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”Well, it seems you finally caught up," Siegfried said warmly while prying the crowned insignia of VIII-1 off his chest and handing it to the new owner. He had been expecting this for a while and he knew the new owner deserved it far more anyway, so he wasn’t feeling too bad about it.

“Why thank you, number two. I couldn't have done it without you. I mean that literally. It would be impossible to catch up if you didn't fail your class promotion twice. For some reason, master doesn't want me to skip years." Karna laughed, her beautiful smile enchanting everyone in the surroundings. She had finally stopped using the veil in public some months ago, and people were still getting used to it.

“It’s too bad my brother didn’t make it, though I must say that I’m surprised and glad he managed to hang on this long.” Siegfried pointed out, ignoring the small jab at his expense. He wasn’t the only one that had been surprised. Rein had worked harder than anyone had expected to stay together with the group they had formed, and he had managed to stick with them until the others got promoted to the eighth year. At that point the gap in talent had finally caught up. It was already shocking enough that the others had made it to the eighth year while managing to pass the tests every year. Usually, nearly all students would need to spend extra years to get promoted by the time they reached the fifth or sixth year.

“He did try his very best, and he wasn’t too far from succeeding. At least he’ll be able to lord over the seventh years now as the new crowned student of that year. And he wasn’t the only one. Callista also didn’t make it. I’m pretty sure there is something going on between those two.” She whispered conspiratorially. The blond noble-girl had finally managed to gather her courage and approach the original group of four in their second year. Their group had also expanded to include the exchange student Mayumi, although the others still didn’t know she was a reincarnator, or a Blessed Child as they were known. The contrast between her and Karna was simply too large and allayed all suspicions.

“Really? And I was so sure he was pining after you.” Sieg exclaimed with a genuinely shocked face. Sieg knew that his brother and other friends of Karna had been aware of Karna’s appearance since the first year. Rein had after all confessed as much years ago. Seeing as Karna was the newly, albeit unofficially, elected belle of the Academy, it wasn’t too shocking that Rein had developed a fascination towards the girl at some point. He would certainly be far from the only one.

"It was fairly obvious that he was at some point. Unfortunately, he was also too afraid. Too afraid of the gap in skill between us, too afraid of rejection, and too afraid of losing our friendship and ruining the cohesion of our group. I understand that fear, so I don’t hold it against him, but I really did think he was bolder than that. I’m not saying it would’ve worked out, but I might have even given him a chance if he had managed to at least gather up his courage. Too bad really. His work ethics and persistence were quite commendable. Anyway, I think he got over his fascination towards me last year. That’s when he started to look at other girls, and Callista is rather attractive and has had a thing for him for years.” Karna explained with a teasing smile.

Sieg wasn’t sure how serious Karna was about giving his brother a chance, though he could sympathize with his brother’s fear. Karna was beyond a shadow of a doubt the most attractive girl at the Academy, only really matched by her master, the Headmistress. She had been, for the last three years, since she’d had the last part of her growth spurt, even with the veil still hiding her face. The only reason she wasn’t inundated with advances of all sorts was the fact that she was almost as intimidating as the Headmistress as well, despite the obvious gap in power. So if Rein had actually confessed, then he would’ve been braver than everyone else on the campus.

“An understandable choice. She’s fairly attractive and well connected. My mother would be pleased." Siegfried said, mostly to get his own mind out of the gutter. Something that was increasingly difficult around Karna. She had a certain presence about her, something that unknowingly drew everyone's attention and admiration. Being drop-dead gorgeous with a body that aroused all kinds of desires didn’t exactly help matters of course. Siegfried was somewhat aware that this presence had something to do with her parentage, but Arjuna had never revealed anything about her mother.

“Well, I’m glad you approve of your brother’s love life.” Karna teased, knowing why Sieg had replied in that sort of half-distracted way. She knew what kind of effect she had on people, even those that were used to her. It was just the natural result of being a Godling, combined with her bloodlines and her natural charisma. People needed to either get over it with time or be strong enough to resist. “How is your love life going by the way? I heard you had something going on with a pretty little girl a few years your junior.”

"Ah, Bernadette? That one is slightly in the air but doesn't look too good. Strictly speaking, we're still dating, but that's more because neither of us has ended things decisively yet. Her parents aren’t fond of our family. Truth be told, I’m not sure if going out with her was a good idea. I think she was only going after me because of that.” Sieg pointed at the crowned insignia now in Karna’s hands and gave a sigh. “I wish people wouldn’t do things like that.”

“What? Go for others based on their status and power? I’m afraid you’re going to be sorely disappointed if you expect people to change in that regard.” Karna had a moment of nostalgia. Status and power would always be attractive no matter the universe. There were some exceptions of course, but mostly it was something driven by natural selection. Most species would be driven biologically to look for suitable mates, and status and power were very easy ways to display that suitability. Not the only ways of course, but a very common way. “But don’t stop hoping. Such futile hopes and optimism are what make you who you are.”

“Yeah, yeah, no need to make fun of me.” Sieg shook his head wryly. Somehow he had managed to retain that sort of innocence and hopefulness, which was rare in someone as smart and well-trained as he was. Karna thought it would be rather sad for him to lose that positivity in favor of the cynicism that most powerful people had.

“So how did you manage to fail the promotion exam a second time anyway?” Karna decided to change the subject instead of arguing.

“I didn’t really. It was a decision made by my master.” Sieg shrugged.

“You call your father master?” Karna asked with a quirked eyebrow. Wolfgang had taken his own son as an official disciple several years ago, which didn’t surprise anyone. The two had similar talents, except that Sieg had more gifts when it came to magic. Sieg’s main talent was with the blade though, and his father was perhaps the best teacher when it came to that particular field. Wolfgang also knew many fighting styles not commonly practiced in the Magocracy, so his teachings would allow Sieg to broaden his horizons.

“At the Academy? Damn right I do! He’d have me doing extra endurance training if I didn’t. I think he likes being called that. Mother is forcing Rein to call her mom even at the Academy, which I think is much worse.” Sieg gave a small sympathetic shudder. “What about you? What do you call the Headmistress?”

“Tsumi most of the time. Master if it’s an official situation. The rest of the time I’m calling her some variation of witch, bitch, idiot, or an old-hag.” Karna laughed. Her relationship with the Headmistress was an interesting one. The Alpyran woman was rather liberal in many of her methods and habits, and some of those could be rather bothersome on occasion. Some were quite interesting and fun though.

"Yikes! You're the only one bold enough to do something like that." Sieg shivered a bit. "Then again, the two of you are the scariest two people around. With the possible exception of your father, though he’s less scary and more imposing.”

“Oh, speaking of! He returned from another mission in case your father wanted to talk to him.” She suddenly stated cheerily. The council and the Starlight Tower had started assigning new missions to him again a few years ago. With the trouble caused by instability within the territories conquered from the Holy Kingdom, there was a need for a firm hand and a powerful presence. There were also plenty of other missions elsewhere, so Arjuna had been fairly busy.

"Good. Apparently, the Emissary is finally going to arrive, and it would be useful to have him present when the real festivities begin.” Sieg nodded. He didn’t want to mention that it was also better if Karna were to lay low for a while, but that could be inferred from his worried expression. Sieg was aware that there was something odd about Karna, and likely it would be something that would be bothersome if noticed by the Divines.

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“Is all this pomp really necessary?” Wolfgang asked a bit miffed while tugging at this collar. His wife had forced him into a proper military uniform for once, and he’d always hated restrictive clothing like this. If being strong couldn’t even allow a man to wear what he wanted, then what was the point?

“Stop playing with it and it will be fine.” Duskclaw mocked him with a neutral face that still somehow managed to convey her joy at his misfortune. As usual, she was all prim and proper. “And to answer your question, yes it is. We have no idea what kind of person the Divines decided to send us. They usually don’t get too involved with things, but we have to consider what happened to the previous Emissary, and we should make a decent first impression. Even all the old fogies are wearing their best robes.”

Wolfgang looked at the gathered group of the most powerful magisters in all of Magocracy. The High Council was, of course, present, as were some of the most prominent teachers of the Academy, including Tsumi, as well as some of the most powerful and influential members of the army and the nobility. Most of the men looked at least middle-aged, although that was partially due to conscious choice. People of certain rank could control their appearance and body to a certain extent, assuming they weren’t too old. Many magisters simply thought that a proper magic user should look distinguished. To the surprise of no one, the female mages all looked at least twenty years younger as a whole. The non-humans were of course another thing altogether.

“All those fogies actually like wearing the stupid robes.” Wolfgang protested with an annoyed voice. “I could’ve worn a robe too. Those are actually comfortable and breezy, even if they make most of the people wearing them look like absolute clowns.”

“Still complaining about your clothing Wolfgang?" Tsumi asked as she sauntered closer. In stark contrast to others, her clothing was no more official than usual. It was perhaps even a bit more revealing than usual, if possible. The line between fashionable and scandalous was being blurred really hard this time.

“Tsumi. You’re in no position to lecture me. Although I must admit you’re a sight for sore eyes.” Wolfgang stated shamelessly, while admiring the ‘view’.

“Must you always?” Tsumi gave a tired sigh. She was used to it, and to a certain extent dressed for it, but sometimes it was tiring nonetheless.

“You know I do.” Wolfgang didn’t even bother defending himself and made no move to move his eyes. He was true to his instincts, both in battle and elsewhere.

"Yes, I suppose I do," Tsumi admitted. "At least nowadays I'm not the only one gathering such stares."

“Ah, you’re referring to your disciple. I can see why she’d draw eyes away from you, as impossible as the idea seems. She grew up nicely.” Wolfgang had never made bones about his admiration of the female form. Suddenly he felt pain at the back of his hand and noticed Duskclaw’s sharp claws dripping a bit of blood.

“That’s my daughter you’re talking about.” Duskclaw’s smile was chilling, to say the least. “And you’re old enough to be her granddad, so stop being a creep.”

“Fine, fine. But you can’t say I’m wrong.” Wolfgang raised his hands in a defensive posture, while the scratches on his hand were already healing. Just the fact that Duskclaw had managed to wound him showed that she’d been quite serious.

“Oh, you’re not wrong at all.” Tsumi’s voice almost purred a bit, though the other two didn’t dare to speculate why. “Moving on from your unhealthy fascinations, shouldn’t the Emissary already be here?”

“Soon. Supposedly they got a bit off-course while coming down the planes. Truthfully they probably wanted to get the lay of the land before making an official appearance.” Duskclaw reported. She’d gotten a message from Arjuna, who had gone to meet the Emissary before anyone else.

“So where did they end up?” Wolfgang asked. Before he could get an answer though, a rather sizeable teleportation gate opened on the arrival platform that had been prepared beforehand. The people present all recognized the shadowy power that formed the gate and knew the Shadow Weaver was the one forming the gateway.

The three people that stepped through were the exact people they had been expecting, but their appearance still managed to make everyone draw breath. Most people drew a breath for two reasons. The first reason was the obvious aura of power and authority that radiated from the man leading the group. They couldn’t tell how strong he was, but it was clear that he was much stronger than anyone else present, which was saying something considering he was flanked by both Arjuna and a silver-armored immortal acting as a guard. The second reason was the man’s appearance. He was handsome to the point of being almost beautiful in a way that blended both masculine and feminine features to an almost perfect whole. He was also dressed in the finest heavenly silks, yet somehow managed to look somewhat casual in his almost entirely white attire.

A small group of people, mainly the trio of Tsumi, Duskclaw, and Wolfgang drew breath for another reason. The man looked familiar. Not so familiar that everyone else would see the similarity, but similar enough that someone familiar enough with Karna could make a connection. The way the man’s white hair contrasted with his white hanfu clothing and reminded them quite closely of a certain young girl with a similar hair color, and the two also had similarities in their facial features. To cap things off, both of them had this otherworldly quality around them, in addition to a seemingly perfect appearance.

“The Magocracy greets the Emissary!” The eldest member of the High Council of Magisters declared in a loud voice and everyone in the room bowed at the waist to pay their respects to the representative of the Divines.

Tsumi, Wolfgang, and Duskclaw didn’t dare to say anything, but the looks they exchanged spoke a lot. “Why does this Emissary look so much like Karna?” They were all asking silently. Tsumi knew that while most Divines and Godlings tended to be supernaturally attractive, they weren't any more likely to look like each other than anyone else. So the odds of the two being somehow related were not insignificant.

“Rise everyone!” The man in front stated in a charming and affable voice. “I’m not a stickler for formality, and I’m not here as a ruler of some sort. One should only bow to their parents, their chosen Deity, and my grandfather.”

“Grandfather?” One of the high-ranking magisters asked as they all straightened their backs.

“You’re talking to Prince Tethrine Asuryan, the son of Kurnous Asuryan, and the grandson of the Heavenly Emperor, the ruler of all the Divines." The silver-clad immortal announced in a loud voice.

At his words, everyone in the room knelt down on one knee almost on instinct. The mere mention of the Heavenly Emperor could cause this, not to mention the presence of a member of the royal house. “Did you really have to say it that way?” The Prince complained with an exasperated voice. “I already told you to get up. I’m related, yes, but I have a dozen siblings and almost a hundred cousins, and I’m not even a Divinity myself. So there’s no need for such deference.”

“May I ask, what brings a member of the royal house to the Higher Planes?” Tsumi asked from the place she was standing near the back of the group. She was more experienced with dealing with those of divine origin than others and she recovered faster than the rest.

“Ah, a good question! I was sent here as the Emissary by my father to gain experience. No doubt you’ve already guessed that I’ve been sent here with a handful of missions, and you would be right. As the previous Emissary met an untimely end at the hands of those that had flirted with one of the scourges, it was deemed prudent to send someone with the right insight to look into matters, as well as sending a Silver Immortal as backup. Though I must admit I don’t quite know why it was deemed necessary to send someone weaker than me to protect me.” The Prince mumbled the last sentence, though it was heard by everyone thanks to their superior hearing.

“Your Highness, power doesn’t mean everything. Skill is also important.” The silver-clad immortal stated with a voice that brooked no argument. It was a bit unclear which of the two was truly in charge.

“So I’ve been told. Repeatedly.” The Prince said with a complicated expression. “Nevertheless, you can all be assured that one of the missions given to me was to see how deep the corruption of the Underworld has spread and root it out. That will likely mean that I will have to spend a lot of time in the country that used to host my predecessor as an Emissary, at least in the beginning.”

It was rather clear that his words were a test of sorts, and they all had a hunch that if anyone had shown any sign of the wrong kind of reaction at his words, the sharp senses of the two immortals would've picked it up. "Even if we are not as religious as the Holy Kingdom, we at the Magocracy know the risks of conspiring with the scourges better than most." An elder magister reassured the two immortals.

“Good. I hope that I can rely on your cooperation then. In the meantime though, I have another request. I’ve been told that your Starlight Tower is the home of the best seers on the Higher Planes. I was hoping I’d be able to utilize their services for some of my other missions.”

“I’m sure that can be arranged, though the Witch of the Starlight Tower is notorious about being…picky about who she helps, regardless of rank. I'm sure it won't be too much of an issue though. Unfortunately, the Starlight Tower didn't send anyone to this party." The same elder magister replied, though his voice betrayed the fact that he wasn’t at all sure if the Starlight Tower would comply. The Tower never attended such gatherings and was notoriously independent.

“That’s quite fine. My other missions have waited until now, and they can wait a few more days. It would be a shame to waste this party you have prepared for me, so let’s get to it. I’m eager to get to know those that will become my neighbors for the foreseeable future.” The Prince said with an affable smile and actually placed his hand on the shoulder of the elder magister that had answered before.

‘That man is quite capable. Which means he could also be dangerous.’ Arjuna thought to himself, remembering the Elven Queen’s warning from so many years ago. Despite his position and power, the Prince could disarm others quite easily with his easy demeanor that made others forget the differences between them.