Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
Abel was back in the Rogue’s Encampment. Again, he used the energy inside his crystal angel statue and opened the slot he placed onto his treant armor. He then used the pieces he took off to craft another “steel” armor, which gave him the advantage of increasing his spell by one level. It was a shame, though. His favorite rune was actually the “Dillerham,” but he just didn’t have the time and resources to craft the necessary components like 20# lem, 24# ist, and 16# lo. He could make only with what he already had to create a “knowledge’ helmet because it wasn’t that hard to obtain the needed runes for 9# ort and 12# sol.
Aside from that, the “spirit” sword and “spirit” shield he handed to Doff, he had to wait for information from the central continent first. He needed to first see where he could obtain an ancient sword and shield set ready to use. If he couldn’t find any, then he would decide to forward the forge himself. He wanted to use fine steel if he had to, but he didn’t think that they would last much at all if Doff was to use them. With that in mind, he decided to just have it wear the “knowledge” helmet first.
It was non-stop fighting for the next two rough months. He was starting to actually feel exhausted even as a law-defying wizard. The hell creatures he fought against weren’t doing that well, so it seemed. He could still rely on his summoned creatures for the time being, after all. He had to be careful when he entered the underground, however. Without Doff, Johnson, Jason, and Flying Flame, the fight until then would only be more and more difficult.
As soon as he went out of the dark world, he went back to the battle fort and received news from the research spirit. He was receiving a bunch of messages from those of noble status over the past three days. It was from Queen Luisa and other big druids he’s fought alongside before. All the elves wanted to see him in person, but he had no intention of helping with their promotion. He didn’t want to take things too far before making sure that the tree of life could regain the energy required. He needed to make sure that there was a minimum required amount because Loraine had plenty of big druids on her side who needed help.
Whatever. He was still in shutdown, so there wasn’t really a need for him to pay any attention to this news.
“Research spirit, hey!” He called as he realized the time, “Have the kitchen make some lunch for me.”
Through the sound-transmitting circle, the research spirit ordered Butler Meyer to have the lunch ready. When it was done, the tray was sent directly towards the battle fort by the spirit. It was an excessively complicated process, but since he’s been doing the same to deliver Loraine’s meal every day, it became something that everyone was accustomed to.
The battle was over after two months. Abel thought about relaxing more today. He was not a robot. Before, he used to rest during the day and fight at night. The continuous fighting recently, though, had taken more energy from him than he expected. He’s actually fought more times than most occupation holders he’s come across with despite his very young age. He needed replenishment faster, and he wasn’t going to save energy to not have the food delivered faster to him by a short-distance teleportation circle.
Since he had his own large-sized teleportation circle, he used his connection with the lightning clan to send fresh ingredients from the human empires from time to time. These included quality beef, lamb, and all sorts of fish. He received enough food to make new cuisine ideas with his two elven chefs. Actually, he could just have his juice and steak while instructing them to find something else to cook.
The research spirit sent the news when he was eating, “Master! It’s from Butler Meyer. He’s saying that a dwarf came, claiming to be your old friend.”
“A dwarven old friend?”
That was strange, given the current identity he held. He didn’t think that his old friend would notify him like this. Actually, he was on the central continent. What business did his dwarven friend have with him here?
Abel dropped his knife and fork, “Ask for the name, alright?”
The research spirit responded quickly, “The name is Bernie Goff.”
Abel stood up very quickly, “What? Bernie? Why is he on the central continent?”
After saying this, he immediately teleported himself right in the middle of the short-distance teleportation circle. After that, he went straight inside the short-distance teleportation circle that was inside the master’s building.
“Bernie!” Abel laughed as he saw Bernie in person. Bernie seemed a little anxious, though. Abel was a much more prestigious man than when he was back on the Holy Continent. He was an advanced wizard and an emperor before, but now, he was a law-defying wizard capable of sweeping through any subcontinent he wanted to. Luckily, Abel was still treating him the same way as ever, which had him a lot more at ease.
Bernie laughed and went for a bow, “Master Bennett!”
Abel went to get him, “No need for that, alright? Just call me Bennett and stick with that.”
Bernie was happy to see that everything was the same, “I like that! Hey, I heard about you as soon as I arrived at this place.”
Butler Meyer was just right next to them as he heard this. He could tell that Bernie was, really, master’s friend. It was a close one at that, so he just bowed and backed away.
Able was quite confused, “So why are you on the central continent, Bernie?”
He knew how difficult it was to head to another continent. Bernie was just an ordinary dwarf. Without his family’s wealth, It’d be hard to imagine that he had enough wizard points to afford the ridiculous transportation fee.
Bernie was looking kind of sour, “Who else but you, right? I don’t know how the dwarves here found out about our relationship, but they sort of had their way. Next thing I know, they dragged me here to see you.”
Abel laughed, “Right, ha! Of course they’re not going to ask me in person! So they invited you over?”
Bernie went on to something else, “It wasn’t an easy job getting to talk to you, from what I’ve heard. My clan’s tried plenty of times on their own, but you never really responded.”
Abel tried to be honest, “I was, well, I was busy.”
Bernie decided to be upfront, “You know what, Bennett? Let’s be open between friends, okay? Can you make extra portions of the two potions for us?”
Abel liked that, surprisingly, “Sure, of course! I can’t turn you down when you say it like that, can I?”
Abel was sort of waiting for this request. He would sell to anyone, but the dwarves had a long-lasting relationship with him since the early years. He wasn’t going to turn away from an old friend.
Bernie was confident to hear that, “Good, good. Have Wizard Hutton talk to you about the specifics, then. Make sure you ask enough for payment. The dwarves here are much richer than back where we came from. You can get any materials you want from them.”
“Wait, Wizard Hutton got you here?” Abel asked, then laughed out loudly, “That’s rich, isn’t it? You had a law-defying wizard escorting you here?”
Bernie looked down on the ground, “Well, who’s going to pay any attention to me if it wasn’t for you?”
Abel went for another question, “So what happened to my empire, by the way?”
Bernie replied, “It’s all normal in the Kingdom of St. Ellis. Right now, the other two empires were forced to undergo an alliance, but even that wasn’t not enough to go against the powerpress that your state possesses. If you didn’t ban your soldiers from declaring a war on your neighbours, you would’ve owned the Holy Continent by now.”
Abel shook his head at the remark, “That still doesn’t sound very stable to me. St. Ellis seems to be under trifle no matter what power it possesses.”
Abel wasn’t just postponing his conquest because he was lazy. He felt like enemies were a necessity for developing, so he made sure to let the other empires exist so that the Kingdom of St. Ellis would always have an incentive for improvement. However, from that perspective, the state he ruled seemed to have become too strong for its own good. If things remained the same, The development of St. Ellis might just become stagnant because there weren’t any competent competitors in place.
Bernie said everything he had to offer, “You want to let Wizard Hutton here first? He’s been really good to me, you know.”
Abel became serious by that comment, “Before we go let him in, though, let me get one thing straight: the only dwarf I’m trading with is you. If you aren’t satisfied with the dwarves on the central continent, just talk straight to me about it.”
Bernie was a regular dwarf. He wasn’t even an ordinary occupation holder, so it was easy to think that he would do well in a place like the central continent. He wasn’t going to back away from being aware of that, of course.
Bernie understood what Able meant by that, “I appreciate that, Bennett. I really do.”
“It’s all good, friend,” Abel swung his hands and pointed to the outside, “Butler Meyer, can you have Wizard Hutton in now?”
Very quickly, Butler Meyer had Wizard Hutton right in. Wizard Hutton seemed to have a very humble look on his face.
Wizard Hutton immediately went, “Honourable Master Bennett, I, the dwarven Wizard Hutton, welcomes you on behalf of my kind and my clan.”
Able stood up and returned the favor, “Greetings, Wizard Hutton. Sorry for letting you wait outside. I got overly excited to see my good friend here.”
Bernie interrupted, “It’s all settled now, Wizard Hutton. He’s agreed to provide enough for the two potions. You have to discuss the specifics with him later.”
Wizard Hutton blinked for a bit, “It’s good?”
Honestly, the reason that Bernie came to the central continent was only to test the dwarves. He’s heard a lot about how much Master Bennett appreciated his personal ties, so he decided to try going for his friend. He just didn’t expect the outcome to be this successful since he was actually very worried that he would offend Master Bennett like this.
Abel quickly spoke to Butler Meyer, “Have the chef prepare lunch, Butler Meyer.”
“You had new chefs here, Master Bennett?”
Bernie’s eyes quickly brightened when he heard that. He’s been feeling awful ever since he couldn’t pay visits to Harry Castle.
Abel laughed, “Yeah, just come eat when you feel like it. Call Meyer if I’m not here.”
Knowing that Abel meant by that statement, Butler Meyer quickly went away to let the two have their private time. Wizard Hutton was starting to understand as well. The friendship between Master Bennett and Bernie went further beyond that. Bernie tried to be subtle about it, but it wasn’t really something that could be hidden.
Abel stood up and made an inviting gesture, “Wizard Hutton, Bernie, let’s go over to the restaurant. As for the potion portion, how about we do fifty each for the light recovery potion and the mana potion?”
The question was targeted right towards Wizard Hutton, really. Abel framed the question so that it seemed like he was asking both people, but everyone knew that Bernie had no real authority in this conversation.