Oh? Would a damned PowerPoint presentation help, perhaps?
Arin met her gaze without pause.
'That is understandable,' he said calmly.
The official with the glowing parchment hesitated for a moment, then resumed writing.
...Or whatever he was doing. The man could've been doodling different kinds of eyes, for all he knew.
Lady Ilyra looked at him for a moment longer.
'You are aware,' she then said, 'that, upon encountering an anomaly of unknown origin, the correct procedure is to err on the side of escalation. Even the faintest suggestion of a distortion calls for the situation to be dealt with an iron fist.'
'What are you suggesting, High Adjudicator?' asked Siel.
The lady shrugged. 'Since no officials were present, the obvious thing for you to do would've been to immediately destroy the source regardless, and kill any of those who dared interfere at all.'
This time, Arin had to really draw upon all his experience from his years of remaining professional during department meetings, to stop himself from scowling at her outright.
Still maintaining an uncaring tone, he asked, 'And risk widespread panic? Allow the news of a distortion appearing here to spread far and wide, out of both our, and your, control?'
He heard a sharp intake of breath from someone in the room. Someone obviously thought he was being a bit too rude, and a bit too unafraid of consequences. He didn't care.
...
Well, actually, he did care. He definitely didn't want to get into trouble.
He couldn't care.
Rin wouldn't care.
...Probably.
The lady, surprisingly, didn't seem offended. She simply said, 'Has the matter not already spread far and wide? I believe there are people who, at this very moment, are telling anyone they meet on the road about having survived an encounter with a distortion, no thanks to the carelessness of two tower magicians.'
'And that is still forgivable, for it can still be swept under the rug as a misunderstanding. Surely, the matter couldn't have been all that serious. After all, no one has been killed for it, hm?'
The older woman looked at him silently for another moment.
Arin didn't say anything anymore. He just stood there like he was waiting in line at the grocery store. After a while, lady Ilyra glanced up at the official who was taking notes once again. The man nodded, and she sighed.
'Twenty-one deaths confirmed today...' she said quietly.
'Twenty-two today.'
The lady blinked. 'Twenty-two, including the... girl. And more, prior to your arrival on this assignment?'
'Yes.'
'Hm...'
'I can direct you to the location of miss Lana's body,' Siel offered. 'And as for the others, you might find it helpful to review the records left by the current head maid at the headman's estate. The missing details might help confirm whether the words madam Seren will utter are truthful and complete.'
Lady Ilyra's steely eyes flickered to land on the younger tower magician. Then, she said, 'There shall be no need. We have a seeker of our own. Our remaining questions shall be for the old maid.'
'Very well,' Siel beamed.
It was quite obvious to Arin that the boy wasn't too intimidated by these officials, despite their apparent propensity for handing out death sentences left and right. Even when standing before this clearly high-ranking lady, he didn't seem any different than usual.
That just made him wonder all the more why the kid seemed to have been intimidated by that cloaked ultra-healer guy.
And, why he'd been so terribly afraid of evoking Rin's ire.
'Your actions will be reviewed further,' the lady was still speaking. 'But it seems no disciplinary measures will be necessary just yet. Of course, you would do well to remember that this wasn't a distortion at all. It was a remarkably powerful curse, with additional magic that suppressed its nature, thereby tricking you into believing it was one.'
'That is what the other villagers shall be told. That is all that the gathered volunteers and healers shall know. Even your individual reports shall be entirely consistent with this fact. Is that understood, tower magicians?'
Arin exchanged glances with Siel. Then, wordlessly, the two of them nodded.
'Your assignment was to determine the cause of the strange slumber afflicting Silvershade, and save the lives of the sleeping villagers. It has, therefore, been completed in its entirety. Any further tasks, such as determining the cause of the curse, and tracing its origin, will have nothing to do with you.'
'Acknowledge my words. Say that you understand. Say that you know.'
Just as Arin was about to open his mouth, Siel suddenly said, 'Our tower master knows of it. We had sought his aid along the way. May... may he, at least, know otherwise?'
And Arin suddenly realized he'd probably almost made some kind of unbreakable promise or something without even understanding the ins and outs of the whole thing.
This was a magic world. A stupid magic world with stupid powers and rules and lie-detecting tools (was that what that glowing parchment was? He didn't know!) and who knew what else!
He was already being careful.
He had to be even more careful.
He watched as lady Ilyra sighed. 'That man...' she said. The lines next to her mouth deepened again.
'Him? Ha! You may speak to him as freely as you will. It matters not if it's that man.'
Oh?
It wasn't surprising that the officials knew of which tower they hailed from. It was quite obvious they'd done their homework. But they way the High Adjudicator spoke of him...
Looks like the white-haired tower master was still decently well-known in certain circles.
He definitely wasn't well-regarded, though.
The older lady straightened up. 'But, otherwise,' she said, 'Speak. Say that you agree. And unless things change, this will mark the end of your involvement with this matter.'