I thought the name was announced on the plane, but it doesn't look that way now.
— Do you know me? — I ask carefully.
— Of course I do! — Lucy clapped her hands expressively. — Monsieur, the world of art has no borders, and France was among the first to recognize a new talent. And I personally visited the Spring Flowers Gallery and saw not only your paintings exhibited by the owners of the canvases, but also the painting of the gallery itself! The portraits that came out from under your brush are extremely realistic, as if created by magic for "live portrait". I could not help but recognize your style!
— Thank you very much. — I bow my head in gratitude. — I am happy that my work brings joy and pleasure to people. — I curl my lips into a smile.
— Oh no, dear Sora. It is a great pleasure for me to meet you in person! — The woman smiled broadly, becoming very similar to the girl on the first floor. — May I know your creative plans for the near future?
— To be honest, — the whole situation is unexpected for me, I am confused, a little puzzled, especially from women nothing but interest is not felt. — I write either on inspiration or on commission. And inspiration is such a thing that it's impossible to predict its appearance. — I shrug and smile apologetically and cautiously.
— Yes, yes, of course! But I see that you are not only interested in portraits, but also in landscapes. Perhaps you would be interested in a view of flowers? My estate has a wonderful greenhouse, and the rose garden boasts many of the rarest varieties in both worlds. Unless you have urgent business, my family and I would be delighted to have you visit!
— I don't mind, in principle. I just have to finish my registration, find a place to stay, and I'm fresh off the boat... — it's been a long time since I've been this confused and disorganized.
— I don't see a problem. — The woman waved her hand like she was swatting away a fly, then picked up my form and glanced at it quickly. — Mr. Hoshino, are you only sixteen? — She looked at me with an appraising look. — I never would have guessed... — the woman shook her head and started reading again. — Omyoji? Really? — I nodded and sat down on the couch where I'd settled in. — What are you good at?
— Basic practices. Some of the higher rituals are inaccessible to me due to incomplete energy formation. Some are only available to those who serve gods or deities, which I am not. Otherwise, I have no limitations.
— You are amazingly gifted, monsieur. — Lucy shook her head again. — Few talents can match you. Well, well... aha... unmarried. No children. That's good. — the woman muttered under her breath, but I heard her. — Fatal diseases? Any curses? — The look in her gray eyes became a little more serious.
— No. — I shook my head negatively. — The Ommyoji are not prone to such things, especially if you perform the right rituals, you can get rid of a lot of things.
— That's interesting! — The lady of the room interrupted. — And to what degree of complexity of curses can you "cleanse"? — The woman's eyes burned with interest, but not idly.
— There are different cases, many nuances, but the most difficult to remove are birth curses that have infected the ancestral altar. It is really difficult and complicated. In other cases, the most important thing is to determine the nature and purpose, and then proceed from there. — I was listened to attentively and seriously, and both women listened to me.
— And you can do all that? — Lucy beat her colleague to the punch.
— Yes. But it is not easy and not cheap: some rituals require expensive ingredients and there are no cheaper analogs — the price is the same. If you are interested in my services, we can meet sometime and talk about it.
— Okay, I'll send you an owl. — The blonde nodded, and I briefly wondered what this was all about, because in the USA and Japan they have long been using artifactual means of communication, or ordinary, simple ones. Owls are a purely European thing.
— Okay. Okay. Now that that's out of the way, the only thing left is the wand.... — Lucy spoke again.
— I didn't get a wand yet.
— But how? — the woman was quite surprised. — What did you use in the USA?
— As it turns out, — I grin crookedly. — In the U.S., all wands have irremovable control charms, so as soon as I left the country, I got rid of the wand.
— It's a strange decision, a personal concentrator. — Two pairs of eyes stared at me uncomprehendingly.
— Nothing special — just a simple, cheap, inferior piece of equipment. — I shrugged.
— Ah, then I see... — Lucy stretched and looked at her colleague. — Well, now that we're done here, I invite you to stay with me, if you haven't changed your mind, hmm? — I shook my head negatively and picked up the briefcase where I'd put the paintings. — Then we can go. You'll get the papers with the owl when everything is ready. — The woman who had taken me under her arm was already dragging me away, I barely had time to say goodbye to the mistress of the 201st office.
— And your work?
— Ah, — the woman waved her hand as if nothing important was going on, — I wrote myself a day off, and my assistant is smart, she will manage on her own. — Meanwhile, we went down another flight of stairs to the first floor and came out into an enclosed courtyard. — Wait, I'll apparate. — Before I could even react, I was pulled and dragged through the room.
It wasn't a pleasant sensation, but not fatal for those with a vestibular system. I was yanked violently, squeezed hard, twisted, pulled through the narrow space, and thrown into the normal world.
Thanks to the spirits, I was unharmed and didn't lose my briefcase, but I was still a little seasick. The woman was understanding and let me recover without rushing me. Looking around, I realized that we were in a magical city.