Ding. Ding. Ding. The Zeitmann's Tower announced the time to whole of Derbury.

Xavier and Eulene was sitting on worn out sofas in Aunt Maisel's house- silent, this time- mentally as well. Eulene had her eyes closed, absorbing Qi from the atmosphere. Xavier, on the other hand, as consented by her, was observing- trying to unravel the intricacies of the process.

But no matter how much he observed, the process remained as enigmatic as ever. He tried circulating mana through his body, and he succeeded. But no matter how much he exerted himself, he failed to store mana in his body.

"Enough." Xavier sighed in defeat. "It's impossible without what you call Spirit Root. But the circulation process is definitely a great discovery. It enhances every physical aspect of my body when I do so."

"Whatever the case," Eulene opened her eyes, "you have to te- show me how to manipulate elements." She punched herself in my mind. She almost asked that darned narcissist to 'teach' her.

"Sure." Xavier nodded. "But you have to take care of the basic requirements yourself first."

"And that is?" She raised a brow.

"Basic science behind all the seven elements- biology behind woods, and for the rest- Physics."

Eulene's eyelids twitched. "Aren't there any other options?" She forced a smile.

Xavier rubbed his chin, thinking for a second before answering, "Yes."

Eulene's eyes glowed. "How?"

Xavier looked into her eyes. "Discovering or inventing other ways to conjure elements without the help of physics."

".."

A day had passed since their visit to the political head of the town. Wilbur had dropped them to Miss Maisel's house hereafter. According to the wheeling informer's sleuthing, the second suspect was temporarily out of town. Since they had no other tasks, they returned 'home', giving the competent errand-coachman one last task.

Before Eulene could lash out at Xavier, she instinctively turned to the door to Sarah's room- which was a few meters away. Xavier did the same as well.

The door opened.historical

With Miss Maisel, the fifteen year old Sarah came out wearing a cute pink dress- the dress Xavier had gifted her.

Nobody- even Eulene, who was with him all the time, excluding the nights of course- knew where he got the expensive dress out from. But she had her own conjecture, and unbeknownst to her- she was not far from the truth.

Physician, illusionist, lawyer, architect- that bastard must have been a seamster as well. But Eulene did not want to ruin her own mood in front of Sarah thinking of such useless thoughts. She got up from the sofa and hastened to the girl with a bright smile on her face.

"You look beautiful!" she said, and caressed Sarah's brown hair.

But Sarah remained as emotionless as that day, not returning a smile or pushing Eulene away. Her reaction- which was the lack of it- caused the smile on Eulene's face to dwindle.

Xavier brought out his golden pocket watch and checked the time.

3:09

He pushed the lid close and pocketed the watch back. "It's about time we depart." He faced Sarah and showed her a smile. "Everything will be fine."

******

The trio walked past the cornfield to the main road, where Wilbur was waiting with his carriage. As usual, he had a carefree smile on his face.

"Good morning, young sir! Young miss.. misses!" Will jumped down and opened the carriage gate.

"Done?" Xavier asked.

"Of course!" Will puffed out his chest. "I have made the appointment exactly at the time you told. I have fed Beck and Cask some extra hay today. We'll reach there long before the appointed time."

Xavier gave the horses a glance before flicking a coin to the coachman. He got on the carriage and reached a hand out to Sarah.

Sarah hesitated a second before accepting Xavier's offer and stepping on the carriage.

After making sure that Sarah sat comfortably, Xavier professionally ignored Eulene and sat opposite the teenager.

"Tsk." Eulene hopped onto the carriage and sat beside Sarah.

Wilbur had pocketed the gold coin as soon as he caught it. He closed the door and got up on his seat, beckoning the horses to trot forward.

Eulene opened the small window at the front. "Where are we going?"

"Doctor Joseph Hearts," Will replied.

"He's qualified, right? Unlike a quack who always replies with 'was'.."

Xavier's eyes twitched, but he remained silent.

Will did not understand what her words entailed, but he replied nonetheless, "Rest assured, young miss. Though there are a couple of other psychiatrists, he's way above them both in qualifications and reputation."

"What makes you say so?" It was Xavier who asked. As a fellow healthcare professional, he was naturally interested.

"According to rumours, Doctor Hearts graduated from the University of Aramon and went on to work in the best psychiatric institution in Aramon. He only shifted to Derbury five years ago after he fell in love and married a lady here."

"University of Aramon? Benjamin Conners Psychiatric Clinic? He is qualified indeed." Xavier nodded.

The psychiatrist's chamber was at the Eastern end of the town, exact opposite to Aunt Maisel's house. It took the carriage almost about an hour to reach its destination. But nevertheless, as promised by Wilbur, it arrived with minutes to spare before the appointment.

No sooner had Wilbur opened the door than Eulene hopped out and brought forth her hand to help Sarah out. After Sarah complied and stepped down, Eulene ignored Xavier even more professionally than Xavier had- as if he did not even exist.

But Xavier paid her childishness no mind and stepped down nonchalantly, his eyes fixed on the premise ahead.

Beyond the large gate that joined two sections of high walls, lay a green field with ample amount of trees, shrubs and flowers. A handful of patients wearing white clothes were on the ground, either walking- gazing at the beautiful sceneries scattered throughout the premise or sitting on one of the benches with their eyes closed.

A guard stood at the gates while a couple of young women watched over the patients.

As for the building that stood in the premise, it was one-storeyed and made of bricks. It was coloured in white and creamy green- the most peaceful of colours. All the windows were open, allowing adequate sunlight and fresh air to circulate through.

"Qualified indeed." Xavier held Sarah's hand and stepped through the gates.

*** Author's Notes ***

I apologise for the short chapters. As you might have figured out by now, my writing style is a bit different- leaning towards the 'showing' end of the spectrum rather than 'telling'. I tend to not over-explain everything and let readers interpret things for themselves and this adds to the tone of my writing.

Broad explanations- even though it will let me add to the word count and make the chapters longer, it will inevitably hamper the tone this book has set till now, and perhaps even your reading experience.

So, please bear with me.

And is the pacing too slow? Please let me know. My original plan was to publish 2 chaps per day, but my exams won't let me. But a time will certainly come when the update rate rises to 2/day.

Besides, 10 reviews crossed! Await extra chapters!

Stay tuned! Enjoy!