Chapter 82
Mar is the largest city in the Salem border region. It is rich in glass and gemstones and has convenient transportation, which has attracted many mercenaries. They have stationed themselves here and developed several mercenary guilds.
Many of these mercenaries had committed crimes in District 11, or engaged in murder. In short, they could not survive in the law-abiding District 11, so they came to Salem.
The lord of Mar, who is related to the Duke of Salem, is responsible for monitoring the Salem border and has made many preparations for the upcoming Lortheran army.
They even bribed a large number of mercenaries to be stationed in villages on the Salem border.
Like Hyde, there are many other minor figures who bear the responsibility of surveillance but are not valued by others.
That day, the lord of Mar City received an urgent message from his subordinate mage, saying that something suspicious had been discovered in a village on the border, and that all the mercenaries had probably been captured. The message that the monitor was trying to send back had been intercepted—he was just a hair's breadth away from seeing the contents.
The city lord of Mar looked grave and immediately dispatched a small team of trusted men to the village to gather information, while also informing the mercenaries in the surrounding villages to prepare.
If you encounter any suspicious outsiders, take action immediately!
The capital of Lortheran.
The Fourth District is in turmoil. The Golden Merchant Guild has suddenly collapsed, and a large number of traitors have been arrested in the district government building. The matter has reached His Majesty the King, and the capital city is also in an uproar.
After all, the people inside the Fourth District Government Building are related to the nobles of the capital.
Upon further investigation, a whole group was pulled out, roots and all.
On the Vatican's side, Archbishop Rivelen, who was in charge of church affairs in the fourth district, was also punished, but it was all bark and no bite—he was given a slap on the wrist and made to copy church precepts twenty times.
Does Riveren know about all the mess in the Fourth City?
Of course he knew, but he didn't get involved or report it, pretending he was deaf.
His Holiness the Pope left the Papacy again, and no one knew where he went. The Fourth City was just around the corner, but on the same day, Riveren received a punishment notice from His Holiness the Pope.
But it also signals that the church needs to step in to help during this unrest in the fourth district.
While Rivelen was diligently copying the book, Archbishop Hilda temporarily took over the affairs of the Fourth District diocese.
Starting from this quarter, all affairs of the Papacy were transferred to the hands of the Holy Son, Sylvain. The system established by Veris a century ago ensured that all official business on Sylvain's desk was not too cumbersome, although there were many items and a lot of approvals required.
Similarly, all matters concerning the execution department were handed over to Sylvain.
Sylvain, who was working in the study, couldn't help but sigh. Veris had dumped everything on him and gone out to play.
Lortheran was so busy dealing with the Fourth District and the traitors in the army that he was practically tearing his hair out. He wasn't afraid of Sylvain beating him anymore. Every day, after finishing his political affairs, receiving his ministers, and disciplining the young prince, he would go to the High Papacy to complain to Sylvain.
When they arrived, they discovered that Sylvain still had a dozen documents that hadn't been approved.
Sylvain: "You've come at the perfect time."
Lortheran: "..."
As night fell, the two finally finished dealing with everything. The remaining official documents only required simple replies; they just had Lortheran write the word "permission," which was done very quickly.
Lortheran encouraged Sylvain to go out to eat, completely forgetting his previous anxiety. After all, Veris was still around, and Sylvain wouldn't do anything to him.
Sylvain hesitated for a moment, then, under Lortheran's incredulous gaze, sent a teleportation spell to Veris.
Lortheran: "Should we tell him that too?"
Sylvain nodded solemnly.
Lortheran: "...Okay."
Veris, far away in Salem, rescued the villagers from the barn during the day, dealt with some follow-up matters, frightened the rogue, and then left the village with the dragon.
However, instead of heading north, they followed the villagers' directions and prepared to go to another village fifteen miles away.
When Sylvain sent him the message spell, he and the dragon had just caught a glimpse of the outline of a village in the distance.
Long also saw the words and was somewhat dissatisfied: "Why didn't you take me with you? Lortheran just doesn't want to treat us."
Veris was slightly taken aback by the dragon's words, but he still replied to Sylvain first.
He remembered a long time ago, when they had just met, Lortheran, trying to save face, said he would treat them to a meal. The group went to a restaurant, and the dragon was very excited, saying it was the first time a human had treated it to a meal.
That meal bankrupted both Lortheran and Veris.
Lortheran didn't have enough money to pay, so Veris stepped in. Sylvain was penniless and could only sit with the dragon and watch helplessly. The elf Hill also sat down, but he acted like a big shot and showed no shame whatsoever.
They also said that Lortheran was too poor.
From then on, Lortheran never invited the dragons to dinner again—no, he was still very happy to invite everyone to dinner, except for the dragons.
Dragons aren't picky eaters; I should have just picked a couple of leaves from the roadside and given them to it.
Thinking of this, Veris couldn't help but chuckle and asked the dragon, "Where do you usually eat?"
The dragon thought for a moment and said, "Anywhere is fine. I have lots and lots of gems. If I sell the ones I don't like or get tired of looking at, I'll have lots and lots of money. I can eat at human restaurants. But human restaurants have too many rules. A few days ago, I went to the Central Mountains, turned back into my original form, and then caught and ate magical beasts. It's so fast."
The magical beasts in the Central Mountains are utterly powerless against dragons. For dragons, except for the slightly unpleasant taste, it's practically a natural restaurant—a buffet, and free of charge!
Meanwhile, in the capital of Lortheran, the streets were still bustling, but today there were clearly many more young faces. Two young people walked down the street and randomly picked a restaurant.
The restaurant was quite large; it was packed as soon as you entered. Lortheran looked upstairs and said, "Hey, there are still seats up there."
In the center of the restaurant's first floor, there was a stage surrounded by wooden railings, where people were performing acrobatics. The people at the other tables were so engrossed that they forgot to eat.
When the waiter saw the new guests arrive, he noticed that the guests were dressed in expensive clothes and had handsome faces, suggesting they were noblemen of noble birth. He quickly came forward to greet them and led the two upstairs.
I found a table and sat down. There was a reason why this restaurant was so lively. Even though there were many people inside, it wasn't hot. The temperature-regulating crystals on the walls were obviously expensive, and the tables were spotless.
The waiter went to the counter on the second floor and got the menu.
Lortheran waved his hand and said, "This time it's on me."
Sylvain glanced at him and said, "Are you sure?"
Lortheran, smug and self-satisfied, snorted, "Things are different now. I may have been poor back then, but who am I now? You could eat this restaurant out of house and I could still afford it!"
"Really! Lortheran! I knew you were a good person!" An excited shout rang out, followed by a figure charging wildly. Lortheran had barely turned his head when the dragon grabbed his head and shook it violently. "Me too! Me too!"
Lortheran's cheeks flushed red as her head was being held: "Let go, let go, I'm suffocating!"
The dragon was still shaking, turning its head to look at Sylvan: "Sylvan, you know how much I can eat!"
Sylvain silently ordered all the dishes on the menu—this was just the first round.
On the other side of the stairs, Veris slowly walked over, looking at the dragon frantically interfering with Lortheran, and Sylvain, who was silently ordering food but whose pen strokes were incredibly fast, and couldn't help but laugh.
Lortheran's voice was muffled and weak as the dragon blocked it with its body. Sylvain handed the menu to the dumbfounded waiter before the dragon released its loving embrace.
The newly crowned king was in a sorry state, and the great Lord Lortheran IX nearly died in the restaurant.
“The dragon said it wanted to eat with us, so I brought it back,” Veris said, sitting down next to Sylvain.
Lortheran felt dizzy and slumped back in his chair, gasping for breath.
Long sat upright, revealing a shy smile.
If Lor'theran's dangerous experiences were to be compiled into a book, dragons would undoubtedly be listed as the most terrifying assassins.
After all, Lortheran was always caught off guard whenever he was persecuted.
Salem returned to the capital in the blink of an eye, and the spatial teleportation array in Veris was beyond the imagination of modern mages.
It would be possible to bring the dragon back, but landing would be another problem. Veris teleported directly to the vicinity of Sylvain and found a small alley as the anchor point for the magic circle.
Dragon was overjoyed when Lortheran generously offered to treat him to a meal.
When Lortheran came to his senses, he was shocked: "Oh no, I don't know if I brought enough money!"
Veris waved his hand dismissively: "What are you afraid of? Let's eat first!"
What kind of private treasury could this newly emerged king, Lortheran, possibly possess? Old King Charles certainly did, but Lortheran simply had Garcia deal with it.
Because they ordered too much food, the waiter came over and changed their table to a larger one. Lortheran and the dragon sat on one side, while Veris and Sylvain sat opposite them. They could see the performance stage in the lobby downstairs with just a turn of their heads.
The dragon leaned on the railing, watching and occasionally exclaiming in surprise at the acrobatic performance.
Nowadays, juggling acts are incredibly diverse and innovative.
At this moment, several young people arrived at the door. The waiter went up to them and led them to the second floor. The group then walked through the first floor.
The dragon saw this, turned around, and said, "I see someone I know."
Lortheran was still secretly counting his small wallet, completely unaware of the dragon's words. Veris, however, turned around and glanced at them, raising an eyebrow. It was Arnold and his group.
His current appearance is exactly the same as Albion's before. He had his hair cut a few days ago, and the length is about the same. He turned his head and looked at the dragon, saying, "Don't let them recognize you. I can help you change your face."
Long's eyes widened as he listened, clearly displeased: "I don't care! So what if they saw it? They can't come after me anyway, I don't even know them!"
Veris hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
Sylvain didn't care at all who would come or who he would run into.
The waiter brought over the first batch of dishes and placed them on the table. Long's eyes lit up immediately, and he grabbed the cutlery and started eating.
It hadn't eaten for several days, so it was naturally quite hungry. Although it had drunk a bowl of messy meat soup in the village, that was nothing compared to what the dragon complained about, as it contained all sorts of meat.
Lortheran woke up early in the morning, held a court meeting, received his ministers, discussed a bunch of plans, helped Sylvain with some official documents, and was finally shaken and suffocated by the dragon. He was so dizzy that he picked up a fork and started digging at the plate of roast meat.
Just as he picked up a piece with his fork, about to put it in his mouth, a boy behind him shouted in delight, "Father!"
Lortheran flicked his wrist, and the roast meat fell onto the table.
His eyes flashed with a sharp light, and before he could even turn his fork back, the dragon had already pried it away with lightning speed.
Lortheran: "..."
Arnold ran over excitedly; he did resemble a dragon somewhat. As he got closer, he saw that there was another familiar face among them and couldn't help but exclaim, "Veris!"
The black-haired youth looked up, and a faint smile appeared on his face, which was as pale and handsome as it had been during his Albion days: "What a coincidence."
"You two know each other!"
Veris nudged Sylvain, who was leaning closer, and said with a smile, "Yes, that's right."
He felt several gazes fall on him; almost the entire hero's team was looking at him... or perhaps at Sylvain, who was clinging to his side.
The dragon was so engrossed in frantically inhaling its food that it went unnoticed. Lortheran stared at the dragon, inwardly screaming in despair.
The dragon ate everything again!
He turned his head and gave a bleak smile: "My good son, what are you doing here? I had forgotten about you."
Arnold was somewhat stunned after hearing this, but he quickly calmed himself down and said, "I stayed at the Royal Capital Academy after I came out of the secret realm. The academy is on holiday today, so my friends and I went back to the Royal Capital to buy some things."
The trident of Poseidon that Lortheran gave him was sealed inside his body after he came out of the secret realm, and he didn't know how to activate it. However, before he left, Lord Martin told him that only when his strength reached a certain level could he restart the trident of Poseidon.
Only a select few knew about the artifact, and they wouldn't go around spreading it, so the rest of the population had no idea that Arnold possessed the legendary artifact.
Seeing that the two groups of guests knew each other, the waiter simply let Arnold and his group sit next to Veris and his group. Arnold could then lean back in his chair and talk to Lortheran.
And he did just that, eagerly asking Lortheran where he had gone after leaving. The two looked more like brothers than father and son.
They do indeed look somewhat alike.
Lortheran chewed on the roasted meat, which he had finally managed to scrape off the dragon platter. He mumbled, "I went to work at the palace. The pay is pretty high, but the work is very tiring."
Arnold's eyes widened upon hearing this. He actually wanted to ask why he was born in Amberley and why his father seemed so indifferent, but this was not the place to talk. He had hesitated and stammered in the secret realm before, but ultimately failed to ask.
Lortheran finally regained some strength and turned to Arnold: "Child, how are you doing at the academy?"
One sentence almost brought tears to Arnold's eyes.
Lortheran's body was, after all, Arnold's blood father. After thinking about it, he still asked a few questions. Anyway, Arnold was different from Ethan; this child could grow up on his own.
Arnold rambled on about life at the Royal Capital Academy.
As Lortheran ate and listened, the waiter brought out a second batch of dishes, most of which still ended up on the dragon's plate.
He was a very good listener; even while eating, he could give appropriate feedback, and the light in Arnold's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
Veris sighed inwardly as he looked at Arnold's table.
He nudged Sylvain: "Are you going to eat or not?"
Sylvain leaned against his shoulder, her voice calm: "Let them eat first, I'm fine."
The way the people at the next table are looking at me is really annoying.
“I’m going to have dinner,” Veris emphasized.
Sylvain straightened up slightly and glanced at the table... The entire plate was empty, with the vast majority of the meat on the dragon's plate. Lortheran ate while reaching into the dragon's plate for pieces of meat.
Veris: "..."
The third batch of dishes arrived, and Veris called the waiter over and ordered another dish.
Lortheran slowed down his eating, realizing he was going to go bankrupt again.
Arnold finally stopped his friendly conversation with his father and looked at Veris: "Mr. Veris, I never expected you two to know each other."
"Hmm." Veris simply nodded without saying anything.
Arnold was already used to the poet's way of speaking, and was about to say something when Lortheran suddenly spoke to him, "Son, you will definitely need money to support yourself while living in the academy. As your father, I have to give you some living expenses."
The boy blinked, not realizing what Lortheran meant, but then he saw Lortheran reach out to Veris.
"Hey, give me some money."
Arnold was horrified, while the elves Carlo and Murphy glared angrily at Lortheran.
The boy quickly advised him, "Father, Mr. Veris is even poorer than me..." Mr. Veris was a bard, and although he did some side jobs, his poverty in Albion was well-known.
And Veris's clothes are still all dusty and gray!
Veris didn't think much of it. He reached to the side, pulled out a bag, and placed it on the table: "Here."
Lortheran's body is still Arnold's biological father. Although he is a corpse that has been resurrected, he still has to bear some responsibility. As the instigator of this resurrection, it is only right for Veris to help.
The Holy Son pursed his lips, looking somewhat unhappy.
Because Veris stole his money pouch, and now he's going to give it to Arnold, a hero he doesn't like.
Lortheran took the money bag, pulled out a few gold coins, and handed them to Arnold.
Veris was speechless and couldn't help but say, "So you just swallowed the rest of the money?"
Lortheran retorted confidently, "Then what will I eat next time!"
There were over a hundred gold coins in that bag. Lortheran swallowed more than ninety of them and only gave a few Arnolds. He was utterly depraved.
Arnold refused, saying he had money and that the Royal Academy would issue some missions with corresponding rewards.
Lortheran immediately took the gold coins back.
Veris had never seen such an embarrassing scene.
He somewhat regretted coming back here to have dinner with his longtime friend.
At this moment, Sylvain finally spoke, saying quietly, "That's my bag."
Lortheran froze as he was stuffing the money pouch into his pocket.
Veris: "I didn't bring any luggage, you know, I came empty-handed."
During this interlude, Long finished off the second batch of dishes, looked at his friends, and asked, "What are you guys doing?"
It sat next to Lortheran, who obscured most of its body.
"Has Lortheran gone bankrupt again?" The dragon recalled what it had just heard and suddenly realized.
He then pulled a dazzling gem from his pocket. "I knew Lortheran was poor, so I brought this gem with me!"
“If that’s not enough,” the dragon began pulling out gems one by one, gems it was tired of seeing, but which would be priceless by today’s standards, “I have more.”
Lortheran was blinded by the light and couldn't help but say, "You pay for it yourself, I'm a poor man."
The dragon quickly shoved the gem back into his pocket, righteously declaring, "How can you do this! Lortheran clearly said he was going to treat us, I'm not paying for you!"
The jewel can be given to Lortheran, but Lortheran must pay for the meal he's treating.
However, the extravagant gemstone also attracted the attention of many guests at other tables.
They sized up the group at the table, and were secretly amazed by the mountain of plates piled up on it.
That's an incredible amount of food!
At this moment, the waiter brought out the third batch of dishes, cleared away the plates from the table, and wiped the table clean. Arnold's table next door also received its dishes, so Arnold had to turn around.
Lortheran obediently returned the money pouch, knowing that Veris would surely step in if he ran out of money to pay later.
The richest people at this table are Veris and the dragon.
After the dragon finished eating two batches of food, it finally rested for a while and then went to watch the performance on the first floor while leaning against the railing. Veris and Sylvain finally started using their knives and forks.
The performance on the first floor was still lively, with cheers every now and then, but this harmonious atmosphere did not last long before a commotion broke out below.
The dragon frowned.
It looked down and saw that one human and another human were having a conflict. The two started verbally attacking each other, and the people on the stage stopped performing and watched the argument. No, everyone on the first floor was looking over there to watch the spectacle.
As the two people continued their argument, it started to affect those around them. A customer at another table was suddenly being insulted and was completely bewildered. Soon, someone else came forward to defend him. The customer who had been insulted realized what was happening and flew into a rage. The argument between the two people turned into a shouting match among a group of people.
The restaurant owner rushed over, sweating profusely.
There was quite a commotion below. Veris put down his spoon and looked at the dragon clinging to the railing: "What happened?"
The dragon turned its head, but did not answer immediately. Instead, it walked to Veris's side and lowered its voice, "They're arguing... I think I saw a demon." As it spoke, it glanced at Veris.
What it didn't say was that it saw on that demon the magic circle that Veris had cast to conceal the demon's bloodline—Veris must know that demon.
Veris frowned slightly. Demons? That must be Florian. How come all sorts of people gather together for a meal?
Hearing the commotion, and since he had almost finished eating, Lortheran ran to the railing to look down, only to see a person who hadn't had time to pack up.
The Queen's brother, the Duke of Serenfini.
Long pointed to another person and said, "He was the one who started by mocking that person."
Lortheran looked over and said, "Oh." The old prime minister's grandson, huh.
The dragon continued, "Then that person pointed at him and cursed." This "him" refers to Florin, a high-ranking demon protector.
The restaurant owner tried to persuade them to stop cursing, but no one paid any attention to him. The owner's expression changed, and he turned to his waiter and said something.
The waiter hurriedly ran out.
Compared to the other nobles who had grown up in the capital of Lortheran and lived a life of luxury, Frodien's curses were obviously much more vulgar, and the faces of the onlookers turned green, not to mention Duke Serinfini in the center.
The young man was furious.
Enraged, he rolled up his sleeves, ready to strike Frodien.
At that moment, someone in the crowd shouted, "The executioners are here!"
The lobby on the first floor fell silent instantly, with only the sound of orderly footsteps.
Lortheran went to see Sylvain after finishing his official business, and then they went out to eat. The restaurant was, of course, near the Papacy.
The executioners arrived quickly and arrested all those who caused trouble in the restaurant.
Frodien remained calm, while Duke Serinfini's face paled slightly, a vague sense of foreboding creeping in—meeting the defiant gaze of the young man who had initially accused him.
Other young people who dared to stand up and take the lead also came from families that were not to be trifled with.
Looking at it this way, it seems that only Frodien is an easy target, but this easy target used such foul language that the others actually looked at Frodien with a sense of awe.
The leader was a cardinal, who looked to be around thirty years old. He surveyed the first floor, and his imposing gaze made some people afraid to meet his eyes.
He glanced at the second floor again, and his expression changed drastically upon seeing it.
There was one more person standing at the railing.
The Holy Son lowered his slightly cold, dark green eyes and stared at the group of people from the Execution Division.
The cardinal shuddered and bowed deeply in that direction.
This action caused others to look in that direction as well, where they saw a young man with long black hair standing there, with a handsome face and a cold expression.
Before anyone else could react, the cardinal, following the restaurant owner's directions, ordered his men to arrest and take away the troublemakers.
The executioners arrived quickly and left just as fast. Sylvain returned to his seat, and the performers on the central stage on the first floor continued their performance, while whispers arose below.
"Who is that person?"
"If I'm not mistaken, it's the Holy Son, isn't it?"
"Oh my god, Serinfini is going to be in big trouble this time!"
"Hey, he should have been dealt with a long time ago. I heard that His Highness the Prince wanted to take action a long time ago, but he was busy with the funeral and other matters, so he didn't kill him. He's always been arrogant because his sister is the late Queen."
“The Serinfini people aren’t bad, they’ve just gone mad because of this. If they had just honestly gone to the palace to apologize, things wouldn’t have come to this…”
“Some people have been eyeing his title for a while now. There are only so many spots available. With the Celinefini family gone, others have a chance.”
"Why hasn't His Majesty the King dealt with him?"
“You don’t understand. Our current king has a weak foundation. If we rashly take action against those who are related to the royal family, other in-laws like Serinfini will inevitably rebel.” The speaker was a young civil official who lowered his voice.
The others hesitated, then simply skipped the topic and started talking about the Holy Son upstairs.
"I never expected that His Holiness the Holy Son would be in these places..."
“I just saw that he had other people with him. I guess he came with friends. The Holy Son is still young. Maybe they are friends from the Royal Capital Academy.”
"From this perspective, the Holy Son isn't so heartless after all."
A glimmer of hope flashed in the young civil official's eyes: "I hope that the Church will change under the leadership of His Holiness the Holy Son."
“Keep your voice down, the execution chamber isn’t far away yet.” His friend tugged at him and lowered his voice as well. “I really don’t understand you. You always seem to think the church is going to take over the kingdom.”
The civil official's expression turned serious: "This is my concern."
Another friend, who also held a position in the court, chuckled and said, "Come on, people have been saying this for two hundred years, and it's still the same now. I think the current king is no bad either. You're just meddling."
The civil official fell silent.
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Author's note: Thank you everyone for the nutrient solution (I'm full!)
Why does my update deadline keep getting lower and lower? (sad)
I've held a giveaway! Happy National Day everyone!
See you tomorrow! [kiss]
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