Serpent’s Shadow

Once I get home, I tell Sophia about what happened at the library and about the lovely young lady I encountered.

And oh my, she is shocked!

"WHAT? Mirabelle Ashford!? You met THE Mirabelle Ashford!?"

"Yeah, and I angered her a bit. Haha." I laugh. "But she forgave me, so there's nothing to worry about."

"Oh boy," Sophia sighs, face-palming. "You have no idea who she is, do you?"

"Huh? Is she someone very popular?"

"EXTREMELY POPULAR!"

Sophia then enlightens me about who that girl really is.

Mirabelle Ashford. She is the youngest person in history to reach the rank of Grandmaster Enchanter. People refer to her as the Child Prodigy, a genius who was born enlightened.

To put it into perspective, there are only two people in the entire Kingdom of Valeria who have reached that level and are still alive. The first person is ArchDuke Eldric Harrow, Sophia's sworn enemy who murdered her family in the past. The second is Mirabelle Ashford. And if we count every other kingdom combined, meaning the whole world, there are only fewer than ten Grandmasters.

"My father was a Grandmaster Enchanter too, before he died…" Sophia murmurs. "But back to Mirabelle, it takes a person their whole lifetime to reach that rank. But she achieved it at the age of ten! And that was two years ago! She's incredible! If she weren't so young, she'd probably be the Enchanters' Guild's guildmaster by now. And to think that you made her angry… Jackkkk…" Sophia shoots me an icy glare.

"Well, oopsie!" I throw my hands into the air. "Guess I'll have to avoid seeing her from now on!"

I laugh to ease the tension, but Sophia is not amused.

"Anyway," I say, changing the subject, "how about you guys? How has your day been so far?"

"Haizz…" Sophia sighs. "Well, not bad. Yumi and I went to the Tamer Guild to have Charcoal registered and checked up."

"Oh? And how is the cat?"

"He's healthy. And we even found info regarding his previous owner. The guy was an old adventurer who went into the dungeon three years ago and never came back. So, Charcoal has been a stray ever since. I'm so glad that we've found him."

"Oh, me too." I nod. "Poor Charcoal, he must have had it tough for these couple years."

"Yeah…"

"And now, is it time for you to tell me about this?"

I take out my mysterious transparent card, the one that I asked Sophia about after the visit to the Adventurer's Guild. Apparently, it was too dangerous to talk about it then, so I had waited until we got home.

Sophia's reaction is the same. Her face pales, her eyes darting around. She bites her lip and stays silent for a long moment. When she finally speaks, she's stuttering.

"D-do I really have to?"

"Of course."

"Fine…" she gives in, much easier than I thought. "It's called the Serpent's Invitation."

As Sophia explains, I begin to understand the full picture. Why Bromrik was able to trap us. How we managed to escape from him. And how we got our identification cards so easily.

The Basilisk's Order.

Like the legend of the Illuminati on Earth, it is an underground organization that controls the world's order. From the black market to guilds and even the Churches, the Serpent's eyes see everything and secretly influence everything.

"Since you have received the invitation, that's all I'm allowed to say," Sophia concludes. "Even if you make me your slave again, I wouldn't be able to tell you more than this…"

As Sophia speaks, two black dots appear on her neck, resembling a snake bite. Black veins branch out from the mark, spreading like some kind of poison.

Is that the spell that makes Sophia unable to speak about the Order? I wonder.

"Alright, I understand. I won't press you to tell me any more about this," 

"Thank you," Sophia says, and immediately, the mark on her neck disappears.

"But at least you can tell me how this thing works, right?"

The card is undoubtedly an enchanted item. But even though I can now see Enchantments, I can't read it. It seems like some kind of encryption is in play since the words don't even resemble Arcanum.

"It's Serpent tongue," Sophia explains. "In essence, it's Arcanum but modified so that only the higher-ups can read it."

"Oh, I see…"

That confirms my theory. On Earth, there are encryption methods called one-way encryptions. Without knowing the method, there's no way I could read into it, even with the help of Sapphire. But to think this world has something similar intrigues me. I wonder who could create such a thing. The Basilisk Order must have some interesting individuals working for them.

"And about how it works. Well, when the time comes, you will know. But for now, please keep it on you at all times."

"Got it."

After that, the conversation ends, and Sophia goes back to her room. I take my pills and go to sleep, dreaming of meeting Anna again.

The Basilisk Order, if they are as formidable as Sophia says, then perhaps they will be able to help me.