Badge in Azure

Chapter 82: The Value of a Magic Disciple (Part 1)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

“Nailisi, are you alright?” Saleen did not reprimand her as he helped her down from the platform. After seeing all the snow on her body, his anger had instantly faded away.

He still had his teacher and Sika. Nailisi, on the other hand, was alone. Even if her master scolded her for every small thing she did, no one else in the Myers Mainland would have concern for her.

“I’m hungry.”

Saleen lowered his voice and asked, “What about the meat we bought along the way?”

“I have eaten all of it.”

Saleen was in a difficult position. Nailisi had a large appetite and loved to eat fresh meat. It was not that he could not afford it, but he was living in the viscountess’ residence and it was difficult to move around. Moreover, buying a large amount of fresh meat would prove to be too strange. A mage and two women, what would they need all that meat for?

“Let’s talk inside.” Saleen pulled Nailisi into the room before asking her, “Besides fresh meat, what else would you like to eat?”

“Master, I…I have been very hungry recently. My stomach feels empty. I won’t die of hunger, but I think I’m growing a body.”

“Growing a body?”

Saleen thought back to how Nailisi had originally looked. She had indeed been a little skinnier. In the books, it was said that before a magic beast evolved, it consumed a large amount of food. Could it have been the same for a demon? It seemed that Nailisi was maturing and that he needed to think of a way to purchase a large amount of food. This could not wait any longer.

Nailisi had been able to ambush a headless rider even before she had matured. If she were to mature, there were high expectations for her fighting abilities. Moreover, demons could also study magic, and even though it was sparse and their magic was different from the magic of humans, for Nailisi who only knew how to brawl, even an Icicle spell could double her fighting abilities.

“I will get them to prepare more food. Regarding the fresh meat, I will think of a solution,” Saleen comforted her. She nodded and agreed, not resorting to any small tricks like before.

Nailisi was about to evolve, Sika’s weapon had also been restored, and he had gained the twenty-four magic formulas. Saleen felt himself calming down, almost as if Faerun’s words were at his ears.

Earl Sufonso had been attacked by teacher and it seemed that he would need to live in constant fear from here on. He was a swordmaster and could not receive protection from the magic tower forever. The gap between them would be lessened.

However, Saleen felt discontented in staying at the viscountess’ residence doing nothing. Where could he hire an assassin? Even if he could not kill Sufonso, he could at least turn his life upside down. He really should have gotten Aini’s help. Aini would have found a powerful assassin.

Whatever. Sufonso had to be dealt with personally. If the assassin had accidentally killed him, Saleen would not have been able to take it lying down.

The snow fell intermittently for three days and the turn of the new year came. The Qin Empire and Sikeqinya had a similar calendar that had originated from the Second Dynasty. Many customs had been passed down from the time of the Myers Goddess.

The viscountess’ residence was decked out with decorations, the atmosphere was warm, and even Faerun’s courtyard had a festive vibe to it.

Since receiving the badge from Viscountess Lex, Saleen had begun to get closer to the people around him and gained a better understanding of the viscountess’ residence. Contrary to what he had thought, the number of mages at Viscountess Lex’s side was kept below three hundred. The six empty rooms in the courtyard had previously belonged to mages that had already reached grand mage status.

The six of them had followed Faerun in their studies but had not been his students. Since becoming grand mages, they had ventured out to train.

The mages by Viscountess Lex’s side were mostly low-grade mages, and once these mages become grand mages, they would leave the residence. In the past decade, more than thirty grand mages had emerged from the viscountess’ residence.

If danger did not befall Bitter Water Prefecture, it was possible that these grand mages would never return in their lifetime.

Saleen began to admire Viscountess Lex. This was something that other members of the wealthy would never have done. However, he was curious. To nurture this many grand mages, the amount of money necessary must have been horrifying. Even with the number of gemstones he had now, it might not have been enough.

Where did Viscountess Lex get so much money?

Saleen had some understanding of the income of the wealthy and royals. Even though Viscountess Lex was the only daughter of the royal emperor, she would not be specially taken care of. Since she had already been given feudal estates, any income given to her would come from them.

A large city like a prefecture could have ten to twelve other small cities under it, and the radius of control would be less than two hundred kilometers. The entire area definitely could not be compared to a duchy. Moreover, Viscountess Lex was still considered a teenager, and did not have full control of all the taxes of the surrounding cities.

Only after becoming of age would these cities be under her jurisdiction. Before that, any officials in these cities were appointed by the lower house.

It had been said that Bitter Water Prefecture had once been a barren old city, but now it was prosperous, solemn, and had the appearance of a capital city. Where had all this money come from? Even if the viscountess had a sorcerer for a teacher, she could not have been this wealthy.

A high-grade mage was certainly wealthy, but the cost of building a magic tower was much less than that of building a city.

There was something funny going on in this Bitter Water Prefecture.

“Saleen, Saleen!” A clear voice sounded from outside. Saleen opened the windows and saw a female mage, who stayed in a room opposite to him, standing in the courtyard calling for him.

“Narnia, what is it?”

Narnia had brown hair, and was small like the people of the Cloudflow Empire. She held her hands together and said, “Do you have time to help me?”

Saleen looked with difficulty at Faerun’s laboratory. Narnia laughed and said, “Sir will not be here for a while. He told me to let you know. You can still use the lab, and ingredients can be taken from the viscountess.”

Saleen suddenly realized that Faerun was about to level up and must have gone to the magic tower to train for a period of time. It was safe in the tower and his focus and the speed of recovery of his magic chords would be faster than usual.

“Give me a minute.” Saleen put on his robes. They were new and made of green silk. Even though they were not as good as the ones his teacher had given him, they were a rare item. The mages in the residence were treated well. Just like him, they were able to pick up a Grade 3 magic nucleus every day.

These magic nuclei were very small and were not worth as much as those sold in equipment stores outside. However, they had a similar effect. A mage’s training could not be compared to combat and there was no need for such expensive magic nuclei. However, this was not easy either. There were over two hundred mages within the residence and the daily expenses for these low-grade magic nuclei could amount to thousands of gold coins.

Saleen walked out of the room and asked, “Narnia, what do you want me to do?”

Viscountess Lex had already discovered everything about Saleen in Ceylon City and was no longer secretly worried about him. This had allowed Saleen to relax himself and talk easily with the mages here.

Narnia’s face was slightly red, perhaps from the chill of the wind. She lowered her voice and said, “The tailor cannot cope any longer. Would you go down with me for a trip? It will only take an afternoon.”

“Tailor?” Saleen found it odd. He was a mage and already found it difficult to create things for the viscountess. He was even more unfamiliar with tailoring.

“It’s for my brother. The people at the swordsmen’s camp are returning, and according to customs, the viscountess will inspect the troops on the sixth day of every new year. Hence, I’m in a rush to tailor a cotton robe. The rest of the mages have followed the viscountess on her winter hunt. I…”

It was only then that he remembered that since Sika’s weapon had been fixed, he had not requested to join the winter hunt and the viscountess’ residence had suddenly become empty yesterday. Narnia must also have been concerned for her brother to have missed out on the winter hunt.

Moreover, Faerun’s circle of friends was strange and Saleen did not like many of them. All of them had gathered in the courtyard and Narnia had also not been too familiar with them.

“Alright, let’s go.” Saleen contemplated things to himself. Since Faerun was not around, there was not much for him to learn anyway. Helping out would not require too much effort.

Narnia must have needed some magic help to have come looking for him.

Narnia smiled, showing off her white teeth. She happily left Faerun’s courtyard with Saleen.

Walking out of the courtyard, Saleen realized that apart from the surroundings of this location, the other places within the viscountess’ residence had been swept clean. There was a new sheet of snow covering the ground.

Having stayed at the viscountess’ residence for some time, Saleen was already used to its elegance. Seeing this architecture no longer left him in awe. Perhaps one’s elegance was brought up in a certain environment. If Saleen were to visit a wealthy person’s house now, he would likely not give off an expression of surprise any longer.

Thinking back to Viscount Gugger’s invitation, that residence had been… unimpressive.

As they moved past various courts, Saleen and Narnia walked side by side. Walking past a garden, they saw a few servants toiling the land.

“What are they doing?” Saleen asked curiously. Mages were all full of curiosity and even the actions of a servant could spark many questions.

“They’re burying bamboo shoots.”

“Bamboo? In this season?”

“Saleen, you’re from Sikeqinya. You have no idea what the Bitter Water Prefecture used to be like. The winters were cold and the summers were dry. The water from the wells used to all be bitter too. Before the viscountess came, this place could not have gotten any more barren. However, besides grains being difficult to grow here, the resources here are plentiful. What they are growing is a type of ice bamboo that can only grow in the winter. Now that everyone from the swordsmen’s camp will be returning, the viscountess will hold a banquet for them. These bamboo shoots are delicious, and to ensure their freshness, they have to be buried underground. They will be dug out just before cooking.”

“That’s elaborate…” Saleen did not finish his sentence. Even though he had been poor since the time he was young, he knew it was not possible for the viscountess to have lived out her days eating moldy bread. If she had eaten the same way he had while growing up, it would have been hilarious.

“How is this elaborate? If there is a battle, these swordsmen will be at the forefront. This is a small gesture from the viscountess. The food that we eat every day might not be any less elaborate than this,” Narnia explained to Saleen.

“Battle? There isn’t much of a need to fight here in the Bitter Water Prefecture, is there?” Saleen was careful as he asked this matter-of-factly.

“I am not sure either, but my brother has mentioned that the tailors are rushing an order of armor for a battle and have asked for the help of hundreds of magic disciples. If they were not so busy, I would not have asked for your help as well. Thank you so much.”

Saleen was shocked. Hundreds of magic disciples were being appointed to rush out an order of armor? Did that mean that these armors were to have magic adhered to them? Even if it was the lowest grade of magic, once a soldier put it on, their defensive abilities would multiply. A battle was not a personal feud and an armament effect on such a large-scale could make a great difference.

Was a war truly about to break out? However, Bitter Water Prefecture was nowhere near a border and was far from Loulan Duchy. There were hundreds of kilometers of mountain ridges separating the two, and would be impossible for armies to pass through.