Chapter Sixteen: When You Gaze into the Abyss

The Transfer Spell is a required incantation for all wizards, but those who truly master it are exceedingly rare. By the standards of a young wizard, Helen’s ability to move objects back and forth at will was already quite impressive. Yet true adepts can shift not only objects but spells themselves. Some grandmasters, whose theoretical and practical grasp of the Transfer Spell is unparalleled, can effortlessly deflect another’s magic or redirect a curse aimed at them onto a rival.

Today, Louis experienced the wonder of this spell firsthand. When he used his mind to lock onto Baeliff’s ailment and waved his wand to cast the spell, he suddenly sensed that the lump could be shifted with his will. However, attempting to move it at first was incredibly taxing. Forget transferring it through the air—the lump didn’t budge at all and the spell failed outright.

Helen frowned slightly, thinking it looked like a failure. Transferring something across space like this truly wasn’t easy. Yet, Louis seemed utterly unfazed, completely confident in his actions.

Helen, nevertheless, couldn’t help but cover her face with her hands—surely this would hurt terribly? But to her surprise, Mr. Baeliff not only showed no signs of pain, but actually appeared quite comfortable. What had Louis given him to drink just now?

[Baeliff’s Favorability +5]

Ignoring the narrative aside, Louis continued to wave his wand. This time, he felt the lump move slightly. After two more attempts, he realized he could only shift the lump within Baeliff’s mouth—not to the rat, which was just a short distance away, nor even outside the mouth with ease.

After five or six attempts, the small cyst could now move up and down inside Baeliff’s body like a little mouse.

[Baeliff’s Favorability +5]
[Baeliff’s Favorability +5]
[Baeliff’s Favorability +5]
[Baeliff...]

“Louis, are you going to use that method?” Helen suddenly asked, her eyes wide with curiosity. “I just thought of it too!”

“You’re quite clever,” Louis replied, pausing with a slight frown. ‘What on earth is Helen thinking?’

The brief exchange didn’t affect Louis’s focus. Both Helen and Baeliff, seeing his calm demeanor, were suddenly filled with confidence as well.

On the tenth casting, Louis’s vision darkened and he ‘saw’ a swirl of nebulae. With this casting, it seemed the nebulae, previously in balance, began to collapse and coalesce into a star. Simultaneously, Louis beheld countless rivers of stars, fragments of time and space flashing before his eyes, and in that moment, he gained a sudden insight.

With a wave of his arm—without even finishing the incantation—the rat gave a sharp squeal: the lump had been transferred through the air!

“Success!” Helen exclaimed, her small fists clenched in excitement, more thrilled than if she’d succeeded herself.

Staring at the words ‘Transfer Spell lv3 (1/100)’ before him, Louis fell into deep thought.

For wizards, mastering a spell is usually ninety percent hard work and ten percent innate talent—yet that ten percent is an unbridgeable chasm. With it, you’re Newton; without it, just another physics major. Louis was that “physics major.” But the “fantasy story narrator” had handed him the formula and derivation for gravity, and since he’d already studied that, with a little more effort he could not only be Newton, but Einstein of the wizarding world.

Without breaking his rhythm, Louis picked up the rat from Baeliff’s mouth, knocked it unconscious with his wand, and placed it on Baeliff’s backside.

“Don’t move. Stay just like that.”

Baeliff, who had been about to leap up in excitement, froze in fright.

“D-Doctor, w-what are you doing?” Baeliff’s speech was now perfectly fluent; clearly, the wound in his mouth was healed.

Louis offered no explanation—how could he explain this practice session to a patient?

But after exchanging glances, both Baeliff and Helen’s expressions grew solemn.

During this casting, Louis found the Transfer Spell as easy as moving his own arm; there was no need for the lengthy incantation or precise wand movements—the magic flowed effortlessly. After several tries, the rat bore several wounds, some even appearing inside its head, ultimately killing it. On the final attempt, Louis moved the rat far away and still succeeded. More than that, the rat now had half a hole in its body.

Looking at the odd state of Baeliff’s backside, Louis’s lips twitched. He’d guessed right—this kind of Transfer Spell couldn’t heal certain wounds, but like twisting the face of a Rubik’s Cube, it could shift a square from one side to another.

So now, Baeliff’s wound resembled a photoshopped image—the hole was smaller.

‘No worries, who stands in front of a mirror staring at their behind anyway?’

Louis put down his wand and wiped his hands with a damp towel. Seeing Baeliff still nervously perched on the bed, Louis said, “All done. The root of the problem is gone. But remember, don’t sit for long periods.”

After a moment’s thought, Louis added, “And don’t spend time looking in the mirror at your backside—it might look... less than pleasant.”

“I know, I know,” Baeliff replied mysteriously. “When you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.”

“......”

Once Baeliff got up, he spent a long time expressing his gratitude, gripping Louis’s hand and pouring out a stream of syrupy thanks. Louis noticed that Baeliff’s favorability had reached the maximum—perhaps due to that potion. Yet even with such goodwill, the fellow still “forgot” to give a tip.

Only after Louis coughed and hinted did the goblin reluctantly dig a few gold Galleons from his pocket as a tip—seven, not eight. According to Baeliff, his gratitude couldn’t be measured with money, but seven was the most perfect number, symbolizing the blessing of the God of Shelter.

It seemed the narrator had underestimated Baeliff’s stinginess.

Still, seven gold Galleons was no small sum. With a bit more saving, Louis could buy himself a new wand to play with.

Before leaving, Baeliff left the office phone number and the magical mark of Miss Helen’s crystal ball, stating that the two newly appointed officials at the Ministry of Magic were highly skilled. He had some friends who’d recently encountered some strange events and hoped the two agents could help.

It appeared Baeliff was quite fond of them and wanted to send them some side jobs. But Louis felt a chill—he dearly hoped no more business like hemorrhoid removal would come their way.

Baeliff, however, seemed not to notice. He smiled mysteriously, stood in the doorway, doffed his tall hat with a hand over his chest, and left.

After that, not a single client visited the office all afternoon. Louis began to wonder what kind of place this “Special Magical Incident Office” really was.

He soon discovered, rummaging through the room, a trove of fine teas, newspapers, playing cards, an orrery, an astronomical telescope, and all manner of amusements. There were also numerous public expense receipts and tickets—all for tourist destinations.

From the empty logbooks and sparse attendance sheets, Louis realized that absenteeism was the norm here. Staff only showed up if there was something to do, and even then, only the duty officer would occasionally drop by.

As for the agents, they weren’t out on assignment—they were on vacation!

The office director, Mr. Triff, wasn’t away on urgent business—well, perhaps it was important. The bald, middle-aged man had gone back to his hometown for matchmaking!

This so-called Special Magical Incident Office was really a retirement club. On normal days, everyone just drank tea, read the paper, tinkered with the orrery, and pursued their hobbies. Some even wrote detective novels here...

Seeing all this, Louis’s heart sank. No wonder Miss Osyclis was at ease leaving her two students here—this was just a place to idle away the days and keep the room clean.

Yet, what none could have expected was that this department—originally intended as a haven for retirement—would, through the efforts of these two temps and their rather unimpressive mentor, gradually gain renown and become a true office for handling mysterious affairs.

And their very first legend would be the cure for the “Touch of the Old Gods.”

After that, Baeliff the great banker did indeed introduce them to several remarkable cases.

...