Favoritism

White Dragon Port, a temporary office of the Wartime Provision Department.

"Fran, would you like me to explain what we do here?" Upon seeing Fran enter, Monica naturally approached her and continued walking past the normal conversational distance.

Fran took a step back, creating a distance of three or four spaces, and said with some dissatisfaction:

You're standing a little too close.

"I'm sorry." Monica stopped and twisted the corner of her slightly folded clothes.

Fran paused for a moment, then said directly:

"I haven't actually joined the Wartime Provision Department yet, and there's still an vetting process, right? I don't even know if I'll be able to join in the end."

Monica blinked, then said softly:

"Fran, you don't need to worry. With your resume and the high merits you've achieved in the Battle Mage Corps, if you can't do it, then no other mage can."

"Learning more about the work you'll be doing in the department will help you adapt to the job more quickly, won't it?" Monica said, then consciously moved forward a step.

"I still have work to finish at the Temporary Inspection Office, let's talk about this later," Fran refused outright.

Since Fran had already said that, Monica couldn't find any other reason to continue trying to persuade her.

"Then, Fran, why have you come to see me amidst your heavy workload? Is there something important that you need to discuss?"

Fran pursed her lips and slowly said:

"I'm here to get a stamp. The Logistics Department needs me to provide an application form from a prospective department to accommodate the members of those temporary work groups..."

If Fran doesn't submit this expression of interest by then, the Logistics Department will have to assign her other work.

Ultimately, it's just a minor issue; any front desk staff member could stamp it and it would be resolved.

But Monica clearly wasn't going to let such an opportunity slip by. She raised an eyebrow and said directly:

"That's perfect, Fran. Come to my office, I'll personally stamp this for you."

She rubbed her hands together, feeling a surge of excitement.

Fran hesitated for a moment, then noticed that there were three or four people queuing at each front desk of the Wartime Provision Department.

Many people wanted to come to the Wartime Provision Department, even though they weren't sure if they could get one of those few spots. But if they didn't come here to get their documents stamped, they would be assigned work by the Logistics Department.

So they still had to come, and quite a few of them did, which made Fran feel a little lazy.

She knew, of course, that Monica's strange behavior meant something was wrong, but considering she was Third Order Mage, even if Monica invited her in to ambush her, she could simply pull out her elemental weapon.

Just explain later that it was something Harbos gave him; Eleanor thought the same thing last time anyway.

So she followed Monica into the room, which annoyed several of the mages who were in line, as they had all heard the conversation.

"This is so unfair! Why can she go straight in and get her stamped, while we have to wait in line here?"

"Exactly, when will the Alliance finally crack down on these mages who rely on connections?"

However, they only dared to speak quietly at the back of the line. After all, this might be their future workplace, and what if they were given a hard time?

However, while they were whispering to each other, Fran quickly came out; after all, it was just a matter of stamping a document.

Monica wouldn't make threats over something so trivial; it's just a small matter.

However, after this incident, not only did the monks who came to handle matters remember it, but they might also spread the word later.

Those at the front desk, as well as the Wartime Provision Department personnel working within the department, all remembered this incident.

Meanwhile, in the Alliance's Fallen Forest Province, the province closest to Bohan, there was Investigator Headquarters occupied by the Alchemy School.

A high-ranking Third Order Mage led the way, taking ' Lai ' to the third floor of the building, where she had previously been staying in the basement of the Investigator Headquarters.

She's suddenly up here now, and she's still a little unaccustomed to it.

"Why did you bring me up here?" ' Lai ' asked slowly.

She genuinely had this problem. According to her understanding, Oinrich should have found her and come to rescue her at least three days later, right?

Why did they arrive so soon? Now, even ' Lai ' is a little unsure if Oinrich is here to rescue him.

However, ' Lai ' wasn't in a hurry, because this directly removed all the mandatory restrictions on her, and now she could even cast spells.

Given this treatment, ' Lai ' believed that those who came to him genuinely wanted to get him out of trouble.

"Please don't joke around. I had no idea you had a connection with that person, otherwise I would never have listened to those sorcerers' strange words and imprisoned you here."

The mage turned around and said with some trepidation that mages at his level had already begun to deal with Fourth Order Mage.

He had assumed that the two Fourth Order Mage from the Alchemy School, who had brought official documents from their Alchemy School, were fully in accordance with the Alliance's rules.

But no one expected that another the Alliance from the Alchemy School would arrive later, and he wasn't even a Fourth Order Mage.

The mage walking in front glanced back again, thinking about this, while ' Lai's' face revealed a faint doubt and a hint of joy.

"I never imagined that these were High-Order Mage from the Alchemy School battling it out. If I had heard rumors of this beforehand, I definitely wouldn't have gotten involved," the mage thought to himself.

Finally, he led ' Lai ' to the reception room on the third floor, where the Investigator Headquarters of the Fallen Forest Province received important personnel, and now sitting inside was a mage he had no desire to provoke.

' Lai ' walked in and easily saw the two mages sitting in the room. One of them was Oinrich, who must have been the one who rescued him, but he didn't know why it had happened so quickly.

The other one was Alwen, Fourth Order Mage from the Alchemy School. His expression was complicated, and he stared at ' Lai ' for a long time after seeing Lai enter.

' Lai ' scratched his head, already understanding nine-tenths of the current situation.

This situation likely stems from the fact that the Paper he left behind impressed the Legendary, leading to his rescue.

As for Alwen, the mage ' Lai ' who led the team to capture him, he didn't know what was going on. Why was this mage, who had made it clear from the beginning that he wanted to lock him up, still here?

Shouldn't these two people be at odds and unable to sit together?

Out of curiosity, ' Lai ' asked the two mages their names and then sat down.

Alwen opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but Oinrich seemed to have known he was about to speak and spoke first.

"Mage Lai, you must have suffered in the interrogation room, but you are free now."

Alwen was somewhat annoyed and opened his mouth again, but Oinrich's hand reached in front of his face first, as if to tell him to shut up.

"I've read your Paper in the journal; it's very well-written and quite groundbreaking. Perhaps once this spell is developed, other mages will be able to use it..."

Spells and Alchemy Device are quite different. Although spells are difficult to master, a High-Order Mage can still master lower-level spells if they are willing to do so.

Alchemy Device are different. Many Alchemy Device can be used by any apprentice, but it is much more difficult for a mage to understand the principles and create one.

The system he previously passed down was the latter, and ' Lai ' being able to develop such magic might be able to direct his accumulated knowledge towards the former.

He saw hope, which is why he came here without stopping, just to get ' Lai ' out, even though after hearing the basic information here, he still thought ' Lai ' was highly suspicious.

But that's not important at all.

After ' Lai ' and Oinrich chatted for a few minutes, Alwen was standing nearby, was about to explode, so Oinrich changed the subject and spoke.

"Mage Lai, you can go out now... I'll take you back to Number Nine Floating City later. Is there anything else?"

' Lai ' nodded. She really had nothing to do. Going to White Dragon Port was pointless, and returning to the Northern Lands Society was unnecessary. Going to Number Nine Floating City to deepen her connection with this Legendary was an excellent thing.

After ' Lai ' left, Oinrich stopped stopping Alwen, and Alwen immediately lost his temper.

"Sir, what are you thinking? That's a key suspect in this case, and he could even affect the fall of Number Three Floating City."

Alwen's face darkened; he was extremely dissatisfied with Oinrich's decision to let ' Lai ' go.

Is there evidence to confirm that this is definitely related to Number Three Floating City, or rather, rather than two separate events?

"No, but there's a tiny possibility that I think we can't let go of," Alwen said truthfully.

And Oinrich slowly said:

"Did you find anything during those seven days of interrogation?"

"No." Alwen couldn't find an excuse this time, because he really didn't. Seven days had passed, and he hadn't even gotten a single clue.

Oinrich chuckled three times, then said:

"Then let's not waste time. I've taken the important figures with me. Release all the mages, and then just keep an eye on them."

"But..." Alwen was about to stand up when Oinrich's smile vanished, replaced by a cold tone.

"A major case that took seven days of interrogation and yielded no leads is simply incomparable to the things I value, isn't it?"

"Yes." Alwen lowered his head, his fingers clenched into fists. He didn't want to do this, but he had no choice.