Don't disturb the sorcerer's scientific research

Chapter 219 Jia, the "Reporter," Enters the Grand Manor

The food at the Unity Society Manor was nothing special.

Bread, beans, and mushroom soup.

Jia Xiu can vouch for his dining experience over the past two years; not a single meal there was good.

The bread isn't the kind of bread that's meticulously made in a bakery and tastes more like a pastry than a staple food; rather, it's a "qualified exerciser for the jaw muscles" that can also help grind your teeth.

The beans are always made into a state that is almost like bean paste, with little to no texture, and they are extremely salty.

Mushroom soup is usually not a thick soup; some are thin and watery, and Jia Xiu doesn't like mushrooms.

However, this is just his personal preference.

Objectively speaking, given the current material conditions, these are considered good things.

And judging from Jack's happy expression, these foods are indeed very popular here.

In a city where resources are scarce, feeding hundreds of people is no easy task.

In fact, the treatment they received was comparable to that of people in towns in the Southern Kingdom who were considered to have a decent standard of living.

In that sense, the estates established by the Solidarity Society were quite successful in terms of living standards.

How on earth is it done?
Do we rely solely on farming and small workshops?
If we rely on just these two things, we should be able to afford those foods.

But they absolutely couldn't afford a chef whose demeanor was anything but ordinary, whose every move exuded nobility, and who had a demon from the deep prison as his bodyguard.

Jia Xiu was now completely certain that the Deep Prison Demon, standing next to the canteen shed with a "keep away" look on his face, was protecting the female chef.

It always kept a close distance from the chef and watched every living creature that tried to approach it warily.

This basically makes it obvious that there's a problem.

What kind of cook needs the protection of a demon in the deep hell?! What must be cooking in that pot to require this level of guard?

This person is definitely someone important.

It's necessary to conduct an "interview".

Before directly asking the person involved, Jia Xiu chose to first inquire with Little Jack.

"Little Jack, what did you just call this lady? Aunt Becky? Is she also a member of the Solidarity Society?"

Judging from how familiar they seemed, Aunt Becky was clearly not a stranger who had come to experience life at the manor.

Little Jack replied, “Aunt Becky is a good person. She often comes to see us and stays for a while each time. She also brings us lots and lots of delicious food. It’s just that her guard is a bit scary. But it only looks scary. In reality, it’s like a stone statue. As long as you don’t provoke it, it will hardly move. So, Mr. Reporter, you don’t need to be afraid of it.”

"So that's it."

Jia Xiu nodded. This was consistent with the typical characteristics of a demon in the deep prison—one of the few demons who would seriously carry out orders. So, who gave this demon guard the order?

Those who can use demons of this caliber as guards are certainly not ordinary demons.

Nine times out of ten, he is a great demon lord who is listed on the bounty lists of both associations.

"How about we interview Becky?"

"An interview? Will Aunt Becky appear in the newspaper?"

"Of course, good people like her should be known by more people."

"I think so too."

Little Jack thought for a moment, then ran towards the person called Becky.

The Deep Prison Demon Guards must have recognized him, as they remained unmoved by his approach, their eyes fixed on Jia Xiu and his group, especially the lich knight disguised as Bubu.

When is Bubu a ghost who is afraid of being seen?

They stared back at each other directly, a demon and an undead creature locked in a passionate confrontation beside a simple shed.

It's as if this small place is some kind of strategic location that military strategists must fight over.

"Aunt Becky, let me introduce you. They are La, La something..."

"Ralvin?"

"Yes, the reporters from Larvin want to write about us in the newspaper, so everyone will know what we're doing here."

Faced with the excited little Jack, Becky smiled and said, "Not everyone should know this. Not everyone reads newspapers, and many people don't even know as many words as you, little Jack."

“Really? Those people are so pitiful. If they can’t read, they won’t be able to understand many of the fun things,” Little Jack sighed. “Oh, by the way, Aunt Becky, these reporters want to interview you.”

“Me?” Becky blinked, as if thinking about something. “I’m just an ordinary person. What’s so special about me being interviewed?”

Jia Xiu then chimed in, "Ordinary people don't have a Deep Hell Demon guarding them. We hope you'll accept our interview. We're here to report on the Unity Society. We believe that as a member of the Manor, you can provide a good perspective on the Society's claims. After all, you seem to have achieved peaceful coexistence with the devil."

Seeing that Jia Xiu and his group were still approaching, the Deep Prison Demon Guardian gripped the hammer handle, entering a state of alert, ready to swing the hammer at Jia Xiu's head at any moment.

“Don’t be so nervous,” Becky reminded him, then said to Jasmine, “I don’t have anything to interview. I’m not a member here; I just come to help out occasionally.”

As he spoke, he avoided Margaret's gaze.

To resemble a graphic journalist more closely, Margaret released a detection eye to float around her, ready to capture valuable images at any time—a standard practice for the graphic artist in the journalist team.

Looks very professional.

In reality, nothing is captured; only the design is impressive.

She was completely unfamiliar with the Eye of Detection's ability to capture images, and even if she did capture an image, she couldn't recreate it. She wasn't very good at illusions.

However, this intimidating appearance probably fooled Becky.

Becky recognized him as a graphic journalist and tried to prevent him from photographing her.

Jia Xiu noticed this and said, "Please rest assured, the image will only appear in the newspaper with the consent of the person involved. If you do not wish for it, no personal information will be published. I am just asking you to answer some questions, and your identity will be kept confidential."

After receiving Jashy's explanation, Becky relaxed a little.

Do you have any questions for me?

“I just heard you say that you come here occasionally to help out, so you are not a member of the Solidarity Society.”

"Yes, I'm not from here..."

Becky answered, without stopping her work.

So this person is indeed a real person.

Jasmine keenly noticed the word Becky used to refer to herself.

At first, he thought it was a powerful demon disguised as a human.

While it's a bit strange for a powerful demon to be cooking, demons are known for their eccentric tastes, which is quite common.

There are female math enthusiasts, and one is a devil who likes to cook, so he's not so weird in comparison.

But if she really is a great devil, then she shouldn't be referring to herself as a human.

There's no need for infiltrating and gathering intelligence on humans here in Goward.

During his previous investigation, Jia Xiu learned that the Unity Society had both humanoid and original-form demons, depending entirely on their own preferences.

Demons who take human form generally refer to themselves using their original demon names.

Becoming human is a hobby or for better communication; the title of demon is a source of pride for those who are demons.

The two are not in conflict.

Therefore, this Becky is most likely a person, someone with close ties to the Great Demon who could send a demon from the Deep Hell as a guard.

That sounds even weirder than the demons who love to cook.

Jassi then started chatting with Becky, without using any aggressive interviewing techniques; he just talked.

During the conversation, he obtained a lot of useful information.

Becky is not a member of the Solidarity Society. She is here because she strongly agrees with the society's ideals and wants to help them realize their dreams.

She was one of the sponsors of this organization, and she didn't expect any substantial return for her money; she just wanted the organization to do its job well.

This made Jia Xiu completely certain that her identity was extraordinary, but she was evasive about it and didn't want to reveal it. As for why she was cooking there, it was because, in addition to money, she wanted to provide some help within her ability, as a way to find something meaningful to do. Also, she really liked the children here, so she always brought many gifts when she came.

This statement also piqued Jia Xiu's interest.

"Want to provide more"—does that mean that funding Solidarity Society is not something she can do on her own?

This is a "volunteer".

They don't even need meals or souvenirs; they contribute their own money and effort, acting as pure volunteers who "generate electricity with love."

Regardless of the circumstances, she did do some good things, and the help she gave to the children was genuine.

Besides herself, Jia Xiu also asked about a lot of information about the Solidarity Society.

This club does indeed have a short history, less than ten years at most.

Despite constantly chanting the slogan of human-demon unity and coexistence, the actual activities of humans and demons living together in close proximity, which are somewhat experimental, have only begun in recent years.

So far, the results have been quite good.

Aside from individuals or demons who intentionally cause damage, no accidents have occurred inside.

Their first-phase goal is to regulate the entire Goward, transforming it from a chaotic city into a truly iconic city where humans and demons coexist peacefully.

The goal is quite ambitious.

It's unclear whether their grand ambitions or the new war against the demons will come first.

Judging from her sincere demeanor, she most likely genuinely believes in the future vision depicted by Solidarity.

Another thing that Jia Xiu remembered was that the series of questions did not disrupt Becky's work rhythm.

She cooked the meal without any problems.

She was very efficient at her work, which seemed out of place given her unusual background.

With money, one can sponsor organizations; with the protection of the demons in the deep prison, one can achieve anything.

Whatever the reason, their status must have been quite high, and logically, someone with that kind of status shouldn't have done much work.

If you ask Margaret to cook beans for hundreds of people, she certainly won't know how.

Cooking in a large pot is much more strenuous than cooking in a small pot.

Of course, Margaret didn't even know how to cook in a small pot.

"Thank you very much for agreeing to our interview."

At the end of the interview, Jia Xiuli expressed his gratitude.

"It's nothing. If you can really get more people to know about their ideas, that would be a good thing."

"It's all what I should do."

"Aren't you going to stay for a meal?"

Becky said, whether out of politeness or not.

Jia Xiu had never heard anyone here use polite phrases like "stay for dinner."

Let's assume it's just polite talk.

If it's just polite talk, then it's really awkward.

Just as he was about to say goodbye, Jia Xiu suddenly thought, "Hey, if it's already lunchtime, where are the people here?"

The area under the canteen's canopy was still empty.

"The people here will have to wait a while. They need to make sure they've finished their morning work before they go to the auditorium to pray."

Jia Xiu, who was about to leave, immediately became serious.

prayer?

Keyword trigger.

Could it be that the seemingly progressive Solidarity Society is actually a religious organization?

But why is the prayer held in the auditorium?

"Prayer? Shouldn't prayer take place in a church?"

Jia Xiu pretended not to care and asked casually.

"That's right, you don't know, the prayers here are a little different from those in other places."

"What do you mean?"

"They don't pray to gods here, they pray to themselves."

"To oneself?"

Jia Xiu didn't quite understand what this meant.

"Every day at noon and in the evening, I need to reflect on myself and see if I have done my job well and fulfilled the club's mission."

Jia Xiu was speechless.

What kind of prayer is this?

I examine myself twice a day, right?

It sounds rather serious.

However, Becky continued, "In addition to that, we also need to activate the magic circle."

"Magic circle?"

That doesn't sound very proper.

If you're just praying, why use a magic circle?

Could it be a mind control array that subtly influences people's minds while they are reflecting on themselves? People are most susceptible to influence during such times, ultimately leading to mind control.

If that's the case, then the purpose of this group might be that an "ambitious" demon is using illegitimate means to build its own power.

No, this should be considered a legitimate method among demons.

But Becky's words were unexpected once again.

"Yes, a magic circle, a magic-sharing magic circle."

"Uh, shared magic?"

"That's right, because there are many items in the manor that require magic to operate, but not everyone has magic. So, in order to produce more productive labor, members with enough magic will share their magic and lend it to members who don't have magic."

Jia Xiu was very surprised.

This sounds too "united".

"You mean, the demons here share their magic power?"

"That's right, the one that shares the most is the Flame Demon."

"The Flame Demon? The Flame Demon who founded the Unity Society."

"Ah."

Jia Xiu felt that things were getting more and more absurd, with a Fiery Demon setting an example by sharing magical power.

This Unity Society is strange; every little thing about it turns out to be incredibly serious when you ask them.

Could he really be a good person?
Jia Xiu turned to Little Jack and asked, "Can I go and have a look at that auditorium?"

He wanted to see the magic array with his own eyes.

As long as it's not more complex than the dimensional portal of the tentacle monster, he's confident he can figure out its function at a glance.

(End of this chapter)