Stealing Your House
There were visible social circles at the banquet. At several tea tables in the innermost circle, a few people remained seated in the places of honor. Others gathered around them to chat for a while, then shook hands and dispersed, making way for the next group. In the middle circle, servers carried wine decanters among the snack tables, and many people moved about, raising a toast now and then. As for outsiders like Xie Yu, most stood by the walls with their hands behind their backs, or paced in small steps.
No rules had been stated outright, but courtesy and decorum made everyone certain of their place. Those in the outermost circle could not talk to one another or freely take food from the tables in the middle circle. They could only wait for the servers on the perimeter to pass by with their food and wine carts. Even though there were no anti-theft nets over the tables, no fences around them, and certainly no magical restraints holding anyone in place, the subtle atmosphere restricted everyone's movements.
After Kaiming finished talking with the tall blond man, he left the innermost circle. He seemed to have no particular goal after that, and began wandering around the banquet hall, eating and drinking and joining circles that looked vaguely familiar at random. Once he had made himself a familiar face, he would leave.
At last, Kaiming seemed to be done. Amid a chorus of toasts, he raised his index finger and gave Xie Yu a "one" gesture, then followed it with a "nine."
One seemed to mean that Xie Yu needed to extricate Kaiming and arrange his schedule or something along those lines.
But nine... Xie Yu seemed to have forgotten. He blinked and tried to remember.
Fortunately, he had help. The [gentle fountain pen (Affection 100)] clipped to his breast pocket reminded him:
[Nine means retreat. Gather everything and prepare to leave.]
My ability is really convenient!
Even without aiming for the guide rewards, just considering the benefits of making friends with objects, he could use them to seek out secrets or help him remember things.
Xie Yu stepped forward to help Kaiming extricate himself and retrieved their hats, and the two left the banquet venue.
"Let's go. Thanks for waiting so long." Kaiming put on his coat in the cloakroom.
"I thought you would wait for the main meal to be served." Xie Yu looked out the window. Judging by the position of the sun, it was almost lunchtime.
"Ahem, I came on short notice today and didn't plan to stay for the meal. You know, time is always precious to a magician," Kaiming said with perfect assurance.
The real reason was that he hadn't received an invitation, and no seat had been reserved for him. But there was no need to tell his young assistant that.
Xie Yu had more or less guessed, but he didn't expose him. He asked:
"The sun is shining today. Shall I carry your cloak for you?"
Kaiming raised an eyebrow and smiled.
"How thoughtful. I'm beginning to wonder if you took courses at some butler training academy. No joke, I'm more and more convinced you were born for my line of work."
Thoughtful? No, I'm only keeping my promise to the [shy cloak], Xie Yu thought.
"I look forward to becoming a magician like you," Xie Yu said.
After stepping off the [soft oversized wool carpet (Affection 20)] and leaving the [arrogant and taciturn administration building (Affection 5)], Xie Yu looked back at those fellows, feeling somewhat helpless.
During the wait earlier, he had actually tried to befriend these enormous fellows.
He had hoped that, like the [auditorium lacking a father's love], they might be able to eavesdrop on important conversations inside. After all, according to what Kaiming had revealed earlier, there were quite a few important figures at today's banquet.
There were people connected to grading the major exam, people connected to the provincial education department, and many local magicians from Black Pine City, including senior academy officials and numerous alumni who had come to join the fun.
If he could befriend the building and the banquet hall carpet directly, the rewards would be considerable.
Unfortunately, they had seen much of the world and had high standards, so progress was slow. Xie Yu had also been somewhat constrained inside. The carpet wanted him to "walk over the itchy spots," but he couldn't do that. If he went too far in his befriending, someone might notice and throw him out.
This also showed Xie Yu some limitations of his ability. Spending a long time together and having a sufficiently relaxed environment were very important for攻略; a brief meeting greatly limited what he could do.
Unless the initial Affection was already high... Judging from the rewards for befriending the [shy cloak] and [The Petulant Test Paper], the pattern of rewards for maximum Affection seemed fixed. If he gained extensive befriending experience and obtained [friend of XX] enough times, his initial Affection could accumulate to a very high level. It wasn't impossible that he could even reach maximum Affection the moment they met.
On the way back, Xie Yu thought as he walked.
Perhaps one day, when he had fully mastered his ability, an enemy would come to fight him, and with a single word he would make all the clothes and trousers on the enemy's body switch sides, while the enemy's staff, hat, and sealed artifacts all submitted to him... Xie Yu began to fantasize.
From that perspective, among the currently popular fields of magic, the field of sealed artifacts might suit him quite well. But he hadn't seen an actual sealed artifact yet, so he didn't know whether he could befriend one the same way he did an ordinary object.
He had to take it one step at a time. Next, perhaps he could start by befriending Kaiming's clinic.
"Why are you grinning like an idiot?" Kaiming looked at the youth beside him.
"I'm not. I was practicing a standard smile for social occasions," Xie Yu argued.
"You do need more practice, then. Sometimes a smile works better than magic." Kaiming nodded.
On the way back, Kaiming didn't visit his teacher again and left directly through the main gate.
Pointing at the academy, Kaiming made Xie Yu a rather proud promise:
"As long as you work hard, I can write you a recommendation letter and recommend you for admission here. My alma mater is pretty good, much better than the 'sixty-point academy' in your little country town. I remember I got in with a score of seventy-three. Actually, my score was barely enough to get me into a provincial-level academy, but North Plains Province is too big, and the provincial capital, Mirror Lake City, was simply too far away. So I stayed in Black Pine City, and twenty years have passed since."
Every town of any decent size was guaranteed at least one magic academy, which also trained adult independent exam candidates. They were called sixty-point academies and supported the kingdom's policy of guaranteeing sixty points. But there was no guarantee of the quality of education at these places. It was perfectly normal for an entire academy to have only one or two magicians.
He seemed a little reflective, and the subject wandered beyond his control.
"Actually, staying here isn't bad either. Magicians are still held in awe. My clinic may be old, but I've actually made plenty of money. It's just better to let it stay a little run-down. It gives it more of an air of mystery. And as you know, business isn't good for magic doctors these days. Keeping it a little run-down... also saves me a lot of trouble."
Trouble from others in the same trade? Xie Yu listened intently.
Only when Kaiming had finished speaking did he ask about something he was curious and concerned about:
"A letter is enough to get me admitted?"
"Not yet, but it will be this summer. I didn't come here today for nothing." Kaiming smiled confidently, without going into much detail.
"You're still young. You don't understand how much a letter is worth. In the world of magicians, recommendation letters are the proper path. Exam scores are just an unorthodox shortcut."
According to Secretary-General Fry's promise, he could take up the post of mental health supervisor at Black Pine City's Mountain Rock Magic Academy. There was a subtle rivalry between the two academies, and his appointment would raise his "alumni value" at Forest Academy by a notch.
Afterward, Kaiming generously treated his assistant to lunch at a restaurant in the city.
The two returned to the clinic.
[The book-loving three-story wooden house (Affection 30) is looking forward to your arrival:]
[Hey, you're finally back. The room with the best light and ventilation here is the one on the southeast side of the second floor. I've thought about it for a long time, and I think you'd be very comfortable living there.]
Kaiming went to check the mailbox by the door and took out two message slips. He showed them off to Xie Yu.
"We were only gone for a little while, and we missed two patients. It's time to get down to work, Mr. Assistant. I'll start by teaching you how to file patient records."