Then, following the same entrance procedure as before, Alex made his way into the headquarters, ready to uncover the truth.
"Come on in, most of the others are already here, just waiting for you, the main event," the Ashwinder called out as he leaned halfway through the doorway, waving at Thunderbird.
"Hurry up and get inside."
But Thunderbird stayed put, blocking the entrance.
He saw right through Ash Snake's trick-he just wanted to get him to step inside willingly.
And if he did, Ashwinder would probably take the chance to toss him into the middle of some remote desert just for laughs, as was typical at these meetings.
"Really? Do you think I'm that easy to fool?"
The highest seat in the middle was empty, reserved for the Horned Basilisk. Though their leader never appeared year-round, a seat was always kept for him to show respect during meetings.
Facing that seat, the two spots on the right we're now vacant; those belonged to Thunderbird and Black Dragon. The two seats on the left we're already taken by Golden Snidget and Phoenix.
Next to Phoenix, moving leftward, sat the Acromantula, who oversees the Italian branch. This witch has a close relationship with Phoenix; both belong to the club's conservative faction and are regarded as former saints.
Like the Sphinx, the Horned Water Serpent, the Diricawl, and several other Silver Wands, she is a former Thunderbird student.
Beside her sat the Horned Serpent, responsible for Eastern European branches like Poland and the Czech Republic. He, along with the Sphinx, is part of the conservative faction, but Alex learned from the Sphinx that the Horned Serpent harbors some hidden resentment, though he never shows it.
Next to him was the Sphinx, who oversees Egypt, though that seat is currently vacant, much like the Black Dragons.
Other members included Manticore, in charge of the Spanish and Portuguese branches; Darkwaja, who leads the Turkish branch; and Vasculus, responsible for the Greek branch. These members rose through the ranks after the club was established and have some ties to the former saints, but not strong ones.
The last was the Augurey, who handles Nordic affairs. Though she was promoted later than others, she's considered a veteran within the club.
She hadn't become a spear earlier mainly because Thunderbird preferred to keep her close. After Thunderbird left for America, she earned her position as a spear by successfully recruiting Azalea, a spy for the club.
A supporter of Thunderbird and one of the club's more radical members, she was the first to nod at him when he entered the room.
After surveying the crowd, Thunderbird walked over to the first sofa on the upper right and sat down slowly, never uttering a word to those before him.
Among the Silver Wands, relationships are complex; though they belong to the same group, everyone remains cautious of one another, even where ties are relatively friendly.
Notably, the Ashwinder who led Thunderbird in didn't take part; he was, simply put, just a janitor. Although his rank wasn't low, he wasn't qualified to take part in the club's decision-making.
Still, because of his unique position, he was aware of many things.
"Since everyone's here, let's officially start this meeting," Golden Snidget said calmly as he watched Thunderbird take his seat.
When the Horned Basilisk wasn't around, Golden Snidget usually hosted the meetings.
No sooner had he spoken than Phoenix, sitting beside him, chimed in.
"We all know each other we'll enough, let's keep this quick. I'm sure everyone has important things to do."
Then, turning to Thunderbird across from her, she said sharply,
"I heard you messed up the British mission. That's not like you. Care to explain?"
Thunderbird snorted coldly at the accusation.
"Britain's defeat wasn't because I messed up. You're the ones who misjudged the situation there."
"What do you mean? The decision to set up a transfer station in the UK was made at the last meeting. You agreed to it back then. Why are you blaming us now?"
Phoenix's tone was aggressive from the start, but it made sense. Her subordinate, Occamy, had died in England, and her precious Ghoul Bag was lost-both heavy losses she held Thunderbird responsible for.
Just as Phoenix raised her voice at Thunderbird, Golden Snidget stepped in to ease the tension.
"I don't think Thunderbird is trying to blame anyone. He called for this extended meeting to explain everything, didn't he?"
Ashwinder pouted, clearly bored when he saw Thunderbird wasn't budging.
Still, he didn't push further and obediently stepped out of the doorway.
Seizing the moment, Thunderbird grabbed Ash Snake's shoulder and sneered coldly.
"Dogs can't change their habits, and you're no different."
"Hiss, you should be a bit nicer!" Ashwinder grumbled, clearly unhappy, but he reluctantly led Thunderbird inside the headquarters.
Inside, the main hall-the big indoor duel arena-was still empty.
The others must have stayed in the reception room for now.
"Did all the warding make it this time?" Thunderbird asked as he took the lead and hurried in, not forgetting to check with Ashwinder.
"I'm not your secretary," Ashwinder replied with a slight edge.
Despite his annoyance, he noticed Thunderbird acted as if he owned the place, and anyone who didn't know better might assume Ashwinder was just his assistant.
But knowing Thunderbird's temper, he didn't bother arguing and just smiled casually.
"Everyone who should be here is here. Those who aren't still haven't shown up. You know their situations better than I do."
Thunderbird caught the meaning behind Ash Snake's words.
"That Sphinx guy still hasn't come to the meeting? It's been a while since he reported back to headquarters."
"Honestly, I think it's time to strip him of his spear status."
"Hey, he's our main source of funding. The leader won't agree, but besides the Sphinx, the Black Dragon guy didn't show up and asked you to represent his opinion," Ashwinder said with a helpless shrug.
Thunderbird nodded in understanding upon hearing this.
Black Dragon had been handling North American affairs alongside him all along.
The group of Silver Wands, led by Phoenix and Golden Snidget, we're all conservatives.
They'd long since abandoned the ideal of sainthood and we're now focused on how to maintain eternal life.
Their goal was to split Germany and establish a breeding park.
Sir Merlin Bloc feared these former saints might spark a new revolution, but what they didn't realize was that the conservatives wanted to split Germany simply to secure a territory.
With that base, they could breed magical creatures independently and aim for sustainable, long-term life.
The former Thunderbird and Black Dragon hoped to restore the Saints Society's glory and break free from the secrecy laws, but they couldn't fully control the club's direction.
Golden Snidget and Phoenix's ideas clearly aligned more with the Horned Basilisk's interests.
Still, they supported creating self-sufficient breeding parks and expanding smuggling routes for magical animals, since these efforts we're tied closely to their livelihoods.
After all, Thunderbird was in charge of the British transit station.
So, despite ideological clashes among the four veterans, their core positions remained fairly unified.
Having sorted through this information in his mind, Alex fully embraced his role as Thunderbird and stepped into the reception room at headquarters.
The room had been rearranged slightly: several sofas we're arranged in a circle, and many people we're already seated. When Thunderbird entered, all the Silver Wands turned to look at him.
Some just glanced briefly before returning to their positions, while others gave a slight nod in greeting.