I loaded the Mysticism panel.

"There are a few things I'd like you to take a look at."

Richard sat down opposite him and took out the cracked clay figurine from his bag.

The clay figurine is small, about the length of a palm, and covered in cracks.

"This." Richard placed it on the table.

"It's something I acquired from a hunter friend a while ago."

It originally contained something, but the seal broke, and the contents escaped on their own, leaving only an empty shell.

Isabella picked up the clay figurine and looked at it closely.

After watching for a while, his brows furrowed.

"The cracks are spreading from the inside out, like the brushstrokes used for sealing..."

She turned the clay figurine over to look at the base:

"This is an indigenous witchcraft seal from the islands further south of the Spice Islands in the South China Sea."

I've only seen a few examples in the literature; I've never disassembled one myself.

"Can it be disassembled?"

"Yes." Isabella put the clay figurine down.

"But it will take some time, as this kind of witchcraft seal is all about 'trapping'."

It lulls things to sleep without nailing them shut.

Now that what was inside has awakened and gone, the remaining magical seals on this shell are also disordered. I have to compare them bit by bit with the documents.

"Thank you for your help."

"I'll leave it here for now," Isabella said, pushing the clay figurine aside. "I'll take it apart for you when I have time."

Richard then took a second item out of his bag.

It was that palm-sized piece of flag material.

The moment the flag was laid out on the table, the atmosphere of the room changed.

Isabella's gaze lingered on the piece of leather for a long time without moving.

"...This is something from a high-ranking evil creature."

"Yes." Richard nodded.

"The new evil creature in the Ash Belt is called the Flag Bearer."

It raises its flag, gathering the evil creatures beneath it into ranks, killing those beneath its banner, and the contamination flows back to it through the flag.

Isabella picked up the piece of flag fabric and examined it closely under her spiritual vision.

She read very slowly, her brows furrowing little by little.

After looking at it for a while, he finally put the piece of leather back on the table.

"You want me to disassemble this thing layer by layer, to figure out what's tangled inside..."

Isabella shook her head.

"I can't do it."

Richard was not particularly surprised to hear this.

"There's so much stuff wrapped around it," Isabella explained.

"The remnants of dozens or even hundreds of evil creatures are all trapped in this piece of skin, and at the very bottom, there is a wisp of the flag bearer himself."

"That is a high-level evil creature, its rank is above mine."

She glanced up at Richard.

"I'm just a little expert."

"So... this thing can't be taken apart?"

"I can't take it down." Isabella pushed the piece of flag material towards him.

"You need to go see Professor Mortimer."

A hint of hesitation appeared on Richard's face.

He was a little unsure of himself, going to ask a highly knowledgeable professor for help with nothing but his own empty hands.

Isabella saw right through his intentions.

"Do you feel too ashamed to ask a professor for a favor?"

Richard did not deny it.

"Your thinking is wrong."

Isabella tapped him with a red pen.

"Students should be a little thick-skinned."

"Seeking help from a tutor is a student's privilege."

She looked at her nephew.

"This privilege will expire if not used."

"You don't need to now. When you become a teaching assistant or lecturer in the future... then a bunch of students will come to you."

"Besides, you're the one who had a letter of recommendation written by Professor Mortimer himself."

Isabella continued.

"The fact that he was willing to write that letter for you is a way of acknowledging that you are under his tutelage."

"Take something and ask him to take it apart. Do you think he'll kick you out?"

"Even if he really finds it annoying..." she smiled.

"I'll still take it apart for you even if you find it troublesome; it's his own fault for writing that letter in the first place."

Richard was both amused and exasperated.

He understands the reasons, but there's one crucial reason why he won't go.

"...I don't know where Professor Mortimer's office is, and I don't even know if he's usually at the university."

That's how it is with full professors; they rarely stay at one university.

Isabella listened and nodded.

"There was an office reserved for him in the Petrie Building, but he only went there a few times a year."

She thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll take you to look for it when I have some free time."

"Then... is it possible to run into someone?" Richard asked.

"It depends on luck," Isabella herself wasn't quite sure.

"His office door was always open, with a pile of documents waiting for his signature."

"I knocked on his door a few times, but he was mostly not home."

"When he was around... he would always be holding his cup of pale, colorless tea, staring blankly at old articles from a hundred years ago."

Richard was willing to go with his aunt, and of course he was willing to go with her.

"Then I'll trouble you to take me there."

And that's how it was settled.

Isabella called out to the outside room.

Clara.

"Mentor." Clara strode in.

"Is your uncle still as irritable as ever lately?"

Clara thought for a moment.

"He modified a gun for a hunter last month, but the hunter was in a bit of a rush, so he was kicked out of the workshop."

Isabella nodded; she had expected this.

Richard has something he wants to process into a usable alchemical item.

Isabella raised her chin toward the piece of flag material.

"It's material from a high-ranking evil creature, heavily contaminated, and ordinary alchemists can't handle it."

"We need to find a skilled craftsman like your uncle."

Clara's gaze lingered on the piece of flag fabric.

"...He needs to dismantle this thing thoroughly before he can make a move."

She glanced at Richard.

"My uncle won't accept any materials that haven't been disassembled and sorted out; the risk is too great."

"I understand." Richard nodded. "We need to get past Professor Mortimer first."

"Mmm." Isabella took it.

"Once Professor Mortimer has sorted it out, then Clara can take it to her cousin."

"Let me pass on a message to your uncle for you," Clara added.

Whether he accepts the offer or not depends on his mood at the time.

"Thank you, senior."

Isabella rewrapped the flag fabric in three layers of salted oil paper.

"This stuff is heavily polluted; I don't feel comfortable leaving it with you."

She put the wrapped flag material into her writing desk drawer.

"Leave it here for now, and bring it with you when you go to see Professor Mortimer."

After she finished dealing with it, she sat down again.

The map of the western front, covered with red stitches, hung behind Richard in the room.

Richard glanced at the map again.

Isabella saw it.

"That's the distribution of seals on the front lines; the red lines indicate seals that have already expired or are about to expire."

"As the battle has progressed, those weak points on the front lines have been brought back to life one by one."

"Sofia will be going to the front lines in a few days."

Richard's heart skipped a beat.

"To the front lines?"

"Yes." Isabella nodded: "Independent fieldwork."

"Is it dangerous?" Richard asked.

Isabella glanced at him.

"If it's too dangerous, I won't let her go."

"The fighting in the Mons area is over."

She raised her hand and pointed to the map, specifically to Mons' thumbtack.

"The situation there is stable now, and there's no major danger."

"Monts..." Richard repeated the place name.

"It should be in your editorial team's report."

Isabella raised an eyebrow: "On the day of the retreat, the incident involving the Angel Mons happened over there."

"Thousands of soldiers said that a row of glowing archers in the sky blocked the pursuers, allowing the retreat to proceed successfully."

She picked up the grapefruit tea on the table and took a sip.

"The higher-ups need to find out exactly what that thing is."

Was it someone from the mystical side who intervened, or something else entirely?

Sophia and a few other graduate students will also check it out.

The aunt checked her watch and went to the outer room to check Sophia's luggage again.

"Time to send a telegram."

"Don't worry, mentor, I'll send it to you every day. Don't find it annoying."

Sofia is still as lively as ever.

………………

Three days after Sofia left, Richard received a letter.

The parchment envelopes had no recipient, no address, and no postmark.

It was sealed with black wax and pressed with a cat stamp.

He opened it, and the card was signed with only "m."

The letter was very short.

"Now that you've signed your name and settled down in the capital, I'm going to arrange some activities for you."

"I'll come over this Friday night at nine o'clock, make sure the doors and windows are closed."

Richard put the card away.

Mrs. McNeill had previously mentioned "automatic scribes".

The scholar ingested a mixture of gray stamen grass, poppy shells, laurel leaves, and lichen, and in a trance, he would find himself writing by himself.

It is a collection of fragments of thought from the spirit world.

Most of it is junk, but occasionally you can find lost incantations or a vague prophecy.

A medium must be present to supervise the writing process.

The base reward is two pounds, but if you catch something valuable, it can increase dozens of times.

Mrs. Mary said that she personally arranged the first order after signing her name.

Now, the first order has arrived.