The Cornflower Witch

"Toot, toot——"

The train's whistles alternated in varying lengths, announcing the imminent arrival at the station. Sylutia lifted the curtain slightly with her fingers, observing the Mishil city district they had already entered.

The streets here were clean and tidy, commerce flourishing. On the roads, one could see both carriages and roaring steam vehicles, as well as the emerald green glass that was ubiquitous.

Most buildings in Mishil District were adorned with emerald green glass and golden trim. The floral ornaments had a hint of Elvish style, yet carried the Mage Alliance's characteristic simplicity and cleanliness—not overly ornate.

"Lady Hedra, we've arrived at the station."

A few minutes later, Sylutia stepped off the train. The sun was blazing today, so she had specially prepared a sun hat matching the style of her dress. Her accompanying personnel clustered around her as they entered the station hall.

The busy station was packed with people. Many came to Mishil District for tourism or business, so even with about forty people following by Sylutia's side, they weren't too conspicuous. The staff here were already used to it.

Those who came to greet her were several members of the local mage tower. They had received notice that a new "deputy" would be arriving today to fill the previously vacant position.

"Not here yet? Should be this train, right?"

"Let me check. According to the information we received, the one we're supposed to receive this time is named 'Hedra,' about sixteen to seventeen years old, with long black hair, and looks very cute. Hmph, what kind of description is that? Shouldn't an expert specializing in machinery be Master Sagna's deputy? She doesn't fit the description at all." One member looked at the printed notice in his hand.

"Who knows? Maybe she's just here to gild her resume. I heard she's from the Mithril Clock faction. Even if she completely doesn't meet the requirements, Master Sagna still has to give some face."

"This is the strength of the top-ranked school. So enviable."

"Alright, let's search carefully. Don't miss her and fail to receive her—that would be embarrassing."

The several people looked around the hall, scanning the passengers getting off one by one. Although Sylutia had already appeared in their field of vision, they almost instinctively ignored this young girl.

After all, what Sylutia was wearing today really didn't look like she was here to work. Instead, she looked like she was on vacation. She wore a sun hat and a loose-fitting dress with a white base and light green floral ornaments. The breathability was excellent, and the hem was decorated with a circle of golden tassel knots. This structure prevented the lightweight dress from completely floating up in the summer breeze, serving a dual purpose of decoration and weight. And because the center of gravity was at the hem's outer edge, a slight rotation of her body would make the skirt spin, forming a perfect circle.

When this young girl approached them, they had no choice but to shift their attention and began to carefully scrutinize her.

"Hello, excuse me, are you the ones here to receive me?" The girl's beautiful voice carried an indescribably intimate softness. The few of them froze for a few seconds before snapping out of it.

"Uh... we are here to receive someone, but it probably shouldn't be you." One of them said instinctively. But when his attention shifted to the long black hair under the girl's sun hat, he suddenly thought of something.

"Wait a moment, are you... Miss 'Hedra'?"

"That's right, it's me." Sylutia nodded slightly, elegantly lifting her skirt and bending down, then raised her head. Afterward, her slender white fingers lightly pressed against her collar, revealing an irresistible, flawless smile that was nothing short of dreamlike.

The group froze for a third time, coming to their senses only after a few seconds before responding in surprise.

"Ah, sorry, sorry. We are the ones here to receive you. This way, please, Miss Hedra."

Sylutia nodded, then led the group behind her to follow them toward the station exit.

As they walked, Sylutia reflected on her actions just now. She hadn't meant to tease them; it was just a spur-of-the-moment impulse, recalling various etiquette and details she had been taught as a child.

Because she had lost her memory before, she hadn't practiced or used much of this content in a long time. This rare opportunity to dress up in formal attire, according to the decorum she was taught as a child, required her to maintain a perfect lady's demeanor in such situations.

The Meizhalansi family was one of the empire's four grand ducal families, renowned for their elegant etiquette, moving poetry, and perfect art. Though their hard power within the empire wasn't strong, their reputation and influence were immense. They could be considered the trendsetters of the empire's various popular inclinations. As a child, she had been exposed to a great deal of this through osmosis.

When the group walked out of the station, the leaders suddenly remembered one thing: they had originally estimated that the other party would come alone, so they had only prepared one steam vehicle. But now, with such a large group following the young girl, one vehicle was far from enough.

Seeing them stop, Sylutia stood on the steps, glanced down, and guessed what was going on.

"Is the vehicle insufficient?"

"Uh, yes, Miss Meizhalansi. We didn't know the exact number of people earlier, so we weren't prepared."

After hearing this, Sylutia looked at the street across from her and then spoke.

"Don't worry. Let's go sit at the coffee shop across the street for a while, and you can go prepare the vehicles." As she spoke, she raised her hand, and two attendants dressed as servants came to her side, bending down to listen.

"Assist the staff. Find a few more vehicles, and we'll set off together."

"Yes, Young Miss." They then withdrew and took a few members to accompany the reception staff to the side.

At this point, only two of those receiving Hedra remained. They followed Sylutia to the coffee shop across from the station for a short rest.

Entering the coffee shop, Sylutia found an empty table by the window. Cerise, dressed as a maid, pulled out the seat for her, wiped it slightly, and then gently supported Sylutia's wrist as she sat down.

Perhaps intimidated by Sylutia's innate aura, the two reception staff felt nervous drinking coffee for the first time, afraid they might do something inadequate and neglect this young lady.

The young girl appeared relaxed as she sat, but if one observed carefully, her back always maintained the optimal distance from the chair's backrest. Her speech and laughter were easy and casual, yet her unconscious movements were always perfectly appropriate, never overstepping or lacking grace, even for a moment. It was as if she was born knowing which posture and demeanor were the most perfect, touching, and without any flaws.

Completely intimidated by this aura, the two found themselves unconsciously answering Sylutia's various questions. They had no desire to think about what purpose these questions served or whether they should answer them all. At this moment, their minds were practically blank.

"Thank you for clearing up so many things for me." After learning the general situation of Mishil District, Sylutia bent slightly to express her gratitude. This gesture made the two feel immensely honored, and they hurriedly stopped her.

"Don't mention it, don't mention it. This is our duty, Miss Hedra." When they said this, they felt a sense of privilege.

Seeing this, Sylutia rewarded them with another smile, causing them to lose focus for a long time.

When she was a child, because she was shy and timid around strangers, she had never liked these etiquette matters. But she had to admit that members of the Meizhalansi family had an innate advantage in these things. Even though she had never actively used them, she had unconsciously mastered them through constant exposure.

Ah, she felt this was a bit bad, extracting information from others without them even realizing it. Perhaps this was the reason she was reluctant to learn these skills when she was younger.

Fortunately, her mother Sherin never forced her, merely dotingly stroking her head and saying it was fine if she didn't learn.

Although she had her mother's permission, Sylutia still made an effort to remember a lot of knowledge. After all, she didn't want to embarrass herself at important occasions. That was probably the motivation behind her hard work back then.

In contrast, there was Ilythia. The imperial princess loved grand spectacles and felt she deserved nothing less. She wanted everything to be perfect, so she specifically sought out Sylutia's mother, Sherin, to study etiquette.

As the current head of the Meizhalansi family, the "Aster Sorceress" Sherin was also immensely famous in the empire. She was widely recognized as the most perfect noblewoman of her generation. When she was young, it was said that tens of thousands of young talents in the capital pursued Sherin, and this was even after excluding minor nobles and commoners who were completely beneath her status.

Though she didn't know much about her mother's youthful exploits, Sylutia gathered from various fragmented conversations that Sherin had probably unconsciously captivated many people back then. When the news of her marriage and childbirth spread, countless people couldn't bear the blow.

When she followed her mother to banquets as a child, many people would look at her with complex expressions—wanting to offer blessings yet wearing expressions of sorrow. She had seen this scene many times.

Her train of thought returned to the present. While Sylutia chatted with the two reception staff, the outside personnel had already prepared the vehicles.

Afterward, the group took the vehicles to the Mishil District's mage tower.

From the conversation just now, she learned that aside from her, there were several other deputies within the mage tower. They were Past and Vijel from the Carving and Casting School, Drensu from the Mountain Copper School, and Miyas from the Fire Essence School. Including herself, there were five in total.

It seemed there were quite a few competitors, Sylutia thought.

These people were all at the Fifth Tier and none of them were over forty. Within the Mage Alliance, they were definitely considered promising young talents with bright futures. Otherwise, they wouldn't have caught Master Sagna's eye.

Although there were quite a few master-level figures within the Alliance, not many had gone as far as Master Sagna. If Master Sagna were a few decades younger, there would be some chance of him breaking through to the Seventh Tier and becoming a Sage.

While Sylutia was pondering, the steam vehicle arrived at the central mage tower district of Mishil. Here stood one main tower and three secondary towers of varying heights. Surrounding these towers were the buildings of the Mage Guild. In the open spaces and squares in between, one could occasionally see clerks rushing about with documents, as well as members in official mage robes coming and going.

As the garrison of the Mage Guild, local mages would gather here to discuss topics, trade resources, potions, and creations, issue quests, find collaborators, and so on. Surrounding the Mage Guild's streets were many shops related to mages, selling various things mages needed.

The streets were clean and tidy, lined with laurel trees. In the Mage Guild's square, there was also a clear fountain. The spraying mist dispelled some of the heat, keeping the temperature from becoming too high.

Sylutia stepped out of the vehicle and, surrounded by a crowd of members, entered the Mage Guild's gate. Many members curiously watched, speculating about her identity.

"Who is this? So many people following her."

"Probably some young lady from a big family. There are a few very powerful families in the Alliance, especially those that have produced Sages." The crowd whispered quietly.

After entering the Mage Guild, Sylutia first went to sit in the side hall. Soon, someone went to inform Master Sagna.

At that moment, Master Sagna, who was busy in the workshop debugging and researching the power furnace, was somewhat impatient.

"Have her come see me."

"Wait, never mind." He put down his tools and grabbed a towel to wipe himself.

The white-bearded old man stood up. His assistant quickly helped wipe off his sweat. He then went to the restroom to change into a refreshing set of black clothes before taking people to the side hall.

Sylutia, who had been sitting on the sofa sipping tea, heard the footsteps, gently set down her cup, and stood up.

Master Sagna had been feeling somewhat irritable, but upon seeing this young girl, his mood calmed down.

"You're Hedra, right?"

"Yes, Master Sagna." Sylutia bowed with an elegant and graceful posture.

"Master Ge Zhen personally wrote to me, recommending you and praising you highly." He walked to the sofa across from Sylutia, sat down relaxedly, and leaned back against the sofa's backrest.

"Although I trust his judgment, I've been disappointed for too long. It's hard for me to hold any expectations for anyone now." He motioned for Sylutia to sit down and not stand on ceremony.

"The industrial system of Mishil District was built by my own hands. I've also been involved in the several large guilds and workshops that produce steam vehicles here. You could say that if I wanted to, I could change many things."

"However, this kind of influence will dissipate quickly once I retire and leave."

"As someone who has studied this subject for most of my life, I don't want to see it lost, but finding the right successor is always so difficult." Master Sagna briefly explained the situation.

"Someone must have explained all this to you before you came, so I'll make a long story short. If you want to earn my recognition, take it step by step." With that, he waved his hand, and an assistant stepped forward.

"Take out one copy of the materials I prepared earlier and give it to Miss Hedra."

"Yes, Master." The assistant nodded, then took out three special Memory Gems from his tool bag.

"Inside these are the materials I've compiled in the past. There's quite a lot of content, including detailed records of my research insights and skills. Take them and read them first. It's best if you finish them within a month. Then I'll have a task for you."

After speaking, the master had the assistant place the small box containing the three gems on the tea table in front of Sylutia.

"Don't ask me any questions during this time. I don't have the time to explain things to you one by one. If you really don't understand something, you can ask the other deputies. They arrived before you and learned step by step like this too."

"However, you're competitors. Whether they're willing to help you out depends on your own ability."

"As for your accommodation and future duties, I've arranged a residence for you on the west side of the Mage Guild. It's quite spacious. As for duties, there are three main tasks within the mage tower: 'Maintaining Communications,' 'Monitoring Demon Beasts,' and 'Patrol Arrangements.' These three have already been assigned and there's nothing left for you. But if I have you doing nothing, it'll seem like I'm targeting you, and I might get scolded by some old friends for not taking their recommendations seriously."

"So, the task I'm assigning you is here at the Mage Guild—handling evaluation and grading. You've worked at the Inspection Department before, so you should be quite skilled at this."

"That's all I have to say. See you in a month. I hope by then you'll have a good grasp of what I've given you."

Having said this, he stood up and headed back to the experimental workshop to explore his latest research topic, showing no signs of being an old man about to retire.