Chapter Nineteen: The Female Writer and the Tuition Fee
[You have come into contact with the "Whisper."]
At just a glance, the exquisite snuff bottle deeply captivated Shade.
Shade had seen even more delicate artifacts in his own world, yet at this moment, he felt an irresistible urge to possess this one. Fortunately, the woman’s voice gently pulled his thoughts back to reality, and Dr. Schneider merely smiled at Shade’s unguarded fascination.
“Even relics at the poet’s grade can affect ordinary people, which is why the Church and the Academy strive to contain and control them. But you have recovered remarkably quickly... Once I open it, you will fall into a dream. The dream will last exactly seven minutes and twenty-three seconds, during which you will learn about the Academy’s past and present. This will help you believe what I tell you.”
“Such a precise length of time?” Shade asked, leaning back slightly on the sofa as the doctor instructed, adopting a posture suitable for rest.
“Nearly every remote student who joins Saint Byron’s as an Arcane Ritualist must undergo this relic to confirm the information they receive. It has been used countless times without fail,” the doctor said with a smile.
The doctor’s assertion of “never” only made Shade more uneasy, though he kept his thoughts to himself and signaled the doctor to proceed.
“Very well, please prepare—”
The doctor rose, covering his mouth and nose with a damp towel to prevent himself from succumbing to sleep, and then stepped back.
“Begin.”
The lid of the bottle was lifted, releasing a swirl of iridescent smoke, and Shade immediately lost consciousness.
Shade dreamed. In the dream, his soul left his body and ascended high into the distant sky, watching a bustling steam-powered city shrouded in gray fog, observing factories in the distance belching thick smoke...
Then he flew north, crossing the city, mountains, grasslands, and forests. Eventually, he beheld snow-capped peaks, and behind the tallest mountain, the vast northern ice cap.
Perhaps it was only a moment, or maybe hours or even days, but the northern sky darkened. Beneath the shimmering aurora borealis in the night, behind the glowing glacial mountains, a massive complex of buildings appeared.
It was an unprecedentedly strange dream. Upon awakening, Shade only remembered strolling through the enormous Academy, wandering ancient castles, gazing at the stars from the spire’s summit, threading through lecture halls filled with desks, searching for herbal recipes in the basement, and consulting the archive of relic containment in the library...
Mysterious, ancient, profound, and secretive—that was Saint Byron’s Comprehensive Academy, yet also a gathering place for the occult. It had stood beyond the northern glaciers from a distant past to the present.
His vision was still blurry when he opened his eyes. The doctor’s figure came into focus on the opposite sofa, fumbling to close the snuff bottle’s lid and carefully returning this poet-grade relic to its box.
“How do you feel? Now you know the Academy truly exists, right?” the doctor asked with a smile after putting away the bottle.
Shade sighed wistfully, almost nostalgic for that strange dream.
“It really is true. What you said is indeed true.”
Though it had only been a dream, this unique experience was enough for Shade to make the right judgment.
“The only side effect of this poet-grade relic is a slight addictive quality.”
Dr. Schneider’s voice was gentle but carried a strange force, as if trying to pull Shade fully back from the dream world.
“Forget the dream, Shade Hamilton. But sooner or later, as an Arcane Ritualist, you will join us, riding steam locomotives to the northern city, trekking across the ice cap beneath the aurora, huddling together through fierce snowstorms to endure long nights, helping to climb the highest glaciers—and then entering Saint Byron’s Comprehensive Academy. As an Arcane Ritualist... my dream is to be granted a lifelong professorship here after achieving the Ten Rings rank. Shade, if you like it there, then join us.”
It took Shade some time to regain his senses after that dream, so vivid and yet unreal. When the doctor formally asked for his decision again, this time Shade nodded without hesitation.
“Yes, I want to join the Academy and become a remote Arcane Ritualist.”
A sincere smile spread across Dr. Schneider’s face.
“Then congratulations, Shade—may I call you that? You will soon become the fifth Arcane Ritualist in our group. Just a moment, Miss Dorothy Louisa stopped by earlier; she will join me in officiating your enrollment ceremony. I can introduce you to her, and she’ll see that I’m not always so unlucky. The ceremony requires at least two members present to prevent new recruits from being deceived.”
Though the doctor had been warm since his visit to 6 St. Derland Square this morning, his enthusiasm now seemed to grow even stronger.
“Oh, Louisa is a fourth-year remote Arcane Ritualist, rank Four Rings. Her main occupation is as a novelist. I know you’ve just ‘awakened’ from your blind ignorance, so you probably haven’t read her works. But she’s somewhat well-known—the two short stories ‘Dream of the Snail’ and ‘Midsummer Night’s Wish’ won the kingdom’s literary award three years ago. She was even summoned by His Majesty the King along with 35 other laureates.”
“You really didn’t have to mention how many awardees there were back then,”
the door opened, and the blonde woman from earlier stood outside. She still wore the same outfit but looked a bit annoyed.
“Doctor, is it really necessary to share all that unimportant information every time you introduce your friends?”
The atmosphere in this four-member remote Arcane Ritualist group seemed quite good; at least they were friends, which pleased Shade. Yet he also suspected this blonde writer had been listening outside the door all along.
“Surely not everyone is so unguarded,”
he thought silently as he prepared to stand and greet her.
The doctor avoided answering the blonde’s question, smiling as he gestured for Miss Louisa to sit.
“Detective Hamilton has accepted my invitation; now our group finally has five Arcane Ritualists.”
“Doctor, you really aren’t using any strange relic that drains luck, are you?”
She was suspicious but still came in and extended her hand to Shade.
“Dorothy Louisa, novelist and part-time journalist.”
Miss Louisa seemed efficient, so Shade stood and shook her hand lightly.
“Shade Hamilton, a detective of sorts.”
“That’s quite a respectable profession.”
They sat down again as the doctor cleared his throat, signaling he was about to speak.
“Shade, if I may call you that, there is one last matter before your formal enrollment—I need to discuss tuition fees.”
Shade’s heart sank, his joy once again dampened by harsh reality. He blinked.
“Yes... tuition.”
He realized the doctor had omitted the Academy’s significant drawback when introducing it and the Church—after all, the True God Church wouldn’t charge members.
“The tuition is charged by grade level. Just a moment...”
Dr. Schneider retrieved a document from the bookshelf behind his desk. The blonde woman said nothing but watched them with interest.
“This is the fee schedule. Because we are remote students and do not deal directly with the Academy, they produce these documents to prevent group leaders from overcharging... I hear this was quite common centuries ago.”