Badge in Azure

Chapter 108: Not Evil (Part 1)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Lex did not bother hiding her happiness, and said, “I like it. It’s just that I find this robe a little too conspicuous.”

“As long as you like it, you don’t need to care about what others think. Lex, you may be the youngest sorcerer in the empire. You must get used to being different from the rest,” Joey said in an old-fashioned tone completely unlike his youthful appearance.

“Alright, but I have to go back now. My father is going to a meeting and I have to be there too.” Lex became a little frustrated when she thought of the issue of establishing the county. She did not want to agree to it, but if she did not, then the Cloudflow Empire ambassador was likely to ask for her hand in marriage when he arrived. Then, things would get extremely awkward for her.

Sacrificing her entire life for the empire? Lex had not thought about that before. As a mage, it would be very pathetic of her if she could not control her own destiny.

“You should go back. Saleen will follow you for three years. If there’s anything you need, just say the word and have him do it for you.” Joey stared at Saleen through his green eyes, causing goosebumps to raise in Saleen’s heart.

“Master, I will remember these promises.” Saleen quickly gave a bow and started to leave.

“Wait.” Joey took out a book, and said to Saleen, “Since you have started to understand the logic behind element conversion, you should be able to understand this book. However…”

Saleen understood what Joey wanted to say. He took out a gem the size of a fist and said, “This is to thank you.”

Joey nodded his head in satisfaction. The gem Saleen was giving him was extremely precious even though its value was not comparable with that of the book. However, this gem was still a rare item. If Saleen wanted his book, then Saleen needed to pay an appropriate price for it.

Joey accepted the gem, handed the book to Saleen, and said, “Remember to come back. Otherwise, I will go and look for you.”

“Got it,” Saleen answered weakly, and left Joey’s house with Lex. Joey saw them leave, and fiddled with the precious gem that Saleen had given him in his hands.

It was a piece of high-quality amethyst, and its cutting had been completed. Amethyst was not elemental and could be used to support prophecy spells. Mages were not good at prophecies, and only mages who were Grade 9 and above would be marginally involved in them. But a non-elemental crystal was extremely precious since it could contain the power of any type of magic.

Amethyst could also contain divine power, just like chlorite. The Holy See described it as the rock of taboo. If one held amethyst in the Tanggulasi Empire, they would immediately be captured and put on trial before the inquisition.

Saleen followed Lex through the barrier of darkness, and this time there were no obstacles. There was no one in the courtyard. The two trees covered much of the daylight, causing the sun to lose its majesty.

“Viscountess, for this tree, may I…” Saleen looked at the two trees and was filled with envy.

“You want a magic staff?” Lex looked at Saleen. They had just left the building and he already had the audacity to ask such a thing?

“What a pity.” Saleen looked at the towering trees. He mentally calculated the amount of materials he could obtain from them.

“The next time you come, the master will give you one.” Saleen could not understand what Lex had just said. Such a valuable gift? Joey did not look so stupid to him.

“The master likes people who keep their promises,” Lex explained.

Saleen mumbled in his heart. No wonder he had needed to exchange the amethyst for the book. It seemed like he had given Joey the wrong gem. Amethyst was indeed very rare, but at least Saleen still had two more with him.

The two of them walked to the outside of the courtyard. Then Saleen said, “Viscountess, the master had me follow you for three years, but there is something I need to complete as soon as possible.”

“Say it.”

“I would like to send some money to Sika’s hometown, but I am afraid of running into the underlings of the Holy See.”

Lex laughed and asked, “You like that female warrior a lot?”

Saleen thought about it. He answered seriously, “Sika is a trustworthy person, just like my teacher.”

“How much do you plan to give them?”

“Sixty thousand gold pieces. That is all I currently have.”

“The villages in Caucasus will not be able to use so many gold pieces. I will help you change some into food and metals. They have their own smelters, so they will be able to build weapons for themselves.” Lex thought of a more wholesome plan than Saleen had.

“Thank you very much.”

“Why thank me? You still have to follow me for three years. I have to help you solve your problems so that you can do my bidding.” Lex held a straight face while Saleen roared with laughter. Saleen felt closer to Lex when she said that. If the viscountess had really wanted to command the mages, there were many who would have done her bidding, but she had never done so before.

“Saleen, you sure had guts just now.” Lex did not allow Saleen to continue laughing and said, “I have already tried to stop you from talking. If I had insisted on asking Joey to save you, he would have eventually done it even if he didn’t like you.”

Saleen’s mouth twitched. He had originally wanted to say that he did not want to owe her too many favors, but he could not say that anymore, because he already owed her a huge number of favors and did not know when he would be able to finish repaying them. Instead, Saleen said, “I was going to die anyway. He was the glorious lord who descended, so it would have been the same to me.”

When they arrived at the courtyard in the front, the small child suddenly appeared. He sent Lex and Saleen off cheerily and closed the door behind them. When Saleen entered the alley once more, he was introspective. He had experienced life and death after entering and exiting through that door.

Lex was in an upbeat mood. The ring that Joey had given her contained many items that she had needed. Items such as magic nuclei, gold pieces, combat equipment, and materials for refining magic armor.

Joey must have heard that she was going to establish a county, so he had prepared so many items.

Since things had come to this, she did not need to worry so much anymore. With the support of her teacher, Joey, and her father, she could just go ahead and establish her county. If war really started, she could take some of the burden off of her father’s shoulders as well. However, Saleen was still overly cautious, and it seemed very difficult to get him to reveal his secrets. It was a sticky situation.

“Viscountess, are you familiar with the weapons of the Deep Forest? Saleen had suddenly thought of Aini while walking beside Lex. Saleen had wanted to keep a distance from a person like Aini, and had not wanted to get too close nor offend him. But now, he felt differently. At the very least, Aini had treated him well, so he wanted to show some concern.

“You want information on Aini?” Lex knew about Saleen’s experiences, so she got straight to the point.

“Yes, when we split up, he was still at the standard of a disciple. I am afraid…”

“Don’t rush these things. I had already planned to meet with the Clyde family when I finished with my affairs. By then, you will be able to represent the Bitter Water Prefecture and deal with them, and you will have plenty of opportunities to interact with Aini.”

“I will represent the Bitter Water Prefecture?” Saleen was shocked.

“Of course, you are a mage. You need to be able to handle matters alone. Do you think I let you follow me just because I lack runners? You are from Sikeqinya, so you should be talented in business, right?”

Saleen smiled astringently because he had not received such affection before. Could his experience as a child beggar be counted as business experience? That being said, people from Sikeqinya had an intrinsic insistence, being the insistence towards contracts. If Lex asked Saleen to help her conduct business, he would definitely not steal any money from her.

The business reputation of the Sikeqinya Empire was the best in the world. It even exceeded the reputation of the country.

As the two of them spoke, they exited the alley and arrived at the main road. There was a convoy of carriages coming from the right, causing people walking on both sides of the road to dodge to one side. This convoy consisted of about fifty people, and possessed ceremonial beauty. Leading the convoy were two swordsmen. One of them wore golden armor which blinded people’s eyes beneath the sun.

Lex frowned, and said, “Which family is this? To fancy galloping around the imperial capital, they must be tired of living.”

The convoy had passed and Lex spoke very softly, so they could not have heard anything at all. But after moving for a certain distance, the convoy stopped. Two swordsmen in golden armors rode over on horseback and stopped in front of Viscountess Lex. They pointed their whips at Saleen and said, “This mage shall come over. Our master wishes to speak to you.”

Lex was expressionless while Saleen fumed. Wasn’t the security in the imperial capital a little too lousy? Where had these guys come from, and how dare they point their fingers at the emperor’s daughter? These two guys were in trouble. But, Saleen had just promised Joey that he would help the viscountess, so for now he needed to step forward and speak up for her.

No matter how Saleen thought about it, he found it very abrupt. Thus, his temper became quite bad and he said, “Ask your master to scram. This is Holy Rock City.”

The swordsmen became furious when they heard that. Their murderous auras suddenly exploded, and they advanced towards Saleen.

Saleen looked at them coldly, and said, “I can guarantee that whoever has the guts to kill me will not leave Holy Rock City alive.”

Saleen told them this in a ferocious and ruthless manner, venting all his anger on the two swordsmen. Saleen was right. If anyone dared to attack Lex, the Qin Emperor would absolutely shred them to pieces.

The two swordsmen in golden armor sneered. They set aside their horse whips and drew two long slim knives. They slashed their knives twice into the air and said, “We shall see if a tiny mage like you can really make the things you’ve just said come true.”

Saleen had not expected the two men to really take action inside of Holy Rock City. Judging by the way they were dressed, they must have been mid-grade swordmasters. If Sika had been beside him, he would have had the confidence to be able to finish them off within ten seconds. But now, Viscountess Lex would have to fight. He truly was not suitable to be someone’s underling. A single sentence had caused the simple conflict to escalate.

But Viscountess Lex actually felt that Saleen had put those words across nicely. This was Holy Rock City, and she was the emperor’s daughter. The way the two swordsmen had behaved was sufficient for the emperor to give them both death sentences. It was their master’s fault for not taking them into hand, since that was why the two swordsmen had dared to act wildly. Ten years had passed. Could all the nobles in the imperial capital be behaving like that now?

“The two of you come back,” a youthful voice came from within the horse carriage. When the two swordsmen heard that, they lowered their knives. Then they crisscrossed in front of Saleen and Lex, and rode on their horses back over to their master.

Viscountess Lex frowned. These two swordsmen were obviously from the army, given their styles and the issued equipment from the imperial capital. It was likely that a person from the upper house was in charge of them. How could a noble from the upper house be so ostentatious? Someone was bound to get a hold on him sooner or later.

Just as Lex and Saleen were leaving, the carriage doors opened. A young nobleman stepped out slowly and walked towards them. This young nobleman was about twenty years old, tall and fit. He had golden hair, and a red headband had been used to tie the hair together. He did not wear a hat. In between his high nose was a pair of dark brown eyes, and a smile that had a tinge of arrogance.

“Please stay.” Viscountess Lex became less angry when she heard the nobleman speak. He was not from the imperial capital. Even though he tried very hard to speak authentic Qin language, his words sounded very old-fashioned.

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