What's wrong with me, a mage, loving to farm?

Chapter 194. The Silver Moon Dissipates, and Changes in the Outside World

The direction the herb of wisdom points to leads to the end of the path, which is actually the only mermaid mother who has lost her child.

She was sitting on a rock by the sea, quietly looking at the scenery in the distance, without tears or anything on her face.

But the most painful thing is that you can't even show your sadness; it's all suppressed inside.

After watching for a while, Kroya could clearly sense her sorrow; the melody of her emotions had turned somber.

Different races, but the sorrow is the same.

"Go, go! The boss has given you the power of a illusory god!"

The intelligent grass, resembling a foxtail, shook again and tossed a strange emblem, engraved like a claw, to Kroa.

Then it shook its body, immediately shrank back, and disappeared.

Only the emblem remained, shimmering with an uncertain light in Kroya's hand, like the changing phases of the moon.

Kroya looked at it, a strange look flashing in his eyes.

I made a wish to a fictitious god? Are you kidding me?

"This is……"

"A miracle!"

The surrounding mermaids immediately gathered around—their tails hadn't yet turned into legs, so they hopped around, which looked rather comical.

They stared in astonishment at the emblem in Chloe's hand that resembled a dog's paw, but none of them spoke.

The little prince of the merfolk said thoughtfully, "This seems to be... the mark of Lord Void God's guardian beast."

As a member of the merfolk royal family, he was born with access to almost complete merfolk heritage knowledge.

For ordinary mermaids, learning something requires tremendous effort, but for him, it's simply a matter of thoroughly understanding his inherited knowledge.

After all, bloodlines are indeed one of the most unreasonable things.

The little prince strained to stand on the tip of his tail, looking curiously at the mark in Chloe's hand, even more puzzled: "Brother, how did you get it?"

Kroya smiled slightly: "Perhaps it just likes me?"

The little prince actually nodded very seriously.

"It seems that Lord Void God really likes you."

"After all, I did him a big favor."

After saying this, he walked to the female mermaid's side and said, "Your god will grant your wish."

To be honest, he didn't intend to be any kind of "confidant brother," and he wasn't particularly interested in the mermaid race. Mermaids were indeed pleasing to the eye, but... that was all he could do.

He simply couldn't understand what people who could have such thoughts about merfolk were thinking, even though merfolk were indeed very beautiful.

Both men and women are handsome and beautiful.

But he just couldn't understand it, and of course, he didn't feel any desire for it.

"..."

"Can you really give it to me?"

The mermaid mother looked astonished and incredulous.

She looked at the dog paw-shaped emblem in Chloe's hand as if she had seen the treasure of the whole world, her eyes sparkling.

"Hmm." Chloe casually handed her the dog paw emblem. "I'm satisfied now. It's a perfect ending."

"Your Water Crystals were refined by me, and I also hope to see a perfect ending."

After saying those words, he suddenly felt the gazes behind him become incredibly intense—the gazes of the female mermaids.

He immediately realized he might have said something wrong, but he remained calm and watched the mermaid mother express her deepest gratitude to him.

Watching her make a wish upon the emblem.

The gentle moonlight immediately shone down from the sky, piercing straight through the ocean, with waves and billows swirling around it.

A little mermaid gradually emerged in the moonlight.

Finally, she was embraced by her mother, who was trembling with excitement.

The mother and daughter were crying together.

Cloa smiled slightly after watching the entire scene of the mother and daughter's reunion.

A gentle yet authoritative female voice came from beside him.

"Don't make wishes to God lightly."

The sound was both clear and faint; it brushed past Kroa's ear and then disappeared into the moonlight.

「!?」

Kroya suddenly turned his head and saw the golden-haired mermaid looking at him with a smile: "I want to entrust my son to you. He is the representative of our mermaid race."

This land, affected by our actions, groans in sorrow.

We must restore it, but we have no idea how to do so.

So I can only leave it to you; my son, Treden, will help you.

Her expression was almost identical to that of the Mermaid King, as if she hadn't said those words at all.

The Queen of the Mermaid King said that one cannot trust the gods... Hmm, that's a bit creepy.

Chloe temporarily suppressed her doubts, carefully considered what she had said, and said hesitantly:

"..."

"Me?"

"But the northern border of the Kingdom of Norland is not within the Mage Association's sphere of influence. If I, a mage, were to rashly intervene..."

His meaning was already quite clear.

Merfolk are, after all, an outsider race. How can they interfere in human affairs so casually? If this gets out, some people might accuse them of colluding with other races.

"Don't worry." She gave a mysterious smile. "The army and mages of the Kingdom of Norland should have already rushed to the Yavana Holy Mine."

Moreover, the very existence of the Kingdom of Norland is also a question.

They have no time to manage the affairs of the kingdom, so you may as well place your forces in the northern border of the Kingdom of Norland.

This is the promise between the legendary mage Dantalian and us.

This passage truly stunned Cloa—could it survive?

Although he didn't feel any sense of belonging to this so-called kingdom, a stable environment was still very important to him.

If a large-scale war were to break out, it would be extremely tragic for the poor farmers.

The mermaid queen noticed Kroa's astonishment.

She explained, "There are some problems at the Yavana Holy Mine that need to be resolved by the people of the Kingdom of Norland."

Now we'll see if they can solve it.

If the problem can't be solved, then everyone will have to be inside. It's our responsibility, just like how we mermaids purify the seas.

Kroya then nodded.

"I see."

He decided that once he went out, he would quickly learn about the situation outside and at the same time help Viscount Kemoyer ascend to the throne, so that he could become the Earl of the Northern Territory as soon as possible.

Although his territory is in the ocean, it is still necessary to build something outside, at least to form a buffer zone to prevent any possible events.

……

After asking for some more details, Kroya left the womb with the little mermaid prince Treden.

To his dismay, this guy, though saying he was going to stay with him, actually brought two guards with him.

The two guards were both tall merfolk, and like most merfolk, they didn't like to wear clothes. They had streamlined, muscular bodies, and they carried staffs made of coral and pearls.

Although the staff looked more like a giant hammer.

It was even more extravagant than the "Civil Code Hammer" used by battle priests that he had seen in the book "Miracle of Light".

In addition, the princess secretly gave Kroya a spatial clam shell, which was filled with one hundred Oro Pink Pearls produced by a level-five magic clam.

These unique pearls are treasures made from the purest water element.

As long as it is placed in a certain area, it will continuously generate magic and seawater suitable for the survival of mermaids. It is a treasure specially cultivated by the mermaid royal family.

Simply put... it's about building a house for the Little Mermaid Prince.

Kroya felt it was normal for the mother to worry about her child, and she didn't intend to use the money. It would be nice to make a fish tank for him to live in.

As they were about to leave the Sea of ​​the Dead, King Michael sent them something: a deep blue sea anemone.

According to Kroya's observation, the water elemental magic inside this thing was ridiculously abundant, and its vitality was extremely vigorous, seemingly no less than that of the Orpheus Oak.

The mermaid who obeyed King Mihai's request to deliver the anemone said, "This is an Oro anemone, meant for His Highness the Prince to use as a bed and as food."

"You only need to water them with water elemental magic, and they will split on their own. The split anemones can be eaten directly or used as beds to sleep on."

"Of course, it is also a necessary main ingredient for making a potion. Here is the potion recipe, please accept it."

The mermaid, dressed in a deep blue robe that appeared to be made of seaweed, handed a piece of parchment to Kroya before bowing in greeting.

Kroa: "..."

So you two, one of you gave me a house and the other gave me a bed and food, right?

They're so afraid I won't take good care of them.

Also, why not send them together? Are you afraid of each other finding out? Mermaids are so pretentious.

He had no choice but to accept the sea anemones; he was quite interested in these unusual creatures.

After seeing that he accepted it, the mermaid bowed again:

"After this period, His Majesty will arrange for someone to discuss with you more matters regarding the purchase of Water Essence."

"goodbye."

After saying that, he turned and swam into the sea, disappearing from sight.

Kroya, who thought everything was fine, turned around, but before he could even take a step...

A tiny sprout of spiritual grass emerged from the ground like a mushroom and hopped directly onto Kroya's shoulder.

It touched Chloe's face with its tail-like body.

It said, "The boss said I can follow you; there are still many places in the outer seas that need to be purified."

"...Alright, then you can come with me."

The Spirit Grass nodded happily and then jumped onto the hair of the little mermaid Treden.

The latter looked completely bewildered.

Then we started whispering to each other—talking about things like when the moonlight is brightest and when the moonlight is most comfortable.

As Kroya listened, he led the two of them into the vortex passage.

Finally, they returned to their own island, Hanjiao.

Little Mermaid Treden is still very curious about the outside world.

After obtaining Kroya's consent, he took out a jellyfish-shaped magical artifact from the seashell hanging around his neck and mounted it.

The jellyfish carried him gently, flying towards the sky.

Kroa watched him and the Spirit Grass leave, instructed King Woody Vine and several elves to keep an eye on him, and then entered his castle.

I simply lay down on the comfortable sofa bed.

Put everything else aside for now, getting some sleep is the priority!

……

While he was sleeping.

The outside world has also undergone tremendous changes.

First, the dome that had enveloped the entire sea area finally disappeared, and the winds from the sea blew across the entire northern land.

The moonlight and the azure trees also disappeared, like a dream.

Once the people stationed at the Han Reef Island pier sensed the danger, they immediately sent someone through the underwater tunnel to report the events that had occurred to Robert and Shark Tower.

Twenty-one days is neither a long nor a short time.

Without news and support from Hanjiao Island, they were actually quite uneasy.

Fortunately, Father Kevin and his colleagues stayed at the dock for the time being, firstly to guard the Mammon Flower that had not yet been delivered to Chloe, and secondly to await the Knights' next orders.

With five holy knights here, any danger could be easily averted.

But they couldn't stay any longer.

As the sea breeze blew, the orders from the Salt Mountain Knights also arrived.

The Knights ordered them to immediately proceed to the Sacred Mine of Yavana and assist the armies of two countries under the jurisdiction of the Papal States in establishing a base.

The situation at the Yavana Holy Mine is terrible.

It's almost impossible to eliminate those cultists and the Fungal Lady's henchmen directly with swift and decisive measures; the only option is to launch a battle there.

Therefore, they urgently needed to see Kroya.

They believed that since Kroya was able to deal with Mammon Vine, he might also be able to target Lady Fungus's infection. If Kroya really had a solution, it would be a great thing.

So after the barrier in the sea disappeared, their first priority was to come and see Kroa.

But before they even entered the sea, a massive water elemental appeared on the shore, looking very serious, and said:

"The Sea of ​​Atlantis belongs to the Merfolk; no extraordinary being may enter without permission!"

Its body was shrouded in a continuous flow of moonlight, like a confluence of silver moonlight and azure seawater, with unfathomable magic brewing within it.

The leader of the knights, a powerful level four knight, immediately changed his expression when he saw the water elemental.

This is the guardian of the Moon Sea of ​​the Merfolk.

Its power comes from the boundless sea and the moon. As long as these two exist, it cannot be destroyed and can also cast many kinds of water magic and divine spells.

Even a level 10 cardinal or archmage would get a severe beating from it if they came here.

It can be said that within the sea area, apart from eleventh-level archmages, knights, sword saints, and even higher-level legends carrying powerful magical artifacts, no one can defeat it.

Father Kevin couldn't help but ask, "We want to see Chloe!"

"If Lord Kroya invites you to enter the sea, then you may enter." The Moon Sea Guardian remained blocking their way.

However, its way of addressing Kroya left the group looking at each other in bewilderment.

Master Croa?

What happened during this time? How did Kroya grow up to be an adult?

For the Moon Sea Guardians to be called that...

Did he marry a mermaid princess?

……

the other side.

King's capital.

After finishing his tasks for the day, Estner took a sip of the sweet and rich morning dew milk tea and leaned back in the large, comfortable chair.

"I wonder when it will be back to normal... This milk tea is selling like hotcakes."

He smacked his lips, still wanting more.

After the situation in the capital stabilized, Kroya's milk tea shop opened, and it immediately attracted the attention of mages.

They really can't resist sweets.

And speaking of which, Estner also deserves credit for this—

Since all the mages in the capital left, the operation of the entire capital has fallen on the shoulders of these junior mages.

To be honest, although the Mage Association is more of a detached entity that hardly gets involved, it is still located in the capital, so there are always some troublesome things to deal with.

The departure of the senior monks meant that they could only assign positions based on rank and status.

As a result, Estner, being a level six mage and the apprentice of Archmage Celeste, naturally became the temporary president of the association—level seven mages do not have apprentices.

As the temporary guild leader, the milk tea shop he was instructed to take care of naturally became the focus of the mages' attention.

No one dared to cause trouble, and sales were very good.

By the way,

Although all the senior figures have left, the power is now held by young mages, who are actually handling affairs more quickly.

After a brief period of hard work, he quickly adapted to the current work rhythm and even handled things quite well.

He looked out the window at the view—the bright sunlight shone on the towers and castles of the Mage Tower, making this ancient and profound Mage Association seem to be gilded in the sunlight, and come alive.

"I don't know when... um?"

Estner suddenly sensed something and quickly took out his Holy Spring Crystal Card.

A gentle and intellectual female voice rang out:

"The block on Master Hanjiao has now been lifted, and you are now able to communicate with him. We apologize for any inconvenience caused."

"It's back to normal."

He thought for a moment, then sent a message to Chloe, planning to meet and talk directly when the latter was free.

After all, no matter how many messages you send, it's not as quick as meeting in person.

After finishing this matter, he was just about to close his eyes and rest when something suddenly came out of the owl-shaped mailbox in front of him.

It was a letter from the Heraldry Institute of the Royal Palace in the capital.

"Ugh, there's just so much work to do."

Estner sighed helplessly, resignedly picked up the letter, opened it, and his expression turned very strange.

"Requisitioning grain..."

He sighed deeply again, completely at a loss for words. At a time like this, grain was being requisitioned nationwide, and even noble titles were being offered in exchange.

Has the situation outside deteriorated to this extent?

They actually had to rely on requisitioning grain to get through the crisis.

Most importantly, this order was personally issued by the prince who is currently staying in the capital in place of the king. It is astonishing that such a bizarre order could pass through the Heraldry Academy and even require the help of the Mage Association.

That means... things have become very serious, so serious that the nobles in the capital have abandoned their prejudices and sacrificed their interests to resolve the issue quickly.

After all, to be honest... the land and food reserves held by those great nobles are definitely more than those of mages.

The fact that this matter wasn't resolved internally but instead leaked out is itself a signal.

Estner considered it for a moment and then relayed the order to the association, waiting for the mages to discuss it and decide whether or not to help.

At the same time, he also desperately hoped that Kroa would wake up.

This is something I can't talk about with anyone else; I can only have a frank conversation with Chloe.

(End of this chapter)