Studying Mysticism

Miles stood under the porch, carrying a bottle of milk.

"Good morning, Mr. Miles."

Lorry opened the door and greeted him with a smile.

"Good morning, Raven.

"Just call me Miles."

Miles still had two heavy dark circles under his eyes and looked utterly exhausted. His eyes were half closed, as though he might fall asleep at any moment.

He covered his mouth and yawned, then shrugged.

"Actually, I'd rather say good evening, but I was worried you might find that hard to accept.

"You know how it is."

After that little joke, Miles got to the point. "The people at the publishing house got back to me, but you weren't home yesterday evening."

Because I was attending a Beyonder gathering then... Lorry thanked him with a smile and stepped aside. "Come in. Let's talk in the dining room."

The two sat down at the dining table.

"A glass of water?"

Lorry asked quietly.

He didn't think Miles would welcome coffee or black tea at this hour.

"Thank you, but no."

Miles tapped the standard-issue milk bottle on the table twice with his knuckles and gave a wry smile. "I don't want my bladder interfering with my sleep."

"Let's talk about the underground publishing house."

He paused, then relayed their reply. "For the sake of their old acquaintance with me, they're willing to consider a sample of your work."

"You should know that underground publishers care more about profits. Unlike legitimate publishing houses or magazines, they aren't willing to spend time and effort cultivating new talent. Generally, they prefer to work with established writers and rarely accept submissions from newcomers."

"But if it doesn't pass muster..."

"I understand, Mr. Miles." Lorry looked entirely sincere.

Miles let out a relieved breath. "How much of your manuscript have you written?"

"Uh, about twenty pages. Is that enough?" Lorry asked.

"That's enough." Miles nodded firmly and explained, "You're new to the business. You're unlikely to get the chance to have an entire book printed right away."

"They'll serialize it, attaching your novel to the back of pirated newspapers. They'll give you a share of the profits based on sales and adjust the length of each installment accordingly."

"Only if it sells very well will you get a chance to have it printed as a separate book."

Lorry was somewhat taken aback.

He hadn't expected an underground publisher to have such formal procedures.

The thought passed through his mind, but he didn't dwell on it. He had confidence in the quality of Young Roselle. "Should I give you the manuscript now, then?"

"No."

Miles froze for a moment, then suddenly raised his voice in agitation. "As the veteran introducing you to this business, Raven, there's a piece of advice I must give you."

"Don't let anyone see your manuscript before it's published."

"Not even a friend!"

Mr. Miles seems to have quite a story behind him... Remembering their conversation a couple of days earlier, Lorry sobered and silently reflected.

He said nothing. Once Miles had calmed down a little, he continued, "I'll give you an address. Send your manuscript and bank account details there-preferably an anonymous account."

"They'll deposit your share of the profits directly into it."

With that, he took a slip of paper from his pajama pocket and placed it on the dining table.

"Goodbye, Raven. I need to go back and catch up on sleep."

After watching Miles return home, Lorry flagged down a carriage and gave the driver his destination. "Cherwood Borough, Gardner's Department Store."

It was the nearest large department store, though it was far from the best.

The department store with the finest quality and widest selection in Backlund was Phillips Department Store, but unfortunately, it was open only to nobles and wealthy people with memberships.

This was information Lorry had dug out of his predecessor's memories. In a sense, he could also be considered a born-and-bred local.

Three hours later, Lorry had successfully purchased everything he needed, eaten lunch along the way, and opened an anonymous account at Backlund Bank. He found a roadside mailbox and sent the manuscript of Young Roselle to the address Miles had provided, then took a carriage back to Iris Street.

After brewing himself a cup of black tea left behind by the previous tenant, he carried it to the study upstairs and continued cramming to make up for his scant knowledge of mysticism.

"This 'soundproofing' Ritual Magic is directed toward the Evernight Goddess?" Lorry checked the materials required for the ritual and found moon flower, night-scented herb, deep-sleep flower, and other such things listed.

They had been introduced in the first section of the notes as symbols of the Evernight Goddess, one of the seven deities.

"The Evernight Goddess is also known as the Mother of Concealment. Hmm, concealing sound is a kind of concealment too. That's very scientific-no, mystical."

"Which brings us to the problem: I'm not actually one of her believers..."

Lorry murmured pensively to himself and read on.

"So this Ritual Magic mainly draws on the caster's own spirituality and the meager energy contained in the materials. It doesn't require her to actually respond, and even ordinary people can try it?"

He breathed a sigh of relief and began examining the steps for performing the ritual.

"First, create a spiritual environment-hmm, this isn't strictly required, but it can effectively improve the ritual's success rate. Ordinary people should preferably choose Sunday, which symbolizes the Goddess."

"Next comes arranging the materials-two candles symbolizing the Goddess and one symbolizing yourself. After lighting them, add drops of hydrosol..."

"Finally, chant the incantation in Hermes. The incantation is as follows."

"Uh, Hermes?"

Lorry couldn't help freezing when he reached that point.

His predecessor had indeed received some education through the Wanderers Mutual Aid Association, but it had mostly been intended to help him infiltrate high society and steal more valuable things, not become a scholar.

He could only read and write Loenese.

"Good thing I bought books for learning Hermes.

"But learning a new language... uh, it looks like I won't be trying the ritual tonight." Lorry pursed his lips and expressionlessly took a thick tome from the bookcase behind him.

"Hermes: From Beginner to Master"

Perhaps this is another influence of the Emperor... Finding some humor in his predicament, Lorry opened it to the first page.

"I should have someone make me a pair of earplugs instead of relying solely on Ritual Magic..." As the clock chimed, Lorry stared blankly at the ceiling and sighed.

Learning a new language from scratch was no easy task.

He had stayed up until nearly one in the morning the night before and had only barely learned a few roots-even finding himself

feeling as though he were back in his final year of high school.

Fortunately, I don't need to become an expert in Hermes. I just need to be able to recite the incantation fluently. With that thought, Lorry yawned and struggled out of bed.

He quickly took care of his morning hygiene, picked up his coat, and headed outside.

"Sixth Avenue."

Lorry flagged down a carriage and gave the driver his destination.

Today was the day he and Detective Stuart had verbally agreed to meet, at nine in the morning. Allowing time for breakfast and the journey, leaving now would be just right.