I Loaded the Mysticism Panel

The trading session came to a temporary close.

Only a single ”favor trade” was made, between Aries and Dionysus.

Dionysus had provided a lead on Lauren, and in return, Aries owed him fire support one time.

No other physical trades were successfully matched, but information was already flowing.

Hecate spoke up.

”The trading session is over. We will now proceed to the second session: intelligence sharing.”

”The rules are the same as before. Each person may share one piece of intelligence you believe to be of value to the Round Table.”

”Sharing is voluntary. You will not be held accountable for choosing not to share.”

”However, for the person who shares the most, I will use my channels to do my best to match you with what you desire in the next trade.”

Aries was the first to speak.

”Something recently happened in the Manchester Industrial District.”

”Three weeks ago, night shift workers at the North District Seventh Textile Factory began experiencing a collective nightmare.”

”The kind of dream you can’t remember upon waking, but which leaves marks on the body.”

”What kind of marks?” Dionysus asked.

”Bruises,” said Aries. ”Symmetrically distributed on the inner sides of both arms, shaped like fingerprints, but longer and thinner than a normal person’s fingers.”

”How did the factory handle it?”

”They invited a Priest from the local parish to perform a cleansing prayer. It didn’t work.”

”Then they hired a freelance Exorcist who performed a standard site-cleansing ritual. That didn’t work either.”

”By the third week, two workers had quit. They refused to work the night shift again, no matter what.”

”Have the authorities gotten involved?” Prometheus asked.

”No. The official forces in Manchester City are busy dealing with another matter.”

”A smuggling case at the Pier district involves a batch of prohibited Alchemy Materials. All personnel have been reassigned there, so for now, no one is looking into the textile factory.”

Richard mentally filed away this information.

’A collective nightmare, symmetrical bruises, long and thin fingerprints.’

’Standard cleansing rituals are ineffective.’

’This doesn’t seem like something that could be caused by a simple residual echo or a low-level Wandering Spirit Body.’

’Symmetrically distributed bruises, and especially the fingerprints that were ”longer and thinner than a normal person’s fingers.”’

’There might be some foul entity capable of materialization making contact with the workers through their dreams.’

’And it’s choosing night shift workers—a group whose sleep is perpetually disrupted, and whose mental defenses are at their weakest.’

’It’s picking on the weakest of the herd.’

Dionysus then shared his intelligence.

”There’s also something worth noting here in the Imperial Capital.”

He set down his wine glass.

”The ’Anomaly Investigation Committee’ under the Royal Society—you’re all aware of this organization, I assume.”

”Last month, they issued an internal notice, preparing to raise the alert level for ’spontaneous anomalous spikes in Ether concentration’ nationwide from Level 3 to Level 2.”

”From Level 3 to Level 2?” Aries was clearly taking this seriously. ”When did this happen?”

”The fifteenth of last month. The notice wasn’t made public. I heard it from an acquaintance who works as a scribe for the Committee.”

”What was the basis for raising the alert level?”

”The notice didn’t state a specific reason, but my acquaintance said that in the last six months, the number of anomalous incidents reported across the country is double what it was for the same period last year.”

Richard processed this information with a placid expression.

’A rise in Ether concentration means the Curtain is thinning in those locations.’

’When the Curtain thins, the things behind it can seep through more easily.’

’If the frequency of these incidents nationwide is double last year’s, then it’s a systemic trend.’

’The Curtain is thinning. It’s thinning everywhere.’

Prometheus didn’t share any intelligence. He just sat there, listening to the others speak.

Hecate didn’t share anything either.

’She said, ”I don’t participate in trades.” It seems she doesn’t participate in intelligence sharing either.’

’She only provides the venue. She only listens, and only watches.’

After the intelligence sharing session ended, Hecate looked at the two Newcomers.

”You two are not required to contribute tonight.” She repeated the rule:

”But if you have something you wish to ask, you may ask one question.”

Nemesis didn’t stir.

Richard had also planned to remain silent.

’This is my first time here. The safest strategy is to observe, remain unchanged, and not reveal any information.’

’But then a thought occurred to him. If he left tonight without saying a single word...’

’...then his role at this Round Table would be nothing more than ”the silent Newcomer.” The next time he came, no one would take him very seriously.’

’But if he spoke up, and asked a question with sufficient weight...’

’...then his position in their minds would shift from ”Newcomer” to ”someone worth engaging with.” ’

’The question was, what should he ask?’

’It couldn’t be anything too basic; that would expose his rank.’

’If he asked a question only a Newcomer would ask, it would be the same as carving the words ”I am weak” on his face.’

’Nor could he ask something too specific.’

’For instance, pressing someone for the details of their request would seem intrusive, and it would reveal which fields interested him.’

His question needed to satisfy two conditions simultaneously:

’First, the question itself must involve high-level knowledge, proving he possesses sufficient Scholarship.’

’Second, the question must not reveal his current rank or specific area of research.’

’Thanks to his [Scholarship], he had read an extraordinary number of miscellaneous books. He did indeed have such a question.’

He thought for a moment, only speaking up just as Hecate was about to declare the meeting over.

”I do have one question.”

Five pairs of eyes focused on him at once.

The voice that emerged from behind the Hermes Mask was calm and measured:

”A moment ago, Dionysus mentioned that the frequency of anomalous incidents nationwide is double that of the same period last year.”

”Aries mentioned the collective nightmare phenomenon in Manchester City, where standard cleansing rituals are ineffective.”

He maintained a deliberate, poised cadence.

”If the overall decay of the Curtain is a sustained trend rather than a localized fluctuation...”

He deliberately used the technical term ”overall decay.”

’It wasn’t a term a beginner would use.’

’A beginner would just say, ”The Curtain is thinning.”’

”...then, do you all believe the current maintenance cycles for the various Seal systems still hold any referential value?”

The Round Table fell silent for a moment.

In that brief silence, Richard could feel the way the others looked at him had changed.

’He hadn’t asked, ”Why is the Curtain thinning?” ’

’That question was too big, so big it was almost vague.’

’He had asked an extremely specific question with practical, operational significance: the maintenance cycles of the Seal systems.’

The Seals scattered across the country—whether maintained by the government, academies, the Church, or private Guilds—all had fixed maintenance schedules.

’But if the Curtain’s rate of decay was no longer normal, then more and more ”Seal failure” incidents would occur across the country.’

’Events like the one at the Manchester textile factory would become more and more common.’

This question linked the two pieces of intelligence into a logical chain and pointed directly to a practical problem that would concern everyone present.

’Are the Seals beneath our feet still safe?’

Aries was, again, the first to speak.

”Do you work in Seal maintenance?”

”I do not,” said Richard.

”But I have read the third edition of Haldane’s *Introduction to Curtain Dynamics*. A Chapter in it on Seal decay models mentioned a similar concept.”

’He’d seen the book in the Imperial University Library.’

’Richard’s purpose in citing it was to let everyone present know that he had read literature of that level—that his Scholarship, at the very least, was not poor.’

As for his actual rank, that question was skillfully circumvented.

Theoretical knowledge and practical combat rank were two different things.

A Scholar with a profound theoretical foundation might not have a high combat rank,

but no one would look down on him for it, because knowledge itself is a bargaining chip.

Dionysus put down his wine glass.

”Your Excellency is quite erudite.”

The nonchalant tone had vanished from his voice.

”If we calculate using the Haldane Model, the annual growth rate has indeed crossed the warning threshold.”

”Which means...”

”The current maintenance is indeed no longer sufficient,” Aries interjected.

”At least, not for those old Seals that were already in a critical state.”

”Newly constructed Seals aren’t a big problem; they have enough redundancy,”

Dionysus added, ”but most of the ones within the Imperial borders are old relics from a century ago, or even earlier, just patched up and kept in use until now.”

”Those old Seals...”

”Will be the first to fail,” Prometheus suddenly spoke up.

He had said very little tonight, but every time he spoke, it was to the point.

”And the order in which they fail can be predicted.”

”Which will collapse first, which will collapse later, and when.”