Vol. 1 Side Chapter: The Old Man and the Elf

***The Main Headquarters of the Society of Mages, United Nations Compound, New York City…***

The Adventurers’ Agency was a branch of the prestigious Society of Mages, one of the seven principal ‘organs’ of the United Nations. It dealt with the affairs of mages, elven diplomacy, and magic, in general. It had also had seven main regions: North and South America, Europe, East and West Asia, Africa and Oceania, each of which was under the supervision of a director, typically an elf, or a human mage within two elf-human generations. And above the directors was the enigmatic elf, known only by her nickname as ‘the Oracle.’

“…”

Every month, there would be a ‘general assemblies’ of the members of the directorates and branch secretariats. While previous general assemblies focused on the mundane stuff like monthly reports, issues and plans, the gathering for this particular month was focused on one thing…

“Lady Henrietta Temaire Louise of the House of d’Anvilles has made her move,” Lady Yanari of the Philippine secretariat opened the meeting with that remark. “She seeks to form a new party, or reform the old one, OyasumiSe7en, and is gathering its former members.”

“Are we sure about this move?” the director of the North American region asked, looking at his other peers for support.

“I don’t think we can help it,” the directress of the European region answered him. “We can’t let Lady Henrietta get emotionally unstable; we know how powerful she can get, and it will never end positively for us.”

“Ugh, why do we have to appease a being that isn’t even human?” another director, from the African region, muttered.

“We can’t do anything about it,” the European directress pointed out. “Even the Oracle is wary of that girl…”

Everyone’s attention then focused on the elevated platform in front of them. There, clad in her dark robes that obscured her face, was the Oracle.

“I have my reservations, everyone knows that. However, I listen to the words of that wise man,” she told them. “Without his help, I wouldn’t be able to seal the overwhelming powers of Lady Henrietta.”

“Wise man, you say, milady?” the director of the North American region stood up, and pointed towards the other character standing at the doors of the meeting room. “That guy over there who claims to be a god?”

“Correction,” the man in casual shirt, shorts and slippers spoke. He had sunglasses on his eyes, even when the room was relatively cool and dim. “I do not claim to be a god; though my friends call me the ‘Black God.’”

The directors and other secretaries were shaking their heads; only Lady Yanari showed respect to the man.

“Well, I do not require you to believe my words, but you can tell from my deeds that I know what I’m talking about,” he pointed out. “And when I say you let Lady Henrietta do what she wants, I mean it.”

“Pardon for the disbelief, Mr. Black God,” the African director said. “However, we find it hard to believe that you’re doing this out of the kindness of your heart. Yes, we acknowledge the part you helped the Oracle seal Lady Henrietta’s powers, but what is the catch?”

“Aside from the fact that you call me ‘Mr. Black God’ yet you’re sarcastic, I find no offense in your disbelief. In any case, letting her around that boy, Yuuki, is for the best of this world. Guy’s ironically your hope for appeasing that girl, after what everyone did to her in the past. This also applies to her ‘other selves.’”

There was an awkward silence in the room as the ‘Black God’ finished his statement, and accompanied it with a mic drop (the mic was from his magic).

“Uh…Mr. Black God…” it was Lady Yanari.

“Ask away, milady.”

“I know you can see through my thoughts, but I’ll ask anyway, for the others who are present,” she took a deep breath, before continuing. “While I hold deep respect for you for helping the Oracle three years ago, I understand the skepticism of my human peers. Human diplomacy and culture require a person asking anything for something in return, and we can’t keep our confidence in your ‘selfless’ motives unless we understand your reasons for helping us.”

The Black God smiled. Then, he took a chair out from nothing, and sat on it. “There are a few things I’d like to point out, Lady Yanari. First, as you may suspect, I’m neither human nor elf. Hence, human culture and diplomacy doesn’t apply to me; I can do as I wish, nor do I have to explain myself just to convince you. However, I refrain from controlling your thoughts; I prefer working together, not forcing you to follow my diktat. Second, you can tell just by looking at my magic that I can make things materialize just by thinking about it. Your offers of wealth, power and prestige mean nothing to me. And third…”

He paused for a moment. The directors and secretaries leaned closer, to hear him speak.

“…also connected to the first point I gave you; I was once a human. Isn’t that enough a reason to help my former race to flourish? Or you can always check my record; I never said anything that brought ruin to elves and humans of this world!”