Chapter 175: The Elegant Grace, Hagekex

Hall of Starfire.

Beneath the towering crystal dome, torches burn eternally.

“You’ll have to cross over my corpse twelve times first!”

Listening to Hagekex’s resounding voice on his left, Xia Mingyu was deeply moved inside, yet his lips twitched slightly.

Forget twelve times—when you first revived, I’d already been drained of magic and turned into a mummy!

“Your Highness, I apologize for not changing my attire when you summoned me earlier; I appeared in my nightclothes. Please punish me for my improper conduct.”

At the same time, Tameralan on his right sincerely apologized, his handsome face—capable of easily bewitching countless maidens—now filled with remorse, as if he truly hoped his lord would impose a severe punishment for this minor lapse.

“I summoned you in the dead of night—you responded immediately and slew my enemies. You have fulfilled your duty as a comrade perfectly; how can there be any sin?”

Xia Mingyu raised his right hand and patted Tameralan’s shoulder on the bronze seat to soothe him.

Besides, if not for you, I’d already be in the Underworld meeting Leo by now… he silently added in his heart.

Having stayed in this world for a long time, he had begun to accept some of its cultural norms—for instance, in popular belief, except for a rare few especially devout believers or saints granted the grace to ascend to the Seven Gods’ realms, all other souls enter a netherworld called the Underworld.

“Phew.”

Hearing this, Tameralan exhaled deeply as if shedding a heavy burden; his gaze toward Xia Mingyu now held not only reverence but also gratitude, and he spoke slowly:

“My Lord, rest assured—after this incident, I received another elegant grace: as long as I wish, I may maintain an elegant posture at all times, including altering the appearance of my clothing. I will never appear unseemly again when you need my service!”

Elegant… grace? What kind of thing is that? Does such an utterly trivial grace truly exist in this world?

Upon hearing this, Xia Mingyu, Hagekex, and Dolove all froze.

“Tameralan, thank you for the grimoire you gave me—I never expected it to be the signature spell of the world’s first Grand Mage, Bayes.”

Xia Mingyu rubbed his throbbing temples and felt the need to change the subject, so he expressed his thanks.

“You must have exerted great effort to obtain such a precious item?”

“You misunderstand, Your Highness. All I did was find this most suitable grimoire for you among the mountains of magical books—it was no effort at all.”

“If you require more grimoires, I can fetch you several more.” Tameralan confessed frankly.

Though His Highness had pardoned his offense, he still felt it necessary to offer additional gifts to express his remorse.

After all, although His Highness had promised Hagekex he would summon him a second time, Tameralan hoped the third summoning would also be for him to slay enemies.

He longed so deeply to serve His Highness!

Xia Mingyu fell silent, realizing how unfit a lord he was—not only did he never reward his subjects, he kept taking Tameralan’s gifts.

“No, that one grimoire is enough for me to cultivate for a long time,” Xia Mingyu said, snapping out of his thoughts and shaking his head.

“Dolove, how are things on your end?” he asked softly.

These past few days, he had been busy cultivating the magic of Extreme Cold Hell; though he still kept sending food into the Linking Space, he had not inquired about the girl’s situation at all.

“Your Highness, I’ve spent these days practicing the sword technique Lord Tameralan gifted me, and tomorrow I plan to travel across the entire Northern Region to deliver grain to all villages suffering from famine.”

Dolove rose straight from the bronze seat and declared loudly.

“Incidentally… if any lord along the way proves as greedy as Lucas, my Lionheart Sword will gain yet more blood.”

The blue-haired girl’s gaze turned icy; her once-clear emerald eyes now seemed coated in frost, brimming with murderous intent.

Seeing her fierce expression, Xia Mingyu couldn’t help but want to tell the anthropomorphic lords of the Northern Region: Good riddance!

“Wish you safe travels. If I have time, I’ll occasionally visit you through the Starfire Link.”

Xia Mingyu thought for a moment and said.

After reading too long, one must step outside for fresh air; now, traveling in his true form was too dangerous—becoming a fairy and journeying to the North was far safer.

“Yes, Your Highness,” Dolove thought of how adorable Xia Mingyu looked as a fairy, and a faint smile appeared on her sculpted, exquisite face.

On either side, Tameralan and Hagekex gazed at her with envy.

To travel alongside His Highness… they could scarcely imagine how blissful and honorable that would be!

“Hagekex, what about you? Has anything happened recently?” Xia Mingyu asked with concern.

“While I was fighting in the arena, a girl jumped down from the spectator wall, ran to my side, and embraced me, declaring her love.”

Hagekex replied after a moment’s thought.

To boldly confess love to a slave before the eyes of the entire crowd?!

The three exchanged glances; when they recovered, their faces were filled with intense curiosity.

“What happened after? Did you accept her declaration?” Xia Mingyu stared intently at Hagekex, as did Tameralan and Dolove.

After all, gossiping was human nature—whether noble or commoner, everyone loved a good scandal.

“I kicked her away,” Hagekex answered honestly.

Everyone: “???”

“Why? Was she not to your taste?” Xia Mingyu blinked, pressing further.

“No, she was beautiful. But she is the adopted daughter of Saimen Klay, the master of the Slave Capital. I suspect this may be his scheme to win me over.”

Hagekex recalled Latiss’s dazzling beauty and spoke calmly.

He would never abandon his ideals or his loyalty to His Highness for mere female beauty.

“But what if she truly loves you?” Xia Mingyu said.

After all, a noble and beautiful young lady publicly confessing love to a slave before countless onlookers—could it really all be her adoptive father’s doing? That seemed too presumptuous.

After all, in the end, it would be Saimen’s own face that was lost.

Hearing this, Hagekex’s previously expressionless face showed a clear stiffness.

“She’s the daughter of the greatest slave owner in Sosia—how could she possibly love a slave?” Hagekex stammered.

“Hagekex, do you remember our first meeting?” Xia Mingyu fell silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke.

“Of course,” Hagekex nodded firmly, so hard that a faint ripple disturbed the air around him.

Meeting His Highness was an unforgettable moment in his life; every detail was etched clearly in his memory.

“Do you remember what I said then?” Without waiting for Hagekex’s reply, Xia Mingyu continued:

“A person cannot escape the environment of their birth. For example, if a child grows up with a violent, alcoholic father, the child will become violent and timid.”

“I’m not trying to defend the girl who confessed to you—only that before judging the sincerity of someone’s feelings, you should not hastily judge by their status. Listen to their words, observe their actions, and perceive the morality you sense from them.”

“After all, if you judge so simply, then on that day, should I have followed Tameralan’s advice and stayed away from you?” Xia Mingyu said calmly.

Drip.

Hagekex’s pupils shrank sharply; the giant, whom others saw as unbreakable in will, now looked panicked. His broad chest heaved violently, beads of cold sweat formed on his temples, and large drops fell onto the armrest with a crisp sound.

Thud!

He leapt to his feet, then dropped to one knee before Xia Mingyu. The moment his knee struck the bronze ground, the heavy impact made the entire hall tremble slightly.

“Your Highness, I failed to remember your teachings—I did not treat every person equally as you do, based on virtue. Please punish me.”

Hagekex bowed his head deeply, his forehead nearly touching the ground.

“You misunderstand. I do not intend to punish you—you have committed no sin. I only wish to tell you…”

Xia Mingyu walked over and gently placed his hand on the giant’s hair, stiff as steel needles.

“Love may be rejected, may be ignored—but it must never be trampled upon,” Xia Mingyu whispered.

“That girl, before the eyes of all, disregarded your slave status and offered you her rose without hesitation. If this was Saimen’s scheme, fine—but if you find she truly loves you…” The black-haired youth paused.

“Then go apologize to her. After all, you trampled her rose,” Xia Mingyu said calmly.

“Yes, Your Highness,” Hagekex nodded firmly again.

Slave Capital, morning.

Beneath the Bloodfang Arena, in a newly expanded, vast underground dungeon, hundreds of slaves lived without crowding.

The faint dawn light seeped through cracks in the stone walls, falling upon Hagekex’s face as he slept on the ground, causing his coarse eyebrows to twitch slightly.

Splash!

Recalling the memories of the Hall of Starfire, the two-meter-tall giant snapped open his eyes, jolting upright in alarm.

“What’s wrong, Hagekex? Did you have a nightmare?”

Hol, another gladiator slave, approached carrying food sent by the guards, asking with concern.

Since Hagekex had requested Saimen to improve the living conditions of the arena slaves, their relationship had improved greatly—they could now be called friends.

The other slaves, meanwhile, mostly revered Hagekex with gratitude; many even regarded him as a living saint due to his past silence in the face of beatings, treating all his words as truth.

“Huff, huff,” Hagekex breathed heavily, yet he merely shook his head in response to Hol’s question, saying nothing.

He could never reveal any information concerning His Highness.

“Eat something—today’s food is unbelievably lavish,” Hol shrugged, placing the food on the ground.

Hagekex mechanically picked up the bread and shoved it into his mouth; only when his teeth met its soft texture did he realize—he was holding a white loaf, a rarity among slaves!

Even the wooden bowl before him no longer held the meager vegetable broth with a few leaves—it was now thick oat porridge.

But what was most astonishing was… this was not his personal ration—it was provided to all the slaves.

The entire dungeon, and even the adjacent one, was filled with a faint scent of wheat.

Hundreds of slaves in the dungeon now licked their porridge bowls with reverence, nibbling their white bread in tiny bites, their scarred, rough faces glowing with profound happiness.

“H-how is this possible?”

Even the usually calm Hagekex now stared blankly at the wooden bowl in his hands, utterly bewildered.

Providing white bread and oat porridge to so many slaves was no small expense.

Though for Saimen, who owned the entire Slave Capital, it was but a drop in the ocean of daily profits, Hagekex was certain this was not the merchant’s nature!

He’d rather spend every coin building his Starry Estate than give slaves white bread.

So… who had done this?

Hagekex frowned tightly, even suspecting the food might be poisoned—but Saimen’s character would never poison such an expensive slave!

"I heard our arena has a new manager, and this manager provided us with these delicacies."

Hol explained, a faint trace of gratitude appearing on his otherwise harsh face.

In the past, when slaves spoke of the arena’s manager in private, they used derogatory terms like **things we raise**, and similar insults.

But today, seeing how the man had given them white bread and oat gruel—foods even common civilians couldn’t afford—Hol reluctantly addressed him as “my lord.”

Tap tap tap.

At that moment, guards approached and unlocked the dungeon’s heavy door with their keys.

"By order of the manager, your outdoor sunbathing time has been changed from one hour every five days to one hour per day; slaves from different cells must take turns."

"Prisoners of Cell Thirteen, it is now your turn to sunbathe," the guard said.

The next instant, the slaves emerged in a joyful stream, each holding wooden bowls filled with oat gruel and white bread, as if celebrating a festival.

Hagekex also walked out with the crowd.

Bright morning light poured like gold over the arena’s coarse sand, warming the grains just enough to make lying on them feel like soaking in a hot spring—perfect for driving away the dungeon’s chill.

The slaves sat on the warm sand, sipping their oat gruel slowly from wooden bowls, chatting in small groups under the sun.

In that moment, they almost believed they had gained the freedom they had long dreamed of.

Hagekex felt the same, though his appetite was larger—he finished his food in just a few bites.

Tap tap tap.

As he sat on the sand, patting his still-empty stomach with a sigh, a light footstep drew nearer.

He turned toward the sound and saw a purple-haired girl in a white dress approaching hesitantly, carrying a wicker lunch box.

"Hagekex, I’m the new manager. Would you like to try some food I made?"

(End of Chapter)