[V5C13] The Smoke Fox’s Big-Shot Evaluation Time
Translated by Jodas 5: The Magic BattleThe instant Julius’ contracted spirit Agniol took the stage, the atmosphere in the viewing room shifted dramatically.
The third-rate con man Smoke Fox, under the guise of Hütter, feigned an expression of surprise at Agniol’s appearance as he observed the rest of the room.
(On the whole, seems like the older someone is, the more surprised they are. That tracks. That Flame Spirit was Samuel Löwenich’s contracted spirit… Anyone who knew Samuel has to be surprised.)
The most important people in the room at the moment were Headmaster Möbius, Assistant Headmaster Miriam, and Spiremaster Abel of the First Spire: White Smoke.
Then, from the Director level, there was Guidance Office Director Hegelich, Extermination Office Director Haydn, Management Office Director Kappel, and Library Office Director Linke.
— Seven in total.
Möbius, Miriam, and Abel showed no particular hints of unease. It looked less like they were hiding their shock, and more that they had already assumed that Julius had brought Agniol along with him. Of course some people would be able to tell just by looking at Julius’s ring that looked way out of place on a boy his age.
Old Man Kappel casually said “Ooh, looks like things are getting heated up.” He seemed to be simply enjoying the spectacle of the fight.
Haydn, the youngest among the Directors, was simply impressed by the Apprentices’ fighting spirt.
(Those two are the easiest to read…)
Then, there was Guidance Office Director Hegelich and Library Office Director Linke.
Both of them had tense expressions as they stared at the red lion shown on the white curtain.
Those two were around forty, so they were relatively close in age to the late Samuel Löwenich.
As a result, they had to have known about the power Agniol held.
Seeing the difference in their expressions, the third-rate con man Smoke Fox was certain.
(As I thought, there’s no point in digging in to the Directors. The ones with information have to be the Spiremasters.)
The Spiremasters were constantly keeping tabs on Julius’ exploits. Of course Agniol making an appearance wouldn’t shock them.
(That said… The Spiremasters don’t strike me as a monolith… If I could just find one thread to pull on…)
As he thought, the battle continued to play out.
The screen displayed Sevil, riding around on the crimson lion, duking it out with Frederik, who dodged her curved sword attacks with his flight magic while looking for an opening.
As Hütter watched, he came to a realization.
(The students in my class… Aren’t they the best?)
At the moment, the casualties were: Sophie from Röhm’s class; Rose and Oliver from Sombart’s class; and Finn from Armster’s class.
All three students from Hütter’s class were still in the fight.
(Those kids are pretty good! I bet Ms. Röhm is going to come to compliment me a whole lot… I wonder how I’m going to respond then?)
“Mr. Hütter, your students are amazing! You’ve taught them so well!”
The imaginary Röhm in his head looked at him with eyes of respect, while his mental Hütter responded with the attitude of a collected and mature adult.
“You flatter me, but they’re the ones who are truly talented. All I did was tell them to think carefully as they prepared.”
He thought that was a pretty good line.
But if he tried to be too humble, he would come off as sarcastic, so he had to make sure to be a little happy, just enough not to come across as a self-aggrandizing old man… As he pondered these absolutely critical thoughts, he heard the door behind him open.
Two more people walked in. A man and a woman — both old. They looked to be from the same generation as Old Man Kappel.
The man was large and muscular. He was an old man with a strong face and his white hair clipped short. The left sleeve of his robe dangled limply, swaying as he walked. He only had one arm.
Meanwhile, the old lady had an average build. Her white hair was cut relatively short, and she also had a stern atmosphere about her. She had good posture for her age, and she walked briskly.
Sombart, sitting beside Hütter, whispered in his ear.
“Hey, would you look at that. Isn’t that Spiremaster Lowein and Spiremaster Alto?”
Spiremaster Lowein, of the Second Spire: Golden Needle.
Spiremaster Alto, of the Third Spire: Water Bubble.
Shockingly, once again big shots have made their appearance. Now, all of the top bosses of the Wedge Towers were assembled in one place, right? Even Hütter was surprised by this.
Lowein strode forward with his immense body, all the way up to the front where he looked up at the white screen.
Seeing the scene displayed before him, he clicked his tongue.
“Frederik, you bastard… Why are you fighting like a wimp!?”
Lowein glared at the white curtain with an intense expression.
“FREDERIIIIK! ARE YOU EVEN TRYING, YOU BASTARD!?!?”
His voice was less a shout than it was a roar.
The glass in the windows shook at the pressure of his thundering voice, and as all of the mages in the room tensed up, Alto looked exasperated.
“Settle down, Lowein. This only lets us see the visuals. Our voices won’t reach them from here.”
“Tch.”
Lowein stomped over towards the window. Seeing his bulging hands reach for the window, Alto sighed.
“You can’t be thinking of shouting towards the forest from here, are you Lowein?”
“I’m confident my voice will reach.”
“Stop it, please. My ears are going to be ringing for days. Why don’t you calm down and take a seat already? You’re big, too, so sit in the back, okay?”
Other mages exchanged seats, offering Lowein a seat in the front row. However, Lowein declined and dutifully moved to sit in the back row.
That said, he was huge. Just in terms of width, he was probably one-and-a-half, maybe even two times the size of Hütter.
Once she had calmed Lowein down, Alto moved to sit in the front row.
He expected her to sit alongside Headmaster Möbius or Spiremaster Abel, but she instead chose to sat next to Old Man Kappel as he hooted and hollered at the screen.
The two of them didn’t exchange greetings, instead naturally jumping right into a conversation. The first to speak was Alto.
“I’ve seen the files on the things the Apprentices have made this year. They’ve put a lot together, haven’t they?”
“Well, the Magical Flying Device was basically my achievement though, GAHAHA!”
“I was surprised to see the drawing board shields and the tubes for preserving inscription magic.”
“Pah, those are just lame little child’s crafts, aren’t they?”
Kappel seemed to be implying something, but Alto responded with a confident, mature attitude.
“It means they have the capacity to make the things they need most. I thought you would be happy. You could ‘make money from this,’ couldn’t you, Kappel?”
“Pah! Don’t be foolish! The only ones who use inscription magic are the most amateur of amateurs! I’d never make money from this!”
These two were Spiremaster and Director. Alto was the boss, and Kappel was the subordinate.
However, their conversation had the cadence of two old friends bantering.
— After observing that much, Hütter turned to his thoughts.
At the moment, all five of the Wedge Tower’s top authorities were gathered in one place.
Which Spiremaster should he try to approach?
While staring at the white curtain with a serious expression, in his mind, he struck a dramatic pose.
“It’s time for the Smoke Fox’s…. Big-Shot Evaluation Shooooowwww! Brrrrrrrrrrr (the sound of lips buzzing) Dun-da-da-dum! Whoo!”
In his imaginations, the Smoke Fox announced with a trilling voice.
“First, we have entry number one! The top dog in the Wedge Tower, Headmaster Möbius!! He’s a handsome man with a big ol’ sword — some kinda Ancient Magical Artifact called ‘Ignatius, the Severer.’ He sure must have pulled in the ladies when he was younger, I bet. He’s still popular. He’s gotta be. But, he’s too cold, there’s nowhere for me to latch on to! If I don’t really earn his trust, I can tell he’ll never open up for me!
Entry number two! Assistant Headmaster Miriam! A stern beauty in a nun’s habit! With a heart of steel, her inapproachability is even higher than Headmaster Möbius! To be honest, I think she’s the toughest nut to crack out of all of them. She’s got the smell of a dangerous woman! I’m willing to place my bets now; I’ll never take this woman down!”
The Smoke Fox had a tendency to respond to troublesome issues by pumping himself up with a ridiculous act in order to get through.
He simply couldn’t help himself from putting on a circus in his own head.
“Now, it’s time to introduce the Spiremasters from the White Smoke, Golden Needle, and Water Bubble! Entry number three: From the First Spire: White Smoke… it’s Spiremaster Abel! She may look like a cheerful, inviting lady, but what true intentions may lie beneath!?
To be honest, I vote for the theory that she’s secretly incapable of doing anything! She pushed her biggest problem (Sevil) on to me, after all!
Entry Number four: Hailing from the Second Spire: Golden Needle, we have Spiremaster Lowein!
This is a crazy huge, powerful, loudmouthed, one-armed old man! Just one slap from this dude and you’re dead! But wait, if you tried to shake hands with him, wouldn’t he crush your hand? This is a true powerhouse of a man man whose been on the front lines hunting Monsters left and right to the point he lost an arm!
Entry number five: Representing the Third Spire: Water Bubble, we have Spiremaster Alto! Here is a heroic woman who can tame both the ridiculously strong old man Spiremaster Lowein as well as the ridiculously ridiculous old man Director Kappel! According to my research, she’s got a taste for the arts, but with her calm demeanor… I reckon she’s not the type to show her cards so easily.
Now~, all the big shots of the Wedge Tower have arrived! Catch us next time, when the Smoke Fox shows you how to handle big shots like these! Yay!”
…All that excitement was, of course, limited to inside his head. In reality, Hütter reached his conclusion in utter calm.
(Well, Spiremaster Alto would be a safe option. From what I could tell from her exchange with Director Kappel, she seems quite positive towards the Apprentices.)
Each and every one of the Spiremasters would obviously be skilled with body language.
Whether they were a fool or a genius, it was always easier to deal with opponents you could understand than ones you couldn’t read.
But now, it was time for the third-rate con man Smoke Fox to work his magic.
While he used far-sight magecraft to observe the magic battle arena, Dammer internally seethed.
He wanted to cancel the magic battle barrier just as Frederik’s spear was about to run Tia through, but the opportunity never seemed to come.
“Frederik, you bastard…”
The reason the chance didn’t come was because the Apprentices were all too weak.
So Frederik held back against them, taking care so his attacks wouldn’t leave them with painful memories.
(Each and every one of you are way too soft!)
Just a moment ago, Oliver, who was using flight magic in tandem with Tia, was knocked out.
If Tia had been completely eliminated from the battle as well, he would lose his chance entirely.
(Hold on just a little bit more, you white-haired brat…)
With an incomprehensible wish, Dammer continued to wait for his chance to kill Tia Vogel.