Chapter 1283 Lured Here to Be Killed?

Seeing Ian admit his strength so straightforwardly without anger or pride, Musa’s face showed even more sincere appreciation.

He laughed heartily, his voice louder by a few degrees: “Your Majesty, you are indeed forthright! Just as you saw, I am an alchemist, albeit not a very talented one.”

“This lifetime, I’ve just tinkered with bottles and jars, pots and pans.” He guessed Ian’s intention, knowing Ian was interested in something he possessed.

That was also his proudest achievement.

Ian was not surprised by the fact that the other party was an alchemist, given that anyone who could be a close friend of Master Caleb must have extraordinary achievements in alchemy.

After all.

As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together.

Only with a shared interest could they become longtime friends.

“I can see that you are also an alchemy master.” Ian offered a slight compliment, but Musa waved his hand, a look of nearly pure obsession on his face.

“I’m no master, Your Majesty, you’re truly flattering me.”

“In my life, I have no grand ambitions, only a passion for ‘eating.’ Learning alchemy was initially just to better understand and create delicious food. Others practice alchemy for turning stones into gold or immortality, but I do it to make the stew tender, the soup savory, and the bread fragrant! Haha, isn’t it quite unambitious?”

As he spoke, he chuckled to himself.

Upon hearing this, Ian’s eye twitched slightly, unable to resist pointing to the direction he came from, his tone odd: “So… your extreme pursuit of culinary arts is reflected in… using those frozen meats that could be considered antiques?”

He truly couldn’t associate those blocks of meat with labels from decades ago with “gourmet,” even if they were restored by the magical crucible, which hardly counted as culinary pursuit.

Upon hearing Ian’s sarcasm, Musa didn’t get angry but instead showed a meaningful smile, gesturing for Ian to sit on a stone bench by the field ridge.

He also patted the dirt off himself and sat down.

“Your Majesty, the shop you went to is my civilian store, located in the market, catering to the common people. For them, cost-effectiveness is always the top priority.”

“Not having enough to eat is scarier than eating food from decades ago—even though we are wizards, there are still many fellow citizens on this land of Africa who struggle to feed their families.”

“After all, we do reproduce quite a bit.” He paused, seemingly aware he had strayed from the topic, so his gaze swept over his vibrant vegetable garden, his tone becoming somewhat distant. “Actually, those ‘antique’ ingredients you mentioned weren’t deliberately sought out by me as products for sale.”

“They are extra gains or… ‘by-products’ generated when I’m involved in another…well, let’s say, more important matter.”

“There are quite a few.”

“Leaving them is wasteful, I am a person who hates waste, especially… ingredients that can be eaten.” His eyes showed an almost obsessive sort of cherishing.

Seeing Musa’s earnest expression, Ian no longer dwelled on the logic of “wasting over a hundred-year-old meat is just waste,” he keenly caught the key information in the elder’s words—”another more important matter,” “extra gains,” these terms held hidden meanings.

He leaned slightly forward, his gaze sharply towards Musa: “So, this is directly related to whether I can acquire the technique of time-reversing crucible, right?”

Ian had also learned the art of conversation, he believed Musa would never divulge such core secrets to a “stranger” he had just met without a reason.

And indeed, it was so.

Musa’s deep gaze met Ian’s, as if it contained decades of frost and expectations.

He exhaled slowly, his voice carrying an indescribable complex emotion: “Your Majesty, you have sharp eyes. Yes, I can reach some agreement with you, but first, I need some help. I won’t hide from you, I once fell into despair for that matter, thinking that I would never reach the truth in my lifetime.”

“Fortunately… heaven has not treated me poorly, just before my old bones get buried in the ground, I encountered you… a legend walking in the human world.”

His feelings were deep and sincere, like a drowning man grabbing onto a piece of driftwood in gratitude.

And these words from the elder further confirmed to Ian that the other party intended to strike a deal with him, a deal that might be of deep and complex nature.

“What do you want me to do? Kill someone? Or deal with some immovable power?” Ian asked probing, his tone carrying a hint of curiosity.

With his powers as a legendary mage, most of the world’s troubles seemed solvable by sheer force.

However, upon hearing the word “kill,” Musa bitterly shook his head, his face showing a kind of sadness and melancholy entirely different from when discussing food earlier.

“No, Your Majesty, I don’t want to kill anyone, nor do I intend to be enemies with any force.”

“All I want… is to uncover a truth long buried in dust, clear up an event that happened a long time ago… related to the fate of two people.”

This answer completely surprised Ian.

Seek the truth?

Ian was stunned, he had imagined many possibilities, yet he didn’t expect the other party would propose such a seemingly “simple,” but often the most complex and exhausting request.