.”

Sephia’s green eyes glowed as she continued.

“Let’s not forget our duty as journalists, our ethics as journalists, okay? I’m ashamed of you as a fellow head.”

Ha, Vincent snorted, as if he was incredulous.

The others kept quiet and silently did their own work.

For the other reporters, their quarrel was not a surprising thing anymore.

“Fine, let’s see.”

Vincent finally nodded.

“Sephia, you do whatever you want. I’ll do whatever I want.”

“I was thinking of doing that anyway. I can’t do it like you, even if you ask me to.”

“Yeah, yeah. But, Sephia.”

Vincent made a meaningful expression and added.

“Clean up your desk a bit in advance. Do you think we’ll have anything to do here after the editor-in-chief changes? Think about it.”

Vincent headed to the other reporters’ seats after saying that.

“Uh, yeah. What kind of article is this?”

“Oh, Vincent. This time, a student from the magic department and a student from the journalism department flew on a broomstick while drunk...”

Tsk, Vincent clicked his tongue.

“Of course, the journalism department is involved. Put it on hold.”

“Okay. What about this? This time, the second-year students of the journalism department went to clear a dungeon, but they haven’t succeeded yet.”

“Yanma, of course you have to write it. Is that even a question right now...”

As she watched the scene, Sephia rubbed her forehead. Her eyes naturally drifted to the table.

[ Ivan’s perfect victory. The greatness of ‘knightship’ ] [ Merhen Academy’s magic department professors scream ]

These articles and headlines contained completely contrasting contents.

“Will you win?”

Violet messed up her hair like crazy.

She wanted to say that he would win.

But that was only her belief. It was not an easy thing to say to the chancellor.

While she was hesitating, the chancellor’s voice came again.

“Your thoughts.”

“Yes?”

“Just tell me your thoughts.”

Violet swallowed her saliva.

Thoughts.

There was only one thing that Violet thought. She started to move her lips with her conviction.

“This student is a true magician.”

So.

“I’m sure he will change something.”

There was no answer.

Sephia, who was watching from the side, frowned and flicked her finger.

A memo appeared in the air with letters on it.

[If he asks you if you’ll win or lose, you have to answer with win or lose. What kind of answer is that?]

Violet moved her finger too.

[I don’t know. I was out of my mind.]

[He’s not saying anything. What are you going to do now?]

[I don’t know.]

But at that moment, the chancellor’s voice came.

“You must have recorded the situation during the evaluation.”

Violet’s answer came out almost at the same time.

“Of course. It’s saved as a visual record.”

“Bring it with you and meet me in the conference room.”

With that, the light of the crystal ball disappeared.

◈

Violet rolled her eyes cautiously.

The professors of the magic department were watching Flan’s evaluation with the chancellor as the leader.

“...”

The chancellor played the visual record again. This was the third time.

The atmosphere of the meeting was no different from before.

Just like the day when the summoning professor Brody strongly opposed, they all looked at Violet with disdain.

And once again, the playback of the visual record ended.

The chancellor pondered with his chin in his hand. He had an expressionless face that was impossible to read.

Violet started to feel anxious.

Was this not enough?

Was he not satisfied? Was he angry?

I only hope that it’s not true. In fact, I saw the corner of Kone’s mouth slightly curl up earlier.

Thud.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud...

Kone kept flicking his finger. The scene where Plan asked Elysis was replayed over and over.

Then, at some point, Kone’s finger stopped.

At the same time, his lips moved.

“Shall we raise the stakes a bit?”

He shakes his head frantically.

“No, no.”

At the end, Kone’s mouth twitched up.

“Very big.”

Here is the edited text:

I wish it weren’t true, but I saw it with my own eyes. The faint smirk on Kone’s face betrayed his satisfaction.

Thud.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud...

He tapped his finger incessantly, as if to mock me. The scene of Plan questioning Elysis played on a loop in my mind.

Suddenly, he stopped. His lips parted and he spoke.

“Let’s make this more interesting, shall we?”

I shook my head in panic.

“No, no.”

He grinned wickedly.

“Much more interesting.”