Vol. 15 Ch. 8: The Groggy Seven Sages

When Emmanuel Darwin, one of the Seven Sages of the Kingdom of Ridill—the <Jewel Magician>—died, an emergency summons went out to the remaining six, but it took a full three days for them all to assemble.

The last to arrive at the Jade Chamber, where only the Seven Sages and the king were permitted entry, was Bradford Firestone, the <Cannonball Magician>, who had been away on a dragon-slaying expedition.

Bradford had only just returned straight from the dragon-slaying expedition. His beard was thicker than usual, and he had simply thrown a robe for one of the Seven Sages over his travel clothes, giving him a rather slapdash appearance, yet there was no sign of fatigue on his rugged face.

In fact, the five who had arrived ahead of him looked far worse. The only one who seemed unchanged was the <Witch of Thorns>, who was nibbling on vegetables at her own pace.

"Well, well, well. You all look utterly miserable. The <Abyss> one's gloominess is nothing new, but... Barrier. It's unusual to see you looking so haggard."

As Bradford had said, the one who looked the most exhausted and haggard in the room was, surprisingly, Lewis Miller, the <Barrier Magician>.

His long chestnut hair was dry and dull, and instead of braiding it as usual, he had tied it back carelessly. To top it all off, dark circles stood out sharply beneath his eyes, making Lewis's exhaustion obvious to everyone.

"I figured that someone who hated the <Jewel> would be laughing triumphantly and sipping wine by now... I didn't know you had a human heart after all."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but this is exhaustion from childcare."

"..."...