Laura stared at him in unabashed surprise at this statement. “You’re mad.” She scoffed, but now she was on an even higher form of alert.

If he didn’t care about Master Thales, then it could only mean one of two things: either he really was mad, crazy, insane even; or he had reached a point where Master Thales could not interfere-whether by physical or political power.

“Am I really?” He asked affably. “I had assumed that the whole world had simply gone insane.” He swallowed a mouthful of wine, grimacing at the flavor. “Gosh I do hate this stuff!”

“If you hate it, then why do you drink it? There are plenty of alternatives to wine as a beverage, I’m sure.” Laura asked.

“Alternatives aside, the fact is this: I have chosen to drink wine at this moment-and so wine is what I shall drink. A true man doesn’t go back upon what he decides even should he regret it later.” The man took another mouthful and shuddered, grimacing terribly.

Laura might have found it amusing if she wasn’t thinking about how to escape from this ridiculous madman with more than one screw loose in his head. As things were, she could only sit there and witness his self-inflicted misery as he continued to take occasional swigs of wine with a puckered face.

--------------------------------------------------

Back in the stadiums, Madam Rothema immediately waved Briar over when she saw her in her disguised male form, scanning the stone seats. It took Briar a few moments to notice because they weren’t sitting in the common seating area like last time. They were situated in one of the seating areas in the center of the structure, where both stadiums intersected.

Those seating areas are special in that they have a view of both stages. This central area could only be accessed by the most powerful of fighters and magicians. If one was a Magi, then one was practically guaranteed of having a reserved seat there.

Madam Rothema had never really been interested in the seating position, but now, since Briar was fighting in both arenas, she had decided to use her privilege for the first time. Rather, sitting in one of these booths attracts a lot of undesired attention on its own. However, Madam Rothema couldn’t be bothered to move simply because of a few inquisitive eyes.

As the curtains for the special area had been drawn in advance, no one noticed Briar slipping into Madam Rothema’s viewing room.

“They’ve already decided in advance by lot yesterday. The first fight will of course be my lovely student, Briar Rose. It will be the second magic fight of the day. The other Briar is fighting right after that, before noon.” Madam Rothema said, revealing the lineup-which was already posted on the individual fighting boards near the stadium.

Briar nodded in acknowledgement. “And Laura?” She asked.

“The last fight of the day.” Madam Rothema replied confidently. Laura might not have been her student, but she was still awfully polite every time she visited, unlike those troublesome boys back in the mountains. That’s why, even if she wasn’t Madam Rothema’s student, Madam Rothema also kept an eye out for when Laura’s match was.

“Has Laura returned yet?” Madam Rothema asked. Master Thales had even been so bothered as to ask her to use her mana to search the whole city, and had come up with nothing. So it was only natural that she already knew that Laura had gone missing overnight.

Briar shook her head. “No, but if she doesn’t show up by the time my matches are done, then I’m going out to look for her.”

Madam Rothema gave a small sigh. “It seems I need to attach some sort of tracer magic on you two so that we can find you whenever you’ve gone missing.”

“Oh? I thought that you can already track me everywhere, considering you’ve got quite the spell on me.” Briar replied, jokingly.

“You, really! There’s a rule that we can’t put tracing magic on anyone below us without good reason. If I did so, I’d have to spend at least half a year in the mages council to justify myself-and that’s on the quick side. It could take anywhere up to twenty years before being approved. So that’s why I haven’t so far.”

“Is the magic council more powerful than you?” Briar asked, wondering why Madam Rothema seemed to be wary of them.

Madam Rothema lifted an eyebrow. “While I could tell you now, do you really think you have the time to sit and listen to all of the reasons why I want nothing to do with the mages council?”

“I see. It’s a pity, but I suppose I can wait until afterwards to listen to your tale. For now, it’s almost time for my dashing entry~” Briar pulled out the scarf and tied it onto her head. Instantly, she transformed from a handsome adventurer into a budding young lady. Even the clothes morphed to change into a quite becoming dress.

Geh! This blue ginham again! At least make it a different color, like green or brown! Briar groaned inwardly. Almost as if her thoughts were heard, because her dress and headscarf changed colors to a brilliant emerald green satin, and the white apron disappeared.

“It’s not good for you to wear the same thing every day, especially when you’re a girl.” Madam Rothema winked at Briar. “Now if I add this, the outfit is complete~.” Madam Rothema tied a silken white bow with a round emerald-colored amber in the center.

Briar smiled wryly. Madam Rothema always did enjoy picking out clothes for her to wear.

While she was living in Madam Rothema’s manor, there was always a new outfit in her closet for her to try on. Briar had simply thought it was an enchanted closet, but it was simply Madam Rothema’s hobby of making new outfits for her.

Even now, the clothes that Helen was wearing were probably made by Madam Rothema.

After smoothing down the folds of the ribbon, Madam Rothema was satisfied with Briar’s appearance. “There. Now you’re presentable as my student.” She said, satisfied.

At that moment, Yukikage woke up again. Seeing that Briar was going to go fight in the arena, her feline familiar yawned and jumped over to Madam Rothema’s shoulders, indicating that it would watch from the observation deck. Briar raised an eyebrow. What a lazy familiar I have…Well, I suppose having two against one isn’t exactly fair.

At that moment, the announcer’s platform once more rose over the stage. “Well, that’s your cue!” Madam Rothema said cheerfully.

Briar was silent for a moment, then she nodded her head. “I’m off, Teacher.” And with that, she once more appeared in a swirling cloud of flower petals. The crowd cheered.

“Whoah! And here once again appearing like a brilliant flower, it’s Madam Rothema’s student: Briar!” The announcer began.

But this time, the opposite party did not appear flashily. Even though the person had walked slowly from their spot, they stood upon the stage at the exact same time Briar appeared. Dressed all in black, with an aquiline nose, black hair, and fierce phoenix eyebrows, his complexion could be considered handsome.

“And appearing mysteriously in the other corner, is the East Crimson Dragon’s disciple, Newt Ryuujin!”

The crowd cheered yet again. But the dark figure only muttered under its breath. Even so, with Briar’s lip reading skills, she could still understand what they were saying while grinding their teeth.

“What do you mean ‘appearing mysteriously’? I only walked up here. It’s your own fault that you couldn’t see me because of that show-off’s flashy appearance! Hmmph! And this show off! Waste spiritual power, will you? What are you doing, looking down on me? I’ll show you!”

That being said, the dark-cloaked person quickly brought out a set of beads. Briar’s eyes flashed in recognition. It was actually quite well hidden from everyone else, but Briar’s mana eyes could see clearly the deep reserves of mana stored inside those beads. There could be no mistake. The opponent was in possession of a string of mana gems!

Mana gems, in laymans terms, acted similar to batteries. They were stones that could store and retain high amounts of mana within them. For This person to have so many mana gems, they could outlast a typical magician by up to a hundred times longer. Strictly based on appearances, it was uncertain now who would be able to win, but Newt Drago seemed to have the advantage with his string of mana gems.

If he’s trying to drag things out, he’s out of luck. Briar thought to herself. With her mana veins, if the mana in her body fell below fifty percent, then it would automatically aid in replenishing her lost mana. Briar had discovered this by accident during her experiments last night.

But, the interesting thing is, the moment before the announcer declared the start of the match, Newt Ryuujin muttered something that made Briar’s eyes open wide in surprise.

“Everyone is secondary before me, the main character. Like this, I cannot lose!”