Chapter 631: Half a Day of Leisure, Niya Returns

Inside the Reception Room, Aoruipusi suddenly fell somewhat silent. In truth, when he had just arrived at the Reception Room, by virtue of an Elf's keen Perception of the Magic Net, he had already sensed that this human Lord had a deeper connection to the Magic Net than ordinary humans.

And now, having seen Xia Duo leave with his own eyes, he immediately realized that this human Lord was actually an Arcanist, and a trace of awe could not help but arise in his heart; at the same time, he became increasingly envious of the human talent for Magic.

A human's lifespan is less than a hundred years, yet in this short span of time, they are able to achieve various magical accomplishments with incredible speed. If an Elf were to become a High Mage before the age of one hundred, it would simply be a miracle among miracles.

"Padi, tell me about this Lord Xia Duo!"

Aoruipusi's understanding of Xia Duo was limited to knowing his status as a Lord and the 【Arcane Maze】 game. As for more, the previous Aoruipusi had not taken it to heart, but now he wanted to know more.

……

On the other side, Xia Duo teleported to the Temple. Buloutuo had not yet left and was chatting idly with Bishop Anbulier, looking somewhat listless. Seeing Xia Duo arrive, he immediately perked up:

"Xia Duo, do you still have that kind of strong liquor?"

"I'm not heading back to the Tower of Time, and besides, refining strong liquor takes time. I'll give it to you tomorrow. I just got something good, and it's perfect to share with you both!"

As he spoke, Xia Duo took out the canister of tea leaves that Patriarch Aoruipusi had gifted him. The moment it was opened, a thick, fresh scent diffused outward. Buloutuo couldn't help but sneeze, but Bishop Anbulier stood up immediately, saying with an excited expression:

"This is 'Bonu Original Leaf'! You just went to see the Elves?!"

"Eh—" Xia Duo glanced at Bishop Anbulier, "The Bishop also knows of 'Bonu Original Leaf'?"

"I know it, how could I not! I saw it at Lord Aipusi's place, but he always hides it very tightly, and I've only ever had the chance to drink it once!"

Is that so!

Xia Duo suddenly felt some regret for taking it out, but he wasn't about to take it back on the spot. After all, his original purpose was to have Bishop Anbulier Identify it to see if there were any hidden tricks.

In terms of Identifying poisons and curses, Clerics possess a greater advantage than Mages.

It seemed now that the Elves were quite sincere and likely didn't have any malicious intent. Xia Duo simply took out three cups, placed them in front of the two, and took a single tea leaf for each, placing them inside.

Just then, Bishop Anbulier suddenly said, "Put in more, you can't taste anything with just one leaf!"

"Really?" Xia Duo was somewhat skeptical.

However, he still added two more leaves for each person, and this time Bishop Anbulier didn't say anything.

Actually, if it weren't for the fact that this scent was so incredibly penetrating, he would have liked to follow the habit from his hometown and pinch out a whole pinch, rather than putting them in one by one like this.

Drawing water and heating it became extremely simple under the effect of a Spell. A moment later, three cups of verdant tea soup appeared before the three of them, with three leaves unfurling inside, dancing slowly, quite aesthetically pleasing.

Moreover, at this moment, the originally thick and highly penetrating scent had become faint and elusive; it really was just tea leaves!

Xia Duo lifted his cup and brought it to his nose. Just a light sniff made him feel his spirit refreshed. Opposite him, Bishop Anbulier had already impatiently taken a sip and let out a long "Ah—" sound.

However, Bishop Anbulier immediately reacted, "It's been a long time since I've had this kind of Original Leaf tea; I was a bit uncomposed."

Hearing this, Xia Duo couldn't help but have a few more expectations for this Original Leaf tea. He took a small sip; first came the scalding heat of the tea itself, and then a burst of intense, cool sensation erupted, rushing straight to his brain.

Fortunately, having had Bishop Anbulier's personal demonstration, plus the fact that Xia Duo had drunk plenty of iced cola and eaten plenty of peppermint candy back on Earth, he was able to accept this level of stimulation.

And after the coolness, it turned warm, like the temperature in one's lower abdomen, making one linger on the feeling.

"Good tea!" Xia Duo couldn't help but praise.

"Good drink!"

With a *clack*, the sound of the teacup being placed on the table, the Dwarf Buloutuo also offered a compliment. However, seeing his cup empty and even the tea leaves gone, Xia Duo knew that letting a Dwarf taste tea was still a bit of a waste.

Before long, when Xia Duo was refilling his and Bishop Anbulier's cups, Buloutuo was also dumbfounded; so that was how one was supposed to drink Original Leaf tea!

However, he didn't ask Xia Duo for another cup, but instead pretended to be indifferent and said, "This tea isn't as good as liquor!"

These words were clearly insincere. Xia Duo naturally wouldn't take them to heart and still prepared a fresh serving for Buloutuo, "Today, there's enough tea for everyone!"

After today, he would definitely hide the remaining tea leaves securely; no one would get to drink them.

……

Drinking tea and chatting, time passed quickly. If there were no Dragon Disaster, Drow, or other troublesome matters, Xia Duo really wished this kind of leisurely life could continue forever.

But this kind of leisure, even in his typically stable hometown, wasn't something many people could enjoy all the time, let alone in this crisis-ridden magical world.

Of course, having this half-day of relaxation, Xia Duo had managed to adjust his mindset, and he could now throw himself into his work and life with more focused enthusiasm.

……

The next morning, Xia Duo was practicing controlling two Flying Swords simultaneously at the Territory's expansion front, making rational use of the recharge time to allow them to perform uninterrupted attacks. Near noon, the Tower Spirit suddenly sent a reminder—

Niya was back!

Xia Duo had been waiting for news from Niya for the past few days, but Niya had only sent word on the first and second days after the Midsummer Festival, and nothing since. Today was already the seventh day after the Midsummer Festival.

Unexpectedly, no message came back; Niya had returned in person.

Xia Duo put away his Flying Swords and immediately returned to the Tower of Time. He met the worried-looking Niya in the Study, and her first sentence after they met made his heart hang in the air.

"This time, it's really trouble!"

"What exactly happened? The Dragon Disaster or the Drow?" These were the only two things Xia Duo could think of right now; if there were other situations, it would only be more troublesome.

"It's the Drow!"

Niya sighed and slowly explained, "I just saw the teacher, and the teacher asked me to come back and prepare to receive Elf refugees. Perhaps Elf refugees are already flooding into Konnifila City!"

"What?!"

Xia Duo was truly shocked this time. Yesterday at noon, he had just met the Elves of the Silver Leaf Family; they had just arrived from Konnifila City yesterday morning. He hadn't expected that only a day later, there would be more Elf refugees?!

Then what was the situation over in Cormanthor City? Would the Drow actually attack?

Xia Duo hurriedly threw these questions at Niya. He was currently preparing mostly for means to deal with dragons; if he wanted to deal with the Drow, it was simply not something a single Territory could handle.

"The teacher told me that the Drow have already breached several Cormanthor cities and looted many materials. Now they seem to want to build permanent surface outposts. The Seven Cities Council has already agreed to support Cormanthor, and it's not just us; even Ilphara has provided aid."

"Too fast, too fast!"

Xia Duo couldn't help but mutter. The Drow had appeared several months ago and were said to have been in a stalemate; how could it suddenly erupt like this?

"Niya, did the Princess mention why the Drow's offensive erupted so suddenly? Could this be a conspiracy by Cormanthor?"

Xia Duo always harbored conspiracy theories about Cormanthor, but before he finished speaking, he felt it was wrong himself, "No, if it were really a conspiracy, they could have used other methods; there was no need to use the lives of their own citizens to put on a show. The Crown King of Cormanthor isn't some supreme, absolute ruler; doing this would only cause him to lose prestige."

"It's the dragons!"

Niya provided this explanation.