Chapter 18
As his failures mounted, water dripped down his chin and onto his slightly open collar. Playful droplets broke apart against the skin at its edge, then quickly gathered back into round beads and slipped along his delicate collarbone beneath his shirt...
I blinked, trying to make the image of that falling droplet fade, but I couldn't forget the shape of Mel's collarbone. The skin covering the graceful bone was wet, lustrous and soft-looking... That sight seemed stuck to my retinas...
...That really was beautiful!
Just as my thoughts were running wild and I was losing control of them, Mel suddenly cried out:
"Hey! It lit up!"
His cheer brought me back to my senses. I looked up, and sure enough, a line of characters glowed blue on the ceiling. It was the simplest rune, a fluorescent rune, which did nothing but give off light and certainly wouldn't damage this well-equipped cell. Because water element had been used to write it, the light now had a faint watery tint, filling the room with rippling reflections and making it feel as peaceful as if it were surrounded by seawater. After two days of tireless practice, Mel had finally succeeded once!
I immediately cast Shadow Dance, and my two shadows and I applauded together. Mel's long hair was dripping wet and looked rather bedraggled, but he was smiling happily. He blinked, trying to squeeze out the water that had dripped into his eyes, and even raised an arm to wipe them, only to make them wetter the more he rubbed. Watching him, I chuckled.
I was just about to say something to celebrate when another commotion suddenly came from the corridor. From the sound of it, a lot of people were hurrying this way.
Huh, it wasn't time for the announcement, was it? We hadn't eaten lunch all that long ago!
Though noisy, it didn't sound like the enemy invasion two days ago. It sounded a lot like a tour group being shown around by a guide, because I thought I heard someone say something like, "This is the mage detention area. Please follow me."
I quickly dispelled Shadow Dance, and Mel and I swiftly dried the water in the room, casting one drying spell after another. Mel's hair was neat and smooth again, and the wet patches on his shirt had disappeared too. Only the air in the room was still a little damp, but we couldn't do any more to cover it up. The Magic Power we had drawn on needed a little time to return to equilibrium naturally.
Once that was done, we quickly went from sitting casually on the floor to sitting primly at the table. Soon, the noisy voices in the corridor reached us.
Through the transparent wall, I saw a large crowd appear in the previously empty corridor. They were all dressed in formal clothes and looked presentable. They didn't look like a tour group, but rather like people who belonged on a stage giving speeches or attending some important meeting, not appearing at a prison cell.
...Oh, they were supposed to be in a meeting.
Mel and I watched in surprise as more than half the attendees of the magic summit crowded together outside our door. Major figures from politics and academia were packed into a mass, each craning their neck to peer inside. Quite a few people's faces were squashed out of shape.
Reporters also pushed forward and took a flurry of pictures of Mel. The dignitaries and scholars were busy looking dumbstruck, their mouths hanging open and eyes wide, and even forgot to stop the reporters.
"M-Mr. Madsen, you really have been locked up in prison!"
Well, I knew the one who spoke: the five-star fat old man, the one who had threatened me. The person standing beside him was someone I knew all too well too—the speaker of the Magic Council, Reynold. Like everyone else, Reynold stared at Mel in astonishment, his normally immaculate hair slightly disheveled. But then his gaze drifted toward me for a moment, and he looked even more astonished.
All the important attendees of the magic summit were present, including some administrative officials from the organizing side, who were looking at Mel with woeful expressions.
"Mr. Madsen, you were absent all day yesterday, and your scheduled opening address also..." the administrative official said. "Everyone thought something had happened to you. Who knew you'd been locked up in prison!"
"Yes, the internet has erupted too. You'd been missing for over twenty-four hours. It was only when the peace officers opened a missing-person case that they pulled up your records at the prison..."
The reporters took another flurry of pictures. A little farther away, several media outlets on the edge of the crowd also seemed to be broadcasting live:
"Archmage Mephistopheles Madsen, who went missing recently, has appeared safe and sound at Holy Light City prison. The empty podium on the opening day of the summit has left a deep impression on everyone. We'll be interviewing the archmage about this matter shortly..."
That's right! Mel was supposed to attend the magic summit! Well, judging by what the reporter said, had they broadcast an empty podium for the entirety of Mel's allotted speech time during the summit livestream? Did they think that if they aimed the camera at the podium and everyone held their breath and waited, Mel would suddenly descend from the sky and start speaking? Oh, some mages did seem to like making an entrance that way. Our dean had done it when I was studying at the academy, but our opening ceremony had been held outdoors, and the wind was rather strong as he descended, so the whole school got a look at the dean's underpants and leg hair.
I turned my head. I swore I was a hundred percent certain I'd seen the corner of Mel's mouth twitch upward.
"Sorry," Mel said regretfully the next second. "I was careless and made a very serious mistake at the grand library the day before yesterday, so I was locked up."
"You should have contacted us immediately! How could you let them lock you up?" The administrative official looked miserable enough to cry.
The five-star fat old man grew angry on the spot and furiously scolded the captain of the Shield of the New Star who had accompanied them. "Lusien! Does the Shield of the New Star have nothing to do all day? How could you go and arrest Mr. Madsen of all people!"
Oh, now we know this fine knight's name!
Lusien answered calmly, "According to the regulations, there was nothing wrong with imprisoning someone for causing harm using Black Magic. Even if he only damaged tables and chairs, we still had to investigate and confirm there was no further threat before-"
"I'll be sure to report this to your marshal!" The five-star fat old man interrupted Lusien rudely. Well, that was how he usually interrupted me. Lusien was the captain of the Shield of the New Star, not me, and he didn't depend on the five-star old man for his wages, so I heard Lusien reply in his usual calm, unruffled voice:
"Of course. Feel free to complain about me to the marshal."
The five-star fat old man's hands shook with anger.
-I like this knight.
Mel and I nodded to him in greeting, and he returned a knight's salute to each of us.
Then Reynold suddenly said, "In that case, can you release... the two mages now?"
Only then did the dignitaries seem to notice that I was there too. The five-star old man's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he stared at me.
Chapter 18
"No!"
"No!"
"No!"
"No!"
Uh, four people had actually shouted at once? If I'd known, I would have shouted too. That would have made it sound even more impressive.
The four who shouted no were Mel, Lusien, the five-star old man, and a slender woman with black clothes and black hair.
After they shouted, an eerie silence fell over everyone. Especially Reynold—I could see the veins throbbing at his temples.
This really was a headache of a situation. When it came to letting us out, all four had said no, but I thought their reasons must be different, so we had to analyze each one individually-
Mel himself was actively opposed to the suggestion of letting him out, which was easy enough to understand. I glanced sideways at him, and he winked his right eye at me. If he got out now, the summit still wasn't over, so I figured Mel definitely wanted to stay locked up until it came to a successful close... I wanted the same thing. Practicing spells in a comfortable cell was far more interesting than going out to attend a magic summit that was like a bunch of berserkers brawling. The summit was supposed to last a week. How many spells could we practice in a week?
But with dignitaries and reporters present, Mel wouldn't state his real reason outright. That would be too much like a dark mage. I mean, Mel really was a dark mage, but he was a good dark mage who lived in modern society and had good manners. The kind of dark mage who shut people up to their faces, disregarded law and order, and casually beat up dignitaries was cool, but only suited to living in an age of legends, well protected by a group of fanatical followers. If one still acted like that in modern society, they probably wouldn't get off the wanted list for the rest of their life.