"We earnestly request your response, Lord Guardian."
At the same moment, in the Emerald Hall in the central tower of the Sky City, Fernando Wiggins, the leader of the seven-person parliament, was leading a group of magicians facing the white projection erected in the center of the hall. He lowered his head and looked respectful: "In other words, Mr. Administrator - without your response and help, we cannot exert the full power of Sky City."
"What do you want with this power?" A wind-like echo came from the white light. The voice seemed distant and empty due to the expansion of magic: "Defeat your enemies? Become the ruler of the continent?"
"The goal of the Mage Council has always been to maintain the order of magic." The gray beard of the leader of the old man swayed slightly for a moment, and it did not look like ripples on his face due to emotional fluctuations: "If possible, we will also I hope to explore the origin of magic and reveal the secrets of this world.”
"Whether it's the former or the latter, I can't help you." The voice replied without emotion: "The development of Sky City has become smoother because of the arrival of adventurers. There is no other place where I need my help. .”
"No, we still need your help, Lord Guardian."
Opening his eyes and raising his head, Wiggins' old voice seemed calm and firm. He used his sharp gaze to warn several magicians who wanted to come forward and speak. The magic circuit inside the hall also dimmed a little with his next sigh: "Even for the simplest magic pipeline repair, without the information and help provided by the guardian, the work efficiency will be much slower. The war in the Magic Empire is already before us, and we have to divert more energy from these complicated internal affairs, not to mention the large number of unexplored areas and magic circuits in the city, as well as tens of thousands of people who are still there. The adventurers who keep pouring into the city——"
"That's your problem, not mine." The voice reflected in the light suddenly amplified, and the ups and downs of the sound line also revealed a bit of female unique sharpness because of the fluctuation: "Repair of ancient magic circuits, how? Maybe it’s hard to get great magicians like you? Even the most unmanageable adventurer groups have surrendered to the power of your Mage Council, so what does the mere increase in the number of people mean?”
"The Lord Guardian may be unhappy because of the previous offense, but the previous activities held by the adventurers in the core area have also been approved by the Lord." Wiggins continued unhurriedly: "In terms of results, , Sky City has indeed made obvious gains because of that adventure, we—"
"enough!"
I don’t know which sentence just now stimulated the being in the light, and the voice became obviously angry: "I have restored the energy supply to more than 70% of what you want! What else do you want from me? Do you want to get something from me? You, the great magicians who claim to be aloof from the world, also learned 'greed' from adventurers?"
"Get out of here!"
The harsh rebuke echoed in the center of the circular hall, and the extremely sharp sound slowly disappeared after lingering for a long time. Several magicians who stood up were also exposed because of the merciless scolding from the other party. He had the same angry expression, as if he found it difficult to accept the rudeness of the voice in front of him: "What did you say? You--"
"Shut up."
Standing in front of the group of magicians, Wiggins suppressed all the dissatisfaction behind him with his low and old voice. With his hands behind his back, he gradually stood up straight after the sound in the light disappeared completely. , slowly put away his humble and respectful look: "No matter what doubts you had before, she is still the manager and guardian of this city, even if we only consider the support she has provided us so far. , and she deserves our respect."
"Of course, her temper does seem to be the same as that of ordinary people." The old man's expression and personality suddenly changed, and his cold tone sounded like a different person: "How to endure such a temper? In terms of emotions, Maintaining oneself during torture is also one of the essential qualities for practicing to become an excellent magician, and you should be aware of it."
"Now is not the time for a casual education session, Wiggins."
Among the scenes that were shocked by the old magician's unpredictable aura, only Romulus, who had long been accustomed to it, seemed not to be affected at all: "Since our Lord Guardian is still losing his temper, then the next reconstruction work-"
"I know what you want to say, but in our opinion, your proposal is still premature."
Slowly turning his head, Wiggins looked back at the other party with a hint of awe in his old eyes: "Of course, with the recommendation of you and other congressmen, I can still trust Prad's ability. It’s okay, and there shouldn’t be any problem if we leave the development work of the remaining unknown areas to him and his team of magicians, but..."
"'Fairness' is still a principle that we need to uphold, even the Seven-member Council is no exception." The old man walked in front of everyone else with his hands behind his back: "What's more, for such a major event second only to the Magic Empire War, we must Knowing that we will soon join the prologue of the war, the situation will become much more unstable if the unsolved mysteries of Castle in the Sky are not solved by then.”
"Do you still want to follow that set of rotten rules? Now that the Council of Seven has been seriously absent?" The disdain on Romulus's face became more obvious: "Gardevoir has been away from the world for a long time and has not shown up at all. Then The pair of sisters have also been disappearing, and Jin was sent out by you on a search mission and has never returned... To be honest, did you deliberately manage it to this point to prevent the normal meeting of the parliament for a long time? "
"I never meant that." Wiggins replied with a blank expression: "And I have found a solution."
He waved his hand and gestured to the other silent magicians around him. His aura as the speaker completely dissipated when he waved his hand forward, condensing on the back of the old man: "All of you, please step aside. .”
"The 3586th Seven-member Council will be convened soon."
After bypassing the corridors and stone steps of the Hall of Emerald, he walked towards the inner chamber above. The sparse footsteps followed his slow and old steps and slowly extended forward, finally in the empty silence. The first to stand still: "...are everyone here?"
"Every time you keep me waiting for so long, it's really a lack of etiquette and respect." The same old-sounding female voice echoed in the dim hall, and the bright magic light instantly reflected the figure of a woman covered in black gauze in the circle. In the corner of the hall: "You know, I'm very busy now."
"Isn't it a bit unethical to participate in the parliament in the form of remote magic projection?" Romulus, who then walked into the hall, let out a cold snort and turned his eyes in the direction of the old man again. : "But in this way, the number of people has finally exceeded half. As long as Rex is called back -"
"Rex will not come back." With these words, Romulus extinguished the interest he had just raised. Fernando Wiggins, who was walking forward, said with a smile: "As an alternative, his apprentice is currently it's here."
"Meet the two great magicians."
Appearing in the corner of this inner room, Nifeng, who didn't know when he arrived here, rose up leisurely, clasped his hands in front of his chest and bowed his head deeply: "It is my honor to see three adults here at the same time."
"...What do you mean?" Pointing to Nifeng Youran's head, Romulus stopped and asked in the direction of Wiggins: "You want him to attend the meeting instead of Rex?"
"That's right, the members of the seven-person parliament who are unable to arrive at the scene will be replaced by their apprentices." Wiggins waved his hand: "Being able to become their apprentices must also have given them some degree of support. Acknowledgment, so in this special period, I think they can provide valuable input to the resolution of Parliament."
"Don't you think so, Romulus?"
He turned around, and the old eyes under the dim light also showed a bit of strange light. Feeling the hint of this look, Romulus was silent for a while, and finally stumbled with a grunt. He replied: "Of course, otherwise - ahem!"
"But even so, this time the parliament can't gather all the representatives, right?" He changed the subject and regained his momentum: "I have never heard that Jin has accepted any magic apprentices! And those big pairs The apprentice of the magician sisters... Humph! How could that wild girl get on such a stage?"
"How about giving Freya some due trust, or...giving her some face?" Wiggins's smiling expression looked like that of a seducing teacher: "Of course, if Freya herself can It will be better if it arrives.”
"Don't say it's her, even I'm very busy." The impatient woman in black veil responded to the old man's words: "Hurry up, don't waste time anymore - when will the remaining two people arrive?"
"It should be soon." Wiggins twirled his beard: "According to the previous astrology, these two destinies will inevitably intersect at this moment... Well."
"Unless something unexpected happens?"
*******************************
"I think I've made it clear."
As if to confirm Wiggins's judgment, the duo of Duan Qing and Qian Zhihe had just walked out of the crowd in the central square of Sky City. The pair who wanted to enter the Emerald Hall were also blocked by the door. The magician on duty stretched out his hand to stop them. His tough attitude and condescending look seemed as if he didn't know the two of them: "The Speaker and the magicians are holding an important meeting, and outsiders are not allowed to disturb them."
"Take a good look! Are we two outsiders?" The furious red-haired girl waved her arms and shouted: "Even if you don't know Brother Qingshan, you should know me, right? I But Freya’s chief magic apprentice! I don’t even know how many times I’ve been to this hall—”
"No matter who you are, the rules are the rules." He tilted his head and pretended not to see Qian Zhihe's appearance at this moment. The magician continued to answer in a calm voice: "No one is allowed to enter until the meeting is over. Not even Freya’s magic apprentice.”
"As a member of the Council of Mages, I commend you for your determination to abide by and maintain order." Duan Qing, who grabbed the red-haired girl's body that was about to burn, walked forward with a smile and shook his head: "I too I know what serious consequences may result if those of us who are not very 'important' break in, but..."
"We also received the notice of the meeting, so we came here together."
Under the watchful eyes of countless magician guards, the gray-robed magician holding the Thousand-fingered Crane's arm bowed forward and saluted. His slow movements accompanied the gradual settling of the atmosphere, and gradually gathered around Duan Qing: "According to the news we have received, several members of the upcoming seven-person parliament will be unable to attend for some reason. At the suggestion of Speaker Fernando Wiggins, the great magicians who are unable to attend can be represented by their chief magic apprentice."
"That is to say, you want to be one of its representatives and walk through the door behind me?" The silence was broken for a moment by a voice walking out of the Hall of Emerald, dressed gorgeously and carrying himself elegantly. A young magician then also arranged his shiny hair and looked condescendingly at Duan Qing at the bottom of the steps: "But as far as I know, you shouldn't have such qualifications, right?"
"Your Excellency Prader Infilidi." Duan Qing recognized the other party's identity and replied, still maintaining the smile on his face: "Since he is a colleague, why do you say this?"
"According to the news I just received, the magic apprentice can indeed become the representative of the great magician in the seven-person parliament, provided that the great magician 'does not arrive'." An unknown cold light flashed in his eyes, Pula De Infilidi replied in a low voice: "As the apprentice of Freya who was not present, the adventurer named Qian Zhihe does have such qualifications, but you? Huh, who do you want to represent? Wiggin Mr. Si?"
"Wiggins is present, of course I know this." Duan Qing replied with a smile: "So if I want to enter the venue, I will no longer be able to maintain such an identity, so -"
"I brought a token."
The gray-robed magician reached into his arms, and after a while he took out a sparkling necklace: "With this thing, you should recognize my identity, right?"
"What is this?" After squinting for a moment, Prader reluctantly asked, "Is it an inferior product found in some filthy market?"
"This is 'crystal rock', which is a kind of gem crystal that can only be found in the heart of an extremely hot place buried deep in the magma." Duan Qing, who showed off the necklace in his hand, replied loudly: "It's no wonder that Mr. Prad's eyesight is clumsy. After all, This kind of material is rarely unearthed, let alone strung together in such large quantities to make such beautiful decorations.”
"That's right, speaking of it, I consider myself an experienced earth magician." With a hint of cunning in his eyes, Duan Qing raised the crystal clear crystal necklace in front of himself: "Here Sub-parliament——"
"I'm here as a representative of Kim."
