Badge in Azure

“Princess, they are from Alchemy City.” The lifestyle mage explained to Lex patiently. She could understand Lex’s feelings. Her wedding was coming, so it was only natural for a woman to have difficulty falling asleep due to anxiety. Anyone would be upset to be woken up at that time.

“Alchemy City? Where is Saleen?!” Lex immediately put on some clothes and climbed down from her bed.

“Someone else has gone to get His Highness. Princess, where shall we host these people from Alchemy City?”

Lex pondered for a moment. They could not possibly be there to assassinate her due to the relationship between Alchemy City and the royal family.

“Let’s go to Saleen’s place. I will discuss this with Saleen for three minutes first then bring them in.”

“Yes, Princess. I will go and arrange.” The lifestyle mage left. Lex frowned. Alchemy City had already sent their congratulatory gifts previously, why would they send someone else over again? Why did they have to see her now in the middle of the night and not tomorrow? Could there be trouble?

It was with confusion that Lex entered Saleen’s small tower. When she saw Saleen wearing his devil armor, Lex laughed and said, “Saleen, Alchemy City will not assassinate us, even if your presence may have disrupted their plans.”

“The only thing mages can trust is knowledge.” Saleen smiled as he answered. He thought to himself, “Although my magic nuclei business has yet to disrupt the market, as long as I have the ability to exploit the oceanic ice block, this is inevitable.”

Alchemy City controlled about ninety percent of the magic nuclei market and about fifty percent of the magic equipment market. If Saleen died, then Alchemy City would be able to maintain status quo.

Lex thought about it and felt that what Saleen said made sense. She and Saleen had yet to be officially wed, so even if Saleen was to be assassinated, Alchemy City would not be killing a member of the Grukos family.

“So, do you want to see them?”

“Yes, of course. Nicholas will be hiding here, Eleanor will be on the upper story while Cuisi will be on the rooftop. Besides, who can hurt me with you in the room?” Despite what Saleen said, he still took out his mask and put it on his face.

This mask part of a set, along with the devil suit. Only then could the wearer use all six grade-7 spells that had been stored in the devil suit.

Saleen did not even use it when he encountered the assassin. This was a secret between him and Joey, no one else knew about the spells that had been stored in the devil suit. Saleen did not plan to use it unless it was a matter of life and death.

This time around, the timing of the people of Alchemy City was too coincidental as it was the day before their wedding. Saleen was no longer cautious, he was nervous.

By the time the two of them had just finished discussing how they would handle anything unexpected, the sound of footsteps could be heard. Saleen could hear a woman giggling outside door and saying, “Saleen, seeing you is such a chore. To think I still have to wait outside for you.”

Saleen did not recognize this voice, which meant that it belonged to someone that he has not seen for a long time. Lex glared at him. It was ridiculous that a young lady was looking for Saleen in the middle of the night.

The door was finally opened from the outside. Under the gentle lighting of the magic light, a young lady in a long red dress walked in. Her hair was black and was pinned up behind her with fresh flowers like the Cloudflow style usually did.

The lady was approximately eighteen years old. Her eyes were black, her movements were nimble, and her face was glowing. Saleen suddenly remembered her and said, “Hogina?”

“Yes, Hogina Alexaka, I have met both Your Excellencies before.” Hogina gave a quick curtsy.

Saleen and Lex had met this lady in Alchemy City when they bought the place that they lived in. Her teacher was a powerful grade-9 sorcerer. Saleen remembered that man well. His lower body was made up of six legs and a mechanical tail.

Grand Master Imposa was an alchemy genius.

Saleen breathed a sigh of relief. Back then, Hogina was only a grade-2 mage, so she should not pose any danger. Wait! She looked like she was already a grand mage!

Saleen became nervous again. Hogina’s teacher was a grade-9 sorcerer that specialized in alchemy and he took her in as his only student. She must have been a talent to be specially chosen. It was only normal for her to advance into a grand mage, given that she had such a good teacher to learn from. He was probably the one that was abnormal instead.

“Hogina, why have you come? Have a seat.” Lex did not put on any airs. Instead, she quickly asked for a chair for Hogina.

Hogina grinned and sat down, saying, “I had to travel for a month in order to rush here. I’m so thirsty. Can I have some water?”

Saleen smiled. Hogina’s personality was still as adorable as ever. He took a porcelain cup from the table and poured her a cup of restorative water.

Hogina drank the water noisily before setting the cup down, finally satisfied. She handed the cup back to Saleen and said, “It’s all because of those old fellows in Alchemy City. They want to reach you, but don’t wish to cause any misunderstandings, so they looked for someone that you were familiar with. I was the one who hosted you when you were there, so they sent me over.”

“You?” Saleen was puzzled. Why would they send a young mage if it was regarding something important? Even if Hogina was already a grand mage, it was still unlike Alchemy City to do so.

“I know I am only an insignificant mage, though I have a powerful teacher. Those who have come with me aren’t able to enter the palace, so I have arranged for them to stay outside in a hostel instead.” Hogina was not upset that Saleen had indirectly looked down on her. Although she had grown much taller, her personality remained unchanged.

“How many people have you brought along?” Lex asked patiently. Hogina often went off topic so she had to pull her back.

“Just two. The followers that teacher has found for me are all fools.” Hogina replied recklessly.

“Alchemy City entrusted this to you alone?”

“My teacher as well. Teacher needs to settle some things first so he will need more time while I discuss this with you first. It is tiring to talk like this. You…”

“I’m sure you are hungry. Prepare some food.” Lex had no choice but to arrange something for Hogina to eat.

Although they now knew that Hogina was not here to assassinate them, Saleen and Lex still did not relax. It was clear that it was all part of Hogina’s plan to arrive at Daliang City just before their wedding. In other words, if their discussion did not go well, Alchemy City could still interfere with the wedding.

By sending Hogina, Alchemy City was able to make their intentions known without triggering any aggressive reactions from the both of them. Mages were humans too. By sending someone familiar, some words could be spoken more truthfully and directly, especially someone with Hogina’s personality, Saleen and Lex would not feel awkward.

Fortunately, Hogina was not picky with her food. She was satisfied just to be served with some snacks then oatmeal with some goose meat and vegetables by the side.

Saleen and Lex also ate a little to accompany her. When tea was served after the meal, Lex could not help but ask, “Hogina, are you an envoy for Alchemy City?”

“How can that be?!” Hogina was shocked and looked at Lex as if she was looking at some ancient magic beast.

“I am only here to pass a message. They probably just think that you would not kill me even if the message made you upset.”

“That makes sense.” Even Saleen felt that his response was a bit awkward.

“Actually, this is a pretty straightforward matter. I will get straight to the point.” Hogina probably thought this was a bothersome matter too, so she decided to go straight to Alchemy City’s most basic and important request. This was something that the people of Alchemy City did not expect, that Hogina would give everything away the moment she reached Daliang City.

Of course, the conditions that Alchemy City had given Hogina were not final. Everything could be discussed. What Hogina did was fatal in a negotiation.

“Your Highness, this is awkward. Saleen, I shall call you by your name. As you all know, there are quite a number of sorcerers in Alchemy City, but the real power is in the hands of nine grade-9sorcerers. These nine sorcerers control everything in Alchemy City, including the circulation of magic nuclei and equipment on the Myers Mainland. Without their permission, no one will dare to conduct businesses dealing with these items.”

In one breath, Hogina described the background of Alchemy City. Lex could not help but ask, “What about Grand Master Imposa?”

“Oh, my teacher is a freedom mage. Alchemy City needs his skills so they don’t dare to manage him too strictly. In fact, other grade-9 mages in the city may not even enjoy the same privileges and status as my teacher.”

So he was a neutral mage! If what Hogina said was true, then this meant that Alchemy City had come with sincere intentions. If they had sent over a mage who was an important figure in Alchemy City, Saleen and Lex would be doubtful about their intentions instead.

At this point, Lex realized that Hogina had gone off topic again. Apart from magic alchemy, this girl seemed to be oblivious and unaware about everything else.

“Hogina…”

“Your Highness, I know. I will get straight to the point. Alchemy City hopes that Metatrin City will sell its magic nuclei to them in the future instead of making a private deal with Holy Rock City.”

“That’s impossible.” Saleen rejected outright. Even if for nothing else, he had to reject for Ojarvis, who had sent over so many resources and had always lent his unconditional support for Lex. All these resources were more than enough for someone to build a kingdom from scratch.

“Saleen, Alchemy City is willing to offer an even higher price.” Hogina could not understand why Saleen would interrupt her when she had yet to finish.

“It’s not about the money. If I agree, Alchemy City will want to monitor the number of magic nuclei I obtain every year in order to ensure that I don’t conduct any businesses in private. In that case, Alchemy City will want to station some mages in Metatrin City who will want to tag along with my hunting teams. Hogina, you are still young, so you do not see the problem with this request.” Saleen did not hide his thoughts and pointed out Alchemy City’s real motive.

“Is that so?! Those old fellows lied to me…” Hogina looked like she was about to cry. Saleen was amused even though he knew that she was just pretending.

“They weren’t exactly lying to you,” Lex said carefully, “If it wasn’t for me, Alchemy City would have gotten their way by force instead of sending you here. Hogina, what will happen if you don’t accomplish your task?” Seeing how open and direct Hogina was, Lex decided to find out how Alchemy City would react.