The way they wrapped up this ball after all the fuss had surprised even Konrad.
As in, it was so—mundane?
"Thus, we hereby declare the new White Mage. Lord Konrad von Halstadt," the king's voice boomed across the halls. "The Duke of Halaima now joins the Royal Mages' Inner Circle."
And that was pretty much it. Most of the nobles would cheer and clap, but—
Yeah. Not everyone seemed happy about it.
'Commit those faces to your memory, Paula,' he thought. 'Because I sure as hell will forget.'
'Mhm. I'll also have to research Kasserlane's history of magic,' she noted. 'Because I'm pretty sure you'll go down as the worst Mage ever to exist. So for that, I congratulate you, Konrad.'
Ugh, that little—
"We thank you all for attending this auspicious event, too," the king added. "And please, enjoy the ball for the rest of your evening. As for the inauguration, Lord Halstadt, please—"
Hearing Ronald von Kasserlane use the royal we and please at the same time felt rather jarring.
But this was his cue to escape the crowd, and Konrad had been looking forward to it.
"Good luck, Master," Eyna said, bowing and stepping back. "We'll wait for you by the main gate."
Wait. Hold on.
"You're not coming?" he asked, freezing mid-step, and—yeah. Gabrielle let go of his arm, too.
"No, don't be silly, dear husband," the angel scoffed. "Everything that happens inside that Inner Circle is the kingdom's best-kept secret. Not that I wouldn't know about it already, but—"
"Please, at least keep up the appearances," the Silver Mage coughed, taking over Konrad's arm.
Um. He'd much rather walk with stunning women by his side, but—
"Is there something else on the menu still?" he asked, getting worried.
"Why, yes," the old wizard claimed. "But there won't be any more fighting for you, Ser Konrad. In fact, I hear the king will be too busy to attend himself, so you have nothing to worry about."
Well, that was at least comforting.
But again, whatever he had expected from this Inner Circle party—
"Is this it?" he muttered, three corridors and two grand halls away. "A big, empty chamber with nothing but a large table in it?"
And by empty—
It had no other furniture, paintings, tapestries, or flags, or even a single coat of arms.
Nothing but that table and a few chairs around it, and the dry, dusty air.
"We only use it for the most important stuff," the Crimson Mage noted, because he was present, too. "Like, discussing secrets where having stuff in here would be a potential threat, or—"
"For the magic we're about to perform, it is also more beneficial to have a lot of space."
"What magic?" Konrad scowled, but—
Even after saying that, they both sat at that table, and that was that.
"You'll see, you'll see," the Silver Mage muttered, and—
Did he fall asleep?!
"Uwaah, your wife's something else," Crimson claimed, rolling his crackling shoulders. "I'm not used to having my ass beaten like that. Can't wait for Green to reveal her weakness."
"Hey, in case you forgot, I'm here, too," Konrad scoffed. "Wait. Maou Midori will come, too?"
"He promised to bring you a crystal," the old wizard mumbled, resting his face on the desk. "But it might take some time, so make yourself comfortable. I'm tired."
"Yeah, I'm too old for this shit, too," the Mage, looking thirty-odd, complained.
And Konrad could only blink.
"What are you even talking about?" he scoffed. "Too old for what? And you of all people?"
"I'll have you know, I'm the oldest of Kasserlane's Mages," Crimson sighed. "Although if that Green bastard had actually traveled back in time a whole century—I guess we would be tied."
Another blink.
"Crimson here is an expert in time and mind magic," the Silver Mage noted without raising his head. "He can rejuvenate his body as much as he wants, but he lacks in many other aspects."
"Hey," the red-caped wizard snapped. "Would you not give away my weaknesses to the newbie?!"
He what?
"But wait," Konrad protested. "Maou, I mean the Green Mage was the one obsessed with—oh."
Now he remembered. Yes, the former Demon Lord had, in fact, used time travel, but it was a mere accident. What he intended to do was—
Travel between dimensions and break out of this world's barrier.
Right. So the Crimson Mage had the actual time specialization here, and the Silver one had—
"Are you talking about me?" Midori-kun, the schoolboy-aged Green Mage, had finally arrived.
And keeping up with the style, he entered through a swirling portal with—
Stella and Yuki-chan in tow?!
"Konrad," he gave him a curt nod, turning back to the Silver Mage. "How did my boy do?"
"Mhm, he played a bit dirty, but that much was fine," the old wizard noted, pushing himself back up. "In the end, he was still no match for Ser Konrad's raw strength, though."
Wait, so by 'my boy', he meant Zoltan?!
"I told that angel it was too early for him, but oh, well," Midori-kun sighed, shrugging it off.
"L-Lord Halstadt," Stella, meanwhile, muttered, curtsying and fiddling with her hands. "H-here, um. Please accept this gift for passing your Mage exam."
She held out a bright white crystal, but—
Given their shared history, Konrad was reluctant to take it.
"What's that?" he scowled. But before Stella could say anything—
Yuki-chan grabbed it and danced into the middle of the empty chamber.
"Lookie, Kon-chan," she chirped, holding it as high as her petite frame allowed. "It can do this."
And a moment later, the entire chamber fell into complete darkness.
The only thing he could still see was the bright-white crystal floating in the air, but if he had to guess—yeah. It sucked away all the light, be it natural or created by his own essence.
"Elemental Light," Midori-kun explained, and when he pried it off the emo girl's hands—
Light returned to normal.
"Thought it would be a perfect fit for your up-and-coming Mage Staff."
"Mage Staff?" Konrad repeated, mumbling. "Weren't you out there fighting the invaders?"
"We hit our quota," Yuki claimed, as if she were there to fight, too. "The rest is up to Lilith-chan."
Meanwhile, the Green Mage ignored her and focused on the first half of his question.
"Every Royal Mage has a staff. Though I lost mine, and 'someone' absorbed my replacement."
That glance at Stella couldn't be any clearer.
The blonde ex-church girl would fiddle even harder. But now that Konrad thought about it, the Silver Mage had a decent staff, too, and he had actually used it once before.
Fun fact: it was what let him break out of Maou Midori's first Time Anomaly.
'Feeling nostalgic, or what?' Paula scoffed, interrupting his thoughts.
"Right, and I bought the wood for it," the Silver Mage noted, offering a straight piece of—
Wood, he said? It looked like ivory.
Pearly white, too straight, too perfect to be natural.
But as Midori-kun approached it with that white crystal, it almost appeared dirty grey next to it.
"Seems fitting," he grunted. "Don't you agree, kid? A white staff with an Elemental Light Crystal, for someone who started with a mastery in Light Magic."
Well, when he put it that way—
He sure had come far since.
"Aye," Silver and Crimson agreed, too. "Welcome in the fold, White Mage."