"Three months had passed since the last Black Tide."
"On Puji Island, from O'Brien Mansion to the North District docks, from Green's General Store to the Yang-Parnell Inn, the damage inflicted by that Black Tide had yet to fully subside throughout the streets and alleys of Beta Town."
"'The price of live frogs has risen by 120 percent compared with a month ago!' Marilyn Curie, a witch who had married into the North District, waved her arms furiously at reporters. 'Genie's Hut had originally agreed to let us use rats as substitutes for spellcasting, but for some reason they changed their minds and revoked the order... Without frogs, I can't even do the housework! But if we buy frogs, we won't be able to afford bread for our next meal!'"
"Genie's Hut was a small wizarding organization located in Beta Town North District. Before Ms. Colmar de Genie became an Archwizard, the Hut had been little different from the dozens of magical study rooms, large and small, scattered across the North District."
"'It has effectively replaced even the Beta Town Management Committee and First University's influence in the North District,' a wizard close to First University's decision-making circle privately revealed to reporters. 'The school? Of course the school is deeply worried about this... but we have more important matters to handle.'"
(For the "more important matters," please see the in-depth investigation column on Page A3: "Reform or Coup—A Glimpse of the Changes in the Class of '09 School Hunting Meet")
"Without a doubt, Ms. Colmar de Genie—better known in the North District as the North District Great Sage—bore most of the responsibility for the school's concerns. With her help, many underqualified North District Wizards learned to amplify magic by draining frogs of their life force, achieving remarkable results in the