William couldn't say he had mastered every subject of study available at the guild, but he knew his studies were sufficient. That is, enough to satisfy the experts in each field. William didn't believe that anyone could master more than one or two fields. This was because, to truly master a field, one would have to fully understand it, which would lead to new understandings of where the field could go. Thus, mastery wasn't something you could just spend a period of time on and then be done. It was an ongoing process, and no matter how much of a genius someone was, they only had so much time. Though it was possible to make advancements in several or even many fields, at some point there would be a lack of understanding in some aspects. Thus, what the position of Archmage required was not true “mastery” but just sufficient understanding of every aspect of the guild. After all, the Archmage was responsible for overseeing the different areas, and that required an understanding of everything. At least, to do the job well. Though leadership skills could take one a certain distance, that alone was not enough.

Although he was confident of his ability to gain the approval of the guild, it wasn’t so simple that he could be careless. William needed to devote his time and energy to be sure of good results. Even though appointing an Archmage would be beneficial to the guild, William didn’t think that they would let someone unqualified take the position. He certainly would hope they wouldn’t, even if it meant he somehow couldn’t get the position. Therefore, he should have been devoting all his concentration to the matter, but he couldn’t help thinking about what the demoness had said.

From her words, he shouldn’t be able to comprehend magic without the ability to sense mana. At least, that was what he surmised from what little she had said. He didn’t know why that was though. After all, much of magic was just knowledge about the world and how things interacted. Math, physics, chemistry, and their applications to the world. William of course didn’t understand the feeling of doing magic, but he understood what he would be able to accomplish with it. However, William knew that understanding magic wasn’t just limited to those who could sense mana, so there must be something more to it. William wanted to know what it was… and fortunately, would not have to wait long. He soon received a scroll directing him to another meeting place, and though the meeting would be almost a year later, that was much sooner than the previous gap.

In the meantime, though, William had to deal with more than just his curiosity. In addition to the official trials, William had to face opposition from wizards who opposed him becoming archmage. Among them was Geoff, who still didn’t get along with William. Although he was opposed by some, William was still a popular choice, since he had demonstrated more than sufficient ability. Though he had opposition from various parties, there wasn’t anyone else qualified as a candidate, and the general population of the Ostana Wizard’s Guild would rather have an Archmage. Thus, William was still fairly confident in his chances, though of course he wouldn’t be able to do it alone.

One potential problem could arise if anyone found out that he was meeting with a demon. William had already prepared a truthful, accurate statement to explain. All of the demon’s spies in human territory were human, why wouldn’t the human’s spies in demon territory be demons? Of course, just because he had a logical and true response didn’t mean that the situation would go over well. Public opinion didn’t always conform to such silly things as logic. Thus, William would take precautions to avoid being discovered. He expected the demoness would be able to tell more easily than him if he was being followed, but he also didn’t want there to be any misunderstandings on her end.

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On a less stressful note, William was happy to see that some of his friends had children. He found that he rather enjoyed acting like an uncle, something he hadn’t had a chance to experience in his first life. Marius and his wife had three children, two boys and a girl. Surprisingly… Lila and Gerald had one boy. William was happy about this second one, since it meant that Lila at least stopped going out to fight monsters for a few years. If magical talent was genetic, William thought the world would be better off if she had a few more… but it wasn’t genetic, and it also wasn’t any of his business. William himself… had no children, and he didn’t foresee any possibility of that unless there was some major change to his life in the near future. Although he loved seeing the smiling faces of his “niece” and “nephews”, he always inevitably thought of the future.

Eventually, after about 5-10 generations, if these family lines continued, they would be around for the return of the Demon King. It was comforting to think that there would likely be some people who took planning for that threat seriously, if the children turned out like their parents. However, it was also disheartening to know that eventually, they would have to experience it. William had not yet experienced a war, but just thinking about the upcoming one was dreadful, and facing the actual Demon King… it was hard to comprehend. Thus, William was both happy and sad that he had no children of his own. He didn’t know if that was better or worse for the future, or even if it would make a difference. He wished he could be around for all those years, watching over the world that he felt responsible for. However, all he could do was his best while he was alive, and hope it was enough.