Within the Magic Kingdom, influenced by the authority held by the "Five Great Institutes," the cities where the Five Institutes were located also bore the title of the "Five Capitals."
The so-called Five Capitals were Luen Nore, home to the Research Institute; Domlia, where the Investigation Institute was located; Vanaheim of the Civil Governance Institute; Oratio of the Finance Institute; and Hemvien, where the Magic Affairs Institute was based. Their status was subtly elevated above that of other cities due to the presence of the Five Institutes, and accordingly, they bore many responsibilities that other cities did not need to shoulder.
In the imagination of many idle gossips, the Five Capitals and the Five Institutes should theoretically have governed separately, with each Gem Scepter controlling her own city and authority, standing in rivalry with the other holders of power. In reality, however, due to certain administrative conveniences, aside from the two outliers—the Investigation Institute and the Research Institute—the other three institutes all established branch offices in other cities.
After all, whether civil governance, finance, or magic affairs, the matters they managed were closely tied to the Magic Kingdom's daily administration. Even a Research Institute stronghold like Luen Nore had need for people to handle such matters.
Although the magical girls of the Research Institute could ignore such distinctions in responsibility and overstep their bounds within this city, and the other three institutes could do little about it, having an official title and preserving some face was still better than offending one another. Thus, Luen Nore also had offices belonging to the Civil Governance Institute, Finance Institute, and Magic Affairs Institute.
On a fine day with clear skies, the branch office of the Luen Nore Magic Affairs Institute welcomed a group of "guests" it had long been awaiting.
To the Magic