Dignitaries from all over the world are gathering one after another in the great hall of Ballar Castle.
　The round table in the center of the room is arranged in a large circle with plates from many countries, but there is no one seated at the table. The ceremony hadn't even begun.
　Although nominally a get-together, to use Lynne's words, this is an attempt to open the meeting to the public, if it is interpreted correctly. Needless to say, it was set up as a forum for information sharing.

　People from the same country could be seen standing around in the hall, but when the heads of state and singles arrived, they took them into consideration and stopped talking. Such considerations began to give the hall a solemn appearance. By nature, dignitaries and aristocrats are very cautious about their conversations, especially when they are related to politics. Also, considering the occasion of a social gathering, they should approach each other, but they were not interested in such things.

　There was a somewhat cagey atmosphere in which to engage in banter.

　The only thing that was certain was that the topic of threats from the outside world was discussed in a relatively positive manner. The focus of attention was about a country that did not have a current single, and the single mages it had.
　The majority of the talk here, perhaps because they had acquired information beforehand, was about the evaluation of the new single-digit mages entering the field, rather than exploring each other.

　They kept their mouths shut as if they had hit the water because the servants straightened their posture and echoed their arrival in the great hall with a ceremonial tone.

　The crowd cracked and all bowed their heads reverently when they saw these men.
　Cicernias and their valet, Lynne, led the way first, followed by Ars and Loki after a beat.

　The sound of the two of them gasping for breath at their good looks created a chaotic and tense atmosphere in the room. Incidentally, Loki walked cautiously in unaccustomed heels, holding onto Ars's arm.
　However, although she had a nervous look on her face, she was casually flicking her gaze to her surroundings in an effort to do her job well.

　This is already a battlefield. Loki had learned that from Cicerunia. It was unclear if she had any intentions, but in order to prevent other countries from getting strange misconceptions, Arth's "Shouldn't we give them more time? Cicernia showed her wilful surprise at the suggestion that he would be able to help her.

　'It's a bit late for that,' she said, and smiled wryly. It is a well-known fact that Ars belonged to Alpha, and it is also known that he is still enrolled in the Second Academy of Magic. Then it is natural to think that there is a thick pipe between the association and Alpha.
　Of course, with such a plan, Cisernia had even visited Ars beforehand.

　Evil speculation is an essential doubt here. From Cicernia's point of view, such a thing would be a trivial matter. She hadn't been so involved in this meeting.
　It's a good thing that the head of state is obliged to attend, or else he wouldn't be able to enjoy it so much.

　It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with your friends and family. I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to sit down, considering the time it takes to get to the meeting.

　It's a good idea to be careful during this exchange. There is already a single mage here, and an alien air is coiling everywhere, not to mention relying on the senses.
　Nevertheless, his shoulders would be stiff if he was on guard the whole time.

　Ars glanced at Loki, who was walking next to him, and sighed. Her hand conveyed an alertness that was closer to wariness than nervousness.
　Pulling her arms around Loki's body, Ars moved her mouth slightly.

'Don't do it. You don't have to do anything.'

　Loki, without showing any agitation, also returned in a whisper, feigning calmness. That's right, she was just now trying to sharpen her nerves and execute a detection with her magic sonar.

''But........it seems a bit unnatural.......''
Don't worry about it. You may not be used to it, but it's an everyday occurrence for me. Sonar here is sure to get noticed. There's no need to draw attention to it and it's a dress. I'll shake off the fire. At least let me do that.
Yes. Well, nice to meet you.

　Once Loki was blinded, but in her own way, she inferred from Ars's words and offered to share the information.

'In other words, there might be something to it,'

　Unlike his prior premonition, the current Ars had sensed the hint of it.

　The two of them, who keep an expressionless face, are like spies, inserting information into the gaps between their casual words and actions. This area was good for Loki, whose emotions were rare to begin with.

'Well. There's someone else who noticed it besides me but it's not a person mixed in.
"--?　Is it sabotage or terrorism?
You're wrong. Like I said, I'm not the only one who's noticed. It won't be a problem, but let's keep it in mind...

　As he had noticed when he used Ars's special vision, he honestly couldn't understand any of it just because it was different. It was a human form, but its content seemed to diverge greatly. Even now, I couldn't visualize the figure, but it was clear that it was paying attention to us.

　That is to say, though, it is just one of many.

''You're telling an interesting story, aren't you?''

　The person who suddenly squirmed on Ars's shoulder with an out-of-place tension attracted the gazes of those around him without question.
　It's not even comparable to Loki's in terms of the degree of adhesion, but that's exactly how close their faces are to each other.

　Ars absently expected the person stepping through the personal space with his feet on the ground, based on the sound of a voice that seemed to be in good shape and the bulge pressed against his left shoulder.

'Letty?' said Ars over his shoulder as if he didn't mean it.

'Le, Lady Letty. It's been a long time.'
It's good to see you, Loki-chan and Al-Kyun. That said, to think that you've got all the men's eyes on you except for Cicernia-sama's... well, well, that's good.

　With a good-natured smile on her face, Letty says as if she saw through Loki's inner thoughts.

''Yes, no, that's not true. Besides, Letty-sama looks even more wonderful today........and you look good.

　Loki, who humbled himself with a hand gesture, quickly looked at Letty's attire, stammered for a moment, but then expressed his frank opinion.

　Letty's current appearance is black formal attire, just as you see it. It is a combination of a jacket and slacks with a thin vertical stripe. It was dressed like a man's outfit, but it suited Letty, who has a manly side and is taller than most.
　Combined with the black gloves like a butler's, it seemed for a moment that he might be a neutral man, but the feel of Ars's shoulder denied that possibility.

'Thanks. I'll take that as a compliment. By the way, I'm more interested in what you just said. I also serve as a security guard.

　Lightly pushing her away, Ars once again brought Letty's outfit into view, "Well allowed. It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're wearing so that it's easy to tell which country you belong to, since there are many important people from other countries as well, because I feel that clothing that takes into consideration which country you belong to is required here.
　In fact, other wizards would show their country's military uniforms and medals in a casual manner.

　It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

''It seems like this is about as good as it gets. After all, since Al-kun left, we're all women.
'Well I'll leave it at that. And I don't care about your s*xuality.
Is this the mouth that says the most horrible things? I don't want to be told that by someone who enjoys hurting his sister.

　As they move to a less populated area with a joke, Ars suddenly provides the information Letty wants to know. Even though she couldn't use detection, she must have felt the minute magical power on her skin. Everyone here is unconsciously leaking magic power, albeit in minute amounts. Unless you are a high-ranking magician, you wouldn't bother to stop it.

　I'm not sure if this kind of wild sense of acuteness is a fierce competitor of the past.

It's not too much to worry about, is it?
Why?

　It was Loki who asked the question on Letty's behalf. She didn't know why she didn't see the danger, either, until she saw it.

'Look, there are a couple of security mages here. I don't know them, but they must be well known mages from the way they behave. So we have a double-digit class on guard duty.
That's true. It's a bit nerve-wracking to say that it's not just outside, but up here... or is it security in a place where there are singles?
'There are many high-ranking officials here, and there are good reasons to be convinced. Then, one more thing ... the servants, especially the waiters, have been acting a bit suspicious here since a while ago. There's a section of you that's concerned about something.
You do look good, don't you?
'Letty will learn to deal with humans as well as you will when you're dealing with them.
We're not really an expert. We're not suited to the inside.

　Due to her magical properties, if she pointed it at a human, it would blow away without a trace. It's also flashy.
　She responded with a dry smile, but Letty seemed to have already guessed it.

　This kind of technology wasn't yet available to Loki, and as a detection magician, it's a part of him that he couldn't understand even if he thought about it, as he relied on detection.
　Miffed and wanting to say something, Loki turned his gaze to Ars for an answer.

'All right, all right. The security mages are sophisticated, but their attention is invariably skewed to one point while they monitor the whole thing everywhere. I've seen a few of them briefly, I'm sure of it. Even if you're not aware of it, you're unconsciously alert because you've been informed beforehand that you're a target of the vigilance. But the waiter is also obviously biased in the course he turns. This is also because they are informed in advance. You can't unconsciously avoid them or consciously approach them, because they'll always feel uncomfortable.
Does that mean that the security wizard and the waiter know?
You will. So I figured I shouldn't worry about it. And by the way, I'm sure most of the people who work for the castle know about it.

　Ars nodded in affirmation to Loki's question. An answer derived from the fact that the servants who manage this Barral Castle allow it, albeit in part.
　However, the pretense that they are paying attention to them (...) also results in Ars with only a slight amount of caution.