Elf Girl Emilia had no intention of staying long in Randall River Valley tonight:
"Tonight, it's my turn to sort out the Luku Bird feed. If I sneak out and don't hurry back, I'm afraid I'll be working until dawn and still won't make it back to the dormitory. Then Aunt Susan from the sixth circle dormitory will scold me first thing tomorrow morning."
A worried expression appeared on her pretty face. After copying down the Ancient Elvish poem, Shade and Luvia watched as she rode away on her Unicorn once more. The cold wind of the winter night drifted through the branches. Her soft white figure gradually vanished, and Luvia whispered:
"I've contacted the local Correspondence Group. They told me that this Elf Miss first appeared three years ago, showing up about once a month on average. I checked the local records, and nothing significant happened here three years ago. She must have discovered a 'passage' that has existed since a very distant age."
"Giving herself one day off every month?"
Shade muttered. As he considered what it would mean to have a "passage" allowing him to travel to Saint Byron's whenever he wished, he unconsciously began missing the ladies of the Fifth Epoch who still missed him.
Starting this Tuesday, the following few days were rather quiet. Miss Benanis's Followers went to investigate the whereabouts of those three auction items. Luvia, who had obtained clues regarding the Words of Sublimation, was busy planning how to acquire her Spirit Rune. Miss Lathers was even busier retracing her father's path, to the extent that Shade often could not find her at the Wilde Opera House.
Of course, Shade had not been completely idle during that time. Queen Diana invited him to Tobesk, where he attended the wedding ceremony of a