“You want to help me break my contract?” Aurelius asked in confusion.

  “Look, kid. That contract technically does not exist on Commission records.” Sage Yeltz responded, leaning back in her seat as she stroked her chin contemplatively.

  “And since the contract does not mention or account for your time loop, I can be pretty sure that you were not entirely truthful in your previous loops, am I right?” She asked, narrowing her eyes at Aurelius, prompting a flustered cough from Aurelius.

  “As you should be aware, I am a sage of the Commission.” She continued.

  “And as one of the highest figures of authority in this city, the position that I hold is almost directly under that of Archsages in the Commission.”

  “This authority gives me the power to do many things, such as represent the Commission in matters of contracts. And even contracts involving Pultris, the djinn.”

  “And the terms of this rewrite will depend on your cooperation.” She said, moving her arms out to emphasise her point.

  “Ah… Can I not take this up with another figure in the Commission?” Aurelius asked nervously.

  “Look, the Commission will have a similar reaction to me.” Sage Yeltz replied.

  “We are always quite harsh on criminal mages, or felons who misuse magic. But we are an institution built to uphold the rule of law, and to protect humanity.”

  “The Commission, nor I, can take what you just told me and chuck you in a research facility somewhere and probe your brain.”

  “At least, it would require quite a bit of paperwork.”

  “You must be wondering why I am here suggesting to you this… shady ‘deal’.” She said, raising an eyebrow at Aurelius’s nervous figure.

  “The reason is simple.”

  “The Commission saw value in you, at least when you signed your contract. Enough to warrant the use of a sealed artefact.”

  “And it seems that I am, by contract, obligated to be your mentor.”

  “So would it not make sense for us to deal directly with each other? It gives you more freedom, less surveillance, and allows me to keep things quiet in the Commission and reduces my paperwork.” She finished, crossing her arms once more.

  “You’re telling me that you’re doing this to reduce your paperwork?” Tiberius asked, a little dumbfounded.

  “...Why are you here anyway?” Sage Yeltz asked, narrowing her eyes at Aurelius’s tag-along buddy in annoyance.

  “You’re the one that kept me here against my will!” Tiberius said, slamming his fist dramatically on the table tearfully, nearly making Aurelius jump right out of his seat.

  “Ah… I thought you might be useful since you two came in together. But it seems that you’re completely unaware of anything that your friend here has said so far…” Sage Yeltz responded, scratching her chin in contemplation.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Eh, I suppose it doesn’t hurt to answer your question… And the answer lies in the structure of the Commission as an organisation.”

  “We are an entity that must be apolitical and neutral at all times. However, that does not mean that all the component individuals of the Commission are by extension, neutral.”

  “We do have a much more muted version of internal conflict compared to what can be seen in some Churches and Houses, given the bureaucratic and procedural nature of our work, but there still are places of contention within the organisation.” She continued.

  “The Commission has many factions, each striving towards different objectives and directions for the Commission, as do all organisations do.”

  “Since this ‘deal’ will require some amount of ‘trust’, I will tell you which one of these contentions I am concerned with regards to this ‘deal’.” She said, snapping her fingers, and whispering into the air once more to put up extra anti-divinations in place.

  “I want to become an archsage.” Sage Yeltz declared seriously, staring at Aurelius with narrowed eyes.

  “...” Aurelius stared at the sage with questioning eyes and slack jaws.

  “And how exactly am I going to help you with that?” Aurelius asked incredulously, backing away unconsciously from the table at the sight of this intense woman across from him.

  “Do you know how Archsages are selected?” Sage Yeltz replied with a question.

  This almost offended Aurelius. Of course he knew how archsages were selected!

  All Archsages had a tenure of 50 years, with a replacement chosen through an internal election process at the Commission amongst nominees from the existing Commission sages.

  Aurelius could still remember the last time that a selection had taken place.

  It had been around 3 years ago that Archsage Livia had been chosen to replace the previous Archsage Muera. A ceremony had been held to commemorate the new Archsage all across the world and her face had dominated the headlines for a whole month after that.

  “I think you should be aware that it is an election process.” Sage Yeltz continued.

  This simple sentence sent chills down Aurelius’s spine.

  “I could wait 7 years to become a candidate, or I could aim for the one in 2 more years.” Sage Yeltz stated matter-of-factly.

  “There is… resistance to my selection as a candidate.”

  Aurelius wondered why.

  “Their concerns are valid, sure. But as an impatient ass of a woman, I would much rather get the seat in 2 years.”

  “I have contributed much to the Commission, both in my work and in my research.”

  “If you are indeed in a timeloop, I am more than happy to utilise you as a resource to increase my contribution to the Commission in terms of research.”

  “There are almost certainly interesting things to come from collaborating with the blessed of the Lost God who is apparently stuck in a timeloop.” She finished, raising her eyebrow at Aurelius questioningly.

  “...” Aurelius stared into the distance, thinking about his options and contemplating the sage’s words.

  If she had been truthful, the sage would allow him to gain much more freedom through his loops, and allow him flexibility and resources that he had not yet had through a rework of the contract.

  At the same time, the sage was definitely quite a handful to deal with, and Aurelius would very much have liked to be rid of the contract entirely!

  “...I want the contract to be removed.” Aurelius offered.

  “That’s not possible.” Sage Yeltz countered.

  “I want the death clause removed at least!” Aurelius retorted.

  “First, you need to tell me about all of your loops in detail. Then, we can discuss the contract.” Sage Yeltz said, sighing deeply as she leaned back in her chair.

  Honestly, Aurelius found that this meeting had gone quite decently for him.

  He could win the favour of Sage Yeltz, as bad tempered as she was, and cooperate with her at the level of a ‘partnership’.

  He had not realised that the sage had motivations such as becoming an archsage, and he had come to realise the internal workings of the Commission in more detail.

  And the deal was technically not too unfavourable to him, since the terms could be discussed afterwards.

  Given how early he was in his presumably infinite loops, Aurelius had no choice but to fold his hand here…

  He ran his hand through his hair in annoyance as he contemplated his decision one final time.

  “Fine. Let’s get started.” Aurelius relented.

  “The Dean of the Sorcerous Academy of Aethernalis is a lich.”