Chapter 232 - Heavy Thoughts

The marquis had gone quiet ever since he left. Urter sent his men out to gather some information, and learned that the marquis fell ill and was bedridden. Anfey, on the other hand, chose not to further the conflict. Even though he knew that leaving the marquis could result in troubles, he was in a difficult position right now. He needed an excuse if he wanted to do something so he could justify his actions. He could not act as recklessly now since he had accepted the responsibility as the new city lord.

Most young people enjoyed having fun and living in the moment, and the oldest in the group was only around twenty-five. When they had nothing to do, they would take the time to explore the city. Since Anfey would be in charge of the city, they felt like they needed to get to know it better.

Since Miorich would leave them in a few days, everyone was staying out late and enjoying their time in the city. Most did not return until well after dinnertime. Miorich moved back to the army camp so the young people would not feel pressured to behave.

The cooks hired for the feast were still working at Anfey’s mansion, so no one had to worry about meals. The delicious dinner just reminded everyone how hungry they were. They chatted amongst themselves as they ate.

Riska, however, did not eat much. He was playing with his napkin and glancing at Anfey. Halfway through dinner, he suddenly said, "Anfey, let’s build a magic school here."

The chatter died down, and everyone turned their eyes toward Riska, confused.

"A magic school?" Anfey asked.

"Yes," Riska said excitedly. "A school just for commoners."

"Who’s going to be in charge?" Niya asked.

Everyone glanced at each other, but did not say anything. No one was powerful enough or had enough experience to be a teacher. They made a good mercenary group, but not teachers at a magic school.

"I’ll do it," Riska said. "I may not be powerful, but I’m enough to get them started."

"Easier said than done, Riska," Christian said. "Are you going to be the only teacher there? We don’t have the money to hire other people, that’s for sure."

"Everything is harder at the beginning," Riska said. "We may not be able to hire teachers, but everyone sitting at this table can qualify as teachers for beginners."

"We aren’t qualified as teachers," Christian said, shaking his head. "Plus, a magic school isn’t something that can be built in a day. We don’t even have the money or the land."

"Anfey’s the city lord. If he says yes, all that can be solved," Riska said, turning to Anfey. Riska was a commoner, and he had experienced a lot of hardship when he first started learning magic. He had always wished magic study was more accessible for people like him. He tried to hide his wish, but now that Anfey was the city lord of a large city, he saw the chance of making his dream come true.

"Yes!" Hagan suddenly slapped the table and said. "Riska just reminded me! I have an idea!" Hagan jumped up, waving his hands and almost knocking the table over.

"Let's eat first before we talk any further," Anfey said as he picked up his fork. Hagan had the strangest and the most unpredictable ideas. No one knew alchemy better than Hagan, but when it came to other things, he would be forgetful and absentminded. Especially when he was making new potions. The time it would take for him process other information and questions was hilariously slow.

Hagan sat down gloomily and ate his meal in silence. It seemed like he wanted to finish his meal as fast as possible so he could talk with Anfey.

Hagan was fast, but Anfey finished faster and left the room as soon as he was finished. Even though the food was delicious, Anfey came from a world where some of the best culinary systems exist. The food here paled in comparison.

As soon as Anfey left the dining hall, Hagan chased after him and grabbed his arm. "Anfey," he said, "Wait. I need to talk to you."

"Anfey, do what you say about the school?" Riska appeared and asked.

"Your thing can wait," Hagan said. "It’s not something that can be done in a week. My thing has to be done now or else it would too late."

"Riska, let me think about it," Anfey said. "I will get back to you."

"Alright," Riska said, disappointed.

"What is it you want to talk about?" Anfey turned to Hagan and asked.

"Isn't your mansion under construction?" Hagan asked. "Can you change the blueprint and add an alchemy lab?"

"An alchemy lab?" Anfey repeated.

Hagan nodded.

"Anfey, if you are going to add an alchemy lab, might as well add a magic lab," Riska added. "Magic and alchemy are two very similar things, you know. If we can build the labs in close proximity, it can be beneficial to both sides."

"Riska’s right," Hagan said, nodding. "Let’s build two labs."

"Where do you want the labs?" Anfey asked.

"I’ve seen the place," Hagan said. "It’s too small. Let’s build it underground."

"It’s too small?"

"Of course it is. I will build the world’s largest alchemy lab."

"Are you serious? No way," Anfey said quickly. Alchemy labs and magic labs were both liabilities, and Hagan wanted to build the world’s largest? If something went wrong, the entire mansion would be gone. Plus, there was an underground labyrinth that could potentially be the tomb of an ancient queen. The news of this underground labyrinth could not get out. Anfey wanted to support Hagan, but his plan was too ambitious. He knew alchemy would be beneficial to his future plans, but right now he could not approve Hagan’s plans.

"Why not? I'm doing this for the team’s sake," Hagan said.

"You’re the only alchemist here," Anfey said. "Why do you need the biggest lab in the world? Wait until I come back from Sacred City." Anfey looked at Riska and Hagan, then turned and went upstairs.

Hagan frowned and turned back to Riska. "Hey," he said suddenly. "I have an idea. Let’s go find Niya."

"Niya?" Riska asked. "Why?"

"Haven’t you noticed?" Hagan asked with a smile on his face. "Anfey is scared of her." After some observation, Hagan noticed that the only person that could make Anfey hesitant was Niya. If someone in the team was being stubborn, Anfey would scold them, but he would ignore Niya's wrongdoing. After learning who Niya was, Hagan knew he had found the reason. If he needed someone to talk to Anfey, Niya was the best bet.

"He’s not scared of her," Riska said, shaking his head. Niya was similar to him in age, but they all treated her like their little sister and they would try to satisfy her needs.

"That’s called scared!" Hagan said. "Are you going or not? Do you still want the lab and the school?"

Riska smiled and shook his head. He did not know how Hagan came to this conclusion, but his words were very tempting.

After learning that Anfey was to be the next city lord of Violet City, the city became very attractive to the team. A lot of people found themselves trying to decide if they wanted to stay in Violet City or return to Sacred City to keep studying with Saul. Everyone liked being around someone successful, but even though the city was Anfey’s, everyone knew Anfey could not have achieved what he did without the team’s help. Anfey would be the decision maker, but the city was as much theirs as it was Anfey’s.

"Are you going or not?" Hagan urged. He had never really talked to Niya, and he needed someone Niya knew with him.

"Isn’t this a bit inappropriate?" Riska asked.

"How so? We are doing this for everyone’s sake!"

Just then, Niya and Suzanna walked out of the dining hall, chatting. "Niya, wait up!" Hagan called when he saw her. "Riska and I need to talk to you."

"Me?" Niya asked, curious. She had never really spoken to Hagan, and did not know why Hagan would want to talk to her now.

Riska sighed, but Hagan was already talking to Niya, and there was no stopping him now. The only thing to do now was go with Hagan and give the plan a try. "Suzanna," he said as he walked over. "We need to talk to Niya. Can you maybe…"

"I know, I know," Suzanna said, smiling. "I’m going to look for Anfey anyway. You guys talk."