Dimension Express and Haunted Spirit Street

Seeing that Muji was clearly unconvinced, Camille instinctively looked at Xia Xiu, a question in her eyes. She was asking whether she should tell Muji that she possessed the [synesthesia] trait.

Xia Xiu gave her a look that said she should show him what she could do.

"All right, Mr. Muji. I'll tell you right now what qualifies me," Camille said, looking at Muji seriously.

Hmph, then give me a reason I can actually accept, ribbit. Do you think everyone will fall for your looks and...

"Hmph, then give me a reason I can actually accept, ribbit. Do you think everyone will fall for your looks and..." Camille suddenly said to Muji, bobbing her head with a mischievous smile.

After a month of supernatural education, coupled with her frequent visits to the Deer College library to read supernatural books on parapsychology, Camille no longer used [synesthesia] as crudely as before.

Now, as long as she was careful, she could secretly eavesdrop on a Thaumaturgist's thoughts without being detected, just as she had done now.

"Ribbit!!!"

Muji's eyes widened. Then he abruptly summoned a Green Book whose cover depicted hands holding a square parcel, frantically raising and lowering his lineage's loudness.

Lifenel, who had been watching from the sidelines, also looked involuntarily startled. He, too, began discreetly adjusting his loudness.

Camille had already withdrawn her [synesthesia]. She was no longer a novice, so naturally she would not leave her perception there to listen to their reverberations.

"Ribbit... a Mind Mage? Ribbit! Instant activation, a trait..." Muji eyed Camille warily.

"It's synesthesia," Camille told Muji with a smile.

"Ribbit... synesthesia..." Muji's expression changed again. He quickly recalled the place the Mysterious Animal Research Club intended to model itself after and understood the source of her confidence.

"Ribbit, I understand. In that case, you're certainly qualified to be our leader." Muji put away his Green Book, instinctively wanting to distance himself from the girl smiling at him.

When facing a Thaumaturgist with a mind-probing trait, the best response was to stay away. After all, no one could keep their lineage fluctuating twenty-four hours a day.

The slightest lapse would allow the other person to probe their thoughts.

"So, is there anything else we need to discuss? How to allocate grade points, for example?" Camille then asked the frog and the ghost.

"Ribbit, I don't have many questions," Muji said, shaking his head.

"Neither do I," Lifenel said quietly.

"Good. Here, both of you, sign your names on this list. I'll submit the application afterward, and the college should assign us an activity room before long." Beaming, Camille pulled the club membership list and pen she had prepared from her bag.

"Ribbit, all right."

The list and pen floated over to Muji on their own, and the pen automatically signed his name. Lifenel went next. He reached out, took the pen, and dutifully signed his name.

"Yay! That takes care of our club members!" Ushas, the Three-Eyed Girl, said happily.

"Mm-hmm." Camille nodded happily as well.

Afterward, they had a friendly discussion about the club. Camille and Ushas did most of the talking, while Muji and Lifenel occasionally chimed in.

As for Xia Xiu, he was just there to coast along!

"All right, let's leave it there. I'll fill you in on what happens next," Camille said, checking the time and deciding to end the discussion.

"We'll head off, then." After her initial excitement, Ushas, the Three-Eyed Girl, had also settled down.

"All right. See you all later." Xia Xiu nodded and said goodbye to the two girls, but his backside remained firmly planted in his seat. He seemed in no hurry to leave.

Camille thoughtfully glanced over Xia Xiu, Muji, and Lifenel, then led Ushas out of the cafe, leaving the three of them some space.

Now, only those three remained seated in the cafe.

Tap, tap, tap-

Xia Xiu rhythmically tapped his right index finger against the table before him, watching the two somewhat uneasy figures opposite him with interest.

[Dimension Express] and [Haunted Spirit Street]...

Neither of these lineage factions was a major lineage possessing the fivefold state. Their spheres of activity and influence were both very limited, so they depended heavily on diplomatic relations and personal connections.

For example, [Dimension Express] had local offices in all the Twenty-Six Nations of Youyang, as well as outposts within various supernatural powers, such as Three Portlands.

Apart from the Wand People, they were the faction most proficient in spatial thaumaturgy. However, they lacked the Wand People's clout, and their business only really flourished within Youyang.

Business was much harder for [Dimension Express] in the Diva Empire of the Northern Frontier, the Oletin Empire of the Far East, and the Aedisi Federation near the Chaos Sea.

In the first two, regulations restricted them. If they dared conduct business there, their heads would get blown off. In the last, they simply could not compete: the Aedisi Federation already had a highly developed domestic supernatural transportation industry and supply chain.

Most of [Dimension Express]'s operations also had to undergo inspections. After all, constantly traveling through the [ether sea] meant they were bound to pick up something unclean.

Incidentally, the inspecting body was the Heaven lineage, and [Dimension Express] had to pay Heaven an annual inspection fee.

As for [Haunted Spirit Street], they were faring even worse.

During Terra's medieval period, the Sanctum carried out large-scale demon-purging campaigns, wiping out many ghost factions outright.

Later, with the rise of the [Ghost Rights Movement] and the [Religious Reformation Movement], the Sanctum reined itself in somewhat. By then, however, the ghost factions had already been crushed beyond recovery.

[Haunted Spirit Street] was a product of the new era, with shallow roots to begin with.

During the previous century, they proposed a movement to revitalize ghost factions-the [Virtual Ghost Idol Movement].

Together with [Vortex Music], they shifted their focus from strengthening their own lineage to reducing the prejudice Terra's people held against ghosts, aspiring to create a supernatural idol group that would rake in money.

At the time, the leaders of the Sanctum's deliberative assembly belonged to a relatively open-minded generation, so [Haunted Spirit Street] initially developed quite well.

Unfortunately, [Vortex Music] was later suspected of spreading contaminating meme music and was shut down by the Inquisition.

That also dealt a heavy blow to their partner, [Haunted Spirit Street].

Afterward, the Sanctum's assembly changed leadership. As soon as the new leaders took office, they issued a directive that sent [Haunted Spirit Street] crashing to rock bottom: "On Further Strengthening the Regulation of Nonhuman Entities on Terra and Conducting Activities at the Margins of the Veil."

This bankrupted [Haunted Spirit Street]'s plans. Now, their situation could hardly have been more miserable.

And now, young members of two lineage factions that Heaven had put through the wringer were sitting directly opposite Xia Xiu.

How very interesting!

Tap, tap, tap-

The sound of his index finger tapping against the table continued in a steady rhythm.

The corners of Xia Xiu's mouth curled upward, while Muji and Lifenel grew increasingly uneasy. Their behavior made it clear that they knew he belonged to the Heaven lineage.

Investigating a student's lineage was hardly difficult. After all, student records were registered in Deer College's student system and were no great secret. Anyone who wanted to look could naturally find them.

(End of chapter)

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