"Joey Luciani, right?" The man who just barged in here asks me, extending a hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

I extend my hand, still keeping my guard up and ready to bash this guy's brains in if this is a ploy of any kind. But he simply shakes my hand with an apologetic expression.

"We're not meeting under the best circumstances, but take it up with that old bag of rot," Aemilianus says, pointing at Titus with his free hand.

[Archmage] Titus narrows his eyes and moves one of his hands, but instead of deathly magic, the only thing that happens is that the [Archmage] picks up unconscious Augustus, making it levitate, and gives us one last glare before getting out of the house.

"Are you ok?" I ask Lucinda, who looks mystified by what just happened.

"I—I," she looks with a confused expression at the man, who's smiling at us with all his pearly teeth.

"I'll leave you two to it. Would you mind if I waited for you outside, though? I'll just be down the corner eating something—I'm starving. I've been waiting to have a chat with you."

"Huh, sure," I nod. "Thank you for the help, too."

"No problem, fellow," he smiles, waves, and walks out.

...

"I sent a letter to Augustus telling him that I wouldn't be going to the Nine Towers... I've known him since I was a child. He was one of the friends who would train the hardest as soon as he got a class. His family had enough money to send him to the Nine Towers, and he graduated already."

"He gave you the [Fire Whip] spell?" I ask.

"Yeah," Lucinda sighs, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "He's always been nice to me. What you saw today isn't what he's usually like. I think he was worried that I was losing my mind. From his perspective, it must look like I just decided to stay behind for no greater reason... that's why I told him in the letter that I had found a better way to do magic."

"Did you mention me?"

She nods apologetically.

"They put two and two together. Whether they heard about the enchantment on the bread mixer or something else that I've done, the [Archmage] definitely understood that there was something extremely valuable in your hands for you to disregard the Nine Towers Academy like that."

Lucinda nods and leads me inside and sits me down at the kitchen table.

"Are your parents at work?" I ask, confused.

She nods, staring at me with her purple eyes and making my heart palpitate.

"Why did you disappear like that?" She suddenly asks. "I thought you said—" She cuts herself off and blushes slightly.

"Yeah," I cringe, "sorry. I... well, there's no harm in telling you, I suppose. Essentially, my teacher had me sign a contract that declared that I either made it through all the Cantrips that ever existed or I wouldn't be able to learn any more spells."

I decided to leave out the part where if I didn't complete all the Cantrips, I would die.

"And you did?" She asks.

"I think I might have? I don't know what happened exactly, but I think I messed up my head a little to speed up the training. Right now, I'm cut off from my Mana—temporarily, I hope."

"Have you leveled up, though?"

"I—I don't know," I twist my face in displeasure, "I can't see my levels or skills."

Lucinda's eyebrows shoot up, "Joey, are you sure this is ok?"

"Yeah, it's fine," I smile, feeling a little pang of anxiety in my heart. "I'm sure I just overexerted myself."

"What did your teacher say?" Lucinda probes.

"I think he's taking a break? I haven't exactly seen him since I woke up in my bedroom. When he comes back, I'll probably know more, I guess."

Lucinda looks at me worriedly as I try to give out reassuring vibes.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Am I worried about Magister Mulligan disappearing on me like that? A bit. Is it slightly anxiety-inducing that I can't cast even a single [Light] without my head threatening to explode? Maybe. Is it absolutely panic-inducing that I can't currently see my levels in the [Mage] class? Oh, yeah.

When you consider the fact that I still don't know who killed Plinius and Appius, why [Princess] Laurealia has been sent to my bakery, and more generally, who's been after me... well, the picture doesn't look too good. I can still keep rolling, thanks to my physical class, and thanks to Magister Mulligan for training me like a Vanedeni, but still, it's going to be an interesting party tonight.

"Are you ok, though?"

I look straight into the eyes of the woman I've been attracted to since the first moment I saw her, and exhale slowly. "It's tough. I've got stuff to figure out, for sure. But don't worry, I'm not helpless. You saw me ragdoll your friend that tried to bully me. I'm not sure I could have taken the [Archmage] fellow, but I don't think that should be the bar to decide if I'm fully ok or not."

"Joey," Lucinda hesitates before hunching over the table and grabbing my hands. "How are you?"

I look at her hands, and her touch is like pure electricity, shooting a signal through my veins and up to my heart.

"I'm worried," I spell out slowly, "I'm not feeling good about this magic thing. But I need to deal with it. I went down this path because I wanted to finally start using my magic for baking. I want to be a [Baker], Lucinda. Your words inspired me. It doesn't mean I'll refuse to learn magic and fighting, but it's high-time that the world recognizes who I really am. And if this is the kind of challenge I'm being put through, I'll grit my teeth and bear the pain. That's the only way forward, you know? Responsibility... it's been a long time coming."

Lucinda slowly digests what I just told her before giving me a hint of a smile and taking her hands off mine, "I trust you'll make it."

I smile, feeling warmth reaching my heart.

"By the way," Lucinda clears her throat, "who was that guy? The [Archmage] of Shadows? I've never heard of him."

"Me neither," I shrug.

"But he said he was here for you."

"He did, didn't he?" I sigh. "I'll go see what he wants in a second."

"Is it safe?"

"Just because I can't use magic, it doesn't mean I can't kick ass," I wink at her. "Also, I asked Fulvia to make you a dress and a few other things about a week ago. I hope you like red."

Lucinda raises an eyebrow, "I have a dress."

"I'll bring it over later," I say, winking again. "Trust me."

She purses her lips, and her eyes can finally see the worry start to dissipate from me and get replaced by playfulness. "You better have something good."

"I better," I wink again, this time adding a tongue click.

...

I find Aemilianus Claudius at the literal corner that turns onto the street where Lucinda's house is. He's eating a meat skewer and reading from a small book.

He barely raises his eyes before I'm basically right in front of him.

"Hi," I say. "Thank you for helping me back there."

"I don't understand why you were hiding your magic," the man says, closing the book and putting it away in his bag of holding. "Are you hungry?" He takes out another skewer out of his bag, still fuming.

"Sure," I nod and move to take it.

"You shouldn't accept food from strangers," he frowns, moving it away. "What if I wanted to poison you?"

"You dispelled a big spell from [Archmage] Titus without breaking a sweat," I point out, moving forward and taking the skewer, "you could have either waited for me to die or killed me in a dark corner afterward. You want something, no?"

"Perspicacious," he smiles. "I do want something, Joey Luciani."

"Alright, what is it? I've got a lot of business to take care of today, sadly."

"I'd like a friend," he says with a genuine smile. "Someone with my same interests."

"Unless you're a [Cook], I'm not sure we actually share the same interests."

"Oh, no, no. I know you're a Baker with a capital B, I heard. I'm just interested in everything about you, Joey Luciani."

"You know that an Elf that I don't know saying stuff like that isn't reassuring at all, right? Plus, isn't your whole family the most racist one in the entire continent?"

"Oh, yeah, they hate Humans. They'd love to hang you and stab you repeatedly, reddening some Flora Sanguinis."

"Fantastic," I deadpan.

"I'm sure you caught on to the part where I said I'm a bastard, Luciani," the man says, tilting his head slightly. "My family hates me as much as they'd hate you. Legally speaking, I can't claim their last name. It's actually breaking the law for me to do so."

"And you're not afraid of that because..."

"Who's going to arrest me?" He smirks.

"[Captain] Drusillus?" I ask.

"The Steel Titan? If he had kept adventuring instead of retiring… And even that would be a maybe," he stops and closes an eye, deep in thought, "if he teamed up with the Singing Blade and the Thespian Vanguard... that could be some real trouble."

"Wait..." I frown, feeling like those names are somewhat familiar.

"Their son is your friend, I gather," he smiles. "He goes by the name Truffles?"

"Oh, right. Damn, you've done your homework. Now, can you explain to me why you're so interested in me?"

"I've heard all the stories," he smiles. "You won against a [Chef] in their thirties without a level on you. You have reportedly developed an aura already. The [Princess] is working for you—"

"With me," I correct him.

"Sure," he smirks. "You dueled a [Corporal], and you would have killed him easily if they hadn't poisoned him. Then, someone else poisoned your female friend's brother, a newly-minted [Captain] who was involved with one of the slyest [Generals] in the entire continent. Now, an ancient Dungeon has revealed itself right under Amorium."

Aemilianus pauses for a second.

"And you can't use magic for the moment—which is more worrying than you make it to be."

When he says the last bit, my whole body tenses up.

"[Scrying] spells are a thing," he smiles. "But at least I made sure I was the only one listening. You two have great chemistry, by the way. Let's hope for many male heirs."

I look at the man with narrow eyes, but he simply raises his hands apologetically and says next, "you know, I have some expertise regarding your current problem. If you want me to, I might be able to help."

I simply stare at him silently. I'm not about to just recklessly accept his proposal. However, what he says next makes me lose my composure.

"Oh, and by the way, I'm pretty sure I know who killed that [Captain]."