I...It... It's Madam Mercury. It's the great Sxailar Mercury!!!! I can't believe it's the great Sxailar Mercury! She is the captain of the Sky-Chasers??!!! I think I want to join the Sky-Chasers.
Whitney's eyes gleamed as soon as she saw the Archmage Sxailar Mercury come out of the back room. She looked at Mrs. Crysis and then back at Lenord, but now they were both looking ahead and not paying Whitney any attention.
Soon Sxailar Mercury came over and said, "Hey there, Dianna, why do you have this girl with you? Also, why were you calling for me?"
Dianna, in a flat tone, said, "I had something to inform you. It is also the reason why I brought her here. First of all, she is a part of Hermandry. Second, I believe she has information about an "artifact."
Sxailar Mercury, shocked, replied, "An artifact? That is indeed something. Dianna and I will head back to Hermandry. Meet us there soon."
Lenord Howell replied to his superior in a stern and subservient manner, "Yes, Captain! I will also go straight to Hermandry with her."
Sxailar turned away from Lenord while nodding.
Then Sxailar turned to the still dumbfounded Withney and said in a comforting tone, "Follow him. After you get back to Hermandry after cleaning up, then we can have a proper chat. Also, what is your name?"
Whitney, who was still in disbelief, answered her lifelong idol while stuttering, "M-My name is W-Whitney Winterskern, ma'am. I am a big fan of you!! You have been my idol since I was a child!! You are a woman who achieved the status of Archmage at the age of 36. Most people can't become Archmages before the age of 45-50. You are an idol to all girls who wish to become mages."
Sxailar Mercurey looked at her and chuckled, "Haha, that's nice! Well, Whitney, follow me and your teacher back to Hermandry. You seem to be in Year 1, right? Such a peculiar situation you seem to be in."
Whitney, hearing the word "peculiar," couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean, peculiar?"
Sxailar Mercury answered, while taking off her coat, "Nothing, nothing. I am sure it will probably be nothing."
Whitney couldn't help but think
Probably? Did I get dragged into something dangerous? I do not have a good feeling about this....
As Dianna, Sxailar, and Lenord hung their clothes in a nearby clothes rack, they started to go out one by one. Whitney followed Lenord to a nearby clothes store. It was quite close to the building where the McLain Security Group was.
The shop had no name. It looked like an unimportant store, and if someone was told that the shop was closed for good, it would be reasonable for them to believe they were being told the truth.
As soon as Whitney entered the store, she saw a young woman at the counter tending to two men. They looked quite rough. Soon they noticed Lenord and Whitney; both men nodded their heads at Lenord after sizing up Whitney. Lenord nodded back at them. The two men then promptly left after paying.
Soon Lenord took Withney and went up to the counter.
Whitney now had a good look at the clerk. She had fair skin with pretty brown eyes, but, except for that, all other features on her face were quite ordinary and nothing to write home about.
The clerk then spoke up, "Hey, Lenord, who is this? I don't think I have seen her before. Is she a new member?"
Lenord answered the clerk, "No. She just has information that could be useful to us. Anyway, how have you been, Brittany? I hope everything is fine. I was hoping you could clean her dress really quickly."
Brittany laughed softly like a well-mannered lady and answered, "I have been fine. I hope you too have been fine all this time. I know the Sky-Chasers are having a tough time. Anyways, yes, I will promptly clean her up and send you on your way."
She then led Whitney to a changing room, asked for her clothes, and went in the back with them.
.....
Sxailar and Dianna were walking through the busy roads of Hansforth as they discussed what the next step was.
"It is really interesting that a student has already found something we didn't. Much less a Year 1. What are your thoughts on this, Dianna? Also, isn't she the girl you were talking about this afternoon?"
Dianna nodded to her superior and answered, "Yes. She is the girl with the two natural characteristics. I also believe that she has a considerable amount of talent. After the loss of Neil in the fight against the corrupted beast, we are in dire need of more talented people. And with this as her formal entry to "This World," I believe she is a prime candidate."
Sxailar replied while stroking the sides of her gold-rimmed spectacles, "I will have to talk with the Holy Cathedral to come to a definite answer. And after all, she is of noble origin, so it might be difficult to get approval. And I don't think it's the best idea to bring someone as young as her to the frontlines."
Dianna, while nodding as if agreeing with most of the points, spoke up, "There isn't much we can do. It isn't the time to be idealistic. We have to work with what we've got, and I do not think we should give up on this opportunity. But at the end it all depends on the holy cathedral."
They walked slowly and silently in Hermandry's direction, both of them sighing from the tension and exhaustion they had been carrying around.
.....
Lenord saw the two ladies coming out from the back with satisfied looks. Whitney was particularly happy, as all this time she was wearing a dress covered in filth, and wearing something clean once again made her quite happy.
Lenord, observing the look on Whitney's face, said to Brittany, "It looks quite satisfactory as always, Brittany. What do I owe you?"
Brittany answered, "15 talons, Lenord."
Lenord fished out his wallet from his back pocket and took out a stack of money and paid Brittany.
After exchanging some pleasantries, Whitney looked at a nearby wall clock to see it was already 8:30 p.m.
After telling Lenord to look at the time, they promptly left for the academy.
Whitney wanted to ask what was going on but decided against it and decided to wait till they reached Hermandry.
Soon, they reached the gates of Hermandry; after seeing Lenord, the guards stationed nodded and opened the gates to let the two of them in. There were still people present on the campus, but as no one had the idea of going out, they all stayed away from the main gate.
Lenord led Whitney to the main building, where the dean's office was. They both soon reached the dean's office and went inside.
The inside was fitted with multiple bookshelves filled with books of many kinds, portraits of previous deans, and a few other things. The room was quite big and was illuminated by multiple magic lamps.
Whitney, at the end of the room, in front of a huge window that looked over the campus, saw two figures. One standing and one sitting on a chair behind the desk.
Whitney recognized them as Sxailar Mercury and Dainna Crysis.
In front of the desk was another chair. Lenord encouraged her to go sit while he took his position beside Sxailar Mercury.
Madam Mercury spoke up, "You just need to answer a couple of our questions. Is that alright?"
Clearly intimidated, Whitney replied, "Yes, Ma'am."
...
"It is quite beautiful. Isn't it? The stars align quite well. What do you think?"
"It is indeed, sir. The time is soon to come. It will all come to fruition."
"Indeed. Indeed. We will be able to show "His" glory to everyone."