Chapter 211: Domestic Trifles

"What a relaxing breakfast. Finally, some peace and quiet."

For the first time, without a Heroic Soul possessing him and without the noise of a Heroic Soul, Li En woke from his dream completely undisturbed.

Climbing out of bed, he took a deep breath, feeling slightly more alert.

Wiping his face, Li En took his sword and headed out.

After a bit of morning exercise, while it was still some time before dawn, little Lana ran out. Li En tested her progress and reviewed her studies.

"Uh, as expected..."

Li En stroked his chin and subconsciously shook his head.

"... If I don't work harder, I'm afraid I won't be able to beat her for much longer."

The little one's swordsmanship talent is no longer merely astonishing; it is completely surging toward the Hero realm.

Judging solely by swordsmanship, if one suppresses movement and reaction, the current Li En is already finding it somewhat difficult to cope.

This is even though she has no physical enhancements, with her physical hardware merely at the inferior stone level. Theoretically, this shouldn't affect a sword duel, but in terms of keen eyesight, reaction speed, and mobility, she has already achieved, to a certain extent, striking after the opponent yet arriving first, and overcoming the strong with the weak.

"I need to consider her evolution path. If the Sun War Lion won't work, is there any very powerful Lion clan evolution path?"

Li En considered it; he should probably handle that after dealing with the current matter, once he eliminates that "Owl."

"Let's eat first."

After the morning sun illuminated the entire courtyard, the shouting above stopped the already white-hot sparring. Li En had somewhat unconsciously gotten carried away, while the little one insisted on going to the end with remarkable determination.

"Grilled fish? Uh, and fried eggs... Miss Shaliman, did you make these?" A scent that was both unfamiliar and familiar; it certainly wasn't the family cook.

"Mm, I haven't made these in a long time. I hope I haven't forgotten the skills entirely." At the living room table this time, it wasn't just Li En and Lana as in the past.

Miss Shaliman sat in the main seat on the other side of the table, smiling at Li En, with hot coffee and freshly delivered newspapers beside her hand.

Her maids were bustling around her. Looking at that stack of documents, it seemed she had no intention of returning today.

The maid squads had already cleaned every room one by one, laying down carpets and wall hangings. Although the arrangement had a bit of a homey feel that Li En liked, he truly dared not ask Miss Shaliman how long she intended to stay.

In a corner of the room, Ophelia was on "standby," while Liana was tending to her physical condition.

While installing some cute little accessories on her, she was also telling fairy tales to her "sister."

"... Thus, the prince sent by Her Majesty the Empress successfully seduced Snow White, allowing her to escape from the painful cohabitation with seven rough big men. The princess no longer has to wash endless smelly socks and yellowed bed sheets..."

"The prince is truly a good person! Just like Li En." Ophelia let out a childlike sigh, indicating that her intelligence was gradually growing.

However, the very fairy tale that served as someone's enlightenment apparently had quite a few problems.

"What are your plans for today?" Li En glanced at Miss Shaliman, finding it hard to say anything.

This is clearly just my home, yet you not only stayed overnight yesterday, summoned maids, but also seem to have no intention of leaving.

"Nothing... The Princess has been distracted by her aunt's affairs these past two days and probably won't have time to look for me. The person I left behind should be able to handle her." It seemed Miss Shaliman's loyalty to Dai Niya wasn't quite enough, but perhaps this was the normal attitude of a trusted intelligence officer; the one doing the work cannot be just a lapdog.

Miss Shaliman took a sip of coffee, continued looking at the documents in her hand, and frowned from time to time.

"These branch managers really think I'm a fool... Martha, let 'Serpent Scale' take action and deal with them. The other Miss Shaliman is simply too honest, putting up with being ridden over her head."

Uh, the other Miss Shaliman? Aren't you going to act anymore?

From her side, the somewhat familiar head maid took the documents, also announcing the impending death awaiting those traitors and embezzlers.

This sharp, decisive, and ruthless Miss Shaliman might be the true Radiant Rose, a top-ranking great noble of this city.

Great nobles like her in this era all have their own industries; Miss Shaliman has several merchant houses under her command.

She glanced at the account books and recent business conditions, discovering that some individuals had long crossed the line. For great nobles, once they confirm the disloyalty of a subordinate manager, they deal with them directly without handing them over to the courts.

On one hand, this is indeed a family matter for them; on the other hand, if intelligence leaks out, it would damage the noble's reputation.

"What about you? If you have nothing to do, handle these documents with me. Perhaps I'll need your help later." While saying this, Miss Shaliman didn't even lift her head, seemingly unable to look directly over, yet her tone was very firm.

It was even like the attitude of a household steward saying, "You will be responsible for this in the future; get used to it in advance."

"I actually do have something to do. I might need to go to the Radiant District later..." The summoning progress of the Heroic Soul Card was just a little short; Li En still wanted to investigate the events of that year.

There should be quite a few survivors from that year in Radiant City; perhaps he might even encounter the person directly involved.

Under the current circumstances, having one more Heroic Soul Card available would give Li En a bit more security.

"Alright... I've reviewed this tutor directory for you. Out of eleven people in total, I only recommend three; I've underlined them all."

Li En took the list, which was filled with neat, small handwriting; Miss Shaliman seemed to have put in quite a bit of effort.

This was the tutor directory sent by Luo Yisi. It didn't mean these Archmages would become Li En's tutors, only that they were willing to let Li En study under them for a period. However, for most apprentices, this basically meant determining their lifelong tutor. If they studied well, they naturally followed that path; if they studied poorly, it was naturally their problem. Changing tutors was something almost no one cared about.

Li En didn't have to worry about this aspect. With his current level and Miss Shaliman's connections, he could directly become a disciple of a Court Mage without any issues.

"Uh, they really play quite wildly."

Glancing over it slightly, Li En was quite shocked. Was this really a list of Archmage tutors, or a catalog of bizarre crimes?

Not all Archmages are good people, or even human.

Among them, those who exploited disciples and used apprentices as labor were already considered the good ones. Various boundary-crossing experiments (using apprentices as test subjects or scapegoat assistants) were also not few in number. Some tutors accepted many apprentices, even taking anyone who came, mainly because the "consumption" was so high.

Ordinary apprentices could only blindly choose based on rumors or intuition. Whether they would step into a trap truly depended entirely on luck.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. This guy is amazing. He only accepts female apprentices, and half of them are pregnant."

This didn't mean this Archmage was a beast. Considering that the children born were basically deformed biochemical monsters, it would be more accurate to say he was worse than a beast; he was using female apprentices as culture dishes.

"He does have male apprentices... It's just that the scene was too ugly, so I didn't write it down."

Alright, no need to elaborate; just imagining it randomly is already disgusting.

Li En's expression towards Miss Shaliman grew even more surprised; this "Inner Miss Shaliman" was completely different from the "Outer Miss Shaliman."

One must say, truly worthy of being the former Royal Intelligence Chief, even possessing such scandal-level classified intelligence.

"... Is this really okay? Out of eleven tutors, six are quite dangerous, jumping back and forth between beasts and worse-than-beasts. Three are wastes just mixing research funds, and the others don't look particularly outstanding."

Looking at this list, Li En was somewhat surprised by the situations of those Archmages; he had thought they were all excellent researchers.

Even if they couldn't reach Ku Ku's purity, having a few normal researchers would be fine.

"The Royal Family only requires them to produce results and doesn't care much about how they are produced. In fact, unless evidence is thrown into the sunlight and victims directly accuse them, the Royal Family simply cannot intervene."

Very well, everyone occupies a different position, so naturally their perspective on things differs; perhaps within the royal court, those "dangerous goods" are actually better partners.

"Currently, the relationship between the royal court and those mages is largely one of inertia; as long as they do not go too far, we actually cannot interfere."

What is meant by "not going too far" is roughly the level of "providing full compensation," "being clear with apprentices (experimental subjects)," and "not randomly using ordinary citizens as experimental subjects."

Compared to the ambitious Church, the mages are sufficiently respectful of the royal court, provided their research and acquisition of materials are not affected or disturbed.

The continuous output of this underground ruin is the main reason they stand on the side of the royal court.

It is also for this reason that they are the most proactive transnational organization pushing for the conquest of underground ruins, primarily for the benefits of the underground ruins.

"Actually, there are good ones, even those with high morality and skill. But they are all focused on their own research and fields, leaving them no time to take on apprentices; apprentices are basically at full capacity. If you want to go, you need a letter of introduction; those who accept everyone without question are problematic in themselves."

With the guidance of this intelligence chief, Li En's selection became simple; there was actually nothing much to choose from. After a brief look, Li En settled on a Grand Mage of the Evocation school.

He had his own positioning; he did not need a mentor to "guarantee his future and employment" like other apprentices. Finding a Grand Mage who could provide solid, systematic education was enough; being too close in relationship would easily lead to factional troubles.

"The matter of the Owl... is it confirmed? Do you know the approximate time?"

But at this moment, Miss Shaliman took the initiative to ask.

Some matters had already been dispatched, but handling them was quite difficult; having more intelligence would facilitate arrangements on Miss Shaliman's side.

"Unclear; neither the time nor the location is clear." Saying this, Li En showed a bitter smile; he knew this was very unreliable.

"How could one find something like a Night Owl during the day? The moment she appears, she has likely already launched her attack."

Against such an opponent, one might not even discover her at the moment of being struck; without detecting her eyes in advance, one could only wait to be hit before counterattacking.

"So passive." Miss Shaliman frowned; this feeling of waiting to be attacked by fear was the hardest thing for an intelligence chief to accept.

"But there are some key nodes that can still be judged."

"Uh, of course, her targets are me, and also..."

Li En looked out the window; the latest news was that Your Majesty the Queen was already on the journey, so that princess naturally could not be missed.

"Click!"

Over there, Miss Shaliman suddenly put down her pen and paper.

She quickly began eating her lunch and glanced at Li En.

"Eat quickly; aren't we going to the Radiant District? I'll give you a ride."

(End of this chapter)