The following evening.
After a day of "hard labor," the apprentices went to wash up one after another, their faces flushed. Then they hurried into the meeting room, where heated discussions were already underway, to study the plans.
The one presiding over the meeting was not that irresponsible fellow Kroya, but the Tower Spirit.
Even before Kroya had announced it, he had already intended to build magic academies.
Naturally, the Tower Spirit had been coordinating and planning the work all along, and its preliminary proposal had already passed review.
All that remained was to hear the apprentices' ideas and proposals for building the magic academies, discuss and integrate them, and then begin construction.
Inside the meeting room, the apprentices brought out the plans they had spent two sleepless nights laboring over. Each spoke passionately, hoping their proposal would be chosen.
If their names could be carved into the academy's foundation as its designers, that would be an immense honor-something to boast about for the rest of their lives!
And so, for an entire day, the meeting room rang with arguments. The Tower Spirit watched from the side, neither speaking nor expressing an opinion.
It was compiling the apprentices' proposals and refining them, because only it knew about every magic plant and magical beast Kroya had modified.
Time slowly passed.
At last, the Tower Spirit delivered its final verdict:
"Your ideas are all outstanding, so there is no point in forcing them into a ranking. Healthy competition is a good thing.
"But if you become too fixated on this honor, you will lose more than you gain.
"Therefore, I announce that the most suitable proposal will be selected for each separate area, and its designer's name will be inscribed on that area's landmark.
"I have already prepared the plans. Anyone willing