“Oh? Don’t mind if I do, Lord Helia,” Tabitha Dawnbringer her seat on the empty side of the long table. After greeting Ember Killian and Astoria Braveheart, she asked with curiosity, “So, what’s the title called?”
“The Book of Solomon Raphna,” Helia Ashenborn uttered.
“What?” Tabitha Dawnbringer was stunned, thinking she had heard wrong. However, she had no hearing problem. She knitted her brows and asked, “Which witch is so audacious to use the name Solomon so carelessly?”
“I am that audacious witch,” Astoria Braveheart coolly said.
After Helia Ashenborn and Tabitha Dawnbringer heard those words, they were stunned, unable to think. It took some time before they could think of a response.
“Well, there must be a good reason why Headmaster Astoria chose such a name for that book,” Tabitha Dawnbringer speculated with a wry smile.
“Right… Headmaster Astoria did say I would understand once I gave it a read,” Helia Ashenborn recalled.
Shortly after, Helia Ashenborn gave the Book of Solomon Raphna a quick.
At first, her expression was casual curiosity. But her expression quickly changed, becoming focused, then wholly engrossed.
Tabitha Dawbringer watched Helia Ashenborn reveal a progress change from surprise to astonishment, then from astonishment to enlightenment.
Before long, Helia Ashenborn could only feel reverence for the person called Vaan Raphna.
“I completely understand Headmaster Astoria’s meaning now. This isn’t just a book with profound knowledge. It’s the gospel of magic!” Helia Ashenborn claimed as she closed the Book of Solomon Raphna with a sigh of reluctance.
She wanted to keep reading but couldn’t keep three High Witches waiting while she was only a Peak-stage Senior Witch.
Helia Ashenborn passed the book over to Tabitha Dawnbringer to read.
A few moments later, Tabitha Dawnbringer couldn’t help but close the book with a sigh like Helia Ashenborn. But she wasn’t in a hurry to return the book.
“May I ask who and where Vaan Raphna is, Headmaster Astoria?” Tabith Dawnbringer asked before adding, “I would like to meet this person and pay my respects to her. Her knowledge is simply transcendental.”
“Vaan Raphna is a he…” Astoria Braveheart corrected with a sorrowful look at the mention of Vaan’s name.
Helia Ashenborn and Tabitha Dawnbringer were shocked to hear Vaan Raphna wasn’t a woman despite possessing such profound knowledge of magic.
At the same time, they quickly understood why Headmaster Astoria was the one who named the book. The knowledge was left behind, but the person was gone.
Seeing Astoria Braveheart’s expression, Tabitha Dawnbringer decided not to pry further. She would privately investigate the person.
“Headmaster Astoria, I have a bold request to make. Won’t you let me have this book?” Headmaster Tabitha asked with a sincere and hopeful look shortly after.
“Do you understand what you are saying, Headmaster Tabitha? That is very rude of you,” Ember Killian criticized with narrowed eyes.
“Perhaps,” Tabitha Dawnbringer calmly uttered.
“But given our positions, I believe Headmaster Astoria understands me completely. This kind of knowledge shouldn’t be monopolized. It should be spread to every academy in the kingdom.”
“As such, I hoped to make copies of this and use it as core teaching material in my academy,” Tabitha Dawnbringer stated.
“That’s fine. You can keep that one. I expected this when I took out the book,” Astoria Braveheart permitted with a nod. “Fortunately, I’ve brought an extra copy.”
“However, this one is my last copy. So you can’t have it, Lord Helia. I need to deliver this to the capital, so share the one in Headmaster Tabitha’s hand—”
Suddenly, a firebird flew into the Great Hall and landed on Ember Killian’s hand before she received a message from it and nodded.
“My person is here, so this is where I will take my leave,” Ember Killian informed as she stood up to leave the Great Hall. “I’ll be departing for the capital right after, so can you do me a favor until I return, Lord Helia?”
“How may I be of help for the Grand Inquisitor?” Helia Ashenborn asked, expressing her willingness to do Ember Killian a favor.
“I already have some people stationed around Red Goblin Mountains to monitor the dogs of the Assembly of Silent Night. However, my people are few in number, so there are significant gaps in the circle they’ve set up,” Ember Killian mentioned.
“And although the dogs of the Assembly of Silent Night are unlikely to Red Goblin Mountains, I was hoping you could deploy some troops to reinforce the encirclement on Red Goblin Mountains.”
“Consider it done, Grand Inquisitor,” Helia Ashenborn said forwardly.
“Thanks, I owe you one, Lord Helia,” Ember Killian expressed her gratitude before taking her leave from the Great Hall.
Right after, Astoria Braveheart also stood up to follow her out.
“I need to follow Marquis Ember to the capital, so I will also be taking my leave,” Astoria Braveheart informed and left without waiting for their response.
Helia Ashenborn and Tabitha Dawnbringer actually wanted to talk to Astoria Braveheart further. Still, nothing could be done when she was in a hurry to leave.
A few moments after they left, Helia Ashenborn shifted her attention to Tabitha Dawnbringer.
“Headmaster Tabitha, how about leaving the Book of Solomon Raphna in my care? I’ll be sure to send you a copy right after I finish reproducing it,” Helia Ashenborn promised.
“Why do I need to do that when I can also reproduce the book myself? Just be patient and wait, Lord Helia. I’ll definitely send you a copy when it’s available.”
Both Tabitha Dawnbringer and Helia Ashenborn wanted to finish reading the Book of Solomon Raphna.
Having caught a glimpse of its profound knowledge, which was no different from the gospel of magic, it was like having an itch they couldn’t scratch unless they finished their reading.
“I want to read the book first, but you also do. How should we resolve this?” Helia Ashenborn asked with knitted brows.
“How about this: I buy three-day production’s worth of that new magic potion you put on the market last night at twice the price?”
“Deal!”
Surprisingly, Helia Ashenborn readily agreed with Tabitha Dawnbringer’s offer.