Chapter 238


    Iceline’s sparkling eyes could be seen beneath the hood of her robe.


    When the conversation turned to men, she had a lot of thoughts. Especially that one man, her benefactor, someone she was fated to see only once in her life. She owed him a great debt, but she still had a long way to go before she could fully repay him.


    It was bothering her. How could she be of help to him? Is there a way she could finish the job without any more help?


    “I’ve seen a lot of things,” Icelin murmured, tightly clenching her fist. She couldn’t afford to drag her feet anymore; if she remained the same, nothing would change. If she wanted something to happen, she had to work for it.


    Joshua made her realize many things, and it was time for her to make a move based on those epiphanies.


    Two men sat across from Iceline. The middle-aged man on Iceline’s left stretched out his hand.


    “It’s nice to meet you. I am the manager of the Magic Tower’s Arcadia branch.”


    “My name is Selena.”


    <em>Flinch.</em>


    Robinson and the man on Iceline’s right met eyes.


    <em>‘Is she that woman?’ </em>they seemed to be asking each other.


    “Excuse me, did youe from Anorad Castle?”


    “Yes.”


    “Then, what about the Mercenary Guild—”


    Iceline interrupted in a cheery voice. “Is there something wrong with that?”


    “Well, I mean…” Robinson was at a loss for words because of Iceline’s tranquil and respectful behavior.


    Robinson sighed and let the manager take over.


    “There’s an issue, yes,” said the manager. “You cannot be a mage of the Magic Tower if you’re affiliated with another organization.”


    Iceline''s eyes shone as she said, “It seems that there has been a misunderstanding.”


    “Yes?”


    “I came here to register my ss. I’m not here to join the Magic Tower,” Iceline exined.


    “Are you saying that you became a ss 5 Mage despite being an unregistered mage?” asked the manager with wide eyes.


    The Magic Tower was the organization that certified a mage’s ss. If a Mage didn’t register their ss with the Magic Tower, then they couldn’t be considered a Mage on that ss, even though they were technically a Mage on that ss.


    Certified mages enjoyed a variety of benefits, simr to knights. It wasn’t rare to see uncertified mages but to be a ss 5 Mage as an uncertified mage was an astounding feat.


    After all, the so-called uncertified mages weren’t allowed to use the resources that the Magic Tower had to offer. Therefore, mages had more than enough reason to go through the trouble of bing certified mages.


    “May I ask why you’vee to be certified?” asked the manager.


    Iceline frowned. “Do I need to answer that before I can be certified”


    “No, no, of course not. It’s a personal question.” The manager groaned awkwardly and hurriedly exined, “If you want to reach a higher ss, then you should really join our Magic Tower…”


    ”In addition, ss 5 Mages and higher are the ones with ess to the Magic Tower’s real secrets. Miss Selena, without the Tower’s help, you’ll struggle to advance even when though you’re certified. Surely you understand my sentiments?”


    “...” Iceline remained quiet for quite a while.


    “...I knew wizards were stereotypically self-centered, but this is worse than I thought. Just so we’re clear, I don’t want to be certified so I can learn from the Magic Tower. I’m quite certain that I will never need the help of the Magic Tower,” said Iceline.


    “H-Hey!” the manager eximed. “You can’t say that. The Tower is—”


    Iceline interrupted the manager with a mutter, “Not too long ago, the Magic Tower officially changed Jack Steropes’ status from missing to dead. And they’re searching for someone to rece him.”


    “...!” Robinson and the manager’s eyes widened at Iceline’s bombshell.


    “They’re vetting any mages approved by the Tower. The Tower Master himself said that the selection process would be fair and thorough. Perhaps the recent Reinhardt Masters’ Battle had something to do with that?” asked Iceline.


    “T-That’s true, but you’re an ice mage, Miss Selena. Mr. Act is responsible for ice—”


    Iceline stared dismissively at Robinson and replied, “It isn’t as good as my ice magic, but I’m pretty confident in my Lightning magic too.”


    “A-a dual mage…!” Robinson grimaced in shock. “But that’s not enough to be one of the Seven. On top of that, you’re still an uncertified mage, even though you’re technically a ss 5 Mage. You haven’t even met the Tower Master yet.”


    Iceline reached up and lowered her hood.


    “Ah…!”


    She looked like she wasn’t even twenty yet, astounding both Robinson and the manager.


    “Please excuse me for a moment,” Iceline said.


    “What—”


    However, Iceline didn’t even wait for their reply as she waved her hand lightly.


    The mana in the air started trembling as if in response to her gesture. The manager stood up and looked around; he found that his pens were rising from the desk with a slight resonant hum.


    However, that wasn’t the end of it…


    The pens shed momentarily, and the manager was stupefied to find that the pens were now sporting mana des of different attributes.


    Both the manager and Robinson were frozen where they stood, and they stared ck-jawed that their jaws threatened to fall off their chins. Iceline had just cast a 4th Circle spell without any chant.


    In addition, the four mana des that had sprouted possessed the four principal attributes.


    This could only mean one thing…


    “A-a ss 6 Quad Magician…!”


    The manager barely managed to squeeze those words out of his mouth.


    .


    ***


    Ghad du Lancelot. How could Joshua ever forget his name? He was the happiest when Joshua took hisst breath. He was the only one with a deep hatred for Joshua. Perhaps he thought that with the brave Joshua Sanders gone, the Imperial Knights Order would look up to him as their leader.


    Joshua, on the other hand, knew his fellow knights better. Ghad’s personality was far too different from Joshua''s for Ghad to fill that hole.


    In addition, Ghad had never managed to beat Joshua. In fact, he never even tried again after losing just once. He was afraid of Joshua. He screamed like a baby until a ban was put in ce, saying he was going mad with fear.


    <em>‘I promised to cut you up… and I wasn’t joking.’</em>


    Joshua slowly opened his eyes.


    “It’s about to start, my lord,” Cain said to Joshua. “Are you sure you’re okay? You haven’t said a word since yesterday. Why don’t you go home as soon as this is over? You’ve already reached an agreement with Sir Armstrong.”


    Joshua remained silent.


    “<em>Oh,</em> please say something! Do you really want me to die trying to figure out what you’re thinking right now?”


    “Cain…”


    Cain was actually surprised when Joshua’s mouth finally opened.


    “Yes, yes, Master, here I am!”


    “...How many people do you think are waiting on the other side of that door?”


    “<em>Hmm?</em>” Cain turned to examine the door in question.


    They were standing outside the building dedicated to the 2nd Battalion. The top three battalions shared a massive training hall, and the door in front of them was the entrance to that training hall.


    “In terms of audience, just the Emperor and the nobles would be at least five hundred. And the perverts looking to get a beating from my lord based on yesterday, I think there are three hundred?”


    “So three battalions in total…”


    “Yes?”


    “Setting aside the two independent battalions and counting the two battalions serving under His Majesty means that there will be at least ten battalions, numbering over?” asked Joshua.


    ”There’ll be well over a thousand people in the audience! And the finest in all of Avalon!” Cain smiled wryly as he answered with a grim look. “I think you’re in deep trouble. Are you still with me? Don’t lose it!”


    Joshua smirked. “Do you really think that I’m going to lose?”


    <em>Flinch.</em>


    Cain flinched and scratched his head in embarrassment. “It’s not like that. But you’re clearly going against a thousand people. What if you get seriously hurt? Can she afford to live as a widow?”


    “A widow?”


    “<em>Oh my, oh my…</em>” Cain dabbed at his eyes with his sleeve. “You always act so recklessly even when there are people waiting for you. Seriously, this…”


    “Haha.” Joshua chuckled.


    “Master, how could youugh right now? Are you the golden standard for dense people now?”


    Joshua regarded Cain warmly. “As always, you have my thanks, Cain.”


    The knight scowled. “Do you have to do this?”


    “Yes.”


    “But why are you so fixated on this?”


    “This means as much to me as Cain’s wedding.”


    “Oh my god! You’re going to save the world one day!”


    Joshua chuckled.


    “You mustn’t get hurt,” Cain insisted.


    “That’s a given.”


    “If you’re in danger, I’ll be right there.”


    “You don’t have to because I won’t be in danger.”


    “So much as a scratch…” Cain exuded malice. “I’ll kill all of them myself. I don’t care even if the target is His Majesty the Emperor..”


    “I think the difficulty has gone up a lot,” said Joshua with a bitter smile. “I don’t mind fighting the entire Imperial Knights Order, but Knight Commander Rod is a tough nut to crack even for me.”


    “What?” Cain seemed confused. However, the moment he understood that Joshua was truly talking about Knight Commander Rod of the Imperial Knights Order, Cain couldn’t help but exim, “What?!”


    Cain was horrified as he turned to look at Joshua, who was already walking toward the door.


    “W-wait! Give me a second! Stop!” Horrified, Cain ran after the confused-looking Joshua andmpooned to himself in a low voice. “This is insane… Will I really be able to get married at this rate? No, in the first ce, will I even survive long enough to get married?”<blockquote>


    Persephone''s Thoughts


    Unedited</blockquote>