After a chaotic struggle in the meeting room that erupted the moment the lights were turned on, we finally managed to reach a dramatic agreement.
“Phew… This is a bit better now.”
“Oh, maybe… this might actually be better…”
“Yeah, it has a certain vibe to it…”
The agreement was to turn off the electric lights and light candles instead during the meeting.
‘Are these people really the revered white mages everyone looks up to…?’
With the recent rise in attacks and expansion of the black mages, the value of white mages has never been higher.
Now more than ever, the white mages belonging to the Lumen Ordo are in high demand.
And that skyrocketing demand has led to them becoming increasingly reclusive.
“Should we just go ahead and place a bulk order and hang them up everywhere?”
“Fufu… That sounds good. I’ll have our loyal Shadows send in the request…”
Of course, the public assumes their isolation is due to the noble discipline of Lumen Ordo, shunning wealth and fame.
But the truth is far from that.
They’re just a bunch of socially inept, chuunibyou shut-ins who giggle amongst themselves while lighting Halloween-style candles on the table.
“So… this is the true face of Lumen Ordo.”
“…Haha.”
When I saw Lady Meredia sitting next to me muttering with a completely drained expression, I honestly felt like it was a miracle their true nature hadn’t been revealed until now.
“I never really understood your personality or your way of speaking until now, but I think I get it a little.”
“Pardon?”
“Compared to the rest of the white mages, you might actually be the most normal…”
I didn’t really understand why Lady Meredia was giving me such a serious look, but she definitely hit the nail on the head.
I am the most normal one among the white mages when it comes to speaking and acting, and I’ve only ever been misunderstood because of how I look.
To even place me on the same level as this hopeless bunch is a massive insult.
“By the way, when is that person coming back?”
“…Hmm, good question.”
As I was airing my grievances in my head, Lady Meredia, looking bored, threw out a question.
Come to think of it, ever since she suddenly ran out of the meeting room, there’s been no word from Tiffany.
She was the one who randomly summoned us here, so why is she the one acting up?
“Um, excuse me, Miss Tiffany…”
“What?”
“Gasp.”
Just as I was about to ask the elders in the room—since just waiting around felt wrong—I flinched at the sudden chill in the air.
“How dare you utter her true name…”
“Hey. It’s taboo to say her name out loud.”
“Aah.”
Turns out, in the short time I was gone, they made up another one of their weird rules.
Seriously, these people are obsessed with their theatrics.
“When will the Guardian of Radiance return to us?”
“Who knows?”
“How could mere mortals like us possibly know the will of the heavens?”
I played along, tossing out a question to match their mood, but it seemed even they had no idea what Tiffany was up to.
Then again, she once sulked and climbed onto the roof of our mansion as a kid, so it’s no surprise she’s hard to track.
Crunch…
Now Lady Meredia beside me seemed to be losing her patience—uh-oh.
“The Guardian of Radiance… is cooling her head in the next room.”
“…Haah.”
“Based on past incidents, she should return in about five minutes, so please be patient…”
Thankfully, the anger didn’t explode thanks to the maid peeking in through the slightly open door to offer that explanation.
“She’s certainly talented at making others wait…”
“Well then, shall I introduce the Elder Council while we wait?”
Of course, the tension was still simmering just beneath the surface, so I quickly raised my voice to distract her.
“I don’t… really want to know.”
“Eh? But still…”
“Even if you introduce them, I can’t tell who’s who with everyone wearing those ragged cloaks.”
When I looked around after hearing her disinterested comment, I realized she had a point.
Everyone seated at the table was wrapped in gloomy robes.
‘Is this the White Mage Elder Council or the Black Mage executive board…?’
The dim underground room, combined with the ominous candle décor, gave off serious secret cabal energy—as if they were puppeteers controlling the world.
“Th-this is… an anti-magic robe I invented to ward off evil auras…”
“…Yeah, I get that it’s useful, but why wear it during meetings?”
“B-because… it looks cool…”
The irony was, despite appearances, this group was full of absurd people.
“Yeah, you’re not wrong.”
“Honestly, wearing it does feel kinda comforting…”
“Haa…”
It seemed Lady Meredia was finally growing accustomed to this reality—she gave up and leaned back in her chair, eyes closed.
Yeah, the best way to deal with these people is to let go of yourself for a while.
Or, if possible, just play along and nod enthusiastically—though I doubt someone like Lady Meredia, who sees herself as the world’s standard, could ever do that.
“Then, please just remove your hoods briefly when I call your name. Is that doable?”
“…”
“For the sake of my dignity, I’m begging you.”
Still, I had a bad feeling things would spiral out of control soon, so I forced their consent.
“Alright, first up is Astrid, head of the Southern Continent branch. Quite a unique fashion sense, wouldn’t you say?”
“Hi, hi!”
The first person I pointed to was the woman seated at the far right, who’d been giggling nonstop in her gothic lolita outfit.
“She looks… older than the emperor…”
“…Shh, it’s best not to say more.”
Lady Meredia almost killed the vibe by questioning why a woman clearly in her thirties was dressed like a chuunibyou schoolgirl hugging a teddy bear—but thankfully, I was quick enough to cover her mouth.
“She may look like that, but she’s a top-tier summoner specializing in white magic. Honestly, almost no one can match her.”
“…Right.”
Thankfully, Lady Meredia simply nodded, her eyes dead inside.
“Next is Mr. Salem, head of the Western Continent branch.”
“Hoho. Nice to meet you.”
“He’s a leading expert in curse-breaking and also the chairman of the Elder Council.”
At that point, I began speeding through the introductions.
“The chairman? But he looks way too young.”
“Despite appearances, he’s actually around the same age as my previous head butler, Alfred.”
“…Haah…”
It was clear Lady Meredia had finally realized there was no point trying to make sense of any of this.
“That person is Miss Baek Yeon-hwa, the branch director of the Eastern Continent.”
“Long time no see, young hero!”
“…She’s the daughter of the Kunlun Sect? from the far-off Eastern Continent. I’m not sure how she ended up all the way here, though.”
Anyone could tell that Baek Yeon-hwa was someone from the martial world of the Eastern Continent, but explaining that here was a bit too much.
“Hey, the Kunlun Sect isn’t a family! In your language, it’s more like… yeah, a guild! Haven’t I told you this several times before?”
“…Is that so?”
That’s because I barely knew anything about martial arts novels in the first place.
“Since it’s come to this, allow me to specially share the history and culture of the Central Plains—”
“No, that’s quite alright. Let’s begin the meeting.”
Once you got caught by her, you’d be forced to listen to her lecture on martial history all day, so staying quiet was the safest choice.
“Well, anyway, I heard she uses mysterious Eastern spells? Technically, it’s not exactly white magic… but as you know, the Eastern Continent is still largely unexplored.”
“So, what exactly is her concept…?”
“…Haha, yeah, good question.”
Contrary to what Lady Meredia might think, Baek Yeon-hwa was the only person in Lumen Ordo whose “concept” was actually her real background.
But now that I thought about it—why was the heir to a martial clan who practiced martial arts and spells serving as an elder in a white mage organization on another continent?
Honestly, I had no idea.
“And the silent one sitting at the end is Mr. Alastor, the overseer of the northern regions.”
“……”
“I’ve never actually heard him speak either, so I don’t really know much about him. Haha.”
Still, he was better than the guy who’d been sitting there this whole time with his eyes and ears shut.
None of his information had even been revealed in the original game.
It was Black Tale Fantasy 3, infamous for hiding its lore behind DLCs despite being gameplay-heavy.
Seriously, what a shady game company.
“Finally… we have the crafting department’s Aurora and Celeste siblings. You can assume most white magic tools were made by them. That robe too was made by Miss Aurora.”
“H-hello thereee.”
“N-nice to meet you…”
I suppose it was a relief.
The Aurora and Celeste siblings were still so young that they didn’t have any solid “concepts” yet.
But considering that all inventors in Lumen Ordo eventually ended up with some eccentric or mad scientist persona, their future looked bleak.
Still, despite being geniuses admired even by the Mage Tower, they were so timid that they might actually become white mages in charge of diplomacy someday.
…Speaking of diplomatic white mages, my father is the most well-known among them.
But come to think of it, my dad’s been off the grid for a year now—these people haven’t lost contact with the Empire, have they?
“Oh, right. As for the Guardian of Radiance… no need to explain her, right?”
“…Why not?”
“I figured Lady Meredia would’ve done her background check already.”
Anyway, after wrapping up the introductions and clearing my throat, I casually said what popped into my head—and ended up kicking a hornet’s nest.
“You know quite a lot about me.”
“We are practically a married couple.”
“…Shut it.”
Still, at least now I was good enough at banter to dodge Lady Meredia’s suspicions…
“Hmm, pardon the interruption, but may I say something?”
I was scratching my head and looking at Lady Meredia with a pleased smile when Chairman Salem of the Elder Council suddenly spoke up—and I froze.
“Weren’t you engaged to the Guardian of Radiance?”
What kind of ridiculous fake news was that?
“He’s right. She always says she has a boyfriend.”
“…Even I’ve heard it far too many times.”
I was about to dismiss it as senility, thinking Chairman Salem was turning into another Alfred.
But then, as I looked around and saw people nodding in agreement, I felt my expression freeze and turned to the side in disbelief.
“Could you explain that in more detail?”
Sure enough, Lady Meredia had already pulled out her fan and was half-covering her face, asking with a chilling tone.
“Is there anything to explain? I heard they’ve been dating since forever.”
“Shouldn’t the person involved be the one to explain this, not us?”
Knowing full well what that look meant—that she was about to explode—I shut my eyes tightly and muttered with a deeply aggrieved expression.
“…This is the first I’ve heard of it.”
“Ah! Young hero, how do you know such an idiom? Did you perhaps subscribe to my Monthly Classical Idiom Digest?”
And in that very moment, Baek Yeon-hwa’s eyes sparkled with excitement at my words.
Woooosh…
Then, an aura of murderous intent, darker than anything ever seen from Meredia before, began to fill the meeting room.
Cliche Novel 