Spirit guides

"I think we should return to the matter of recruitment. I hope Fog City will allow our Spirit Recognition to seek out prospective students freely within its borders. We are willing to pay the appropriate fees for this," Laugen said, changing the subject at just the right moment.

"Of course. But let us set aside the question of fees for now. Both the Clock Tower and Deer College belong to Lineages centered on the Blue Book. To us, knowledge matters more. We would like to spend this month exchanging ideas with Deer College on the latest research," Bathermelo replied, taking up the topic.

"It would be our honor to exchange ideas with the Clock Tower."

The two then held amicable discussions about recruitment and finally decided to begin in three days. On behalf of Fog City, Bathermelo welcomed Three Portlands.

Once their discussion was over, Laugen stayed no longer. He said goodbye to Bathermelo and took the magic circle back to Three Portlands.

After Laugen left, Bathermelo turned his gaze toward the penguin skulking in the corner.

Noticing Bathermelo's gaze, the penguin slipped his camera beneath his fluffy belly as though nothing had happened, then adjusted the bow tie on his chest. He reached into empty space and pulled out a top hat and an ebony cane, one in each hand. After bowing gracefully to Bathermelo, his entire figure slowly vanished into the void.

"What marvelous spatial travel. To move so freely in an environment with such low EVE Particles activity—the Wand People really do possess some extraordinary technology." The voice of Colin Creevey, the Clock Tower's sixth-seat lord, came from nearby.

"What brought you out? Don't you usually hole up in your painted world?" Bathermelo turned to Colin.

"A few of my students haven't quite mastered their craft. A little disturbance in the EVE Particles was enough to lock their painted worlds in place. I came out to loosen up their frameworks before they died inside their paintings," Colin said helplessly.

"That was Albert Lauengen just now, wasn't it? The head of Deer College's Unnatural Sciences Group. I've read his Seventeen Outlines on Aether Superconductivity. He's a very impressive fellow." Colin looked up at Three Portlands in the sky as he spoke.

"He certainly is," Bathermelo said, his gaze inscrutable.

"By the way, are we really going to let Deer College take Fog City's talented people away?" Colin asked, looking rather pained.

"What else can we do? Not everyone at the Clock Tower disregards bloodlines as you do. No matter how exceptional their supernatural talent, the Clock Tower's Thaumaturgists see them as nothing more than Muggles without a bloodline, unworthy of any investment of resources."

"Rather than leave them here to rot, we might as well let Deer College take them."

Remembering the arrogant faces of the Clock Tower's nobles and lords, Colin immediately agreed with Bathermelo.

Time passed quickly. Three days went by in a flash, and tonight was the night of Deer College's recruitment.

Terra Calendar 1589.2.9

Red Moon night · Foggy.

In Three Portlands' observation hall, an enormous spherical hologram floated in the center of the room. The four heads of Deer College's Esoteric Studies Groups stood beneath it alongside professors from the other study groups.

"Professor Mansur, sorry for the trouble," Laugen said to a beautiful, feminine-looking man beside him.

"Yes, I've already released all the Spirit Recognition."

"All that remains is to wait."

Three Sparrow Inn.

Xia Xiu was sipping coffee while reading a Sanctum biography. Just as he was becoming engrossed, the envelope he had left on the table suddenly floated up without a breath of wind.

Snap!

Xia Xiu closed the biography. He rose and took his coat and hat from the coat rack, then brought out a suitcase containing a few necessary changes of clothes and some money.

Xia Xiu went over to the window and opened it. A chilly breeze blew in from outside, adding a touch of cold to the room.

The envelope flew out through the window. Xia Xiu looked up at the vivid Red Moon in the night sky. A snowy owl flew toward him through the crimson glow, its white feathers flecked with numerous black spots.

It held Stephen's letter of recommendation in its beak.

Flapping its wings, the snowy owl entered Xia Xiu's room. He naturally extended his right hand, and it perched on his arm. Once settled, the owl tilted its round head and studied the young man with golden eyes.

Xia Xiu slowly took out the expensive chocolate he had prepared in advance. He unwrapped a piece and offered it to the snowy owl. The owl gave him an almost human look that seemed to say, You know how things work, kid, then happily ate the chocolate he had offered as tribute.

Burp-

After eating its fifteenth piece of chocolate, the snowy owl let out a satisfied burp and stroked its slightly swollen belly with a wing.

Then it flew onto Xia Xiu's shoulder and patted the hat on his head with a wing, as though saying, I'll look after you from now on, kid. Xia Xiu smiled, picked up the recommendation letter the owl had tossed onto the floor, and flicked the envelope with his index finger to remind it to get back to work.

Only then did the snowy owl remember its duty. It flew in front of Xia Xiu and spread its wings, and the envelope floated into the space between them.

The envelope began to burn.

Sparks from the burning envelope scattered in every direction, and a bright circular Magic Circle appeared on the floor. Its diameter slowly expanded until it measured more than a meter across. Then a gateway began to rise slowly from the Magic Circle, the Kabbalah Tree of Life engraved upon it.

Xia Xiu rubbed his chin and studied the gateway with interest.

It was merely a Portal leading to Three Portlands. What interested him was its design, which imitated the legendary Gate of Truth. Its creator must have seen the Gate of Truth before. Deer College certainly had no shortage of talented people.

The snowy owl patted Xia Xiu with its wing, then pointed at the gateway and hooted insistently, urging him to hurry inside.

"Yes, yes. I'm going."

Xia Xiu straightened the hat the owl had knocked askew, picked up his suitcase, and strode toward the gateway. Its doors opened.

Once Xia Xiu entered, the doors snapped shut and burst apart, leaving the room utterly silent.

Three Portlands · Stan Square.

An unbroken drizzle fell from a cloud-shrouded sky. A closer look revealed that the raindrops shifted between countless fantastical forms as they fell, painting the sky in intoxicating colors.

Standing in the square, Xia Xiu reached out to feel the drizzle. He gazed into the distance, where a vast urban sprawl shimmered in and out of view. Hundreds upon thousands of holographic projections appeared at street intersections, their light pulsing to rhythmic rock music.

This was Three Portlands-a supernatural enclave, a next-generation city, and a paradise for artists, writers, scientists, mages, and musicians.

The concentration of EVE Particles here really is incredible.

Hm?

As Xia Xiu immersed himself in the scenery of Three Portlands, he sensed something probing his mind.

A Mind Mage?

No, this technique is far too clumsy. All I need to do is give my Lineage a slight nudge, and I can easily counter it.

As he thought, Xia Xiu began adjusting his Lineage's loudness.

Under normal circumstances, the field surrounding a human body had a loudness of 5 dB, or decibels. Newly advanced stage-one Thaumaturgists maintained a level of 10 dB.

Every increase of 10 decibels represented a tenfold increase in volume. In other words, going from 1 decibel to 20 decibels represented a hundredfold increase.

Using the Red Book, Xia Xiu lowered his level from 10 dB to 1 dB, then abruptly cranked it up.

"Aaaah-!"

A pained howl came from the bushes ahead of Xia Xiu. He walked toward them.

Passing through the bushes, he saw an owl helplessly covering its ears. Beside it lay a girl who had collapsed to the ground, screaming.

The girl wore her hair in twin ponytails, with a pair of dowdy round glasses on her face and a dress washed pale. Her long bangs concealed her face, leaving only her perfectly shaped jawline as a clue to her appearance.

Well, there was one more thing.

The buttons across her chest were constantly struggling under an unbearable strain, ready to give way at any moment.

"Miss, casually using mind-probing thaumaturgy on another Thaumaturgist is a serious taboo, you know."

(End of chapter)