With the height of summer past, the nights had grown somewhat cooler. After the young lady went to bed, the servants throughout the manor returned to their rooms to rest.
Simon lay in bed, feeling a little troubled.
It had already been a month since his first [Mysticism] lesson, yet the golden-haired young lady still hadn’t come to find him or set him on the path to becoming a Transcendent. This is taking a little too long.
If this keeps up, I might really have to consider Mabel and Eleanor’s side.
He yawned, suddenly feeling sleepy even though it wasn’t his usual bedtime yet… It’s a sleep charm!
Without resisting, Simon closed his eyes and sank into sleep.
There were no images in the dream, only a voice.
“You have passed the test. Come to the garden at midnight.”
Simon opened his eyes and checked his gold pocket watch. Three minutes had passed.
Elisa doesn’t have any dream-related abilities, so she must have used a charm just now. She really spared no expense. Using up an entire charm just to deliver a message in a dream… A charm costs at least 5 pounds to make.
She did this to tie it in with [The Young Lady’s Late-Night Lessons] and make it clear that she’s the teacher from his dreams. Pretty thoughtful of her.
There was still plenty of time before midnight, so Simon set a small internal alarm for himself and took a nap. He timed it perfectly, arriving at the garden behind the manor right at midnight.
The garden was deserted. In the night sky, a pale crescent moon cast its dim light.
Simon walked toward the pavilion at the center of the garden. Suddenly, pure white motes of light appeared before his eyes. They drifted upward into the moonlight and traced a circle above the pavilion.
Within the circle, the figure of a woman appeared.
The woman had long, dark-purple hair and pale violet eyes, with a pair of gold-rimmed glasses perched on her delicate nose. She wore a purple robe that wasn’t particularly form-fitting, yet somehow looked fitted on her, especially with the striking curves at her chest.
The purple-haired woman sat languidly atop the pavilion, holding a purple-covered book in her hands as she read.
Pure white motes of light drifted past her face and slipped into the pages of the book.
With a soft snap, she closed the book, sending a conspicuous ripple through her chest.
For a moment, Simon wasn’t sure how he should react. He knew the golden-haired young lady would disguise herself, but he hadn’t expected her to outright disguise herself as someone else.
What’s with the mature looks and those two moons with such an overwhelming presence? I only wrote in the [Log] that I liked big breasts to put you at ease! Though I really do like them.
And doesn’t this appearance seem a little familiar?
Simon mentally converted the real-life figure into a character portrait and recognized her. She was the Moon Sage of the Archipelago’s Council of Sages… a demigod-level figure.
She also had an even more important identity… it was Elisa’s teacher.
Are you sure it’s okay to meet me while looking like your teacher?
How is this any different from using your mother’s photo for an online romance?
Are you sure the Moon Sage won’t beat you up for this?!
Grumbling inwardly, Simon composed a log entry and sent it.
[Simon looked up at the pavilion. The beautiful figure beneath the moon left him entranced, and for a moment, it seemed as though three moons hung in the night sky.]
It worked! Elisa rejoiced inwardly.
Sure enough, big breasts were the right choice! Not even Maria or Madam Helen had ever made my male servant stare in a daze like this!
After the joy came a tiny pang of guilt.
During the day, she had put on [Thousand Faces] and spent ages sculpting her face, but she couldn’t come up with a particularly attractive appearance. Coupled with the tiny bit of resentment she held toward her teacher, she had simply copied her teacher’s body outright… No, wait, she hadn’t copied it!
[Thousand Faces] could only make minor adjustments to her figure, and her starting point was too poor to perfectly reproduce her teacher’s size, so it didn’t count as copying! This was her original body!
Judging by her male servant’s reaction, it was working very well.
Time for the next step.
Elisa recalled her teacher’s mannerisms and gently raised her head, looking down at her male servant.
While imitating her teacher’s voice, she asked, “Would you be willing to become my student?”
She didn’t explain much. For one thing, she wanted to minimize the time they spent together and reduce the risk of exposing herself. For another, the less she said, the more mature she would seem. Only young ladies liked to chatter on and on.
[Simon was shocked. So the strange dreams he had experienced over the past month were actually tests from this mature, alluring, intellectual, dignified, elegant, and gentle lady.]
Seeing that long string of compliments filled Elisa with delight, but then she realized he was praising her teacher’s body rather than her own, leaving her with mixed feelings.
“It would be my honor,” Simon replied.
[Simon accepted her invitation and prepared himself to resign and set out on the road. Following this mature lady stirred his heart far more than staying with Miss Elisa.]
You bastard! I have 72 Intimacy with you, and I still can’t compare to some woman you just met?!
Suppressing the urge to beat her male servant senseless, Elisa took out the [Ritual Array] and tossed it toward Simon.
The palm-sized disc engraved with intricate runes slowly descended through the air before hovering in front of Simon.
“You should know how to use this.” She quickened the pace of the conversation, not wanting her male servant to hurt her feelings any further.
Once Simon nodded, she swiftly moved on to the next subject. “I cannot keep you by my side for the time being. Study diligently here at the manor, and every night I will enter your dreams to teach you. The owner of this manor is a friend of mine. Protect his daughter on my behalf. Try not to let her discover that you are a Transcendent, and do not reveal our relationship.”
Simon nodded again.
[Simon felt somewhat regretful that he couldn’t leave with the lady beneath the moonlight.]
[He hadn’t expected Miss Elisa to actually have some connection with this lady. He boldly guessed that the purple-haired lady might be Miss Elisa’s mother.]
What nonsense are you imagining?! I’m not that lazy old virgin’s daughter!
[Simon quickly dismissed the possibility. His gaze swept across the purple-haired lady’s chest, then an image of Miss Elisa’s chest flashed through his mind, and he sighed inwardly.]
Why are you ruling it out based on that?! Your first thought should be that our hair and eye colors are different!
And stop staring there!
Although Elisa had decided to use a mature body to entice Simon, she still felt a little embarrassed when actually faced with his gaze.
She opened the book in her hands, and pure white motes of light flew out, enveloping her body.
“Until we meet again in your dreams.”
Beneath the moonlight, the figure atop the pavilion vanished.
[Simon felt an inexplicable sense of loss.]
After sending the log entry, Simon gripped the [Ritual Array]. His mind was completely free of thoughts of beauty, filled only with the joy of finally becoming a Transcendent.
Returning to his bedroom, he immediately set up purification and sealing rituals, making his final preparations.
The [Ritual Array], also known as a [Ritual Compass], could be used to communicate with the Spirit World and construct one’s own rituals. This process was known as inscription, while a ritual that had been successfully inscribed was known as a Stigma.
The first inscription was extremely important, as it essentially determined the path a Transcendent would follow in the future. Elisa’s first inscription had been the [Blood Ritual], and every ritual she inscribed with each subsequent advancement had also been related to blood.
Simon opened his [Editing Program] and disassembled the [Ritual Array]. The one Elisa had given him was among the highest-grade varieties. It had even been infused with Elisa’s spirituality, along with a portion of the Blood Ritual.
That golden-haired young lady wanted Simon to follow in her footsteps and cultivate rituals of the [Blood] domain.
Simon had no intention of following Elisa’s arrangement. He had a ritual of his own in mind.
He reconstructed the [Ritual Array], erased Elisa’s traces from within it, infused it with traces of the domain he desired, and activated it.
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