23 – Rejection. (Illustration by Jane)
Seria trembled as she looked at the man in front of her.
The man who had summoned the Spirit King.
The very Spirit King had certainly uttered these words:
-Huh? Isn’t that the guy who banished the female contractor?
The only person she had banished was one—none other than Kael.
She looked closely at the man wearing the mask.
His black hair and matching dark eyes stood out to her.
Though his face was concealed by the mask, his features were undeniably handsome.
As she scrutinized him, she realized something.
Why his aura felt so familiar to her.
‘Is it, could it really be Kael?’
Which made it even harder to believe.
The Kael she knew was indeed a magician renowned for his theoretical knowledge.
He had never used magic unknown to her before.
Nor had he covered their tracks with spells they had never seen.
Not just that, but he had been incredibly helpful in numerous ways.
Even so, he had never possessed such overwhelming magical power as he appeared to now.
‘And he had never summoned the Spirit King before.’
Seria looked silently into Kael’s eyes.
In the next moment, Kael’s gaze was different from before, devoid of emotion.
Seeing that, a twinge of conscience pricked at a corner of her heart.
She felt that for some reason, she shouldn’t acknowledge him.
Just then:
-Uuummm.
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The Spirit King reached out.
From her hand emerged an hourglass.
Seeing this, Seria and everyone else tilted their heads in confusion.
‘What’s that? What is it?’
Just as everyone was puzzled:
-Uuummm.
Kariel begins to release his magical powers.
Upon seeing this, Seria’s eyes bulge.
‘So fast.’
Indeed.
The speed of his magic release is much quicker than before.
Obviously, if he were to release it full power, it could be faster, but this speed is at another level.
The next moment.
-Woaaah.
A sea made of magic appears out of thin air.
Those who see this all think the same thing.
Is this magic? Or is it a natural disaster?
This is magic unlike anything they’ve seen before.
Seria quickly uses her Spellfeed to put up a protective shield.
However.
-aaahhhhh!!!
Despite the shield, the overwhelming magical forces send Seria flying into the opposite wall.
-Woaaah!!!
Then, a storm of magical power erupts on the scene.
Kariel withdraws his magic.
At the same time.
-Wooaaahhhhh!!!
The audience lets out a huge cheer.
Meria quickly approaches Seria.
She checks her pulse and looks over her.
‘He controlled his power well in the midst.’
Despite everything, Seria who had been controlled at the end seemed surprisingly unharmed.
It doesn’t look like there’s much to worry about.
Having confirmed Seria’s safety, Meria declares the victory.
“The victor is participant Kariel!”
And thus, the final match comes to an end.
At the same time.
In the VIP room, nobles were observing the current situation.
They were in mid-conversation while watching Cael, who was in the middle of an award ceremony on stage.
-What on earth is that man’s identity?
-I’ve never heard of a man named Cael before.
-He’s hiding his identity with a mask, but that’s probably an alias too. Could he be the Grand Wizard?
-Huh, would the Grand Wizard participate in such an event?
-Well, that’s true. Above all, I didn’t expect Lady Seria to lose.
-I didn’t see that coming either.
-Phew, I had my money on Lady Seria.
-Sigh. Should’ve backed the underdog.
Among them, a few had bet on Seria and lost money.
Several nobles glared at the hero party.
Meanwhile, Eli Von Lionel, known as a part of the royalty, the third princess, was smiling gently.
“As expected…”
Others didn’t know the identity of the man in front of them.
But she knew.
She knew who the man before her was.
‘I can’t believe Professor participated in the event.’
Why would the professor participate in such an event?
From what she noticed, Cael wouldn’t join such a troublesome event.
In any case, that’s beside the point.
‘It’s clear now with this event.’
The professor is the Grand Wizard.
In fact, she had suspected, rather than doubted, for a long time.
She vaguely remembered hearing the name Cael before.
‘He was the wizard who was expelled from the hero party formed by my sister.’
At the time, she just accepted it as it is.
After all, the hero party valued capability the most.
The fact that he was driven out from there means his skills were under par.
And then, I heard that name again a few years later.
-Your Highness. I found out the name of the great wizard.
-What is it?
-The name is Kairel.
Upon hearing that, Ellie pondered on the name, a name that seemed familiar from somewhere.
Soon, she realized it was the same name as the wizard who had been driven out by Jane, and asked her personal maid.
-Is this accurate information?
-No, it is not.
-Then don’t be sure yet. Go investigate more.
-Yes, understood.
With that, Regina, her personal maid, disappeared quietly.
With her level of information gathering skills, she would soon find out.
However, for some reason afterward, the information about the great wizard has completely disappeared.
When I asked Regina, it seemed like his information was completely hidden in the tower.
Eventually, she was unable to find out any more about the great wizard.
Approximately two more years passed.
She enrolled in the academy, but in fact, she was planning to oversee it perfunctorily.
For her, the fight for the throne was more important than the academy.
However, she unexpectedly ran into a person she hadn’t expected.
‘I can’t believe that man is my supervisor.’
The man who got driven out from the hero’s party.
It turned out her instructor was none other than Kairel.
Of course, they could only have the same name, so she investigated thoroughly.
The result turned out to be the man in front of her was indeed the person she knew.
And, she got the idea this person might be the grand wizard.
His teaching was distinctly different from what the private tutors had given her.
‘Besides, he is also showing overwhelming abilities.
And that’s why she had a reasonable doubt that Kairel might be the great wizard.
Although she wanted to ask Maria in her heart.
“‘It’s unlikely they’d tell me anything hidden in the tower.'”
So, Elly had recently begun her investigation again.
“‘Seeing it like this, I can’t help but be certain.'”
Elly thought while looking at Jane.
Then, Jane casts a serious glance at Kael before she opens her mouth.
“Livia, you seem to be unharmed, but just in case, go get treated by Sera.”
“Okay. But what about you, Jane?”
“I’m going to go ahead with my plan to recruit that man.”
“I hope your attempt will be successful then.”
With that, Livia and Jane, who gracefully fade with their light steps, ended their conversation.
Elly, hearing their exchange, smirked.
‘The one sent away now seeks to recruit…’.
This is really becoming interesting.
***
Before Kyle disappeared, Jane quickly headed to the waiting room.
‘I have to recruit him no matter what.’
Recently, our party’s strength has noticeably weakened.
Well, it’s quite natural that our limitations are showing, as we are dealing with demons without a magician.
So, she couldn’t help but be in a rush.
– Woosh!
Of course, the thought of finding another magician made her feel guilty.
Ignoring the pain consuming her mind, she hurriedly walked on.
Then, a moment later,
-Creeek!
The waiting room door slowly begins to open.
The man emerging was Kyle, whom she had seen earlier.
Jane hurriedly grabbed him.
“Wait!”
“?”
He looks at her questioningly as she grabs his wrist.
Immediately, as she let go of his hand, she offered him an apology.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright. What brings you to me?”
“Well, to introduce myself before anything else, I am Jane, the current leader of the Hero’s party.”
“And so?”
Contrary to her expectations, he didn’t seem surprised.
Typically, when she introduced herself, people would look at her with greedy eyes or be startled.
However, the man in front of her had the same emotionless gaze he held earlier.
“Yes, I’ll get straight to the point. Would you be able to join our Hero’s party? We need your strength.”
“….”
At her words, he suddenly looked slightly surprised.
Jane instinctively realised from his reaction.
The likelihood that he would accept her proposal.
However, things in life don’t often go one’s way, do they?
“I’m sorry, but I have some matters to attend to.”
With those words, he calmly attempted to leave.
Regaining her composure, Jane quickly reached out to stop him again.
“Is, is it something you absolutely must do?”
“Pardon?”
“Well…we really need a magician like you in our party. Is there any way you can consider?”
With desperate eyes, Jane pleaded.
Kael let out a deep sigh as he met her gaze.
“Sigh.”
Verbally, she was a hurdle he found he couldn’t easily dismiss.
He didn’t particularly want to face this head-on, but it seemed like he had no choice.
Slowly, Kael removed the mask on his face.
The next moment.
“Hu…huh?”
Jane lost her words as she looked at the man before her.
His black hair and equally dark eyes.
An appearance that seemed quite warm and a body with perfect proportions.
The man in front of her was none other than Kariel, whom she herself had driven away at the party.
– Thump!
There was a moment once again when her conscience pricked her.