Chapter 102: Broken Promise and Kept Appointment

"My lord, shall I make preparations for your departure?" the maid Daisy asked upon seeing Luge set down the invitation.

"From now on, anything sent to me — you may open and inspect it first. If it's something as boring as this, there's no need to bring it to me; just throw it away. I trust that clever little head of yours understands what I mean."

Luge waved his hand, climbed up from the recliner, and prepared to return for another round of meditation and cultivation. He felt he was still somewhat lazy — though he attributed this to the kobold genes influencing him, not innate laziness. Perhaps it was the nature of dragonborn kobolds; even with the dragon blood purified, he wondered if there existed any spell to make one diligent.

He muttered to himself while stretching lazily.

"You've been staying here a lot lately."

He discovered that recently, even without calling for her, this capable maid would voluntarily wait in attendance nearby.

Daisy hesitated slightly at his words, then said, "Staying here with you feels more reassuring."

The maid gave a reason that caught Luge off guard.

"Why? Is the manor unsafe?" he asked in surprise.

"No, not that," Daisy hastily denied, then hesitated a moment before saying, "It's just that there have been many unpleasant rumors circulating in the manor lately. Although the butler has forbidden the servants from loose talk, the rumors persist. I don't want to hear those things; it's quieter here with you."

Luge nodded in understanding.

"About the Fanxing Family?" he said.

Daisy lowered her head, not daring to speak.

Luge nodded again and walked toward the small house on the second floor to begin a new round of meditation.

During this period, he would enter the small house — using it to conceal his movements — and meditate in the Abyssal Bedroom Space. With no urgent matters, he wasn't afraid of being unreachable, and having a private space that could hide him was simply perfect.

Today Dasha and Aijin weren't out sunbathing; instead, they were engaged in combat sparring on a clearing in the Abyssal Bedroom Space. After the Gladiatorial Arena trip, they had figured out the limits of their abnormal healing ability, held back less in their strikes, and consequently became more diligent — even resisting the temptation to sunbathe.

Amid the clanging of weapons colliding, Luge entered a meditative state, the clever worm coiled affectionately at his feet.

At the very last moment before entering meditation, he was still thinking: if this clanging keeps up, he'll have to replace weapons for Aijin and Dasha again.

Those two must have been hit with a diligence spell.

In the Spiritual Power Space, he stood upon the calm Mental Power Sea, quietly admiring the scenery of his own Spiritual Power Space. He reflected that he had been complaining about his progress slowing — perhaps he was borrowing trouble. Achieving Third-Rank Wizard Apprentice had happened in the Mystery City's pool, which contained an element of shortcut; even so, his advancement speed was considered very fast.

Immersing himself in meditation was the best way to discard distractions. One by one, runes began to manifest in the Spiritual Power Space.

For the new runes leading to the Fourth Magic Mark, he had already mastered nearly one-third. As long as the subsequent runes didn't undergo a major spike in difficulty, he believed a few months would suffice to fully grasp them — then came polishing, until he could construct all the runes in one breath.

The Fifth Magic Mark after this one — the final Magic Mark — would presumably double the number of runes again, and each rune would be more complex. But by his calculation, at most a few years would be enough to master them. All this was indeed very long, but everything is relative: among ordinary Wizard Apprentices, very few could go from nothing to Fifth-Rank Wizard Apprentice in just a few years.

He felt he might need to conceal the time he had set foot on the Wizard path.

Two days passed quickly.

Daisy appeared before Luge again, holding another invitation.

"My lord, it's still an invitation from the Fendis Family. It mentions a Wizard Lord — a farewell banquet for that Lord. It specifically notes that the Wizard Lord dislikes crowds and noise, so this is a more private banquet with fewer people. It also says that Lord specially instructed them to invite you, honored sir." the maid Daisy said.

Luge thought of the female Wizard Apprentice he had dueled with in the Gladiatorial Arena. Since it was the Fendis Family, it was likely that female Wizard Apprentice was about to return to the Wizard Domain.

"Any other invitations these past two days?" he asked casually.

"There are five more, all noble balls in the city. Following your instructions, I did not present them to you." Daisy bowed and said.

Judging by Daisy's expression, she seemed afraid Luge would blame her — for a servant, this was clearly a very difficult task.

Luge merely raised an eyebrow slightly. Just two days, yet so many invitations — truly beyond his expectations. Were these nobles so idle they did nothing but dance and drink?

"You did well. Go rest." Luge said with a smile, tossing her a fruit.

Daisy secretly let out a long breath, took the fruit, turned, and left.

Luge took it all in. He looked at the invitation Daisy had left on the table, and for a moment hesitated. He did want to learn more about that side's affairs. Moreover, every line on the other party's invitation seemed to scratch exactly where he itched — and it explicitly stated it was a private banquet with very few people.

Young Master Lorigo still had not returned.

Luge stopped his fingers tapping on the table and decided to keep the appointment — to see the nobles' boring lives for himself.

He thought that after leaving the manor, he might be able to draw out that visitor from a few days ago — the one unwilling to give his name before the servants, and unwilling to force his way in. If that person truly was, as the old drunkard said, someone at the Baron's side, that would be very interesting. He remembered the red-haired woman saying there was also a reclusive Wizard Spellcaster at the old Baron's side. After his reputation spread from the Gladiatorial Arena affair, anyone coming to speak with him was eighty percent likely to be that fellow.

He didn't mind knocking the other party around a bit to gauge their caliber.

Perhaps he could even secure another route to an Unlimited Passage Ticket.

Early the next morning, he pulled the bell rope and instructed Daisy to prepare for his attendance at the banquet.

The Fendis Family's banquet was scheduled for evening.

He naturally ignored certain noble etiquette, which also saved Daisy much trouble — just coordinate the manor's beast cart, calculate the travel time, and know when to depart.

After a day of bustling preparation, he declined Daisy's accompaniment and boarded the manor's beast cart alone.

Amid the creaking of the axle, he sat upright, roused his spirits, ate a fruit he casually took out, and anticipated a possible unexpected gain.

But as the journey passed the halfway mark, he gradually frowned. Finally, when the wheels ceased their humming, he knew his prediction had failed — that hateful fellow had broken the appointment.

Perhaps he'll appear on the return journey, he thought.

He stepped down from the beast cart and saw a secluded but not very tall castle. There seemed to be a rule that no building in the city could exceed the Fanxing Family's Ancient Castle in height.

Edgar Fendis, with whom he had a one-sided acquaintance, was waiting there. Upon seeing him arrive, he immediately beamed with an enthusiastic smile.

Edgar strode forward to greet him. Seeing Luge still in that old robe, he showed not the slightest surprise.

"Your presence is my honor. I hope you find tonight's arrangements satisfactory." he said with a smile.

Luge looked left and right and discovered it truly was a very private, small-scale banquet — from the parked beast carts alone, one could tell not many people had come.

(Chapter End)