She was indeed correct; the card revealed was neither “The Moon” nor “The Devil,” but “Phoenix.”
Professor Sanchez glanced at Xia De in surprise, as if he hadn't expected this outcome.
“Harms, I think they are all fine.”
Professor Mirar said to Professor Sanchez, who nodded, accepting the answer:
“Alright, gentlemen, ladies, please continue to pay attention to any news regarding Miss Mana Feilianna. If you have any valuable information, you can provide it to the College, and the College will not be stingy with any reward, yes, any reward. Thank you for your cooperation, this inquiry is now concluded. We still need to meet other local groups. Do you have anything else you wish to say?”
The Psychologist, Luvia, and “Dorothy” immediately shook their heads. Xia De, with a guilty conscience, naturally remained silent, but Priest Augustus, standing behind the Psychologist, raised his hand, indicating he had something to say:
“The Dawn Church is sending me on an official trip near Sicar Mountain. I’ll likely leave next week and might not return for half the autumn. Such a long absence from our group’s station needs to be reported to the College.”
“Sicar Mountain, the Orthodox Church knows about it too.”
Professor Sanchez frowned slightly:
“I understand. Such a normal outing can be approved, but before leaving, according to procedure, you need to submit a report, an application form, and a commitment letter. Once the specific travel destination is known, the College can arrange for you to temporarily join a local study group for a few months. Of course, you can refuse, but if you don’t contact the College for a few months, you’ll have a pile of documents to fill out upon your return.”
“I understand.”
Seeing Priest Augustus nod, Professor Sanchez looked at Xia De again:
“Mr. Hamilton, Miss Daniste, the Librarian, asked me to hand you a letter.”
He pointed to the poetry manuscript page the Psychologist had placed on the table. With a flash of light, an envelope appeared there. Xia De walked to the table, picked up the envelope, and squeezed it to confirm there was only one letter inside.
“So, Professor Mirar, do you have anything else?”
Professor Sanchez asked the Diviner from the Astronomical Academy again. The latter nodded and said to Luvia:
“The College’s autumn stargazing event is expected to start in the latter half of this month. If you are interested in participating, remember to write an application in advance.”
The Astronomical Academy’s autumn stargazing event is a large-scale divination activity organized by the College every year. Even Letter-based Ring術士 can participate through projection rituals, making it a distinctive activity of the Astronomical Academy.
After finishing this matter, Professor Sanchez reminded the five not to forget the winter exams before leaving with Professor Mirar and Miss Simpson.
The figures of the three gradually faded, and the flame burning in the basin slowly disappeared. Strangely, no one in the room spoke immediately. The other four simultaneously looked at Xia De, who was holding the cat.
Strictly speaking, only Luvia clearly knew that Xia De was involved in the appearance of Miss Felianna. However, Priest Augustus, who knew Xia De had set off for the Darkness Domain, Psychologist Schneider, who knew Xia De was involved with Human Pus, and Dorothy, who knew Xia De had planned something big, all speculated that Xia De was inextricably linked to this matter.
Of course, no one questioned him directly in the end. Psychologist Schneider merely sighed, noting that Tobesk seemed to have been experiencing such strange occurrences quite frequently in the past two months.
“But to be honest, compared to the frequency in previous years, there haven’t been an exceptionally large number of incidents since Summer this year.”
Priest Augustus, who had lived in this City for almost his entire life, pointed out this error:
“It’s just that this year’s incidents have been exceptionally unexpected.”
Coincidentally, because Psychologist Schneider was out yesterday, the group study session did not take place. Since they were gathered today, everyone shared what had happened in the past week.
Apart from Xia De and Luvia, the lives of the others were relatively peaceful. However, the Psychologist mentioned that he had collected all the ritual materials for his promotion from PentaCircle to Hexacle, and only needed to wait until the yellow moon reached its fullest state of the year to perform the ritual.
“Speaking of which, I’m also planning to promote from Three Ring to Four Ring recently.”
Luvia mentioned, and Psychologist Schneider nodded, then asked the Golden-haired girl Writer:
“Louisa, how is your ritual progressing?”
Dorothy was about to undergo the ritual for promotion from Four Ring to PentaCircle, which is the promotion from Low-Ring to Middle-Ring. Because it involved the concatenation of Sublimation Words, although the ritual materials were not difficult to find, the difficulty of the ritual was even higher than the Psychologist’s promotion from PentaCircle to Hexacle.
“It will take some more time to prepare, but it should be fine before winter arrives,” “Dorothy” said.
“In that case, if all goes well, by the end of this year, our group will meet the minimum requirement of having five Ring術士, with one each at Hexacle, PentaCircle, and Four Ring.”
The Psychologist said with a smile. Xia De curiously inquired:
“Should we apply to Saint Byron's next spring?”
This wasn’t a question he asked out of curiosity; rather, the Psychologist had told Xia De to ask it now, before they parted ways at the clinic. The Psychologist had originally intended to go to Saint Byron's as soon as possible to strengthen himself using the College’s resources. But now that he had swallowed an ancient demon like Human Pus, going to the College was no longer as urgent. After all, while the College offered good conditions, the freedom there couldn’t compare to here.
The Psychologist didn’t want to leave so quickly. After confirming that Xia De also didn’t want to leave within a year or two, they conspired to ask the question.
“No, not so fast, Xia De. We only meet the minimum application requirements, but depending on the number of official students at the College and the vacancies for lecturers and professors, the actual requirements vary each year. Xia De, before you came, I told them that for safety and for the standard of living after arriving at Saint Byron's, we shouldn’t apply unless we meet the conditions.”
After arriving at Saint Byron's, everyone still had to live, and the treatment received would naturally vary with one’s strength; this was a very realistic situation.
“I’ve inquired about the situation of other groups in our College, as well as the Letter-based groups in Cerces and Zaras. Generally, everyone chooses to depart only when the group has at least three Middle-Ring Ring術士, and they also take some time to handle other matters in their lives. I can’t abandon my clinic immediately, Louisa’s career has taken a new turn, the Priest’s church work cannot be easily abandoned, and Xia De, you can’t abandon your social connections here. So, I plan to prepare for a few more years, after all, apart from Priest Augustus, none of us are particularly old.”
The others also nodded, agreeing with the Psychologist’s view.
Psychologist Schneider was satisfied that there were no dissenting opinions, so he concluded:
“We are not in a hurry to go to Saint Byron's, so the departure can be put off for a few years. I’ve even heard of some groups deciding to depart only when their leader is about to be promoted to High-Ring. It’s currently autumn of common era 1853. We will definitely depart within five years, but the exact timing will depend on everyone’s promotion speed and the College’s requirements.”
Xia De gently stroked Mia’s small head, which he was holding.
This also meant that he would have to live in this City for a long time.
After the group meeting ended, it was just past four o'clock. Priest Augustus had to return to the church and promised to inform everyone as soon as he had concrete news about his business trip. The Psychologist still had work; there were quite a few patients in Tobesk who needed help from a Psychologist.
Although Xia De really wanted to spend some time alone with Luvia, the purple-eyed girl, now well-rested, had to immediately return to the Prophet Association to report what happened after she left alone yesterday. She had already delayed for a whole morning due to her physical condition; if she didn't show up, the Association would also develop unnecessary suspicions.
So, Xia De left with “Dorothy.” She was almost certain that yesterday’s events were related to Xia De and wanted to hear his story.
On the carriage ride back, Xia De opened the letter from Miss Daniste. The first sentence made him almost tear the paper:
“I have processed the time records delivered to you by the ‘Saint Byron's Comprehensive College Dream’ and erased the records of the relic that was handed to you. Now, only I know that it was once in your hands.”
“Why do you have such an expression? Miss Daniste, did she change the College bounty she originally gave you and now wants you to slay a dragon?”
Leia joked, but politely did not look at the letter in Xia De’s hand.
“No, just some minor matters.”
Xia De said, lowering his head to continue reading.
Miss Daniste was actually not sure whether Xia De was connected to the appearance of the College’s founder. But given the precise timing, even if the matter truly had nothing to do with Xia De, it would definitely attract the College’s investigation. She had handled the records of this matter, erased the memories of some people who had handled the relic, and warned Xia De to always think carefully before acting in the future.
Miss Daniste did not want to get the truth of this matter from Xia De. She only cared about the Silver Moon Library. Therefore, she did not ask Xia De to explain the matter in the letter but instead told Xia De to stay away from these troublesome things, as she couldn’t always be there to deal with the aftermath immediately.
“Miss Daniste said that the relic concerning the Sleep Ling Rune, which I originally wanted to borrow, cannot be lent out now.”
Xia De folded the letter into a plush toy, then used the spell 【Ignite】 to burn it directly.
“Oh? That’s fine, just give me your Sleep Ling Rune.”
The Princess, using the Golden-haired girl’s body, said with a smile:
“Besides, you don’t need to rush until you obtain 【Light】 and promote to Three Ring.”
“Um, actually, I’m already Three Ring.”
Xia De said. Leia blinked:
“I remember when I saw you on Wednesday at Yodel Palace, you were still Two Ring. Today is Sunday, only four days have passed. I can understand if you suddenly gained inspiration, after all, you’ve been preparing for 【Light】 for two and a half months. But how did you suddenly get all the ritual materials? And, don’t your promotion rituals need to consider moon phases and time?”
