High School of Demon Hunting

Chapter 1571: Chapter 315: A Long Night (8)

”Knock, knock, knock!”

The dull yet rhythmic knocking on the door interrupted the plump witch’s incessant complaining—Korma, on the other hand, had been listening quite attentively—but as the receptionist, the plump witch still maintained a basic level of professionalism.

She shoved the stamped application form into Korma’s hand.

”Take this to the office on the third floor where the Law Enforcement Team is stationed. The gentlemen sitting behind the desk sipping tea will ultimately decide whether to dispatch a task force, and how many squads to assign.” She paused here, shook her head, and rolled her eyes dramatically:

”Merlin above, I honestly think I could handle that job just fine... Look, for a mission like yours, dealing with the embodiment of the Mother of the Mountain Goat of the Forest, you’d need at least five full-fledged task forces—that’s a minimum of twenty-five elite registered wizards.”

”I truly wish you had the authority to make the assignments,” Korma earnestly agreed. She had heard of the maddening bureaucracy of the elderly wizards of Danghag—rumor had it that every action they took had to strictly adhere to the Wizard’s Code. Even minor incidents, like the contamination of a patch of scorched grass, would require navigating seventeen or eighteen redundant procedures if they were in charge.

While they talked, the two had already arrived at the door to the room.

The door swung open with a ’whoosh,’ revealing a wizard cloaked in deep crimson and hooded. By her slender figure, Korma deduced the wizard was also a witch.

Moreover, something about the witch’s presence felt familiar to her.

”Korma?... Good morning.” The witch at the doorway lifted her hood, revealing a captivating face. She seemed somewhat startled: ”What are you doing here?”

Similar to the witch’s surprise, the Sage of the North District seemed equally astonished, though her expression also carried a hint of awareness: ”Su Councilor!”

But before she could finish exchanging pleasantries, the receptionist piped up again with complaints: ”Lord Upper Senator, you should’ve been here half an hour ago.”

”Good morning, Annie... The school museum encountered a sudden emergency, which caused a slight delay,” the Upper Senator of the Moon Council offered the plump witch an apologetic smile. ”I’ll explain the situation to the Committee.”

”Nothing is more urgent than the law,” the plump witch clearly disagreed with Su Shijun’s perspective—Korma found the phrase rather familiar and quickly recalled the receptionist saying something similar to her earlier—the witch waggled her stubby finger while her gaze lingered between the two grand wizards: ”You’re both important figures. Important figures should understand the significance of rules better than anyone.”

Perhaps only a receptionist who had spent a lifetime in Danghag, having witnessed countless monumental events, could muster the courage to say such things to two grand wizards.

”Of course, I understand the importance of rules... Actually, it’s precisely because someone broke the rules that everything’s in chaos.” Su Shijun paid no heed to the plump witch’s faint disrespect, shaking her head as she removed her voluminous cloak—Korma felt as though the entire room was suddenly much brighter—sprites cheered and darted to take the heavy cloak from her.

This left the Northern District Wizard feeling a tad bitter.

Her own cloak remained stuffed in her handbag, without any sprites to dust it off or spritz it with fragrance.

”Is the situation at the school serious?” Korma shook off the mild bitterness in her heart and asked, ”I can sense there’s been some commotion at the museum... Has anyone been injured?”

”Everything is under control for now; there have been no reports of casualties,” Su Shijun sighed heavily. ”I just wanted some peace and quiet at the school to conduct my experiments, but trouble keeps finding me... In any case, I’m grateful to the Northern District Wizards for taking over patrol duties in Silent Forest and Beta Town. It’s given me at least enough manpower to manage... You’ve really helped me a lot.”

”It’s an honor for the Northern District Wizards,” the Sage of the North District maintained a measure of humility and reserve in front of the Upper Senator of the Moon Council, even though they were both grand wizards.

This reserved demeanor prompted Su Shijun to glance at her more attentively, and then her eyes landed on the parchment in Korma’s hand.

”Is the patrol mission running into trouble?” Su Shijun noticed the cinnabar-marked word ’Assistance’ on the parchment. ”Does the school need to lend a hand?”

”Does the school even have spare manpower?” Korma quipped in response.

”Not a chance.” The Upper Senator shrugged with an adorably helpless expression. ”I just wanted to offer my support for your efforts... I genuinely don’t have a single spare person right now. Even the monitoring room for the Protect Legal Formation is staffed with third-year students, under the guise of early internships.”

Korma curled her lips slightly. ”Which is why I chose to come directly to Danghag... At the very least, they can dispatch some Law Enforcement Team wizards to assist.”

”An incredibly wise choice.” Su Shijun praised her without reservation.

”Speaking of wisdom... isn’t it rather unsafe to let a bunch of third-year students manage the Protect Legal Formation?” Korma cautiously pointed out. ”Most of them lack practical experience... I even doubt whether they can distinguish between a Houdou and a Hellhound.”

”Having someone there is still better than having no one at all,” Su Shijun rubbed her temples in frustration. ”Old Yao only asked me to handle it for a few days... I figure I can manage to get through a few days.”

This statement landed like a pebble dropped into a calm lake, stirring faint ripples across the long timeline of history.

Both grand wizards felt a subtle pang of forewarning simultaneously.

They exchanged a glance.

”I’ll reallocate personnel as soon as I return,” Su Shijun sighed and stepped aside from the doorway, evidently no longer in the mood for chatting: ”...It feels like this was a bad decision.”

”This isn’t your fault.” Korma tightened her grasp on the parchment in her hand, offering words of comfort, as she headed out of the room. Just as she passed by Su Shijun, the latter—who had been looking a bit downcast—suddenly grabbed her arm.

The Sage of the North District turned her head in bewilderment.

”Almost forgot... If you need any material assistance during your mission, don’t hesitate to reach out to the school.” Su Shijun seemed to have shaken off her earlier unease, winking playfully as her lips curled into a sly smile:

”Old Yao and Mrs. Stone aren’t here, so I have the final say in all affairs at the school... Of course, building a Mage Tower might be asking a bit much, but if the Northern District Wizards need a new laboratory or library, that shouldn’t be a problem.”

Korma’s eyes instantly lit up.

The Northern District Wizards’ ever-growing demand for magical resources and the severely limited supply capabilities had become the primary constraint holding back the expansion of the Northern District wizard community.

If they could legitimately ’shear some wool’ off the school, it would certainly alleviate the pressure on Gini Cottage immensely.