"Another new power..."
Shard turned his head to look behind, but as expected, there was no one there. His action of turning his head, however, made the doctor notice sothing amiss:
"Shard, is your neck injured?"
Shard had just undone the button at his collar, and the act of turning his head exposed the part of his skin that had been covered by his clothes. It was the sight of so abnormal traces that had prompted the doctor to ask casually.
Shard imdiately reached up to cover his neck and then hurriedly fastened the button again.
The middle-aged doctor showed a smile:
"Oh, I see."
Just as he was about to tease Shard a bit, both of them turned their heads to look towards the doctor's desk at the sa ti. There was sothing on the desk glowing, and the light was exceptionally conspicuous.
"An announcent from the Academy?"
The doctor frowned and left the window side, picking up the poetry draft paper from the desk. After a brief glance at the text that erged on it, he looked up and said to Shard,
"The Academy is requesting the five mbers of our group to assemble within two hours. The professors from the Academy want to personally ask us so questions. I think it must be about Miss Mana Feliana's incident."
He wrote a response on the paper, and only then did the glowing sheet return to calm.
"Two hours? Doctor, you go find Dorothy and Priest Augustus; I'll go collect Luviya from outside the city, we're a bit pressed for ti."
"Why is she outside the city?"
The doctor asked with curiosity, and Shard did not answer. He also wasn't particularly enjoying the conversation.
"Shard, let's split up to find everyone. Also, the Academy will certainly ask about our whereabouts from yesterday afternoon, so don't forget to think about how to explain it."
Dr. Schneider went to the southern part of the city himself; he needed to fabricate his own itinerary, which is why he reminded Shard.
Having left the clinic, Shard carried God's Gift Box back to his carriage at the street corner. After informing the two young ladies that he had eliminated the Human Pus, Iluna decided to return directly to the Sun Cathedral as she had many things to deal with, but she would visit Saint Delan Square in the evening.
Tifa went to the Yordle Palace to et up with Miss Galina, while Shard alone rode back to Miss Galina's estate. On the way back, the parchnt Shard was carrying also received a ssage.
The Academy was demanding Shard to return the Relic "Dream of Saint Byrons Integrated Academy" within half an hour; if he exceeded the ti limit, a formal written explanation would have to be provided.
"The Academy is suspicious of ."
That was Shard's first reaction, but it would have been more problematic had they not been suspicious. After all, from a timing perspective, Miss Mana Feliana's appearance almost exactly coincided with the Academy's transfer of the Relic.
But Shard was not incapable of cover-up. By rights, people in the Dark Realm should be completely forgotten, and the Academy should not be able to rember to give the Relic to him. It was through the rolling of a 20 on The Twenty-Sided Die of Destiny that sohow made the Academy rember him.
After he made the roll, the Academy imdiately provided the Relic, indicating they rembered him not as a "flash of Spiritual Light" after a 20 appeared, realizing they had forgotten this person, but that they had always been aware of him. Therefore, Shard could use this reasoning to prove he was not in the Dark Realm at that ti.
On the 23rd minute after the notification arrived, Shard successfully returned to the estate and sent back "Dream of Saint Byrons Integrated Academy," temporarily unsuitable for travel, to the Academy via parchnt, then imdiately set out with Luviya, who was having lunch.
Physical injuries were actually quite easy to heal; she had been too ntally exhausted the previous night, which is why Shard did not call her when she woke up that morning.
"The Academy suspects you?"
On the way back to the city, Luviya regained her usual deanor, not changing herself because of the significant advance in their relationship from the night before.
"No worries, that snuff bottle hasn't undergone any changes. The Academy hasn't been able to unravel its secrets for thousands of years, and they won't suddenly understand now."
Shard was not worried about this aspect. Although he promised to keep the doctor's secret, he still briefly recounted this morning's events to Luviya. As Luviya, with furrowed brows, speculated about which demon could be on the doctor, Shard pulled out "Genesis: Darkness" from his pocket.
The card danced in the carriage, and for Shard, manipulating this card was as easy as moving his own limbs.
"This is really strange; carrying the card and witnessing the ergence of The Chosen One, I can gain the ability to manipulate the corresponding card. This is the second ti, just like 'Genesis: Balance.'
However, he would no longer doubt he was The Chosen One, as he did not gain any other powers. Although he did devour the darkness and rge with past powers during the final battle, it was clear he wasn't even a candidate.
"Daknis was killed after successfully completing the ritual, so 'The Chosen One of Darkness' will not erge again. Really, the number of unclear matters just keeps increasing."
Luviya shook her head sowhat vexedly:
"But I'll take your advice; before Big City Player ends, I won't consider the matter of the third chosen one. Originally, after finishing Iluna's business, I had planned to ascend from Three Rings to Four Rings, which has been delayed for over a month now, so it's a good ti to gather the materials for the ritual."
Ascension in the levels of a Circle Sorcerer also requires a ritual. Shard's two ascensions were due to abnormal external forces, which were exceptionally rare circumstances.
"Let's take so ti off, these past two months have been way too busy."
Shard said, hesitating for a mont before gently wrapping his arm around the girl sitting beside him. Luviya's corners of her mouth lifted into a smile, her head tilted slightly, leaning against Shard's shoulder.
This ti, Mia Cat didn't interrupt the two, sleeping soundly in the [God's Gift Box] on the opposite seat, curled up like a ball. It really enjoyed the narrow and secure space.
The carriage first took them to Saint Delan Square, allowing Shard to leave so items that weren't convenient to bring to the doctor's. After all, before entering the Dark Realm, Shard had nearly taken his entire household with him.
When they arrived ho, Mia Cat suddenly woke up, and for so reason wanted to follow Shard out this ti. Thus, the two of them and the cat, pressed for ti by the Academy's two-hour limit, made their way to the doctor's clinic. Dorothy and Priest Augustus were already in town, so they arrived early.
When Shard and Luviya walked together into the second-floor sitting room of the clinic, the three, unsurprisingly, were discussing yesterday's events.
The rumors of "Miss Mana Feliana's appearance" had spread throughout Tobesk in just a day. It wasn't because the church's secrecy work was poor, but because too many people had witnessed the scene, and the matter was sowhat incredible.
"Good afternoon, Shard, good afternoon, Luviya."
Dorothy greeted them with a smile, as Priest Augustus and the doctor were checking out the four stools and the central basin.
Shard had set up many such rituals, so he pitched in too. The cat was placed on the sofa by Shard, and the restless ginger cat, seeing Shard ignoring it, sauntered over to Dorothy. During the Coldwater Port incident, it had spent a few days with Dorothy and was sowhat familiar with her.
"You and Shard's cat get along quite well."
Luviya said with a smile from the side, to which Dorothy nodded, about to pick up the petite cat. But Mia suddenly stopped, giving the girl in front of her a suspicious look with her amber-colored eyes. After sniffing a few tis, Mia let out a sharp ow~. The cat's fur bristled, and it dashed to Shard's feet, who was checking the directions with a compass.
"What's wrong?"
Shard turned and asked, then saw Dorothy's embarrassed expression. As Shard looked at her, the blonde writer touched her ear and raised her eyebrows.
"It's not Dorothy, it's Lecia."
Now Shard understood; the two girls had a mandatory eight-hour exchange each week, and it happened unpredictably. Obviously, this ti, unfortunately, it happened on a Sunday afternoon and coincidentally, t with professors from the Academy coming to inquire about matters.
"But, can Mia actually tell the two of them apart?"
Shard was quite surprised, considering even he, who knew the facts, hadn't been able to notice just now:
"In the future, we can use Mia to differentiate between Dorothy and Lecia,"
Shard thought to himself.
"Once I get to know that cat as well, Shard will have no way of telling the two of us apart at all,"
The blonde girl sitting on the couch thought to herself and then abruptly turned to look at Luviya.
"What's wrong?"
The Female Diviner blinked.
"Why do you feel sowhat different today?"
"Dorothy" asked Luviya very familiarly, her tone and deanor indistinguishable from the real writer's. Probably only a timid and alert animal like Mia Cat could sense sothing off about her.
"I feel pretty good, you look like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders."
"Really? That's just your misconception,"
the girl with purple eyes said with certainty.
According to the notification from the Academy for the doctor, three people would be astrally projected from Saint Byrons, so on the east, west, south, and north stools, only the doctor took a seat.
At one thirty-seven in the afternoon, the ritual officially began. As the doctor threw a roll of parchnt into the basin, a chilly breeze blew through the closed room.
Mia, held by Shard, squird uneasily in his arms, while three transparent figures had already arrived.
Sitting opposite the doctor was the Vice-Chancellor of Saint Byrons, Professor Hams Sanchez, the Director of the Student Affairs Office. With round glasses and formally dressed in a black suit, a pocket watch chain peeping from the pocket on his chest linked to a button, this gentleman seed to always appear in the sa attire.
In the southern chair, there sat a middle-aged woman wearing a robe and a pointed hat. Her gaze was sharp, clearly a person who was ticulous and serious in their work:
"Good afternoon, gentlen and ladies. I am Professor Vya Mirral from the Astronomy College."
She gave Luviya an additional nod of acknowledgnt, as Luviya was a student of the Astronomy College.
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