“Actually... I’ve always wanted to find a certain item in the academy library.”
After a moment of hesitation, Shade spoke up.
The sorceress smiled.
“Then speak. What do you need?”
“A stone tablet, roughly this size.”
Shade gestured with his hands.
“And it has yellow corner-guards on the four corners. I’m not sure if they are brass, gold, yellow jade, or some other material.”
The first two were silver and red jade; there was no reason for the third to be blue or black.
“To be honest, this tablet is related to time. I need this special item to complete the advancement of a miracle. The materials I've found so far indicate that the tablet is very likely located in Saint Byron's.”
Shade spoke the truth. Miss Danest considered for a moment.
“I can check the library's asset manuals and archives. If I truly can't find it, I can try searching the records in the [Hall of Secret-Keepers].”
“The Hall of Secret-Keepers?”
Shade raised an eyebrow. The thirteenth-ring sorceress asked with a smile
“Did I mention that? Well, it is a special space similar to the [Silver Moon Library], and all three academies can utilize a portion of its power. Because of its nature for inheriting knowledge and storing memories, previous librarians may have left information inside.”
Shade nodded, guessing in his heart that the special space corresponding to the Ancient God [Mentor of Secrets] was the [Hall of Secret-Keepers].
Since the entrance to the [Dark Dungeon] was held by the Church of Dawn, it wasn't strange that the three academies could utilize other spaces.
“Then thank you, Miss Danest.”
The sorceress shook her head.
“It is a small matter. Someone will come to collect that mirror tomorrow. I should be able to get it and conduct the experiment around next Wednesday; I will look for you then.”
“Alright, I am available at any time.”
If it was Wednesday, the matter of the demon should have been resolved.
“Then let us pray that the spiritual light of Legins Prisha is actually useful,” the sorceress said somewhat languidly. “Otherwise, I don't know where else I could find another ring-sorcerer who might meet the requirements.”
Progress on two matters in a single night left Shade in a very good mood.
Because Miss Danest said someone would come on Saturday morning, he specifically woke up early to wait for the collector. The knock sounded at seven in the morning. Shade, who had been sitting in the dining room watching Dorothy cook, stood up almost immediately. When he opened the downstairs door, there stood an elegant middle-aged man wearing a black felt hat and round-rimmed glasses, with a golden beard.
The carriage parked behind him was not a standard four-wheeled hansom; the carriage body and shafts were a deep black, and the driver sitting high up looked as if he had come from the Far North.
The elegant middle-aged man removed his black velvet gloves and shook hands with Shade, his eyes scanning him with curiosity.
“Mr. Shade Hamilton?”
His Delarion was not very standard, possessing an accent from the Northern Ice Plains.
“Yes.”
Shade reached out as well, and learned that this was a 9th-ring sorcerer.
“I am Associate Professor Leon, from the Academy Library Management major.”
He spoke while standing at Shade's door, then noticed Shade's surprised expression.
“Don't be so shocked. Miss Danest said there was an important item for me to collect.”
“Oh, I just didn't expect Miss Danest to send... Yes, it's right here.”
Shade immediately stepped aside, pointing to the large box placed to one side.
“Did Miss Danest mention that this is a hazardous material and must be transported with caution?”
“Yes, our librarians are very cautious.”
Associate Professor Leon nodded with a smile. Shade had never imagined that one day he would be discussing such things at his own front door.
The middle-aged associate professor then had the driver help, and the three of them together lifted the box onto the carriage. He gave Shade a receipt stamped by the school and signed by himself to prove the item had been handed over; this also served as proof of his private contact with a correspondence ring-sorcerer.
Of course, the item name on the receipt was “Cadaver of an ancient mutated unknown species of man-eating rabbit (Category I Hazardous Material).”
“Almost forgot, there is also this.”
As he spoke, Associate Professor Leon handed Shade a piece of parchment. This was an academy bounty notice issued by Associate Professor Leon, requesting the purchase of a “Cadaver of an ancient mutated unknown species of man-eating rabbit (Category I Hazardous Material).” The bounty issuance date was last Monday, and the reward was two practical credits, with no other physical rewards, but the stamp and signature were all present.
“Congratulations, Mr. Hamilton, you have excellently completed my bounty.”
The professor smiled and patted Shade on the shoulder, took back the parchment he had just handed over, and winked at him.
“You see, when putting on a play, one must do the whole set. Now there are absolutely no loopholes.”
“Indeed very rigorous.”
Shade nodded and politely invited him
“Would you like to come upstairs for a cup of hot tea? The temperature is truly low today.”
“I'll pass on the tea; I need to escort this to the next stop as quickly as possible. Miss Danest is pressing me urgently.”
Associate Professor Leon waved to Shade in farewell.
“Normally, professors on business trips like us cannot casually contact local correspondence students. This time, because of the bounty notice, it counts as an exception.”
After boarding the carriage, he handed Shade three strawberries in a paper bag.
“Consider it a meeting gift. I rarely interact with correspondence students, but I must admit...”
Before the carriage drove away, he looked up once more at Number 6 St. Delan Square.
“Students these days are truly wealthy.”
Waving goodbye to Shade, the academy professor, who had come and gone in a hurry, left Number 6 St. Delan Square just like that.
“Where did the strawberries come from?”
When Shade returned to the second floor, Dorothy had already brought breakfast to the table. The cat, appearing exceptionally soft in winter, was crouching beside the plate, paws tucked under its body, staring at the food with wide eyes.
“The professor from just now gave them.”
Dorothy didn't ask why an academy professor would appear downstairs so early. She took the strawberries and looked at them.
“It seems that professor is proficient in the power of nature and plants; these are strawberries treated with the high-ring miracle [Natural Fruit].
Eating one can provide a trace amount of healing effect and directly replenish one-third of the spirit of a low-ring sorcerer or one-fifth of the spirit of a mid-ring sorcerer. However, the effect diminishes severely with continuous use, and like your [Satiating Meal], they cannot be stored long-term.”
Dorothy checked them.
“These can probably be preserved for about 8 hours.”
Today was Saturday, and the only event was a meeting at the doctor's in the afternoon; there was no possibility of intense combat requiring spirit replenishment, so Shade divided the three strawberries between Dorothy and Mia.
The fruit was quite sweet. Being able to eat fresh strawberries in winter made even a foreigner feel that today would be a lucky day.
In fact, spells and miracles that utilized fruit to obtain strange powers were quite common. The ring-sorcerers of the Nature Church were very proficient in such powers, and the ring-sorcerers of the Pantanal Voodoo Society were likely proficient as well. Most of these did not belong to basic abilities and had prerequisite learning conditions.
For example, the miracle “Divine Berry Art” mastered by Dorothy required not only the [Fruit] spirit rune but also the mastery of the spell “Food Preservation.” And “Food Preservation” was a spell that apothecaries like Priest Augustus were required to learn. Thus, the ring-sorcerer system was quite wondrous; Shade's understanding of it was merely the tip of the iceberg.
After breakfast, Dorothy accompanied Shade to the photo studio to collect the photos they had taken together a few days ago. This way, Shade could tuck the photo of him holding Mia into an envelope and mail it to Miss Gaude.
Dorothy happily looked at the photos of her and Shade, while Shade checked the individual portraits. These photos were divided into three sets: one for Shade, one for Lacia, and one for Dorothy. Shade would hang his individual portrait in the living room and bedroom, and place the photos with Dorothy in the study.
Thinking about it this way, Number 6 St. Delan Square was feeling more and more like a home.
The afternoon was this Saturday's study session. Because they had things to attend to, Priest Augustus and Luvia actually both failed to attend. Priest Augustus had been called by Bishop Owen to help, and Luvia had been called to participate in the divination training of the Seer's Association—Shade had learned this at noon when he went to tell her about Sir Prisha.
Even Dorothy couldn't attend with Shade. On Saturday morning, she went to her apartment to check her mail and found a letter from the *Steam Bird Daily*; she had to go discuss the republication of the first volume of the *Hamilton Detective Story Collection*.
Therefore, in the doctor's clinic this afternoon, there were actually only Shade and Doctor Schneider. The doctor wasn't very surprised.
“At the end of the year, everyone has a lot on their plate. It is only the eighth day of the Month of Slumber; in half a month, it will truly become busy.”
Despite saying this, the doctor currently seemed to have plenty of time. Since no one else was present today, he discussed the progress of the demon with Shade.
“Probably tomorrow,” the doctor said in a relaxed tone. “He hasn't been able to leave the range of Tobesk.”
“No problem.”
Shade nodded and asked, “Doctor, how are your preparations for the year-end exams? Although the demon matter is important, the exams should be more important.”
“Except for [Ether Mechanics], the rest should be fine, though I'm still missing one final paper to submit.”
The doctor shrugged. He had been at the fifth ring for over two years; most of the fifth-year courses had actually been completed long ago.
After chatting for a few moments about the scholarship evaluations after the year-end exams, Shade requested the catalog of miracles and spells from the academy. Having not purchased new miracles or spells for a long time, Shade spent a total of 69 pounds to select the spell “Flash Mark” and the “Feather Fall Spell.”
The former could release a long-lasting mark on the surface of an object that could only be seen by the caster and ring-sorcerers five levels higher, used to mark one's own belongings; the casting material was any kind of dust. The casting material for the latter was a feather, allowing the caster's body to experience more air resistance like a feather when falling, thereby reducing fall damage.
The conditions for advancing grade included the number of spells and miracles one mastered. Planning to skip grades, Shade needed the number of abilities required for two grades. His number of miracles barely met the standard, and his number of spells also barely met it. However, he really didn't want to mention the spells coming from the *Pink Book*, so he just found some basic spells to fill the quota.
After all, individual spells like “Living Rope Trick,” “Partial Hardening,” “State Conversion Spell: Pain and Pleasure,” “Summoning of the Burning Lamp Wax,” “Hair Loss Curse,” “Lust Mark,” and “Suffocating Gaze” seemed like nothing, but if they all appeared on a single ring-sorcerer, it would be quite suspicious.
Upgrading too quickly left Shade with no time to study and explore too many miracles and spells. He planned to wait until he advanced to a mid-ring before properly studying several useful miracles. But if he did that, his current savings of over ten thousand pounds might not be enough.
Although only two people attended the study session this afternoon, it lasted until four-thirty before ending. After bidding farewell to Doctor Schneider, Shade took the cat to the *Steam Bird Daily* office to find Dorothy. As a result, he encountered the female author's loyal readers at the office. To answer the questions of those enthusiastic readers, they lingered at the office for over an hour.
During this time, the cat kept by the office to guard the warehouse and prevent documents from being gnawed by rats suddenly lunged at Shade, triggering a strong reaction from Mia. The two cats dashed wildly through the editorial department, nearly bringing a “disaster” upon the place. However, the laughing editor-in-chief, Mr. Calvinson, didn't mind; instead, he praised Shade's cat for looking very spirited.
The pleasant Saturday was coming to an end, which also meant a new time key would be activated tomorrow morning. After the adventure with the eight witches in the year 5177 of the Fifth Epoch, Shade was actually looking forward to what kind of stories and people he would encounter next.