Public Chat:
Basil: "Sophie, raise your hand. Ask if this magic can be learned in class. Also ask about the History Magic from before."
Sophie raised her hand in class and asked the questions Basil had prompted.
All the princesses pricked up their ears. They were still holding their storybooks, keenly interested in the answer.
Professor Dovey chuckled. "Sharp insight, Sophie."
"Professor Anemone actually told me not to tell you."
"I assume you heard about it from the Nevers. About casting spells purely through emotion, without Finger Glow."
"Normal magic is incredibly tedious, disgusting, and often evil."
"While the magic you've encountered in these last two classes isn't necessarily evil..."
"It is extremely complex. Far more complicated than what is described in class. It has strict requirements regarding time, temperature, and even the caster's date of birth."
"It requires spell materials gathered in specific seasons, elaborate rituals, or potions that must be ingested."
"These arts require training from childhood and constant practice. It often takes years to master them."
"What we teach you in class are simplified versions."
"Only wizards with Finger Glow can learn them through such rudimentary steps."
Hearing this, almost all the princesses set aside the storybooks they had been treasuring for days.
Professor Anemone pointed to the lake surface. "Today, I will teach you how to cultivate Wishing Fish."
"These shimmering underwater friends can understand our deepest desires. Ladies, if your wish is strong enough, it might just come true."
Shoals of silvery-white fish swam toward the shore.
All the princesses grew excited.
Coming from fairytales, they were all too familiar with making wishes.
Sophie, who knew her fairytales well, was just as eager.
But Professor Dovey gently admonished them, "Quiet, ladies."
"They are just ordinary fish right now. I recall mentioning that the previous magical animals all reverted to their original forms and returned home."
"Even though I have fed them with my wishes for a while, they are still far from becoming true Wishing Fish."
"Question: What is needed for the birth of a Wishing Fish?"
A Japanese girl next to Beatrice raised her hand.
Professor Dovey nodded. "Yes, please answer, Kiko."
Kiko quickly replied, "A wish."
Professor Dovey nodded. "Correct. That is the purpose of today's lesson. Dip your finger into the lake and feed them your wishes."
"They will exert influence based on your wishes."
"If the wish isn't too grand and follows logic, it might very well come true right now."
"You go first, Kiko."
One by one, the princesses dipped their fingers into the lake.
The fish below projected their wishes onto the water's surface.
Public Chat:
Madison: "Isn't this just a knock-off Mirror of Erised? Cultivating Wishing Fish... unless you stay as a teacher after graduation, these fish belong to the school. What a bunch of idiots."
Sophie ignored the chat.
It was her turn now.
Beatrice had gone before her. On the lake's surface was a clear image of her and Basil locked in a passionate kiss.
Actually, almost all the princesses' visions involved Basil.
It made Basil want to wash his eyes out.
In the movie, there were very few genuinely beautiful princesses.
Sure, there was plenty of diversity, but the casting seemed to follow stereotypes rather than aesthetics.
In short, it wasn't exactly eye candy.
But right now, gasps were erupting from the live stream in the public chat.
Because the images projected by the Wishing Fish were incredibly stimulating for these virgin princesses.
Basil's naked torso was displayed in full detail. Sophie was there too.
However, she was in the dominant position, playing with Basil as she pleased.
The scene was so seductive that even Professor Dovey found herself entranced for a moment.
All the princesses bit their lips, lost in daydreams.
Only Sophie, who had actually tasted the forbidden fruit, hurriedly pulled her finger out of the lake and cut the live stream.
Leaving behind a chorus of sighs.
Judging by the sound, almost every princess sighed, including Professor Dovey.
Public Chat:
Basil: "Did everyone just see me naked!?"
Sophie: "It's just a wish! It's fake, special effects!"
Madison: "Wait, what? You and Basil already—Impossible! He's so big, how could your tiny frame handle being on top?"
Sophie: "I said, it's just a wish! Don't tell me you haven't thought about it?"
Sophie: "Gotta go. Professor Dovey ended the class in a hurry. She pulled me away from the lake; she wants to talk to me."
Sophie: "Those bitches are still by the lake; they definitely want to see more!"
In the library, Basil flipped through Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, feeling utterly speechless.
Having seen the forbidden images, the princesses' wishes had likely evolved and become even bolder.
So, the images the Wishing Fish projected after they dipped their fingers back in were probably NSFW now.
Basically, he had inexplicably become an adult film star.
Is there no justice in this world?
This completely killed the joy Basil felt about discovering the method to cultivate a Dream Owl using an ordinary owl as a base.
He had been fantasizing about turning Fanta (his owl) into a Dream Owl, making a card of it, and building his own kingdom in the dream world.
Is his innocence gone just like that?
Even if it's just their imagination, it's still wrong!
No! Please no!
Excalibur at Basil's waist sensed his distress.
It began to glow, wrapping his body in divine light as he rushed toward the lake.
Basil turned into a beam of light!
By the lake, Beatrice's hair was messy, and her expensive princess dress was torn and full of holes.
Her exposed, porcelain skin glowed, vying with the sunlight.
Princesses were shoved to the ground one by one. Her [Radiance] talent gave her endless stamina, making her an iron wall.
Even the heaviest princess couldn't break past her to reach the lake.
She dominated the field, driving away any princess who tried to approach the Wishing Fish.
Even her own followers were not spared.
"Don't even think about getting near the Wishing Fish!" Beatrice crouched low, glaring ahead like a sumo wrestler ready to charge.
A fire seemed to burn in her emerald eyes.
The other princesses were intimidated by her gaze, but remembering the glimpse they just had...
They struggled to stand up again.
Just as the flames of war were about to reignite, a beam of light appeared before Beatrice.
Basil landed on one knee, arriving like the Terminator.
The dissipating light coalesced at his waist, forming a sword.
"Ladies, the war is over." As his voice fell, the Wishing Fish near the shore scattered and dove back into the depths.
He snapped his fingers.
The [Magic Book] flipped pages. [Reparo]
The power of the Mending Charm radiated outward.
Within a thirty-foot radius around him, time seemed to reverse.
The princesses' messy hair became neat again, and their torn clothes were restored to perfection.
His kingly aura, mixed with dragon fear, brought the princesses back to their senses.
After curtsying apologetically, they left the lawn one by one.
Only Basil and Beatrice remained by the lake.
He turned, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "You did well."
Beatrice blushed but shook her head slightly in dissatisfaction. "No, it wasn't enough. I haven't taught that damn Never a lesson yet."
"But soon. The day after tomorrow, Sunday, we will be formally granted magic."
"When that time comes—"
Basil's finger pressed against Beatrice's lips, stopping her mid-sentence.
"Remember, the Good never attack first."
Beatrice looked unconvinced. She buried her face in Basil's shoulder and mumbled, "I was just defending."
How Basil comforted her later is a story for another time.
Public Chat:
Sophie: "What does she mean I can't be alone with Basil anymore?"
Madison: "What did that Black lady say?"
Sophie: "First she said those are Wishing Fish, and wishes have a possibility of coming true. She told me to control my desires and not be used by Rafal."
Sophie: "Then she went off on a seemingly unrelated tangent. Saying individual power is limited, and King Arthur is the only hero in the Fairytale Kingdom who embodies the collective will, which is why he is invincible. The King of the Good. The one who can defeat the World-Ending Red Dragon."
Sophie: "Then she brought up my wish again. Said it opened Pandora's Box. That having multiple wishes like mine is probably Rafal's goal. A different kind of 'collective will.' The goal is to strip King Arthur of his purity."
Madison: "So what's the logic, Country Girl?"
Sophie: "She said the power of the Wishing Fish is far too weak to affect a great hero like King Arthur."
Sophie: "But if all the wishes are similar, all related to taking his purity, this collective resonance might create a miracle. Just like the miracle of Arthur slaying the Red Dragon. Among the princesses, one is destined to take his purity."
Sophie: "It could even be a Never."
Madison: "So you got hit with a restraining order?"
Madison: "You deserve it, Country... no, 'Horny Idiot'. That's what I should call you."
Sophie: "You—"
Madison: "Am I wrong? Basil is the only hope to defeat Rafal right now. And you really did start a bad trend."
Madison: "Besides, you idiot, did you forget we have the Club?"
Madison: "The distance between worlds can't stop us from interacting with Basil."
Madison: "Let alone some Black lady."
——
[Dream Owl: According to ancient tradition, a Snowy Owl must be raised for three years. Every midnight, immerse it in illusions and dreams, letting it fly in the Sea of Dreams. During the day, let the owl roost atop a tree. Repeat for three years. The owl will become a magical creature, capable of freely traversing reality and the Sea of Dreams. It can also carry its master in and out.]
This was the cultivation method for a Dream Owl—the primitive version, for wizards without Finger Glow.
It was written in Old English with professional terminology. Very obscure.
Translated, it meant: A Snowy Owl older than three years must be soaked in a potion made from extracted dreams every midnight.
This allows it to enter dreams.
After being rejected by the dream realm and returning to reality, it must be placed at the top of a tree to rest during the day.
After repeating this process for three years, the Snowy Owl will transform into a Dream Owl.
The master who cultivated it, sharing a mystical bond, can then follow it physically into the dreams of others.
After the dreamer wakes up, the Dream Owl can intercept a portion of [Dream Fragments] when the dream shatters.
This can serve as the foundation for an Eternal Dream.
This isn't mere speculation.
A wizard actually built an Eternal Dream this way, though it was only one square inch in size.
The reason it couldn't be larger was that a wizard could only cultivate one Dream Owl.
And the [Dream Fragments] a single Dream Owl could bring out each time were tiny.
Even after a hundred years, the area of the dream created probably wouldn't exceed 10 square feet.
Therefore, wizards with Dream Owls usually used them to create an eternal item within their own dreams, like a pen or a spinning top.
This allowed their dream-self to realize they were dreaming, granting them more time (lucid dreaming).
But for Basil, once Fanta became a Dream Owl, he could simply turn it into a Card.
Then he could summon countless Dream Owls, send them into dreams, and bring out [Dream Fragments].
With endless [Dream Fragments], he could build an Eternal Dream Kingdom.
By linking the cycles of birth and destruction of dreams, he could become the God of Dreams in the Harry Potter world.
To achieve this, the first step was mastering the magic of extracting dreams.
This was another long block of text.
Luckily, there was a simplified version.
For wizards with Finger Glow, all they needed was sufficient emotion and an incantation.
Plus a glass bottle to hold the liquid formed after the dream was extracted.
And it didn't need three years.
As long as the Snowy Owl was constantly fed the dream liquid and its body was infused with the emotional magic of this world...
Three months would be enough to transform a Snowy Owl into a Dream Owl.
And today was the day Basil and the other students would be granted magic—the day of the Piercing Ritual.
Snap.
Basil closed the book.
He stood up.
Two days had passed since the Animal Communication class.
For the past two days, Madison and Sophie had been arguing non-stop.
The reason was simple: yesterday morning, in the club space, after he and Sophie had their fun...
Madison showed up. Playing the victim card, she had sex with Basil right in front of Sophie.
This happened because Sophie genuinely thought she was the first one. She felt a bit guilty toward Madison, her "guide" in the club.
Plus, Sophie had jumped the gun.
And technically, these were astral bodies.
Like dreaming.
But first, he needed to eat.
6 PM, Dining Hall.
Basil walked in, fresh from the library, with Beatrice on his arm.
Just like the sorting, the Dining Hall was shared by both Good and Evil.
But Basil always felt this was Rafal's open conspiracy.
The Evil side was chaos: jumping around, laughing maniacally, playing with food, throwing it like weapons, using plates as shields and forks as swords.
The Good side was overly rigid. Just cutting a steak required several different knives and forks.
No wonder students from both sides felt Good and Evil couldn't mix.
To them, the Dining Hall was proof.
It only made them dislike each other more.