It was getting dark. Leo sat on a bench outside Eldren's wand shop when he saw the professor coming.
"There you are," Professor Eury said, waving a hand. The streaks of aqua-blue in her auburn hair caught the warm glow of the street lanterns. "I am so, so, sorry for taking long. Oh gosh, it's getting dark too. Do you want me to escort you home?"
"I'll be fine. You've already done enough for me today."
Professor Eury smiled. "Doesn't hurt to ask." She motioned for him to follow. "C'mon, I'll take you outside."
The portal could not be accessed by Leo even if he wanted to. He had to wait for the professor.
Through the portal they went.
After a ripple in reality, Leo and the professor were back into the Main Road. First, Leo glanced over his shoulder. Yep, he saw the moat and the bridge but no floating castle, no hills, and although the sky was the same shade, the stars were not. It really was a pocket dimension: a warped Territory.
The Recreare was not completely dark due to the floating magic lamps. Carriages rolled down the wide streets and there was a street performer way off entertaining a lingering mass of young students.
Leo was about to walk. "Ah, wait." Professor Eury tugged on his sleeve. "Before you go, I wanted to ask—can you come to the Arche Hamlet tomorrow?"
"What for?"
Leo didn't want to waste another second away from Phoebe…
"The headmaster wants a more formal interview," she explained. "You'll have to fill out some paperwork—where you live, basic details, that sort of thing. Oh, and uniforms! Forgot about that!"
Uniforms, dammit, right!
'How much do those cost, I wonder…?'
God, he didn't want to think about it.
"Oh, and," she added, "in six days, we have orientation."
Leo exhaled. He had expected something like this, but hearing it confirmed made it feel real. He was enrolled in Arcadia Academy. He had new responsibilities and, shudder, new expensives.
Professor Eury continued, "Orientation is August 29th. That includes the Candidate Orientation, where you'll be sorted for classes—F to A."
"Right, to divide students by ability-level. Are the gaps between classes big?"
Professor Eury made a so-so gesture. "Eh, not that big. The system is there to place people based on their knowledge and experience, but by the third year, the gap between those already trained and those with raw potential is mostly not too big."
Leo hummed. That made sense. No academy worth its name would completely cut off the talented just because they started from a lower position.
Leo asked, "What about dorms? When do we get sorted for that?"
Ideally, it happened sooner rather than later. He wanted to bring Phoebe with him, after all.
"That happens on September 1st, the first official day of the semester," Professor Eury said. "You'll find out then."
Leo stuffed his hands into his pockets. He didn't particularly care which dorm he ended up in. As long as it gave him a place to sleep, that was good enough.
Professor Eury smiled. "I won't keep you. Get home safe, Leo."
He nodded. "See you tomorrow."
As Professor Eury turned and walked back toward the portal gate leading to Arcadia, Leo lingered for a moment, watching the portal ripple and the woman disappear. He stood alone in the streets of the Recreare.
Six days until orientation.
Nine days until the semester began.
Everything was about to change.
***
The Baishi Mall was known for hosting stalls. Hao-Yu's little textile stall was among them and damn it was popular. The large line-up genuinely caught Leo off-guard.
'No wonder Robert was so confident. This merchant's stuff is popular. We hit the damn jackpot!'
He did not approach though. He waited. From midnight to sunrise, he stayed there.
'I want to go back to Phoebe ASAP but I need to judge this man to see if I can trust him. If he can make me the money I need.'
The concept of sleep did not apply when it came to Hao-Yu's wares. Women were positively shaking to buy his fiber and yarn. Although eighty-percent women, there were also a chunk of men in line too.
Good. Excellent. Robert was with Hao-Yu too in order to learn and safely guard him. He was no Leo but he had a strong will. Many times, that was enough.
This was an old era where merchants stayed at their stalls for days to sell out. Public or private inns did not exist in the Baishi Mall or any of the Chinese neighbourhoods. Post-war, the inns were in fact government posts. Clustered communication systems that served as vital hubs for governance, transportation, and communication across the vast territory of the Imperial Sect.
In other words, either you lived here or you didn't. There was no in between.
Hao-Yu was not one of the merchants that lived near the Baishi Mall. Not because he couldn't but because he did not wish to. He had an ambition to constantly work and make riches. A home? A family? He had zero interest in such things.
Hence why he did not only sell to people. Hao-Yu sold to the stores here for cheap. There were others, oh sure, but he was picked because he was reliable and cheap. He could get items from the Underground and the Dark Sector of the Nebulous Realm with ruthless efficiency. You made an order, he trucked a path and got it.
The stall was closing down. Robert told his friends to keep an eye on the merchant while he went out for a smoke. The moment he was away and alone…
"Things are going well, I see."
Leo was behind him. Robert flinched and turned over. Inhaling sharply, he restarted his walk. The Baishi Mall was open twenty-four-seven. Even at night, it was accessible by the people.
"Sir Anemoi. You were watching?"
"Mhm. Tomorrow, I suppose you're going to be selling to the stores?"
"That's right. For the first day, Hao-yu says he does not approach them; they approach him. They set a date and then they sell."
"I need to get back to the Dark Sector," said Leo. "I require the carriage. Where is it?"
"Remember that friend of his? Oliver? It is at his place. However, it will be difficult if you take the carriage. We require it for tomorrow."
"As do I. It seems we are in a bit of conundrum. Will Lord Ginzo allow a lone trader to go through?"
Robert was quiet. "Probably not," he admitted.
'I'd rather not fight Ginzo either…'
Leo's injuries against Grigori Durov had not fully healed. His three broken ribs were healing ever so slightly. The pain did not affect him in the slightest. It was the physical condition in itself. It detracted from his dematerialization and overall mana reserves. He was struck down to the halfway point. Ginzo was the type of opponent that Leo would have to be one hundred for—and even then, he didn't know what the young war fighter could do, so it was a toss-up. The youth was blessed by the gods, unlike him.
What to do, what to do…