Ignorant to someone else's plights, Velvet exited the hallway, finding herself walking over the stone floor of a garden.

The path was surrounded by rose bushes on both sides, in a straight line broken for a crossroad every now and then. A white edifice was in the distance, and three towers were placed north, northeast and northwest from where they came out.

Further away, a forest could be seen, almost engulfing the Mergifari’s safe zone, giving a threatening aura.

Navros, Nereus’ wolf, now free from its container, sniffed the roses.

“Um.” Velvet started, confused. “Doesn’t this garden feel too nice? After all that darkness on the market, the whole climb to the lighthouse and the concealment spell…”

“I find it relaxing.” Nereus said.

“I also find it relaxing… but more confusing than relaxing!” She explained. “I would be even less confused if the roses were black, not pink.”

Nereus pointed to a flower. “That one is white.”

“These are petriroses, not roses. The petals are sharper.” Gertine said.

“Wow.” Velvet said, making a ticked off smile. “I missed you guys so much.”

“We met for two days.”

“Nereus, I need to present you to my friend, Irony.”

“There’s only us three here.”

“And thus, my point is proved.”

Nereus tilted his head. “You didn’t prove anything.”

“Anyway…” Velvet looked at Gertine. “Where do we go now?”

“Like you two, I’ve also never entered the Mergifari…” Those words did nothing to stop Velvet and Nereus from staring at her. “Sigh… first, we need to get a housing plan. How much money can you spend monthly? … Velvet stop making that face, you look constipated.”

“I thought housing was free…”

“Nothing is free… Well, I don’t know if there’s free options. Maybe you can go live in the woods?”

Velvet grimaced at Gertine’s comment. “I am a lady, do you want to put me in a hut in the woods like a witch?”

“Your choice, your money.”

“Ngh… I want to see the options first… Nereus, what about you?” She didn’t know Nereus’ monetary status, he had never spent money in front of Velvet, and he was here from winning a Tournament.

Shrugging, he answered. “Igern takes care of those things.”

“Shouldn’t you be with their group right now for that?”

“They are still inside, I’ll wait for them to come out and cross the garden.”

“Just make sure this time you don’t get lost, Igern doesn’t look like the kind to search for you.” Gertine said. He had left Nereus to his devices the previous time, so there was a chance for him to do it again.

So Igern is the kind that likes to be chased, not to chase, hm? Velvet mocked silently. Looking around, she called for Nereus’ attention. “Hey, can Navros eat petriroses?”

“I don’t know.”

“He shouldn’t.” Gertine explained, even when she made no motion to stop the wolf. “Anyway, let’s go to the First Tower. Depending on how many novice mages are remaining, the Selection can take up to three days, so we better get accommodations first, before the demand gets too much.”

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“Okay, okay.”

They traveled through the garden, until arriving at one of the towers. White stone made the exterior, and some golden details, in diamond shapes, decorated the wall. A big mechanical clock was on top of the gate, showing the time, 11:45.

Some mages were already entering and exiting, but there weren’t that many.

Velvet and company entered, going to a counter, where a girl with cat ears was acting as secretary. A girl Velvet knew.

“Mirrs? Do you also work here?" The girl looked exactly like the owner of the Arena where Velvet fought once.

"I'm not Mirrs.” Not-Mirrs clarified, smiling at her. “She is my sister."

"Oh, my bad. You are...?"

"Murrs."

Velvet kept silent for a few seconds, taken aback. "How many siblings are you?"

"Five." Before Velvet could ask, she continued. "Yes, our names are just what you're thinking."

Velvet made a sly grin. "Your parents sound like funny guys."

"We were made in a lab."

"And unethical."

Murrs hummed, finishing that particular conversation, looking at her group. “Did you three come here to pick a room?”

“Ah, yes. Well, only us two for now.”

Murrs pulled out a book, making Velvet remember the time when Mirrs did the same. She decided to let Gertine pick first.

Murrs tried to recommend several options, but Gertine’s one word answers, hums, or barely motions of acknowledging the girl ended up making her surrender and wait for her to decide.

“This one.” She said after flipping pages for a while. Velvet peeked, seeing a nice, ample room that went for 100 auris per month.

All rooms had a private bathroom, with a bath big enough to cover two persons minimum, since the mages needed a safe way to purify themselves from miasma.

Gertine’s room was around the middle options, also including a double bed, a terrace with a small garden and one room for alchemy.

“Oh, that one looks nice!” Velvet commented over Gertine’s shoulder.

Well, next to Gertine’s shoulder, since she was taller than her.

Murrs gave Gertine a few papers, talking. “You can choose to pay a few months in advance, with a 10% discount. 20% discount if it's over ten months.”

Reading over the papers, Velvet saw a few clauses that informed that any money already paid would be kept in case of the tenant's death, which explained the discount.

Gertine paid for five months in advance, so 450 auris.

Now it was her turn. Before Murrs could open her mouth to recommend anything, Velvet opened hers first.

“Show me the cheapest options.”

Murrs’ smile twitched, but, unlike Mirrs, she didn’t take the full book, and just went to the last pages.

The choices weren’t bad, just simple. No extra rooms, just one bed, a wardrobe and a bathroom.

“Oh, there are no huts in the woods?” Velvet flipped the pages, searching. She had mocked Gertine’s idea at first, but, after a bit of thinking, she wanted privacy.

She was almost ready to say Andras’ name in the dream again, and the furthest away from other mages she was at that moment, the better.

Murrs looked troubled for a moment. “We had some in the past, but the lack of maintenance has made them unusable-”

“Really? Tristan’s should be fine at least.” A voice sounded next to Velvet, and she turned, seeing Ceres taking the book from Murrs’ hands.

“Is the Selection over so soon?”

“Nah, but you can abscond once you pick an apprentice.” He flipped the pages a bit, turning and shaking the book, to Murrs’ disgust. “Where’s the huts? I remember there were five of them.”

“Three are completely broken and unusable.”

“Tristan’s?”

“Is… usable.”

“Great.” Ceres turned to Velvet. “We had some mad parties there when we were younger, it would be a shame if it just fell down.”

“What’s the price?”

Murrs was going to say something, but once again she wasn’t fast enough, losing to Ceres. “Tristan paid like ten auris per month.”

Velvet then looked at Murrs, waiting for her words. “Yes… But any repairs cost extra!”

“Even if I make them?”

“Those not, of course.”

“I’ll pick that one. And I’ll pay ten months in advance.” She put 80 auris on the counter, taking advantage of the discount.

Murrs then gave her some sheets of paper, similar to Gertine’s. On one there was a map, marking the location of the hut.

She also saw the line marking the magical barrier that separated the ‘safe’ part of the forest from the Mergifari’s Unnamed Forest.

No wonder it was that cheap. Even so, that barrier had held for hundreds of years, so she wasn’t worried.