Early morning, Church of the Goddess of Hope.
"Alright, I'll be careful. Goodbye, Archbishop Aishala."
A young girl, completely shrouded in black robes, was waving behind her as she walked out of the cathedral. A pair of gold-rimmed glasses rested on the bridge of her nose, adding a touch of intellectual beauty to her appearance.
This person was Syl, who was preparing to go out for a stroll after just finishing breakfast with Archbishop Aishala.
"Doing nothing all day, no proper job, just wandering the streets... I guess I'm what they call a street loafer..." Syl muttered a self-deprecating comment to herself as she walked.
"Yes, you are. ^^"
Syl's lip twitched. "I didn't ask you."
The purple card Granny Kaili had given her was still on the physician. Syl was now planning to find a suitable place to transform into the mysterious physician before heading to the address on the card.
However, it wasn't as easy to find a secluded spot during the day as it was at night. It wasn't convenient to transform directly on the street, especially since there were even more people out during the day.
She also needed to buy a new set of clothes for the physician card. Since the physician card had been struck by a sword last night, the trench coat was definitely beyond saving.
Syl decided to buy an identical black trench coat for her main body as well. Not only was it cool, but she could also transform directly while wearing her glasses. Since the physician card's height was similar to Syl's, if their clothes were the same, no one would notice a different person under the coat.
With this in mind, Syl began to keep an eye out for nearby shops along the street, trying to find a clothing store with fewer people.
She searched along the street for a long time, nearly walking from Sule District to Kos District, but Syl still couldn't find a clothing store with low foot traffic.
No... she did find a few women's clothing stores, but they were filled with various ornate dresses featuring complex lace edges.
Wear something like that? Syl didn't even dare to think about it.
The Saintess's attire was a long skirt with a wide robe and shawl, which Syl could still find acceptable, but genuine lady's dresses were a bit too much for her to handle.
"The main issue is that they're inconvenient for movement." With this thought, Syl decided to pass on most of the women's clothing stores.
Finally, just as she was about to reach the black signpost symbolizing Kos District, Syl spotted a shop that looked extremely quiet and low-key.
"This..." Syl stopped outside the display window to observe the situation inside.
The clean, bright glass window was printed with delicate purple smoke patterns. While blocking a bit of the sunlight, it also allowed the light to filter through the patterns, giving the shop an atmosphere of being shrouded in purple mist.
The most important thing was the clothes inside; they were all dark-toned robes or trench coats. Subtle details like the cuffs and collars had small designed patterns, and the overall look was neat and not flashy.
Most importantly, there were many pockets, which could hold many materials.
Perhaps because the clothes were expensive—as evidenced by the lavish decoration—there were no customers in the shop. Through the window, she only saw a man slumped over a table, fast asleep, with a black cat resting on his back.
"Arno's Exquisite Tailor Shop... the name is quite ordinary." After a brief moment of thought, Syl pushed the door and entered.
The small bell at the door rang softly. Whether it was because of the glasses or not, the man did not wake up.
Even the cat on his back only twitched its ears and showed no other reaction.
"Good thing there's no surveillance in this era..."
Syl walked between two clothing racks. After placing the items she needed on a nearby shelf, she used the cover of other clothes to directly summon the physician card.
"Physician."
As Syl chanted in her heart, her original body vanished as if it had been cut away, leaving a blank space, while the mysterious physician Lucy was pasted directly onto that blank page. It all happened in an instant.
Taking her wallet and pocket watch from the nearby shelf and putting them back in her pocket, Syl took a deep breath and prepared to start picking out some clothes.
In an era where high-end clothing was almost entirely handmade, she wasn't sure if she could find her size.
But unexpectedly, just as Syl took her first step, the cat on the clerk's back sprang up, landed on the table, and arched its back, staring in Syl's direction with its purple pupils.
Syl was startled by the cat's sudden movement and instinctively took a step back, her boots making the wooden floor creak.
At this point, the man slumped on the table finally woke up belatedly, squinting his eyes as he looked toward Syl.
"Oh... Oh! Silver mask!" The man, who looked to be in his twenties, froze for a moment before standing up abruptly and walking toward Syl with some excitement. "You must be the lady Old Kelly mentioned, right?"
"Huh?" Syl was slightly dazed, not knowing why the man in front of her was bringing up Granny Kaili.
Quickly, Syl realized what was happening and reached into the outer pocket of her trench coat, pulling out a small purple card.
"This is... this is Old Kelly's invitation!?" Upon seeing the card, the man clearly became agitated.
"Miss Mask... no, I should introduce myself. I am Arno, nice to meet you." As the man spoke, he extended his right hand toward Syl.
Syl's brow furrowed slightly under the mask. She didn't shake his hand but instead asked directly, "What's this about the invitation you mentioned?"
"Didn't Old Kelly tell you?" Arno's expression looked incredulous. "This is the invitation to our Sule District Mana Tide Salon. Everyone can only have one."
"Mana Tide Salon?" Syl pondered the phrase and asked, "A salon for mages?"
Syl knew the word'salon'; it was a social method used by high-society people for communication.
So, if translated literally, the card in her hand was an admission ticket to a magic salon?
Syl had thought this was some letter of introduction to a mysterious magical organization, but in fact, it was just an admission ticket to a salon, and each person could only have one?
Then why did Kaili give this to her?
However, compared to a mysterious magical organization, a magic salon made Syl feel a bit less nervous. At least she could choose not to speak and just observe.
"I remember Old Kelly said you haven't been in contact with magic yet, Miss? There happens to be a salon this afternoon. If you're interested, you can gather here at two o'clock."
"Mm... I'll see when the time comes," Syl nodded and then asked, "Are you a mage?"
"Me?" Arno shook his head. "I'd like to be, but I was born without Inspiration, so I can't perceive magic."
"But I've collected many records and items related to magic. Through these, I've made many mage friends. Later on, I brought them all together, and it slowly developed into the fixed weekly salon we have now, allowing mages to have a platform for trading and communication."
"Perhaps it's my regret about magic that drives me to dedicate myself to this."
At this point, Arno shrugged his shoulders with a hint of helplessness.