———The happiest thing today was making the weekly recommendation list. It was only the last spot, but in my heart, the top fifteen on the front page's weekly recommendations are basically equivalent to the top fifteen on the monthly ticket chart — only the big-name authors can get on. Being able to rank today, I'm really, truly so happy. I'm so grateful to everyone. Please keep supporting me with recommendations~ Oh, and first place on the new book list and first place on Sanjiang — that's because Dancer's book automatically dropped off after hitting the one month mark, and because no one else was really pushing hard. But being in first place is always satisfying and happy. Please vote with your Sanjiang tickets — at least until Dancer starts taking things seriously, I need to hold onto that first place~
Since Lucian wanted to become a musician or composer to cover up his identity as a magician, there was nothing he needed to hide from Piero's questions. He answered with a smile: "I've been studying under
Although after gaining access to the magic apprentice circles, many of the items Lucian needed could be obtained through "knowledge," the origins of Lucian's own knowledge were highly problematic. With his current identity, he couldn't elaborate too deeply. If he kept using knowledge to trade for items, it would either be as dangerous as running along the edge of a cliff, or he'd quickly exhaust what he could share. And even if he exchanged knowledge for money, converting it into everyday clothes, good food, a house, a carriage, and so on required a legitimate, reasonably well-paying profession to explain it away.
Therefore, Lucian had always been diligent in his study of music. Moreover, if he had enough time — say, several years before locating the Continental Magic Parliament headquarters — then becoming a musician would be far more useful than becoming a Bard. After all, very few people would suspect that a refined, brilliantly talented musician who could compose hauntingly beautiful music could possibly be a dark, evil, ugly magician.
"A harpsichord? Piano?" Piero's expression became animated and excited. He leapt to his feet, darted between the bookshelves, spinning around as if searching for something. Finally he slapped his own forehead, dragged a book off one of the shelves, and presented it to Lucian. "Whether it's the harpsichord or the piano, you need this book. I learned to play the harpsichord from it myself. In four more months, I'll be taking the Association's musician examination and becoming a certified musician!"
As a guild, the
"The Art of Harpsichord Performance." Lucian took it and glanced through it, politely thanking Piero. His sleepless night had left him in poor spirits, unable to analyze spells mentally, so he might as well use the book to pass the time.
Piero, however, showed no intention of letting Lucian off the hook. He launched into a torrent of talk about harpsichord technique, sheet music, music theory, and more. It seemed that learning Lucian was studying the piano had given him a sense of finding a "kindred spirit," and he could barely contain his eagerness to share all his thoughts on music — bordering on manic.
Lucian had studied music long enough to have some foundation, so he managed to engage in the discussion half-heartedly, but his eyelids kept drooping with exhaustion. Several times he tried to stop Piero from talking, but each attempt was ignored.
Fortunately, at that moment, a woman wearing a black gauze hat and an elegant white dress walked into the library from outside. Her waist was not cinched tight by a belt, yet was naturally slender, and her walk was full of grace and poise, like a beautiful painting slowly drifting closer from the distance.
Beneath her long skirt, she appeared to be wearing white stockings that resembled stockings from another world, lending her legs a hazy, straight, and slender appearance.
【Stockings exist in this world? Could they be a byproduct of alchemy?】Lucian had developed a reflex — whenever he noticed anything reminiscent of Earth, he couldn't help but observe and speculate. But to this woman and Piero, his gaze appeared rather impolite.
"Ahem, ahem." Piero snapped out of his musical frenzy, coughed twice, and nudged Lucian with his elbow to remind him not to be rude, all while greeting with a warm smile: "Ms. Sylvia, is there anything I can help you with?"
Lucian withdrew his gaze and nodded in greeting. 【So she's Sylvia.】
S Sylvia was accustomed to receiving gazes like his and did not take offense. After removing her black gauze hat, she addressed Piero in an even tone: "Hello, Piero. I'm here to borrow a few books. They are..."
She was indeed as beautiful as Piero had described — a head of black hair as quiet and lustrous as silk satin, eyes as deep as the night sky, and with slightly narrowed lids and a small, straight nose, she gave an impression of refined elegance.
Piero hadn't expected Sylvia to remember his name. His face flushed red with excitement, and he stammered agreement after agreement before hurrying off to the shelves to find the books she needed.
Since Sylvia was standing right in front of the counter, Lucian caught a faint scent that seemed oddly familiar. 【Could the "Black Nightingale" fabric I found back then have been hers?】
As his soul strengthened, Lucian's memory had been improving steadily. He quickly connected it to the first pot of gold he'd earned from scavenging, then glanced at the black gauze hat in Sylvia's hand, making his private deductions.
But after careful consideration, he decided it didn't quite add up. 【The scent is similar but not identical. It seems like two different ladies who used the same perfume or powder.】
This matter sparked only a passing curiosity in Lucian. He had no intention of tracking down the woman — he certainly couldn't walk up to her and say, "Hello, the hat you dropped was picked up by me and sold for money."
From nervousness, from excitement, and from wanting to impress Sylvia, Piero became completely flustered. He forgot entirely where the books were shelved. After several minutes, he still hadn't found a single one, his face still red — no longer from excitement, but from panic.
At this point, since Piero had been gone so long without returning with the books, Lucian couldn't help turning to look. He saw Piero's crimson face casting him a desperate, pleading glance, and couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head. He walked over to a bookshelf, casually pulled out one of the books Sylvia needed.
This was partly because Lucian had an excellent memory, but also because he had already cataloged all the books and materials in this music library into his own soul library, with the shelves and arrangement perfectly mirroring the real library by his own design. So all he had to do was think about it mentally and immediately locate the exact shelf and position.
After the first book, Piero wasn't too impressed — just grateful. But when he saw Lucian move without hesitation or pause, walking to several more shelves and pulling out each book Sylvia needed, his jaw nearly dropped. "When did he get so familiar with the library?!"
Lucian carried the stack of books over to Sylvia and asked politely: "Ms. Sylvia, would you like to read here, or shall I carry them to your lounge?"
It would be a lie to say Lucian felt nothing at all as a man in the presence of a stunning beauty like Sylvia. But Lucian was clear-headed and rational. He knew that his identity as a magician, and his future plans to travel to the Continental Magic Parliament headquarters, left no room for pursuing romance or love in Altor. With no expectations came no excitement or nervousness. He appeared perfectly calm and composed before Sylvia — a stark contrast to Piero.
"Just register them and leave them on the table. Someone will come to collect them for me shortly." Sylvia's voice was low and slightly husky, with a unique sensuality.
She found it rather curious. The lecherous creep who had been staring at her legs the moment he walked in now behaved like a "gentleman" who preferred men to women. But this oddity wasn't quite enough to spark genuine curiosity about Lucian. While waiting for him to finish the registration, she asked casually: "What's your name, and whose student are you?"
Anyone working this job surely had connections at the Association. Sylvia maintained basic courtesy.
"Ms. Sylvia, I'm Lucian Evans, a student of Mr. Victor." Lucian replied simply.
Sylvia smiled faintly, like an elegant lily in bloom: "I heard that Mr. Victor has created an entirely new instrument called the piano. I'm very much looking forward to his concert."
After a brief exchange, Sylvia fell silent, maintaining her quiet, graceful composure.
Once the registration was complete, Sylvia took a few steps toward the library entrance and waved with a smile. Only then did Lucian notice that three people had been waiting outside the library the entire time. One of them was tall and slender — even half a head taller than Lucian — wearing a black gauze hat similar to Sylvia's, her long legs concealed beneath a black dress. She stood there as still and straight as a spear. The other two were a beautiful young girl in a maid's uniform and a middle-aged woman also in a black dress, her handsome, refined features overshadowed by her stern bearing.
When Lucian glanced at her, the middle-aged woman looked back at him coldly. Her icy blue eyes hit him like a shockwave — his entire body trembled involuntarily as he plunged into a strange, terrifying state. The world around him drained into black and white, as if her eyes contained a vast, surging ocean, and a monstrous wave was about to crash down upon him at any moment.
Lucian's mind went blank. He didn't know when the maid had taken the books, didn't know when Sylvia had walked out. Only when the middle-aged woman had turned and reduced to a receding figure did the world around him flood back with color. Then he noticed that the woman a full head taller than Sylvia — the one wearing the black gauze hat — had apparently heard something Sylvia said and turned back to glance at Lucian. The playful amusement in her eyes pierced clearly through the veil, transmitted straight into his vision as if it had solidified into something tangible.
"Who are those two? What terrifying power!" Cold sweat drenched Lucian's back. These were the most formidable people he had ever encountered, especially the middle-aged woman. All of his magic, all of his spiritual strength — it felt as though a single cold stare from her would render them utterly useless, dissolving them into nothing.
Piero walked over to Lucian and sighed: "Ms. Sylvia is the goddess of my heart. The moment I see her, I can't speak properly — I'm all fumbling and my eyes don't know where to look. Sigh, it seems you're even more of a shameless pervert than I am, Lucian, with thicker skin too — you didn't seem to care at all what Ms. Sylvia thought of you, just staring at her legs without even blinking. I'm genuinely impressed. Uh, Lucian, why do you look pale again?"