“What does Grand Mage Delight require? You caused quite a commotion earlier… As the Chief Archmage of Mittal, you should be more careful in Lanstier,” a middle-aged official in elaborate attire said to Delight, who sat at an ornate desk.

  Delight calmly replied:

  “Cut the crap, even if you don’t believe me, the Divine Glory Church Saintess and I are in cahoots. Do you think I care what Lanstier thinks?” Delight leaned back in his chair, casually crossing his legs.

  “Damn it, didn’t Her Majesty the Queen teach you any manners?” the woman across from him retorted without reservation. “Besides, the Glory Saintess passed away three hundred years ago; back then, you were still working in the Luoyan mountain range to pay off your debts. How did you meet her? Did your parents have a midnight dream about you two collaborating? Then, perhaps you can offer some compensation; considering our master-student relationship, I won’t report you.”

  Delight twitched his lips, realizing he was no match for this disrespectful student in terms of foul language. He cleared his throat and got down to business:

  “It’s not about that little Glory girl; it’s about Shinten… fine, it's almost the same. I'm here to ask for some information. Spill it.”

  “Shinten?” The woman across from him froze, then recalled the young girl brought by the head of the Mage Association several months ago. “She’s already a Saintess?”

  Delight observed her unrestrained expression, then said:

  “You don’t know either?”

  “Huh? Who else have you asked… I truly don’t know. I only saw her from afar; after that, I never saw her again. I only heard that she was favored by the Divine Glory Church and might become the new Saintess,” the woman pondered, then suddenly became wary. “You’re not plotting against her, are you? I never thought that after a thousand years, you'd finally…”

  “Stop, stop, stop,” Delight finally snapped, banging his fist on the desk. “Let’s stick to the matter at hand. No personal attacks, alright?”

  The woman calmly looked at him, then diverted her gaze.

  “It seems your purpose is important. I’ll tell you everything I know.”

  “Right… Have many unfamiliar faces appeared in the city recently? Have any unusual phenomena occurred?”

  “Unfamiliar faces? Alorn never lacks unfamiliar faces. Since His Majesty Evens ascended the throne, Alorn has remained the most prosperous city in the Northern Continent; tens of thousands of people come and go daily,” the woman spread her hands. “As for unusual phenomena, things are already unusual enough in the Holy City; I haven’t received any noteworthy reports.”

  Delight nodded, not disappointed by the lack of results. The Omniscient Confederation’s actions were always secretive, leaving few clues…

  This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  He chatted with his high-ranking disciple in the Adventurer's Guild for a while longer, then stood up to leave.

  As he rose, a knock came at the door.

  The woman hummed softly, then a petite figure entered, curiously glancing at Delight before whispering to the woman.

  “A priest from the Holy Blood Cathedral? Are you sure?” the woman exclaimed, then glanced at her aged master. “Tell him he’s welcome to inspect… Oh, and tell the workers who started during the recent curfew that their wages have been increased.”

  The petite woman quickly left, shaking her head, intending to resume her work. Turning back, she saw Delight, who had stood up to leave, sit back down.

  “What’s wrong? It’s involved with the Cathedral?” Delight looked curious.

  The woman rubbed her temples, replying:

  “A priest suspects illegal operations and forced labor at the magic factory under the Guild’s jurisdiction, and wants to conduct a personal inspection.”

  Delight was immediately alarmed:

  “This isn’t a small matter. I’m telling you, years ago, Mittal hung a bunch of people for this; even Duke Vinylon’s son wasn’t spared. Her Majesty places great importance on protecting worker rights; labor laws clearly stipulate…”

  “It’s all legal,” the woman said wearily. “We strictly adhere to Her Majesty’s eight-to-twelve-hour work regulations and magical manufacturing codes, providing extensive on-the-job training for each worker. But we’ve had a lot of unexpected incidents recently. You’re a magical equipment designer; can you find the problem?”

  “Didn’t you study at my Mage Tower years ago? Can’t you see it yourself?”

  “I studied swordsmanship,” the woman gritted her teeth, recalling her tragic experience of being tricked into learning advanced sword techniques from a superlative mage in her youth. “Are you going to help or not?”

  Delight glanced at the sky outside the window, seeing the sun disappear behind the mountains; night was slowly falling over Alorn.

  “…Tomorrow. I have two little brats to look after at home.”

  “Conveniently, the priest said he’d be leaving tomorrow too; come early.”

  The woman threw a piece of paper across the desk; Delight caught it and saw the factory’s address written on it.

  “Then, farewell,” he waved, turning to leave.

  Stepping out of the Adventurer’s Guild, past its grand entrance adorned with a majestic eagle and a dragon, Delight took a deep breath of the cool night air, starting his journey home.

  “The air quality is indeed better than in Mittal. It seems His Majesty’s proposal to strengthen the control of magical equipment pollution will be implemented after all…” Delight casually observed his surroundings. Due to the curfew, few people were out at night; he was almost alone in the darkness. This reminded him of Mittal many years ago, the night Her Majesty ascended the throne.

  His eyes glanced toward the towering White Tower in the city.

  “Unexpected magical equipment incidents… Could it be something’s wrong with Alorn’s mana well?”

  He pondered for a moment, then dismissed that possibility. If the mana well were malfunctioning, it wouldn't only affect magical equipment; the first anomaly would appear in the cemetery. Lost souls wandering the afterlife, unquiet spirits, would be drawn to the mana, blindly attempting to return to the world of the living.

  He had visited the cemetery yesterday and hadn't noticed anything unusual.

  Perhaps it was something else.

  Lost in thought, Delight unknowingly arrived at his temporary residence in Alorn. Looking up, he saw warm light emanating from the second-floor window; the tree protecting Selene and Richter remained undisturbed, rooted in the earth.

  It seems to be a calm day.

  Delight sighed with relief, then heard a sharp feminine cry from upstairs. Before he could react, a head-sized fireball suddenly flew out the doorway, firmly striking his face, blackening it with soot.

  Delight blankly turned to see Selene standing in the doorway, holding an inverted hourglass, a completely innocent expression on her face.

  Then she screamed, collapsing to the ground, writhing in apparent agony while laughing merrily.

  Delight: “?”