After bringing Sylvain/Clervie back to the hideout and sending Ryuzu to handle any potential tails, Carman made his way home. He needed to plan. There were objectives to accomplish some assigned by his system, others more personal and he needed to map out the steps required to achieve them.
Descending into his hidden basement, Carman retrieved various tools, ingredients, and books from his system storage. Though he could have easily accessed them through his storage menu, having them physically laid out before him had a different impact on his mind. This also presented an opportunity to organize his materials before returning them to storage, as he lacked an internal sorting system—items simply occupied slots in the order they were stored.
As he glanced around, his gaze fell upon several components he had removed from Ryuzu to get her functioning again. "Now that my transfiguration and transformation skills have improved, I should be able to repair these," he mused.
Looking over his book collection, he noticed something missing.
After some initial panic he realized, "Ah, I must have forgotten to put Snape's book back into my storage this morning."
[Flashback]
Ever since receiving the book as a compensatory gift, Carman had been reading through it every night. The art of Occlumency, though rooted in the magical wizarding world, seemed to translate surprisingly well to Teyvat. This world brimmed with innumerable mysterious energies who was to say that none of them functioned as an equivalent to magic?
The first true step in Occlumency practice required forming what non-magical individuals might call a Paracosm a world constructed from one's imagination. Once stabilized, this mental space would serve as a foundation for organizing memories, safeguarding important information, and erecting defenses against external intrusions.
Creating this space was no simple feat. It demanded intense meditation, a state of profound calm and detachment, redirecting one's focus from the physical world to the depths of the mind. It had taken Carman weeks to master this stage more often than not, he would simply fall asleep while meditating. However, a sudden breakthrough had changed everything. One evening, he found himself standing alone in a hazy white expanse.
This was the Proto-Paracosm as it was described in the book. The space represented his raw, untapped imagination, while the swirling fog symbolized the subconscious thoughts and emotions constantly churning beneath his awareness. At this stage, the fog served as both the first and last line of defense, any unskilled intruder attempting to probe his mind would either fail to anchor itself or become lost in the fragments of meandering thoughts.
Upon reaching this mental realm, he had solidified its existence, causing it to permanently surround his conscious mind. Whenever Carman would bring his mind to a blank state, this fog would now automatically condense and shroud his thoughts.
The next step was to build an anchor within this mental realm—an inner sanctum that would function as the core of his consciousness, allowing him to enter his mindscape at will. The book advised that this anchor be a location intimately familiar to the practitioner, preferably one they could visit in the real world. The more details that could be recalled, the stronger the anchor, and the easier it would be to re-enter the mindscape.
For his temporary anchor, Carman chose Livre's workshop. He had spent countless hours there, making it an ideal foundation. To reinforce his mental image, he thoroughly explored the workshop, visiting every room, memorizing every nook and cranny. He even had Ryuzu carry him to a higher vantage point so he could take in the entire structure from above.
It took days of meticulous effort, but eventually, he successfully cleared the fog in an area and constructed a stable representation of the workshop within his Paracosm. With careful mental sculpting, he transformed the interior: the usual mechanical clutter was replaced with neatly arranged shelves in the storeroom, each holding books cataloging his most important memories. The workshop itself mirrored the original, but instead of tools and machinery, it housed an archive of blueprints both completed designs and unfinished projects. These blueprints spanned not just the technology he had learned in Teyvat but also designs from Earth, though time had introduced gaps and errors he was working to correct.
Carman continued his nightly practice, steadily expanding the stable region of his Paracosm, often rereading and practicing the steps before sleeping to reinforce his progress.
[End Flashback]
Back in the present, Carman pondered over some potential issues he had spotted and came to a conclusion.'I should probably train Clervie in Occlumency as well. It would help prevent information from slipping. Mind-reading abilities exist in Teyvat, and even if Occlumency doesn't counter them completely, the improved memory recall alone would be invaluable.'
Turning to his journal, Carman flipped through its pages. Lately, he had been sketching out plans for L'équipe de Scène. From his knowledge of the game, sheer personal power, even that of the level of the Raiden Shogun, paled in comparison to the cunning and vast reach of an organization like the Fatui or Wriothesley's network. Information is power. It could let one slip past enemies unnoticed, or better yet, manipulate supposed allies into conflict, profiting from their downfall without revealing one's hand. While he disapproved of the Fatui's actions, that didn't mean he couldn't learn from them.
'But where do I start recruiting…?' Carman pondered. His organization couldn't simply be a scattered collection of informants, he would need people to take on tasks for him to aide in bringing his ideas into fruition. It needed a hierarchy, a structure, a system that would ensure loyalty and efficiency without compromising security. He had only one Moraxian Contract left, and he was hesitant to use it, he didn't want to cover his body in tattoos. A tiered contract system would be more efficient: a chain of command where only the upper echelons were bound by secrecy, while lower ranks were recruited as needed.
Then, inspiration struck. A mercenary guild, or at least one that would act as cover for the majority of the active operatives of his organization. Not every member would need to be bound by secrecy—only the top brass. But it was even logical for high-ranking mercenaries to be under contract, ensuring secrecy on certain topics, because even in the light there are secrets better left unsaid. These leaders could then manage their own recruits, maintaining secrecy where necessary and recruiting promising individuals to various positions within the true organization.
However, this plan hinged on Carman either starting or taking over an existing mercenary group. Fleuve Cendre seemed promising—according to rumors Ryuzu had overheard, nobles frequently cheated their hired help out of Mora, leaving mercenaries and private investigators desperate for reliable income. There was bound to be a group seeking stability.
Unfortunately, Carman himself couldn't approach them directly—he was still physically five years old. No one would take him seriously. No, that task would fall to Ryuzu. But she couldn't use her public adventurer persona, nor her Pale Lady guise. That meant she needed yet another identity.
As Carman considered his growing to-do list, he grew weary at all he had to do.
'I need to get a hobby, I am going to burn myself out at this rate...' He thought.
Then, an idea came to him, one that combined one of his past hobbies with potential profit. It was time to make a guitar. 'And why stop there? With my knowledge of elemental circuitry and the Khaenri'ahn tech I salvaged, I could use Electro Crystals to create electric guitars as well…'
A grin spread across his face. 'Teyvat is about to get three new music genres, depending on how many songs I can remember—or compose.'
Opening his blueprinting tab, Carman set his research direction and was surprised to see techniques he hadn't even unlocked yet listed among the skills he could apply.
[Researching: "Rock Instruments"]
Selected Techniques: Alchemy, Blacksmithing, Transfiguration, Transformation, Electrical Engineering, Elemental Empowerment.
Required Materials:
Silver Ingot ×3
Iron Ingot ×4
Electro Crystal ×4
Treated Wooden Plank ×10
Copper Ingot ×5
Raw Rubber (5 lbs)
[Time Until Completion: 3 Days]
'Hmm. I can supply the metal and Electro Crystals, but I'll need to buy the wood and rubber…' Carman mused, gathering his available materials.
"Looks like that's something else to add to Ryuzu's to-do list. She's already handling so much… when does she even take a break?" he muttered.
Little did Carman know, Ryuzu was currently lounging in the living room, a novel in her hands, steam practically rising from her head as her eyes locked onto the "Citron" mentioned by the store clerk earlier. She had yet to realize what it actually meant, and she hurriedly skimmed through the chapter, hoping against hope that she would find the thing that defined this "Citron" genre among this seemingly endless compilation of degeneracy.
-To be continued