On the broad road, the two men stood facing each other in silence.
Oksaya regretted those words the moment he said them. He felt he had asked a stupid question.
"Mr. Roland."
Amid the awkward silence, someone came out of the mansion. It was Minx, the High Mage who served Grand Mage Watson.
He came to the gate, nodded to Roland, and said, "My teacher knows you're here. Please follow me inside."
"All right." Roland waved to Oksaya, then followed Minx inside.
What's this fellow doing here to see my teacher? Wait, everyone's saying my teacher is about to become the master of the Mage Tower in East Lainer Kingdom. Is he here to pay his respects and make connections in advance?
This man is outrageous. He's actually set his sights on our school.
After a moment's thought, Oksaya hurriedly cast Wind Message. "Gallo, guess who I just saw?"
The Orthodox Mansion occupied considerably more ground than the Seris Mansion. Following Minx inside, Roland noticed that more people came and went here than at his own school. It truly was a gathering place for exchanging ideas and discussing Arcana.
Every so often, he saw mages sitting alone beneath the trees in thought, or gathered in groups of three or five, discussing something.
It gave him the comforting sense of being back on a university campus, and made him realize the greatest existing gap between his own school and this long-established one.
It was not a matter of external conditions such as organizational resources or how efficiently funds were used. The Seris School currently had few full members, so its resources per person were hardly lacking.
The key was people.
Like-minded Serisians in spirit.
As that realization dawned on him, Minx led him to a reception room in the main