Chapter 281: Nothing Good Comes from the Hailan Empire

Just half an hour later, Carolina’s new Lord delivered a somber speech to all the city-state’s Civil Servants and "citizens": the Dragon Witch Cult (a cult that worships Giant Dragons and attempts to summon Tiamat) had shown itself at a mine outside the city. Although the Lord and the allied delegation from Delusional Land helped ensure the cultists failed to complete their ritual, several instructors and slaves still tragically lost their lives.

The allied delegation departed for home immediately after the danger had passed. Next, the Lord would follow legal procedure to temporarily transfer power to the Civil Servants, as she was leaving to personally hunt down those detestable cultists.

If she failed to return, it would be no one’s fault.

Quest tearfully denounced the evil deeds of the Dragon Witch Cult, moving even Legislator Daniel and his three companions who were listening nearby. Then, when the "Lord of Carolina" revealed her true form during a secret meeting with them, the group didn’t dare to delay for a moment and quickly set off back to Delusional Land.

Kidnapping the lord of a city-state, then ransacking her entire residence, including the secret chamber—the trouble Ron had gotten into this time was by no means small.

But it wasn’t exactly huge, either. Because just as the dust was settling and Ron went to meet up with Klade, who was breaking camp, he saw a slender, familiar figure standing among the goblins, helping the creatures—who barely came up to her waist—clean the campsite.

It was Jilannis. The former Chief Imperial Mage had woken up ahead of schedule, and her armor had been removed, but the Weaving Introduction still hovered at her side. If she wanted to leave, with her level of power, it was doubtful anyone could have stopped her.

"Er... you?" Ron averted his gaze awkwardly and turned to Victoria. "I told you not to let her die, but isn’t this recovery a little *too* fast?"

Victoria could only offer Ron a wry smile. "I didn’t help her at all. She woke up on her own."

"The moment we removed her shoulder armor, she woke up instantly and broke free from her restraints."

"A nice thought, but you’ll have to try harder than that to deal with me." Jilannis had spotted Ron as well. The Elf floated gracefully over to him, a faint, enigmatic smile playing on her lips.

"Your field of study is Herbalism? You’re quite skilled, for even I to have been caught off guard. But a being such as myself naturally has countless means of self-preservation, even when unconscious."

"Not to mention, your friends tried to remove my equipment. The Sword-Singing Lion Armor and I share a Mind Link; when it leaves my body, it sounds an alarm and automatically casts an escalating series of spells, such as Poison Protection and High-level Healing Technique, until I regain consciousness and personally deactivate the alarm."

"I paid a steep price to escape the collapsing Hailan Empire back in the day. The Sword-Singing Lion Armor is practically the only ’legacy’ I have left from my past."

"’Legacy’..." Ron’s expression was strange. "It’s always a bit odd to hear a living person talk that way."

"You wouldn’t think so if your people also lived for seven or eight hundred years," Jilannis said, glancing at the carriage that had been prepared for Ron. "Some things aren’t convenient to discuss out here. Shall we talk in the carriage?"

"You can bring someone else along if you’re afraid I’ll hurt you. But trust me, if I really wanted to kill you, you wouldn’t be seeing me for a second time."

Although Jilannis had a point, and Ron mostly agreed, he still called Aive over to be on the safe side. Once the three of them were inside the carriage, a shout from Klade outside signaled their departure. The entire army, along with the delegation, set off on the long journey home in a grand procession.

"So you really intend to come with us to Delusional Land?" Ron rubbed his cheeks, still half-suspecting he was dreaming. "Willingly? Without any coercion?"

"You should know, our home is nothing like Carolina. We don’t have that kind of funding to offer you."

"Part of the funding is used for field research in various regions and for acquiring experimental materials. Working in Delusional Land would save a good chunk of that money," Jilannis said as she put the Sword-Singing Lion Armor back on. The lion pauldron’s mouth opened, dropping a wine bottle and three slender, flute-shaped glasses. "Sherly?"

"Thanks." Ron accepted the glass, and the Elf filled it for him with a mellow, fragrant wine.

"Careful she didn’t poison it. Nothing good ever came out of the Hailan Empire," Aive warned tartly. But even she found it hard to resist the wine’s fragrance and accepted a glass in the end.

The main reason for her carelessness was a truth acknowledged in almost every world: if a powerful Mage wanted to kill a magic-less Half-Elf and a human Mage who had lost his Spellbook, she wouldn’t need to resort to a dirty trick like poisoning their wine.

"I’m reluctant to admit it, but my skills in that department are far inferior to this human’s," Jilannis said with a small laugh. "And as for your claim that nothing good comes from the Hailan Empire?"

"This bottle is a special vintage supplied to the Laine Royal Family. I’m only ever gifted a bottle on the side when I receive a decoration, and I can’t normally bring myself to drink it."

"It’s not like the Laine Royal Family invented Sherly wine..."

"But Laine Sherly is," Jilannis said, swirling the glass in her hand. "The Elves today have founded new kingdoms, but if you’ll pardon my bluntness, the drinks they produce are all (Dwarven vulgarity) and (Beastman profanity)."

"And here I thought you were a racist, too proud to learn any language besides the Common Language."

"Quite the contrary. Personally, I very much enjoy learning the languages of other races (in the Human Language). When I speak their native tongue more fluently than they do, right to their faces, and I see their expressions, I know that the Elves are without a doubt the most superior race in all the worlds (in the Half-Elf language)."

Ron could more or less follow the Grand Mage’s seamless language-switching, but Aive was completely dumbfounded. Despite her own innate racial advantages making her fluent in several languages, she couldn’t understand a single word of a tongue as obscure as the Half-Elf language.

"I get it," Ron sighed. "Now I’m starting to wonder if bringing you to my lands was a mistake. I take in residents of all races, even those who aren’t welcome in mainstream society."

"I saw them. The goblinoids," Jilannis said, seeming not to mind at all. She showed no signs of contempt or indifference. "That’s a good thing. I’ll be able to find suitable volunteers anytime, and it will save a considerable amount of funding."

"You don’t need to worry about communication. I’m quite experienced in that regard. No one will perceive my true stance."

The Elf crossed her legs. "You, however, are an exception, Ron. We’re both researchers. When we’re collaborating, I want you to know as much as possible. It’s mutually beneficial."