Filling in the Blanks Is the Most Deadly Thing

Amid the Magic Association Branch President's shouting, an assistant with a freckled face and a friendly smile entered, carrying documents in one arm and a teapot in the other.

He handed the documents to Hume, poured black tea for Angell and Enlise, and even gave Enlise an extra cookie.

President Hume spread out the document.

"Hehe, let's do a little registration first!" the old man said with a beaming smile. "It's standard procedure, nothing troublesome! And if this cooperation goes well, you'll become a partner of the Magic Association and receive preferential treatment in the future."

He seemed to have completely forgotten that just minutes earlier, he had intended to scribble something on scrap paper and send Angell away.

Angell did not mind the change in attitude. As long as the matter could be handled properly, that was enough.

So there was not much to say about what followed.

Since the Magic Association was troubled by graduate employment while Angell was troubled by the Workshop's lack of staff, the two sides immediately hit it off and quickly signed an Employment Assistance Agreement.

Angell promised to hire more than fifty Magic Major graduates. Aside from the Rune Major, which he would take wholesale, he could also consider students from the Alchemy Major and Illusion Major. Students from other majors who had taken similar elective courses could also be accepted if they passed the interview.

Branch President Hume grinned so widely that his dentures nearly fell out.

In return, he stated that as long as Angell fulfilled the agreement, the Magic Association would not only waive the intermediary fee but also help Magic Gear seek tax reductions through policy. It would even purchase a certain quantity of the Magic Workshop's products—though Angell did not think that was necessary.

Branch President Hume made one final promise:

"I'll have the City of Academies send people over as soon as possible!"

"At the latest, you'll meet those adorable Rune Apprentices within a week."

Hume personally escorted Angell and the others a long way outside the association. Only after watching them leave did he return with apparent reluctance.

Even after going that far, Hume was clearly still not entirely at ease.

He turned to his assistant Will and ordered, "Go to the City of Academies yourself immediately. Send the A-level ones over first!"

The so-called "A-level" was Hume's private rating system.

Hume had privately divided City of Academies graduates into four levels:

A: Excellent grades, ordinary or poor family background;

B: Good grades, excellent family background;

C: Average grades;

D: Terrible grades, beyond saving.

In Branch President Hume's job placement work, D-level students were practically abandoned. Even if they had connections, they would be passed over. C-level students depended on that year's luck. B-level students were not usually in much of a hurry; they could be placed slowly while waiting for suitable positions. As for A-level students, they were Branch President Hume's highest priority. He usually contacted Mage Towers first and sent them there, because if people like them could not find work for a while, they might give up on the path of magic altogether.

Assistant Will naturally knew Hume's classifications, so he was extremely surprised.

"Lord Dunlop, do you think that highly of this Workshop?"

"I wouldn't say that. But with the forces behind him, keeping it afloat for half a year to a year should still be possible," Hume said in a cold tone entirely unlike before.

"Forces?"

"Didn't you notice the little girl beside him?" Hume asked.

Seeing his assistant's baffled expression, he could not help sighing. "What a blind fool."

The old mage handed his reading glasses to Will and pointed at the spot where Angell had just been standing.

Will looked through the glasses and discovered an image lingering there, one of the little girl who had followed beside the Black Robe mage.

However, compared to the real Enlise, the Enlise visible through the reading glasses was much smaller, with a broken chain hanging around her neck.

"This child is a... sacrifice?"

Will knew of this black magic. It seemed to use a child's life to fulfill one's wishes.

It was mostly something Black Robe mages did.

And Angell was indeed dressed in black robes.

Will said furiously, "How could he do something so utterly inhuman?"

"Not necessarily him. That chain carries none of his mana signature," Branch President Hume commented fairly. "And the aura on that Black Robe is purer than that of any White Robe I've ever seen." This was also one reason Hume felt quite reassured about Angell.

"But..."

"Compared to that, take a close look at what the little girl is holding."

"Isn't that a cake box... the Roy Family crest?!" Under the old president's patient guidance, Will noticed the emblem on the box. "Could it be..."

No wonder he was so shocked.

As a prestigious family, they stamped their family crest on food, clothing, and utensils. Items bearing that crest could not be casually given away; once bestowed, they carried special meaning.

—But the future Crown Princess Consort was an exception. Leisiphia had every right to be willful.

Hume did not know how Enlise had received the cake box, so he completely misunderstood the situation.

"That's right. Not just anyone can climb into the Roy House's favor. Since Magic Gear has received their support, perhaps it truly can accomplish something big!"

"But there's no need to send them the best students!" Will still seemed unwilling to let it go. "We clearly contacted several Mage Towers..."

"There's no rush on that," Hume shook his head.

He analyzed, "Those Mage Towers only agreed to take graduates because of the association's subsidies and reputation. Even if the graduates get in, they can only do odd jobs. By comparison, whatever happens to Magic Gear in the future, it has products to manufacture right now. The children can learn more there. With practical experience like that, when they later go to Mage Towers, their starting point will be completely different."

"You're using Magic Gear as a whetstone!" Will laughed.

"What whetstone? Magic Gear gets the best Rune Apprentices, while the graduates gain experience and enough money. It's a win-win!" Hume said.

Not only that, with this batch of top students leading the way, even if later C-level and D-level graduates proved unusable, Angell would presumably be too embarrassed to terminate the agreement and return them all.

This old president of the Magic Association was truly exhausting himself over the employment problem.

Hume sighed and glared at his assistant. "Stop dawdling! When I tell you to do something, go quickly!"

"Yes!"

The assistant straightened his back and replied.

Of course, even mages could not simply go somewhere with a "biu" and teleport there—Angell was an exception. Most Magic Association assistants actually came from the City of Academies and were only at the level of Magic Apprentices. They simply had good family backgrounds and could be directly placed in the association. By Hume's standards, they were B-level backgrounds.

Will, however, was A-level. Back then, Hume had kept him as his assistant because he found him especially clever. Now, most matters concerning the City of Academies were handled by Will.

Having received his order, Will packed his luggage, took the sorted student files, and prepared to head to the City of Academies.

Yet after stuffing the A-level student list into his suitcase, he paused for some reason. Then he copied the D-level student list and slipped that into his suitcase as well.

Will then left the Magic Association with those two lists.

*

Angell had no idea what happened after he left the Magic Association.

He had successfully issued the recruitment requirements today, and he was in a very good mood.

What satisfied Angell in particular was that, due to special circumstances, neither the Adventurer's Guild nor the Magic Association had charged much in intermediary deposits. Thus, the "reserve funds" he had brought with him were barely touched.

Angell used that money to take Enlise to an upscale restaurant for a meal. Then, under the excuse of buying things, he deliberately lingered until long after Magic Gear had closed before returning.

One could imagine how angry Mithril was.

Angell teleported with Enlise into the Workshop's main hall and saw that not a single lamp was lit. The entire hall was pitch-black, with only one golden eye glowing like candlelight in the darkness. The purple one was not very noticeable.

"What time do you think it is, meow?" Mithril said gloomily.

"I'm sorry," Enlise immediately apologized.

She had been thinking about the Workshop the whole way and had wanted to return early, but Angell would not let her.

Enlise had no choice but to apologize to Mithril in her heart. She had even strongly urged Angell to buy a bag of dried fish as a gift.

Now was the time for the gift to do its job!

Enlise immediately took out the dried fish. "But Mr. Angell bought you a gift... ah!"

Before she could place the offering at the Black Cat's feet, Angell took it away.

"It's getting late. Enlise, you still have school tomorrow, right?" Angell said.

He snapped his fingers toward the stairs, and a string of glowing orbs lit up above the railing, gently illuminating Enlise's path back to her room.

Enlise looked helplessly at the light orbs, then at Angell and Mithril. "But..."

"Hmph, meow. You go sleep first!" Mithril said as well.

Its eyes remained fixed on Angell.

Enlise felt very uneasy about this, but after thinking it over, she decided that Mr. Angell and Mr. Black Cat would not actually fight over such a small matter. So she obediently returned to her room.

The light orbs went out behind Enlise.

Once Little Enlise had returned upstairs, the hall was once again swallowed by darkness.

Angell had no intention of turning on the lights. He could not even be bothered to find a chair. Instead, he sat directly atop the nearest Game Table and casually tore open the bag of dried fish that should have belonged to Mithril.

"Enlise actually wanted to buy this for you. She really is a good child, isn't she?" Angell said, tossing a piece of dried fish into his mouth.

Then give me the dried fish, meow!

The Black Cat's whiskers trembled. It turned away haughtily. "I'm a Synthetic Beast. I can go without eating!"

Angell completely ignored Mithril's reaction and merely asked:

"So, what is the deal with the chain on Enlise?"

Mithril's ears twitched.

"What chain?" Mithril asked with innocent confusion.

Angell did not expose its act. He only slowly chewed the dried fish while looking at the stairs Enlise had just climbed.

Silence lingered in the darkness for a while. In the end, Mithril was the first to surrender.

"I'm only a cat, meow. My duty is to assist with the operation of Magic Gear," Mithril said vaguely, though it knew Angell could understand. "As for what methods the master wishes to use to operate the Workshop, or what he wishes to sacrifice, I cannot interfere."

"Even if he decides to fall into hell?"

"Even if he decides to fall into hell."

After hearing the Black Cat say that, Angell did not ask anything further.

He silently tore apart the paper bag in his hand, grabbed a large handful of dried fish, and lifted it behind him.

A huge golden eye, like a lantern, moved closer. Clear chewing sounds echoed through the air.

"Too little," Mithril complained.

"It's only an appetizer," Angell replied. "There'll be a feast later."

Angell's "later" turned out to be another three hours. Mithril finally confirmed that its master had no concept of time.

They waited until late at night.

When the entire street had sunk into darkness like the hall, someone knocked on the door.

"Excuse me, is anyone there?" a stiff female voice asked.

Her voice sounded somewhat familiar. "I'm from the Adventurer's Guild. According to the Intermediary Agreement, we've brought the attendants and cleaners you requested for you to choose from!"