Murphy's eyes snapped open, and he straightened his limp body from the high-backed chair. "Run that by me again."

Byron enunciated clearly once more: "A letter appeared out of thin air on the doorstep of number two Clyster Street."

"The doorstep of the house or the main gate of the estate?"

"It's outside the large iron gate of the courtyard."

Murphy breathed a sigh of relief. Since he had thoroughly mastered the City of Gath, a few savvy bionic skeletons had been assigned to number two Clyster Street to take turns guarding. Most skeletons, after gaining intelligence, had irreversibly become chatty, but their loyalty and focus when following orders were trustworthy. If Byron said the letter had appeared out of nowhere, it meant the skeleton guards must have seen it appear out of thin air.

To prevent incidents like Connor's intrusion from happening again, this mansion—owned on paper by Pepe—had been fortified by Murphy with a high-level protective spell. Malevolent beings and objects below level eighty would be repelled from entering the estate, and those below level sixty would be kept out of the courtyard.

That meant the letter had been teleported. To cast such magic, the minimum required level was sixty. The fact that it dropped outside the courtyard suggested the sender had targeted the location of number two Clyster Street but, because of the lower quality of the item and the sender's malice, it had landed by the gate instead.

Had he recently offended any high-ranking professionals over level sixty?

Murphy rubbed his chin, contemplating, then a name resurfaced in his thoughts: Connor.

The image that sprang to mind first when thinking of Connor was a head of hair that looked like it had been chewed on by a dog. But on reflection, Murphy seemed to recall he might have threatened him and told him to pass the message on to that teacher with the honorific longer than his own name.

I believe Pepe gave him until the end of August to learn his lesson... Murphy began to reminisce. His teacher should be in the capital, and it hasn't even been ten days yet. The boy's made a quick return.

Unknown to Murphy, after being exiled from the City of Gath and caring about his appearance, Connor had exchanged the silver coins given by the skeleton guards for dry biscuits and water right outside the city. To avoid being seen, Connor had almost constantly used his shadow-shifting skill to travel, eventually making it back to the capital in just four days to report back to his teacher.

With a logical trail established and a suspect in mind, Murphy snapped his fingers in satisfaction, ready to verify his hunch. "Bring me the letter."

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

As if he had anticipated this, Byron promptly retrieved a rather ordinary-looking letter from his jacket pocket and presented it with both hands. Murphy took the seemingly mundane letter, which bore no writing on either side, save for a dark red wax seal at its closure, imprinted with—

A staff.

In the largely stable past month, Murphy had plundered through the library at the Reed castle, catching up on much human knowledge he previously lacked. After all, the information he was endowed with upon arriving in this world was limited to combat and magic. Knowledge about nobility and certain etiquettes was patchy, pieced together through self-learning after arriving in this world, interactions, and some stereotypical impressions left by television series back home.

Murphy recalled that, in this world, the emblem on the wax seal usually represented a family's crest or an individual's unique insignia. The design of these symbols aimed for simplicity and aesthetic appeal rather than complexity and ornateness, like the holy symbol of the Victory Goddess: a sturdy shield encircling a central longsword, so memorable at a glance.

According to the examples given in that book, only the main family of great houses is entitled to possess simple, beautiful, and impressive designs for their crests. For instance, if an earl's family emblem is a red rose, only the child who inherits the title is eligible to continue using the original crest. If other sons branch out and start their families, they must devise new family emblems.

Designs for these new family emblems aren't chosen willy-nilly. If the first generation's emblem features a red rose, the second generation's branch might add a white border to it. The third generation's side branch could add a thorny stem to the rose, and the fourth could embellish the stem's thorns with droplets of blood, and so on.

As for whether these emblems would become increasingly complicated, the answer is no. For most noble branches, by the fourth generation, they are virtually indistinguishable from commoners. And for the commoners frequenting the streets, naturally, there's no need for a family emblem.

Remembering such tedious knowledge of the otherworldly nobility, Murphy's gaze returned to the wax seal's staff emblem. In this nation, probably only the so-called "Favored Child of Magical Origin, Great Archmage" that Connor spoke of, had the right to bear this symbol.

He unfolded the letter with its ornate paper and silently began to read:

[To the unrevealed Master Mage:

Greetings,

Please forgive my ignorance of such a mighty and yet unsung mage within our vast kingdom. My inept student Connor has caused you and your apprentice undue trouble, and in his stead, I offer my deepest apologies. I hope that your tool experiments and magical studies continue to prosper, and that your apprentice fares well in the pursuit of the essence of magic.

However, there is another small matter of no particular urgency I must bring to your attention. According to my inadequate pupil's description, there seems to be a teleportation magic circle in your abode leading directly to the lands of the demons. If what Connor says is true, then you have gravely violated the sacred laws of Heracles Kingdom, a sin that confirms you as a conspirator with the demonkind, and it is only the gallows of the capital square that await a grand mage such as yourself.

Of course, the charge Connor makes against you is significant, and taking his word alone would inevitably lead to some misjudgment. Therefore, to sever all dirty connections between humans and demons, and to defend the sacred laws of the kingdom and protect a mage's rightful privileges, I will personally visit your residence on the fifth of September. Hopefully, in the end, we may both fetch the outcome we desire.

A mere old mage,

Melrose.]