"Tick-tock----"
"Tick-tock----"
In the quiet library, the clock on the table chimed softly, and as one of the hands gradually reached the position marked by the gold wedge on the outer edge, a crisp sound rang out.
"Ta-da!"
A hand emerged from the black, ruffled sleeve and pressed down the button on the clock, stopping it from chiming.
Sylutia checked the time; it was already dawn, seven in the morning, and the windows outside were covered with a layer of white.
"How quickly the night has passed," she thought to herself, then tidied up the books that were open in front of her and returned them to the bookshelf.
During her days in the library, she barely slept. Fortunately, after reaching the Sixth Order, her mental state was excellent. Even if she didn't sleep for three days and three nights, she wouldn't feel tired, unless she used energy-consuming spells or presided over large-scale rituals.
As she stepped out of the library, the morning breeze rustled through Sylutia's black sleeves and skirt, bringing a touch of coolness. These past few days, while researching at the Glass Academy, she hadn't been wearing her usual Silver Radiance Church uniform, but instead had changed into a less conspicuous black dress.
The long sleeves with black lace embellishments and ruffles, paired with soft and lightweight fabric, accentuate a beautiful figure with their simple lines.
After reviewing the materials in the library, Sylutia felt much more at ease. Although she might have to confront the Phantom Black Rabbit " in the future, considering that the other party could not truly wield the power of the Hour Radiant Moon, the danger and pressure she faced were much less.
However, isn't it a bit too early for her to compete for the position of Hour, considering she's only at the Sixth Order?
With a slight lift of her finger, shielding her eyes from the somewhat dazzling sky, Sylutia looked at the partially overcast weather and felt a little stifled.
She dislikes cloudy days; they feel in a limbo. She feels much better on sunny or rainy days.
Come to think of it, she had never experienced such a long cloudy day when she was a child. The First Continent did not have Season of Sinking Fog; at most, there would be continuous torrential rain during the Gale Season, but it would not sink into the clouds and fog of the Twilight Sea.
Thinking about it this way, the inhabitants of the First Continent were truly fortunate.
Upon returning to her temporary lodgings, Sylutia found Camilla still asleep. The Blood Clan princess had recently been taking extra classes at the Glass Academy, but she preferred to go out in the afternoons and evenings, sleeping in her bedroom during the mornings.
Reaching the bedside, Sylutia looked at the sleeping Camilla and touched her cheek with her finger; it was slightly soft.
Upon closer inspection, Camilla is the kind of beauty who has fully blossomed. Her figure is well-developed, her legs are long, her face has clear and elegant features, and her hair, simply styled upwards or to the side, exudes a proud and noble aura.
Judging from appearance, Camilla is probably several years older than Sylutia, looking like a human woman in her early twenties. Among all the female companions Sylutia knows, only Dorothy has a more mature temperament and figure than Camilla.
No, no, Amisha is similar to Dorothy, except that this doctor's attire isn't as daring as Dorothy's; her style is more understated.
Next up are Aurora and Amelia, both of whom look to be around 18 years old, but have very different personalities. Finally, there's Lovier and herself; both of them look quite young, and standing together they resemble a young sun and moon.
As Sylutia's thoughts drifted through her mind, Camilla seemed to sense something, slightly opening her eyes to find Sylutia standing in front of her. She then made a soft sound, turned slightly under the covers, and continued sleeping against the pillows.
Seeing this, Sylutia smiled and gently stroked Camilla's hair, tidying her up a bit before getting up and carefully closing the bedroom door.
She's going to get something to eat now, and then go see Amelia.
In recent years, she had been busy with the affairs of the Silver Radiance Church and had seen the blue-haired girl in the library much less. Since she finally had some free time this time, it would be a shame not to go and see her.
Two hours later, Sylutia arrived at the Great Library of the Thetis Academy. She didn't see Amelia in the lobby, and after inquiring a little, she learned that Amelia had been transferred.
"Does anyone know where she is?" Sylutia asked the staff member in front of her curiously.
"I don't know. Miss Amelia's identity is very special, and we can't find out anything about her."
"Oh, I see." Sylutia didn't press further, but instead went to the closed upper level of the library, where Amelia used to live.
Although ordinary people cannot enter, the restrictions here are not a problem for her; she can pass through easily.
Upon reaching the upper level of the library, Sylutia immediately spotted the figure leaning over the table. Her beautiful, blue hair spread out like a floral vine, mostly covering her white dress. Occasionally Sylutia wondered if Amelia would trip over her hair while walking, but the other woman seemed to take good care of it, keeping her hair length just touching her ankles.
" Amelia," the girl called softly, then walked over.
At this moment, Amelia, who was lying on the table, slowly woke up, propped herself up, and then opened her eyes wide, looking at Sylutia was approaching in surprise.
" Tia, what brings you here today?"
"Uh, is that strange? I just happened to be doing some research at the Glass Academy recently, which isn't far from here, so I came to see you," Sylutia replied.
"Hmm." She pressed her fingers lightly against her cuff, lowered her head, and looked at herself.
"Um, excuse me, I'll go take a shower first and then come see Tia." With that, Amelia jogged away and hid in her secluded little hut.
Seeing this, Sylutia tilted her head, then realized why Amelia had been acting so strangely earlier.
Perhaps she felt embarrassed by her own sloppiness.
Looking back, Amelia was very naive and had no idea how often it was normal to take a shower. Since she stayed in the library all the time and didn't go out or exercise much, she hardly sweated and was always clean. In fact, a normal person wouldn't notice anything wrong with that.
However, in the past few years, having been exposed to a lot of common sense, the once somewhat naive Amelia has begun to realize some of the common sense issues she previously lacked.
So Sylutia sat at the table and waited patiently for her, then looked curiously at the open book on the table, which must have been the book Amelia had been turning before she fell asleep.
The Bizarre Arts of the Twin Snake Cult: What Secrets Does This Thousand-Year- Cult Hold?
She flipped through a few pages and discovered that the book contained information about the early Ninth Era's campaign against the Twin Snake Cult. It was a compilation of materials and texts about the Cult seized by a scholar who accompanied the expedition.
The book not only introduces the origins of the Twin Snake Cult and the transmission of its main esoteric systems, but also explains in detail why this Cult has been able to continue to exist, and what its unique features and advantages are compared to other schools of thought, etc.
This book is a forbidden book. When Sylutia was flipping through it, she found many examples of secret techniques. If she read it all, she could master several of them.
These kinds of books are generally not open to the public, because if the knowledge contained within is used by people with ulterior motives, it could cause enormous harm.
Faced with such highly dangerous books, the Mage Alliance usually seals them away deep within the library, allowing only those with permission to view them. However, outside the Mage the Alliance, some organizations do not believe in this method of sealing; they prefer to do something else entirely: burn such forbidden books to erase their historical traces.
Sophitina, a friend whom Sylutia had met in the Woodland, belonged to such an organizational school, known as the Librarian School.
Unlike typical scholarly organizations that disseminate knowledge, the Librarian School " was an outlier among scholars; their mission was to burn and eliminate harmful books and knowledge.
While waiting for Amelia to bathe and change, Sylutia held the book and kept turning the pages. A faint light flashed in her eyes. Her Secret Speech, " Aspect Power Rank," was in effect. Almost in the blink of an eye, she memorized the contents of a page and then turned to the next.
By the time Amelia came out dressed in her new clothes, Sylutia had already finished reading the thick book of over six hundred pages and put it back as it was.
Amelia had just finished showering, still had a faint scent of water on her body and a subtle fragrance of gardenias in her hair, probably from the shampoo.
Amelia felt much better now. She walked up to Sylutia, glanced at the girl, and a hint of approval in her eyes.
" Tia looks great in this outfit."
Her soft silver hair, paired with a black chiffon dress, and the delicate wrists half-concealed from the chiffon sleeves that resemble layered flower petals, leave much to the imagination.
"Actually, I didn't put much thought into dressing up. It's just that it's rare for me to wear my own clothes, so I specifically chose an outfit that's the opposite of what I usually wear," Sylutia recalled in her reply.
In recent years, as Saintess of the Silver Radiance Church, she has mostly worn white clothes, which has become a bit aesthetically tiring. So when she changed her clothes, it was a black dress that contrasted sharply with her silver hair, which naturally gave people a more surprising and stunning feeling.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore." The girl shook her head and asked Amelia curiously.
"How have you been lately, Amelia? I heard you're no longer the librarian."
"Yes, that's right." Amelia nodded.
"The Sage said that I can't learn anything more in the library, and that I need to explore new things."
"Oh, where are we going?" Sylutia curiously.
"Probably to the Timekeeping Department," Amelia replied without any suspicion.
" The Timekeeping Department, is it----"
Sylutia knew that this should be the most core department of the Mage Alliance. They were only responsible for one thing: transmitting the precise time to every region of the Mage Alliance, thus ensuring the normal operation of the entire the Alliance's logistics and communication, and the precise conduct of experiments.
Although the department may seem small in number, its functions are extremely important. This department has been controlled by the two major schools of Mithril Clock and Origin Hourglass for many years, and only the most outstanding students have ever been able to serve there.
It was only natural for Amelia to go to the Timekeeping Department. In fact, if it weren't for the arrival of the Plague and the return visit to the Woodland Alliance, Sylutia would probably have gone to the Timekeeping Department with Amelia around this time as well, and the two of them would have worked together.
"The sage told me that after I go there, I should prepare well, and that I would probably be appointed as the clockmaker next year or the year after."
The "Clock Adjuster" is the most important position in the Timekeeping Department. They are responsible for pressing the switch during the annual Silver Bell Festival to make the bell ring on time. Sitting in this position, they are directly responsible for the timekeeping of the entire Mage Alliance, and no mistakes can be made.
Generally speaking, only masters of the Sixth Order can hold this position. Historically, there have been occasional instances of sages holding the same position. It seems a bit premature to appoint Amelia, who is only at the Fifth Order, to this role.
However, Sylutia quickly realized why she had to do it.
As a "clock tuner," it is easy to accumulate " Secret Speech " Aspect Power through the "bell-ringing ceremony" of the Silver Bell Festival, because precise time, as a form of information and order, spreads like a code, influencing the world, which is exactly what the "path of Secret Speech " seeks.
Amelia is the "favored maiden" of the Secret Speech, and by taking on this position, she will only accumulate the power of the Secret Speech's " Aspect Power more quickly.
Presumably, in another year or two, Amelia will also be able to advance to the Sixth Order, a speed that will likely break the historical record of the Mage Alliance.
After offering her congratulations in advance, Sylutia brought up another topic.
"Has Amelia been paying attention to the Twin Snake Cult lately?" Sylutia pointed to the forbidden book on the table.
The blue-haired girl nodded, then answered sincerely, "Yes, the Sage of Shadow-Painting Sage also said that the World of Shadows invasions breaking out across the continent are becoming increasingly severe and may expand further in the future, so we'd better prepare in advance."
"High-ranking followers of the Twin Snake Cult once infiltrated the Twilight Sea to lie dormant. They were originally human, yet they were able to survive there year Twilight Sea year; there must be some special secret technique they have inherited."
"So, what is your goal?" Sylutia guessed.
"To understand how the Twin Snake Cult survived in the Twilight Sea, to find the secret methods they used to combat the erosion, and to deal with the ever-emerging Plague and the erosion of the World of Shadows." Amelia did not hide anything from Sylutia, nor did she even consider the concept of lying.
"Is that so? ---" Sylutia lowered her head and thought for a moment.
"It sounds good, but it also feels dangerous. The allure of this knowledge might be too much for many to resist." She wanted to advise the sages to be cautious, but given her current status, she couldn't persuade those highly qualified sages, whose abilities far surpassed hers.
"If only the three Your Majesties were still here, "Sylutia sighed.
"Research is fine, but you still need to be careful not to go astray. Many things start with a small opening, and then the bottom line is breached again and again." Seeing that Amelia was a little at a loss, Sylutia walked up to her, hugged her, and gently stroked her soft, long hair.
" Amelia, while knowledge itself is neither good nor evil, the choice of what knowledge to impart is a form of guidance. If you discover certain..."
The spread of knowledge can worsen the situation, so one must control oneself and prevent certain knowledge from circulating.
"People grow gradually, and one day you will become incredibly powerful, knowing how to use your vast knowledge to change the world. But when you're still unsure, you need to be careful."
"Yes, I understand." Amelia nodded slightly.
"Alright, that's all for now. I hope I'm just overthinking things. Sages are probably more mature and rational than us." With that, Sylutia her arms.
Afterwards, the two sat together and continued to reminisce. Sylutia told Amelia about her experiences traveling to various places to provide support over the past two years, and what she saw and heard along the way. Amelia also told Sylutia about many things that happened in the central area of the Mage Alliance.
By the time the two finished talking, two hours had passed without them realizing it. At this point Sylutia also got up to say goodbye.
See you next time, Amelia ~
"Goodbye, Tia." She raised her hand to bid farewell to the departing silver-haired figure, but then felt a little reluctant, and gently pressed her fingers to her chest.
Amelia stood there for a long time, regretting that she should have been bolder and invited Tia to stay for lunch. But she just couldn't bring herself to say it.