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Behind Phoenix, taking notes on a large piece of scroll, was the kingdom\'s notary/accountant, Brienne. She was here to jot down any suggestion that might turn into eventual laws, projects, or edicts, to make sure everything was recorded.

As the council Leon had amassed was larger than this one, Brienne\'s note-taking skills had been honed to an expert level, and her scrawling on the paper was almost at an inhuman level.

She was ready, feather in hand, with a large container of ink.

Phoenix turned her head over to Declan first.

"Have you gone over the notes and archives of your predecessor yet, Declan?"

"Aye. It was a messy compilation, to say the least. But everything he did was in order with his role. He may have been a pretentious prick, but he was diligent in his duties."

"Good. From what you gleaned, is there anything that needs to be hanged or remedied at all?"

Declan scratched his chin for a bit, his head currently located on his shoulders, to not scare away the other council members. After a few seconds of thought, he brought his hand back down.

"I believe nothing is of immediate concern. The security around Bastion City may not be the tightest, but it is adequate.

"The patrol runs are well structured, to the point I wonder if the councilman was the one to plan them. But I have yet to meet all his subordinates, so I cannot comment on this yet.

"He had some engravers and enchanters look at the rune barrier we had on the inner wall, and had it reproduced for the outer wall, so the city is defensible in case of a large-scale attack. But I don\'t know how well the transcription was done, I have yet to examine it with the original engraver."

Phoenix nodded at him.

"I\'ll have Malador summoned, so he can inspect it with you. Although this might make him grumpy."

Declan waved his hand in dismissal.

"Not a problem. I have dealt with grumpy old men before. Now for the other defences measures that were put in place, I believe there are quite a few things that need fine-tuning, but nothing too major."

Phoenix nodded in approval. Declan only had a few days to go over mountains of paperwork for the last years that the previous councilman was in place, and the progress he had made was already impressive.

She couldn\'t fault him for not being completely on top of the matter yet.

"One thing does make me curious, though. How did he plan on powering up the outer barrier? Hell, we barely got the inner one to power up last time, and it was thanks to Astaroth\'s massive mana pool."

Leon opened his mouth to answer, but the old mage from the mages\' guild cut him off.

"Lady Phoenix—"

"It\'s Queen Phoenix," Phoenix cut him off.

Her stern gaze on the old man did not offer him a chance to slither out of this one. Even if he disliked calling an Abnormal royalty, he would have to come to terms with it, and fast.

"My apologies, Queen Phoenix. As I was about to say, the mages\' guild has taken the barriers, both inner and outer, in charge.I think you should take a look at

"The Mages\' guild has access to many large mana crystals, a few of which were traded with the kingdom, in exchange for my position here. The crystals are already in place to power up the barrier at a moment\'s notice."

Phoenix hadn\'t seen that in Leon\'s notes, and when she turned at him with a questioning gaze, his shamed head scratching gave her the answers she wanted. He had forgotten.

It was surprising that Brienne hadn\'t been in on that loop, but it seemed the matter was another problem altogether. Brienne leaned in next to Phoenix, whispering into her ear.

"My Queen. Leon asked me to wait before jotting that matter down because he wanted to tell you himself. It seems he was taken short by the mages\' guild representative here."

Phoenix sighed, giving a curt nod to Brienne, before giving a disapproving look to Leon.

Leon lowered his head apologetically, before giving a stink eye to the old mage.

\'He ruined my surprise…\' he thought.

But the old mage seemed unfazed by the dirty look and kept eye contact with the queen.

Phoenix jogged her memory, trying to remember the old man\'s name, and it came to her.

"Lord Argos Thornwood, I think you shouldn\'t flaunt around that you got here by purchasing your place. It reflects poorly on your motives."

"Please, my queen. Argos is fine. I am no noble. As for your wise words, I shall remember them. But I was not flaunting, only stating facts. Facts are all that matter to me."

"Very well, Argos. I am pleased to see that your guild has taken charge of them, but one thing troubles me. What if the mages\' guild told you not to activate them as we are attacked? Would you obey them?"

Phoenix\'s words were cutting. Closer to being interrogative, than simply questioning.

The old mage caught on to the general feeling in them.

"I think there is a misunderstanding at play here, your highness. The guild\'s duty is not to activate or not the barrier. We simply furnished the crystals and do maintenance on them, for a fee, of course. We do not hold any more power over them or the barrier they maintain. Does that reassure you?"

Phoenix looked at him inquisitively, but she sensed no malice from him. It seemed he was telling the truth.

She turned her head slightly behind herself, looking at Brienne, who nodded once, and then at Leon, who did the same. Their confirmation eased her worries a bit.

Even with this large of a city, Phoenix couldn\'t consider things safe. She doubted the Native adventurers would sacrifice themselves if another guild siege ever happened, and she was fearful that the barrier wouldn\'t activate due to bribes or such things.

But the reassurance that the mages\' guild held no sway over the defences of the city relaxed her a bit. She locked her gaze on the mage once more.

"Then, if I may ask, what purpose do you have in the council, Argos?"

The smile that flashed on the old man\'s lips told her he had been waiting for this question.