Above the mage

Chapter 86 It's good to be confused sometimes.

"Until three months ago, the mage fell ill due to poor health and his constant research into potions. He was bedridden and could not be cured by medicine. In the end..." At this point, Gao De showed a sad expression.

After listening to Gao De's entire story, Madam Misu remained silent for a while, finally saying softly, "That parting thirteen years ago turned out to be the last time we'd ever see each other."

Gao De was somewhat surprised.

Although Mrs. Misu was somewhat saddened, she was far less emotional than he had imagined.

How could a normal person remain so calm upon hearing the news of her husband's death?

Is there another hidden reason? Or has Lady Misu's feelings for Master Seda faded after being separated for so long?

"Before the Master left, he instructed me to personally deliver this message to you, Madam Misu, and also to personally deliver this prescription to you."

Gaode, somewhat unsure of the situation, continued with his established procedures.

He took out another old parchment from his pocket and handed it to Madame Misu.

"what?"

Lady Misu exclaimed softly as she received the old parchment.

"Spirit Potion (Tier 1 Magic Potion)"

Main ingredients: 1/2 ounce of Spirit Bone Powder (approximately 14g), 1 pair of Illusionary Butterfly Wings

"Additional materials: 1 part silver thread grass, mandrake bark, dried nettle, sage?"

It was the incomplete prescription for the psychic potion among the relics of the sorcerer Seda.

"What is this?" Mrs. Misu asked hesitantly.

"The Master has devoted a great deal of time and energy to this prescription. Before he fell ill, only the verification of the last auxiliary ingredient was needed to complete the prescription," Gao De said.

Success was within reach, but unfortunately...

"Mrs. Misu, although the prescription is not completely complete, it is almost there."

"So you should understand how precious this prescription is, which is why the Master specifically instructed me to personally deliver it to you."

"He doesn't trust anyone else with the prescription!"

"However, he specifically reminded me that there might be someone secretly spying on you in Bremen, and advised me to be careful."

"The Master said that he was forced to leave for Hogan City by these people."

"So, Madam," Gao De apologized, "I used a false identity to deceive you at first because I needed time to confirm whether anyone else was secretly spying on me. I'm sorry."

"I understand, it's not your fault, you don't need to apologize." Mrs. Misu sighed and carefully put the prescription away from her body.

"Before he left, I had thought this day might come." She sighed, and tears finally welled up in her eyes.

"Besides this prescription, there should be something else he wants you to deliver to me personally, right?"

Gao De's heart skipped a beat; he knew the crucial moment was approaching.

"There's no need to give me that thing, you can keep it yourself." But before he could speak, Madam Misu said first, leaving Gao De stunned on the spot.

"Madam, what's wrong?"

"That thing should be a scroll."

Gaode hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Now that things have come to this point, even if it's just to see what Madam Misu is really up to, there's no need for him to pretend to be confused anymore.

"That's actually a letter of recommendation from the Cyrus Academy of Magic," Madam Misu said directly.

"With this scroll, you can enter the Seres Magic Academy to study magic without any conditions."

Gao De then showed a surprised expression.

"It was also the reason my husband left," Mrs. Misu continued.

"He knew perfectly well who the so-called mastermind was—the Harrell family, with whom his family had been close friends for generations."

"Back then, my husband's family, the ancestors of the Norman family and the ancestors of the Harel family, were close friends who went through life and death together. During an adventure in a ruin, they made an extraordinary contribution to the Duchy of Sean."

"When bestowing the reward, they jointly chose a letter of recommendation from the Seres Academy of Magic as a guarantee for the continuation of their family lineage."

"But later, my husband's family gradually declined, while the Harel family prospered and even left Bremen and established itself in Saint-Sien."

"By my husband's generation, his family had dwindled to a single heir. The once-prosperous family was practically extinct; apart from himself, very few people remembered the name of the Norman family."

"It wasn't a big deal to begin with. We're fine living our own lives."

"But thirteen years ago, the Harrell family came to him, wanting to buy the letter of recommendation he had."

"Indeed, besides him, only the Harrell family would know that he possesses this item."

"But my husband was adamant about not admitting it, insisting that the letter of recommendation had already been sold."

"I kept telling him it wasn't necessary, that being together as a family is more important than anything else, why bother with something external?"

"But he just wouldn't listen."

"As a result, we were forced to leave for Hogan City, and the family was torn apart, never to see each other again." The mist that had been rising in Mrs. Misu's eyes finally turned into tears and rolled down her cheeks.

"Madam, please accept my condolences." Gao De sighed inwardly.

After crying silently for a long time, Mrs. Misu wiped away her tears with a handkerchief. "I'm sorry, I lost my composure."

Gao De shook his head, indicating that everything was fine.

"My husband means that he wants to use this letter of recommendation to send Sel to study at the Cyrus Academy of Magic," Mrs. Misu explained, having recovered.

"Although this letter promises Sel unconditionally entry into the Cyrus Magic Academy, getting into the Cyrus Magic Academy is certainly not that easy."

"The Harrell family is now in Saint-Sean City and wields immense power. Perhaps the people who forced my husband to hand over the scrolls back then now believe that Seda will never return, and have therefore given up on monitoring our family."

"However, as soon as I set foot on the streets of Saint Sein with this letter, even before I even arrive in Saint Sein and am still on the road, the person behind it should have already received the news." Madam Misu was frighteningly calm.

"If my husband was driven to such a predicament in Bremen, how can I, a widow and orphan, fight against the local Harel family in Saint-Sien?"

"Besides, I don't want to think about that much. It's best if my family can be together. I don't necessarily need to achieve great success."

"Besides, even if you go to the Seres Magic Academy, it doesn't guarantee anything. Success ultimately depends on the individual; the external environment is just an aid."

"An ordinary person may not be guilty of any crime, but if he or she possesses a precious jade, he or she may incur guilt or disaster."

"Sel and I are doing fine now, and I don't want this useless letter of recommendation to disturb my life any longer."

"So, since you are my husband's apprentice, I'll give you this letter of recommendation."

"Unlike me, the Harel family doesn't know you. You could easily enter the Cyrus Magic Academy directly with this letter of recommendation."

Things took a turn for the better than Gaode had anticipated.

Yet it seems to make sense.

"The Norman family has fallen so low, why have they kept this letter all this time instead of using it sooner?" This has always been the thing that Gao De couldn't understand the most.

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Misu sighed and explained, "This letter of recommendation was kept by my husband's ancestors in preparation for a future resurgence when their family is in decline."

"But when the family really started to decline, new problems arose."

"Once a family declines, its members become increasingly scarce, and it may become difficult to find someone who can provide this letter of recommendation."

"For example, my husband, he doesn't have much talent as a mage. Even if he uses this letter of recommendation to study at the Cyrus Academy of Magic, he can only barely become a 1st-ring mage at best."

"To be honest, this is too wasteful. After all, there is only one letter of recommendation, and a mere 1st-ring mage is indeed not enough to make the family rise again."

"That's why this letter of recommendation has been kept until now."

Gao De nodded slightly. While he might not necessarily agree with this approach, he could certainly understand it.

It's like playing cards. If your hand is terrible and you only have one bomb, you definitely want to use that bomb to get more points back.

If you play it well, you might be able to win big, but if you play it poorly, and everyone else has run out of cards, your bomb will be useless in your hand.

"There's even a new problem that's hard to solve," Mrs. Misu sighed again.

"With the family's decline, even getting to the Cyrus Magic Academy has become a problem for them," she said helplessly.

"The journey from Bremen to Saint-Sien is over a thousand kilometers long, and the road is arduous and bumpy. You can understand that just by thinking about it."

Well, that's the same problem I'm facing right now.

"So back then, I advised him that he should just sell the recommendation letter to the Harrell family."

"Isn't receiving a sum of money more practical than receiving a worthless letter that you can only look at but can't bear to use?"

"Unfortunately, he won't listen to me."

After Gaode had been gone for a long time, a soft sigh came from Mrs. Misu in the quiet house.

Gao De said she was her husband's apprentice, but where did she get her skills as a restoration craftsman?

Surely it couldn't have been his husband who taught him that.

Seda is clearly only good at concocting potions and knows nothing about repairing alchemical items.

The craftsmanship of the restorers requires both the inheritance of knowledge and the tempering of time.

This contradicts Gaode's explanation no matter how you look at it.

Yet God could clearly provide her husband's family letter, the potion recipe, and detailed information about the sorcerer Seda, including his properties and situation in Hogan City.

She didn't know the truth or the details, but she had no interest in investigating them.

All she knew was that her husband was definitely dead.

All she understood was that whatever the other party was hiding, that was their target.

Gaode provided a family letter and a prescription, but conspicuously omitted the letter of recommendation that should have been most valued by her husband.

The reason she "voluntarily" gave the recommendation letter to Gao De, besides the reasons Gao De stated, was also because she understood that whether she gave it to him or not, the recommendation letter would never end up in her hands.

If that's the case, why not be foolish enough to believe Gao De's words completely, and why not "voluntarily" give it away?

At least you can still get some credit.

Mrs. Misu slowly got up and went into the kitchen.

Sel will be back soon; she should prepare dinner.

Extremely shrewd.

It's good to be confused sometimes.

(End of this chapter)