The evening sunlight filtered through the glass, cascading onto the brown desk and creating stripes of bright yellow light.
The study was tranquil, the only sounds being the occasional, subtle whistling of the cold wind outside and the rustling of paper pages being turned.
Moments later, Colin sighed as he set down today's Council announcements and the newspaper, slowly standing up.
"Still no information about the battle the day before yesterday."
The vivid red figure suspected to be a Divine Believer, the battle intense and swift as lightning... had cast an inexplicable gloom over Colin's heart as he stepped out of the bookstore.
In the following two days, Colin had been paying close attention to any follow-up news.
However, apart from the rumors amongst the townsfolk, it was as if nothing had happened at all—no further movements.
Just yesterday, he even made a trip to the School, attempting to inquire with his mentor, but Atbolde didn't even know about that battle...
But Colin was certain that this had absolutely something to do with the Deep Red action Nois had mentioned to him previously.
He wondered how Nois's improvements on the Deep Red Marking Technique were coming along...
All along, he had been continuously practicing the Deep Red Marking Technique, and now the progress was over eighty percent; before long, he'd be able to break the limit again.
Yet, Colin didn't believe that even a second Limit Breaking of the Deep Red Marking Technique would be able to see through the Divine disguise that even Nois was at a loss to penetrate.
After all, the version of the Deep Red Marking Technique he was learning was just a simplified one. Nois's original creation was probably at least a Third Rank witchcraft.
Nevertheless, Golden Paper was no ordinary object, maybe after breaking the limit, it would bring some new inspiration.
If he could gain valuable insights, then he would go find Nois again... and maybe also ask about today's battle.
As for seeking out Nois right now... He didn't want to waste the Councilman's precious patience over mere curiosity.
Gathering his thoughts, Colin went downstairs.
The aroma of food wafted faintly from below, where Renee was busily bustling about the kitchen.
Today was December 31st, 3585 of the Yanan Calendar, New Year's Eve.
Renee had been busy since early morning preparing for tonight's dinner.
The fireplace in the hall was blazing fiercely, the firewood occasionally crackling, and a warm atmosphere filled the entire space.
Colin let out a light breath and quickly walked to the kitchen.
The other three people in the house were all here.
Renee was tending to a pot of seafood porridge on the stove, with Demi standing on a step stool next to her helping chop vegetables.
And Nasi was happily flying about, carrying a potato to Demi one moment, and then dragging a bottle of spices to Renee the next, her little face flushed with activity.
"Master, you've come," Renee noticed his arrival, put down her ladle, and turned around.
"Carry on with your work," Colin gestured with his hand, then asked, "Has anyone come by this afternoon?"
"No, Master," Renee shook her head, then added, "Speaking of which, those Witch mentors who used to visit frequently haven't been here for quite a long time."
Demi and Nasi also greeted him.
"They haven't arrived yet," Colin nodded slightly.
As for Yulaya and those Witches not coming, he didn't care.
His asking Renee was because he had invited Shelley, the top-ranked student, for today's New Year's dinner.
It seemed, however, that she was timing her arrival just right.
As for his mentor, he had also invited him yesterday, only to be politely refused.
Mentor Atbolde was increasingly unwilling to leave his own residence.
Stepping out of the kitchen, the distant orange sunset was now barely a sliver, and the sky had grown dim.
Ding ding ding—
The doorbell that Nado controlled in the living room suddenly rang; the vines tugged at the pull cord, shaking it continuously to remind Colin that someone was visiting at the door.
Renee hurried out of the kitchen.
"I'll go," Colin said, then walked towards the door with a smile on his face.
He had asked several times before he finally managed to persuade Shelley to come.
In a sense, getting such a top student to take the night off from studying to come over for dinner was quite an accomplishment.
"Welcome," Colin said, smiling as he opened the door.
"...Good evening," Shelley paused, then straightened her hair by her ear and spoke.
Today, she still wore a clean, tidy but old and slightly faded black robe, her face bare, yet her beauty couldn't be hidden, with her right hand carrying a delicate brown wooden box.
"For you," Shelley continued, somewhat awkwardly handing the gift in her hand to Colin.
It wasn't her first time interacting with others, but coming over just for dinner like this was still a first for her.
"Too kind," Colin raised his eyebrows slightly with a smile, but he didn't refuse and accepted it.
There was no need to decline gifts from a wealthy woman.
The two of them entered the house together.
As the last trace of orange was swallowed by the distant horizon, Renee and the others finished preparing dinner.
At Colin's insistence, four people and one small Elf sat together at the dining room's square table to begin the dinner.
The atmosphere was more convivial than Colin had expected.
Shelley showed no particular reaction to eating with Renee and her sisters, and even engaged in a serious discussion about cooking with Renee.
"If you want the fish soup to be white, you should add hot water after frying it, and you can also add extra oil," Renee explained.
"Doesn't cold water work?"
"It's more difficult," Renee continued.
Shelley nodded thoughtfully.
Colin took a bite of his dish.
In a world where social class was etched into the bone, Shelley's behavior was somewhat surprising to him.