"Ladies and gentlemen, we gathered here today to celebrate Mr. Skord and Mr. Thibault's nomination for the Magic Star award for their major invention, the Bi Sheng No. 1.
This was a prestigious honor that encouraged mages to exercise their creativity and achieve great things in magic. Our tower shared in their glory and hereby awarded each of them 10,000 gold coins and one piece of middle-tier, five-star magical equipment.
In addition, our tower would initiate the advancement process for outstanding young talent and apply for their early promotion to lecturer...
Let us offer them our heartfelt respect and congratulations!"
Early June, at the East Lainer Mage Tower.
Once official notice of the award nomination arrived, Grand Mage Watson called the senior members of the Council together for a meeting.
Among the mages from West Lainer, both Gallo and Oksaya attended.
They clapped absentmindedly, watching coldly as Skord and Thibault went onstage to receive their awards and give their speeches.
"They weren't summoned back. It seems almost certain they won't actually win..."
"That's how it usually works, yes, but we still can't let our guard down..."
Once they had a general grasp of the situation, they had little interest in staying to offer congratulations and left outright.
The first batch of sponsorship funds issued in the Blackfire Legion's name had arrived, and they were still hoping for a breakthrough in spell scrolls.
Roland approached Skord and Thibault and asked with a smile, "How does it feel to win an award?"
"Absolutely amazing!"
"So this was what it was like for you back then!"
The two spoke excitedly.
"Haha!"
"How wonderful. Not only has His Excellency Roland achieved fame and success himself, he's brought his fellow students soaring along with him!"
"Isn't that the truth? Sometimes arcane achievements work that way