"The weekend? So soon?" Hearing Florence's languid voice coming through the lightning message spell, Lucian was quite surprised. With Lord Morris's miserliness, would he really finish crafting the rings this quickly? There were only two days until the weekend!
Unlike Altor, the City of Sacred Hymns, in Alinor the "weekend" generally referred to Sunday.
Florence seemed to cover her mouth as she laughed coquettishly: "This time, you almost got 'kidnapped' at Elemental Will. Master felt it was quite a loss of face, so he accelerated the ring-crafting schedule."
She paused, her laughter fading as she turned somewhat serious: "At the very least, once you're wearing the three Holm Crown Rings and the 'Immortal Throne' mage robes, you'll have some chance of surviving an encounter with a high-tier mage."
"Really?" Lucian was even more puzzled. The higher-ups at Elemental Will certainly didn't know that he had already achieved preliminary substantialization of his Cognition World and could use high-tier items three times in succession beyond his level. So where did their confidence come from—that he could survive against a high-tier mage?
Florence giggled: "The enchanted spells are excellent. Master didn't skimp on materials, and the two rings' spell combination is superb. So, after finishing them, he actually regretted it—hehe, he even wanted to cancel the award banquet to save that negligible expense."
That was certainly Lord Morris's style. Lucian asked with eager anticipation: "Lady Florence, what are the two seventh-tier spells that were enchanted?"
"Hmm, that's a secret. You'll find out when you receive them." Florence teased Lucian with a laugh. "Keeping your curiosity and anticipation alive is the secret to eternal youth."
*ZZZZT*—the lightning message spell cut off, leaving Lucian to helplessly flip through *Book of Stars and Elements* and *Compendium of High-Tier Magic* among other texts, wondering what enchanted effects his two rings and one mage robe would bear.
Shrunk down to his tiny size, Averys lay sprawled on the sofa, savoring his monthly salary over and over again.
……
The Grand Cathedral of Radiance. A meditation chamber within.
Duke
"Rex, I understand your meaning and fully agree with the idea. I will report it to the Holy City." No anger was visible on Felibel's face—only a trace of fatigue.
In the Holm Kingdom and the other three nations, the Church was at a complete disadvantage in terms of power. After all, the Arcane Council's branches were concentrated in a handful of cities, and the majority of legendary mages were based in Alinor. The Church's powerful figures, on the other hand, were scattered, and gathering them required consideration of other forces.
It was best not to start a war when the Arcane Council was prepared. Stone was no fool—he wouldn't insist on taking the most difficult path. Moreover, waiting for opportunities and rallying the nobles was not retreat; it did not violate his knight's creed.
Though Bahoula and Valenshire were not entirely satisfied, trading this incident for a shift in attitude among the nobles of Holm, Galay, and Brianna was well worth it.
"However, from what I've learned, nobles such as James and Russell are more inclined toward the Arcane Council. Rex, do you have any way to address this?" Felibel raised the issue of the nobility's internal division.
Rex nodded with his characteristic stern severity: "The so-called enlightened nobles who side with the Arcane Council are actually quite few—only about ten percent of the kingdom's nobility, less than half the strength of those who favor the Church. The remaining majority of nobles are neutral, but they absolutely do not reject the Church. As long as it aligns with their interests and we create a situation that leaves them no room to waver, they will fully side with us."
"Rex, you've forgotten—most nobles align with their lords, and you are neither the King of Holm nor the heir to the throne." Stone was a holy knight who understood the nobility's mindset well. If the stakes were not enough to make the nobles abandon reason, they would certainly "rally around their lord." Even the most foolish noble understood that once loyalty to their lord was carelessly cast aside, they would be left fragmented and divided, reliant on the Church's help to maintain their rule—having lost their independent standing.
Rex fell silent for a moment, his voice dropping low: "I am confident I can persuade His Majesty."
"Lord Feltes has already grown old, and his own knight rank is not high. He may receive the Lord's calling within a few years—are you confident you can find an opportunity within that time?" Felibel shook his head slightly. As a clergyman who had long treated Feltes, he knew the Duke's physical condition intimately. The man was advanced in years and would not live much longer—this was a trend that even Divine Arts could not reverse.
Rex's expression darkened, but he did not deny it.
Felibel glanced at the others and continued in a flat, unruffled tone: "And Prince Patrick is far too biased toward the Arcane Council."
"Yes, Prince Patrick is far too biased toward the Arcane Council." Rex repeated in a low voice.
……
Sunday, eight in the evening. The Elemental Will's Alinor branch was ablaze with light, the clink of glasses echoing through the hall.
"Lucian, Morris is going to be in a foul mood for quite a while this time. Unless something truly important comes up, you'd best avoid him."
Several members of the Arcane Review Committee had naturally gathered together, surrounded by their respective students and friends—mages like Larry, Ulysses, K, and
Lucian shook his head and smiled: "Now that the door to the microcosm has been opened, major contributions worth recording in the annals of the Elemental domain will likely be aplenty. Lord Morris had better get used to this situation in advance."