"Of course I have my own use for it," Sean said. Karyana was the most knowledgeable person he knew about mapping. If he could get another map of Rietis, wouldn't he be able to keep tabs on the city's movements? Especially around the Prince's Mansion. "I really don't get why you're always so into these things. With talent like yours, you should be focusing it on magic. Dabbling like this makes it hard to improve in any one area. Your prime years are only these ten or so—if you'd just devote them to magic, you'd make huge strides!" Karyana said to him with surprising seriousness. So she wasn't as *annoyed* with him as she let on. Her favorability stayed steady at *Friendly*, which meant she probably wouldn't pull anything shady. "That's a given—I've been practicing magic all along... haven't slacked off at all," Sean said. Except for the rare times he skipped practice, he'd always run through a few spells on days when he had a lighter schedule. Otherwise, how else would his proficiency improve? "We push ourselves to the limit every single day in training, not like you with all your free time... but whatever, you're still an imperial noble. Maybe you'd rather climb the social ladder than become a wizard." Karyana showed signs of *hesitation*. She probably wanted to offer some motivational words, but considering his status, she held back. "Why do you think effort has to show as physical exhaustion? A lot of people work hard where others can't see..." "Let's drop it. Just help me get a map of Rietis one last time, and I won't bother you with this stuff again," Sean cut off her impending lecture. Forcing his own values onto someone else wouldn't lead anywhere productive. He was here to get a map, not debate life directions. He'd figure out his own path! Karyana looked at Sean with *mixed emotions*, which quickly shifted to *disdain*. "Rietis isn't like other cities where you can buy whatever you want. Try the Scholar's Library in the Northern Market—they might have what you're looking for." So it was for sale. Why was he even wasting his breath here? Goodbye, goodbye... "Hey, you're going now? Do you even know where it is?" Karyana called out as Sean turned to leave. Sean pulled something from his pouch and held it up in his palm. "No worries, gold will show me the way." Karyana finally remembered—he was a noble. If he wanted to find a place, couldn't he just throw money at it? "If I'm not back by evening, don't wait for me for dinner." "...No one's waiting for you!!!" Sean heard that shout behind him as he passed through the hall's doorway. …………………… He'd arrived yesterday evening and been summoned by carriage to the Prince's Mansion at night, so he'd never seen what the streets around the Sky-Covering Wings headquarters looked like during the day. The reason Sean thought the headquarters resembled a grand cathedral was the surrounding buildings and the whole atmosphere. Stepping out of the main courtyard, he faced a platform with small paths winding around to the back of the headquarters on either side, while before him stretched a long staircase... About fifty meters high in a straight line, it elevated the entire headquarters above the street. To reach the actual road, you had to descend. Of course, if he'd taken the side exit, there was a long slope—that's how he and Freya had left last night. The stairs were kept spotless by servants, and the stonework was clearly high-quality... Maintaining such a large wizard organization in a city like this, with all these expenses—no wonder Freya had said the Prince gave the Sky-Covering Wings a lot of support. In Sean's view, a few hundred wizards taking on tasks couldn't possibly earn this much. A good chunk must come from the Prince's patronage. Only upper-class noble funding could establish such a vast place. Once on the street, Sean noticed many people *watching* him. When he turned to look, they showed *suspicion* and *confusion*. After all, the Sky-Covering Wings was a coven of witches. A man walking out of there naturally drew stares... But with so many prompts popping up, Sean felt uneasy, like every move he made was under scrutiny. Actually, this was normal—even a pretty girl walking down the street would attract attention. The difference was, she wouldn't know it. If your field of vision kept flashing notifications that you were being watched, anyone would find it awkward. Gaining a power came with the price of bearing it. Sean asked a passerby where to rent a carriage and headed toward the spot. Along the way, people still stared, but it lessened after a few streets. Except for three gazes that never let up... A *3* appeared next to the prompt. Strange—he'd walked this far, and someone was still watching? And always three gazes—this was clearly a tail! Sean suddenly spun around... The street was crowded, and when he turned, he saw plenty of people looking at him. Real-life tailing wasn't like in movies where someone would "accidentally" duck out of sight—that was amateur hour. Real trackers walked normally, blending in, just keeping an eye on your movements. Even ordinary people might zone out staring at someone's back while walking, and turning around always drew more eyes. So you couldn't just assume everyone looking at you was a tail... The moment Sean turned, the *being watched* prompt spiked by over a dozen. In a crowd, it was hard to pinpoint the tail. He'd have to head somewhere less populated. Reaching the carriage stop, Sean picked a clean-looking one and asked the driver. "Know the Scholar's Library in the Northern Market?" The driver looked up, thinking. "Sure do—I just went there!" Sean caught the *lying* status, but since the driver knew the Northern Market's location, he climbed in. Closing the door... As the carriage started moving, the extra prompts in his vision faded. Only *2* remained, still there.