Badge in Azure

Although Gusion was aware of the terms and conditions in the bond, he was someone that was uncomfortable with requesting items from Saleen. He always felt that if he began to request for items from Saleen without having made any contributions, he would be looked down by others. After what Saleen said, he felt even more embarrassed.

“My Lord, let’s talk about this next time.”

Saleen patted his forehead and said, “I finally understand why you have not been able to provide for your own mercenary group. Gusion, you are no longer a mercenary. You are now a follower, so when I am in danger, you must be the first to come forward to protect me. I will be responsible for all your equipment and I promise that I will do my best for you. This is my duty, just like how you are responsible for my safety. It is the same principle.”

Gusion was blushing and did not know how to argue. He had no choice but to list the measurements and types of equipment he needed.

Gusion was a silver grand swordmaster, so his requirements for weapons were very high. The long sword that he always brought along with him had already been destroyed after he tried to split Tyrant’s black shield. Ordinary weapons would never be able to handle the silver sword aura.

While Saleen was thinking about how to refine Gusion’s equipment, part of him was already thinking about Lex.

He would be marrying Lex soon. He could not possibly be wearing a mage robe on their wedding day. He was already wearing devil armor, so it did not matter if he changed what he was wearing outside. As for Lex’s mage robe, he had no idea…

Saleen was a little distracted and worried. The assassin they killed today was a creature from the ghost dimension. If an even more powerful assassin appeared on their wedding day, would Lex be in danger if she was not wearing a mage robe?

Any minor mistakes could be fatal when facing a powerful assassin. If Eleanor was the one fighting the assassin today, she would have been killed in a single hit.

Gusion thought Saleen was distracted because he was thinking about his equipment, so he dismissed himself to give Saleen some space and time. Saleen did not ask him to stay since he already remembered what Gusion required. Resources were not a problem since the Qin noble families had sent over quite a lot of them. It was probably better to speak to Lex first. With that, Saleen asked Cuisi to bring Lex to him.

Lex was not Sika. She needed to be mindful about her status, so she dared not stay with Saleen before they were wedded to avoid gossip. Lex had always stayed on the fifth floor of the small tower, just below Eleanor. Another magic tower had been built in the palace, but it had been given to her grade-7 mage, so she could not move in either.

There were another two eight-story magic towers still being built outside of the palace. The two new followers had built the magic towers near the south gate so that they would be able to respond quickly to any attacks from Cloudflow. With these two magic towers, Cloudflow would have to deploy a large number of armies in order to break through the gate successfully.

Lex had no clue why Saleen had asked for her. Usually, he would go to her small tower if he needed to look for her. Sensing something was amiss, Lex decided not to bring along any mages and came alone instead.

After preparing tea for both of them, Cuisi left the room. Saleen and Lex were then alone. Saleen raised his cup and recalled how they met for the first time. Lex raised her cup as well, with her back facing him. Back then, Lex was unattainable. She was a grade-5 mage and the Princess of an Empire who had thousands of apprentices across thousands of miles.

After staying silent for some time, Lex could not help but ask, “Saleen, why have you called for me? I still have quite a few things to settle on my side.”

“Oh, Lex, what are you wearing other than that rainbow robe?” Saleen asked directly, but felt awkward immediately.

Lex noticed Saleen’s face turning red and she coughed once before saying, “Saleen, there are so many people around here. What’s the hurry? If there’s nothing else, I’m going back!”

“No! Lex, wait.” Saleen quickly explained himself, seeing how Lex was about to leave. “We are mages, but I was thinking that we will be wearing normal robes most of the time in future. Your mage robe was refined by Joey, so I’m not worried about that, but what if you change into normal robes?”

“I see. Saleen, you are really… hmm, my God’s ring is able to stabilize elements to a certain extent.”

“There are other uses for the God’s ring, I’m sure. Lex, look at this.”

With that, Saleen did not even take off his robe. Instead, he took off his outerwear to reveal his devil armor.

Lex did not possess elemental eyes, so she only realized the equipment that Saleen had been wearing inside after he took off his outerwear. It was a piece of equipment that was of high level and could stabilize elements. Wearing it would allow Saleen to cast spells that were beyond his grade without causing any conflicts between elements. That was extremely important to a mage.

A mage without a magic tower would never take off their magic robe even when they were sleeping.

The reason why Saleen and Lex were able to cast middle-grade spells at will or use high-level scrolls without any hesitation was because they possessed equipment that surpassed mages of the same grade. They might even surpass most sorcerers too. In the process of casting spells, the two of them would never risk messing up the elements of the dimension, so they were also able learn spells much faster than others.

When learning new spells, the two of them did not have to conduct any experiments first. They only needed to memorize the mantra, adjust the magic chords, and determine the essence of the spell. After that, they would just need to familiarize themselves with the spell so that the speed with which they would cast the spells could increase over time.

Without good equipment, even the most talented mage would never be able to surpass someone of ordinary talent like Saleen, much less someone like Lex.

Lex stretched out her finger with the mysterious God’s ring on it. She placed her finger on Saleen’s chest and slid it across gently. Her eyes were fixed on the surface of the God’s ring.

“Did you refine this yourself?” Lex was shocked.

“It was Joey.”

“A tight-fitting magic robe. What an incredible design. Surely the quality of the resources used were a bit too precious?” Lex shook her head. She could never wear it. If she took it, what would Saleen wear? Saleen would surely have a harder time advancing than her. This piece of equipment was clearly meant to complement the strange long robe that Saleen was wearing on the outside. If she took it for herself, his equipment would be incomplete.

“I have tried to refine something similar before.” Saleen did not dare to mention that the armor that he had tried to refine was for Sika. In the process of refining the armor, Sika had stripped naked in front of Saleen. Lex was still very innocent. He was afraid that she would leave if he brought that up.

“How did it turn out?” Lex asked. To a mage, a tight-fitting equipment like that was much more powerful than ordinary magic robes. She was definitely tempted.

“Have you forgotten? I obtained the four trees and I cut down the branches and refined the tree bark into very thin strands so that they could be made into clothes of any shape and form.”

“Then why do you ask? You cannot bear to do it?” Lex hit Saleen’s chest gently.

“… No. I’m just afraid that what I refined might not fit the shape of your body,” Saleen said carefully.

Lex’s eyelids twitched. She looked at the door and noticed that it was tightly shut. She never realized that a mute enchantment was already in place.

Could Saleen be trying to take advantage of her…?

Lex immediately relaxed. She would be wedded to Saleen soon. He would not resort to something like that.

“Saleen, do you wish to see the shape of my body?” Lex asked openly.

“Indeed.” Saleen’s heart rate increased and he could feel himself having some difficulty breathing.

Lex removed her rainbow robe gently before taking off her outerwear, revealing her last layer of clothing. Saleen was staring intently all the while. Lex was frustrated and said, “You have elemental eyes. You can see for yourself. Don’t tell me you still want me to undress further…”

After Lex removed her rainbow robe, Saleen could already use his elemental eyes to observe. Without the buffer of the rainbow robe, Saleen could easily see the shape of Lex’s body. The strands made from the bark of the divine tree were not entirely flexible. He needed exact measurements in order to refine an equipment that was fitting, naturally Saleen would not pass this task to anyone else.

If anyone wanted to peek at Lex’s body, he would dig out the fellow’s eyes.

“No, Lex. Your body smells so good!” Saleen could not help but remark. There was a strange and faint smell on Lex’s body. Saleen’s senses were very keen so even a smell as faint as that was obvious to him.

“You have already hugged me before, why are you behaving like this!” Lex was no longer angry. She explained to Saleen, “The secret technique that I have been training causes it. Before my father advanced beyond grade-9, his body also had this distinct smell. If I did not possess the God’s ring, the entire courtyard would already be filled with this smell.”

When Lex and Saleen were in the Hell of God’s Punishment and were entering the world that Rafael created, they had held onto each other tightly as well. Lex felt warmth in her heart when she recalled this memory.

“We did hug before, but you vomited all over me.” At the end of the day, Saleen was someone with experience in such matters. When he heard what Lex said, he decided to be thick-skinned and joked with Lex to reduce the awkwardness.

“Lex…”

“What?”

Saleen stood up as well and walked to Lex’s side. He stretched out his arms around Lex and said, “I want to hug you again.”

He was already hugging her by the time he spoke. Lex did not push him away. She rested her head on his shoulder and put her hands into Saleen’s long robe to hug him as well. Instead of feeling any burning sensation from Lex’s body, Saleen only detected fragrance.

If it was Sika, she would have already pushed him onto the ground?

At that thought, Saleen’s nether regions hardened. Lex was sensitive enough to sense it, but did not push Saleen away. Instead, she only hugged him even tighter. This junior mage had already grown up and would be her pillar of support in the future. Once this thought appeared in her mind, Lex’s heart finally melted.

“Lex…”

“Hmm?” Lex replied, with her head still buried in Saleen’s chest. Saleen raised his right hand and caressed Lex’s long hair. All of a sudden, he tipped Lex’s head up from his shoulder and kissed her with force.

Saleen could feel all the fragrance being sucked into the kiss. Lex struggled for a moment before shifting her hands behind Saleen’s head and kissing him back.

Both of them were overwhelmed by love for a moment.