Castle Banquet, Target, Gray Tower Visitors, "Flame Demon" Project Team!
At the peak of Four Symbols Academy.
Kieran Castle.
In the reception hall, a banquet was beginning.
Servants moved back and forth, setting exquisite dishes and magic-infused fruits and vegetables upon the tables.
Ian raised his head slightly.
He observed the room.
Kieran sat at the head of the table.
On his left, seated closest to him, was a woman with delicate features, fair skin, light-blue eyes, and deep brown hair braided into a single plait that fell down her back. She sat quietly there, as though immersed in her own world.
Beside the woman sat a thin-faced male wizard with prominent cheekbones and slightly sunken eye sockets.
When he saw Ian, he smiled and nodded.
On Kieran's right, Kilian sat at the front, with the familiar Flynn and Ian beside him.
"Flynn, Ian, this is our first gathering as fellow disciples. Let me introduce you."
Kilian turned to the two of them.
"This is our teacher's earliest student, and the strongest among us—our senior sister, Celis Morningstar."
"Greetings, Senior Sister Celis. I'm Flynn."
"I'm Ian."
Ian and Flynn rose at the same time, their voices nearly overlapping.
"Celis."
She stood and nodded as well, her expression unchanged, then sat back down.
Ian and Flynn froze for a moment.
"Senior Sister is just like that. Don't be fooled by how aloof she seems—Senior Sister Celis is actually a very good person."
Kilian smoothed things over.
The two sat down, waiting for him to introduce the other wizard. But before he could speak, the lean wizard had already risen.
"Derek Graystone."
His gaze was exceedingly sharp, as though he were assessing the two of them. Paired with his monocle, he looked like a merchant skilled at calculation.
The two rose again