Chapter 45: Emergency Meeting
“Thank you, Lord Rook.”
“You’re welcome.”
After delivering the letter, the Rook messenger flapped its wings, circled once, and flew back to perch on a withered branch that had yet to sprout green leaves.
“This is a letter from the president.”
Seeing the signature of Richard Eva and the seal of the White Ballet Shoes Club on the envelope, Janna tucked the letter away thoughtfully and quickly returned to her dormitory.
“Good afternoon, Miss Janna…”
“Door Spirit, has anyone come looking for me this afternoon?”
“No, Miss Janna.”
Upon hearing this, Janna nodded, pushed open the door, and entered her dormitory.
“Cleaning Spell—”
“Return to Order—”
Upon entering, Janna deftly cast two Cleaning Spells on herself and the messy room before her.
“Let’s change clothes first.”
She took off the newly purchased Raccoon Cat Robe, then removed the rose-colored long dress she wasn’t used to wearing.
In its place, she put on a moon-white silk blouse she usually wore, paired with slim-fitting black trousers and soft brown leather ankle boots.
“Compared to long dresses, this kind of outfit is definitely more suited for a witch’s daily, tedious work.”
That rose-colored dress was actually a piece of clothing the “original host” had brought from the lower city before her rebirth.
She hadn’t expected that the dress, which she thought she’d never wear again, would end up helping her out today for a job interview—something the past life’s Janna had never experienced.
“Once I officially start at the Nightingale Opera Troupe, I probably won’t have any say in what I wear anymore…”
Young Natasha, in her character profile, was a girl who disliked wearing dresses since childhood.
However, constrained by noble etiquette, she had to wear beautiful and elaborate gowns most of the time except during horseback training, suppressing her true nature.
After rehanging the rose dress back in the wardrobe, Janna immediately pulled the White Ballet Shoes Club’s envelope from her robe and opened it.
“There’s an emergency meeting at the Academy Library at six this evening?”
Reading the brief message, Janna raised an eyebrow at her first invitation to a club meeting.
“There’s less than half an hour left before the meeting starts…”
Glancing at the time displayed on the wall-mounted mechanical clock, Janna, who disliked being late, had no choice but to put the Raccoon Cat Robe back on.
She then brewed a cup of bitter coffee and paired it with a raspberry bun she’d bought from the academy cafeteria yesterday.
A few quick bites served as her dinner.
“It’s about time.”
Seeing the hour hand inching toward forty-five, Janna grabbed her Greenfield Wand and left the dorm in a hurry.
“Miss Janna, going out again, are you…”
“Door Spirit, if anyone asks for me, just say I’ll be back a bit later.”
“Alright, Miss Janna. Stay safe—”
…
The library was less than four hundred meters from the dormitory.
In under five minutes, Janna had briskly reached its entrance.
“Beep—”
After verifying Janna’s facial features, the illusion barrier at the entrance allowed her into the public area of the library.
“Janna, over here—”
No sooner had she stepped into the library than a familiar voice from the public lounge area caught her attention.
“Senior Soro, you must have arrived quite early.”
“Not really. I just got here too. The president’s waiting for us in a private room at the Acorn House Café. Let’s head over together.”
“Alright.”
Soro still wore his usual knightly silver armor. His unshaven face added to his already mature demeanor, giving him an even more seasoned look.
“President, everyone’s here.”
“Good, let’s all sit.”
Following Soro into the private room, Janna saw that aside from the president Richard Eva, only Lo Silverfox—the mysterious second-level Apprentice from the Illusion branch who had joined the White Ballet Shoes Club with her last time—was present.
“It’s just the four of us for today’s meeting, so let’s not stand on ceremony. Feel free to try the Acorn House’s newest snack, the Slug Stickies. They taste pretty good, though they’re a bit spicy.”
Seeing the gooey, slug-shaped pastries on the round porcelain tray, Janna, though accustomed to the bizarre foods of the witch world, didn’t feel compelled to force herself to "do as the locals do."
“Thanks, I just had dinner, so I’m not hungry…”
“Janna, you really won’t try one? They’re surprisingly good.”
Watching Soro slurping one down enthusiastically, Janna only smiled and shook her head.
“Then I’ll give you mine.”
“No way! It’s rare for the president to treat us. He’s usually super stingy…”
“Ahem.”
Richard Eva gently coughed, cutting Soro Flare off.
After pouring everyone a cup of red tea, he steered the conversation back on track.
“This meeting isn’t an official White Ballet Shoes Club gathering. It’s a privately initiated emergency meeting by me, due to critical information from Lo.”
Hearing this, Janna put down her tea and turned her gaze to Lo Silverfox, who had been mostly silent.
“I found a spatial rift in the Misty Valley. Preliminary assessment suggests it leads to either the Clouded Stratum or the Mirror Stratum. There are source energy fragments condensing inside, but they’re tainted with Darksun aura…”
Hearing Lo Silverfox’s account, Janna’s eyes lit up slightly. She roughly guessed why Richard Eva had called on her, a mere Level One Apprentice.
“Besides the Darksun Contamination, the magnetic field near the spatial rift is erratic, and the laws are unstable. It might also be tainted with interdimensional rule corruption. There are spatial storms and extra-planar creature attacks—extremely dangerous…”
At this point, Richard Eva interjected:
“As for the spatial storms and extra-planar attacks, Soro and I can handle those. But the contamination inside—that’s something we’ll need you to purify, Janna.”
“Hmm… may I ask how severe the contamination is?”
“The Darksun Contamination is relatively serious. As for the interdimensional rule pollution, that’s just my speculation. If it exists, it’s probably very mild.”
Janna nodded at Lo Silverfox’s response.
“No problem, I can handle the purification. But if the contamination is severe, I’ll need more time to complete the process.”
“That’s no issue at all—as long as you can purify it!”
Hearing Janna’s confirmation, both Richard Eva and Lo Silverfox, sitting across from her, looked visibly more relaxed.
“Then is everyone on board with this operation? Though it’s risky, I swear on the Eva family name—I will do everything in my power to ensure everyone’s safety!”