The Cornflower Witch

Book 3: Chapter 22: The Dance of Dolls and Machines

The eve of the Silver Bell Festival.

Sylutia stared blankly at the invitation letter in her hand. Special writing had now appeared on it, detailing the instructions for using the invitation.

"Please activate the invitation by holding it in an open area before dusk on the appointed day." She read the words aloud, then looked down to see what she needed to prepare.

First was a formal gown suitable for attending a banquet. Considering the style of Rorik College, it was best to choose a main color scheme leaning towards dark tones like black, brown, or red, and it was not recommended to wear bright-colored clothes like white, blue, or yellow.

The Silver Bell Festival would open at six in the evening and last until dawn the next day, a total of twelve hours. The first six hours would have activities and performances, while the latter six hours would be free time for touring the college's open facilities, making friends, enjoying various delicacies, and exchanging knowledge.

After a final check, finding nothing missing, Sylutia placed the invitation letter under her pillow and drifted off to sleep.

.....

In a corner of Agate Street, the old restaurant was preparing to close for the night.

The tables were a mess, and there were quite a few spilled drink stains on the floor. The proprietress and a young-looking beastgirl were putting away the tables and chairs, then cleaning up with a mop and rags.

An hour later, the two stood in the cleaned-up restaurant, wiping their sweat. Looking at the restored neat and clean environment, they sighed in relief."Finally finished for today." The proprietress sighed, then turned to look at the horned beastgirl beside her.

"Anari, you worked hard too."

"Tomorrow is the Silver Bell Festival. Did you make plans to go anywhere with your classmates?"

"I... don't have any classmates to go with." The girl answered dejectedly.

Seeing this, the proprietress's heart ached. She pulled the girl into her embrace. "Then you'll spend it with me tomorrow."

"It'll get better." She added another sentence, then the two of them securely closed the shop door and extinguished the restaurant's night light.

......

The next day, salutes and fireworks shot into the sky and burst open. Wave after wave of sound rang out, waking the morning in the Asra District.

On the lampposts lining both sides of the street today, banners were hung, printed with the patterns and emblems of various major colleges. The shops along the road were also scrubbed clean and bright, with many preparing promotional discounts and sales activities for the day.

Students on holiday gathered with classmates and friends for fun and games. Some were selecting things they fancied, some were exchanging gifts, and some were talking about which banquet they would attend tonight.

"For today, I prepared a really beautiful dress. It was specially custom-made by a tailor and cost me a full ten gold coins." Several female voices chatted while buying gifts in a shop.

"That extravagant? I just found a nice outfit."

"You just don't get it. Today is the day of decision. I absolutely must win over the prince of my heart."

On the other side, boys also gathered together, discussing their plans for the day.

"I've wanted a staff from 'Golden Deer Workshop' for a long time. It's on sale today. If I miss it, I'll have to wait until next year."

"Which model do you want?" A friend beside him asked curiously.

"Of course, the 'Beacon Flame Model 106'. After infusing it with 'Gold Steam' power, it can generate a two-meter-long blazing fire sword. So impressive."

"That one? Will you really use it?" His friend tried to dissuade him.

"It's cool! Why don't you understand? That feeling, that feeling of standing majestically amidst the flames, wielding a roaring fire sword! Do you know how awesome that is?!"

"Alright, alright. Seems like you have to buy it today."

Unlike the young students, the instructors in the Asra District were much more composed. Today, they just sat in cafes chatting with friends and colleagues, only occasionally mentioning the Silver Bell Festival.

"There are noticeably quite a few more students this semester." One instructor, holding coffee, leaned back on the sofa, slowly savoring it, not caring as much about his image as he did at school.

"Yes. Before, a class only had a little over thirty people. Now it's forty or fifty."

"The Joint Council's intention is to expand enrollment over the next few years, trying to increase manpower and strength as much as possible."

"Oh? Planning something big? I had a feeling this day would come, but it's still a bit surprising."

"Don't know what they want to do. If they're preparing for war, I'm afraid I'm not up for it anymore." A mage with wrinkles appearing at the corners of his eyes slowly commented.

"My child just turned fifteen. He'll come to the Asra District next year. My parents aren't young anymore either. Even as a Transcendent, I feel life takes up too much energy, leaving no heart to handle more matters. Besides, I don't have the drive I had back then." He sighed, looking out the window at the young boys and girls walking by.

"Youth is wonderful. And they are the future backbone of the Mage Alliance. Us old folks, even if our strength remains, most have lost the motivation to strive."

"The replacement of the old with the new is the natural cycle of truth. Bold and fearless in youth, but now I increasingly revere certain laws, hehe."

"Let's go. After finishing this cup, let's also go to the training grounds for a walk, move these old bodies around."

"Haha, let's agree beforehand. Whoever loses treats tonight."

......

In the dormitory, Lovier sat before the dressing table, putting on her makeup. She had changed into a brilliantly bright lemon-yellow formal gown, paired with the golden gauze lace on the skirt hem and the snow-white inner cuffs. A young lady from a prominent family, as if stepping out of a famous painting, appeared in reality.

"Sorry, I only know how to do this kind of hairstyle." Aurora put down the comb and looked at the girl in the mirror.

Although she was also from a prominent family, she didn't care much about dressing up. She usually had a few fixed hairstyles, and most of them were done by maids. It was only now, living in the dormitory, that she dressed herself.

"Hmm, seems this is the best I can do." Although still slightly dissatisfied with her own appearance, Lovier also knew this was the best result achievable at the moment.

"When I enter the college next year and have my own private room, I must write home and have them send ten maids over." Lovier resolved.

"Hehe, finally couldn't hold back anymore." After hearing this, Aurora covered her mouth and chuckled lightly.

"The first day I met you, I wondered how long a young lady like you could endure living alone."

"Hmph, was Aurora already planning to laugh at me back then? So mean~" Lovier pretended to be angry and pouted.

"Not exactly laughing at you, just curious." As Aurora spoke, she glanced towards Sylutia, who was writing a letter nearby.

"What about Hedra? Didn't you think that back then?"

"Me?" Sylutia looked up.

"I didn't think that much about it back then. I was just surprised by Lovier's generosity." She had long been accustomed to living alone in the Hidden Grove and hadn't considered such things at all.

Afterwards, the three chatted for a few more sentences. Aurora walked over to look at the letter Sylutia was writing.

"Who is it for?"

"Home. They live by Meteorite Lake. And also for my instructor, to tell him I'm doing well at school and not to worry."

"That's nice." Aurora thought of her own family. She saw them quite often. Even if she didn't want to see them, those guys would come find her.

'My lovely daughter, why were you so clingy to Daddy when you were little, but now you even find it annoying to talk to me?' Her father had said that last time, making her feel a bit awkward and hard to explain.

Indeed, she didn't know when she stopped liking to talk to her parents. Probably after growing up, Aurora thought.

'Tonight, Lovier and I are going to attend the Silver Bell Festival at Vichia College. Hedra, you're going to Rorik College alone. Be careful on the way. If you encounter anyone pestering you, remember to use my name.' Aurora instructed.

"Okay, I know." Sylutia agreed, but also felt a bit like complaining. Why did everyone treat her like a child who hadn't grown up yet? Could the influence of appearance and temperament really be that big?

Four in the afternoon.

Sylutia changed into a complex black dress, adorned with blue ruffled trims, and clipped an iris-shaped hairpin by her ear.

Arriving at a nearby square, Sylutia took out that invitation letter and activated the inscription on it. A flash of fluorescent light passed, and an invisible signal dispersed.

Passersby in the square curiously looked at this beautifully dressed girl, guessing why she was here.

"Probably waiting for a friend."

"No, I think she might be heartbroken. Who waits outdoors dressed like that?"

"Kind of pitiful."

"If I had such beautiful clothes, why would I care about a broken heart? I'd definitely charm a whole crowd at the banquet tonight." Several girls walked closer. Seeing Sylutia's appearance clearly, they spoke with envy and jealousy.

"Definitely would." Several companions beside them also agreed, gazing at the girl sitting on the bench not far away.

Afterwards, the few of them started discussing the festival banquet they would attend tonight.

"I got a date with the handsome guy from the next class." One of them said proudly and smugly.

"Wow, really? Isn't he very aloof? I heard from the teacher that his probability of getting into Brick College within three years is very high."

"Yes. When I went on a date with him yesterday, I heard him say his ranking in this assessment is within the top five hundred in the entire Asra District. There's absolutely no problem with him becoming an Official Mage in the future."

"Even if he can't become an Official Mage later, marrying a good match is also a great choice."

"Envious. I wish I could have a boyfriend like that." The few of them whispered among themselves.

A gentle breeze swept across the square, lifting a few pale yellow leaves. Sylutia felt the hair on her forehead flutter, so she raised her head.

Unnoticed, a black carriage slowly descended from the sky, landing in front of her. The carriage body was made of classical, pitch-black metal. The metal horses pulling it had six hooves. The upper half of their bodies was covered in metal shells, while the lower part was hollowed out, clearly revealing the transmission structures inside. Sitting at the front was a mechanical puppet coachman. He wore neat formal attire, but his head was replaced by a vertical iron ring, avoiding the eeriness that comes from looking too human.

That iron ring on the head now vibrated, emitting waves of sound.

"Invited guest, please board the carriage." After speaking, the carriage door opened, revealing the comfortable seats and small table inside.

"Okay." Sylutia answered briefly, then held onto the door and boarded.

Shortly after sitting on the sofa inside the carriage, the door slowly closed. Under the shocked and envious gazes of the crowd in the square, the carriage started up again.

The metal horses pulling it in front moved their bodies and hooves like real horses, as if giving a slight sneeze, then began to trot. Soon, the entire carriage gradually left the ground, slowly rising, entering the air, and heading towards the distant horizon.

"That just now!" Someone pointed at the carriage flying away in the sky, only now reacting.

"Which college sent that reception carriage? So novel, completely mechanical, and it can fly in the air."

"I saw it!" Someone shouted.

"On the back of that carriage, there's a black and gold rose pattern. It's Rorik College."

"One of the top seven colleges, no wonder so extravagant."

"Then that girl just now received an invitation letter?"

"Probably. But she's only Second Tier, right? So lucky."

"Although the Silver Bell Festival invitation letters are sent to people outside the colleges, those are usually important figures. If it's a Second Tier apprentice, they only give them to those with extremely promising futures, highly regarded individuals. I estimate among the invitation letters Rorik College sends out, less than ten Second Tier students can get one."

"That rare?"

"Of course. After all, it's one of the most powerful colleges in the Mage Alliance. In their eyes, Second and Third Tier mages are almost like children, usually not even paid attention to."

The few girls who had been discussing Sylutia earlier, hearing these conversations, suddenly felt their faces burn. Their previous smugness and pride instantly vanished.

How could it be? Having such good grades and talent, and being so beautiful? How could such a good thing exist? They could only speculate that this girl must have some connections or relationships; otherwise, their hearts couldn't accept this fact.

Sitting in the carriage, Sylutia watched the scenery outside the window tilt and pass by as the carriage was pulled above the Asra District.

This was her first time riding in this kind of flying mechanical carriage. During the process, she couldn't help but be curious about the principles of this carriage and also amazed by the development level of the Mage Alliance.

Being used to transport passengers attending the Silver Bell Festival, it seemed this technology was already mature and had spread to many places.

The carriage raced swiftly through the air, but Sylutia felt exceptionally steady sitting inside. After all, being in the air, there was no bumpiness, and the flight altitude was relatively low, without major air currents.

About an hour later, Sylutia saw buildings with a different style gradually appearing below. This place was different from the Asra District. There were spires and tall buildings standing like sharp swords. On the ground, similar mechanical carriages were visible everywhere on the streets.

Then the carriage she was riding in slowly descended, arriving at a square paved with marble. Around the square, wrought-iron pendant flower street lamps were lit. Personnel wearing dark-toned uniforms were welcoming guests stepping down from carriages.

"Welcome to Rorik College~"

The moment the carriage door opened, Sylutia heard a cordial welcome, then saw two waiters with surprised gazes.

Probably the first time today they had seen such a young invitee, who also appeared to be a Second Tier apprentice.

"Hello there, little sister. Are you attending the Silver Bell Festival on behalf of an adult today?"

The girl shook her head and took out the invitation letter in her hand for them to inspect.

"Apologies, apologies. Welcome to 'Rorik', the Resonant City where puppets and machinery dance together. Here you will witness another possibility of the world, a magnificent movement jointly composed by life and machinery~"

After speaking, the two waiters clapped their hands. Mechanical maids with metal skirts stepped forward, laying a red carpet before Sylutia, guiding her into the towering, cloud-piercing hall.

The entire building resembled a hollowed-out, massive gear mechanism. Numerous platforms intersected within, connected to each other by rotating staircases. Mechanical puppets moved across the inclined stages, serving the coming and going guests. And on that central circular stage, hundreds of mechanical puppets wearing silver dresses were slowly dancing. Their graceful postures and lively forms could even make one feel a certain rhythmic flow of muscles.

High in the air, mechanical puppet carriages continuously rose and descended. Distinguished guests from various places landed in the square and, guided by mechanical maids, walked towards that magnificent structure where gears and machinery chimed together.