Marvel Magic Case Files

Chapter 677 Outside the Course (Second Update)

Salomon's sudden appearance startled Wanda, causing her to drop the shrimp dumpling she was struggling to pick up with her chopsticks. She saw Salomon leading a dazed woman through the portal; the woman was missing a shoe. Wanda could smell the woman's magical aura from afar, and a series of illusions flashed before her eyes—a hazy vision, a moon, a raven. Having received basic magical education, Wanda could deduce the magical entity's identity. The woman's magical aura didn't bother her, as she was now sitting amidst a pile of incredibly powerful magical artifacts, eating. A two-headed snake with yellow and black stripes occasionally crawled over to speak to her, and the pale phantoms of three women roamed among the bookshelves. After the initial shock, she began to grow accustomed to these bizarre sights.

"Where is the king?" Salomon asked.

"He's... Why are you wearing a new suit?" Wanda had already changed out of the women's suit Salomon had bought for her and was now wearing the gender-neutral robes of Kamar-Taj. This kind of clothing made Wanda very relaxed; women's suits and high heels were simply torture for a girl from the Eastern European countryside who had just gotten used to city life.

"I have a date to go, I'm in a hurry. Remember to give this to the King. Her prophecy is very important, remember to have the King go to the sorcerer Hamil for interpretation and divination. You absolutely must not look at those prophecies, understand?" The sorcerer spoke very quickly. He folded up a piece of paper covered in writing and handed it to Wanda, then pointed to the madwoman beside him, "It will temporarily be your neighbor, living in the room next to yours."

"What conspiracy has she gotten herself into?" Wanda was startled, completely forgetting that Salomon had mentioned going on a date. She had assumed this woman, like herself, had been tricked by some dark magic creature.

"There was no conspiracy. She just... ran out into the road and cast a spell on a stone, trying to bring it to life." Salomon rolled his eyes. "She can't tell the difference between living and dead things anymore."

The deranged woman was smiling at her, but her eyes were wandering aimlessly. Wanda suddenly felt a pang of pity for the woman; she could sense that the woman's situation was similar to her own—both had been chosen by magical entities, imbued with power, and thus become spellcasters. Only, she was more fortunate, having not let the magic cloud her judgment. "I am the Lady of Calamity, I am a servant of magic," the woman suddenly spoke, seemingly to verify Salomon's claim. She said gently, "Do you know that the souls of the dead are no different from those of humans?"

"See? That's it. She's having another episode. Medication for mental illness is hardly helping her, because it's not a physical illness, but a spiritual one," the sorcerer said. "Her room has an anti-magic field to prevent her from casting spells indiscriminately. Don't go in."

"Is this the crazy woman you mentioned who was locked up in the police station?" Wanda asked curiously. "Does Kamar-Taj often take in wizards? Or does Kamar-Taj help those in the wizarding world who are in trouble?"

"No, it's just that she's too insane, almost completely incapable of taking care of herself, and we can't find anywhere willing to take her in. To avoid her causing any major trouble, we have no choice but to place her here temporarily. Fortunately, she's not very dangerous, otherwise she'd have to go to the headquarters dungeon." Salomon blinked, seemingly oblivious to Wanda's unspoken message. "Once she's a little better, she can find a job in Kamar-Taj, or perhaps become an environmental activist and speak at the United Nations. But right now, her mission is to provide prophecies, and that's very important."

"That seems to be the case," Wanda said regretfully.

After giving his instructions, Salomon led the madwoman to her room. Wanda glanced down at the papers in her hand, then stuffed them into her pocket. Although a strange curiosity was nagging at her, she would definitely keep Salomon's word.

"That's what Salomon said?" The young mage took the paper from Wanda, setting aside the tea and snacks he had just bought. He opened it slightly and saw some of its contents. "I will go to see the mage Hamil, my father." He nodded solemnly. "It seems Salomon wants to use the Cosmic Cauldron to obtain accurate fragments of prophecy, which is why he intends to use this vague prophecy as a casting material. Using the Cosmic Cauldron requires a certain level of magical skill; otherwise, one will get lost in the endless possibilities and profound knowledge of the universe. Therefore, permission from the Sorcerer Supreme is necessary."

"When can I see the Sorcerer Supreme, Your Majesty?" Wanda had already figured out the power structure of Kamar-Taj through the words of the young sorcerer, and she knew that only the Sorcerer Supreme could control Salomon. "Salomon said I was important, and the Sorcerer Supreme might want to see me." She burped, "But I've been eating for almost a day, and the Sorcerer Supreme hasn't summoned me yet."

"The Venerable One has her own plans, and no one can interfere." The young sorcerer glanced at Wanda, pondering the true intentions of the Daughter of Chaos. Other sorcerers might think Salomon had completed his task, completely controlling the Daughter of Chaos, and that Kamar-Taj could use her condition to monitor Sithon. However, the young sorcerer felt that Wanda's feelings for Salomon were far too intense, clearly exceeding normal boundaries. Emotions are the most unpredictable things, and he worried that Salomon might play with fire and burn himself, turning against the Daughter of Chaos—a situation that would be bad for everyone.

"Salomon intends to introduce you to the magical world." He thought of a topic to distract Wanda. "He said you've only ever lived in a small town and have never been exposed to the outside world. Although Kamar-Taj can't teach you too many spells, we'll still teach you and introduce you to the various schools of magic. I believe Salomon never mentioned this course."

"Really? He told me that I should focus on learning magic right now and don't need to know those things for the time being." Wanda was startled. "Did he really say that? My teacher doesn't want me to learn anything outside of the curriculum."

"Uh...yes." The young mage was a little embarrassed, feeling he might have slightly disrupted Salomon's plans. He tried his best to steer the conversation back on track. "Salomon is a very gentle person. He's just worried that you're studying too much and might neglect your studies. He mentioned your recent 'Monster Identification' course, and you're doing very well. I believe that with such an excellent student like you, he'll definitely approve of your proactive acquisition of knowledge within the permitted scope. Come with me, we'll go to Kamar-Taj headquarters. There are many basic spellbooks submitted by various schools of magic that you can refer to. If the Sorcerer Supreme summons you, you won't need to go through another portal."

"Is the matter resolved?"

"Yes." Salomon sat down and let out a long sigh, seemingly expressing relief. After so many days of missions, he had barely had a proper meal. "This restaurant was recommended by Athena," he said. "I've never been here before." The waiter promptly poured him a glass of wine. "Even the wine was recommended by Athena."

"I've been here before."

"Me too."

Salomon was somewhat bewildered by the witch's answer. Joan chuckled twice; clearly, she was quite pleased to see Salomon's foolishness.

"When you were away on business, your foster mother would often bring us here to eat," Bayonetta said, twirling her knife. "It was to make up for your neglect of us, little boy."

Please vote! Two chapters of everyday life to follow!

(End of this chapter)