Shining Gold (1)
Wolf Fang had their guild status stripped away. Most of the guilds that took part in the plot to assassinate the leader scrambled to cut off their own tails. They insisted it was nothing more than individual deviation or coercion, pouring every ounce of effort into minimizing the fallout. Of course, the Association wasn’t foolish enough to swallow that nonsense. If anyone tried to sever a tail, the response was a swift blade ready to carve off everything below the waist. Under the fury of the Strongest Mage, most of them were sliced apart without mercy.
But Wolf Fang’s case was different. Their very own leader, Kurta, had marched in at the head of a massive contingent of his subordinates. There was no tail left to cut—they’d be taking the head instead. In that light, merely having their guild status revoked and all associated rights seized was an exceptionally lenient outcome. Under normal circumstances, every single member would have been fair game for punishment.
The reason they were spared was the information Kurta had surrendered at the very end. As a core member of the Liberation Faction, he possessed a wealth of valuable intelligence, and he spilled every last drop of it with shocking honesty—so much so that the interrogators were the ones left flustered. Kurta himself had simply laughed and said he’d never been told to keep any of it secret. Most likely the Liberation Faction had considered it so obvious they never bothered spelling it out.
Thanks to that intelligence, the Association was able to purge the radical Liberation Faction members who had burrowed deep into their ranks. The result was a five-percent reduction in personnel. On top of that, a fair number of mages burned their bridges entirely, bolting from the Association to become unregistered fugitives. It was a bitter loss, but far better to turn internal enemies into external ones than leave them festering inside.
The mighty Wolf Fang’s collapse, the giant guilds already brawling over the rights and interests the werewolves had left behind, and the mages now running wild beyond the Association’s shadow… the current power structure of the magical world was nothing short of total chaos.
“…You get it now? That’s why I’m this busy.”
Negin grumbled loudly, yet her eyes and hands never stopped racing across the paperwork. Beside her, Serpina lay sprawled carelessly on the floor, basking in the air-conditioner’s breeze.
“So?”
Serpina’s tone was the very definition of indifference—the voice of someone discussing a stranger’s problem, because it genuinely was someone else’s problem. Negin pressed hard on her throbbing temple and sighed.
“So could you please get out? I’m swamped enough to die, and watching you lounge right in front of me is seriously making me jealous.”
“I’m only staying because watching you groan in jealousy is entertaining.”
“What? Urgh…”
Negin let out a tiny groan, then finally snapped. She flicked her finger. The blanket beneath Serpina whipped upward, spinning like a vortex and wrapping her up like a giant caterpillar. It rolled her straight out of the vice branch manager’s office, blanket and all.
Serpina laughed and willingly surrendered to the roll. Resisting would have been simple, but she found this reaction amusing in its own way.
“Ah. So this is where you were.”
Narel approached Serpina, who was still lying in the hallway wondering what to do next.
“What are you doing wrapped up in a blanket like that?”
“Just messing with Negin for a bit.”
“Aah…”
Narel glanced at the vice branch manager plaque on the door and smiled bitterly. This was a scene she had witnessed many times before. When someone was drowning in work, the sight of a dragon napping lazily nearby could make even the most composed person forget exactly who they were dealing with and boil over with irritation.
Narel unwrapped the blanket from around Serpina and spoke.
“I’ve prepared a reward for you, my benefactor. If you have time, would you come with me now?”
“A reward? What is it?”
“Hehe. That’s a secret. Still, I’m certain you’ll be satisfied. After all, you saved me—the leader. It’s a reward worthy of that deed, so you may look forward to it.”
“Sounds interesting. Since you said I can look forward to it, I will.”
Serpina rose to her feet and left with Narel.
Thanks to her battle against Kurta, Serpina had become famous overnight. If the earlier rumors had been the sort only the faithful believed, this time the story was undeniably real. On top of that, she was walking beside Narel—whose name was known to every person in the magical world. Attracting stares wherever they went had become routine.
Naturally, neither of them shrank from the attention or let it bother them. The one who did was the third member of their group.
“Ugh… so many people are staring…”
Ayoung, walking beside them, looked ready to perish from the unfamiliar spotlight. She had been on her way out of the Association building after accepting a request when Serpina and Narel had snatched her up. She wanted to bolt immediately, but she couldn’t. Not after what Narel had said to her.
Are you my junior sister? I’ll be counting on you from now on.
Those were the words she had heard back at the fight between Serpina and Kurta. Junior sister? She had seen the term in the novels she read to kill time during her part-time shifts. It definitely referred to a younger female disciple who shared the same master. Yet she couldn’t fathom why the leader of the Wolha Association would call her that of all people.
There were so many questions swirling in her head, but at the time she hadn’t had the chance to ask. So when this meeting presented itself as a possible opportunity, Ayoung found she couldn’t run away.
But even that hope refused to go according to plan.
“Um… Leader. May I ask what you meant by what you said last time?”
“Last time? Ah… that. Hmm… I think it’s still too early to explain.”
“Huh?”
“You’ll understand when the time is right. So let’s leave that topic here.”
“Huh??”
Narel giggled at Ayoung’s dumbfounded face.
“This is fun. Now I finally understand why my benefactor enjoys teasing me so often.”
Still, Narel was gentler than Serpina. After laughing a few times, she leaned in close and whispered.
“I’ll tell you later. There are too many people around right now, aren’t there?”
Understanding the implication, Ayoung glanced around and nodded. The attention was already burdensome enough; she had no desire for even more.
The group left Shinsi and stepped out into the human world—the city where Serpina lived.
“Leader, how much farther are we going?”
“We’re almost there.”
After another ten minutes of walking they arrived at a house. It wasn’t particularly large, but it came with its own yard. By this point even Ayoung had begun to suspect what might be happening.
Narel opened the front door and announced, “I’m giving this house to you, benefactor! All the legal paperwork has already been taken care of!”
“Whoa…”
Ayoung’s jaw dropped. The neighborhood wasn’t downtown, but it had excellent infrastructure. She couldn’t even begin to guess how much a detached house in a place like this would cost.
“Ooh~”
Serpina’s reaction, by contrast, was utterly calm. She had never been particularly attached to any specific living arrangement. As long as the space was large enough for her to stretch out in dragon form, the difference between a house and a cardboard box under a bridge was negligible. The only real upside was that Heerin could visit more safely.
“Hehe…”
The lukewarm response to her carefully prepared gift was a little disappointing, but Narel wasn’t finished yet. With a triumphant smile, she guided Serpina inside.
“The real reward is over here. The house is basically just a case to hold it.”
“Oh? Really? Even the house alone must have been expensive.”
“Please. I’m the leader of the Association. I could buy several houses like this without feeling any strain.”
The Wolha Association was an organization that included nearly every mage and non-human on the planet. While hiding magic generated no profit and only burned money, at that scale funds still flowed in one way or another—especially when the owner was a high elf who had lived for a thousand years.
The interior was reasonably spacious, about right for an ordinary family of three. At that size Ayoung secretly tilted her head. A detached house with a yard for a family of three was certainly valuable, but after Narel had made such a point of being the leader of the Wolha Association, it felt almost modest. Was this really the grand reward she had hyped up?
As if sensing Ayoung’s confusion, Narel led the group to a particular door.
“Now then. This room contains the true reward.”
Narel opened the door. The windowless room was pitch black; Ayoung couldn’t see a thing. But for Serpina it was different. A dragon’s vision pierced the darkness, and she swallowed hard. She was more surprised by her own reaction than anything else.
“Huh? What is this feeling…?”
Just looking at it filled her with satisfaction and contentment. Narel’s lips curved upward at the exact response she had hoped for, and she flipped on the light.
A room the size of a small studio with no windows at all—yet every inch of the floor was hidden beneath a glittering sea of gold coins that sparkled so brightly they hurt the eyes.
“Eek!”
Ayoung shrieked as the sudden blaze of light assaulted her vision. The bulbs’ glow reflected endlessly, turning the entire room into a dazzling constellation. Serpina’s own eyes sparkled in perfect harmony.
“Ooh…”
The admiration in her voice was completely sincere. The room Narel had called the true reward was modest in size and windowless, but it was filled to the brim with shining gold.