The black sun hangs high

Chapter 339 A Terrible Premonition

"A Kiss of Northern Wine, a steak with Merlinle flavor... Okay, should we call the chef? It's late at night now, and there will be an extra charge if we call the chef."

An elven waiter politely confirmed this with the two people sitting at the table.

Although he was a servant, he also wore the insignia of a magic apprentice issued by the Legal Committee on his chest, and the magician's hand floating beside him indicated his identity as a spellcaster.

"No need, just leave it to the magic puppet."

Having made the choice between Merlinle and the well-acquainted Verin for Hugh, the magic apprentice serving as a waiter immediately smiled and stepped aside, using his mage hand to hand the menu he had just copied to a waiting magic puppet.

Then Hugh saw this seemingly bulky but very clean magical creation slowly walk towards the kitchen.

He never imagined that he would be able to see man-made objects made of wood, metal and minerals cooking in the middle of the night in this world. In Hugh's memory, the last time he saw such a scene was in a classic program called "I Love Invention".

"The human team has already gone home, let's see how the mechanical team performs!"

The strange words that suddenly popped into his head made Hughes give an awkward smile. Verine noticed the change in Hughes' expression, but she was used to it. Based on past experience, whenever this guy had some ideas that were hard for ordinary people to understand, he would easily show a similar expression.

At first, Vera was quite curious and concerned about these ideas.

However, after trying to understand him twice, she chose to give up because Hugh's strange ideas were really hard to understand. Perhaps it was a strange habit he developed from making a living by writing in the past.
"cough……"

Hugh coughed softly, finally breaking free from those distant, familiar, and absurd images of the past. He glanced towards the kitchen and asked, "Are these magical puppets really good at cooking...?"

"Of course no problem."

In such a quiet environment, Verine appeared extremely relaxed. She rested her chin on her hand and looked out the window at the streets and buildings that exuded a strong sense of "mathematical" beauty. She said softly, "Back when I was studying in Merlinle, whenever experiments went on late into the night, I would come to these restaurants... At those times, the only ones who could make food were magical puppets."

"These magical puppets are actually from the same batch as those in the alchemy lab. For them, cutting food is the same as cutting medicine, and heating the liquid is the same as cooking food... Everything is just like conducting an alchemy experiment. Everything is carried out according to a set of safe procedures. Although it certainly won't taste very good, there will definitely be no major problems."

As they were talking, the magical puppet that had gone to the kitchen demonstrated its amazing efficiency, bringing up a dessert emitting white frost. This was the "Northern Sweet Wine Kiss" that Verin had ordered. Its appearance was as tempting as its name, with milky white cream forming a perfect snow-topped shape surrounded by cold frosting.

The Northern liqueur was pale pink, and it was evenly poured onto the snow-covered top made of cream. The pink liqueur spiraled down the cream and eventually flowed into the "valley" made of cold sugar frosting. On the side of the snow-covered top, some golden fruit pulp was scattered, which Hugh couldn't identify at first.

Vera picked up the spoon and gently scooped a small piece from the dessert. Immediately afterward, a faint magic flowed from her fingertips, enveloping the spoon and the cold cream inside.

After doing that, she slowly brought the spoon to her mouth.

"Um……"

Vera made a sound that seemed to indicate satisfaction, but then she commented, "The sweet wine is a bit too sweet, it might be Saint Steil's sweet wine... but the 'Crushed Cherry' is very fresh, so it's not bad."

After giving her review, she looked up and smiled at Hugh: "Many first-time visitors to Merlinle are recommended this dessert. It's called 'Sweet Wine Kiss' because a lot of magic is added to the cream and frosting. If you're not careful, it might leave a temporary layer of white frost on your lips, just like being kissed."

"That look is really funny. Well, I'm giving you a heads-up. Remember that."

"okay, I get it."

Seeing that Hugh agreed so earnestly and readily, Vera lowered her head again. Although she was somewhat critical of the sweet wine flavor in the dessert, her hands and mouth continued to move without stopping, clearly indicating that the dessert suited her taste very well.

Upon careful consideration, Hugh realized that among the mages he had seen, there were very few cases of them being out of shape. This was probably because they possessed abundant magical power, allowing them to be very free in their diet.

"So, food and desserts are probably her daily outlet for emotions?"

Hugh looked at the dessert, half of which had been scooped out without anyone noticing, and secretly speculated.

The nights in Merlinle and the inner city are quieter than in other places, but also brighter. Day and night are not that important to the mages here. If the topic or experiment is urgent, they will often immerse themselves in the laboratory or library for days without coming out. But if they have nothing to do and their future is bright, they will jump into a state of debauchery at an astonishing speed.

Therefore, as Hugh looked around, he could see many bright magical lights shining from inside those extremely well-organized buildings, illuminating the surroundings. However, there was not a sound coming from inside these buildings, which meant that the mages in the inner city had a habit of setting up soundproofing rituals when they were busy with their own affairs.

"It's hard to imagine that the mages here would one day be under such exaggerated pressure."

Vera's voice drifted over, and she sighed, "When I entered the embassy district, I heard two mages arguing by the roadside. Do you know how they described the current situation?"

"Ok?"

“They will now call it ‘Merlinler’s Crossroads’.”

"Apocalyptic Crossroads?"

Hugh repeated it, then couldn't help but laugh: "Actually, it's quite apt. Even if it's not a crossroads of 'doomsday,' it's certainly a crossroads of 'history'... At least in the past, the Legal Affairs Commission has never encountered a challenge of this magnitude, has it?"

"of course."

Vera nodded: "Even the most serious incidents in the past never really threatened Merlinler's position or survival, but this time is different."

She raised the slender spoon between her fingers and pointed to the tallest building outside the window: "Look, that's the largest library in the inner city, and also a special mage tower. It belongs to the legendary deep-sea mage 'Ilan Lumba'... After this master went into seclusion, he donated the mage tower to the Law Council, and it was later transformed into this."

Hughes looked carefully at the enormous tower and noticed that every floor of it was emitting a bright light. "It's truly... brightly lit."

“It has never happened before, not even when mages below the Valley level are preparing to participate in the annual assessment.”

Virin explained softly, “The top three floors of the Ilan Lumba Mage Tower are only open to Deep Sea level mages and other important members authorized by the Law Committee, but you see, they are all lit up now, which means that those big shots are all inside.”

Hughes could only sigh helplessly at this.

He certainly understood the seriousness of the situation.

The current situation is like an ordinary student coming into a classroom and suddenly finding all the top students studying intensely, or like an ordinary employee suddenly finding their bosses working overtime all night long...

Even if there were a mage who didn't care about the black sun in the sky, he still had to consider the face of his superiors and colleagues, not to mention that there was a group of truly "legendary figures" above them.

No one wants to be labeled as "slacking off" or "a spy for the Black Sun Society" at a time like this.

Hugh's main course was finally served, so the two of them ended their conversation about Merlin and started talking about what had happened earlier. Hugh took the opportunity to tell Virin the reason and process of Princess Sophia's visit to him.

Both of them were important core members of the Dawn Society, and faced with this situation, they inevitably had a discussion.

Vilin criticized Princess Sophia's "very impolite and unreserved" way of visiting, but at the same time, she was very interested in cooperating with the Kingdom of Wotel. After all, the Council was a real split from the Law Committee, and there were quite a few scholars controlled by the Highland Kingdom, not to mention resources such as alchemy and weapons workshops.

After discussing these matters, Vera suddenly said, "By the way, I suggest you prepare yourself..."

"Prepare? What preparations?"

"I guess it won't be long before... the romantic scandal between Mr. Ernst, who has shocked most of Vain, and the noble Princess Water will spread throughout Merlinle. Perhaps in a few more days, Professor Meyer and his colleagues will also see similar stories in the newspapers."

Vera's ambiguous smile made Hugh inexplicably uneasy. She used a very rare, teasing tone: "Tsk tsk, the most famous and heroic young generation in the Ernst family, and the youngest and most outstanding princess since the founding of the Kingdom of Walter... To be honest, I'm quite looking forward to the story."

Hughes grinned.

A sense of unease, making his heart race, washed over him. Unfortunately, the metal disc he relied on couldn't offer any help in this matter. As for the old guys hiding in the spiritual world, they were now gathered together, emitting low, eerie laughs, as if they were waiting to watch some kind of comedy.

This is really infuriating.

……

It was past midnight when Hugh returned to his lodgings and was still not resting.

He carefully arranged the protective ritual in the room, then carefully locked the doors and windows and used magical mist to isolate them. After that, he released Justina, who had been suffocating, from the pile of luggage.

After more than ten days of continuous growth, Hugh now has to face a problem.

How should I view "Justine"?

As if sensing Hugh's confusion, the translucent shadow emerging from the giant kettle began to change. With a violent tremor, the shadow, now much larger than before, gradually took on a new outline and shape.

It, or rather, she is moving closer to human form.

Although proportionally, "Justina" is now smaller than those toddlers, with the awakening of more and more memories and knowledge, and with the continuous increase in the life force and magic she absorbs, "Justina" is now able to transform herself into a child.

Under her own clearly biased choices, the soft form is uncontrollably changing in the direction of a girl.

In short, Hugh felt it was inappropriate to continue treating Justine as a pet like a cat or dog, but he also felt awkward about accepting the name she gave him and treating her as his daughter.

"Father……"

However, no matter how awkward Hugh felt inside, the name "Justina" remained unchanged. She called out softly and then staggered over to Hugh's side. Because she was unsteady on her feet, she had to reach out and hug Hugh's leg to maintain her balance.

Hugh sighed inwardly, but he still reached out and lifted the small figure up, helping her onto the table while gently responding.

"Eh."

Justine was overjoyed to receive a direct response from Hugh. She sat on Hugh's desk, her still somewhat blurry shadowy face transforming into a bright smile. Then she took a bottle from Hugh, raised it to her "mouth," and slowly began to drink.

This contains diluted "Color of Life," and in addition, Hugh added some magic crystal powder, making it a special nutrient solution for "Justina."

Although he still couldn't figure out the little one's future, Hugh was very much looking forward to her growth and the role she might play in the future.

"I hope you can really 'grow up' safely..."

Looking at the small figure holding the bottle, Hughes raised his hand and gently patted her head twice.

(End of this chapter)