Chapter 25

Until last month, the sight of the red-haired young man, Clement, standing next to me would have made my stomach hurt, but now that we've reconciled, I don't feel any pressure at all.

I can speak to him as easily as I did during our student days.

"Thank you for your hard work on the emergency expedition, even though it was late. I'm glad it ended safely."

"Thank you. To be honest, it only ended safely thanks to the help of Senior Viola from another department. If we couldn't remove the magical formula, we would have had to remake the prosthetic leg... It would have been a huge hassle in terms of time, cost, and managing the barrier stones."

"Wasn't there anyone else who could remove it?"

"The veterans were either on holiday or out as guest lecturers at the magic school, so they weren't at the palace. Honestly... as a team leader, I'm ashamed that I couldn't remove it. I need to practice more."

Clement smiled wryly and shrugged.

I admire Viola's continued ambition.

"With more experience, you'll be able to do it soon, Clement. I was only able to do it because I've handled a lot of cases in the technical department. Your direct magic application skills are far superior to mine. I was mesmerized by that beautiful magic just now."

"---Thank you, Senior Viola. It's really nice to hear you say that."

Clement's amber eyes narrowed in genuine happiness. He was fidgeting while stroking the back of his neck.

"Given your skills, don't you get compliments from others all the time?"

"True, I do get praise... but Senior Viola's compliments are rare, so they mean a lot to me. After all, you never flatter people, right?"

When pointed out, Viola realized, "Maybe that's true."

Since he doesn't socialize much, he doesn't have many opportunities to flatter others, and he has no ambition to advance in his career. He only gives compliments when he genuinely respects someone.

"Am I really bad at navigating social situations?"

"Of course not, I think you're good at it. You come off as naturally charming."

"Eh!? I don't remember charming anyone..."

While Viola scratched his head with his arms crossed, Clement chuckled.

"You're the type who doesn't realize it, which is why you're 'natural.' Ah, we're here."

Clement reached for the doorknob first and opened the door. As Viola entered behind him, the room's atmosphere felt different from usual.

It was heavy, cold... filled with tension.

A female colleague near the door brightened up when she noticed Viola's return.

"Viola!"

"Rosetta, what's going on? The atmosphere feels different..."

As he approached her desk, he noticed someone who shouldn't have been there.

"Lord Luca!?"

At the meeting table in the back, Luca was sitting with Director Dressel. When he noticed Viola, he raised his hand slightly without changing his expression. However, when he saw Clement, he frowned slightly.

Incidentally, the deputy leader of the Divine Beast Knights was also sitting next to Luca. He must have come for work-related reasons.

To avoid interrupting, Viola gave a slight bow and then spoke to his female colleague, Rosetta, in a low voice.

"Why is Lord Luca here? The leader of the Divine Beast Knights has never come before, right?"

"Usually, Director Dressel visits Lord Herring for various discussions, but this time, he came here for some reason. He's as cool as the rumors say, with a unique aura... The room has been tense the whole time. Well, the tension eased a bit when his fiancé came... By the way, it's amazing that you can call him by his nickname."

"I was asked to by Lord Luca. But if it's work-related, this atmosphere is understandable."

Looking at Luca again, Viola noticed that he seemed different from usual. His expression was cold, fitting the description of "cool," and the air around him was tense.

He stood out, as if the atmosphere around him was different. His dignified presence made him feel a bit distant.

"Senior Viola, can I watch your work until Director Dressel is free?"

Clement's voice startled Viola, and he turned his gaze away from Luca.

Clement had come to meet Director Dressel. It wouldn't be right to keep him waiting.

"Sure. Since you're here, how about I show you the magic removal of a failed project? Recently, I mistakenly applied a double magic formula to a part, just like with the prosthetic leg..."

Viola grabbed the item from the shelf where the failed projects were stored.

It was a component of a drawbridge used in a local fortress. While trying to apply magic to the pulley mechanism that retracts the chain, a colleague mistakenly wrote the old formula when resuming the work.

Placing it on the desk, he picked up a pen. Clement stood next to him, leaning in to watch.

"I'll start now."

Viola channeled magic into the magical formula written in the same way as the prosthetic leg, analyzed it, and began to remove it. Since it wasn't as complex as the prosthetic leg, he started explaining while removing the magic.

"To remove a formula, it's best to start from the end. You need to channel more magic to peel the formula off the medium, destabilize the entire formula to the point where the magic is about to burst, and then quickly apply the magic for removal. Like this—okay, here we go."

The incorrect magical formula instantly broke down into light, dissipated, and the part returned to its original state, looking brand new without any traces of magic.

"Perfect. Was it helpful?"

Satisfied with the result, Viola turned to Clement, who was smiling with shining amber eyes.

He had bent over to match Viola's height, and the closeness surprised her a bit.

"I learned a lot. I'll try the magic manipulation next time."

"I'm glad I could help."

As she said this, Viola took a slight step back, but Clement's shoulder followed her.

"But if I fail... can you teach me again? I'll prepare something to thank you, like in student days, when I asked you to teach me magic—"

Suddenly, a stack of papers was thrust between Viola and Clement's faces.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Team Leader Clement. Director Dressel is free now, so you're up next."

Luca, holding the stack of papers, stood behind Viola, looking down at Clement with a cold gaze.