Simon, the Chairman of the Magic Tower Thesis Review Association, gazed out at the northern landscape. The air is cold, but the heat is palpable. For soon, the Empire’s greatest thesis defense is about to begin.
If it seems that the title of the Empire’s greatest has changed hands far too often over the past decade, well, that is merely a matter of feeling.
“This brings back old memories...”
Once, he had agonized over a single question. If a master’s thesis is reviewed by a doctor, and a doctor’s thesis by a chief professor or a school head... Then who reviews the thesis of a Great Mage?
That was precisely the thought that had crossed his mind when Valerius and Isaac had jointly submitted their paper. Back then, he had ceded the right to select the review panel to the Imperial family.
And the Imperial family had, in turn, thrown the matter back to the Magic Tower, resulting in the first-ever thesis defense attended by every single school head, including the Dean herself. But this defense... not even such a loophole could apply.
For the one who would normally serve as the most neutral arbiter—Dean Magarta—had, this time, sided with Grand Duke Daat. And so, the same question inevitably arises once more. Who judges the thesis of a Great Mage?