Inheritor Of Magic: The Magi King



"Who do you propose that we send?" Reiko asked her advisor while the Council Members began to look uncomfortable with the proposal to buy help from a Demon to keep their city safe.

But if the alternative was to have Reiko purge the military of all of their family partisans along with the embedded traitors, then they would have to go along with the idea, at least until the convoy was killed in the Frozen Wastes, and they could return things to the status quo.

They had lost too much influence lately, and the removal of troops from the farms would be the final nail in the coffin for many of their families. They had extorted the farmers to turn over a portion of the crop directly to the Council Families for generations, and it had become the basis of their power in the city.

It wasn't that Reiko didn't know it was happening. It was just that the chances of her being assassinated in the council chambers were exceedingly high if she openly tried to put an end to the remaining corruption and change the way the Council operated. So, she had to let others suggest it and chip away at it one piece at a time.

"I would suggest my own Family's negotiation team, along with a unit from the army for security, but I am sure that would receive some resistance." The accountant suggested.

When the Council Witches smiled at the proposal, Reiko realized that they still hadn't realized that Wolfe Noxus, the Demon she had made a pact with for strength, and the Snow Demon were all the same person.

If they had realized, there was no way that they would allow his own Family to go to him to negotiate a deal on behalf of the city.

"We need an authority to sign off on the deal as well." Headmistress Peach, head of the Academy, suggested as she tried to hide her disgust at the Council's scheming.

The Academy was on spring break, and she had come back to visit her family but had gotten pulled into this nonsense by her cousin, who was the Council Member in charge of the lowest floors.

The Council Members looked around with scheming looks, trying to decide who to send on this suicide mission. If they thought they were sneaky, Reiko and Peach were both disappointed in them. Their plans to have the convoy done away with were obvious to everyone in the room.

Headmistress Peach smiled at the room. "On second thought, how about I go myself? I haven't been out on a good long trip in a while, and with an armed escort, I am sure that I will be fine."

That put a damper on all their plans. They needed her to run the Academy. Nobody else was quite as well suited, and her Fae Familiar would make it very hard for anything to happen to the convoy that would kill the Noxus Family negotiation team.

"Then it is settled. We can send one of the teams from the Recovery Camp that still has a qualified Witch in the lead. There is no major threat at the moment, with the Mundane Army mostly retreated, and the monsters moved to their summer grazing grounds." Reiko announced.

That wasn't as good as they had hoped for, but a less qualified team was a good start if they wanted to pay some bandits to come after them. It would also be easier to explain than another supposed traitor incident. With so many of those lately, even the remaining Council Families were coming under suspicion of rebellion.

The Advisor nodded and sent a message from his phone to assemble the team while Headmistress Peach got to her feet.

"Have them ready in two hours. We will leave in an APC and drive through the evening so that we reach the boundary of the Frozen Wastes at dawn. How far is it from there to where the Snow Demon is supposed to be?" She asked.

"Roughly two hours by APC, assuming it doesn't get stuck in the mud." The Advisor shrugged.

That wouldn't be a problem with the Headmistress on board. Her Air Magic was strong enough to lift the vehicle out of the mud without issues, so they should make good time to wherever this Demon was hiding.

Reiko smiled at the Headmistress, then rose to her feet, signalling the end of the meeting.

"I will organize a team from the Recovery Camp and a vehicle. I will also write them a letter in case they doubt your sincerity." She announced.

"Thank you, Coven Leader. I hope that we can bring you good news in the near future."

Two hours later, the APC was at the gates of the Headmistress's family home and loaded with gear and a small team of witches. Why the Coven Leader had suggested sending ones who were damaged by the gas was anyone's guess, but Peach suspected that it was a matter of loyalty.

They were on the front lines but didn't retreat with the traitors when the battle against the Mundane Army started and didn't turn to them afterward while they were attacking the city, so they were somewhat more trustworthy than average.

"Good Evening, Headmistress." The witch closest to the door greeted her, and Peach took a good look around the APC. They were all witches who had been drafted out of her Academy for the battle at the Monster Tide this winter, and she knew all ten of them, plus both drivers of the APC. The only ones she didn't know were the four older men from the Noxus Family.

"It's good to see you again. Did they warn you about where we are going?" Headmistress Peach asked.

"Yes, Headmistress. The men of the Noxus Family caught us up to speed on everything that had been happening, as well as the route that we would be taking. The only possible delay will be the actual contact at the end since we can't navigate the Fae Forest alone." The student told her with a smile.

"Wait, Fae Forest? Since when is there a forest in the Frozen Wastes? Tell me everything." The Headmistress demanded as she sealed the door behind her and took her seat for the trip.

"We can tell you most of it. The last bit is a surprise, especially for you, from the Coven Leader. She requested that we not tell you until we get to the forest."

Headmistress Peach glared at her former students, who all flinched away, but none of them looked suspicious, and an older man from the Noxus Family put a hand on her shoulder and smiled.

"Relax, it's an old friend of yours that you will meet there. Now, let me tell you what we know of the events in the Frozen Wastes." He informed her in a surprisingly gentle voice.

An old friend in the Frozen Wastes sounded somewhat unlikely, but there was also no Forest there as far as she knew, so it was obvious that a lot had changed over the course of the winter.

Headmistress Peach didn't know who the Snow Demon was, but she suspected that the Coven Leader had informed everyone in the APC with her, and her mind went to all of the eccentric old Witches who might have gone on a solo rampage.