Jared watched Ari, who left with a broad smile after exchanging greetings, then quenched his thirst with tea prepared by a staff member and took a short break. During this time, he didn’t let go of the documents of his final interviewee.
For **Jared**, the next person was the main event.
However, to be blunt—he didn’t need a secretary.
Because he wasn’t officially a **Court Mage** yet, and the importance of a secretary had only been explained verbally, he even questioned the reason for their existence.
His conversation with **Ari** earlier had made him understand that a secretary could act as a barrier against the nobles and entanglements that would likely come his way as a **Court Mage**.
In other words, he could have them say things through the secretary. Of course, that was an extreme view.
He understood the role of a secretary, and he knew it was better to have one, but he still felt he didn’t need one, perhaps because Jared had a lone wolf mentality.
While he was decisive in his daily actions, when it came to fighting, Jared preferred to confront enemies alone. He did sometimes fight alongside others, and in fact, he had.
He remembered how much easier it was when he fought **Adventurers** with his classmate, **Earth Elemental Mage Laurentz Herring**, who focused on assisting him. One reason for this was that Jared was the only one engaged in combat.
The battle against the defectors of **Waalthe**, led by **Dolf Ein**, was also a co-op effort, but fundamentally, everyone fought their own battles.
It was the same in the recent battle at the **Daum Barony**. He fought alongside **Wahash** and his father, **Johan**, but it was as simple as taking down the enemies in front of them. More importantly, with **Wahash**, who was stronger than Jared, and his father, who was said to be comparable to his **Grandfather**, the **Sword** master, there was no obstruction between them.
However, he wondered about a secretary.
**Ernesta Kaif**, his next interviewee. The documents stated she was an excellent **Magician**, and the church also recommended her for her abilities as suitable for a secretary.
The fact that her recommendation was limited to her abilities was, of course, because Jared had killed her **Older Brother**, **Barnabas Kaif**, albeit for a reason.
He didn’t know how Ernesta felt about Jared, the one who took her relative’s life. He would surely find out. Perhaps because of that, he was aware of his own nervousness.
Being hated wasn’t uncommon. As a **Magician** accepting requests from the **Association**, he was often targeted by **Adventurers**, sometimes even attacked. To **Humans**, **Magicians** were an unwelcome presence.
As a student at the **Royal Academy**, Jared wasn’t hated by students, but at least he was envied. After all, he was exempt from classes due to a recommendation from the **Association**. It was understandable that not only ordinary students but also other **Magician** students were unhappy.
He had ignored such ill feelings until now. When he became engaged to Olivier and she was bad-mouthed, he had become angry, but he never paid attention to the malice directed at himself. It had caused **Laurentz** to suffer, but the resulting friendship was a happy miscalculation.
And today—Jared would meet the family of the **Human** whose life he had taken for the first time.
It wasn’t the first time he had taken a life. It was by no means something to be proud of, but he had done it to survive, and he would not hesitate to kill again in the same situation. Among them were those who were such irredeemable villains that there was no choice but to kill them.
—Then, what about **Barnabas Kaif**?
As a fellow **Magician**, he was worthy of respect.
Despite being selected as a **Court Mage Candidate**, he was treated unfairly by **Count Brauer**. After that, he became an **Adventurer** and continuously trained himself, eventually gaining the strength to defeat the labyrinth’s master, the **Minotaur**, single-handedly.
Had he not been set up, he would have undoubtedly been active as one of the country’s top five **Magicians**. Young **Magicians** would have admired him, aimed to emulate him, and his comrades would have been able to trust him with their backs.
However, it did not happen.
He became an **Avenger**.
Unable to become a **Court Mage**, he learned of the **Fraudulent act**, lamented, suffered, and hated.
As a result, **Barnabas**, still in possession of power acknowledged by everyone as strength, sought revenge, attacked his contemporary, **Court Mage Tres Brauer**, and murdered his family. He also killed all the other **Court Mage Candidates** besides Jared.
The former **Court Mage Candidate Barnabas Kaif** was no more; he had fallen into the depths of being an **Avenger** and a murderer.
To stop **Laurentz**, who had despaired after his mentor was killed, Jared met **Court Mage Adelina Bischof**, heard the truth of the matter, and fought **Barnabas**.
To stop his rampage, to prevent him from harming those close to him, Jared killed him.
He did not regret it. He believed he had done the right thing. However, there were times when he wondered if there hadn’t been a different solution.
“Master Murphy, is it about time?”
Lost in his thoughts, he was brought back to consciousness by a knock and a voice from a staff member.
“I’m sorry, please let the last person come in.”
“Understood.”
Receiving an answer through the door, Jared placed Ernesta’s documents on his desk and drank all the tea. Gulping, feeling the liquid flow into his stomach, he stared intently at the door and waited.
A knock was heard.
“Please come in.”
He replied curtly,
“Excuse me.”
A husky female voice reached him, and the door opened.
A beautiful woman appeared. Her demeanor gave off an impression of composure, with shoulder-length white hair. Her blue eyes, peeking from between her hair, gazed directly at him. Though she was of small stature, her way of walking immediately revealed her agility.
Wearing a dark green skirt and a white blouse, she stood before Jared across the table and bowed.
“I am **Ernesta Kaif**. I am applying to become your secretary. It is a pleasure to meet you, **Jared Murphy**.”
