"Thank you for your hospitality today."
The smile was fake, the courtesy was fake, and naturally, so was the gratitude. Aura was simply mimicking human customs out of habit.
Still, the effect was excellent. Some returned her bow, others averted their eyes. A few trembled. The scent of fear thickened again—exquisitely delicious.
Aura pressed down her purple top hat, hiding her eyes as she exited through the haze and silence.
Stepping out of the Graf's fortress, she felt oddly lighter.
Back inside the estate, among the sea of shell-shocked nobles, was one person whose modest appearance clashed with the surrounding opulence.
Sheila had been frozen ever since Aura had vanished from behind her and appeared before Graf Konrad in an instant. She hadn't dared to intervene, nor had she known how.
Now that everything was over, as she stared at the chaos left behind, Sheila's face was as pale as death. She gripped the gold-stitched hem of her court mage robe, stole one last glance at Aura's retreating figure—and bit her lip before rushing to catch up.
"Ma'am! Director!"
Aura heard Sheila's voice from far behind.
She slowed her pace slightly to let Sheila catch up.
"Director, you… you just offended the nobility. They have enormous power in Hohenburg. Sooner or later, they'll twist the truth and report it to Kribi. Aren't you afraid of repercussions from above?"
"Above?" Aura echoed, puzzled by the concept.
Then she turned to Sheila with an icy expression.
"Don't talk to me about offense and power. Those are human affairs. They have nothing to do with me."
"Then… who are you really? What do you do in Kribi?"
"I have no real authority. I teach."
"..."
A teacher? Someone with that kind of power is just a teacher?
And the way she kept saying "you humans"… Could she be a non-human mage? An elf? A dwarf? Something else?
Sheila hesitated, but eventually spoke again.
"But Director, now that you've offended them, you won't be able to rely on their people for support in the future."
"Then I won't rely on them."
"But that means you'll be alone!"
"You're a mage, aren't you?"
"I…" Sheila froze.
"Oh, I only noticed your mana before. Didn't realize you wore the same clothes as them. My mistake." Aura cast her a fleeting glance, then abruptly lost interest. She turned away, preparing to continue on alone.
"I only just realized—you were sitting with them from the start."
"..." Sheila gripped the hem of her robe and looked down at the gold embroidery that marked her as a court mage. She stayed silent for a long time.
Then she looked up at Aura's solitary figure growing smaller in the distance.
She remembered what it was like when she'd first returned to Hohenburg. She'd been just as alone.
Then she thought of Andro, that gifted mage apprentice. He might also spend his life isolated here in Hohenburg, just like she had.
Just then, Aura's voice drifted back:
"You should go back. Return to the estate. Stop following me."
"Wait! Director Aura!!"
Sheila hesitated, struggling inwardly—until finally she cried out.
Crossing her arms, she ignited the golden embroidery with mana and tore off her court robe, revealing the inner tunic beneath—and the mage insignia always pinned inside.
She clenched a fist over the insignia and slammed it against her chest.
"My legs aren't broken yet!"
As if finally making up her mind, Sheila raised her head and looked forward. Aura happened to glance back. Their eyes met. Sheila's gaze was fierce and unwavering.
"I want to stand by your side!"
"To stand against them!"
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The Second Day of Taking Office in Hohenburg
The Mage Association functioned as usual. The Graf's estate didn't send anyone to bother Aura. It was as though nothing had happened the night before.
Inside the Association, staff members continued their tasks like any other day—albeit still following the old rules. New policies hadn't yet been issued, though that would likely happen soon. Whether they'd actually follow the new rules once released… only the goddess knew.
As for the other residents of Hohenburg, vague rumors began to spread. Whispers of the events at Graf Konrad's estate surfaced, though the nobility clearly worked to suppress them. Publicly, all was calm—as if nothing had occurred.
Aura, meanwhile, had woken up unusually early.
After joining the students for lunch in the canteen, she rushed to the office to handle the day's work.
Sheila had already been waiting at the door for some time.
Seeing Aura finally arrive, Sheila let out a breath of relief. She was here. That was all that mattered. Even if she'd gotten up late, at least the new director hadn't fled in the night…
Sheila had waited with an armful of documents since early morning. When Aura didn't show up, she'd worried the new director had gotten cold feet and returned to Kribi.
The moment the door opened and Aura stepped in, Sheila dumped a stack of documents onto her desk—without even letting her sit.
"Director Aura, here are the most urgent applications from various departments and the pending policy reform proposals left by your predecessor. It'd be best to address them today. If not today, then within the next three days—before the nobles recover from your shock last night. We need to maximize the power transition while we can."
"Just leave them there."
Aura, unlike Sheila, gave the mountainous stack only a passing glance. Instead, she squatted in the corner and slowly began unsealing one of her personal travel luggage.
"When will you review them, Director?"
"You sit there."
"Huh?"
Sheila blinked, pointing to the director's chair… and then to herself.
"You can't?"
"I can… During the previous vacancy, most duties were handled by the secretary-general. The vice-director mostly just made final approvals. Vice Director Barret's getting old, so… But now that you're here, Director, surely you're not seriously asking me to handle it?"
"Who else, if not you?"
Aura's retort left Sheila speechless. She reluctantly sat and began flipping through the paperwork she'd helped organize. Her head was already spinning.
Something felt off.
A director who genuinely wanted to enact reforms would usually spend their first day thoroughly reviewing every document to understand the branch's current state—not dump everything on the secretary from the start. Even if delegation was planned later, this part was crucial for groundwork.
Could it be that Aura didn't have any real reform plans in mind?
That couldn't be.
Sheila sneaked a glance at Aura, who was still unlocking the magical seals on the luggage.
Surely someone who smashed the Graf's estate on her first day in office couldn't be just a brainless brute?
Even if she was, there were a hundred easier ways to succeed than openly challenging the nobility.
Aura must have her reasons.
As for what they were… Sheila didn't dare ask.
After about ten minutes of silence, Aura finally opened the luggage.
Flamme had given it to her with strict orders: only use it as a last resort.
But what could she do? The humans here were already forcing her hand on Day Two.
Flamme was probably already aware, sensing the seal's release.
But it doesn't matter. This time she came here on the orders of Serie. Everything she does is backed by Serie, the highest authority in the Continental Magic Association. Flamme can't stop her.
"Any policies I need to pass down?" Aura asked, turning to Sheila.
"There are, actually. The branch has a special messenger who is responsible for this matter. The order can even be delivered to the remote villages in the mountains. Do you have any instructions?"
"Tell the messengers to stand down. From today forward, I'll be delivering orders personally."
"You'll go yourself? But Director, your title alone may not convince the district enforcers. Those thugs were previously bribed by the graf with benefits. If we use his old messaging network, we might get their obedience before news spreads…"
"Use benefits to win them over? Seems the Graf and I had the same idea. I've prepared gifts too—planning to visit them all in person."
"Gifts? Where?"
Sheila leaned closer curiously. While she had no doubt about Aura's power, she hadn't gotten the impression that the director was particularly wealthy. Could she have misjudged her?
"Right here!"
Aura began assembling parts from the luggage. A massive axe, embedded with mana compression, edge-sharpening, and material enhancement enchantments—countless complex spells layered into one elite weapon.
The axe's handle was as tall as Aura herself. The blade wider than her head. With the anti-magic spell Flamme had added, Aura was confident that even Macht of the Golden Land, the strongest of the Seven Sages of Destruction, would lose his head to it.
"What… are you planning to give them?" Sheila asked, her voice faltering.
"Their heads."
"But… aren't their heads already on their necks?"
"Right now, those things on their necks aren't heads."
Aura slowly shook her head, resting the flat of the axe in front of her.
Her blood-tinged, predatory eyes reflected faintly in the gleaming steel.
"Not until they see me. Only then do those heads become heads. Until then—they're just hunks of meat hanging from a spine."
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Preview next chapter:
That distant figure in purple, with eyesight naturally better than the old mage's, also paused in surprise upon seeing the long-familiar ceremonial gesture suddenly appear on the enemy's body. Then, she rested her axe by her side.
Aura removed her hat, lifted the hem of her luxurious mage's robe as if it were a noble's formal gown, and returned the gesture to the old mage with composure.
She had once mimicked this human etiquette countless times during her tenure as an examiner. Now, performing it again, it was exactly as it had been—graceful and unchanged.
The old mage lifted his head in a daze and looked at the two horns—one long, one short—revealed when Aura took off her purple high hat.
The moment he saw those horns, he understood.
"The High-Hatted Demon Reaper…" the old mage murmured the name from memory.
So that's what it meant.
After completing the examination salute—
Aura slowly put her high hat back on. With a faint smile on her lips, she unhurriedly picked up her axe, swung it in an elegant arc, and rested it on her shoulder.
Her purple eyes calmly regarded the hunched figure of the old mage opposite her as she spoke gently:
"Examinee, please check within five minutes whether your mana reserves are sufficient, whether your spell formulas are intact, and whether your mage emblem is undamaged."
"Examinee, prepare your weapon. There are no restrictions on magic format, magical tools, rules, or end conditions for this examination."