Chapter 27

...I was starting to wonder whether the old dean actually knew how to read those characters.

The camera panned around again. In a corner, there was even a priest from the Temple of Light, holding up a phone and snapping pictures with great excitement.

I had the urge to facepalm again. A pair of pointed ears poked out of the priest's long hair. Clearly, he was an elf. Elves living in human society were extremely rare—they hardly ever left the Elven Sanctuary, and even though humans and elves had enjoyed friendly relations for thousands of years, elves were still a rare species to the vast majority of humans. Historically, though, quite a few elves had served as clergy in the Temple of Light and the Shadow Moon Temple, and there had even been an elf who served as high priest of the Temple of Light. Although elves primarily worshipped their sacred tree and nature, they also respected and worshipped light and darkness, and that remained true in modern society.

So seeing an elven priest of light was nothing to be surprised about. Still, I figured he ought to be able to read his own race's ancient language.

Sure enough, a few Council mages ran over to ask him whether it was some kind of elven writing.

The elven priest nodded openly and seemed to say something else. The Council mages looked up at the ceiling with even greater excitement, including the five-star old man.

...I suddenly wondered what exactly that priest of light with the saintly smile had said.

The live broadcast came to an end, and the picture switched back to the studio, where the female anchor and the five-star old man resumed their conversation.

The anchor asked, "Lord Doug, were you able to understand what Archmage Mephistopheles wrote?"

The five-star old man narrowed his eyes and stroked the stubble on his chin with a short, stubby finger. Putting on an air of mystery, he said, "It concerns extremely profound magic, the archmage's own insights. Naturally, it isn't so easy to understand. Even I can only grasp part of it."

He went on, "And it's in ancient Elvish. I checked with Priest Luolan of the Temple of Light, and he told us that Mage Mephistopheles wrote something truly remarkable!"

"Wow, what did the archmage write about?" the anchor asked excitedly. "You see, we laypeople can't understand any of it. The Osland Federation has been a holy land of magic since ancient times, and whenever a new magical theory appears, everyone pays special attention. So please, explain it to us. Let those of us in the audience who long to learn magic but can't learn something too!"

"Speaking of that, this passage contains unique insights into ancient magic. To help everyone understand these profound ideas, I must first tell you about the 'Lightless Years'..."

The five-star old man was talking out of his ass again. I could hardly breathe from laughing. Heaven knew, it really was just a diary!

That elven priest named Luolan was far too good at misleading people. He hadn't lied, because elves didn't lie unless they were dark elves. You really could say Mel had written something incredible-throughout all of history, Mel was the only one who had ever written a diary in the Council Hall. But that wasn't the kind of remarkable that had anything to do with scholarship! And now everyone had photographed that diary entry and taken it back to study it as hard as they could, thinking they might find an advanced spell in it...

I was going to laugh until I cried.

I couldn't resist folding a sheet of paper into a bird and casting a spell on it, then attaching a wisp of my mental power to it. I didn't have the money to make a construct, so I could only use this sort of temporary familiar to send messages. I guided the bird and sensed Mel's location. Two mages who had once used Mind Link could locate each other very easily, and I found Mel without any trouble. He was at the five-star hotel in the center of the city, the hotel commonly used to receive important guests.

The bird flew over the city blocks, and through a window, I saw Mel bent over a desk, writing furiously. I squeezed through a gap in the window and discovered that Mel was actually drawing-

He was drawing me.

"Xipei?"

Mel looked up in delighted surprise. When he saw my familiar, he immediately held up the half-finished portrait in his hand. "What do you think? Does it look like you?"

I studied it for a moment and nodded. "It does, but my hair isn't that long."

Mel laughed. "It's art, this is art. I think your hair is too short, Xipei. You'd definitely look even better if you grew it longer."

I couldn't help touching the hair that hung down over my chest.

"Mel, I just watched a replay of today's summit," I said.

Mel's hand trembled. He quickly put down the paper and pen, and I saw a distinct flush rise to his face. He lowered his head slightly, and in the lamplight, his falling hair was my favorite color, warm and sweet. I really wanted to reach out and ruffle it.

"Mm... what did you think?"

"Mel." I summoned my courage and said, "I really like you too, Mel."

Those blue eyes lit up at once. Mel reached out and cupped my paper bird in his hands, beaming. "That's wonderful! Oh, Xipei, you're the best!"

...Stop it, how have we started praising each other again!

No, no, I sent my familiar because I had something serious to discuss. I need to tell Mel about Warden Angela's request. I didn't come all this way just to tell him I like him too. I could have said that to his face when we met.

After I relayed Ms. Angela's request, Mel raised no objection, just as I'd expected. He readily agreed to both of her requests, but told me that he didn't have a phone at all. He had never used one. Back in his teacher's tower, he, his teacher, and his fellow disciples had all used familiars to communicate. After leaving the tower, he joined the Kunlan Rangers, and because that was a war zone, the signal and internet came and went depending on where the orcs pitched their tents. The only use for a phone there was playing games to pass the time; even watching a movie involved constant buffering. So nobody used phones, and over time, it had simply stopped occurring to Mel to use one.

"That's all right. When they contact me, I'll pass the message on to you," I said.

To be honest, if I hadn't needed a phone for school and work, I wouldn't have used one either. I thought familiars really were more convenient. Phones had to be replaced all the time and charged every day, and most of the time, ten days or even half a month could pass without anyone needing to contact me by phone about anything important. Yet I still had to keep it charged and switched on. It really was a burden.

After that, Mel and I couldn't help chatting for a long time. It was nearly dawn, and my familiar was close to running out of power, so I had to say goodbye to Mel. Besides, staying up all night was a bad habit for mages. The two of us decided to stop there and go to bed.

I left Mel and rode the night breeze, weaving between the towering buildings and finding everything lovely.

As I flew past a street corner, I suddenly saw a dark figure flash by.

I paid particular attention because the figure's movements were very familiar. He looked a lot like the cyborgs we had seen in the prison. I frowned. He was running fast, and I couldn't see him very clearly, but this was the central district, where the nation's important government departments were located. Even if he wasn't a cyborg, sneaking around nearby in the middle of the night was still highly suspicious. Nine times out of ten, he was a dangerous character.

Remembering Ms. Angela's request, I turned around and followed him.

Chapter 27

The dark figure slipped skillfully through all sorts of gaps, climbing a wall from time to time. The more I watched this way of moving-refusing to use the perfectly good ground and insisting on hopping around everywhere—the more he resembled the cyborgs who had attacked the prison.

This was the central district, after all. Security was tight, and plenty of elites would be patrolling here... Yes, that was right. The way those cyborgs had moved so flamboyantly a few days ago, bouncing into the prison instead of going square dancing, was much like this fellow, who was sneaking around a restricted area instead of enjoying the night market. Even if they weren't in the same group, they had to be much the same sort.

But my familiar was probably close to running out of magic, so I could only do my best and follow him as far as I could.

Huh? Right, this is the central district. The Shield of the New Star is responsible for guarding it, and I have Lusien's phone number now!

I need to reflect on this. I'm a mage living in modern society. I know how to use a phone!