Chapter 1: A Summer in Wokingham

Part 1

The stars were exceptionally bright tonight.

The pitch-black room with no lit candles was very noisy. The countless stars were shining down their light through the wide-open window, but it still wasn’t bright enough to read. Diana, who had been struggling vainly to read the letters in the darkness for the last thirty minutes, threw the manual aside in vexation.

“It’s not like I can turn the lights on either……,”

she muttered as she tussled her hair. Her long crimson hair immediately became a mess, but she did not have the time to care. She glared resentfully at the astronomical telescope on the windowsill. The stupid machine refused to turn on. That was the problem here.

The weather had been exceptionally clear today. There was nary a cloud in the sky, and it had been bright during the day even under the shade. Diana, who habitually lived with the curtains always drawn, had woken up late in the afternoon and gone to the market, and, though she was exaggerating a little, she had thought she might go blind.

The clear night sky would not be getting clouded anytime soon. Diana had instinctively felt that today was ‘the day’. This was why she had gotten hold of Hester, who had returned home late, and borrowed her sister’s telescope, which had been gathering dust in the storage room, and why she had even listened to Hester’s explanation on how to use it, though only briefly. Diana had urged her sister to go to bed because she had thought she could simply learn the rest by reading the manual, but the stupid machine simply refused to work. At this rate, the day would begin growing brighter before she managed to collect any starlight.

“Sigh.”

She sighed before she could stop herself. Diana sat with her knees pulled up to her chest as she stared at the rectangular sky outside the window. She did not know when she would get another chance after today. Her birth star, Callisto, was like Dulcinea, the King of the Stars, in that it didn’t appear in the heavens very often, and neither was it a star that only at specific times like the seasonal stars did. Callisto was a patient star that took to the skies every night. However, as befitting of a star called the Star of Darkness, it was only rarely visible to the naked eye.

That was why today was her chance. It was a clear night with no clouds in the sky. Even Callisto began to shine, if only a little, when the stars were so bright. She could not confirm this with her own eyes because it was outshined by other, greater stars, but she had thought for sure that the astronomical telescope, a machine meant for collecting starlight, would surely be able to collect Callisto’s light…….

Crunch. Diana ground her teeth together as she glared at the telescope. The grandfather clock had already chimed thrice just earlier. She could not give up now, if only because it was so unfair. Now was the time to be stubborn.

Diana jumped back up. She had been hard at work tinkering with the telescope from ten in the evening to three in the morning. She was certain that she was doing exactly as her sister had told her, exactly as the manual had said. But the telescope never stirred. Diana was certain that there must be something wrong with it, but she had no one ask for a second opinion.

She would either have to wake up her sister, who had practically been falling asleep at the dinner table, in the middle of the night, or she would have to turn on the lights like an idiot so she could read the manual again. But the fickle starlight only lingered in places that had been dark for a while. She had kept all the lights off ever since early in the evening that day in preparation for the night, and the capricious starlight that lingered in the room would immediately whisk away if she turned on the lights out of frustration. Rationally speaking, that was the worst option she could choose.

Eventually, Diana lied down and closed her eyes. Then, she concentrated on her breathing. Her shoulders stopped their enraged quivering, and her irritation and fatigue gradually melted away. Nothing would come out of being agitated. Diana calmly recalled how her bottle of Callisto’s starlight was almost empty.

“I should start over again from the beginning. From the very beginning,”

Diana mumbled as she walked up to the telescope again. She didn’t even want to look at the machine anymore. She cut away her newly flaring rage as she checked the telescope’s two lenses. There wasn’t a single speck of dust to be seen on them. Next, she checked the tube. Hester’s telescope was very old, so it was possible that there was a crack in the tube. It was the space the starlight passed through after phasing through the lenses, so even the smallest cracks could pose a huge problem.

“Huh?”

Her eyes suddenly spotted a faint glow as she scrutinized the tube. She narrowed her eyes as far as they would go. The bottom of the tube, where the telescope met the tripod, was rather loose. Diana touched it carefully before she stood up resolutely. Then, she rummaged through the desk and pulled out a thick sheet of black paper.

It would be impossible to fix up the telescope with the paper if the tube had truly cracked. But it wasn’t as if she could take it in for repairs in the middle of the night either. Which was why Diana decided to at least try wrapping the loose area with black paper.

The bottom lens began glowing faintly just then. Diana stared at it as if she was enthralled. The faint light around the lends began glowing brighter. She had barely just managed to collect Callisto’s starlight, which was squirming like it was alive as it phased through the lens.

Diana cheered silently.

She had succeeded at last.

 

“Good morning Diana……. Did you sleep late last night?”

Hester greeted Diana as warmly as she always did, but worry crossed her face when she saw how terrible Diana looked. Diana had dark shadows beneath her eyes as she nodded. Hester continued,

“You look pale. You should have stayed in bed a little longer.”

“I’ll go back to sleep after eating breakfast.”

Her eyes were hollow as she spoke. Hester pushed a dish filled with fried eggs and bacon toward her younger sister.

“Were you able to collect your starlight last night?”

“Yeah. Somewhat.”

“That’s good. The telescope’s so old I was worried it might not work properly.”

Hester smiled brightly. Her own birth star, Dulcinea, was a rare star that only appeared once or twice a year. It had already been three years since she had last used the telescope.

“I think we’ll need to take it in for repairs. There was a slight crack in the tube.”

“What? But it shouldn’t have worked at all if the tube was broken…….”

Diana chuckled dryly. She had suddenly recalled the great pains she had suffered last night.

“I still managed to get it to work somehow.”

Diana began picking combatively at her fried eggs once she had spoken. She stabbed her eggs so hard that the yolk broke and soaked her bacon. She was so sleepy that her food reminded her of the telescope.

“Should I have helped you last night?”

“What are you talking about? You nearly fell asleep while eating dinner, remember? You haven’t even been able to sleep properly these days because you’ve been so busy. People have always needed to sleep properly. Even the most sensible of people turn crazy if they don’t sleep enough —didn’t you know?”

“Yes……. You’re right. You should finish eating and hurry back to bed.”

Diana was barely cognizant of what she had just muttered. Just how tired was she? But Hester did not criticize Diana for having such trouble last night even as she smiled bitterly.

The starlight from one’s birth star was precious and used in various ways. It could be used to write down prayers, produce potions, or recover your strength. Starlight was also used when casting spells because it made the stars happy.

The poor sometimes collected starlight from several different stars to sell, but the starlight that was collected to be sold was worth less than starlight that you collected on your own. Sincerity was of the utmost importance in magic, and the starlight that you collected personally was also filled with your sincerity.

Just then, Hester heard the sound of water boiling in the kitchen. She quickly left her seat.

“I’ll bring you some tea. Drink it before you go back to sleep.”

Diana moved her mouth as she nodded back. She was already chewing her finely shredded bacon for the fiftieth time. She swallowed the bacon that she could no longer taste and put down her fork because she didn’t have an appetite, but then she suddenly spotted the daily newspaper at the other end of the table.

The world of magic didn’t have its own newspaper. News only traveled by word of mouth, and most witches were normally such recluses that they didn’t have access to even that. News about gathering for Walpurgis Night or a national magic convention was conveyed properly, but that was not the case for other news. This was why witches tended to say the following when they met their acquaintances for the first time in a long while:

 

“I’ve been well.”

 

It was meant to express that you hadn’t died in the meanwhile.

But human society had newspapers that made it easy to people to learn about what was happening in the world. Diana had seen many people reading the newspaper in the streets. They had all had their noses practically buried in them —were they truly that entertaining?

Diana grew curious and peeked at the newspaper with tired eyes. Her expression grew worse as she skimmed past column after column.

“Why do you even read this stuff?”

News articles were so incredibly crude even after ignoring terms she wasn’t familiar with, like tariff reductions and colonization policies. Who on earth was this womaned named Monica Dormer that the whole world needed to know that she was involved in an affair, and what crimes had this Mr. Ludovico Corelli committed that the newspaper was spreading word of his suicide in such dry writing?

Did these people actually like having their private life made public like this? Mr. Ludovico Corelli was already dead, so he wouldn’t even know that he had been mentioned in the newspapers. Diana thought that people must have horrible manners.

And as for the next part…….

“A dragon?”

Diana furrowed her brows. There was only one person in the whole world who traveled with a dragon as far as she was concerned. That snake —she was loath to even think his name— had forged a contract with the king and should be working hard at the border around now.

‘How long was his contract again?’

Diana blinked vacantly and folded her fingers as she tried to remember. One year? No. He would have already returned to the Jiles manor if so. Then, two years? Or perhaps three? He would have completed his contract by now if it had been two years long, but he wouldn’t have completed it yet if it was three.

Diana was wavering between two and three years before she ultimately decided to give up. She had a deep grudge against Cedric Jiles, so there was no reason for her to remember how long his contract was.

But Diana could not take her eyes off the news article even still.

 

<<A Dragon in Ambrose Square?>>

 

Despite the title of the article, it was actual just an interview with some old man who insisted he had seen a dragon in the middle of the night. Diana clicked her tongue as she folded up the newspaper. She didn’t know who this old man was, but he was undoubtedly senile. Dragons were rare creatures. And there was no reason why Cedric Jiles would come up to Wokingham even if he had completed his contract. He would have either returned to his beloved mother, or he would be resting comfortably in one of the many Jiles manors littered across Ingram.

And, who cared even if he decided to come to Wokingham?

Diana was no longer Barbara Jiles’ apprentice. Thus, she and Cedric were no longer related to each other.

 

* * *

 

“You’re here again today,”

the waiter greeted her as soon as she had walked inside the café. It took Diana a moment before she realized that the waiter was talking to her. The waiter continued,

“I thought you wouldn’t come today. Your sister seems to be coming home late these days.”

There was an awkward look on Diana’s face as she sat by the window. She wished he would give her the menu and leave already, but he was excessively kind and began talking at length about various topics.

“It’s hot, isn’t it? I feel like it’s been particularly hot this year. I hope it cools down a bit in August.”

“Right…….”

“Where did you come from, Miss? You’re from Ingram, right? There’ve been so many foreigners around lately, so it’s been hard to tell. The owner of the new restaurant across the street is apparently from Messina.”

The waiter continued pouring out question after question before Diana had the chance to reply to any of them. And so, she simply smiled awkwardly. She feared that he might have kept talking at her until her sister came home had it not been for the timely arrival of a new customer.

Diana let out a sigh and relaxed once the waiter had left in a hurry. It had been a mistake to thoughtlessly tell the waiter that she lived on the upper floors of this building when she had first visited the café and the waiter had nosily asked her question after question. Perhaps it was because he saw her as a neighbor, but the waiter always chatted with her whenever she visited. She had even gone home after just ten minutes once even though she had come all the way downstairs just to escape the heat.

‘Should I change cafés?’

Diana shook her head no. Witches rarely left their homes, and she did not like to travel far. It was much easier to bear with the waiter’s consistent chatter than it was to steel her heart and find a new café. Besides, this café was perfect for escaping the midday heat and the perfect place to wait for her sister to return because it was close to home.

The orange juice she had ordered was ready before long. She looked out the window as she sipped on her juice. The sunset was dying the evening sky like a spill of crimson paint, and people were coming home after finishing a hard day’s work. This wasn’t one of the few extremely rich districts in Wokingham, but Diana quite liked the scenery here. It was a cheerful town that was occasionally noisy and occasionally bothersome. It was the complete opposite from the Jiles manor, which had always been devoid of warmth no matter which city they had been staying in.

Jiles. Discomfort surged up to her throat as she suddenly thought of the name. Diana gnawed at her ice and crunched it between her molars as she recalled what had happened that morning. Her muddled grey eyes quickly took on the color of indignation.

 

“Sir Cedric’s sent us a letter.”

 

Diana had woken up after ten again today and was eating a late breakfast when Hester spoke up in surprise as she flipped through the mail.

 

“Who?”

“Sir Cedric Jiles. I guess his contract to guard the border has finally ended.”

 

Hester had carefully cut the envelope open as she spoke. Diana had simply stared blankly at her sister with her fork still in her mouth because she had yet to fully grasp the situation.

 

}It looks like he came to Wokingham two days ago. It’ll be dangerous to keep a dragon in the city —I wonder what he’s done about that…….”

“Who came?”

“Sir Cedric. Do you want the read the letter too?”

“Cedric? As in the Cedric Jiles that I know?”

“Yeah.”

“Why would that snake come here?”

 

The expression on Hester’s face had turned strange. It was only then that Diana had realized that she had accidentally let slip the ‘word that she used to refer to Cedric Jiles,’ and Diana had slowly continued,

 

“Oh, I mean. That’s…….”

“Were you referring to Sir Cedric?”

“Yeah. It’s just that……. It’s because the emblem of House Jiles is a dragon! But dragons are scary, so I call him a snake since they’re cuter! And it’s not just me —Chesterty calls him a snake sometimes too!”

 

Diana had barely managed to scrape together an excuse. Fortunately, Hester did not pry further into the matter, though she did still look puzzled.

 

“Does she now?”

 

Diana had been both relieved and quite proud of herself for coming up with that on the spot, but then she had heard her sister quietly muttering the word, ‘snake.’ Diana had wanted to bite her tongue and die.

‘I’ve been trying so hard to be a proper younger sister!’

She was practically tricking Hester, but Diana hadn’t cared much about that. Diana wanted her sister to think that she was always nice and cute, like how Barbara Jiles had always loved her as a ‘talentless but kind and sincere apprentice.’ The image that she had built up over the past ten years wouldn’t crumble down because of one simple mistake, but Diana still felt like her slip of tongue had cut deeply into her heart. It was worse because that slip of tongue had been related to Cedric Jiles.

Damned Jiles. Damned snake.

Nothing good ever happened to her when that bum was around.

 

“So, what did Cedric say?”

 

Diana had smiled brightly to hide her bewilderment. Hester had been as kind as she always was as she handed Diana the letter. Diana could only pray that her fingertips wouldn’t quiver as she accepted it.

 

“Diana?”

 

Hester had looked puzzled when her younger sister remained silent for quite some time. It was only then that Diana had snapped her head back up and shaken it vigorously.

 

“It’s nothing. Should I reply to him since you’re busy?”

“Sure.”

 

Hester had changed and left shortly thereafter. She apparently had a lunch appointment today, and she needed to visit the Magic Association to complete a short-term contract she had been working on. Diana had been in a bad mood all day, though she did feel better when her sister said that they would be able to eat dinner together.

Diana drank the rest of her orange juice as she irritably opened up the letter again. The neat and tidy penmanship reflected vexingly in her eyes just as it had done earlier that morning and at lunchtime.

 

To the esteemed Sol sisters,

I am writing to say hello for the first time in a long while. I’ve finished my mission to guard the border and have made my way to Wokingham just a few days prior. I happened to hear from an acquaintance of mine that the two of you were staying in Wokingham as well. May I come visit you sometime soon? I know my letter must be sudden, but I would like to ask after you in person. Please let me know a date and time that works for you. I await your reply.

 

Cedric Jiles

 

Diana glared at the letter, which was flawless in both penmanship and form. What? Esteemed? To ask after them? Who was this acquaintance that had told him the esteemed Sol sisters lived here, and why had he come to Wokingham all of a sudden? Absolutely nothing about the letter could convince her.

It was the formality of the letter that she was most suspicious about. It did not make sense for Cedric Jiles and Diana Sol to exchange such respectful letters between them, especially considering the eventful things that had happened in their past. Moreover, the letter was addressed not to ‘Diana Sol’ but to the ‘Sol sisters.’ If he was saying hello to them for the first time in a long while, then it suggested that Cedric was acquainted with her sister. The way that Hester had read the letter as if it was only natural had suggested much the same.

Just when and how on earth had they met? Hester was not acquainted with many people, as far as Diana knew, and Cedric was likely similar —though Diana couldn’t be too sure. The world of magic was always wary of having too many friends for no real reason. Witches carried many secrets, and it was normal for them to doubt someone first before they began growing fond of them.

Diana bit her lip. The high and mighty tone of the letter was one thing, but now she was starting to hate the elegant penmanship too. Diana’s own handwriting was so bad that not even her sister could defend it. Then, she recalled how she had once had to swallow her embarrassment and ask Cedric for tips on how to write nicely when her teacher had been at her wit’s end because she could not read Diana’s handwriting.

“Isn’t that your sister over there?”

the waiter suddenly said. Diana followed the line of his finger and subconsciously looked out the window. The erythroid twilight was settling down on the street. She saw someone whose hair was as red as the twilight in the sea of people who were returning home. Diana quickly paid the waiter and left the café.

“Sister!”

Diana wove her way through the crowd as she waved. Hester beamed back and began walking faster. The sisters met halfway down the street and greeted each other as if it had been an entire decade since they had parted. The worry in Diana’s face and the fatigue in Hester’s both melted into smiles.

“I’m sorry. I’m late, aren’t I?”

“Not at all. The sun hasn’t even set yet. Did you finish your work?”

“Of course.”

Diana wrapped her arm around Hester’s right arm. Hester looked lovingly at her sister for a moment before she pushed a paper bag at her. She continued,

“I bought some brownies on my way back. You should have some as a snack.”

There were two large chocolate brownies in the bag. Diana smiled and nodded.

“We should eat them together later at night.”

It was actually Hester who liked sweet snacks. Diana didn’t care much for sweets, but she didn’t let it show and ate them with her because Hester liked them.

“What did you today? Were you bored?”

“It was okay. I read a bit, and I played with Mirabel too…….”

“That’s good. Should we bathe Mirabel together tomorrow? —I don’t have much going on either.”

“Doesn’t she hate getting bathed?”

“That’s why we’ll need to do it together.”

Mirabel was Hester’s pet white cat, and she hated baths. The way that their home had become a mess when she had last tried to bathed Mirabel a month ago was still vivid in Diana’s memory.

“Oh, right —are you free this Saturday?”

Hester asked. Diana looked puzzled because she didn’t understand why Hester was asking.

“This Saturday?”

“Sir Cedric sent us a letter, remember? I think this Saturday should work nicely……. All of my urgent requests will be done by then too.”

Diana hesitated and discretely bit her lip. Hester was too busy counting the days to notice that Diana had suddenly fallen silent. Diana stared up at her sister but kept quiet. Questions kept creeping up to her tongue instead of the answer she was supposed to give.

How do you know Cedric Jiles?

Are you hiding something from me?

Are you keeping secrets from me too?

“Yeah. I’ll reply to him and ask.”

But Diana swallowed back her questions. Instead, she smiled like a fool as she quietly crumpled up the letter in her pocket.

Jiles was nothing more than a relic of the past to Diana. She was no longer Barbara Jiles’ apprentice, and she no longer lived at the Jiles manor. She did not want to have anything to do with Jiles anymore. The gloomy manor, the crazy household, the cruel monsters —she was done with them now. Diana was ready to cut them cleanly out of her life.

She did not care about Cedric Jiles or his dragon anymore. All Diana wanted was to live happily with her sister.

 

* * *

 

Praga, the Summer Star, was evidently determined to bake Wokingham to death.

Diana, who had spent her summers comfortably at the Jiles manor until now, surrendered to the intense heat of Wokingham in just two months. It was so bad that she slept during the day and was awake at night. But her days felt shorter because she always woke up so late. Diana had promised herself that she would live a proper life every time she appreciated the sunset, but she did not think she would be able to keep her promise until the season was over.

‘I wasn’t always like this,’

Diana thought every now and again —she had never imagined that she would ever live such a lazy life like she was doing now. She had been such a diligent apprentice that even Barbara Jiles had said something about it. Apparently, her unexpected hospitalization had negatively influenced her diligent lifestyle. There was no other way to explain why she had changed so much.

Hester never said anything about Diana’s lazy lifestyle. Diana had technically completed her apprenticeship, but she hadn’t officially pledged an oath to the king yet, so perhaps Hester simply thought that Diana wasn’t able to work yet anyway. But Diana found her sister’s merciful attitude burdensome. Their love for each other was wider than the ocean, but they had never lived together before. Diana could not help but fear that her sister thought she was an irredeemably lazy bum.

That was why Diana was desperately waiting for August 1st to come. The king of Ingram held audiences with witches on the first of every month. Hardly any witches came all the way to Wokingham just to meet the king, however, so the first was usually the day that witches on probation who had just completed their apprenticeship swore their oaths to the king. They could not write their names down on the magic directory of Ingram until they had sworn their oaths. In other words, witches had to swear an oath to the king if they wanted to make money.

Diana had unfortunately been discharged after the first of July, so she had done nothing but rest and play for an entire month. It had been a very boring, hot, and irritating month now that she looked back on it. She had never had so much free time before in her life, and she could not stand it. All she could do was stay home all day long while Hester was so busy, but thankfully, Cedric Jiles’ letter had dropped on her like a bomb and let her spend her time agonizing over it instead of being bored.

Cedric Jiles. Just recalling his name made Diana’s head hurt. She had no idea why he wanted to meet, but there was no way that she would simply do as his blackened heart wanted. What if that peerlessly cunning snake said something thoughtless to her sister?

“Sister. Cedric said that he can’t make it on Saturday. It looks like he’s been unexpectedly busy. He says he’ll write again.”

“I see.”

Diana had never replied to Cedric’s letter, and Hester had not imagined even in her wildest dreams that her beloved younger sister would lie to her. Diana was acting cutesy as she lied, but she was cursing at Cedric on the inside. This was not her first time lying to Hester, but she still hated the fact that Cedric was making her do it. It hurt her pride because it almost felt like Cedric Jiles was someone important to her.

But in any case, time passed. The tedious month of July had ended dynamically because of Cedric’s letter, but now it was finally August, which she had so long waited for.

Wokingham was moistened by a drizzle that had rained at dawn. And Diana walked into the Loengren Palace for the first time in her life.

 

“Will you be able to find the reception room, Diana? Do you want me to take you?”

“You need to go to the assembly hall. What if you’re late?”

Today was also the day of the magic conference. It was a great honor to be invited as a member of the association, so it was better for Hester to attend and raise her honor if she could.

“I may be running close on time, but I should still be okay…….”

“Gosh. I’ll be fine, I promise! And I can always ask someone for directions if I need to,”

Diana said confidently. Hester could not erase her worry, but there was little else she could do because Diana was pushing her from behind.

“Make sure you ask someone for directions every time the path splits.”

“Okay.”

“The reception room’s in the outer palace, so be sure not to go to the inner palace by mistake. You need to be careful because people aren’t permitted inside the inner palace.”

“I get it. I’m not a child.”

More people stared at them as Hester’s preaching continued. Diana’s face flushed red as she whispered,

“I’ll go straight to the assembly hall as soon as I’m done with my oath. You should worry more about yourself instead of worrying so much about me.”

Witches and wizards who represented all of Ingram attended the magic conference. The three houses that represented magic in Ingram would naturally also be there. Diana could not help but be concerned for her sister, who would be all alone. All the more so because the sister in question was more concerned about her younger sister, who had only come here to swear her oath, than she was about herself.

“My sister’s pretty naïve, now that I think about it,”

Diana grumbled as she watched over Hester’s retreating figure. Diana loved her one and only sister, but it troubled her that Hester didn’t seem to know how to care for herself. Most of the world of magic was egocentric, and it was rare to find someone like Hester.

‘Or maybe she’s only like that with me?’

Diana grinned, her mood having lifted. But it was still too much. Her sister cared about her excessively, even from an objective point of view, so Diana would have to watch over her sister in turn.

Hester wasn’t only Diana Sol’s older sister. She was a genius who had inherited her mother Griselda Sol’s talent, and she was a witch who was loved by Dulcinea, the King of the Stars. It would become the talk of the world of magic if a witch as great as Hester were to slip up. And, as a full-fledged witch herself, Diana was fully prepared to assist her sister so that it would never happen.

Diana was repeating things to herself that would make older witches smile if they heard as she walked. Loengren Palace was decorated with round arches and gorgeous statues, and it was so florid that it immediately caught her eyes. She might even miss her chance to swear an oath to the king if she allowed herself to sightsee without any regard for time.

This was why Diana did her best to ignore the radiant light blue palace and the beautiful gardens as she kept moving forward. The walkways leading to the reception room were quiet, unlike the bustling front gates. Diana confidently walked along the path that Hester had told her at first, but she gradually grew nervous as she confronted the completely empty walkway.

“Where the heck am I……?”

Diana looked doubtful as she looked around. The warm sunlight poured through the open walls, and the corridors were bright and lonely. The walkway on the other side of the fragrant garden where the flowers were in full bloom stretched endlessly, and that too was completely empty.

Diana fretted without being able to do much about it for some time. She did not dare keep walking where her feet led her because she knew that she was horrible with directions. But a small bird flew toward her from her front just as she was about to turn around and head back the way she came. She startled and ducked, but the bird didn’t mind and sat down on her crimson hair.

“What the heck?!”

She shivered from the unfamiliar sensation and vigorously shook her head. But the bird never budged, perhaps because it found her head comfortable. Diana reached up and grab it when she couldn’t stand it any longer. But she found the sensation spreading through her hand incredibly odd just as she was about to send it back into the air.

Birds were living creatures. Living creatures were supposed to be warm.

So then, why was this bird cold?

A chill ran down her spine. Diana carefully unclenched her fist. She saw what the bird looked like as she loosened her grip. It was small enough to fit inside her small fist, and it had ethereal blue eyes. But Diana simply stood there, unable to either grab or release the bird. Her heart thumped furiously in alarm.

The thing inside her hand most certainly looked like a bird. But no one who saw it could actually call it one.

After all…….

“Canavern.”

She heard a sudden voice by her ear. Diana stared at the mechanical bird blankly as it shot out of her hand like an arrow. The bird flew away and only stopped once it had reached a certain man who was standing a bit of a distance away.

Diana watched quietly as the man whispered something to the bird. She could not hear him because he was whispering quietly, but she could still observe him well enough.

He had light silver hair and distinctly blue eyes.

He was a wizard from House Alpheus.

“It seems that Canavern has been rude to you.”

The wizard slowly walked up to her. All Diana could do was to shake her head in a daze because she had not imagined that the wizard would call out to her first.

“N-not at all…….”

The wizard stared into Diana once he had gotten close. But Diana was too fascinated by the mechanical bird circling above his head to notice.

“Excuse me, what is that bird?”

she asked, unable to beat back her curiosity. Wizards generally had tight lips when it came to magic, but fortunately, the generous wizard answered her question readily.

“It is a machine. One that is powered by magic.”

“Then it was made using both magic and human technology?”

Diana’s eyes were sparkling. She had never heard about magic and machines working together before. It might even present her an opportunity to reinforce her own magical skills.

“Does it interest you?”

“Yes!”

“186B Harrington Street, East Tether,”

said the wizard. He continued,

“You should pay the place a visit.”

“All right…….”

Diana replied awkwardly. It was only then that the wizard realized that no one else was around, and he asked,

“Might you happen to know where the assembly hall is?”

The assembly hall. Apparently, this wizard was here to attend the magic conference, just like her sister. He looked quite young, so he must be rather skilled.

Diana pouted as she pointed behind her.

“It’s over that way.”

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“The reception room is this way.”

“What?”

Diana was startled as she looked back at the wizard. But he was already quickly walking away. The mechanical bird fluttered after him. Diana scratched her head as she watched the bizarre scene before she began walking again.