Chapter 36: The Basement’s Potent Barrier

As Imeline interacted with these children, she observed that they were all remarkably obedient, docile, and unlikely to cause trouble. Even though Imeline wasn’t particularly adept with children, these particular ones never put her in an awkward position.

Imeline suspected these children had been handpicked from other branch institutions, specifically chosen for their tractability, which would facilitate the Crimson Family’s clandestine schemes.

Seizing an opportune moment, she feigned a need to use the restroom, slipped away from the plaza, and once again donned her invisibility cloak. Her objective was to locate the children’s archives. Perhaps the records of those who had been taken weren’t destroyed but kept somewhere, and through them, she might uncover the children’s whereabouts.

While the staff in the main hall were preoccupied, Imeline stealthily made her way into the hall’s corridor. The entire first floor of the hall was dedicated to the orphanage teachers’ rooms and offices.

Imeline reasoned that if the children’s files contained any information detrimental to the Crimson Family, it wouldn’t be stored in a regular office. It would likely be either in a specific staff member’s room or collectively in a special, secluded location. However, all the staff rooms were locked. Even with her invisibility cloak, Imeline couldn’t gain entry, and the windows were also secured, preventing her puppet familiars from scouting inside.

Just as Imeline’s investigation seemed to reach an impasse, she suddenly noticed a descending staircase at the end of the corridor. Imeline’s eyes narrowed. ‘If there was any place ideal for concealing secrets,’ she thought, ‘a basement is undoubtedly the prime choice.’

She glanced left and right, and seeing no one in the corridor, Imeline cautiously descended the stairs. The basement entrance was a formidable iron door. Gazing at it, Imeline felt a surge of tension; the orphanage’s secrets, she realized, might lie just beyond.

Imeline gently pressed her hand against the iron door’s handle. The instant Imeline’s hand made contact, a magical array immediately shimmered into existence on the iron door, followed by the resounding boom of its activation.

“Beep, beep, beep—”

“Blast it!”

Imeline hastily attempted to ascend the stairs, only to discover that an iron grate had descended at the top, trapping her midway up the staircase. Realizing there was no escape, Imeline promptly donned her invisibility cloak. Yet, something entirely unexpected occurred: the moment Imeline turned invisible, the magical array on the iron door pulsed with light once more, and her invisibility cloak instantly failed.

“Damn it! So the basement is protected by a barrier spell?”

“In that case!”

As Imeline spoke, a long-handled, rosewood wand materialized in her hand, its tip adorned with a crimson crystal. She intended to breach the door by force. Searing magic slowly coalesced within the crimson crystal. Imeline aimed to shatter the iron grate with a Fireball spell, but just as the magic neared its complete formation, she suddenly felt the power from her wand being steadily stripped away.

‘That magical array again! It even has an elemental stripping effect? What tier of barrier spell is this, anyway!’

“Hey! Who’s there!?”

Beyond the iron grate, two staff members, the very ones who had greeted Imeline in the main hall earlier, were now approaching to investigate.

“Who are you?! How dare you trespass in a restricted office area!”

“You… aren’t you the volunteer sent by the Mage Association? What are you doing in the basement?”

“Ah, haha…”

Caught red-handed and unable to use her magic effectively, Imeline had no choice but to concoct an excuse to bluff her way out. She offered an awkward laugh, then tried to argue her case to the two staff members.

“A child was hungry just now, and I wasn’t sure where to find food, so I looked around. I thought the basement might store some snacks or something. I had no idea this was a restricted office area. My sincerest apologies.”

As she finished speaking, Imeline even put on a show, bowing deeply to both of them.

…

The two staff members exchanged glances, seemingly communicating silently. After confirming that the basement’s magical array was intact and the iron door remained sealed, one of them finally spoke.

“Little girl, don’t wander off. The cafeteria is on the other side of the plaza. If a child is hungry, you can find food in the back kitchen. This is a restricted office area, and beneath it, many foods are kept in cold storage, protected by a freezing barrier. It’s quite dangerous.”

The staff member reprimanded Imeline, while the other placed a hand on the corridor wall. A magical array then shimmered into view on the wall as well. Once the staff member infused it with magic, both this array and the one below illuminated simultaneously, and the iron grate on the staircase slowly began to rise.

“Your volunteer hours for today are complete, little girl. It’s time for you to leave.”

“Very well, thank you for your trouble.”

‘Was that a dismissal? I thought they’d lock me up.’

Imeline bowed once more to the two staff members, then ascended the stairs. Under the watchful eyes of the two staff members, Imeline was escorted out of the orphanage. Clearly, they had no intention of letting her wander freely within its walls any longer.

“Damn it… I was so close.”

Standing across the street, Imeline gritted her teeth, evidently dissatisfied with the outcome of her investigation. She truly hadn’t anticipated such a potent barrier spell at the basement entrance, one capable of not only nullifying her invisibility cloak but also stripping away elements within its confines. To achieve such an effect, it had to be at least a fifth-tier barrier spell.

For an orphanage basement to be protected by a fifth-tier barrier seemed rather excessive, which only deepened Imeline’s suspicions about what lay beneath. While this particular investigation hadn’t yielded any significant breakthroughs, it had, at least, solidified Imeline’s direction.

Imeline was determined to investigate that basement. There was no time to delay; she would act tonight!