"To us, magicians themselves are completely insignificant."
Facing the gaze of the girl in front of him, Fang Zheng did not waver at all.
"The concept that magicians adhere to should have already been thrown into the trash bin of history. All they are doing now is dragging the world backward, not moving forward. However, history will not reverse, time will not turn back. Even if you become a mage, you can’t make this world return to the Age of Gods. Humanity only has a way forward, indulging in the past is a dead end."
"Is that so... how interesting."
Hearing Fang Zheng’s words, the little girl nodded.
"I’ve heard the World Tree of a Thousand Realms is considered heretical among magicians, and today I understand why people say that... what’s your name?"
"I’m the magical girl of justice, Red Ponytail... you can call me Little Hong."
"I’m Olga Marie."
The silver-haired girl straightened her back and lifted her head.
"Olga Marie Asmiret Animusphere."
"She is the daughter of the Lord of the Celestial Body Department."
At the same time, Lord El-Melloi II also introduced her to Fang Zheng, while Olga Marie glanced at him.
"You still remember my face, the ornament of the Modern Magecraft Department. I’m well aware that you’re Kenneth El-Melloi Archibald’s substitute, forcibly stuffed into the El-Melloi Faction as a sacrificial lamb."
Despite the silver-haired girl in front of him spraying him with insults, Lord El-Melloi II showed no change.
"It’s rare to hear such straightforward words at the Clock Tower, it’s like the young Animusphere clan leaving the mountains."
"What’s the big deal? You should also feel we don’t need to waste time on such pleasantries. I’ll just ask directly, do you all have any Magic Eyes you want?"
"Well..."
Facing Olga Marie’s inquiry, Lord El-Melloi II showed a troubled expression, while Fang Zheng shrugged his shoulders.
"No, we are here for different reasons."
"Different reasons?"
"Exactly."
As he spoke, Fang Zheng pointed to the girls behind him.
"This train sent an invitation to our lovely little girls, saying it wanted their Magic Eyes, so I brought them here to see who has the audacity to touch people from the World Tree of a Thousand Realms."
"I see."
Only then did Olga Marie glance at the girls behind Fang Zheng.
"Are you planning to sell the Magic Eyes? If so, you can negotiate with the Animusphere family. We will offer a good price."
"—Olga Marie-sama."
Just as Olga Marie finished speaking, a tall woman walked over and nodded respectfully to everyone.
"Lord El-Melloi II, I am Olga Marie-sama’s attendant, Trisha Felose, well... Young Lady."
"What is it?"
Faced with the woman, the previously haughty girl finally showed some panic.
"We should take our leave now, we will officially greet you all in due time."
After saying this, the woman named Trisha hurriedly took Olga Marie and left.
"What’s with that brat."
At this moment, Ryougi Shiki also complained discontentedly.
"It’s like treating people as objects!"
"That’s what magicians are. What do you expect? Especially since the Animusphere is one of the Twelve Lords of the Clock Tower. In their eyes, magicians without history and ordinary people are no different from ordinary things."
Fang Zheng snorted softly and said, and hearing this explanation, the three girls behind looked displeased. After all, they all sensed Olga Marie’s gaze earlier—it couldn’t be considered benevolent nor malevolent, just like examining merchandise in a store window. Before that, she completely ignored the three of them; if Fang Zheng hadn’t spoken, she could have ignored their existence until the end.
But the Celestial Body Department...
Letting the three little girls huddle together, whispering, Fang Zheng squinted his eyes and began to ponder while surveying the platform around him. He had some understanding of the Twelve Lords Clan at the Clock Tower, and the Animusphere family was quite unique among them. After all, unlike other factions, the Animusphere mainly focused on celestial bodies. With the advancement of science, human observation of celestial bodies progresses, also pushing forward the exploration of the stars by magicians.
Perhaps for this reason, the Animusphere family is not deeply resistant toward the modern era.
If it were Barthomeloi, a fight would have already broken out on the spot.
Looking at it this way, perhaps they hold pull potential?
Speaking of which...
"What are the El-Melloi family planning to do?"
Fang Zheng withdrew his gaze and looked once again toward Lord El-Melloi II in the distance.
"It’s been months since Severance City, hasn’t it? Haven’t delivered any response yet. Whether to fight or to make peace, say something. Our patience has limits, too."
"That is not a question I can answer, madam."
Faced with the questioning of the Red Ponytail, Lord El-Melloi II was also helpless, while Fang Zheng just gave a light snort.
"Alright then, it seems we’ll have to wait until we take down the Clock Tower to discuss this with you."
"........."
Hearing this, Lord El-Melloi II also sighed helplessly. He had naturally heard about the Istali Family leaving Europe, but... the Istali Family was merely a family of Alchemists, however, the El-Melloi Clan was completely different. Besides, he wasn’t sure what the true intentions of the World Tree of a Thousand Realms were.
"Um.........!!"
Fortunately, at this moment, the dull sound of a steam whistle broke the somewhat awkward atmosphere. Everyone looked up to see an ancient-looking train slowly emerging from the other side of the thick fog, pulling up beside what appeared to be a dilapidated and long-abandoned station.
The train door slowly opened, and the Magicians who had been waiting at the station boarded one after another, with Fang Zheng leading three girls inside.
Inside the train, it was far larger than it appeared from the outside, nothing like the cramped space of an ordinary carriage. Instead, the entire carriage seemed to have been expanded by some sort of spatial Magecraft, large enough to accommodate a hundred Magicians conversing.
However, there were obviously not that many guests. Scanning the room, apart from Fang Zheng and the three girls, there were only Lord El-Melloi II and his two entourages, an oddly dressed noble with a white hat, an old man in a Black Robe, and a freak with an elephant’s head, altogether less than twenty people.
Although there was ample space in the carriage, most Magicians chose to occupy a spot alone, and Fang Zheng took Ryougi Shiki and her friends to a corner, eating fruit while watching the scene.
"The fruit here tastes pretty good."
"Yes, I thought we would see some strange foods."
Eating the fruits on the table, Asakami Fujino and Seo Shizune relaxed a bit, while Ryougi Shiki yawned on the sofa... it seemed she hadn’t adjusted to the timezone yet.
As for Lord El-Melloi II, he seemed to be having some trouble, surrounded by a group of noisy people there.
At this moment, a man appeared in the middle of the carriage, and upon seeing him, the others quickly stopped their noise and turned to look at him.
He wore a black train uniform and held a silver pocket watch.
"Thank you all for your cooperation. The train will depart on time tonight. I am the conductor, Rodin. I apologize for interrupting your pleasant conversations."
He bowed his head to everyone and then continued to speak.
"This train will circle the Land of Mist for four days and three nights before returning to London. During this time, please enjoy the display of Magic Eyes and await the auction on the third day. Acquired Magic Eyes can be transplanted immediately, or you may keep them yourself. The transplantation won’t waste much of your time, so please rest assured. Those wanting to sell Magic Eyes, please come to our work area before dusk on the third day—The Day After Tomorrow—or inform me of your needs."
Upon hearing the man’s introduction, everyone concentrated, even Ryougi Shiki, who had been dozing off just now, opened her eyes to gaze at him. At this moment, a woman in a fur coat with her eyes wrapped appeared beside the conductor.
"I am Leandro, fortunate to host the auction for you."
Leandro nodded to everyone, then stood aside as the conductor spoke again.
"Are there any questions from anyone?"
"I have a question."
Upon hearing this, Fang Zheng raised his hand high, and hearing her voice, others turned to look at Fang Zheng. However, the conductor’s expression remained unchanged.
"What’s your question, my guest?"
"Where is the deputy manager who sent us the invitation? I would like to have a good talk with him."
"I apologize, the deputy manager will only appear before the auction begins, and we also don’t know the exact location of the deputy manager."
"Alright."
Hearing the conductor’s response, Fang Zheng shrugged.
"Then I have no further questions."
At this moment, the conductor looked at the others once more.
"Next, we will show you to your rooms, please follow this way."
Unlike a standard train, the guest rooms on the Magic Eye Collecting Train were quite luxurious and spacious, with only two rooms per carriage. One invitation allowed for one room, but fortunately, because both Ryougi Shiki and Asakami Fujino had invitations, the group ended up directly occupying a whole carriage... it was as if they had reserved it all.
"What should we do next, Little Hong?"
Sitting on the sofa, sipping coffee, Seo Shizune curiously asked, while Fang Zheng shrugged.
"Nothing special, since they said the deputy manager will appear before the auction, we’ll just wait until it starts. I will protect you, of course. You should also be ready for combat at any time."
"Alright, I’ll do my best."
Hearing this, Seo Shizune and Asakami Fujino were a bit nervous, after all, although they had heard about the experiences of Toyono Akiha and Kurotou Hana, experiencing it themselves was different from just hearing about it!
Of course, not everyone was so tense.
"Can’t we just take action directly?"
Ryougi Shiki wielded a small knife used for peeling apples, making a slash in the air.
"If we destroy this train, that manager will have to show up, won’t he?"
"When it’s time for you to fight, I’ll let you know, for now......"
Glancing at Ryougi Shiki, who kept yawning, Fang Zheng sighed helplessly.
"You should go adjust your time zone first."

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