The train station remained as bustling as ever, the cacophony of voices forming a natural barrier.
Ms. Cecil opened her suitcase.
She took out an exquisite silver bell whose surface was etched with intricate patterns, along with several jars and bottles containing powders and liquids of various colors.
"A ritual?"
Elias asked in his mind, his tone carrying a hint of inquiry.
"Indeed."
Edmond's voice chimed in at the right moment.
"A certain ritual to call upon the soul and consolidate one's spirituality."
"Look at that red bottle."
"That is Hematin."
"A powder made by mixing hematite with the bone meal of a phosphor whale or a lion-owl; it can be used to draw symbols and connect to the Origin Web."
Elias knew about the phosphor whale, but what on earth was a lion-owl?
Perhaps some kind of animal similar to a gryphon?
"Its purpose is to act as a medium, helping a wandering or damaged soul return to its physical body."
Accompanying Edmond's explanation, Ms. Cecil had already unscrewed the bottle.
Her movements were extremely practiced as she mixed the Hematin with a few drops of water, turning it into a paste.
Immediately after, she extended a slender finger and quickly drew a circle on Brian's forehead.
Inside the circle was an upright pentagram.
"That is Greenstone; it should be placed at the very top."
Edmond continued his commentary.
Ms. Cecil picked up a piece of emerald-green crystal and gently pressed it onto the top point of the pentagram.
"The bell is used for awakening; it should be placed at the very center of the altar."
"An altar?"
Elias watched as Ms. Cecil placed the silver bell right in the middle of the pentagram, his mouth twitching uncontrollably.
"She's just using Brian's forehead as an altar?"
"Evidently,"
Edmond replied flatly.
'Isn't this a bit too casual?'
Elias muttered to himself.
'Using a forehead as an altar works too?'
Charlotte, standing to the side, suddenly turned her head.
She stared at Elias with her amber eyes.
Even though Elias maintained a serious and worried expression on the surface, Charlotte's intuition told her—
Her brother was currently bad-mouthing Ms. Cecil in his head.
But she had no proof.
On the other side, the ritual had reached its final step.
Ms. Cecil's expression became solemn.
Her fingertip lightly touched the edge of the pentagram pattern.
Even though Elias had done his best to restrain his spirituality, he still keenly sensed a strange ripple.
In the next second.
Ms. Cecil lifted the silver bell, suspended it just above the bridge of Brian's nose, and gave her wrist a sharp flick.
"Ding—"
A crisp, melodious chime rang out.
Brian, lying on the ground, gave a sudden convulsive jerk.
Following that, his tightly shut eyes slowly opened.
Although his pupils were still bloodshot, he looked much more lucid.
"Where... am I?"
Brian stared blankly at the sky.
"Oh right, the train station."
Before anyone could answer, he followed up his own question.
He blinked several times as his gaze began to wander, finally focusing on Ms. Cecil's face as she looked down at him.
"Oh! Beautiful lady!"
Brian's eyes instantly lit up with startling intensity.
"Was it you who saved me?"
"Is this the descent of an angel?"
As he spoke, the guy actually tried to do a kip-up... he didn't make it, but he still stubbornly scrambled to his feet using both hands and feet.
"I don't know how to thank you for saving my life."
"If you don't mind, could I perhaps treat you to a simple meal?"
"..."
Elias covered his face.
Wait, what?
How does this guy start flirting the moment he comes back to life?
However, this also proved one thing from another perspective.
This fellow was completely recovered.
"Brian!!!"
An embarrassed and angry voice interrupted Brian.
Charlotte rushed forward in a few steps and grabbed Brian's sleeve.
"Get a hold of yourself!"
"This is my teacher! Professor Cecil!"
"Aren't you here to pick us up?!"
"Huh?"
Stunned by the shout, Brian turned to look at the huffing Charlotte, then back at the smiling, silent Ms. Cecil.
"Teacher...?"
He scratched his head awkwardly.
"Ahem... well, that."
Brian gave a dry cough, attempting a clumsy subject change.
"Then... then can we head back?"
"We can!"
Brian hastily snatched the suitcase from Charlotte's hand to hide his fluster.
"Let's go, let's go. Arthur must be getting impatient."
As he spoke, his gaze finally fell on Elias, who was standing at the very back.
"And this is..."
Brian squinted, looking the tanned man in the slightly worn suit up and down.
"..."
Elias looked at him expressionlessly.
Seriously, buddy?
I'm just a bit more tanned; is it really that hard to recognize me?
Twice! Twice now!
"Slap!"
Seeing that Elias was looking a bit annoyed, Brian suddenly reached out and slapped his shoulder hard.
"Just kidding!"
Brian grinned, revealing a row of white teeth.
"I'd recognize that look of yours even if you were turned to ash."
"But..."
He leaned in a bit closer, looking at Elias's weathered face with a tone that bordered on schadenfreude.
"You'd better think about how you're going to explain yourself to Arthur when we get back."
"I'm afraid he might actually hit you."
Elias could only nod helplessly.
During the conversation, Elias noticed that Ms. Cecil now held an amber-colored stone in her hand.
She inconspicuously waved the stone once behind Brian's back.
The stone, which was originally crystal clear, became turbid at a visible speed, finally turning a pale, sickly white.
"Rosin Stone."
Old Edmond's voice spoke calmly in his mind.
"Generally used to absorb spirituality."
"Including negative spirituality, of course."
"This woman is very meticulous."
"She didn't just save the man; she also cleaned up the residual pollution on Brian's body."
'You have sharp eyes,' Elias replied in his mind.
"Then, Ms. Cecil, where are you headed?"
Brian turned and asked eagerly while carrying the suitcase.
"If it's on the way, should we give you a ride?"
Ms. Cecil had already quietly put away the whitened Rosin Stone.
She looked up and gave a polite but distant smile.
"A meal won't be necessary; your thanks are enough."
She declined.
"There's no need to trouble you with a ride either. I need to find a few colleagues to handle some official business."
"Alright."
Brian's disappointment was visible to the naked eye.
The group left the crowded plaza in front of the station and arrived at the roadside stop for public carriages.
Ms. Cecil hailed a carriage, waved a smiling goodbye to Charlotte, and left first.
Watching the carriage gradually disappear into the flow of traffic, Elias's eyes flickered slightly.
"Have an idea?"
Old Edmond seemed to see through his thoughts.
"Mm-hmm."
He turned his head to look at Brian, who was loading luggage into another carriage, and Charlotte, who had already sat inside.
"Lottie, Brian."
Elias spoke suddenly, his face wearing an expression of annoyance and apology.
"I think something fell out of my pocket while I was being squeezed in the crowd."
He patted the pockets of his trench coat, his brows furrowed.
"I have to go back to the platform just now and look for it."
"You guys head back first."
"Huh?"
Charlotte leaned her head out of the carriage window in surprise.
Her eyes scanned Elias's face suspiciously.
That feeling was back again.
Her intuition told her that her brother was lying.
But blindly trusting her intuition didn't seem right either.
"Is it important? Let's look for it together?" Charlotte asked tentatively.
"No need,"
Elias refused quite bluntly.
"More people will just make it more chaotic, and I have a rough idea of where I dropped it."
"Brian, take Lottie back first. I'll head back on my own in a bit."
Without leaving room for argument, he stuffed the suitcase in his hand over to Brian.
"Take my suitcase back first."
"This..."
Brian took Elias's suitcase blankly.
"Then be careful yourself and come back early."
Brian didn't think too much of it; after all, his brain had only just rebooted.
"Right, you guys go on ahead."
Watching the carriage carrying Charlotte and Brian slowly start and finally disappear around the street corner, the annoyance on Elias's face vanished instantly.
It was replaced by a look of calm scrutiny.
While walking behind the others earlier, he had already stealthily tucked his tools from the luggage onto his person.
That's right.
He intended to follow her.
Not just out of curiosity, but more to gauge the depth of that Ms. Cecil.
A transcendent appearing by his sister's side—if he didn't figure out her background and purpose, Elias wouldn't be able to sleep soundly.
As for Brian's matter, that could wait until later.
Before she got too far.
Without any hesitation, Elias hailed another public carriage.
"Follow that black carriage up ahead!"
Elias jumped onto the carriage and pointed at the distant vehicle about to disappear into the mist, speaking rapidly.
The carriage driver paused for a moment.
"I'll pay extra."
Elias directly slapped down a Shilling.
"You got it! Hold on tight!"
Hearing the extra pay, the driver snapped his whip.
The carriage bolted without hesitation, surging forward.
Elias actually felt a long-lost sensation of being pushed back into his seat in a horse-drawn carriage.
'This driver is reliable; for money, he really gives it some gas.'
Elias gripped the handrail while channeling the spirituality within his body to his eyes.
He didn't use any conspicuous spells, simply using Spirit Vision to lock onto the carriage ahead.
However.
Just as he was focusing all his attention on perceiving the surrounding environment.
Suddenly.
His 【Spirit Sensing】 reacted.
Turning his head, a translucent figure was sitting right beside him.
He didn't recognize the face.
"Damn it!"
As soon as the other person spoke, he recognized him—it was John.
"Elias."
"Why are you getting mixed up with people from the Seventh Agency?"
"The Seventh Agency?!"
"Hey buddy, turn around!"
Rate on N.U.
