Above the city, a few stars still twinkled faintly, resembling recited poetic verses vanishing into the silence of the night. Dawn arrived quietly with a soft, rosy flush that tinged the horizon, and the early rays casted a hazy, ethereal glow over the Wilford manor.
Lance’s bedroom was a picture of serenity. Soft light filtered through the sheer curtains, dancing like wisps of pure, playful spirits. Lance was already awake. He shifted, pushing aside the quilt as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed. His feet touched the carpet, sinking into the soft plushness.
He rubbed his eyes, murmuring to himself as he recalled the previous night’s dream, "Why on earth did I dream I was in the Underworld? King Yama had gone on a long vacation, and I was in charge of updating the Book of Life and Death in his place... Oh right, I need to return that library book."
He stretched vigorously, feeling refreshed, then rose to freshen up. Instead of heading downstairs for breakfast right away, he drew back the curtains beside his desk, basking in the pleasantly warm morning sun.
A gentle breeze rustled the leaves outside, and birds chirped melodiously from the treetops nearby. Their crisp songs drifted through the window, filling the air with the peaceful ambiance of the early morning.
Two weeks had passed since he had borrowed the book currently sitting on his desk. During that time, his stack of books had steadily grown as he asked the butler to purchase a few introductory textbooks that were readily available at the local Card Maker's Association.
Learning and wielding magic in this world was notoriously difficult and required innate talent. It was akin to obtaining a PhD in mathematics. If you couldn't grasp it, then you were out of luck.
Lance had pretty much concluded that he lacked the innate talent to become a traditional mage, one capable of wielding magic through manipulating and channeling their own internal mana. Fortunately, this world offered an alternative: enchanted cards. Almost anyone could use magic once they had the right cards. Those without a lick of talent could use enchanted cards to activate various convenient, small-scale spells.
Of course, there were limits to the concentration of magic that a soulbound card could handle. Therefore, people using enchanted cards did not replace those with innate talents. Instead, they simply made the true experts even stronger.
Because of this, magical artisans who could craft cards were highly valued. Compared to crafting other types of magical items, card making required not only a thorough understanding of the principles of magic, but also exceptional creativity, intellectual acuity, and a finely honed hand for illustration.
Fortunately, Lance had discovered that the relevant magical engineering knowledge used in card making, such as the mechanics of crafting enchanted tools and the principles behind magical apparatuses, was surprisingly easy to grasp. He understood the material quickly even when he was skimming through a text.
"Of course, it’s also possible that the textbooks were simply written by someone who is good at explaining complex materials," Lance mused as he gazed at the stack of reference books. Coincidentally, they were all written by one Professor Boralo: The Fundamentals of Magical Engineering in the Kingdom of Hutton, 7th Edition; Common Pitfalls When Crafting Tier 1 Enchanted Cards; and Ethical Guidelines for Card Makers.
He had heard from the local Card Maker’s Association that Boralo was an instructor at the College of Magical Engineering. Unfortunately, he wasn’t taking any personal students. Otherwise, Lance would have been tempted to give it his all for the next three months and take that college’s entrance exam.
Compared to the College of Magical Engineering, which had a complex, heavy workload and required mentors, he much preferred the more relaxed curriculum of the Sages’ and Knights’ Colleges. They featured fewer mandatory courses and a wide range of electives. Any student could graduate by simply completing the required classes and accumulating enough credits.
After carefully studying the information regarding Ikerite University, Lance concluded that he could easily incorporate any magical engineering classes that suited him into his schedule as electives later on.
Alright, now that I’ve studied the theory, it’s time to try actually making an enchanted card. A few days had passed since he had painted Talia’s portrait, so his personal stores of the energy known as mana had recovered. He planned on heading to the Card Maker’s Association today to rent a workshop and practice.
Since he was going to travel to the royal capital in about three months, he needed to make some necessary arrangements regarding Talia. Although she was a demon, the two of them had a mutually beneficial relationship. Perhaps they could even become solid business partners in the future.
Lance looked out the window and quickly spotted a young woman dressed entirely in gray standing just outside his courtyard. She was at a shadowy street corner and was so still that she resembled a statue. Her figure possessed a delicacy akin to fine porcelain. The dark gray cloak draped over her fluttered gently in the breeze, adding an air of mystery.
In that moment, she and her surroundings blended seamlessly like a piece of art. In fact, it was as if she was the sole focal point of the entire image.
Lance rested his chin in his hand, musing to himself as he gazed from afar at the demon princess who was perfectly disguised as a human. "It’s a pity she’s so old. She’s got to be at least a few hundred years old."
Even though Talia was considered young as a demon, by human standards, calling her an "old hag" wouldn't be incorrect. Not that he had the guts to do that to her face. Who knew what Talia would do if that happened?
***
As if she sensed him staring at her, Talia glanced toward the second floor of the manor. Upon making eye contact, Lance smiled and gave a slight wave. "Good morning!"
Talia ignored him. A strand of her silky gray hair slid over her shoulder and settled quietly against her cloak as she calmly gazed around. She was checking for any movements that might pose a threat to the mansion's residents.
Since it was Lance and not someone who could threaten him, she didn’t pay him any further attention. She cared only about fulfilling her duty, which was protecting her employer, and had zero interest in him as a person.
However... For some reason, she sensed that the young man’s inner thoughts had been unusually active just moments ago. Furthermore, she had a gut feeling that he had been thinking about something quite insulting.
On the other hand, she couldn't quite pinpoint where she was getting that feeling from, nor could she determine exactly what was going on in the boy's mind. After all, no matter how she thought about it, he was simply greeting her enthusiastically. Perhaps it was just her imagination.
Ever since the fall of the Demon Kingdom, she had come to loathe humanity. She would occasionally harbor suspicions towards someone even as mild mannered and harmless as Lance. What if he was actually a vile individual behind a perfect exterior? However, her lie-detection talent, along with her own observations, had confirmed that this human possessed an impeccable character.
Talia sighed softly. After years of wandering through human lands, she thought she had finally begun to understand humans.
In order to restore her fallen kingdom, she needed to endure longer while blending seamlessly into human society. Continuing to swallow her pride was going to take more effort than she had anticipated.