29th of Ruler, 9:26 a.m.
Bellamy, noble district, Royale street.
In a secluded mansion in the inner noble district of the city. Inside one of the study rooms, Caesy sat with Aelfryn.
Caesy's wrinkled hands were jotting down notes as she sat behind the main desk.
She stated while focused on the paper, "As you already know, the academy will be opened on Monday, which is the day after tomorrow. It's your duty as the head of the foreign affairs committee to welcome the arriving new students and their family representatives. Understood?"
Sitting in front of the main desk with a relaxed smile, Aelfryn nodded happily. "Of course. That's my rightful duty as the head of the foreign affairs committee. Welcoming my dear new schoolmates is also a pleasurable thing to do; there will be plenty of unique personalities to meet, so I won't be bored to death… I have been wondering for a while, but what are you writing down, master?"
Caesy stopped her writing and fixed her eyes on him. Nine years ago, the only ones she could regard as company in this humble life of hers were her butler and now death parrot, until she came upon Aelfryn. A dear friend of hers entrusted him to her so that he could grow and learn by her side.
In her past self, the idea of nurturing a child never crossed her mind, but when she was met with Aelfryn's innocent appearance, a side of her she never knew she had came to light.
However, appearances were all it amounted to. She should have heeded her friend's words back then regarding Aelfryn's playful attitude.
'Well, much time has passed for him to make a change,' Caesy thought as she raised the white flag in surrender inside her head.
"It's work. Back to the topic: I'm just giving you a warning, but don't try to make a move on any of the new female students, understood?" She advised him with a stern look.
Aelfryn's eyes widened in disbelief, and he exaggeratedly covered his mouth. "Master! Why would I do such a thing? I already have someone that I gave my heart to."
Aelfryn responded strongly, as if the world's demise depended on his answer. Caesy just scoffed and continued, "I'm merely reminding you."
An innocent smile materialised on his face. "Well thank you master, but that will definitely not happen. You have my word!"
Caesy sighed as she could already foresee that promise being thrown aside and went back to writing it down on her note, but she was stopped by Aelfryn's following question.
"Eh, is that all? Surely you didn't call for me because of something I'm already aware of, right?"
Aelfryn was certain that was not the only reason he was called here. Sure, he might be on the loose most of the time, but when duty comes, he knows to do his work diligently.
Thinking it was the right moment to tell him, Caesy put down her feather pen and closed her notebook. An air of authority replaced her casual one.
"As the confidential second head of the order of secrecy, you are to investigate the deceased Vice Headmaster, Kaloum Noctua, starting with his grave after you leave this mansion. Don't let anyone else know of this unless you think it's worth it, and don't report to Liam about this. Just come here straight."
Hearing her order, Aelfryn smiled with no worries in his mind. He asked, "Can I ask why?"
"I believe there is something hidden underneath all of this play. Regardless of the reason, you will find it when you start your investigation. Now leave; you're disturbing my work."
Caesy shooed him away like a mother sending her son out to play with the neighborhood children.
"Fine, fine. I will ask Sam to get you a herbal tea, you know, to help you focus more on your work." Saying such things, Aelfryn got up and went for the door.
As he was about to exit it, Caesy's voice halted his step: "Also, be friends with Athan's child. From what I have seen, he is a good child. You might even adopt some of his admirable traits."
Aelfryn peered back at her with a knowing smile and said, "We can already be considered friends, master. Anyway, no sugar for your coffee, right?"
"Mhm, thank you."
"Don't mention it," Aelfryn replied as he left the room with his hand caressing his lengthy ear.
***
The sun's station was like a spear tilted towards the east, signifying the beginning of a new day.
In the bustling market of the commoners' district, rare artifacts and magic items were being sold like cabbages and carrots. Workers had already set up their stalls and opened their doors for customers to purchase their goods for the day and perhaps for a lifetime.
In one of the shops with the name 'Megan's Trinkets,' a brown young lady with long white bangs was in the process of transacting a deal with a stubby gentleman who wore an outstanding suit and donned gold-laced rimless glasses.
"Ms. Megan, 1 gold for this artifact is absurd; I cannot go more than 50 silvers down. I ask for your understanding."
Megan, with her long bangs that covered her eyes but gave her no trouble seeing, glanced at the gentlemen with unamusement. In a toneless and flat voice, she told him, "Look here, dear customer, I'm not running a charity. Either you buy it at 1 gold total, or… Maybe try finding it somewhere else with your preferred price."
As the stubborn man tried to press on with the matter, the door's ring bell rang as it was opened by a teen with white hair and long ears.
As soon as he entered the shop, he exclaimed, "Megan! How long has it been? A year or two?"
Not minding the newcomer's grand greeting, Megan waved apathetically at him. "A week. Anyway, what are you doing here, Ael?"
Aelfryn took in the interior of the shop, which had shelves on both sides of the wall and a shelf behind Megan's counter. They were filled with artifacts and magic items. They oozed various kinds of smell—the good kind.
Giving the stubby man a smile, Aelfryn asked, "You're a friend of Megan?"
The stubby man couldn't believe what he had heard. "Me? Friends with this woman who can't even give me 50 silvers for this item? Of course not!"
Megan rolled her eyes in disbelief. 'Should I just kick his dwarf ass status?" she thought with annoyance, even though he was of human origin.
Aelfryn laughed in amusement as he inched towards Megan and gave her a gold coin he had brought out of his pocket. "Here, you can give him the item now. It's on me."
The stubby man was surprised by this and rushed with his words, "Sir! No, you can't. I don't want to trouble you with my matter."
Not thinking much of it, Aelfryn placed his hand on the man's shoulder. "I insist on helping, my friend. I have noticed that this item you wanted is something that the noble kids these days tend to play with. You're probably planning on giving it to your child, no? Can't I take part in making a child smile?"
Indeed, the item on the counter was a well-made wooden puzzle that is popular among noble children these days.
The man was touched by Aelfryn's goodwill gesture. "I- I don't know what to say but gratitude words. Thank you."
He extended his hand and said, "My name is Farz. I run a tailor called Farz's Tailor down Flowery Street. If you ever feel like you're in need of a new suit or robe, you can come to me."
Aelfryn accepted his handshake and agreed, "It's a promise then. My name is Aelfryn. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Faz."
Faz nodded at him and took the wooden puzzle purchased with Aelfryn's money before departing from the shop, not even willing to look at Megan during the entire process.
"He forgot his bag for the item… Back to my previous question: what brings you here? It's unusual for you to drop by so early in the morning unless you're working."
Aelfryn nodded at her in agreement. "Mhm. I need you to help me get a certain information on someone. It will be worthwhile for you."
"Okay. What kind of information?" she asked as she reached for her drawer, pulling out a hair band. She placed it below her bangs before sliding it up her forehead. Revealing a beautiful pair of ruby eyes and heavy, dark eyebags.
Not entranced by her enchanting gems, Aelfryn replied, "Not a big one, just information about Kaloum Noctua."
Megan sighed deeply as she pressed on her temples. She said, "Not a big one, you say? Sure, sure."
***
Afternoon, at the graveyard.
Aelfryn alighted from a carriage he rented to arrive here. He gave the driver his dues and walked into the abode of the deceased.
As he was entering, he spotted a watchman who waved at him. Aelfryn returned a wave and continued deep into the graveyard.
It was not a unusual for a family member, friend, or a colleague to make a visit in the afternoons.
Among the seas of tombstones, Aelfryn soon reached Kaloum's. In front of it, the ground looked a bit odd, as it appeared to be raised from below. The grass and everything else also had something off about them.
Aelfryn crouched down and inspected it carefully with a smile. 'Hmm, master was right; there was something going on underneath all of this, literally.'
As he was touching the ground, he sent a bit of his mana below to discern whether someone was even inhabiting the grave. However, he was met with an empty coffin.
'Surely an eight-circled archmage wouldn't decompose overnight, right?'
He stood up and dusted his robe. 'I need to ask the spirits for help.'
Suddenly, his mana churned inside him as it traveled through the magic circuit from his chest to his right arm, ultimately leaving his body. The mana instantly converged into a light magic circle. Its edges were inscribed with the runes of stealth and amplification.
As it came into existence, the magic circle began to affect the surrounding area as a fog emerged and went in all directions quickly before disappearing all together. From Aelfryn's perspective, nothing much changed; however, if someone were to look at where he was standing from a distance, they would not see him.
Light fog, a tier 3 light magic spell that allows one to hide in plain sight. It could also create complex illusions if one had enough proficiency over it.
Not a second passed before a whisk of silver mana left Aelfryn's body, but this one didn't trigger a spell. Rather, it called upon tiny creatures who roamed wherever light touched and darkness embraced. It called upon the spirits of time.
The spirits were silver, and they were numerous. They materialised out of air as if they were already there.
They rushed to Aelfryn and danced around him in circles as if they were greeting him like an old friend.
Aelfryn chuckled at them. "I really would like to play with you all, but I'm currently occupied. Do you think you can help me see the events of what happened after the man inside this grave was buried?" he asked, pointing at Kaloum's grave.
The spirits brightened with conformity as they swirled wildly. Not a moment later, an illusory screen started to take shape in front of his face.
Aelfryn was looking back in time when Kaloum escaped from his grave.
'I see, so this is what happened.'
From start to finish, Aelfryn saw how Kaloum left his new home and went to a tree around here, where he dug out an earring beneath it. He deduced that it was probably an artifact related to concealing his mana signature, as he afterwards blatantly started to destroy the surrounding area before taking off into the sky and leaving for the west, not caring for one bit about people discovering his mana signature.
'Well, we will see if my deduction is correct once I get to that area.'
Aelfryn thanked the spirits and left for where Kaloum wreaked havoc.
When he reached there, the thought of taking the wrong route surfaced in his mind since the place actually appeared normal from afar. He walked a little bit further before he passed by a barrier and witnessed the scene he saw on the illusory screen.
The trees and tombstones that were taken in by his ocean eyes were utterly destroyed; the ground was not spared either, as it had scars everywhere.
Aelfryn thought for a moment before inspecting the surrounding. In his search, he found multiple artifacts that were placed in a uniformed manner to make a barrier that fooled one's eyes and ears. The air was also filled with mana signatures of many people, but not any of them belonged to Kaloum, proving his deduction was correct about the earring artifact.
'Did his accomplices set this up before him? Kaloum probably did not notice them since this area would have looked the same to him when he walked into it. Well, I have a lot of work ahead of me.'
He sighed deeply as a silver magic circle took form. It instantly shattered into pieces as it seeped everywhere. Soon the decimated land returned to its initial state before the wreckage as they started to join back together.
Tier 4, time magic, Rewind.
When the regeneration process was finished, Aelfryn staggered as he felt the impact of a huge chunk of his mana leaving his body.
"Haa, ex-vice headmaster, why do you have to add extra workload for me?"