The smell of gold coins.
Lortelle's sense of smell had always relentlessly caught the scent of money.
She was at Tricks Hall, where faculty offices were located—the heart of the academic district.
Outside, the building was made of neatly stacked black and red bricks, antique marble decor adorning the exterior. Regardless of what time it was, the glass windows were always spotless. The entrance to the hall was magnificent, always guarded by men on watch. There were also two extra guards watching the gate out back.
It was where people who wielded administrative power and were at the top of the administrative system were. This was where people who made the final decisions stayed, along with people who managed the academy's finances, those who drafted the curriculum and schedules, those who reviewed student complaints, and those who decided on academic policies. Headmaster Obel and Assistant Headmaster Rachel's offices were located here.
It was a place that very few students came to. Most of the people around were general faculty, professors, or outsourced personnel. Students were already busy studying as it were; they wouldn't have had a reason to visit the administrative building in the first place.
Lortelle smiled at the personnel guarding the entrance as she moved toward the lobby.
The smell of gold coins irritated her nose. And walking into the main lobby finally revealed its source.
At the center of the Tricks Hall lobby was the academy's treasure, encased in a glass display to show it off.
It wasn't anything fancy. It was just a magic book that looked worn out, burned here and there.
It was called the 'Sage's Seal'. And whoever it may be, they would be unable to help but thickly swallow at the name alone.
It was the record of the academy's founder, Sylvania Robester. The person who had explored and discussed 'Celestial Magic'.
Celestial Magic predicted the flow of the stars and used that power to twist the providence of the world itself. It was known to be the most incomprehensible and profound branch of magic.
Numerous researchers had tried to interpret and reproduce the records within that seal, but no study had ever been completed. It was a book that remained the ultimate challenge for academia.
But aside from its academic value, the book was also a symbol of Sylvania Academy.
The book had a fixed schedule for when it would come out of its glass case. It only ever left it when it was needed to study Celestial Magic, and for public events such as the entrance ceremony for new students, inauguration ceremonies for the student council or the headmaster, as well as for year-end graduation ceremonies.
"Hmmm~"
Lortelle stood in front of the display as she took a deep breath, her eyes looking at the Sage's Seal.
"It really does smell like money."
Lortelle whispered softly with a nonchalant smile.
That book was the trigger that signaled the events of the second arc.
The heart of Sylvania Academy.
The Sage's Seal.
And the first purchase target for the Elte Company.