"Roland, I have a bad feeling about this trend. Why are there suddenly so many champions of justice on the Magic Network?"
"Exactly. What does what happened in the Lainer Kingdom have to do with our Seris Language Research Society?"
"I know that Oksaya. He's the commentator who made those snide remarks and slandered you before. Now he's at it again."
Inside the Mage Tower, in Roland's residence.
Froya, Skord, Yvonne, and the others gathered to discuss what they had seen and heard over the past few days. They were all furious.
The Orthodox School's media offensive had been swift and fierce, catching these inexperienced newcomers completely off guard.
"They certainly haven't come with good intentions," Roland said with a sigh. "But let's stay calm. I'll ask my teacher..."
At the entrance to the residence, a servant showed Leitlin, Thibault, Hitya, and the others inside.
Several other senior members of the Joint Research Association followed close behind.
Leitlin looked grave. "Everyone, I'm terribly sorry we're late.
"I was dealing with some matters related to Arcana research. The committee just postponed approval of my research project on the Light Energy Conversion Device."
"The same thing happened to my new Mana Potion project. I'd already completed all the procedures and was just waiting for final confirmation. I never expected them to suddenly change their minds."
"We've been affected too. They said they were cutting spending recently, and the funding they approved was less than half of what we expected..."
"What? This is outrageous!"
"How dare they!"
They actually dared to blatantly abuse their public offices, using their authority to choke off other people's funding?
Skord and the others were shocked and furious.
"That's not all. I've also heard rumors that someone is preparing to propose that the committee suspend the pilot Seris