Chapter 211: Prince Seleu’s Thoughts.

Halis quietly watched the prince, who was lost in thought.

Ever since they had fled the Kingdom of Cecilia, the prince had lived solely for revenge, his entire being like a bow drawn to its limit, perpetually taut.

But now, he was relaxed, peaceful, even delighted. It was as though he had returned to his childhood, his entire being radiating happiness and joy.

"Your Highness, who was that person?" Halis couldn't help asking. Ten Mage Apprentices had passed by just now, and he had no idea which one of them had brought about this change in the prince.

"I'll tell you once I'm certain." Seriu reined in his emotions and opened his deep black eyes, his usual composure returning. "By the way, have you heard anything about my sister?"

"Princess Cecil?" Halis sighed. "I received word this morning. She's gone to the Pros Empire."

Seriu lightly clenched his fist. "She still doesn't want to see me?"

It had been eighteen years.

He and his sister had been separated for eighteen years.

Ten years ago, when he learned that she was still alive, he had immediately wanted to see her. His sister, however, had refused.

"Cecil has her reasons," Halis reassured him.

Seriu smiled bitterly. "She's simply afraid I'll drag her down."

Although he was a Senior Mage and an Intermediate Great Swordsman, he had never left the Central Court to venture elsewhere on the continent.

It wasn't that he didn't want to.

He couldn't.

Only under the protection of the Mage Sovereign had he managed to survive until now. The moment he left the Central Court, the warrant issued by the Kingdom of Cecilia would become active again, and the Black Knights would resume hunting him down.

His sister, by contrast, was more capable than he was. She had cast aside the dignity of a princess, disguised herself as a commoner, and blended into the crowds. By cleverly evading the warrant, she had traveled freely from country to country. Over the years, she had been steadily amassing wealth and persuading various powers to support her, all in preparation for revenge.

"You're worrying too much, Your Highness," Halis said. "The princess would never think of you that way."

Seriu put away his disappointment and raised his head to gaze at the clear blue sky.

"I know. I simply miss her too much."

Half a month ago, he had asked the Mage Sovereign when he would finally be able to set out on his path of revenge.

The Mage Sovereign had looked at him with wise eyes and replied meaningfully, "When you meet the right person, you'll understand."

At the time, Seriu hadn't believed that anyone could influence him.

Today, he realized the Mage Sovereign had been right.

As for whether that black-haired youth was the right person, that remained to be seen.

Seriu took a box containing medicinal herbs from his storage ring and handed it to Halis.

"This is for you."

Halis looked down at the box being offered to him and asked in confusion, "Your Highness, what is it?"

"Didn't you say last month that you wanted to buy some Astral Spirit Grass to make a potion? I found a stalk at the auction house the day before yesterday, so I bought it."

Halis was startled. "How much did you pay?"

Astral Spirit Grass was a precious medicinal herb that grew only in the Faerie Forest. It was exceedingly rare, and any that appeared at auction houses elsewhere on the continent generally came from dubious sources.

For some unknown reason, however, medicinal herbs from the Faerie Forest had been appearing frequently at auction houses over the past decade, driving buyers into frenzied bidding wars.

The stalk the prince had bought for him couldn't possibly have been cheap.

"You don't need to worry about money." Seriu rested a hand lightly on the sword at his waist. "What I earn in the arena is more than enough to cover both our expenses."

"Your Highness..." Halis choked up.

When they first arrived at the Central Court, the Mage Sovereign had given them his protection, but they still had to support themselves.

Halis had been gravely injured at the time and unable to earn money for a long while. Fourteen-year-old Seriu had taken assignments and painstakingly saved every coin he earned to buy medicine and pay for Halis's treatment.

Later, after Seriu learned both magic and swordsmanship, he began earning money in the arena.

When Halis first discovered that the prince had entered the arena, he had vehemently objected.

Seriu, however, had told him, "I can earn money in the arena and improve my strength quickly at the same time. Why would I give up something that accomplishes two things at once? Halis, I know my limits. I won't gamble with my life."

Looking at the determination in the young man's eyes, Halis had thought with emotion:

The prince had grown up.

From then on, Seriu frequently fought in the arena. As his rank rose, his opponents grew increasingly powerful, while the prize money doubled again and again.

Seriu pressed the box into his hands.

"Go take care of your business. I'm off to work."

Halis accepted the box and bowed respectfully before taking his leave.

Seriu remained beneath the tree, watching him until his figure disappeared from sight. Only then did he turn toward the classroom buildings.

"Wow! So this is the Cotrin Temple?"

A row of young Mage Apprentices stood before the magnificent building, all craning their necks as they curiously examined the temple where everyday assignments were issued.

"See? I told you following me wouldn't go wrong." Sayah looked immensely pleased with herself.

After leaving the magic academy, Kumandi had wanted to buy a map from one of the nearby shops. Sayah had waved him off, declaring that she knew exactly how to get to °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° the Cotrin Temple.

She had been in the Central Court for half a month and had already explored its streets and alleys from end to end. If everyone followed her, she guaranteed she could get them there by the fastest route.

"Saved us the cost of a map." She winked her pretty blue eyes.

Kumandi, who had originally insisted on buying one, immediately abandoned the idea.

Sayah truly was a living map. She brought them to the Cotrin Temple in the shortest possible time while spending as little money as possible.

"Come on. Let's go inside." Shu Li was the first to climb the steps, with the others following behind him.

The main hall of the Cotrin Temple was packed with people taking assignments. Most were Mage Apprentices and Initiate Mages, with only a handful of full-fledged Mages.

Newly arrived and completely unfamiliar with the place, the Light Squad had no idea how the assignment process worked.

Fortunately, there was an information desk in the hall. Newcomers first had to register their information and receive an assignment token.

"New students from St. Velia Magic Academy?" The staff member at the registration desk looked in surprise at the ten Mage Apprentices lined up before him.

"Yes." Standing at the front, Shu Li answered honestly. "I have written permission from our magic instructor."

After dinner yesterday, Zephyr had written them a permit bearing his signature and seal. Only with that proof could the Light Squad leave the magic academy without trouble.

The staff member took the paper. When he saw the name Zephyr Red in the signature field, he paused, then asked no further questions and processed their assignment tokens.

Once the Light Squad had successfully obtained their tokens, they headed to different counters to take assignments according to their magical elements.

Angel, who used light magic, teamed up with the wind-aligned Kumandi and took an errand-running assignment.

Budno, who used water magic, and Amanda, who possessed both water and light magic, took an assignment watering plants around the city.

The fire-aligned Dixio, Nasha, and Sayah, together with the earth-aligned Hector, headed for the waste-processing facility.

Meanwhile, Shu Li, who possessed all Seven-Element Magic, and the wind-aligned Ace accepted an assignment to clean ten streets.

The moment they stepped out of the Cotrin Temple, Shu Li punched a fist into the air and called enthusiastically, "Light Squad, move out!"

"Move out!"

Everyone except Kumandi and Ace raised their fists with him.

Passersby couldn't help smiling in amusement.

It was good to be young, overflowing with energy. On their first assignment, they had yet to discover just how tedious the work could be.

The ten of them split up and headed in four different directions.

Holding a map of the Central Court, Shu Li walked side by side with Ace toward the first street they needed to clean.

The Cotrin Temple really was great. Everyone received a free map, saving them quite a bit of money.

The first street was nearby, only a five-minute walk away.

First, they had to check in with the person responsible for the street and collect a garbage cart. Once it was full, they were to take it to a local collection station, where dedicated workers would transport the garbage to the main waste facility for processing.

After learning how the system worked, Shu Li was deeply impressed by Danlov's administrative ability.

With him overseeing the Central Court, this place could probably keep flourishing for another few thousand years.

Once they had collected the garbage cart, Shu Li said to Ace, "Let's get started!"

Using magic to clean up garbage was something he could practically do in his sleep. The Little Fairies living in the divine tree had to participate in cleaning every week. Sometimes, if they made a minor mistake, they were even punished by being sent to scrub branches covered in bird droppings.

There was no helping it. The divine tree was enormous and possessed a complete ecosystem. Besides Fairies, countless other creatures lived there, including birds, snakes, insects, and all manner of small climbing animals.

Shu Li raised his magic staff and chanted a wind-magic incantation.

When the spell was complete, two small whirlwinds appeared in the street. Like rolling brushes, they swept up the dust and garbage from the ground.

Once the whirlwinds had accumulated enough refuse, Shu Li flicked his staff, and they "spat" the garbage into the cart before vanishing.

"How was that?" Shu Li turned to Ace.

Ace applauded approvingly. "Excellent."

Shu Li lifted his little chin and chuckled. "Of course. Back in our... village, I was the best cleaner around."

As a Seven-Element Mage, he could handle sweeping, washing, and garbage disposal from start to finish.

He couldn't have been more practiced at it.

Ace smiled. "Looks like I'll have to work harder."

He raised his magic staff toward the section of road they hadn't cleaned yet and cast wind magic. Four small whirlwinds went to work simultaneously, sweeping both sides of the street. Wherever they passed, not a speck of dirt remained.

"Wow, impressive!" Shu Li gave him a thumbs-up.

Not to be outdone, he immediately joined in.

The two cleaned one street, delivered a full cart of garbage, then moved on to the second street. Working quickly and efficiently, they completed the entire assignment in only an hour.

The collection-station administrator watched them bring in a completely full garbage cart every ten minutes and was secretly astonished.

Students qualified to attend St. Velia Magic Academy were, with the exception of the few who came from commoner families and were accustomed to rough, heavy, dirty work, generally pampered young masters who had never lifted a finger.

An assignment to clean ten streets?

Forget finishing it in one day. Some students couldn't finish in two.

And the two new students before him were exceptionally handsome and possessed extraordinary bearing. One look was enough to mark them as young noblemen.

The administrator had been waiting for a show.

Never in his wildest dreams had he expected them to finish in an hour.

Still unconvinced, the administrator deliberately cast a wind-element flight spell and flew around all ten streets to inspect them.

He had been working here for three years, and this was the first time he had encountered Mage Apprentices who cleaned streets so thoroughly that not a speck of dust remained.

Even the paving stones on the pedestrian streets had been washed until they gleamed.

"You've done an excellent job."

The administrator took their assignment tokens and infused them with magic.

Instantly, the light indicating the highest possible completion rating lit up.

"Thank you!" Shu Li accepted his token back, then happily grabbed Ace by the hand and ran toward the Cotrin Temple.

"Come on! Let's turn in the assignment."

The reward for cleaning one street was two gold coins. Ten streets meant twenty gold coins. Split between the two of them, that came to ten gold coins each.

Ten gold coins for an hour's work.

Not bad at all!

Ace lowered his gaze to the hand wrapped around his wrist.

He didn't pull away, simply letting Shu Li hold on until they rushed through the doors of the Cotrin Temple. Only then did Shu Li release him.

"After we turn this one in, let's take another twenty streets!" Shu Li draped an arm over Ace's shoulder and leaned close to his ear.

"Sure." Ace nodded without objection.

Shu Li stared at his flawless profile, his eyes sparkling. "You really have a good temper. You never argue with me."

He had noticed it ever since they met. No matter what Shu Li said, Ace always supported him unconditionally.

"I can't think of a reason to object." Ace turned his head slightly, his gentle green eyes meeting Shu Li's.

"True." Shu Li grinned. "There's no reason to turn down a good chance to make money."

They squeezed through the crowd and found the counter for turning in completed assignments. They successfully collected twenty gold coins, plus a five-coin bonus for their outstanding evaluation.

"Awesome!"

Shu Li divided the money on the spot. They each took twelve gold coins, while the remaining coin went into the group's common fund.

Afterward, they accepted another assignment to clean twenty streets and happily threw themselves back into work.

The atmosphere in the headmaster's office at the magic academy was tense.

Three imposing mages occupied three separate sofas: Headmaster Gabri Muse, Zephyr Red, and a middle-aged man with an expressionless face.

The three formed a perfect stalemate, none willing to yield.

After a long silence, Zephyr finally spoke in a languid voice.

"It's just some fooling around between youngsters. Surely there's no need to make such a fuss?"

The middle-aged man sneered.

"Fooling around? Easy for you to say. It wasn't your nephew who was humiliated, so naturally you don't care."

Zephyr spread his hands. "Then what exactly do you want, Friton?"

The middle-aged man called Friton regarded him coldly.

"Send those Mage Apprentices back where they came from."

Gabri frowned and immediately refused.

"Impossible."

Friton replied arrogantly, "That is my only demand."

Zephyr gave a derisive laugh.

"Friton, you'd better understand one thing. This is a magic academy, not your personal domain where your word is law."