Wayland asked cautiously, "What are your conditions?"
"Don't be so nervous. It's actually a good thing. You're only asking for a loan because you're short on cash, right? I can offer you a way to earn it. Have you heard of the Bureau of the First Principle?"
"The Bureau of the First Principle?" Wayland blinked, genuinely confused. He didn't know much about it. Regarding the Clock Tower's active forces, he'd only ever heard of the Bureau of Sealing Designation, and even then, his knowledge was limited.
His primary source of information was 'Bazett'--Bazett Fraga McRemitz, the original Master of Lancer in the Fifth Holy Grail War who had been betrayed by Kirei Kotomine and spent most of the war in a coma.
She was a member of the Bureau of Sealing Designation sent by the Mage's Association to participate in the war.
"You should know that the Department of Policies is independent of the twelve traditional departments. While we still use the name 'Policies,' our formal title is the Bureau of the First Principle."
"Are you asking me to join Policies?" Wayland asked, clarifying.
"Accurately, I'm asking you to join the Bureau of the First Principle," Hishiri corrected. "Currently, our bureau has three core functions--or rather, three departments: Safeguarding the Magical World, Supervising Magi, and Contributing to Human Society. The first and second are exactly what they sound like. The third is dedicated to maintaining the balance between magi and the mundane world, as well as resolving conflicts with other organizations."
"I want you to join our execution force. You'll be tasked with resolving supernatural incidents, hunting down magi who break the first principle by using magecraft in front of ordinary people, and erasing the memories of witnesses."
Wayland's expression tightened. If he remembered correctly, Wenzel had mentioned that Wayland himself had had his memories erased before his entrance exam.
The mystery of who had sent him the admission letter had already been partially resolved; in his conversation with Waver, he'd recalled that the letter had simply appeared in his bag one day.
Based on the contents of that letter, the most likely candidate was the Lord of the Astronomy Department, though Wenzel's behavior made that connection a bit questionable.
Then there was the matter of his previous identity's memories.
Wayland had seen his own reflection. While there was a slight resemblance to his former self, his current appearance was significantly more refined--he was, quite frankly, handsome enough to make a living on his looks alone. But in the world of magi, without strength, your face was just something for people to smash.
The difference in appearance suggested his soul had inhabited this body, and the original host's memories had likely been wiped clean.
Based on his understanding of the Clock Tower, a record of such a memory erasure would almost certainly be stored within the Bureau of the First Principle.
"Three thousand pounds a month."
Seeing that Wayland hadn't answered, Hishiri held up three fingers.
"I'll do it!" Wayland blurted out, his voice filled with righteous indignation. "Safeguarding the magical world is my sacred and unavoidable duty!"
'Good lord, three thousand pounds!'
He'd checked the exchange rates recently. At roughly thirteen to one, that was nearly thirty-nine thousand yuan--and this was 2003!
With that kind of money, he could eat at the General Fundamentals cafeteria every single day!
Hishiri let out a suppressed giggle behind her hand. "You're quite the character. But you should think it over carefully; the missions assigned to the bureau can be incredibly dangerous."
Wayland nodded. He was well aware of that. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't have dreamed of accepting, but how much more dangerous could it be than the Holy Grail War he was destined to enter next year?
The greater the danger, the faster he would grow.
You couldn't see a rainbow without enduring a few hits from society's sledgehammer.
"One more thing. Can I get an advance on my first month's salary? If I have that, I won't need the school loan."
All he needed was enough to buy materials for a single Level 1 spell enhancement. Three thousand pounds was more than enough. While he could borrow more from the school, Wayland didn't like being in debt; spending his own earned money felt much better.
"That can be arranged."
Hishiri nodded. "Follow me. We just need to handle a few small formalities."
Wayland followed her to the Department of Policies. The process was straightforward: he signed a contract and was given a cell phone and an ID card.
The phone was an old-fashioned Nokia flip phone.
'Indestructible and reliable.'
The ID card was simple as well: his photo, his name, and the title 'External Agent for the Bureau of the First Principle.'
From now on, Wayland could act like a 007 agent from the movies. He could flash his ID and shout something legendary like:
'Police--no, wait. Bureau of the First Principle! Don't move! Hands in the air!'
In a small patch of woods on the right bank of London Bridge.
After having Irigal confirm that the area was clear, Wayland found a wide, open spot. He cleared away the weeds and wildflowers and pulled out the materials he'd purchased the previous afternoon.
A 60-carat opal, 100 grams of silver, and a bottle of mineral water. They had cost him nearly five hundred pounds.
The vast majority of that cost had gone toward the opal--a shimmering, multi-colored stone that looked like a drop of liquid paint.
There were two ways to acquire materials for a magical circle: the 'brute force' method--using expensive, prana-dense gemstones--or using alchemical reagents.
His textbook had detailed the alchemical steps to enhance Water-Repelling magecraft. Technically, it would have cost half as much as the opal, but Wayland didn't know the first thing about alchemy, a subject few at the Clock Tower bothered to master.
Among the three major organizations of the Mage's Association--the Clock Tower, the Wandering Sea, and the Atlas Academy--only Atlas focused primarily on alchemy.
Most importantly, Wayland had seen the phrase '20% success rate' in the textbook and had given a hollow, poverty-stricken smile.
He poured the silver powder into a small bowl, added a splash of water, and began to stir. Once the mixture reached a consistent, silver paste, he took out a swan-feather quill.
Visualizing the diagram from the book, he began to draw a circle on the ground.
Well... a very standard... oval.
Fortunately, the book mentioned that it didn't have to be a perfect circle; a slight imperfection would only marginally reduce the effect. Suppressing the urge to thank the author, Wayland finished his masterpiece.
It was, frankly, a disaster.
The curves weren't curved, and the straight lines weren't straight.
'How do they draw these so perfectly in anime? Is everyone a master artist?'
Wayland couldn't understand it.
He took the opal in his palm and gave it a sharp tap, shattering it into several fragments.
It wasn't that his grip was particularly strong; he'd specifically asked the jeweler to pre-crack the stone. The looks the staff had given him at that request suggested they thought he was mentally unstable.
He could hardly explain that it was for a magical ritual.
In their eyes, that explanation would have only confirmed their suspicions.
He placed the opal fragments at the points of a pentagram.
The shards were infused with ten units of Level 1 prana that Wayland had painstakingly stored in advance. The stones began to react, emitting a dull, earthy yellow glow.
The lines of silver powder began to shimmer, looking almost as if liquid were flowing through them.
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]