Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: The Indefinite Contractor's Dispatch Duty Comes to an End (4)
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A moonlit night.
In one of the guest rooms of the Cartago Grand Duke's residence.
Elena and Irina stood rigidly at attention.
Titania, projected in the crystal orb before them, remained silent for a long while before finally speaking.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Yes."
Watching Titania foolishly repeat the report they'd just given, the two said nothing.
They'd been through it themselves, so they understood her feelings all too well.
Titania shook her head, her face a picture of utter exasperation.
'Daniel. What on earth...'
She had thought that through this northern dispatch, she'd grasped some unknown side of Daniel.
It was a ridiculous delusion.
She'd naturally assumed Daniel would harbor resentment over today's events and come complaining to her and the Magic Tower.
So she'd prepared every means to soothe him: comforting words, expressions of concern, gentle persuasion—everything to win him over.
All for nothing.
Daniel had accepted the Grand Duke's offer without a fuss, rendering all her preparations and efforts pointless.
It was all because she hadn't truly understood the man named Daniel.
A hollow laugh escaped her lips.
"Yes."
"What is it?"
Silence fell over the room.
"Impossible."
"Same here."
Both shook their heads.
"I would have pushed for more. After all, he'd done something everyone would acknowledge."
"Exactly. That's why it's impossible. To accept without any deal or negotiation, saying he was just doing his job—and end up satisfying everyone without causing a stir. No matter how I think about it, I couldn't do it."
"That's why I'm frustrated. He pulled off something I could never do—a guy who's politically hopeless. This is the first time I've felt defeated by someone worse at politics than me."
"Heh. What do you think?"
Elena smiled.
A subtle sense of refreshment lingered in her languid smile.
Titania's gaze shifted sideways.
"At first, I wondered why you were so fixated on a mere indefinite contractor mage, but now my curiosity's satisfied."
"Yes. I could never make such a desireless choice. A mage who works so diligently yet stays so unassuming? A freak like that doesn't exist anywhere on the continent, let alone the Empire."
"You're too kind."
Irina bowed her head.
In truth, she'd harbored suspicions all along: 'Maybe this guy is actually good at politics and just pretending to be bad at it?'
But today's events had confirmed it. That was just wishful thinking.
He was genuinely an idiot who couldn't do political calculus.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have tossed away a once-in-a-lifetime chance to negotiate with the Grand Duke so casually.
'Really, Daniel. You always manage to surprise me.'
That's why she couldn't help but covet him more than any regular staff talent.
Titania smiled, thinking just that.
Titania voiced the issues she'd been mulling over alongside this case.
"Sounds like it'll get busy."
"Understood."
"Got it."
Titania nodded at the firm responses from her subordinates through the orb.
"Something else?"
Titania's eyes sparkled as she spoke.
A few days later.
The day before the Magic Tower's high-ranking officials were set to depart for the north.
A guest visited Titania's office.
Titania rose from her seat to greet him.
"Welcome, Elder Zeke."
"It's been a while, Titania Grade 4. Nice to see you like this."
Zeke Britt, one of the six great elders.
The gray-haired, wrinkled-faced mage asked Titania point-blank.
"Is the report I heard true?"
"Yes."
Zeke narrowed his eyes at Titania's unhesitating nod.
"He really accepted the Northern Grand Duke's offer without any conditions?"
"Yes. He even expressed gratitude to the Grand Duke and took his leave. No complaints about the secondary merit appointment or rewards—nothing of the sort."
"Hah."
Zeke chuckled lowly as he settled onto the sofa.
It was a laugh of sheer disbelief.
His eyes betrayed confusion and suspicion.
"Is that mage a fool? Or bold beyond measure?"
"Heh. Who knows?"
Various thoughts swirled in Zeke's mind.
Most were the reward packages the Magic Tower had prepared to persuade Daniel.
'Days of meetings to hammer out those negotiation cards, and they turn to scraps like this.'
The Magic Tower's offer was straightforward.
Massive support to reach 5th Circle Expert Upper rank, plus a special-track conversion to regular staff.
It was an outrageously generous proposal, but the six elders—and the Tower Lord—agreed it was necessary to sway Daniel, or more precisely, to back the Grand Duke's decision.
Yet all those plans had gone up in smoke.
Thanks to one indefinite contractor mage who created an unforeseen variable no one had predicted.
'Still, it's a relief in a way. Since he accepted without a word, we just need to leave him the elixir. Honestly, regular conversion was a problematic card anyway.'
Converting an indefinite contractor to regular staff was like a "volatile bomb" in many ways.
Until now, there were only three paths for indefinite contractors to become regulars at the Magic Tower.
Pass the standard exam like everyone else,
reach 5th Circle Master,
or receive a recommendation.
No exceptions.
But this time, an exception nearly happened.
A special-track regular conversion—an exception among exceptions.
And that was pure poison.
'The other contractors would riot. Or they'd all try to become heroes like Daniel. Or push to make this special track official. Headache either way.'
Structural reforms were something every organization dreaded.
The Magic Tower was no exception.
With this unwelcome issue averted early, Zeke let out a sigh of relief.
At the same time, he had to revise his internal assessment of Daniel.
From "an indefinite contractor who causes trouble" to "an indefinite contractor mage who spreads the Magic Tower's name far and wide while preventing trouble on his own."
Someone content with the status quo, with no complaints.
To the higher-ups, he was the ideal talent they couldn't dislike even if they tried.
A smile crept onto Zeke's lips.
"You've got a good subordinate there, Titania Grade 4."
"My pride and joy, Elder Zeke."
"Indeed. Worth bragging about."
Zeke nodded and pulled a small vial from the pouch at his waist.
Tremendous energy pulsed from the liquid inside.
"I heard he received a mid-grade elixir from Heir Rainer. Have him take this alongside it. It's a high-grade elixir adjuvant—will greatly aid in absorbing and digesting the elixir's energy."
"Thank you, Elder. Daniel will be thrilled."
What could have been a stiff conversation had turned warm and cordial, all thanks to Daniel's decision.
"Thanks to that Daniel fellow, we can head straight to the temple upon arriving in Cartago."
Titania's eyes flickered briefly.
"I heard Leona Grade 4's recovery will be difficult. Is that true?"
"Yes. Losing an arm can be overlooked, but her mana hole is damaged. The treating priest says even full recovery caps her at 4th Circle."
"That's a shame."
"I think so too."
Zeke responded to the insincere sympathy with equally hollow agreement.
"Frankly, her place in the Tower is gone."
It was the truth.
Injury aside, losing six precious 5th Circle mages was her fault—an undeniable fact.
Thus, Leona had to take responsibility.
That was the consensus of the higher-ups and the Tower itself.
"Firing her would look bad. She's set to be a northern hero."
"Agreed. In that case..."
"Yes. We'll handle it as advised resignation. She takes responsibility while preserving her honor, so she'll accept."
Even if she didn't, it wouldn't matter.
This decision would never be overturned.
"Her vacancy will cause a stir. I'd appreciate your help sorting it out."
"Of course. I'll handle it smoothly. No worries."
"I leave it to you."
Having casually discussed the dismissal and cleanup of a mage who'd faithfully served the Tower, the two mages continued their chat with smiles.
This was the Magic Tower, rife with intrigue and schemes.
Incompetent mages didn't survive.
There was only one exception.
A mage uninvolved in any schemes.
An indefinite contractor mage.