[V6C8] Awkward Old Men
Translated by Jodas 6: Secrets of the Wedge TowerWith a bottle of good wine in one hand, Hütter quickly took stock of the situation.
It was nighttime, they were outside, and they were holding a makeshift drinking party on a row of haphazardly placed wooden boxes.
Sitting crosslegged on a small box was the Management Office Director, Old Man Kappel. Said old man was as carefree and loose-lipped as always. He showed no sign of deference despite the presence of the Headmaster in front of him.
Then, across a large wooden box that they used in place of a table, sat Möbius and Otto.
Otto sat on a simple wooden stool, while Möbius had a box. Both kept their distance from each other.
(Considering Otto’s personality, I would expect him to offer his seat to his superiors. If Headmaster Möbius is sitting on a box… that probably means Headmaster Möbius showed up after the other two.)
Kappel and Otto drinking just as they always did, then Möbius walking up all of a sudden.
Otto tries offering his seat, but Möbius says “I’ll be fine here” and sits down on a wooden box — That was how it played out in Hütter’s imagination.
What interested him was the air between these three.
Old Man Kappel was just as usual. This grandpa’s attitude would stay the same even if he was talking to a child or the Emperor himself.
Möbius had the same expression he did the first time he saw him. even though he was sitting on a box, he sat with excellent posture and had a stiff, formal air about him that felt very out of place.
Otto looked a little uncomfortable, but his face relaxed a bit when he noticed Hütter.
In order of age, Kappel was the oldest by a long shot. Möbius and Otto were around the same age as each other, both slightly older than Hütter.
However, in terms of workplace hierarchy, the order went: Möbius (Headmaster, the most important), Kappel (Director, albeit the most senior), Otto (Protection Office underling, veteran), then Hütter (Guidance Office underling, newbie).
Hütter plastered a forced, non-threatening smile on his face.
“Hey, nice to see you, sorry if I’m intruding! We’ve got quite the unusual lineup here tonight, huh~?”
He directed the last part towards Kappel and searched for his reaction.
Kappel gulped down a swig of beer before letting out a loud, drunken breath.
“Ooh, you showed up! Hütter, did you bring me a present?”
“Yes, I brought a little special wine this time… Oh, would you look at that!”
Hütter acted like he had just noticed something and glanced towards Möbius.
Möbius’ reactions were unreadable — so this was as good a time as any to test him.
Hütter approached Möbius and put his hand up to his mouth, as if sharing a secret.
“I got my hands on this through highly confidential means, so I hope you keep this a secret from the big shots, you get me?”
Möbius’ eyes opened slightly, then slightly… ever so slightly let out a tiny chuckle.
“Is that so? In that case, let’s keep it a secret between us.”
“After all, if we drink all of it, then it’s just an empty bottle! Director Kappel, I’m gonna borrow some of your glasses!”
Hütter called to Kappel, who replied “Yeah, go get ‘em, go get ‘em!” while waving his hand aimlessly through the air.
There was a door close by that led straight into the Management Office. Entering through there, he rudely picked out plates and glasses at random, as he usually did.
At times like these, Hütter brought a few more glasses than he needed. By doing so, it made it easier for him to hide how much liquor he drank.
Kappel would bitterly tell him there was no need to go out of his way to exchange his glasses for him… to which he would say “Don’t worry about it!” with a friendly smile as he shoved the new glass in his hand.
“It’s a good wine, so please, enjoy it in a good glass.”
“You dumbass! All of my glasses are cheap trash!”
“Oh, are they really? I just assumed they were high-quality glasses made by the artisans of the Management Office…”
“Don’t be stupid! If my artisans made a glass, the thickness would be much more uniform, you know…!”
As he exchanged friendly banter with Kappel, he set a glass in front of Möbius and poured wine into it.
“By the way, I’m Caspar Hütter, from the Guidance Office.”
“Klaus Möbius. I’ve heard rumors about you, Dream Mage.”
That tracked. At the very least, he had heard the name of the mage sent by the Mage Association.
(Although, the mages dispatched by the Mage Association tend to be of the Modern School. But Headmaster Möbius is a Classical School mage. I have to bet he has a negative impression of me…)
It would not be a straight shot to earn his trust. He had to cautiously and slowly close the distance.
Once Hütter poured wine in everyone’s glasses, he sat down next to Kappel and directly across from Möbius.
“Director Kappel. I have to thank you for taking care of my students. You’ve done me a big favor with the Magical Flying Device.”
“You bet, that little squirt of yours has some serious skill. Gehahaha! At this rate, we’ll be able to sell the Magical Flying Device and make it big in no time!”
“It must have been hard dealing with Sevil’s hand guard as well, wasn’t it? I heard you had to process a fire dragon’s scale.”
“Processing the scale was done by Rukiye, the Apprentice. I think it was good practice for her. Scales taken from living dragons aren’t easy to get your hands on.”
When Hütter casually brought up the name of Sevil, the Emperor’s sister, he tried to observe Möbius’ reaction.
Möbius didn’t show any particularly discernible reactions, instead silently taking a sip of his wine.
Beside him, Otto kept his head down and averted his eyes. He looked very uncomfortable. Hütter decided he should try passing the conversation to Otto next.
“Otto, I have to thank you for your magic sword lessons as well. I imagine it wasn’t easy teaching someone magic sword skills to a usable combat proficiency in only a month, right?”
“…That’s all down to talent, I’d say. I’ve heard it’s common for aristocrats to have high mana reserves, too.”
An uncomfortable smile appeared on Otto’s weary face.
This was not Hütter’s first time drinking with Otto. Otto was a regular here, and he usually had a somewhat more relaxed attitude.
The reason he looked so on edge today had to be because Möbius was sitting next to him.
So, what does he do from here to involve Möbius in the conversation? …As Hütter considered his options, the Möbius in question pulled his glass away from his mouth and whispered.
“You had high mana yourself, didn’t you, Lutz?”
Hütter was taken completely off guard.
(Who the heck is Lutz? …No, wait, It’s Otto, isn’t it. Lutz Otto, eh… Huh? Wait, so Headmaster Möbius is on a first-name basis with Otto? They’re that close?)
He was confused for a second, but he quickly pieced it together.
While mages at the Wedge Tower usually referred to each other by their surnames, Apprentices were the exception, calling each other by their first names instead.
Therefore, if two people were on a first-name basis, that meant they were either classmates as Apprentices, they were an Apprentice and their mentor, or they were otherwise very close to each other.
That was the reason why Frederik, Rikard, and Helena of the Extermination Office were on a first-name basis, and also why the Guidance Office’s Anneliese Röhm was occasionally referred to as ‘Liese.’
When Möbius addressed Lutz Otto, the latter averted his eyes in discomfort and mumbled.
“…That’s all in the past now.”
Saying nothing more, Otto brought his glass of wine to his mouth. He gave the clear impression that he was drinking because he didn’t want to talk and wanted to end the discussion there.
Möbius didn’t say anything either, but he seemed to be saddened for having said something out of turn himself.
(What’s up with these awkward old men?)
Hütter forced a smile and asked a question to both of them.
“Could it be that you two were classmates before, Headmaster Möbius? Otto?”
Otto remained silent. It was Möbius who replied.
“Yes, we were in the same class when we were Apprentices. Even after that, we both went to the Extermination Office together.”
(Oh, yes, yes, yes, I see now~)
He’d heard that Otto was a former member of the Extermination Office, but he hadn’t known that they were in the same class as Apprentices.
So they were basically just like Tia, Wren, and Sevil.
(And one of them is the Headmaster at the very top of the Wedge Tower’s hierarchy, while the other is just a tired old gatekeeper at the Protection Office…)
That had to be awkward for both of them.
Perhaps, Möbius had been hoping to have a chat with him over some alcohol, just like old times.
But Otto was keeping his distance, possibly thinking ‘Don’t talk to me so much, you’re on such a different level from me now.’
The atmosphere was getting extremely awkward, but Old Man Kappel paid it no heed as he munched on thin-cut salami. How bold of him.
(Alright, it’s all up to me then. I guess I’ve got to do… that.)
Hütter steeled himself, then leaned over the box they were using as a table.
“That’s amazing, Otto!”
“No, I don’t really think it’s…”
Otto’s face drew back. He looked extremely displeased to be complimented in such a manner.
That was why Hütter left him no time to respond as he pulled out that which he had been practicing for on a daily basis.
He narrowed his eyes, furrowed his brow, and lifted his lower lip to the point where it touched his upper teeth.
He spoke in a somewhat nasally voice.
“You should tell me that sort of thing sooner, you.”
Everyone stared in silence.
Keeping his face as it was, Hütter looked back and forth between Otto and Möbius.
“Didn’t that sound just like him? I was trying to imitate Director Hegelich.”
The silence continued for another beat.
The first to let out a laugh was, surprisingly, Möbius.
“…….ha. Haha…”
Möbius covered his mouth and laughed, his shoulders shaking slightly.
Otto’s tense expression slowly melted and he laughed with his usual, albeit sad, face.
“Haha, you’ve hit the nail on the head…”
Hütter wagged his index finger and mimed pushing up a pair of glasses.
He did not merely do vocal impressions. This was a con man’s specialty: a full impersonation of a man’s mannerisms and expressions as well.
“Make sure to keep up the good work, you.”
This time, both of them laughed at once.