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This chapter’s first half is in Grimhart’s POV, while the latter half is in Audrey’s POV.

「Here’s the report for this time’s investigation.」
「And~ This here’s the report for the other Request~」

Audrey and I visited the Guild Master’s office to give our report on the Sacred Mountain’s investigation. Originally, since this was a joint effort of the three parties, Lily, the leader of the “Little Fairies”, is supposed to be here with us, but considering that we also undertook the request to investigate her, that would be pretty bad.

Fortunately, doesn’t really sound right but, she collapsed from overusing her MP during the investigation. Using that as an excuse, we told her to rest up and leave the reporting to the two of us.

「Good work. First of all, let me hear about your findings on the sacred mountain.」
「We’ve confirmed the existence of a Roper. The full details are on the written report, but we think that the Roper was probably a higher class or maybe even a unique specimen.」
「A unique specimen, you say?」
「Yeah, according to Bia from “Fyne”, it could gather Mana in the atmosphere and has the ability to regenerate. Regeneration is still fine, but it would have been disastrous if it used the Mana around it to grow.」
「Hmmm…」

Just them being Ropers already make it considerably dangerous, but looking at the past records and documents, it would seem that a regular Roper didn’t have that level of regeneration. Moreover, most of them were easily taken down with fire attribute spells like “Burn” and “Fire”. The fact that Magic on the class of Lily’s “Corona Burn” wasn’t able to completely destroy it was frankly absurd.

At worst, I would have been killed, Audrey and the others would be used as seedbeds and the new Ropers would’ve probably descended to Motsi town. If three of twelve sages are sent to deal with it, it probably won’t reach the level of a national crisis but this town would most likely be erased from the map.

「We’ve brought the bodies with us. We’ve also brought the eggshells written on the report, so we’ll be entrusting the investigation of those to the Guild.」
「Right, leave it to us. Still, eggs, huh…」
「Is there a problem?」
「No, it’s nothing, probably just my imagination.」
「Is that so?」

If the Guild Master says so, then it’s probably for the best that I don’t ask. The Guild Master always tells us everything that we need to know. We already have that trust-based relationship.

If I forcibly try to get him to talk, I’ll only risk bringing in unnecessary trouble. A lot of adventurers get into unavoidable trouble just from knowing more than they needed. Having experienced it first-hand, the Guild Master is just trying to protect us. Frankly, he also helped us a lot in our more mischievous days, so we don’t want to trouble him more.

「Well then, how about the other one?」
「For this~ it’s just as you guessed~」

The other Request. For the investigation on Lily, I decided to leave it all to Audrey. In the first place, Lily saved our lives, so we don’t really want to make a report that would possibly put her at a disadvantage. Besides, rather than us who have never encountered real Magic, Audrey and the others from “Fyne”, having learned Magecraft and experienced Magic at the academy, would probably be able to turn in a more proper report.

◆◇◆◇◆

「Lily~ isn’t really a Mage~ she’s actually a Sorcerer~」
「I see… she really was…」

I have given the Guild Master a decisive report that I never wanted to do. For the sake of Lily and Urania’s peace, it was something that we wanted to keep a secret. However, if we stay silent here, the Guild Master would only get into trouble.

Magic is extremely powerful, even just a single Sorcerer could disturb the existing power balance. That’s why it’s not only this Kingdom, but even the Empire and the Three Eastern Kingdoms register and manage their Sorcerers. Naturally, since the common folk have no knowledge of this, there would be no penalty even if they were undeclared.

However, it’s different for the Guild Master and the nobles. And as I’m also a relative of a sage, I’m obligated to report the discovery of a Sorcerer. Naturally, the Guild Master is too. Between the honest junior that I just met and the Guild Master that I’m indebted to, it’s obvious which side I’ll take.

In about a week, the academy’s messenger would probably arrive to enroll Lily in the academy. In the Kingdom, Sorcerers are obligated to go to the academy to learn the proper use and knowledge of Magic to prevent its abuse and misuse. Fifteen years old is young for a Sorcerer, so it probably won’t cause any problems.

With her strength, she probably won’t get disheartened even if she mingles with the genuine ones, but that academy’s true darkness doesn’t come from students, but from the teachers and the guardians, the adults. As the Sorcerers are capable of destroying the existing power balance, this means that every group and factions are scrambling for more Sorcerers.

If it’s a noble-born Sorcerer, then there’s no issue at all. And for the children of wealthy merchants and well-known families, they’re most likely already within a faction, so it’s not really that much of a problem. But for the common folk, it’s different. Especially for those who have unclear origins like Lily.

It’s most likely that, from day one, every single faction would be scrambling for her. And when they discover her true strength, there’s no doubt that the bigger factions would start scheming behind the curtains, just for her power. Still, it’s unlikely that they do something so stupidly fruitless as taking her life; but even so, there are still some that would probably go as far as turning her into a mindless doll.

「Master.」
「What?」
「Would you allow me to talk to Lily?」

At the very least, I don’t want her to be involved in some needless schemes at the academy, so I asked the Guild Master if I can take action. I myself am a failure with no right to call myself by my family name. Still, it doesn’t change the fact that I’m related to a Sage, and if I bring a new Sorcerer with me, everyone would probably welcome me gladly.

「No, there’s no need.」
「But then-!」
「I’ve decided to have them go to Gateskeep to take the Rank-C Promotion Exam.」
「And what does that have to…… ah!?」
「Exactly.」

Though I got enraged from the Guild Master’s firm rejection, hearing this explanation, I understood. Certainly, if everything goes well, Lily would be able to gain a higher class supporter than I could hope for.

「The Rank C Exam only lasts for five days but since they’re staying there, I’m thinking of referring them to a request from Gateskeep. The request lasts for a month. Any objections?」
「Nope~」

Noticing the Guild Master’s plan, I decided to abandon my own. It might be needed as a just in case, but even as a sub-plan it still has a lot of holes. There’s still a lot more I need to consider.

「Same, no problem.」
「In that case, let’s leave it at that. No need to look so grumpy, Grim. If she’s your savior, then that would make her the savior of my son. I’ll make sure to treat her well.」
「I’m not really, worrying about that.」

Grimhart met the Guild Master several months before we did. Both of us feel the same gratitude for him, but I’ve never heard anything about this.

Grimhart is the kind of guy that greatly values gratitude, so he’s undoubtedly worried about Lily’s future environment. For his sake too, I pray everything would work out peacefully.