After their lunch, the group separated, going their own ways. Lia was not an exception, as she revisited Cici's shop right after. Entering, the mood there was still just as empty and sleepy as the first time she came here. Looking around, this time she couldn't see the black cat anywhere.
"Hello?" She raised her voice, walking to the counter, but no answer came. She tried to look over it and peek into the back room, hidden behind a door, covered by a veil hanging from the ceiling. "Haah… Maybe out for lunch?" She murmured, deciding to wait and look around until Cici came back. This time, she immediately went for the big book on the counter, reading through the hundreds of index pages, looking for interesting titles. "There are some codexes that could be useful…." She murmured, recording them down into her bracelet. She was out to find some reference works so she could better translate her previous find. Since picking it up and reading it, she felt a weird connection to its concepts. She couldn't explain it, but she had a gut feeling that this was what she needed. A book that would give her the inspiration she lacked. "These will do!" She clapped after half an hour of browsing and turning to the side; she flinched, blinking her eyes in surprise.
"Anything else?" Cici asked, sitting there with the chosen tomes next to her, reaching a meter in height, stacked on top of each other.
"N-no! This will be all I need for now!" Lia answered, bowing a little. "I did not even hear you arrive!"
"I'm a cat. Of course, you didn't." Cici answered plainly, starting to lick her front paws. "You are into the Old Language? These books are more than 3000 years old." She looked at them with one eye, scanning the titles. "They are covered with a protective veil of mana. After reading, don't forget to reseal them, or they will deteriorate quickly!"
"I know!" Lia nodded, her voice thankful for her advice, "We had the same kind of books back home! Some could be only read through magic! Opening them would destroy them, so my mom taught me how to do it without touching them!"
"Good." Cici nodded, satisfied with her reply, "Lost Knowledge is the bane of this Realm."
"Lost… Knowledge?" Lia asked, finding it intriguing.
"How much do you know about Meriath before the Dark Ages? Before the Undead horde and the Apocalypse?"
"Not much…" Lia answered after a bit of pause, crossing her arms and scratching her chin. "Just a little bit, some old legends, the brief history of magic and mana…. and some about the possible appearance of the first mages."
"That is surface knowledge at best." Cici answered, shaking her head, "People today don't even know the powers, families, and empires from those times. The predecessor to what we call a mage today. Even my kind is being forgotten about! The destruction was too close…." Cici sighed, "Many things were lost and had to be rediscovered. Sadly, even more were forgotten. That is why I say, Lost Knowledge is our bane."
"You know a lot of those… lost things?" Lia asked, stepping closer, holding onto the counter, leaning in, and looking at Cici with sparkling eyes.
"Not as much as I want to." She answered after a brief consideration, scanning her gaze and feeling out her genuine reaction, confirming that she was truly interested and not just acting. "But I try and collect everything. Even if they are nothing more than nonsense ramblings, a piece of carving from a ruined building, or a receipt of a shoe bought 5000 years ago in a shop of an already gone civilization. Your direction, for now, is commendable." Cici finished, standing up, stretching, "The books you choose are a great way to start learning the Old Tounge properly. When you finish, come back, and I'll sell you tomes about the different dialects used back then. The common tongue is just the start!"
"Ugh… there are more?" Lia flinched, feeling she had just stumbled onto something… headache-inducing.
"230 CP," Cici answered without answering. The price was shocking, or at least would be for others for a few books, but Lia paid without asking a question to the satisfaction of Cici.
"See you soon!" She bowed, hurryingly stuffing them into her backpack. She almost fell backward by its weight after putting it on, faltering a little in place before finding her balance. She was already glad that she would have a proper holding bag tomorrow that she could fill with all of her stuff and not be hindered by it.
"I doubt it." Cici answered in her head, watching her leave the shop, "Learning that language is harder than you think, little girl… But if the Gateway to the Cosmos ever reopens its doors… you will need it to communicate with the people living outside of our Realm."
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……
In Alchemy Haven's second floor, in the office of Lorin, Sion was sitting on the couch, drinking a cup of tea while leaning backward. Lorin was seated at the opposite side, doing exactly the same thing, with his eyes closed, wearing a small smile as they had been doing this for an hour by now, saying nothing.
"So…" Sion said, breaking the silence first, opening his eyes a little. "You really sponsored her? Yet when I came to you for a small loan, you charged me with interest?"
"It was a low-rate interest, my friend!" Lorin chuckled, "And you are not from one of the Houses!"
“Tsk… Bitch…”
"I can be one if you want me to~" Lorin replied, opening one of his eyes with a playful glint in it. "Why are you upset anyway? You are going to be part of her group, no? Enjoy it!"
"Haaaah… well, being close to people like them outweighs the fact I'll get some side-eyes from the others."
"I thought you were used to it! Isn't it you who always complained to me that the other Disciplinary guys and gals are out to get you? To force you out?"
"I did step on some toes, true… and now those will have a chance to shoot back at me. Well, whatever! At least with me around the pipsqueak can rest assured they won't accidentally break some rules and get into hot water. Or let other groups trap them in a scheme!"
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"Good. As the leader of Alchemy Haven," Lorin said, switching one of his legs over the other, "I ought to make sure the shop lives on. Since taking over, I also trampled over some toes. With two Houses working together, they ought to become powerful in the next four years. With them at my shop's back, there won't be a problem when I step down!"
"Just make sure your successor keeps that in mind!" Sion smiled at his friend.
"He has a good head on his shoulder! After receiving Lia's second batch of recipes, he was the one who mentioned the option of sponsorship. It was only a small amount but big enough for a starting-out group! I eagerly await the news of their exploits~! By the way… what will be their, your name?"
"I don't know! I guess they will message me soon enough. Hopefully, it won't be something embarrassing!"
"Oh, one more thing! When you have the name, I suggest you go and register it immediately and change Koadriana's application to the upcoming Blue Tide competition! Ensure she is registered as part of a group and not going in alone!"
"Hm?" Sion furrowed his brows, sitting up straight and leaning forward. His friend rarely gave out such pieces of advice. "What did you hear?"
"As an assignment, I am going to be one of the judges in the competition. I scanned the names who signed up for it and saw Koadriana's name amongst those who will compete in water manipulation." Lorin started to explain, remaining relaxed, speaking with a slight smile, "Then there was another name I found interesting. Do you remember the girl you punished?"
"Be more specific." Sion scoffed, "I punish people daily."
"Kinky!" Lorin giggled like a kid, "Yanura. A 2nd-year student with water element, defeated and beaten by Lia."
"Gotcha." Sion nodded, "She is not a threat; too weak."
"No, no, no!" Lorin fixed his sitting position, opening his eyes more, signaling his seriousness, "She is part of an association that is all about whoreshipping Master Lauron."
"You mean worshiping." Sion corrected him, twitching his mouth.
"Yeah, yeah. That too. The leader of their fan club is someone who is a water mage at the Adepti level and is a 3rd-year student. She replaced Yanura in the competition; I can guess why."
"Hmmm…" Sion crossed his arms, wearing a small but aggressive smile, "This ought to be interesting then! What, you started to dabble in information brokering too?"
"Ahahaha, no, no! I would not infringe on those guilds' business! They can be scary! I don't want my scandals to go public and embarrass me with how kinky I like it behind closed doors!" Lorin laughed, licking his lips, "But I bet this has something to do with the fact that Lia beat down one of their members. And that they saw the three cozying up to their Idol. Look, fan girls can be the most dangerous because love can make people do crazy things!"
"Love? Pft! If that is love, I am also in love with three dozen models in the monthly 'Mages In Nature' magazine!"
"I'm just here to warn you! I won't be able to help you as a judge, not until they explicitly break some rules! Look out… they think the trio is alone and are easy pickings."
"Even if we form the group, that would just put a target on our backs…." Sion murmured, disliking the idea but not because they would be attacked. Simply because he found the reason to be moronic.
"And withstanding it or triumphing over them would give your group the starting push to gather fame and cement in your name! So make good use of it!" Lorin said, looking into Sion's eye. "As you are going to be affiliated with them, you won't be able to arbitrate it… IF anything goes wrong. So others will step in. Just make sure those who are on friendlier terms with you will be there… and not those who see you as a nuisance!"
"Thanks for the heads up." Sion nodded, already thinking about a lot of things.
"Any time. You are my loverboy." Lorin chuckled only to receive a blinding flash from the finger of Sion. "See? You are sparkling in my eyes~!"
"Fuck you."
"I wish…" Lorin sighed, standing up, rubbing his eyes with a grin, "I already took some bribes to not interfere immediately."
"What?!" Sion gawked, blinking his eyes rapidly, having the urge to penalize Lorin right there and then. The only thing that held him back was the fact that Lorin would enjoy it.
"What do you think I sponsored your new friends with? Ahaha~ I only paid half of it!" He laughed like a typical evil mastermind in some kind of drama play on stage.
"I knew it! You are too frugal to just dish out that much money!" Sion stood up, scoffing, fixing his clothes, ready to go.
"Yeah, yeah~! Complain more~! I did everything I could! Warned you, paid the girls, and everything is set up nicely! Now it's just time to sit back and watch the show! I expect something exciting!"
"Hmph! Sometimes I worry about what you will become when you leave the school!"
"What else?" Lorin smiled, leaning against his table, watching Sion with a sly grin, "I'll take over my father's business and expand it from one simple empire into a mega-corporation that deals with one of the Houses. And I already know which one I'll have in mind to approach!"
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……
It was late at night. The Academy fell silent while Keily was still up, lying under his blanket, pulled up entirely over his head. He was fiddling with his bracelet, projecting his own notes, going through them, reading up on his chosen element. His roommates, three other guys, had already reprimanded him multiple times as the light from it woke them up not once but numerous times in the previous week. Yet Keily couldn't help himself.
"Those who study the element of fire are usually driven by passion and their emotions…." He read it to himself, repeating the words in his mind, "To fuel and manifest their spells, they let their feelings guide their spells and let their mana influence their mind. A mage's element many times dictates their personality because of this."
Flipping the projected pages, Keily tried to memorize and understand the words simultaneously. Even though he remembered being frightened, sad, and heartbroken when he saw his dad turn into an Undead… he wanted to kill him more than anything. He was angry, feeling a kind of wrath he had never experienced before. That thing was not… NOT his father. He always was kind, smiling, and caring for him. His eyes were filled with love. That thing robbed his father of everything and turned him into nothing but a husk. He did not deserve that. Nobody did. He wanted to be the one to relieve his father, it should have been his duty as his son, but he was powerless… but not anymore. He would master magic and torch every and all Undead to the ground until none remained.
"Passion…" He murmured, starting to grasp the idea and forming a small smile, somewhat beginning to see why Lia was such a happy-go-lucky person at first glance.
That was the moment when his bracelet pinged. Luckily, he set it silent for the night, but he still felt the buzzing feeling around his wrist. He immediately knew it was a message and from who as he was opening it, reading it silently:
"Supernatural Misfits have bought their own tower! Tomorrow meet me at Opparu's workshop at 11, and after collecting our bags, we are going to check it out! I already woke Ceiline up to make the downpayment for half a year! Fufufufu! We have a lot of things to do, be ready!"
"Huh… Supernatural… Misfits… Well, it is true, in a way…." Keily murmured, receiving a groaning shout from the bed below him.
"SHUT UP!"
"...!" He shuddered, startled by it, trying to remain unmoving, not knowing that some other people had a headache at the exact moment. Especially Sion, who was right amidst chasing a smuggler in the darkened city streets.
"Supernatural Misfits? Really? We really needed something that would be abbreviated into S & M? This school is filled with teenagers, for fucks's sake! You don't even know what that means!"