The title of knight is unfamiliar to people these days. Knights are beings that can only be seen in fairy tales or chivalric novels. They were those who pursued romance and walked an upright path. There were many aspects that didn't fit with the current era.
They say there were quite a few in the past, though they've almost disappeared in modern times.
However, at some point, the title of knight no longer felt unfamiliar. There was one reason. It was because of Osian, the peerless genius who appeared in Tirna.
Osian, who called himself a knight, entered the fixer industry and achieved unbelievable accomplishments.
There were quite a few fixers in Tirna called geniuses. Among them, only a very small number of the countless geniuses bloomed completely.
Many who received public praise suddenly disappeared one day, and there were also many geniuses who died from being careless due to arrogance in their own abilities.
Because you never know what will happen in the world. They thought Osian would be one of them. Looking at the path he had walked, it wouldn't have been strange if he suddenly died at any time. That's how much Osian walked only paths filled with danger.
However, time passed, and Osian gradually took on larger commissions and showed successful conclusions.
He defeated Daver of the Blood Brotherhood and resolved the succession problem of the Goldiron family but what truly made his name known was protecting Princess Orlea from terrorism.
His footsteps became greater and left deeper traces. Even people who didn't know about knights or ridiculed them began to take interest in Osian.
Some still cheered. Some were jealous. Others were grateful.
Even amid public reactions, Osian didn't stop. He continued moving forward as if this was the only path he had to take.
He became entangled with various organizations and met many connections. Even amid incidents and trials that seemed unbearable, he never lost his light. Was it because of that light? Like moths swarming to a lamp, people began to gather around Osian.
The man who had been alone became the representative of an organization forming a knight order around him before long.
He had an indescribable charm. Blunt, arrogant, and moreover, his way of thinking somehow reminded one of the old era.
Yet people still gathered like advancing toward a flame burning in the darkness and walking one's own path using starlight as a signpost.
This was evident from the fact that even the Fixer's Guild, which had tried to restrain Osian, supported the founding of the knight order including Osian.
The Starlight Knight Order was still far too small in scale to be called an organization, but looking at the current momentum, it would soon stand tall without equal. From what was heard, a Moonlight Knight Order had also been formed.
Thus people gathered and the broken lineage of knights continued.
Yet no one ridiculed it. At first, they found the whole knight business laughable, but now they knew.
Osian had brought down the Eternal God Church, faced the Baptism of Fire alone, and even stopped the Sea Dragon.
There was no longer anyone who didn't believe in Osian. There were only those who didn't want to believe, wary of that superhuman power that transcended the individual.
Everyone gathered here now knew Osian strength and the weight his name carried. There was no way not to know.
In fact, when Osian was mentioned, Aspirex, Mowen, and Rumpelstiltskin showed expressions of understanding because even the mayors, who could be called the pinnacle of the city, were also watching Osian.
"However, let's return the discussion to its starting point."
Rumpelstiltskin said.
"This incident was ultimately caused by Mother Goose. We gathered here to discuss how to resolve it, didn't we?"
"Ah, yes, yes. That's right. It was none other than Mother Goose who stole the Sea Dragon's egg and secretly brought it here. That's quite curious. How could Mother Goose's familiar dare to sneak into our Tirna, which boasts ironclad security especially because of recent events?"
At Deliphiros' words, those present fell into heavy silence. Everyone gathered here was politically shrewd. And they knew that Deliphiros' words had thorns in them.
"What do you mean by that?"
Rumpelstiltskin asked with a furrowed brow. A woman who seemed molded from gold. A face with perfect golden ratio without any asymmetry. Even when frowning, Rumpelstiltskin still overflowed with noble beauty.
"I've heard that Lady Rumpelstiltskin is a renowned witch. And that you know well about other witches, having lived long."
"That's right."
"And as I understand it, I've heard you had some connection with Mother Goose in the past."
Everyone kept their mouths shut and watched Deliphiros and Rumpelstiltskin. Tirna's mayors don't join hands with each other. If anything, they had relationships closer to opposition. Deliphiros in particular was famous for disliking non-human beings.
It was Aspirex who stepped forward to refute him.
"That's excessive speculation. Just because something was true in the past doesn't mean it's true now."
"Yes. Of course. It would be an unimaginably distant time from a human's perspective. However, as someone in the position of mayor, it would be troublesome to overlook even a small possibility."
So it was ultimately political maneuvering even in this situation. What a tenacious man. Rumpelstiltskin let out a small sigh inwardly.
"That's too much of a leap. I only met Mother Goose a few times in the past. It would be fair to say I was never close with her. Our inclinations didn't match at all in the first place. And you must be aware that members of our Witch Tea Party participated in this incident. Do you intend to insult those who fought to protect the city?"
"Of course not. But let's be clear about this. The one who played the decisive role in defeating Big Bad Wolf this time was not a witch from the Tea Party, but a fixer."
"You must be aware that fixer is also a witch's familiar."
Rumpelstiltskin didn't retreat an inch. She knew well how vicious Deliphiros was. That was why she had engraved information in her mind before coming here.
Eventually, Deliphiros backed down first. He didn't seem particularly regretful about failing to find a weak point. He seemed to think such prodding was routine and customary.
"Yes. The important thing is confirming whether such incidents can reoccur in the future or not. If we can't uncover what extraordinary method Mother Goose used to infiltrate Tirna, the city will be on emergency alert."
"Here's the answer to that."
Rumpelstiltskin placed an item she had prepared in advance on the central table.
Everyone could see it.
"A broken mirror fragment?"
"It's not an ordinary mirror. I can feel something, an eerie energy."
Those with discernment immediately sensed that the mirror fragment was no ordinary object. None other than Rumpelstiltskin had drawn their attention before showing it. The possibility of it being ordinary converged to zero.
"The reason it could sneak into Tirna was precisely because of this."
"A mirror fragment. An unpleasant witch's name comes to mind."
"Indeed. This belongs to Grimhilde, the witch who killed Snow White and stole that object."
Grimhilde was also known by another name, Evil Queen. Unlike witches that exist in the world, she was a high-ranking witch who had lived since long ago. And naturally, she was a being living as she pleased with tremendous witchcraft and power befitting that status.
Grimhilde was counted as a representative existence among witches of the outer faction, not affiliated with Tirna.
"Grimhilde."
"Are you saying that willful monster joined hands with Mother Goose?"
"This is not good. Beings who are each major threats on their own have joined hands."
"Isn't it something to fully consider? There was already the case of the moving Candy Castle. Since she joined hands with other ones, Grimhilde wouldn't be an exception."
As those present murmured, Mowen opened her mouth.
"Be quiet."
Her voice resonated throughout the wide conference hall with a rumbling sound. A voice imbued with mana had power in itself. Those who had been chattering closed their mouths again.
Having calmed the commotion, Mowen gazed at Rumpelstiltskin.
"Thank you, Mayor Mowen. Returning the discussion to its starting point, the reason Mother Goose's familiar could sneak into Tirna was precisely because of Grimhilde's witchcraft. And in this city, we don't know how many magic mirrors are hidden."
Magic mirrors made it possible to move anywhere mirrors existed, as long as a medium was present. This was why Grimhilde remained safe from the Petra Papacy despite her notoriety.
Because of the mirror fragments scattered across the world, she could move anywhere in a short time if she wanted. An absurd ability that allowed her to easily escape by consuming one mirror fragment, no matter how wide and tight a siege was.
"This is just the beginning. Mother Goose tried to use the Sea Dragon to cause great damage to Tirna but ultimately failed. She dealt damage to Tirna, but when looking at the entire city, it was nothing more than extremely minimal because Mother Goose would want the downfall of this city."
Until then, Mother Goose had been nothing more than a pan-continental terrorist with a red alert issued. She hadn't revealed her identity until now and only occasionally showed her presence by using familiars.
But now it was different. Mother Goose had begun to act in earnest. The target of that destruction was Tirna. Mother Goose was trying to topple this splendid golden city that humanity had built up. They couldn't just stand by and watch.
The expressions of the council members and district governors gathered hardened.
"There will be many things to handle."
"The material damage caused by the Sea Dragon is considerable. We're already overwhelmed dealing with that."
"But it can't be helped. In times like this, we need to stick together all the more."
With a common enemy, they couldn't politically oppose each other as usual. Just as everyone was voicing their opinions—
"I've listened to the discussion well."
Deliphiros spoke in a low voice. What was he trying to say now? Everyone watched Deliphiros with wary eyes.
Deliphiros was cunning. He wouldn't miss even a trivial opportunity and would sink his venomous fangs into his opponent's neck. Rumpelstiltskin, Mowen, Aspirex. The three mayors were on guard against Deliphiros.
Considering his usual conduct, there was a high possibility he would nitpick, saying he couldn't trust witches to find the magic mirror fragments.
"Magic mirrors. Truly troublesome objects. Finding them would require considerable manpower and time. But still, experts in this area would ultimately be fellow witches, wouldn't they?"
"...That's right."
"Then, regarding this matter, Lady Rumpelstiltskin should take charge. Along with the Tea Party members."
At Deliphiros' action of readily handing over the situation, the mayors narrowed their eyes and watched him. They looked full of wariness at behavior he wouldn't normally exhibit. However, Deliphiros only smiled brightly and didn't add any particular explanation.
Could it be that there were cases where they joined hands in the face of danger to the city?
"...I shall do so. Not only the Tea Party. I'll also go to Walpurgis Night and convey the message."
"If you would do that, I couldn't ask for more. I'll trust and leave it to you."
Trust. It seemed like watching the most terrible black joke, that the person least likely in the world to say such words naturally spoke of trust.
"Let's each do our best in our positions. To do that, we need to establish constructive plans for what's ahead, don't we?"
The meeting continued. Contrary to everyone's concerns, the process itself went smoothly. Rather, it went so smoothly that they thought it shouldn't be like this.
Deliphiros, who would normally nitpick with all sorts of clever logic and tail-chasing, merely listened quietly to what others said.
That appearance made the three mayors all the more anxious. Like looking at a calm night sky before a typhoon arrives.
After the Sea Dragon incident, Osian sat in his chair at Violet Fox as usual.
After this incident, more people took interest in Osian. However, Violet Fox was quiet. Half-hearted people couldn't even approach due to the pressure surrounding Violet Fox.
This was possible thanks to the guests currently at Violet Fox, Elise Denarova and Terence Progenen.
Osian gazed at the two with calm eyes.