—Wrote over four thousand words, exceeded my estimate. Afraid you'd be waiting too long, so I'm posting the draft first; I'll revise it later.
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Swan Lake, Rose Manor.
The day's conference was approaching its second half. Every presenter had received applause, and after delivering and demonstrating their papers, there followed varying amounts of discussion and commentary from the high-tier magicians, helping them refine their research while also sparking inspiration in a number of arcanists. The most heated segment of the entire conference—by far the most rousing—was Larry's post-lunch presentation on atomic valence: its research, its definitions.
Because so many arcanists needed to present their research findings, the conference schedule was tightly packed; five days would be nowhere near enough to accommodate them all. So even though it was already past four in the afternoon, a considerable queue of arcanists was still waiting their turn. Today's session was nowhere near its end.
Ulises—blond-haired, plain-looking but solidly built—stepped onto the podium and activated the scene-projecting Magic Circle to begin sharing his recent research with the other arcanists: the critical temperature of gases he had discovered while attempting to convert the fifth-circle spell "Gaston's Lethal Toxic Miasma" into a water-arrow form. Namely, if the temperature exceeded a certain threshold, no amount of additional pressure could liquefy the gas.
The discovery was quite novel and could effectively guide improvements to magical constructs. Essentially every arcanist present was interested, listening with exceptional attention. Even though Lucian already knew this theory, having it verified by Ulises meant it was suited to this other world. What Lucian paid the most attention to, however, was the fine details of how foundational theory mapped onto magical constructs.
At that moment, a tawny owl flew in and landed on the desk before Gaston, gently pecking at the back of his hand as he listened intently to Ulises's presentation.
As the famous "postman" of the Elemental Will, the gatekeeping magicians and knights all knew this was Matthew, Director Gaston's pet, and so they did not stop him.
Gaston amusedly withdrew his hand, stroked the feathers on Matthew's back, and removed the several papers it was carrying, setting them aside to have someone review them after today's session concluded.
Close behind Matthew came a budgerigar, which circled twice over Ravendy's head in a rather proud manner before alighting. Several papers were similarly attached to its chest.
At the same time, several other birds flew in as well, landing before the remaining three members of the Arcane Review Committee and delivering the papers assigned to them. But none of them were in any hurry. Aside from the fact that distributing or reviewing papers now would be disrespectful to Ulises on stage, some papers required complex experimental verification that might take a month or two to review properly—there was no need to rush. These were not the sort of figures who ever let review work intrude upon their research, their magical practice, or their personal lives. Not unless a paper was truly important.
As Ulises's presentation grew more detailed, the other arcanists grew even more focused. Only one person seemed somewhat at ease: Ravendy, Ninth-Rank Archanist and Ninth-Circle Magician. As Ulises's teacher, he had already read this paper carefully after it passed review; he had thoroughly mastered its contents long ago.
After listening idly for a while longer, Ravendy picked up the papers that sat before his own pet and leafed through them casually, scanning the titles one by one.
Suddenly, a striking title leaped into his eyes: "Discovery and Measurement of a New Element Based on the Periodic Table."
The implications of this title made Ravendy frown. "Based on the Periodic Table" meant that the Periodic Table served as a predictive guide—and as a Ninth-Rank Archanist and Ninth-Circle Magician, as someone who had once researched the laws governing the elements, Ravendy knew exactly what that implied!
He pulled out the paper and began reading it carefully. As he read on, his expression suddenly changed. The booming voice of Ulises being projected through the amplification Magic Circle on the podium seemed to vanish entirely from his awareness.
He turned to the last page of the paper, but his gaze lingered there for a long time. Then, drawing upon formidable self-control, he forced himself to remain calm, and turned to beckon Rebecca, the receptionist, over.
Rebecca was simultaneously listening carefully to Ulises's presentation and keeping a watchful eye on the arcanists' needs—ever since Leandro had reprimanded her, she had been extremely cautious, not daring to make a single mistake.
The moment her eyes met Ravendy's dark-gray gaze, Rebecca straightened as though struck by lightning, then approached him with an anxious step. What did the Vice President need? Had she made another mistake?
"Find me the paper 'On the Periodic Relationship Between Elemental Properties and Atomic Weights, with Predictions for Certain New Elements.' The author is Lucian Evans... X." Ravendy's instructions were terse and to the point.
Hearing that seemingly cursed name, Rebecca instinctively glanced first toward the corner where Lucian stood with Lazar. Could he be the X? Had the paper angered Mr. Ravendy? His expression did not look at all good!
A flurry of questions arose in her mind, but since Douglas Magic School had only ever had one Lucian Evans, Rebecca had no way to confirm whether that distinguishing letter was X. She could only try to recall the paper's title, which sounded faintly familiar.
"Mr. Ravendy, that paper is in the last few pages of the 'Elements' journal in your hand," she said, suddenly remembering. There was a note of relief in her voice—completing Mr. Ravendy's request so smoothly and easily would surely earn praise, which might slightly offset her earlier blunder.
Fortunately, this paper's title had been long enough to leave an impression when she had flipped through the papers during distribution.
Ravendy, without so much as a change in his dignified bearing, turned the "Elements" journal directly to the last paper, muttering under his breath: "The reviewing arcanists of the 'Elements' journal aren't always idiots."
This was a famous compliment from the Storm Dominator. Ravendy, his emotions running high, had failed to maintain his composure and quoted the man directly—though, to be fair, his composure was only marginally better than the Storm Dominator's.
Having not received permission to leave from Vice President Ravendy, Rebecca remained standing at his side, sneaking curious glances at his expression and the paper in his hands. Why had the Vice President suddenly sought out this paper? Was there something strange or important about it?
Not daring to look too openly, Rebecca could not clearly make out the paper's main content, but she was startled to notice that Mr. Ravendy's expression had grown extraordinarily grave. This filled her with panic and dread. Was something momentous about to happen?
"If I exclude those elements for which no experimental data on atomic weight was provided..." Ravendy murmured to himself, then quickly turned to Rebecca. "Prepare purified samples of these elements for me..." These were several elements he happened to lack in his alchemy workshop.
Then, his speech accelerating slightly, he addressed the budgerigar "Harry": "Go to Audonko's place and buy a few blocks of flashing-stone ore—that's the big grizzly bear's grandson. And be back as soon as possible. Harry, don't you dare be lazy."
"Do I look like a lazy gentleman?" Harry grumbled in protest, his diction immaculate and his voice remarkably melodious, before taking wing and flying off.
Though Rebecca did not understand the purpose behind Ravendy's requests, she could not very well disobey the Vice President's orders. After instructing the other lower-tier magicians to keep an eye on the proceedings, she hurried off toward the manor's main building and its second floor.
The other arcanists were all absorbed in Ulises's presentation and noticed nothing amiss on their side. After all, asking the nearby lower-tier magicians to fetch some blank paper or bring a cup of black tea from time to time was entirely unremarkable.
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Ulises concluded his presentation and proceeded into in-depth discussion with the arcanists who had questions. When he finally stepped down from the podium, thunderous applause erupted as expected. The overwhelming majority of arcanists felt they had gained a great deal.
As the applause gradually subsided, Ulises bowed once more. Leandro swept his gaze across the seated arcanists below, preparing to invite the next presenter.
But then, without the slightest warning, he saw the Vice President rise to his feet and stride with somewhat urgent steps up onto the half-raised metal platform.
Every arcanist's startled gaze fell upon Ravendy. They had no idea why he would do such a thing—had something important happened? Or had Mr. Ravendy been struck by inspiration from the paper just presented?
Leandro had no courage whatsoever to stop a Ninth-Circle Magician who held so many distinguished titles. He could only watch as Ravendy took his place behind the podium, activated the scene-projecting Magic Circle, and drew his alchemy workshop from his spatial storage bag, enlarging it into a fully equipped magical laboratory.