Brotherhood of Sorcerers Assembly! Fringilla Vigo!

The grand, terraced hall buzzed with voices.

Around the central oak table, tier upon tier of wooden seats filled three sides, nearly all occupied.

And on the side without rows of seats...

Five high-backed chairs, their cushions covered in rare, thick furs and their backs adorned with precious gemstones, stood at the highest point of the hall, overlooking everyone like they stood atop a mountain.

Unfortunately, only two of the five high-backed chairs were occupied.

One was Tissaia de Vries, and the other was Narsil de la Roche.

Yet even with only two people on that side, the hundreds of seats in the other three directions were filled with people in black robes, people holding wooden staffs made from the skulls of strange animals such as rabbits, wolves, and hawks, and graceful sorceresses clad in gauze and fine silk...

Those seated closest to the edges were all representatives of Northern Continent powers that possessed high-ranking sorcerers.

But despite having the fewest people, that side still made it clear to anyone entering the hall where the core was, where the real decisions were made.

"Dudulak... That's Dudulak, the Cave of a Thousand Monsters!"

"How many sorcerers would we have to send to fill that damned cave? Have you forgotten the sorcerers who died in Dudulak because of greed?"

"So we're not going to rescue them?"

"Of course not..."

"Then what are you saying? You want to rescue them but don't want to rescue them? Is the Withered Hand afraid of losses and unwilling to contribute? Huh?!"

"How could that be? You! You! You! You're talking nonsense..."

Listening to the argument that was so noisy it was practically about to become a brawl, Vesemir let her thoughts drift in boredom, her gaze wandering through Aretuza's Hall of Glory.

This place, as