FALLEN ORACLE

**Chapter 5: Meeting the Headmaster Again (4)**

Just then, the two below left the transparent room, climbed the spiral staircase up to the walkway, and saw Chen Yi leaning against the railing."Mary? What are you doing here?"So this woman knew Mary. Chen Yi composed himself and answered, "I've been sitting in the office too long. Just taking a stroll.""Then I'll take my leave." Viscount Shearman waved his hand and turned away."Shall I see you out?" the female mage asked."No need."Shearman left the fourth basement floor on his own, showing no interest in her."Linda," Chen Yi read the name on her nameplate and said, "you could try to pursue him."He did not want to talk too much with someone who knew Mary, so he was eager to send her away."Ah," the psionic mage named Linda sighed. "It's rather pointless to keep smiling when the other side is always cold."Then she turned to look at Chen Yi's hand and exclaimed, "Mary, you got married?"Chen Yi's mind went blank.*Did Mary not get married?*From the transmutation spell Tiya had taught him, Chen Yi deduced that he was replicating Mary's appearance from a year ago, so the differences from the present should not be great.And Tiya's terrifyingly eidetic memory had provided a detail: on the middle finger of the left hand of the Mary he had transformed into, there was an indentation left by a ring.What did that mean? Chen Yi had been perplexed while preparing to infiltrate the Magic Net Department.After some thought, he had arrived at a hypothesis: Mary had seen Tiya during a prison visit. From the upper realm's information, Tiya was extremely powerful.Thus, the prison authorities would likely tighten security to prevent anyone from bringing magic rings into Tiya's presence. That ring indentation was probably caused by Mary having to remove a ring before visiting Tiya.Since the indentation was very fresh, the ring could not have been removed long ago. But Mary worked for the Lower Realm Management Office – would she make the mistake of "bringing a magic ring to meet a powerful criminal mage"?Moreover, there was only one indentation, not a full set of rings, and it was on her left ring finger.So the most likely possibility was that Mary had been wearing an engagement ring when she visited Tiya, and the prison guards had made her take it off as a precaution.Mary was engaged a year ago, so by now she must be married!Pleased with this deduction, Chen Yi had slightly modified his transmutation spell, adding a "wedding ring" to the ring finger of his left hand to match the indentation.Little did he dream that the wedding that had seemed so certain had long since fallen apart because her fiancé had cheated – Mary was still single.Faced with the question from an acquaintance, Chen Yi regretted that when he had glimpsed Mary in the crowd, he had only focused on placing the Psionic Lock without observing her carefully.But though startled, he kept his composure. "Not married. It's a magic ring, not a wedding ring. The design is quite unique, isn't it?"He waggled his fingers as if showing off."Oh, that scared me."Feigning infatuation, Chen Yi said, "But seeing how easy it is to misunderstand, I'd better take it off so I don't miss out on any eligible men."He did not want the real Mary's next appearance without a ring to arouse suspicion, so he took the opportunity to remove the ring and brush the matter aside."Linda, you go on up. I want to go down for a bit." Finally, Chen Yi said the words he had been weighing for a long time.Since he had run into someone who knew Mary, he could not let her suspect him without gaining something. Now he could use her to gather information.If there was a B4, there might well be a B5. To find out the truth, he would see how Linda responded to this ambiguous request. If she understood "going down" as "going down to the glass rooms," then this place probably only went down to B4."You want to go down? Do you have permission?" Linda asked.So there *was* a B5. And it seemed that someone with Mary's rank needed special permission to enter.Chen Yi decided to probe further. "Yes, I have it. Chief Lynde approved it."Mary had probably visited the prison together with Lynde, so the two knew each other well. Chen Yi guessed that this statement should be safe."Alright. Be careful. The people down there aren't very friendly," Linda warned.With that, Chen Yi felt somewhat reassured. Since Lynde had the authority to approve access to B5, he should also be able to enter himself.One more question: where exactly was the entrance to this mysterious B5?"Hmm... now you've made me a bit nervous. Could you come with me?" Chen Yi feigned fear."I don't have permission, but you do. They don't bite, don't worry." Linda encouraged him.Chen Yi noticed that when Linda said "they," her eyes unconsciously glanced towards the lower-left corner of the corridor. So the entrance to B5 was most likely there.But there was still one last problem: this woman Linda knew too much. If she later spoke with the real Lynde and Mary, today's affair would certainly be exposed.Linda was a psionic mage in the Lower Realm Management Office. Lisa's Forgetfulness staff would probably be useless against her. Even if it might work, Chen Yi did not dare to use it recklessly in this unfamiliar building.How could he keep her from mentioning this encounter to the others?"Linda, one more favour to ask." Chen Yi rubbed his hands together apologetically and put on a pitiful expression."Actually, Chief Lynde told me in advance that my visit to B5 today was under direct orders from higher up, and it would be best if no third person knew about it. I never expected that even on a rest day, you would be here assisting the Viscount's Divine Communion. So... could you pretend you never saw me today?"For some reason, Linda found Mary's behaviour a bit unusual. She instinctively used her psionic magic to probe, but sensed nothing abnormal.She chided herself for overthinking. After all, Mary had suffered a severe blow last year; it was understandable that she might act a little neurotic sometimes."Alright, I agree," Linda said."Thank you," Chen Yi said gladly. "I will also act as if today never happened."Linda understood Mary's implication. She thought about her own somewhat embarrassing behaviour in front of the Viscount just now. If Mary kept quiet and did not spread this story among the women's gossip circle, that would indeed be good for her.As for her superior's orders, Linda knew better than to pry. So she bid farewell to "Mary" and returned upstairs.