I stare straight at Price before a realization hits me. “Why are you asking me for help? You’re the best mage after Natasha Broffenberg.”

“Two weeks ago, she told me two things. One was that her student would enter this school so I should look after you. The second was that she was investigating this group, and if anything happened to her, I should look to you. Earlier this morning, the safety gem she gave me turned red.” He pulls a string over his head to reveal a necklace with a red stone as a pendant.

“Red doesn’t necessarily mean she is in danger. Perhaps she just entered a magic jam zone.” I’m prone to disbelieve that anything could happen to her. She is, after all, the best mage in the world. She would have taken some precautions. Now I’m unsure as to whether this man is really Price Manilla or not. Maybe he is and he’s just a worrywart, but if he isn’t, that’s very bad. Why would he look confused when I mentioned the memory gem? Is it really because he didn’t know who created it, or was he not aware of it in the first place?

“I really hope nothing bad has happened to her, but if something did, you’re the only one who would be able to do anything.”

Taking on a quest within a week of entering school is definitely not what I was looking for. I sigh and bury the suspicions for now. “If something happened to her, she is either wounded or hiding or both, or caught. Otherwise, she is merely in the magic jam zone and has yet to come back out, either because she’s not finished with her work, she’s currently unable to come out, or she’s taking her sweet time inside. She’s not dead, or the safety gem would turn black regardless of whether or not she’s in a magic jam zone.”

“Is there any way we could find her? You know the magi language fluently.”

“I…” I trail off as I feel the necklace around my neck warming. “I would have to do some research.” Keeping my face as neutral as possible, I stand up. “I will leave first, then.”

“Of course, of course.” He points to a corner of the room. “You can find a teleportation device over there. It will take you to the lift room.”

“Thank you.” I move toward the corner and mouth, . A gem forms in the palm of my hand and I place my hand nonchalantly in my pocket. Reaching the corner, I see a stone in the nook in the wall. Placing a hand on it, I say, . I feel a lurch, and then the room around me dissolves. Then, I open my eyes and I’m in the corner of the lift room—a room full of gems like the one in the nook, with the only difference being that they are labeled with places in the school. Barely anyone is around, and no one spares me a glance. Going to the stone labeled “Library,” I place a hand on it and activate it. After feeling the lurch and seeing the room dissolve yet again, I find myself in front of the library.