Magic Life in the Empire-Chapter 101: Pamphlet

The process of moving will take a bit of time.

Cyril, with the help of Morpho and Tigris, moved all he could before it was time for his appointment.

At least this tiger and butterfly appeared to had some fun doing that.

There was still quite a bit left, but Cyril wasn't in a hurry.

He quickly changed into casual clothes and prepared to head out.

He also took the herb he got from the exam with him.

They were also going to visit Alvin today, so it was a good opportunity to make another order.

Morpho was still waiting for the fulfillment of her wish. A fact she reminded Cyril of whenever she had the chance.

Cyril could only say that it was going to be soon.

"Right. We still need to decided what form this new family member will take... Do you have any suggestions?" 

I'll leave it up to you.

"Then I'll have to think about it well"

...

He was the last to arrive at the gates, Rose and Myra already waiting for him with their arms crossed.

"You are late!" Complained Rose.

"Sorry, I just moved to a different place," apologized Cyril.

Such a response instantly grabbed their attention, and they asked for details.

Cyril told them the full story without hiding much. By the end of it, the two were left with a jealous expression.

"How nice... Hey, would you mind if I occasionally visited?" Rose said after a brief contemplation.

"There are a few experiments I want to conduct with spells. Just give me a small remote room," she eagerly added.

There were dedicated practice rooms in the academy, but they weren't nearly private enough for her.

Rose liked to practice without the prying eyes of others. And that was hard to achieve in Ailanthus.

"Sure. There are more than enough rooms there," Cyril easily agreed.

He might as well share this fortune with his friends. After all, that's what power of friendship was all about.

"True"

Seeing Rose so easily succeed, Myra cautiously asked, "Might I visit from time to time as well? Having a private place for training is always useful..."

Of course Cyril agreed to that too. He disregarded the stares Rhamn was sending him from the side.

Morpho and Tigris also weren't too happy with this decision, but at least they weren't outright moving in.

"How is Ammy doing?" Cyril asked to switch topics.

Myra's face turned brighter at his question. "She is still getting used to her new home. Ammy doesn't move much right now, but at least she is eating well."

"It's so cute to see her slowly walk around the room, looking everywhere and sniffing her nose," she said with a smile.

It looks like becoming a pet owner is doing something positive to her mental state.

Cyril nodded with a slight smile and asked a few more questions.

Rose on the side joined in too, asking about the fox's abilities, though she didn't receive a good answer.

It's still too early to tell.

While talking about what it is like having pets, they headed for Apricot Street.

...

The journey wasn't far; this was a quiet neighborhood with few stores around.

As they stood on the stone path and looked around, no one could be seen preaching on the street. It seems that man wasn't here.

The group wasn't discouraged; they didn't expect that man to be so careless.

Cyril went inside the bookstore, the rest following them in.

As he made the first step, a loud, angry voice was heard: "No animals allowed!"

An elderly woman with a hunched back quickly walked from behind the counter, waving her cane.

"I don't want that rabid mutt of yours to destroy my collection here! Go away!"

Cyril froze; Tigris and Morpho on his shoulders did too. They didn't expect such a greeting.

"This pile of bones! How dare—"

It's fine. Have some respect for your elders.

"I'll wait outside," Cyril said to Rose and Myra, and exited the store without any hassle.

Not everyone was a fan of animals, which was understandable. He won't hurt people just because of that, no matter what Rhamn tries to tell him.

"Fine..."

Once back on the street, Cyril decided to walk around the area to see if there was anything interesting around.

At this time of day, people were still going on and about, passing by at a rather fast pace.

This was indeed a good place to preach. It wasn't too populated.

If you were a recruiter for a terrorist group, what place around here would you pick?

Rhamn appeared in front of him, a curious expression as she looked around the area.

"Probably here!" She pointed to an alley to the side of the bookstore.

"There is a good view from here on the street; if I saw guards coming, I could have easily escaped into the winding alleys behind." She gave her honest opinion.

Finding that reasonable, Cyril walked inside of that alley, though there was nothing particularly exciting there.

Just some trash placed on the ground, right near the trash can.

"Why would you still throw your waste on the ground when the bin is right there? Humans really are pathetic..." Rhamn complained while shaking her head.

With an idea, Cyril opened the lid of the trashcan; the view wasn't pleasant, and the smell was even worse.

Morpho flew up, not able to continue staying in proximity.

Holding his nose and with narrowed eyes, Cyril observed the contents for a few seconds and noticed an item of interest.

There were a few crumpled-up pamphlets lying inside; the word Lapis could be barely read.

"Alright, now what? Are you going to reach inside?" Rhamn stared him in the eyes with reluctance.

"You know, maybe Lapis isn't really a threat. They are just some freedom activists; who cares about them?

Cyril almost wanted to be convinced by her, but being defeated by a feeling of disgust didn't seem like a worthwhile end to his investigation.

Thankfully, I am a mage.

He cast a spell, creating a barrier around his hand. This way his skin won't come in contact with all the grime and slime.

Cyril slowly grabbed one of the pamphlets and pulled it out of the trash can.

Holding it on the edge with his two fingers, he proceeded to somewhat clean the piece of paper.

Now it was a bit more readable.

On it were just some inciting words about the Empire's corruption, the inequality, the dangers of magic, and similar things that made the youth's blood boil.

Cyril quickly scanned it from top to bottom, hoping to catch any clue.

There was a phrase near the end of the pamphlet: 'If you want to join us, see you at the eve of freedom.' Clearly a code of some kind.

"I've heard this phrase in the academy before." Rhamn raised her hand.

"It's an old theater play that made a bit of a resurgence among the students. From what the people said, its story is loosely based on the foundation of the city."

Rhamn recounted what she knew, but nothing that could be considered a lead was there.

Let's ask everyone once they are done.

In the meantime, Cyril walked around some more and attempted to let Morpho feel something, but nothing came up.

...

Finally, with the sound of a bell, the doors to the bookstore opened and two students came out.

Cyril called out to Rose and Myra, leading them to the same alley. There were fewer people here, so it was convenient to talk.

"What did she say?" Immediately asked Cyril.

Rose started with a raised brow. "It was surprisingly hard to get any information out of her. We first had to convince her that we weren't working with the guards."

"The Lapis are pretty popular around here." Myra added with a helpless look.

"Anyways, he told us the man preached here every Monday or so, and if we want to join, we should wait until then," Rose said with her hands spread to the side, disappointment on her face.

Cyril nodded and raised the pamphlet in his hand, letting them take a look. He shared his thoughts about the code at the end.

"Yes. That must be a location and maybe time too..." Myra held her chin in thought.

"'Eve of Freedom..." Slowly repeated Rose.

"I never heard of this play before." She shook her head.

"Not surprising."

"But I am not sure what location should come up from that... The Tower itself? That seems a bit improbable," said Rose, after thinking about what Cyril relayed to her.

The group stood there silently, thinking about it some more. Unfortunately, no one had any more information.

"We are not too far from Alvin's clinic. Let's take a break and visit him to see if he got our order ready," proposed Cyril.

Since they were in the vicinity, they might as well do that. No one had any objections.