Chapter 23: Poppies
Should i change "Junior" and "Senior" to "Kouhai" and "Senpai"?
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Li Xiang walked over to the stall. What caught his eye was a collection of delicate dolls, each about 20 centimeters tall and two fingers wide, dressed in pink, dainty little dresses.
No wonder no one was buying them.
The style was far too girlish, and most students at the Clock Tower were more interested in pursuing magecraft.
"Five hundred pounds each, no bargaining," a young girl said without looking up, her hands tightly gripping a handheld console, her attention fully absorbed by the screen.
"What?" Li Xiang wondered if he had heard her wrong. Five hundred pounds? Was she joking?
"Left! Left! Down! Down! Stupid tomato monster!" The girl suddenly exclaimed in frustration as her screen displayed "Game Over." She pouted, furiously pressing the D-pad a few more times before finally looking up. Her neck was slender, and her tone was somewhat irritable. "If you're not buying, don't waste my time. I'm trying to beat *Mario & Luigi*."
"Mario?" Li Xiang stared at the twin-tailed girl, surprised to hear such a familiar name.
"Yeah, it's a new game that came out this year, along with the new GBA SP handheld." She raised the console in her hand. "So, are you buying a doll or not?"
"Junior?" Li Xiang couldn't help but shake his head. "I look older than you."
"This is the Clock Tower. Age doesn't matter here. You were looking around with wide eyes, curious about everything. It's obvious you're not a senior student—probably your first time attending a society event. I've been here for three years. Calling you a junior is perfectly reasonable, don't you think?"
"But weren't you busy playing your game? How did you notice me?"
The girl raised her chin, flashing a flawless senior's smile as she lectured, "Let me give you a survival tip for the Clock Tower: don't casually pry into others' secrets."
Li Xiang took a deep breath and apologized, "Sorry."
The girl blinked, seemingly taken aback by his response, then quickly waved her hands. "No, no, it's fine! You're a good junior!"
Li Xiang chuckled softly. "Could you explain why these dolls are so expensive?"
"They're magical tools I made out of boredom. Each contains a second-level spell. The price reflects the cost of the magical materials I used, so five hundred pounds is fair."
Li Xiang glanced at the dolls.
"Magical Perception."
His black pupils glowed with a strange light. The world around him turned vibrant and colorful.
In the thin air, faint traces of mana floated about, each element represented by its unique hue, drifting like clouds, swimming like fish, moving back and forth with no apparent rules.
The most intense light emanated from the dolls, resembling a fiery sun, radiating heat that repelled the other elements.
"Definitely second-level spell strength," Li Xiang noted, nodding in agreement. "For five hundred pounds, it's not overpriced."
But the idea of throwing a pink doll at his enemies before a fight? The image was too absurd to consider.
"Do you have any other tools?" he asked.
"Nope." The girl sat back down on her stool, her hands returning to her pink skirt. "I'm going back to my game."
It seemed there really wasn't anything else.
Li Xiang took a quick glance around before saying, "I'll go check out the other societies then."
After leaving the Doll Magecraft Society, he walked a few steps further and spotted another unusual stall.
Unlike the others, this one had a five-tiered shelf, each level holding seven or eight potted plants.
"A flower shop?" Li Xiang wondered, intrigued, as he approached.
"Junior, these are creations of our Botany Department. They may look like ordinary flowers, but they're actually familiars," a young man stood up from his chair and introduced with a smile.
Li Xiang noticed a girl with white twin tails sitting with her back to him further inside the stall. His attention, however, was quickly drawn to the flowers on the shelf after hearing the word "familiar."
Familiars are magical creatures controlled by magi. For example, Tohsaka Rin's gemstone birds, Aozaki Touko's golden werewolves, or Empress Semiramis's doves. Of course, Heroic Spirits are the highest tier of familiars.
"What do they do?" Li Xiang asked.
"Take this poppy, cultivated by our senior," the young man pointed to one of the flowers. "Its function is simple: it helps with concentration. If you place it in your room, the fragrance it emits will help you focus, slightly speeding up your meditation."
Li Xiang's eyes lit up. This could be very useful, even if the effect wasn't particularly strong.
"Roses can attack enemies with their thorns, equivalent to a first-level spell; lilies repel most insects; gardenias help you fall asleep faster..." The young man continued to introduce the plants.
Among all these, the poppy's effect seemed the most practical, but this was just a display. The Botany Department likely had even more amazing plants.
"Is there a poppy with better effects?" Li Xiang asked.
"Of course," the young man replied calmly, "but if you're not a student of the Botany Department, you'll have to buy it with money."
Li Xiang's smile froze. "How much... does it cost?"
"Let me think... the best poppy we have should be around three million pounds?"
"Excuse me, I'll be going now."
Li Xiang felt his vision darken. A single flower worth more than he could ever hope to earn in a lifetime.
"Garrett Archelot, you got the price wrong. It's thirty million pounds," a voice suddenly corrected from the girl sitting with her back to them.
"Apologies, Senior," Garrett turned around briefly before correcting himself to Li Xiang. "It's thirty million."
"I... understand." Li Xiang fell silent.
What did it mean for a price to jump from three million to thirty million pounds?
Most people would describe it with just one word: outrageous!
He glanced at the girl with the long black ponytail, feeling an inexplicable sense of familiarity. Forcing a smile, he asked, "Do I get a discount if I join the society?"
"Nope."
"Alright then."
Li Xiang nodded as if nothing had happened. "I'll go check out some other societies."
Using the same excuse, he made a quick exit.
He touched the money in his pocket and sighed deeply.
Even if they broke his legs, it wouldn't make a difference. Thirty million pounds was a number he couldn't even begin to fathom.
Aside from a quick lunch in the cafeteria, Li Xiang spent the entire day wandering through the various stalls. He started at the main building of the Modern Magecraft Department and made his way to the Student Square, passing by nearly a hundred different magecraft societies.
Some were highly specialized, like the Conceptual Weapon Reverse Engineering Society or the Soul Materialization Magecraft Society.
Others focused on cultural and culinary exploration, like the Eastern Culture Research Magecraft Society that Li Xiang had joined.
There were also bizarre ones, like the Doll Magecraft Society, Cat Language Research Society, and Quantum Reading Magecraft Society.
In short, it was an eye-opening experience for Li Xiang. But due to his limited funds, he didn't buy anything. The only thing he received was a small booklet titled *Cat Language Textbook* from the Cat Language Research Society.
It was a thin booklet that explained what each type of cat meow meant.
Not needing it for now, Li Xiang placed it on his desk and took a deep breath before diving into the Land of Shadows once more.