AgWorld Chapter 161 : Chapter 161
Chapter 161 : Chapter 161
Chapter 161. Familiar
Logaris West glanced over the report and nodded in satisfaction.
The work efficiency wasn't bad. It seemed that tricking this kid into coming over as a workhorse had indeed been the right decision.
"All right, you've worked hard these past few days. I'll have Finance issue you a double bonus later." Logaris patted Aaron on the shoulder, dangling a not-too-small carrot as he said, "Go get some sleep. Don't work yourself to death before the Academy of Sciences even gets to cut the ribbon."
After sending Aaron away, Logaris sat in his swivel chair and spun around twice, his gaze settling on the enormous map of the continent hanging on the wall.
From Reynard, Logaris had already learned that Tyrenia and the Valeria Empire were practically in bed together.
This time, they had pulled out the nail those two had planted in White Harbor, but that was only the beginning.
The enemy of his enemy was a natural ally.
Since both of those countries were already showing their wolfish ambitions, the Demi-Human Empire became the key to breaking the deadlock. If they failed to win the demi-humans over, then once the Valeria Empire truly bared its fangs, the kingdom would be exposed on all sides, beyond saving.
"Looks like I need to go pay that exiled prince a visit." Logaris stroked his chin, his eyes locking onto the northern territory on the map. "No matter what, he's a future ally. I should let him experience the Northern Territory's warmth, as gentle as a spring breeze, ahead of time."
...
The Grand Library of Winter City.
This was the quietest place in the entire Northern Territory, and also the warmest place apart from the heating boiler room.
Beneath the enormous dome, rows upon rows of towering bookshelves stood like silent giants. The air was filled with the distinctive scent of aged paper and ink.
In the deepest corner of the library, His Highness the demi-human prince was sprawled over a heavy oak table, poring over a tome thicker than a brick: History of the Evolution of Modern Political Systems.
Alectos was reading with intense concentration.
His signature golden hair looked especially striking under the lamplight, and his emerald-green eyes were filled with a thirst for knowledge. Since fleeing home and enduring pursuit and escape all the way here, this once somewhat naive young man had been forced to mature at an astonishing pace.
He understood very clearly that brute strength and dragon blood alone could not save his country.
He had to learn. He had to learn how humans wielded political power, how those complicated political structures operated, and how to survive in a world full of lies and competing interests.
Across from him, however, the atmosphere was completely different.
Alice was practically lying sideways across her chair.
She was not sitting properly at all. Instead, she was using a levitation spell to keep herself hovering roughly ten centimeters above the seat, while her two slender legs in black over-the-knee stockings swung lazily back and forth in midair.
There was a lollipop in her mouth.
This was one of Logaris's recent "new inventions." Supposedly, some kind of syrup from a failed alchemical experiment had been solidified and stuck on a stick. It had originally been intended as a portable energy bar for the soldiers, but because it was too sweet, the military had returned the whole batch. It was then repackaged as candy and sold to the children in the city.
Crunch.
Alice bit down on the sugar in boredom, producing a sharp crack.
In a library so quiet that even a dropped pin could be heard, the sound was as abrupt as thunder.
Alectos lifted his head from the pile of books and glanced at her, a trace of helplessness in his eyes.
"Can't you be quiet for a while?"
"Quiet?" Alice rolled her eyes and twirled the lollipop stick, now all that remained, in her hand. "I've already held this pose and watched you for a full two hours! Two hours! Do you know what kind of torture that is for a youthful, energetic, beautiful girl mage in the middle of puberty?"
She pointed at the stack of headache-inducing tomes in front of Alectos.
"And you can actually read that stuff? On the Feasibility of Constitutional Monarchy?"
Alectos sighed and closed the book.
When it came to Alice's mouth, he had already evolved from anger, to helplessness, to his current state of habitual disregard.
"It's never a bad thing to learn more," Alectos said gently. "Professor Logaris once said that knowledge is power."
As he spoke, the still air suddenly twisted.
Like a drop of ink falling into clear water.
There was no warning at all, nor even the slightest prelude of magical fluctuation.
Right above the long table between them, a cloud of black smoke suddenly burst into existence.
When the smoke dispersed, a creature the size of a palm revealed itself. Its entire body was pitch-black. It had a pair of leathery bat wings, a wicked gleam in its blood-red eyes, and a finely crafted golden bell hanging around its neck.
The moment the little thing appeared, it immediately flapped around Alice twice. Then, with an almost disturbingly human little spit, it neatly dropped the wax-sealed confidential letter it had been carrying straight into Alice's lap.
After doing all that, it even turned its head and bared its teeth at Alectos in open provocation. Then, with a pop, it turned back into a wisp of black smoke and vanished without a trace.
The entire process took less than three seconds. It was so fast it felt like an illusion.
Alice scrambled to catch the letter. Just as she was about to stuff it into her sleeve, she looked up—and met Alectos's gaze.
The usual gentleness was gone from his eyes. In its place was a trace of scrutiny and suspicion.
"That was... a familiar?"
Alectos might have been a knight, but he was still of royal birth. Even if he had never used one himself, he had certainly seen them before.
In the old era several centuries ago, using low-tier magical creatures as messengers had indeed been a common method. But ever since magitech communication technology became widespread, any mage with even a little status had switched to Communication Crystals or mechanical messenger birds.
After all, raising a living familiar was both expensive and troublesome. How could it compare to a machine?
Alectos frowned. He recalled that Alice, a human mage, had appeared for no clear reason deep within the Demi-Human Empire in the first place. That itself had already been highly unreasonable.
"Alice."
Alectos still maintained his politeness. After all, it had been Alice who had rescued him when he was gravely wounded before.
"There can't be many human mages these days who still use something like that, right? Is this... some tradition of your family?"
He phrased it tactfully, but a hint of suspicion had already begun to show.
Alice's hand froze around the letter.
This is bad.
I got careless.
That damned old man. How many times had she told him not to contact her using such an outdated method? Would it kill him to get a Communication Crystal? Why did he have to keep showing off those broken bats of his?
SLAP!
Alice suddenly slammed her palm onto the table. The noise was so loud that several nearby students were startled into jumping.
She shot to her feet, planted one foot on the chair, set one hand on her hip, and raised the letter in the other, striking the haughty pose of someone who had suffered an enormous insult.
"What do you know, huh? You country bumpkin who's never seen the world!"
Alice struck first, speaking so fast her words came like machine-gun fire.
"Who told you this thing was outdated? This is called retro! This is called style! It's like how some people enjoy instant coffee, while true nobles drink only hand-ground coffee! Can cold, lifeless mechanical creations like Communication Crystals convey a mage's emotions? Can they show the depth of a family's heritage?"
Alectos was blasted speechless. "Ah? But—"
"But what?"
Alice did not give him the slightest chance to interrupt. The finger of the hand holding the letter nearly jabbed him in the nose.