Miss Heber is fighting her way out of the Lostbelt!

But this time it was different. She knew very clearly that she was in a dream, but she could not control her body or wake up from the dream.

Shoko Toyokawa felt like she was walking on the sea on a bright silver atmosphere. She was swaying, and with every step she took she rose higher and closer to the bright moon in the sky.

However, as she moved forward, the black ocean beneath her feet became higher, and the water level rose faster than she did.

With great fear, Toyokawa Shoko fell into the deep sea. She was almost suffocated, but she did not die. Instead, she continued to maintain a clear consciousness and drifted with the ocean current. She felt like a puppet with no control over herself.

The water is deep and cold, but not clear.

There were countless triangular fish creatures swimming in the water, swinging their tails and patrolling in the ocean currents. At the deepest point that Toyokawa Shoko could see was a huge whale with a crown on its head, and pure white corals were growing vigorously behind it like a forest.

The next day, she told Heber about the dream.

......

The dim candlelight and lamp on the desk flickered. Heber sat in a reading chair with elegant glazed armrests, reached out to pick up a pen and wrote on the thick paper.

"So, you had a rather revealing dream on your first night at Silent Bookstore, huh?"

Heber wrote many words on paper, including dreams, deep sea, ocean currents, whales, etc.

She would never forget that it was at her request that Silent Bookstore selected Toyokawa Shoko as the administrator, which proved that the latter herself had some desirable and special qualities.

"Dreams have many different meanings and metaphors. The same dream can be interpreted differently in different systems."

Heber pulled out a booklet about the size of two palms from the pile of books on the table and handed it to Shoko Toyokawa.

The latter took the booklet and found that the manuscript was titled "A Brief Account of Dreams and Borders".

Toyokawa Shoko flipped open the cover and was greeted by the elegant handwriting. Strangely enough, even though the manuscript was written in the language of Albion, she was able to read it without any difficulty.

"Dreams have their own laws, requiring specific rituals and preparations to be able to move lucidly within them. Occasionally, a fortunate individual, well-prepared, is able to bring some gift from their dreams. This act is collectively known as 'entering the dream'..."

Dreams don't have distance or direction, but they do have ups and downs. The higher you go, the closer you are to the wilderness; the lower you go, the closer you are to the real world. Usually, you can tell if you're ascending by a few signs. These include... a bright silvery atmosphere, a strong wind that lifts you up... the moon drawing ever closer, the cobalt blue starlight...

Shoko Toyokawa's hands trembled as she saw these omens in her dream yesterday.

She continued to read.

But unfortunately, this manuscript does not contain much content about the wilderness, but instead starts a new chapter to explain the knowledge about the "border".

"The border has the laws of both the wasteland and the real world. If the entire dreamland is regarded as the ocean, then the real world and the wasteland are the continents at both ends of the ocean, and the border is the island in between.

Therefore, apprentices who are familiar with shortcuts and unconventional knowledge can quickly cross the border and travel in the real world...

Most borders have fixed coordinates, but some borders travel back and forth between the wasteland and the real world. Apprentices can visit borders through dreams, or travel to them in person using rituals and tokens...

Many inhabitants of the wasteland also need to cross borders to reach the modern world. Within certain special borders, human bloodlines can continue, and their bloodlines carry unique signs. These signs include...unusual hair color, eccentric personalities, unique career tendencies, and family diseases that are limited to the same sex...

Shoko Toyokawa had been subconsciously curling her hanging blue hair with her fingers, but when she saw these words, she unconsciously loosened her hands.

The words in the manuscript reminded her, making her realize that her hair color was quite special, and that in her family lineage, female relatives seemed to generally have shorter lifespans, and there were many examples like her mother.

She read the booklet with trepidation and saw the author's signature at the end: Merlin Ambrosius.

Merlin? This name is well-known even in the East Country.

Such a legendary figure actually left behind a manuscript?

Heber knew what she was thinking at a glance. "Contrary to popular belief, it's precisely because these people were so famous that later generations were able to exploit them. For example, 'The Interpretation of Dreams by Zhou Gong,' 'Merlin's Astrology,' 'The Alchemy of Imenhotep,' 'Tamamonomae's Treatise on the Stages of Illusion'... The authors of these books were talented, but only by leveraging the reputation of their predecessors can they gain a wider market."

Only then did Shoko Toyokawa breathe a sigh of relief.

But she soon heard Heber speak again: "But the book in your hand was indeed written by Merlin."

It took Heber less than two hours to write this little memoir.

"All esoteric texts share a common characteristic: they have a threshold for reading, requiring 'translation' before they can be properly read. This is a form of intellectual transcription. After 'translation,' no matter what language the text is in, readers can quickly understand and grasp it."

Heber pointed to the manuscript. Toyokawa Shoko had easily understood the knowledge in it and was not troubled by the Albion language.

"You can't read the secret books here casually," Heber said. "Every seven days, I'll give you a test. Only if you pass will I give you a list of books for the next stage."

Heber patted the pile of books on the desk. "These are the textbooks I prepared for you. You must read them all and master the knowledge within. If you have any questions, you can always ask me... Also, I suggest you accumulate some questions before asking."

The girl with beautiful green eyes paused. "This is the first mission I'm giving you. After all, as a librarian, you at least need to have a full understanding of the hidden world."

"Of course, this is homework." Heber smiled and said something that weighed heavily on Toyokawa Shoko's heart. "The following is what I want you to do mainly at Silent Bookstore. Follow me."

Heber took Shoko Toyokawa through the hallway and back to the colonnaded courtyard.

"Yesterday I took you through the Martial Arts Garden and the Fragrance Garden."

Shoko Toyokawa didn't understand what Heber meant by suddenly bringing this up, and nodded obediently.

But she soon found out.

"I see you seem very interested in these two places, so go and clean them up."

As if to show encouragement, Heber took out a can of iced cola and handed it to her.

Shoko Toyokawa felt a bitter taste in her mouth, and the bitterness became even more intense when she saw the words "garlic flavor" written on the Coke can.

P.S. It took me some time to watch the animation, so this is the only chapter tonight, so don't wait any longer. The second chapter will be posted tomorrow at 5:00.

Thirty Days in Branquage: 141 Foxes, Dogs, and Raccoons

It does seem a bit inhumane to ask a little girl to clean the fragrant garden and the martial arts garden.

But Heber believed in the vision of Silent Books itself.

Since Toyokawa Shoko was chosen, it means that she must have something outstanding.

"Let me see your limits." Heber said, "Xiaoxiang, get to work."

This was definitely a worry that was both too happy and too extravagant. No apprentice could refuse the invitation of Silent Bookstore. If it were Priss or Mostima, they would definitely find ways to participate in this intensive training class.

Hebe was sure that Xiaoxiang could understand her sincere intentions, and if she couldn't bear it, she would probably bring it up herself.

After arranging Toyokawa Shoko's work and study life for the next few days, Herbert felt much more relaxed.

She walked out of the Silent Bookstore, crossed the metal bridge, and came to the town of Brancugar.

……

The tavern run by Mordred was doing good business, and since it was dinner time, most of the seats were already occupied.

But Heber's position remained vacant.

When he saw her, Mordred's eyes were obviously evasive, and he felt a little guilty.

Heber realized that this was because Xiao Mo still felt that he had mistakenly killed someone during the fight.

Even though Mordred no longer considers himself a knight, this pride has been inherited by her.

As Mordred served her the food, Heber expressed his thoughts in a gentle voice.

"The martial arts garden is currently under renovation. Once it's fully open, we can continue sword fighting inside."

"Forget the sword fight."

Mordred's expression was somewhat gloomy.

She realized that facing Heber's brutal swordsmanship, she had no room to hold back.

Since they weren't meeting on the battlefield, why would they fight to the death? So Mordred was now reluctant to duel with Heber again.

Any knight hates this kind of opponent who can defeat ten opponents with just one person's strength.

Because they were originally positioned in this way on the battlefield, rushing into the enemy camp and mowing down the enemy without any rivals, but when they have to fight against an existence with much higher numbers than themselves, it is no longer a joke.

Especially Mordred, who has always been known for her violent and powerful fighting style, but now she is overwhelmed by Hebe in her most proud place...

Fortunately, she didn't know that Heber had already traveled to the East Country and mastered terrible swordsmanship skills.

Otherwise, if I lose in swordsmanship skills, I might feel balanced in my heart.

Heber felt a little regretful that he didn't get to fight Xiao Mo.

At this time, someone came over and said to Hebe mysteriously: "Friend, do you need divination?"

This was a petite gypsy girl with a healthy wheat-colored complexion, standing confidently beside Heber's desk.

A small cobra was wrapped docilely around her wrist, while raising its head to observe the movements around it.

Heber glanced at the busy Mordred and was about to refuse, but when he thought of his many identities, he became eager to try.

"I won't pay too much for this." He Ling Meng Yi Er Lin San (& Er) Ling Qi Si Ba Bai said, "What method do you plan to use to tell fortunes for me?"

"Crystal ball, tarot cards, coin hexagrams, Vedic astrology... I know a little bit of these."

The gypsy girl smiled triumphantly, and only then did Heber notice that she was standing on the ground with bare feet.

"One last question. Why didn't you go find someone else, but chose me?" Heber asked her, "Am I special?"

"It's just a matter of luck," the gypsy girl admitted. "You don't know, but during this time, we were all betting in the pub about who would get to sit in this seat. I'm one of the bravest ones, so when I saw you, I wanted to come up and ask if there were any customers...or anything like that."

The gypsy girl's unexpected honesty made Herber look at her with a higher regard.

This kid looks about the same age as Toyokawa Shoko, so it wouldn't be a big deal if he took care of the business.

What's more, I do have a problem that I want to solve through divination.

"Okay, let's try it."

After she finished the stew, she saw Modred still busy in the kitchen, so she placed a deposit on the plate and followed the gypsy girl out.

Suddenly, a long sigh of regret broke out in the tavern.

It's obvious that most people lost in that bet.

......

On the street corner outside the pub, there was a half-worn painted caravan with the latest star posters on the carriage.

The gypsy girl wanted to get a chair out of the caravan, but she saw Heber coming straight in.

"Oh no..."

"What?" Heber raised an eyebrow, "Not allowed?"

"That's not impossible," the gypsy girl said. "Most customers are reluctant to stay in a caravan. I was planning to tell your fortune outside."

"I don't care." Heber looked at his phone. "How long will the divination take?"

This guy is really here for divination... and he can't be fooled.

Once again, the little cobra wrapped around the wrist made a very low hissing sound.

The gypsy girl smiled and said, "It depends on your choice. If it's long, it will take more than ten minutes. If it's short, it will only take five minutes."

"Do you know fox, dog and cat?" Heber imitated the gypsy girl and sat cross-legged on the carpet. "It's a kind of divination method from the East, similar to the Pen Fairy and the Ouija Board."

Whether it is the Pen Fairy, the Ou Die Fairy, the Chopstick Fairy or the fox, dog or raccoon, they are actually a kind of spirit writing.

Fuji, also known as Fuluan or Qingxian, originated in China. It involves preparing a wooden plate filled with fine sand and inserting a writing brush into a dustpan.

When the medium is writing in a planchette, the medium recites that a certain spirit has descended upon the person, and the tip of the pen then draws words on the sand, either to sing along with the person, to show people good or bad luck, or to give people prescriptions.

Foxes, dogs and raccoons are a branch that was not created until the end of the 19th century. They were not originally created by the Eastern people, but were imported products adapted by sailors from the United States based on Eastern folk legends.

As a new ritual, it shouldn't have any effect, but the target that the fox, dog and raccoon are pointing to is very unique.

The fox is praying to the Uga no Mikoto, the Inari Daimyojin Tamamonomae.

The dog refers to the great master Saga Shonin who lived in the world for 500 years.

The raccoon refers to the great raccoon demon Taro, who is famous in Shikoku and Kyushu.

With the help of the positions of these three, divination by foxes, dogs and raccoons is often accurate.

But according to the priests of Inari Taisha Shrine, the fox, dog and raccoon dog actually invited only these three kinds of monsters.

Fortunately, Inari Taisha Shrine has captured the two eastern fox and raccoon demons, and most dogs are docile to humans, so there is no risk.

"Yes." The gypsy girl was a little confused.

She didn't understand why Hebe chose foxes, dogs and raccoons for divination. After all, this kind of divination was only effective in the East.

But since the customer in front of her insisted on choosing it, she had no reason to refuse.

The gypsy girl took out a Ouija board with some words written on it in small, fragmented letters.

She placed a coin on top and motioned for Heber to place his finger on it.

After both of them placed their fingers on the coin, the gypsy girl murmured a prayer.