Lillian had not read a newspaper in a very long time. To her, the distractions of the mortal world had long since become like wind and rain outside a window—nothing more than a blurred cacophony. However, starting from yesterday, the daily papers were silently delivered into this stagnant time and space.
At this moment, she looked down at the paper spread across her lap. The paper was coarse and the smell of ink was pungent, completely out of place with the starlight flowing around her.
A picture was printed in the paper. It was a hospital ward, showing a young man with black hair and black eyes leaning against the head of the bed. His expression was calm, carrying a hint of the daze that comes with having just woken up. Beside it, the headline was in bold, black font: “Outland Youth Assists Order Bureau in Dismantling Cultist Nest; Another Tale of Success for Opeth City’s Public Security.”
Lillian remained motionless.
Her gaze seemed nailed to that face. A hundred years was enough time to let memories fade, to let faces blur, and to let passion turn to ash.
But some things were branded into the soul; even scraping the bone would not remove them.
She reached out. Her pale fingertips trembled slightly as she gently touched the rough surface of the newspaper, stroking the unfamiliar yet hauntingly familiar image that made her heart stop.
Where her fingertips touched, there was only the unevenness of ink and the coldness of the paper.
A drop of water fell without warning, soaking into the edge of the paper and spreading into a small, dark damp spot. This was followed by a second drop, then a third. In the silence, there was only the very soft, almost inaudible sound of falling tears.
She made no sound. Only the line of her shoulders trembled imperceptibly as tears flowed silently down cheeks that had remained unchanged for a century, dripping onto the ornate, complex fabric of her skirt and splashing into the inverted galaxy beneath her feet.
A long time passed, long enough for the tear stains to dry, leaving only shallow wrinkles on the newspaper.
Only then did she take a very light, very slow breath, her fingertips lingering before reluctantly moving away from the portrait.
When she raised her eyes, the century of emptiness and trance in those crimson pupils had been completely burned away, leaving only a certain near-terrifying clarity and resolve.
She looked at the newspaper, looking at the person in the portrait, and murmured in a low voice:
“It’s okay.”
“If you won’t come over…”
She paused for a moment and slowly folded the newspaper with a solemn motion.
“Then I’ll just go over there.”
***
Jiang Ming swore that inviting Elvira to dinner was likely the worst decision he had made in his two lives.
Jiang Ming looked at the stack of empty plates piled up beside Elvira’s hand, then glanced at the bill the waiter handed over—the length of which made his eyelids twitch uncontrollably—and his mouth couldn’t help but spasm.
“Thank you,” Elvira said, holding a water cup in gratitude.
Unusually, Jiang Ming could see a trace of pleasure on Elvira’s exquisite face.
Jiang Ming silently withdrew his gaze from the bill. During the entire meal, aside from watching food disappear at an alarming speed, he had barely found a single gap to interject.
“Now,” he cleared his throat, trying to move his attention away from his rapidly shrinking wallet, “can we talk? About some matters regarding this city.”
“Okay.” Elvira nodded.
“First question,” Jiang Ming leaned forward slightly with genuine curiosity, “does your Order Bureau… not provide meals?” He really found it hard to ignore that staggering appetite from just now.
“The regular establishment provides stipends and meal subsidies,” Elvira answered quickly. “But I am an Outsourced Assistant Personnel; I do not enjoy that benefit.”
“Outsourced?” Jiang Ming raised an eyebrow slightly.
“There are two ways to work for the Order Bureau,” she explained. “First, pass the internal assessment to become a Formal Investigator. The treatment is stable, but you are strictly bound by regulations. Second, sign an outsourcing agreement as an individual or a team. You are paid by the piece or receive a fixed consulting fee. The degree of freedom is higher, but the benefits are limited. I belong to the latter.”
“Sounds like the latter is more like a temporary worker…” Jiang Ming muttered, then asked, “Then why didn’t you choose the first option? Isn’t stability good?”
Elvira’s red eyes looked directly at him, giving a reason that was surprisingly simple:
“Because I am still a student. A student cannot meet the attendance and deployment requirements of a Formal Investigator.”
“A student?” Jiang Ming chewed on the word, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind. He reached into his pocket, took out the invitation letter, and gently placed it on the table between them.
On the sealing wax, the Key Crest Surrounded by Stars gleamed with a matte finish under the restaurant lights.
“You wouldn’t happen to be…” Jiang Ming watched Elvira’s red eyes suddenly focus on the invitation, and he spoke slowly, “…a student of the Dome of Knowledge as well?”
Elvira fell silent. It wasn’t because Jiang Ming had guessed her identity, but because of that invitation. She recognized this type of invitation; it represented a transaction of money and power. At the very least, it proved the man before her was a noble.
Elvira had no positive feelings toward nobles. In her impression, that class of people was mostly arrogant, greedy, and completely ignorant of true danger.
But this person had just treated her to a very substantial meal, regardless of his purpose. Based on that point alone, she felt she should give the other party a corresponding level of respect.
“Be sure to keep it safe.” She gently pushed the invitation back toward Jiang Ming, her tone flat but serious. “This thing is very important.”
“Since we’re schoolmates now,” Jiang Ming followed up, feeling that the return on investment for this meal was rising sharply, “is there anything special I need to pay attention to for the start of school tomorrow?”
“There will be an entrance test tomorrow,” Elvira answered.
“A test?” Jiang Ming was stunned for a moment, not expecting this.
“Yes. This exam does not test established knowledge; it only focuses on the student’s on-the-spot reactions and… basic character. If one’s conduct is poor, even with an invitation, they will not be admitted.” She chose her words carefully.
“I suggest you go to the Central Library now and consult the book Chronicles of the Skyward Academy. It records the test topics and general overviews of previous opening ceremonies.”
“Are there… rewards for the test?” Jiang Ming pressed. For a ritualistic activity held every year, there should be some sort of prize.
“The top three in the comprehensive evaluation can have all tuition and fees waived during their time at the academy,” Elvira stated.
After she finished, she glanced at Jiang Ming. According to her understanding of nobles, this level of monetary reward should be insignificant to someone capable of obtaining an invitation to the Dome of Knowledge.
However—
Jiang Ming, sitting opposite her, seemed to have received some kind of shock. His spine instantly straightened, and the exhaustion in his eyes vanished. He almost cleared the remaining food on his plate like a whirlwind and then stood up with a “Swish”
“Miss Elvira,” Jiang Ming’s voice carried a sense of urgency, “Please lead the way.”
A waiver of all fees for three years!
If he didn’t want his future student life to be even more miserable than his overtime work before transmigrating—having to work a job while studying—he had to take one of those top three spots.
***
The afternoon sun turned the stone-paved road white. Jiang Ming followed Elvira across the street, the soles of his boots making a monotonous clicking sound against the pavement. The air smelled of coal smoke mixed with horse manure, sticking warmly to his face.
Elvira walked very fast; Jiang Ming had to walk briskly to keep up.
They passed through an industrial area. There, the red brick walls were so high they blocked half the sky. Iron pipes protruded from the walls, puffing out large clouds of white steam, and the scalding moisture hit them in the face.
Jiang Ming followed Elvira around a street corner, and the scene suddenly changed.
Gray-white stone buildings stood silently. Ivy bit into the walls in mottled patches, and stained-glass windows were dazzlingly bright under the sunlight.
“This way.”
Elvira turned into a street lined with trees. Most of the sycamore leaves had turned yellow, and light leaked through the gaps in fragments, dancing on the shoulders of the two. Several young people wearing long robes walked past carrying books, the embroidered patterns on the hems of their robes glowing slightly as they moved.
The library appeared at the end of the street.
Jiang Ming followed Elvira as they stepped inside the library and looked up.
Three levels of circular corridors spiraled up the walls, with iron railings cast in the shape of vines intertwined with gears. In the middle was an atrium where sunlight poured through a crystal dome, turning into a hazy pillar of light that hit the stone platform in the center perfectly. Star maps were carved into the stone platform, their lines appearing to flow slowly in the light.
A few scattered people sat in the hall. It was so quiet that one could hear the rustle of turning pages and a regular ticking sound coming from the distance, like a clock, yet not quite.
Elvira had already moved toward the spiral staircase. The iron stairs were helical with hollowed-out steps, producing a faint metallic echo as they were trodden upon.
“Third floor, East Wing,” Elvira said softly, as noise was clearly prohibited here. “Chronicles of the Skyward Academy is in the H-03 section.”
“You seem very familiar with this place?”
Labels on the bookshelves flashed by: Spell Geometry, Steam Runes, Ethics and Debate, Northern Ecology.
Elvira did not answer. She simply stopped in front of a row of shelves on the east side of the third floor. Without even searching, she directly pulled out a thick, silver-embossed book from chest height and turned to hand it to Jiang Ming.
On the spine, the ancient characters for Chronicles of the Skyward Academy shimmered with a matte finish under the crystal light.
As she watched Jiang Ming take the book, Elvira knew in her heart that the probability of success for this kind of behavior—flipping through previous years’ questions the night before an exam—was minuscule.
Perhaps this was just some kind of performance. Elvira had seen many similar people, especially young men of decent background, who liked to cultivate an image of being diligent and ambitious in front of others—especially the opposite sex—even if it was just temporary window dressing.
Vanity was a common ailment regardless of status, though noble children were often more skilled at it.
But what did that have to do with her?
“You have one evening,” she stated plainly, her red eyes reflecting Jiang Ming’s figure as he already had his head down flipping through the book. “The library closes at midnight.”
Jiang Ming raised his eyes from the pages.
“One last question,” Jiang Ming said. “Regarding the laws of the city, is there a book that is… like an overview?”
A flash of surprise quickly flickered through Elvira’s red eyes. This question exceeded her expectations for someone “cramming at the last minute.” She simply nodded, turned to the row of shelves diagonally opposite, and pulled out a book.
The cover was printed in neat font: Opass City Code Analysis (Third Revised Edition).
“This one is relatively basic, covering civil, criminal, and some general rules for the jurisdiction of transcendent affairs.” Her voice remained steady, showing no opinion on this abrupt request. “More detailed case law compilations and special acts are in the adjacent section, the L-series.”
“Why do you want this?” Elvira couldn’t help but ask at the moment she was about to leave.
“To be a law-abiding citizen, of course. What, did you think I was researching legal loopholes?” Jiang Ming shrugged. “Someone like me with no status and no strength can only rely on local laws.”
Elvira was speechless for a moment. What the person before her said seemed to make sense, but there was definitely something wrong with that last sentence!
An outsider who could obtain an invitation and had killed three cultists immediately upon arrival—no matter how one looked at it, he had nothing to do with “no status or strength.”
She remained silent for a few seconds and did not press further. Instead, she walked back and sat down on the other side of the long table where Jiang Ming was sitting. The movement was so natural it was as if she had intended to sit there all along.
She pulled the thick, hard-covered book she had been carrying since the hospital from the inner pocket of her uniform jacket, laid it flat on the table, and flipped to the page with the bookmark.
Curiosity was spreading.
This was a good chance to see exactly what this man named Jiang Ming intended to do.