A transparent layer appeared in the air around the room. It rippled like the surface of a lake before quickly spreading to cover the entire room. His wand continued to move following the structure of the room. The transparent ripples emerging from the tip of Ciel's wand moved and spread like waves on a beach. This was the most fundamental difference Ciel realized after successfully learning basic Circle 9 magic: low-level sorcerers required extremely high concentration to cast even a simple spell. A minor disturbance would result in the spell's failure.
When the room had been completely covered by the 'Sound Barrier' spell, Ciel slowly lowered his wand. Signaling that the casting process had been completed. The servants waited casually outside the room without hearing anything from within, indicating that the spell had been successfully cast. Although the first scream had likely been heard from outside, they wouldn't possibly interrupt the treatment process, right?
And by the way, Ciel had spent his weekend studying the book 'Basic Sorcerer Magic' given to him by Jonathan. The book contained more than 400 spells from Circle 8 to Circle 7. That number was enormous compared to the amount of magic Ciel could master within two days. At the moment, Ciel had successfully mastered 2 basic spells. The first was 'Sound Barrier,' and the other was 'Ignition.'
"Who would've thought the easiest spell I mastered would be useful on my first day of work." Ciel sneered as he shifted his gaze toward Jonathan and Marquis Herald.
"Waaa!!" Marquis Herald's scream continued as black mana slowly flowed out of his body. The scream was enough to rupture an ordinary person's eardrums. After all, the Marquis was likely at Circle 6, which meant he was a mid-level sorcerer.
Jonathan pulled his wand. Causing the black mana to be drawn away and detached from the Marquis's body. The mass of dark mana writhed at the tip of Jonathan's wand as he cast a spell. "Solidify."
The mass slowly spun at an incredible speed and dispersed before eventually converging again into a solid lump resembling charcoal. The difference was that it seemed to contain a curse. Slowly, the object fell, and Jonathan skillfully caught it in midair. Carefully, he observed the crystal-like object in his hand. It was pitch black. Even when pointed toward the window, sunlight could not pass through the crystal at all.
After confirming his assumption, Jonathan closed his eyes and placed the object into his pocket. He walked toward the still-panting Marquis. Cold sweat drenched the Marquis's forehead, and his body looked slightly pale. Jonathan waved his hand upward, and suddenly the sound barrier was removed.
In astonishment, Ciel could only curse, "It was that easy?"
Jonathan did not respond, even though he heard everything, instead directly helping the Marquis stand and sit back at his desk.
"This is only a temporary measure, Marquis. Only the curse has been removed, while the ancient mana has already assimilated with your mana," Jonathan said gently to the Marquis.
"Thank you, Mr. Detective. I didn't even expect you could use Mana Flow."
"You surely know, Mr. Detective. As the husband of a Duke's daughter, I must attain greater power and a higher position, or I will be the one cast aside."
Jonathan's expression remained unchanged. His eyes were filled with seriousness until he saw Ciel approaching him. He looked at Ciel with a smile. The Marquis was slightly surprised by the sudden change but chose to remain silent.
Ciel looked at them strangely. He stared at Jonathan and asked, "Mr. Jonathan, what kind of spell is Mana Flow? I didn't see it anywhere in the basic book. Is it a Circle 6 spell?"
"Hahaha!"
The Marquis's laughter made both Ciel and Jonathan flinch and look at him. The laughter was so loud that even the servants outside could hear it and hurried into the room. Marquis Herald calmly raised his hand again as a signal for the servants to leave the three of them alone.
"You're truly amusing, Mr. Detective! Ciel, yes. Mana Flow is a special spell of the Church—"
"That's enough, Marquis. We'll be leaving shortly, and you can get some rest. Please schedule another session for a checkup every week. And Ciel, good job with your first spell," Jonathan interrupted bluntly while patting Ciel on the shoulder.
"What did the Marquis mean about the Church?" Ciel had no choice but to ask himself inwardly.
"Well, I'm glad I managed to do something on my first day at work. But I'm a little annoyed. I could only learn 2 spells during these two days," Ciel answered honestly.
The Marquis smiled and let out a light sigh as he spoke, "Hey, kid. You don't need to rush. The path of a sorcerer is a long one. Perhaps even a path that will consume hundreds of years of your life. When did you first awaken?"
"Umm, three days ago?"
"Wow, that's incredibly fast. You mastered 2 spells in 2 days. I remember I awakened at the age of twenty, long before I became a Marquis. Even now, at the age of forty, I've only managed to reach Circle 6. That's why I sought a shortcut by absorbing mana from an artifact. But perhaps it was simply my unlucky day. That thing was a Cursed Artifact, and it ended up like this."
Ciel frowned. He had never imagined that advancing through the Circle ranks would be so difficult! Could it be that he had discovered the secret behind the silver cross? That would become an endless struggle for him!
"If I remember correctly, Princess Maria should be around my age. That's insane! How did she end up marrying a middle-aged man like the Marquis? Is she a victim of a political marriage?" He unconsciously pinched the tip of his chin and cursed inwardly.
Seeing Ciel deep in thought, Jonathan spoke and added, "That may be confusing for you. I've already told you about meditation techniques. But I deliberately skipped this method because the risk is far too great. This method is called the 'devouring' method. It's like devouring the mana of an Artifact with your own mana. Either you successfully absorb it, or you are the one absorbed. Neither outcome carries a better risk."
He immediately raised his hand and felt the brooch inside his blazer. He remembered Mr. Jonathan referring to this brooch as a Level Two Artifact. Since he felt he had heard about artifacts before, Ciel tried to recall something.
He remembered reading about artifacts in the book 'Basic Sorcerer Magic'! Artifacts were generally magical items created by sorcerers or alchemical workshops. They were categorized into 3 levels based on the severity of their negative effects, marked by numerical series, and 4 levels based on their power, marked by the scale of influence they could exert.
Artifacts classified by numerical series began at 3 and ended at 1. The lower the number, the worse the side effects. Meanwhile, their power levels were divided into city, kingdom, continent, and disaster.
"What level does this brooch belong to? I don't even feel any side effects," Ciel thought.
Jonathan shook his head when he saw Ciel thinking and spoke to the Marquis, "Marquis, there is a difference between official artifacts and the artifact you 'devoured.' May I have... no, borrow that artifact? I personally wish to study it."
The Marquis nodded casually while lowering his head and taking out a dagger that had become completely rusted after its mana had been absorbed. "I found it in ancient ruins southwest of the Dark Forest while I was on duty. There were ruins standing upon a vast steppe. You may have it. Consider it a bonus for curing me."
Ciel and Jonathan carefully examined the dagger. To Ciel, it looked nothing special except for the carvings on the blade that seemed to come from the Jotun language. Jonathan slowly took the dagger and slipped it into the pocket of his blazer.
Letting out a brief sigh, Jonathan bowed respectfully and bid farewell to the Marquis, followed by Ciel. "Thank you, Marquis. As for the main payment, you may send it tomorrow through your servants. The total is 10 Pirch."
"Very well, Mr. Detective. And Ciel, your road is still long, my friend. Huh, I feel like I like you and want to adopt you."
Ciel smiled and turned toward the exit.
As he watched Ciel leave, Jonathan spoke seriously to the Marquis. "I will ask you this only once. What is your ultimate goal in increasing your power?"
"I want to become the King of Falheim," the Marquis answered with a relaxed smile.
Jonathan said nothing more and simply smiled before turning away to follow Ciel.
Ciel was still amazed by the interior of the Marquis's manor. It still reminded him of noble estates from his former life. But no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find Princess Maria anywhere.
As he looked around, the servants had already arrived at the entrance to escort them and had even prepared a carriage for them. After retrieving items such as his hat and silver cane, they boarded the carriage and headed home. During the journey, heavy rain once again poured over Goumn. The roads became muddy, and the splashes of water from the horses' hooves, along with the sound of the racing carriage, rang loudly. Before reaching Houndog Street, Ciel asked the coachman to stop at Black Pearl Street so he could get off.
Throughout the journey, Ciel exchanged words with Jonathan and tried to become more familiar with his boss. And when he saw the payment from their first job yielding such a large reward, Ciel even asked how to open a private detective agency of his own. Even so, it was easy to guess that Jonathan did not answer and instead mocked Ciel.
Before long, they had arrived at Black Pearl Street. The place was so crowded and shabby that even a noble's carriage could not pass through, forcing Ciel to continue on foot. The good news was that the Marquis had kindly given them an umbrella in case of rain.
Ciel stepped down from the carriage and opened the umbrella. The sight of the carriage door opening attracted the attention of several people on the street because they recognized the crest of the Herald Dimitri family on the carriage. Realizing that the carriage was drawing attention, Ciel ran and glanced back to see that the coachman had already urged the horses forward toward Houndog Street.
Upon arriving home, Ciel saw Arianna standing there with her body still wet and wearing her nightgown. It was obvious that Arianna had just finished bathing and was about to head to the kitchen to cook.
"Wait a moment, Arianna. Let me cook something for you. Just sit down and rest."
Arianna ignored her brother and continued toward the kitchen while saying, "I'll do the cooking. You'd better take a bath quickly before the line for the public bathroom gets even longer."
Indirectly, Joseph's soul was touched and longed for this feeling. The feeling that there was someone who cared about him.