Chương 93: 160 - Upcoming

"Let's see," Rafael said.

"I assume you're looking for an update on your schedule as much as Vanguard's. In that regard, I should mention that Headmaster Lysander asked about the lesson you offered to the Institute." Oh, yeah. That. She had to stop her nose from wrinkling.

"I did say I would," she reluctantly began.

"And I really should, too."

"Not excited to instruct a classroom full of starry-eyed pupils?" he asked dryly. Indeed, that was the problem. A whole classroom. She had made that decision offhandedly, but she was getting cold feet. One-on-one conversations could be a headache for her, so one-on-fifty, or however many people Lysander planned to bring? The silver lining was that she would get to drone on about magic.

There wasn't a topic in the world she felt more comfortable with, so her usual problems with public speaking would be heavily mitigated. But not erased. The idea of lecturing a crowd still made her stomach tighten. So yeah, she hadn't followed up with Lysander as quickly as she should have. Sharing her findings on how to defend against and counteract void energy was high priority. Not only might the information benefit individual mages in a worst-case scenario, but propagating knowledge always meant advancement.

For all she knew, some genius might tweak her designs to make them even more effective. It wasn't likely, but neither was it impossible. And even if no one outright added to what she'd discovered, their adjustments or suggestions might spark an idea, give the Sorceress an insight to build off of that she never would've had herself. All that said. Teaching. So many people. Eugh.

"I should get it over with," she said with a sigh.

"Does he have a date in mind?"

"From our correspondence, I believe he would rather it happen sooner than later."

"Go ahead and schedule a date, then." She frowned.

"I've been wondering if I should make contact with the other magical universities. Possibly include some of their mages in that lesson." The Thaumaturgical Institute was humanity's most prestigious nexus of arcane knowledge, but humans weren't the only race staking a claim on this world. Admittedly, the significantly smaller populations of the other races meant the Institute remained the most prominent, but their longer lifespans counteracted their disadvantages in part.

Elves, at least, were definitely worth talking with. Demons marginally less so, and dwarves the least of all—there weren't many dwarven mages. But none were worth excluding entirely.

"It certainly seems reasonable," Rafael agreed.

"But perhaps not urgent. It's sensible to focus on local affairs first. Trying to arrange emissaries from other institutes might be more of a headache than Headmaster Lysander is willing to bear."

"Then we'll start local," she said, relieved. She added contacting other academies onto her to-do list. A list which seemed to grow rather than shrink every time she scratched through an item.

"It'll be a few days at least. It's best if we schedule it for after the Sorceress's return becomes public knowledge." He let out a soft breath of amusement.

"Or rather, becomes official public knowledge." Her brow furrowed at the implication.

"You're saying it's unofficial that I'm back?" She knew quite a few people in high society were aware, but she hadn't thought the masses knew.

"The Archbishop's claims of divine intervention muddied the waters, but when he abruptly stopped insisting that the gods receive due credit for their benevolence…" He raised his eyebrows meaningfully.

"It doesn't take the keenest mind to put together what that means, especially when another prevailing theory existed."

"I see." It took a second to decide how she felt about that, and she settled on being pleased.

"That's good. The more people who suspect I'm back, the less of a spectacle it'll be when the announcement comes."

"I intend to ensure it remains a spectacle nevertheless, my lady. And I also believe you're being optimistic—I would not be surprised if the rumors are only increasing the anticipation."

"Wonderful. Why would we want it to be a bigger deal than it already is?"

"Vanguard inspires hope," he said simply.

"The Sorceress inspires hope. The end of the world may have been prevented with shockingly few casualties, but the city did see their imminent deaths arrive overhead." Vivi was briefly speechless. She hadn't thought about what the average person must have felt like, watching voidbeasts swarm into the sky and through the streets.

"I… can see what you mean." It might be awkward, but inspiring hope is a worthy cause. There's a lot of messed-up stuff in this world, and only a few people who can hold it all back.

"Which leads splendidly into the major topic we should discuss, regarding Vanguard's immediate future," Rafael said.

"The public reveal will be a simple enough thing, and I'll minimize your role, so have no fears there, my lady. But there will be a crowning announcement at the end." Vivi narrowed her eyes. She had no idea where he was going, and that implied he'd hidden something from her. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"A lesser steward would take offense at such an expression on his Guildmaster's face. When have I ever been anything but the most loyal of your subordinates?"

"You're making me more suspicious, Rafael." He laughed. She knew it couldn't be anything bad, but she did wonder why he hadn't mentioned whatever this was.

"Well?"

"I will be telling the world"—he paused for dramatic effect—"that Vanguard is recruiting." A short silence. Her eyes narrowed further.

"And?" she demanded.

"That's not new." He smiled.

"And to facilitate that selection process," he said, "Vanguard will be hosting one of the largest tournaments in history." Vivi paused.

"What?"

"How better to celebrate, inspire hope, and attract candidates to our banner all at once than an event of such grand proportions?" She all but gawked at him.

"We're hosting a tournament for recruitment? I thought we would…" She trailed off. How had she assumed Vanguard would find new members? Through adventurers sending resumes en masse? It wasn't a ludicrous idea, but neither was that probably how things normally worked in this world.

"It does make sense," she corrected herself. Any plan of Rafael's would. She simply hadn't expected it.

"But we're not looking for the most talented people we can get. At least, that's not the biggest thing we care about, right? We have a lot of resources to spare, so we should support those who deserve it. People like William. Eshara." Honestly, even that boy from the Flesh-Weaver debacle. Anyone willing to stick out their neck for other people when they don't need to.

"Worthiness is difficult to define on paper," Rafael pointed out, "or even by reputation or through interviews. The sheer number of applicants once Vanguard announces public recruitment…" He shuddered.

"We need a method of thinning them out. And as much as capability in combat is not our singular requirement, it is very much a quality a guild desires." Both valid points, she thought. Vanguard would be supplying and aiding those adventurers, but in the end, they would be heading out into the world on their own. They needed to be strong, level-headed, and all-around capable inherently. No amount of good intentions and admirable moral fiber would stop a monster from chewing through a poor combatant.

Also—how many people would apply? She hadn't considered beyond the obvious answer of 'a lot.' But that might be an understatement. For all she knew, one in every two adventurers might clamor to Vanguard's doorstep. Vanguard was the guild that had hosted the Party of Heroes. The guild that had saved the world. And the one that would be offering incredible support and riches to those who were accepted. A dream opportunity for nearly anyone.

"I trust you," she said eventually.

"So you can handle things however you think is best. Like I said, it just caught me off guard."

"Then I will proceed." He raised an eyebrow.

"Which is fortunate, because I've already laid enormous groundwork. Stadiums don't build themselves. But be at ease—I did say that 'inspiring hope' was the transition in the conversation. The tournament isn't purely a recruitment tool, but also a way of raising morale within the city and beyond. Any plan that serves a single purpose is…" He made a face.

"Horribly amateur." She huffed. At least he was having fun with his job.

"So, what kind of tournament are you talking about?"

"And spoil the surprise?"

"It's not like I'll be participating."

"You won't?" A short silence.

"What?"

"I've already prepared identities, should you not wish to use Nysari's." She looked incredulously at him.

"What are you talking about, Rafael?" Then his statement caught up to her.

"You made more fake identities? And really, why would I fight in our tournament?"

"To evaluate the contestants, perhaps?" He seemed amused with his own response, and Vivi eyed the man, wondering what game he was playing. It didn't take long to understand. Because as ridiculous as the suggestion had been… a spike of interest had definitely gone through her as she considered. Most fights, she had too many things to worry about. Like not causing massive political fallout or getting a mind-controlled monarch killed by accident.

Casual combat with a variety of opponents without her reputation hanging over her head sounded… kind of fun, actually. Maybe she would've come up with a flimsy pretext to infiltrate the tournament herself. Under no doubt some weak guise of practicality, so that she didn't feel too guilty about wasting time. At that thought, another realization hit her.

"Rafael," she said slowly, "are you indulging your guildmaster's eccentricity?" He gave the most innocently confused look she'd ever seen. She almost let out a huge sigh.

"I merely thought you would want to gauge the participants yourself, Lady Vivisari. Some might become future members of Vanguard, after all."

"Uh-huh. Don't I have more important things to be working on?"

"Perhaps. I also know that all people need rest." She frowned at him.

"I'm still stuck on how you prepared more false identities." He withdrew several files from his top-left desk drawer, placed them in front of her, and smiled.

"Peruse at your leisure. They're of varying credibility and rank." She eyed the documents. What a troublesome man. Even she knew she needed less encouragement, not more. Masquerading around in a tournament really does sound more appealing the longer I think about it, though. And I've been running around nonstop, putting out fires, studying, or training Saffra. When the stakes were so high, she couldn't justify much lazing about.

And though she'd been putting the feeling aside, she had started to feel a little harried being so busy. Maybe a break wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. Besides, this tournament would bring in all kinds of interesting characters, likely from across the mortal realm and perhaps beyond. It needed scoping out. Who knew what kind of weird figures would show up to Vanguard's reemergence tournament?

"I'll consider it." She wasn't totally sold, no matter how tempting.

"I do have to crack void energy still." An idea sparked.

"Though with Cinereus's help, that might happen soon. And once I have a primitive arsenal, I'll need to test different attacks to see how they interact with skills and spells of all types. It would be a research session, really." Rafael smirked, and Vivi realized she'd found that 'weak guise of practicality' she'd sarcastically thought about earlier. Would she have made that plan without her steward meddling? … in fact, is he just saving himself a headache by arranging things beforehand?

It was easier to herd a wild animal than drag it by the scruff. She shook her head, exasperated with both herself and the man across from her.

"Okay. Lesson with the Institute. Then announcement and tournament. Recruitment. And there's also the entire guild being invited to the Sky-Pillar Range, which will be… interesting."

"Very," Rafael deadpanned.

"There's one more thing we need to sketch into our short-term plans."

"Oh?" It was something she'd slowly changed her mind on—maybe because the unease had been eating at her.

"I don't like sitting around and waiting for the next disaster. There's a void portal hanging over Prismarche, even if I have it contained."

"Ah." He understood without further explanation.

"You've decided, then."

"Yes. I don't know when, but at least shortly after we finish what we talked about." Whether voidgods, the Twilight Celebrant, or something entirely new, she wanted to be the one bringing the fight, not the other way around. She said, "I'm going to go in and see what I can find out."