"Have you heard of the Seniors’ Jade Hall?"

Erloice sat with her thoughts for about two seconds before speaking.

"The Seniors’ Jade Hall hosts an event known as the Night Call, heavily backed by the Spire Magic Tower and the Twelve Churches. Even the Royal Family cannot be left out of it."

"This event may be held more than once in a year, yet it can also go years or even a decade without occurring. When it is convened, it is considered a sign that something disastrous is imminent."

She paused and motioned a finger slightly.

"However, this is not always the purpose. At times, it is convened merely to gather powerful and influential individuals for networking and diplomatic engagement. There is one aspect of the Seniors’ Jade Hall that must not be overlooked: once an invitation is extended, failure to attend means you will never receive another. There are no exceptions to this rule, and even the king is bound by it."

Leomaris was intrigued. Erloice was more well-informed than even he was. He knew the rules of the Seniors’ Jade Hall well enough, but the towers being involved was news to him and the Royal Family even more so.

The Spire Magic Tower was solely devoted to the kingdom’s mages. It was where most of the powerful ingredients, from level three to zero, were kept, and a tower every mage from the Helios Imperial Academy would pass through at some point.

They took care of powerful relics and artifacts on occasion too, granting them a partial authority over the Floating Islands and Rune Realms.

The Blue Magic Tower, though, only concerned itself with learning magic and creating grimoires. The other towers created grimoires as well, but the Blues did so on a considerably larger scale, making it the safest place for anyone seeking a grimoire to look first. They still studied the Five Wonders of the World, the fifth in particular, though they weren’t largely known for it.

The last was the Red Magic Tower, wholly devoted to uncovering the world’s mysteries, with the Crimson Continent, the Red Mountains, and the Red Sea among their primary pursuits.

They knew more about the creatures that lingered on these lands than any of the other towers, and even though most people were already wary of them given the nature of their work, there were far more sinister stories concealed behind their smiles.

Both the Blue and Spire Magic Towers being involved with the Seniors’ Jade Hall meant the hall was far more serious and dangerous than Leomaris had anticipated.

Moreover, it gave him further reason to believe Erloice was indeed a higher-ranked noble, much like himself, or perhaps a royal.

"Have you been to the hall before?"

Erloice’s expression narrowed slightly, though the aloofness never left her.

"Yes, I have."

Bewilderment crossed his face for a moment, his mask alone saving him from being seen through. It soon shifted into something close to stunned.

His expectations were shattered. Erloice was probably his age, and if she was older, it was by a year or two at most, three would be pushing it. There was no way someone as young as her would be invited to the hall without some concrete reputation behind her.

’If I had to make a guess, I’d say she’s either a duchess or the heir to a fortune left behind by her deceased parents.’

A wicked smile tugged at his lips. Someone as skint as himself always knew when they smelled money, and this lady, or "woman," was absolutely loaded. That alone gave him all the more reason to make her a fully-fledged member already.

He got paid for being a Calamity and had been living comfortably off his sister’s fortune since looking after it in her absence.

Running an organisation wasn’t easy, though, and if the loaded lady was dead set on joining, he might as well milk her for all she was worth.

He propped an elbow against the table and fixed his gaze on her. "Alright, Erloice. Tell me everything you know."

"I can’t say much about the hall because everything happens and nothing happens at the same time. I’ve attended twice, and on the surface, nothing of note ever occurred. Aristocrats chat and laugh, yet behind every conversation, people quietly seek out those who truly interest them."

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Though it may seem as though you are free to approach anyone you wish, the truth is quite different. Appointments are arranged long before the gathering, and the nobles use the hall as a neutral ground for communication, where violence is forbidden. Within that narrow space, one table may be discussing how to save the world while another discusses how to destroy it, and you would never know which was which."

She gave her words a beat.

"However, one important detail is that attendees only discuss the event’s theme. If the gathering is called because of an approaching war or a domestic conflict, then every conversation is expected to revolve around that topic and nothing else."

She shrugged. "I don’t know whether the organisation hears every conversation within the hall, but I can say with certainty that no one has ever spoken about anything beyond the theme."

Leomaris took her words in good faith, but he knew her latter words were impossible.

’That’s simply a method of maintaining a strict reputation. Just as everyone believes no one has ever declined their invitation. Either they deal with anyone who refuses and anyone who discusses matters outside the theme, or they erase all evidence that such people ever existed.’

There were holes in his logic, and he knew it. If the organisers turned a blind eye to anyone who broke the rules, most people would feel free to act however they liked, especially those who believed themselves above the law.

That was simply human nature. Rules were meant to be broken and overlooked.

It didn’t matter either way, though. He had no intention of breaking their rules, and besides, he didn’t even know why he’d been summoned.

With a heavy sigh.

Having her around, with her knowledge of the hall, was a sound idea. And though his gut told him this event would do him more harm than good, he couldn’t ignore it even if he wanted to, besides, he was willing to sacrifice Erloice if it came to it, just to survive.

It would pain him to part with her fortune, mind. He only hoped it wouldn’t come to that.