The Ways of Magicians

Fry led Xie Yu straight through the lobby, dispensing with the identity registration and payment, then took him flying from the hotel's back courtyard into the building.

An explosive burst of flame generated power, constructing a flight spell from the fire elemental magic domain.

Although this world also had engineering designs such as Magic Power-driven elevators, they were obviously too slow, inconvenient, and inelegant for magicians. Elevators were merely an architectural compromise for ordinary people. In the days before rope-suspended elevators existed, building and living in tall buildings had been a privilege reserved for magicians.

That influence persisted to this day. Generally, only large cities or downtown areas with a sufficiently high concentration of magicians had many high-rises, even though building them had long since ceased to be difficult.

They reached the hotel's ninth floor in a single leap. The flight was over before Xie Yu even had time to feel dizzy. A magician in a red robe with gold patterns was already waiting on the terrace.

Even at night, he was formally dressed, his expression solemn, as though he were waiting there for an honored guest.

"Mr. Yize, I've brought him back," Fry said in greeting.

Xie Yu followed Fry's lead, bowing and nodding.

He saw many strange and unfamiliar things.

[The delicate Sacred Destiny Golden Sun Robe (Affection 10) is examining you curiously. It has seen your name many times today.]

[The light and graceful mentor's hat (Affection 0) is resting and has not noticed your presence.]

[The pampered, carefully nurtured magister's gold medal (Affection 0) only likes beings of magister rank or above and cannot muster any interest in you.]

The robe looked easiest to win over. Earlier, the outermost cloak on Doctor Kaiming had also been easy to win over. Perhaps being worn on the outside made them more inclined toward outgoing personalities. Besides, this robe was flashy and quite pretty.

Xie Yu unconsciously began thinking about how to win it over.

When he came to his senses, he remembered that the man standing before him was a magister who commanded powerful magic far beyond that of an ordinary magician, a person of extraordinary wealth, strength, and social standing. Winning the robe over was out of the question; without some special reason, even getting close to it would be difficult.

Besides, the matters concerning Kaiming, Wig Brown, and Sealed Artifact 3-0771 were what he needed to deal with first.

"Xie Yu, by tomorrow, many people will know your name. You may feel excited at heart, but I must tell you in advance that there is an ill omen in this. As a fellow native of Black Pine City, I'll give you this divination for free."

As soon as Yize spoke, Xie Yu felt as though he were standing outside the curtain of some fortune-telling shop. The unmistakable air of a diviner washed over him.

He stopped halfway through. Xie Yu couldn't tell whether he expected Xie Yu to ask for more or whether that was the end of his warning. Perhaps this was how diviners greeted people?

"Please, tell me more plainly," Xie Yu asked, wondering whether it might have something to do with Wig Brown.

"It's very rude to make such a request so abruptly."

Mr. Yize's words nearly made Xie Yu choke on air.

This concerns my own safety. How is it rude to ask? Are all diviners this baffling?

Fry stood behind Xie Yu and explained to him:

"With other diviners, that would be rude. Most of them can only divine that much. Their abilities fall short, so no matter how much you ask, they can't answer, because they truly don't know. But our Minister Yize is different. He's kindhearted and highly capable. He's simply teaching you the etiquette of the magical and divination fields. Child, listen carefully and learn well."

As secretary-general of the General Affairs Department, Fry theoretically ranked half a level below the head of the inspection department. But because he worked in the General Affairs Department, which oversaw operations at the core, he did not show much of the deference expected of a subordinate.

So that's how it is? Xie Yu was taken aback. What Fry said made a good deal of sense to him. The ways of getting along in the world of magicians were a field of study in themselves.

"No, Fry, my abilities fall short. That's all I managed to divine," Yize said.

This time it was Fry's turn to be taken aback. His mouth hung open, and he laughed as he tried to smooth things over.

"Minister... Minister, you truly speak frankly. Knowing for certain that some things cannot be divined is itself a demonstration of skill in divination! Ordinary diviners don't even know whether they can divine something or not. They see a vague sign and dare to talk nonsense."

Fry then turned to Xie Yu and tried to make up for it.

"Child, you must understand that this is perfectly normal. As an exceptionally outstanding candidate, the people you deal with in the future will be magisters, or even saints and sages, from high-level academies. When your fate intersects with greater fates, it's only natural that it cannot be divined. Minister Yize insists on seeking truth from facts. That is precisely the bearing of a master diviner, and worthy of our admiration."

I see. Once again, Xie Yu felt that Fry made a great deal of sense.

Yize looked at Fry, his expression unfriendly.

"No, Secretary-General Fry. In fact, all I saw were vague signs of Xie Yu's fate. Calling them bad was actually a guess. They could also be interpreted as a good omen. I may have guessed wrong."

Xie Yu was starting to feel embarrassed on Mr. Fry's behalf.

I shouldn't have asked just now!

Now look what I've done. Could the harmonious relationships between the Education Bureau's departments really be ruined just because I came here?

"..." Fry finally fell silent.

"Minister, I'll go back and rest. I'll leave the child in your care."

After he left, Yize turned to Xie Yu, his expression softening, and smiled.

"You see, it's rude to press a diviner for answers so abruptly, though I don't really mind. But trying to draw information out of a diviner is even ruder."

Draw information out of him? Was that what Mr. Fry was doing just now?

Xie Yu thought back briefly and realized it really was possible. Fry had been guiding Yize toward a particular answer. Fry had not originally known the result of the divination, but if Mr. Yize had contradicted or confirmed one of his interpretations, he would have learned something of the truth.

Xie Yu felt a headache coming on. Did even a conversation require this much care among the magicians responsible for the kingdom's affairs? Such a fierce exchange was truly beyond the likes of an ordinary person like him.

"You face ill will. Quite a few people will dislike your existence. Fry was right about one thing just now: powerful people are involved, which is why my divination is unclear. That is everything I know. Since you asked, I'll tell you." Yize paused to think, then added:

"Don't pay Fry too much mind. He's harmless. It's just that his ties of interest to certain academies make him want you to stay in North Plains Province, but that is clearly not appropriate."

Xie Yu thanked him at once.

"Your wisdom and generosity have earned my admiration."

"Sure enough, you don't admire my divination skills." Yize sighed. "It seems I really have neglected my practice in divination. Don't take offense; there are so many affairs to attend to in my position..."

I'm just a child! Don't pick apart my words!

Sweat nearly broke out on Xie Yu's forehead, and he hurriedly said:

"No, your divination skills have earned my admiration as well."

Xie Yu wondered whether to reveal what had happened with Kaiming and Wig Brown. When he had resolved to stand against Wig Brown, he had actually prepared himself to face it alone.

Winning things over was the trump card he truly relied on.

He would spend two days winning over the sealed artifact, learning more about Wig Brown, and trying to use its power by winning it over.

He would spend two days winning over the cane and obtain details and evidence of what had happened to Kaiming from it.

If Mr. Yize was trustworthy and truly kindhearted, then perhaps Xie Yu could ask such a truly great, righteous, and powerful magister to see justice done.

But he did not know Yize well. It was not impossible that Mr. Yize was the same kind of person as Wig Brown, or even worse.

The magician class's contempt for ordinary people, as described in that book, had left Xie Yu suspicious of all magicians.

Xie Yu hesitated in silence, and Yize spoke, intending to end the conversation.

"It's late. Get some rest. We can talk tomorrow if there's anything else. Perhaps my divination will be more accurate tomorrow... But is that Kaiming's cane you're holding?"

Yize had noticed the solid wooden cane in Xie Yu's hand, inlaid with a gemstone.