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

Chapter 196. What Happens Next

The meeting with Estner took place inside the Deep Blue Illusion.

Although the two hadn't seen each other for only a month, they both felt that their spirits and demeanor had changed considerably.

Looking at Estner, Kroya inexplicably felt that this guy had an air about him that suggested he looked respectable but was actually very tired and would sleep for long periods during rest.

Even the battle mage's fitted robes were replaced with more comfortable, somewhat unkempt, comfortable robes, which even had a refreshing mint essential oil scent.

He was dressed plainly, his spirits low.

Estner felt that the already warm light emanating from Kroya had become even more vibrant, like the meadow he had seen when he was a child, during a spring outing in the royal gardens of the capital.

The emerald green meadow stretched to the horizon, bathed in warm sunlight.

After a moment of silence, Chloe finally spoke up, jokingly asking, "What's been going on with you lately?"

As he spoke, he made a gesture of invitation.

The space next to them now has soft, comfortable chairs and a table, enough for two people to sit down and chat.

The interim president, Estner, sat down next to Kroya and sighed helplessly: "The kingdom's senior mages have all left, so I can only temporarily take the position of president of the Mage Association."

You have no idea how many trivial things there are!

While in the capital, he needed to maintain a calm and composed mindset, which was actually not difficult for a battle mage.

Battle mages are different from warriors and knights.

The former requires maintaining a stable mental state at all times in order to calmly analyze the situation and reliably release magic.

The latter is simply getting angry; anger might even have a boosting effect on strength.

However, being able to stay calm and being able to remain calm are not the same thing.

Estner really went on and on complaining.

While complaining, she also revealed a lot of information to Kroya—including the current personnel changes and arrangements in the Mage Guild, and the reaction of the Royal Court…

After he finished complaining, Kroya had a general understanding of the current situation.

Of course, Estner also mentioned that the nobles of the Heraldry and the prince of the country currently in charge wanted to request the purchase of grain from the Mage Guild.

Kroya was very puzzled when she heard this news.

Why do so many people want to buy food?

It's one thing for the Gray Sand Lord to buy food, but even the nobles and princes in the capital need the Mage Guild's help to purchase grain, and they even have to exchange their titles for it.

The landlord's family had no surplus grain?

impossible.

Puzzled, he asked directly, "Why do they need food? Don't they have any food reserves?"

Estner nodded, saying helplessly, "The most important thing for an army when it goes on a campaign is logistical support, and you know that the kingdom has only been established for a short time."

In addition, the geographical location of the Kingdom of Norland is actually very unsuitable for growing food. As far as I know, the granaries are basically empty.

Moreover, because of the Pit Lord, the two subordinate countries of the Papacy also need us to provide food and supplies. In addition, with mages and knights, the rate at which food is consumed is also very fast.

If no more grain can be transported, the prince will probably have to find a way to borrow grain from other countries.

He felt a much stronger sense of belonging to the Kingdom of Norland than Kroya did, so he was quite resistant to this act of humbly begging for help from the outside world.

After hearing his explanation, Cloa seemed thoughtful.

The entire North is now enveloped by warm ocean currents and monsoons, making it a truly fertile land, extremely suitable for farming.

If managed properly, it could be a massive food production base. Especially since magic exists in this world, perhaps harvesting once a month wouldn't be a problem.

Thinking of this, he asked, "Regarding the Northern Territory... what do the Kingdom and the Mage's Guild intend to do?"

To be honest, he has basically decided to make the North his future development goal, if the Kingdom really doesn't want to.

That would be quite troublesome.

Estner replied, "What can we do? Nobody wants to come. Who knows if the merfolk will suddenly go crazy again?"

Moreover, now that the kingdom's army and the mages of the Mage Association have left, there is no one left to handle things here.

I reckon even if a rebellion were to break out, the kingdom wouldn't be able to react immediately.

Kroya nodded, her tone calm, "I am now a level four mage. If I wanted to take over the entire Northern Territory as my territory, do you think it would be difficult?"

Actually, he underestimated the situation.

Level 5 mages are already beckoning to him; perhaps it won't be long before he becomes a level 5 mage.

Keep in mind that there is only one level seven mage in the entire Kingdom of Norland, and Estner's master is only level six.

It's not that he's arrogant; with so many advantages at his disposal, his true strength is really hard to gauge.

With his capabilities, he should start thinking about what comes next.

"...Seriously?" Estner began to consider the possibility of this.

A few minutes later he replied, "You can't legally claim this land unless you join the Herald Academy and become a royal mage."

But if you want to actually possess it, I remember you once mentioned a viscount named Camille; just let him do it.

This answer is basically the same as Cloa's idea.

The Mage Guild is at most a force within the kingdom; how could the kingdom possibly allow the mages of the Mage Guild to truly occupy such a vast land as the North?

Especially now that this land is recovering and becoming fertile, anyone who isn't a complete fool can see its value.

But there's always a way.

If a powerful nobleman were to conquer the entire North on his own, the royal family would certainly bestow upon him a title such as Grand Duke of the North.

As for the truth, nobody cares.

Sometimes all you need is a fig leaf.

"I understand."

Kroya understood. With Estner's explicit guidance, he could sometimes act more freely without worrying about any problems.

Let's finalize things while they're all out there. Once they come back, do you think they'll dare to come into the sea and cause us trouble?

"By the way, your milk tea shop..." Estner revealed a somewhat subtle expression: "It's selling like hotcakes in the capital right now, and we're completely out of ingredients."

"As expected, I will deliver supplies to them through the Shengquan Chamber of Commerce in a little while."

The people I sent this time are all very smart. It would be very disappointing if they couldn't run the shop well without my instructions.

The two then talked for a while longer.

Kroya planned to buy seedlings and seeds of grains from Estner—Poseidon wheat, common wheat, rice, corn, as well as cabbage, onions, and carrots.

Seeds for these crops are quite difficult to obtain, while seeds for other livestock such as pigs, cattle, sheep, and chickens are easier to find.

"Can."

Estner readily agreed to all of them. Obtaining these seeds would be a piece of cake for him now, especially since Kroya had promised to give him priority in selling them after they were grown.

Given Kroya's farming skills, he could already foresee how much grain and meat he would get.

At the end of the conversation, Kroya also expressed his desire to purchase more magical books.

If possible, he would like to purchase level 5 and 6 magic books, as well as a complete guide to various alchemy techniques and magic array patterns.

His request made Estner fall into deep thought.

The latter shook his head helplessly: "Level 5 magic is okay, but level 6 magic is impossible, alchemy and magic arrays are no good either."

Magic of level six and above is considered advanced magic, requiring the guild master's mark and the permission of a grand mage.

"If you want level 5 magic, I can sell you some, but each level 5 spell's incantation, accompanying spell model, and hand gestures will cost 1,000 magic crystals."

This price actually sounds very high.

Because the spellbook that Kroya bought from the Mage Lords Alliance only cost a thousand magic crystals, and it was a whole book.

But now one of them costs a thousand magic crystals.

But actually, this price isn't that high.

It's generally accepted that the higher the level of magic, the more expensive it is.

Level 5 magic already involves spells such as divination, spatial jump, advanced summoning, and strategic-level spells like chain lightning and city-building.

These are not just simple magic, but also the corresponding knowledge, so the price is naturally very high.

but.

"The Mage Association doesn't seem very reliable either; you can't just buy level 5 and 6 spells whenever you want."

It seems this place is still too small.

After a moment's thought, Chloe immediately asked, "How many level-five spells are there in total?"

Estner: "..."

"I can sell you ten of them."

"These are Space Jump, Spiritual Dream, Dream Manipulation, Spirit World Walking, Advanced Summoning of the Four Elements, Chain Lightning, Earth Pulse, Advanced Version of Food Creation, City Building, and Prophecy."

He rattled off a long list of spell names with ease, clearly having memorized them perfectly; his skill level was quite proficient.

"Then I'll buy them all."

For Kroya now, 10,000 magic crystals is a piece of cake, from mineral deposits, the sea, and other miscellaneous income...

The territory no longer needs his support; it can now nourish him in return.

"Okay, just give me the magic crystal after I retrieve the spell."

Since Kroya is rich, Estner is willing to give him a convenient back door—even if those mages return in the future, they won't be able to say anything about it.

He was merely exercising the power of the acting chairman.

……

that's it,

After his meeting with Estner, Kroya spoke briefly with the Lord of Flame Mountain and the Lord of Sun Bay, obtaining some information from them.

After summarizing the information, Kroya discovered:

The Lord of Graysand did indeed offer them some benefits, and even invited them to station people in Graysand City.

It wasn't just the two of them; almost all the other mage lords were also persuaded to join the city that Gray Sand planned to build.

Those were more than twenty lords, and he managed to persuade them all. This shows that he really has a lot of confidence in himself.

The confirmation of this information also made Cloa make up her mind.

It seems he can also get involved in these things, since there are so many people involved.

Then the rest is quite simple.

First, we need to keep an eye on the monster and plant pet shop near the Yavana Holy Mine. Second, we need to help the Northern Territory recover its strength while planting crops.

A less demanding arrangement was to make a deal with the Gray Sand Lord and the Royal Capital Mage Association to supply food.

As for the situation with the Pit Lord, he hasn't replied yet, and I don't know if he's still near the Yavana Holy Mine.

Therefore, it can only be put on hold for the time being.

He deeply realized that food was extremely important; people definitely need to eat, and it's absolutely impossible not to eat.

With enough food on hand, he could do whatever he wanted with greater ease.

But even more important is—

If he could truly get involved in the supply of magical energy and the manufacture of magical artifacts, then he could be considered a real mastermind behind the scenes.

But that's a story for another time.

Even for him, it would be extremely difficult to casually venture into these two fields.

……

After resolving external matters, he had to start agonizing over his main task, which was opening a shop.

"Choosing a Warcraft/Plant-Based Battle Pet..."

Kroya carefully looked at his current list of magical beasts and magical plants, which numbered over a hundred in total.

However, after removing some high-level magical beasts and magical plants, we also need to consider their obedience and friendliness towards humans, as well as the hard requirement of possessing a certain level of intelligence...

In that case, there aren't many options left.

Moreover, he didn't initially intend to offer a large selection of magical beasts and plants; he planned to gradually increase the variety.

The very beginning is what lays the foundation and establishes one's position, so careful selection is necessary.

So after careful consideration, he chose a total of six types – three magical beasts and three magical plants.

The monsters are: Earth Thief Rat, Flametail Hound, and Azure Pigeon.

The magical plants are: Calming Lily of the Valley, Impact Pea, and Holy White Lavender.

Some of these magical plants and beasts are old friends, while others are ones I acquired not long ago, but they are all very suitable for someone to nurture and care for.

Take the Flametail Dog for example.

This guy is a level 2 magical beast. He looks like a tall and mighty dog ​​with flames burning on his tail, and he can throw fireballs to attack enemies.

It's a pretty good battle pet.

This magical beast was captured by Baron Kemoye. It was a family heirloom of a baron named Sea Cliff. Through generations of training and nurturing, it became extremely friendly to humans and highly obedient.

If it weren't for the small population size and the difficulty in breeding, it would probably have been requisitioned by the kingdom as a war beast long ago.

Of course, this wasn't a big deal for Kroya.

He had carefully observed the celestial bodies of these magical beasts and determined that the reason for their extremely low reproductive efficiency was the insufficient supply of nutrients from the mother to the offspring.

Their astral bodies are extremely inefficient at supplying nutrients to their offspring, which appears to be a congenital genetic defect.

Even a true master of magical beast studies would find it difficult to solve this flaw, but for Kroa, it was simply a matter of building a magical channel.

After this defect was resolved, they can basically give birth to seven or eight offspring at a time, and the population increases almost visibly.

Therefore, making them into Warcraft battle pets is the most suitable choice.

I also periodically add passive abilities to them, such as a keen sense of smell and fast running.

We should improve gradually, so that our future customers can experience the joy of upgrading and developing their skills.

The other type of magical beast, the Azure Pigeon, is actually a purely support-type magical beast. They fly extremely fast and can cast small healing spells such as Restoration and Purification.

Kroya also modified them; there are countless holy magic spells of healing and supportive nature in "Miracle of Light" and among the angels.

Priests and companions with healing magic are hard to find, so what if you could just sell a magical beast that can cast such magic and is also loyal to its owner?

As for ground squirrels, they are naturally very intelligent and will help people with household chores and other trivial matters.

Due to the nature of the world, many knights are actually quite poor at housekeeping; they can't even tidy their own clothes or cook a meal properly.

Every official knight must have at least three to four squires. Squires are actually mostly attendants, mainly to take care of their daily lives.

After all, superhumans always have certain privileges.

Even the major kingdoms and the Papacy would actively require the knights to immerse themselves in their studies, assigning special personnel to handle all their daily lives—these personnel were, of course, trained by them.

It is said that there have been many instances of knights developing relationships beyond friendship with their knights and squires.

Thinking about it, it makes sense. You meet someone who takes care of everything in your daily life, and who also needs your protection...

In short, his carefully cultivated and logistics-savvy mole thieves are sure to receive many positive reviews.

In terms of magical plants, it's nothing special.

After all, most magical plants cannot be carried around, making it very difficult to exert an advantage on the battlefield. Therefore, even Kroya can only focus more on daily life.

It can be said that Impact Pea is an experimental project. If people's evaluation of Impact Pea is good, then he will consider continuing to invest and selling it in large quantities.

If that doesn't work, then you can only focus on life.

The calming lily of the valley nourishes the spirit and can help people relax and fall asleep; the white lavender is a magical plant he created after imprinting the magic of "pure white healing".

"Let's start with these six types: three magical plants and three magical beasts."

Kroya finally made a decision, and then, while conducting the final tests, waited for Mir and Ott to set off with the Holy Knights.

……

A few days later, they boarded a flying magic ship sent by the Holy See and headed directly to the vicinity of the Yavana Holy Mine.

Throughout this time, Kroa watched through the mushroom people.

When they finally arrived at their destination, the environment of the area stunned Kroya.

He hadn't expected the environment to be like this.

First, there's the geographical location of the Yavana Sacred Mine. It's actually an underground city located beneath the Yavana Plains.

According to what Kroya had learned before, this underground city had long been built by mages from various countries and people from the Holy See into a modern city that was close to the one he remembered.

It can be said that the entire city was built for the Yavana Sacred Mine.

But now, a completely different scene appeared before him—

A substance that looks like fungus has covered the ground, walls, and rock domes, enveloping them all in a layer of dark brown fuzz and slime.

Like a fungal carpet, they keep wriggling, stretching to the horizon.

Inside the fungal carpet, many strange larvae roamed, carrying everything they could to the distant mine shafts of the giant mine covered by the fungal carpet.

They are so densely packed that they could kill someone with trypophobia on the spot.

It could be said that this place had completely become a world of fungi and spores, and even Kroya, who saw this scene through the eyes of the fungus people, felt uncomfortable all over.

Thanks for all the monthly tickets and recommendation votes! I have a little less today... Tomorrow we'll officially start the new storyline, so I'll reconsider the outline.

(End of this chapter)