"Hmm? Are you done? I'm going to fall asleep if you don't finish it soon."
Despite saying this, Angelique didn't seem to be asleep at all. In fact, when Ella was drawing the magic circuit, she was trying to prepare the "magic liquid" with Shen Gan. As a result, not only Angelique, but also Shen Gan failed. The reason for the failure was that neither of them was good at fine magic operations. When converting ordinary potions into magic potions, they gave up because the minimum magic output was too unstable.
“Eh… has it already been two hours…?”
"Well, forget about the time. Is it time to try Ella-chan?"
Looking very happy, Angelini raised the wooden board.
But for Ella, this feeling was just like showing her paintings in front of everyone, a mixture of nervousness and shyness.
Ella looked away embarrassedly and scratched the side of her face.
"Hmm... Angelica, try injecting some magic power."
"Hmm, so let's start then?"
As Angelini said this, she injected magic power into the wooden board. The light blue magic circuit gradually turned into light yellow, and the entire wooden board emitted a faint soft light.
"Okay, that's enough."
"Is this little bit of magic enough?"
"Well, after injecting magic power, it will flow through the circuit and produce the corresponding effect."
"Hmm, then what?"
"That's the effect right now. The engraved magic is luminous. The pale yellow light you see now is the magic circuit in action."
"Eh—even though you were looking forward to it."
After hearing Ella's explanation, Angelique pouted like a child with a dissatisfied expression, but there was nothing she could do about it. Her carving skills were too poor, which resulted in the magic circuit being not smooth enough, and the flow of magic was also difficult. Normally, it should be enough to illuminate the bedroom.
Dude, dunk, dunk.
When Ella was about to pack up her props and go to bed, she heard rhythmic footsteps behind her. She turned around to confirm and found that it was Iris wearing a black uniform dress.
"Ah, Ella-chan is actually making magic items. How rare."
"Iris, is there something important that happened so late?"
Iris held an envelope between her fingertips. Judging from the faint red light emanating from it, it seemed to be engraved with a very high-level defensive spell.
"Of course, the academy has entrusted us, the 'Branch of Disaster', with a task."
"...I have a nasty feeling about this. Can I refuse?"
"Of course you can. Who can force the Demon Queen to do anything—"
Ella's obviously relaxed expression made Iris smile, and she put the envelope to her lips and continued to supplement.
"But that would mean a lot of lost rewards."
"Eh? Reward? It must be something precious that makes Iris talk so much."
Upon hearing the reward, Ella's gem-like purple eyes lit up. Making the jewelry and armor that Lotte needed required many rare and difficult-to-buy materials. If she could get them from the academy, it would naturally save a lot of effort.
Ella's reaction exactly matched Iris's thoughts.
"Anything is fine, though it's limited to one item. But as long as it's what Ella-chan wants, the academy will make it happen."
Chapter 5 Preparations on the Eve of Departure
"You'll do whatever you want?"
Ella lowered her head and fell into thought. During this time, Iris also slowly walked down the stairs into the basement and came to Ella.
Although the conditions given by Iris were very tempting, there were also potential risks. Although there was only one condition, it would be too much to agree to any of them. If she asked for ten kilograms of "God's Crystal", it would definitely cause the academy heartache. With the production level of the Kingdom of Baris, it would only produce about one kilogram a year. Even considering the better production conditions of the Holy Academy, it would take several years to replenish ten kilograms.
Therefore, if the task itself was not difficult, or if only she could do it, it could only mean that Iris had guessed that she would not make such excessive demands. Of course, now it seemed that the latter was more likely. At least she couldn't understand why the academy didn't let other people of higher levels do it, but gave it to herself, a healer of less than level 20 - even though she had the identity of the Demon Queen.
Iris walked up to Ella, put the envelope between her fingers into her arms, picked up the wooden board engraved with the magic circuit, and said nonchalantly while looking at it.
"Of course, well, most people probably wouldn't do that, but considering it's Ella-chan, it's best to explain. The premise of 'any conditions' is that the items Ella-chan requests must only be used by herself. After all, if we ask the academy to directly donate a large number of magic items to the demons, it will cause dissatisfaction and vigilance from other countries."
“Eh…”
The originally expectant gaze gradually dimmed, and Ella took a small step to the side to make room for Iris who wanted to lean on the operating table.
If this premise was not there, I would have agreed immediately just now. I could have asked the academy for high-level magic jewelry. In that way, I wouldn't have to rely on a beginner like me to make protective jewelry for Lotte, and Lotte wouldn't feel guilty about spending too many of her gold coins - even though she has more game coins than she can use up now - but since Iris has limited the use of them to herself, there is no way she can do that.
However, there might be a workaround. This condition of limiting one's own use should not restrict the secondary processing. For example, one could ask for the ore, and then process it into jewelry and armor and give it to Lotte. This would not be considered a breach of contract. However, in the final analysis, the academy's approach is only to prevent others from thinking that the academy is favoring the demons. As long as it is not too outrageous, the academy will turn a blind eye.
Thinking of this, Ella's eyes, which had been somewhat disappointed, lit up again.
"We'll talk about the wish later. What's the mission? It seems a little suspicious that you suddenly assigned it to me..."
"Well, it's just a letter. I'm delivering it to King Zeos of the Barris Kingdom. It's a particularly important letter, so I have to send someone I trust. By the way—"
After taking out the envelope that was glowing red and shaking it, Iris snapped her fingers, and a layer of pale yellow light enveloped the four people present. This was a barrier used to prevent sound from leaking out and prohibit the detection of magical eavesdropping.
"This is a letter about the Seal of Original Sin, right? Aira-chan joined the 'Branch of Disaster' to gain access to the underground library and read materials related to the Seal of Original Sin, right?"
“I-It’s that!?”
"A new trouble..."
Since Angelica and Shen Gan obtained the information about the Seal of Original Sin from the Holy Academy, they were bound by a curse and could not say "Seal of Original Sin" directly, and could only use "that" instead. However, Iris and Ella were able to say it directly without any taboos due to their respective special circumstances.
Iris shifted her gaze to the two people beside her who showed different reactions.
"Yeah, I forgot to mention that since this is a collective action of the 'Branches of Disaster', Angelique-chan and Fukagami-chan can also make a request to the academy, right?"
"Can I, can I?"
"Yeah, of course."
Facing Angelica's expression, which was like a child about to get a new toy, Iris nodded slightly and smiled back.
[This guy only pretends to be serious in front of Angelina.]
Not knowing whether to feel happy or sympathetic for Angelina, Ella let out a sigh.
Although he was suspicious about why the academy asked him to do this, since the matter was related to the Seal of Original Sin, he had to do it. At least it would be worthwhile if he could get some information from the King of the Kingdom of Paris. As for why Iris knew that I was searching for the Seal of Original Sin, it should be a conclusion she drew from her previous actions. Perhaps she learned about it while searching for information through the intelligence network.
Elise, who was sitting on the experimental table, folded her arms, deliberately highlighting the huge presence of something on her chest, and asked in a frivolous tone.
"So, Ella-chan, do you agree? Or—do you refuse?"
"Hmm...delivering a letter? It's still school time at the Holy Academy."
"Of course, that's already been taken care of. The leave application procedures have been prepared by... the principal. The time starts tomorrow, right? This means that Aira-chan can leave tomorrow."
"You're already prepared?! Can I ask what's in the letter?"
Unexpectedly, Iris thought for a moment and nodded.
"Of course, but it must be kept confidential under a contract."
"Yes, no problem. Angelica and Fukagami can go up first."
"Then we'll go up first."
"Senior, be careful."
"Um."
As Angeline yawned and waved, the two left the basement. It was late at night and only Ella and Iris were left in the room.
The first person to speak and break the awkwardness was Iris, who jumped off the experimental table.
"I didn't expect Aira-chan to succeed in making a magic item so quickly. What day is this?"
"Eh? What day is it?"
Ella blinked, feeling somewhat confused by Iris's words.
Iris sighed, as if feeling somewhat speechless, and tapped the wooden board engraved with the magic circuit with her knuckles.
"I mean, how long has Ella been trying? It's been less than a week since we returned from Dragon Island, and including all the other things that happened along the way, we only had less than five days to try. Ella may look clumsy, but she's actually quite good at this."
“Uh… that…”
In order to prevent Iris from being too embarrassed, Ella thought about the appropriate words in her mind.
"If you're hesitant... could it be that Aira-chan only took one day?"
"Um... um...it's actually only two hours?"
"Eh?"
A clearly out-of-tune voice escaped from Iris's mouth.
"Really? Even if an average person spends a month figuring it out, it would be hard for them to figure it out. Even I spent half a day, but Aira-chan only took two hours?"
Perhaps she was really stimulated. As she spoke, Iris kept reaching out and pinching Ella's cheek, as if she was confirming whether the blonde girl in the maroon coat in front of her was really her.
But the reason why Ella finished it so quickly was not only because the "magic liquid" was produced in one go, but also because the principle of the magic circuit is actually not much different from the circuit structure.
"Mmmmm...let go of my hand first!"
“… Phew, never mind. Let’s talk about the contents of the letter first.”
Letting go of her hand as if giving up, Iris frowned and began to explain the contents of the letter.
Chapter 6: Journey to the Kingdom of Paris
*创世纪6187年1月22日 上午10:47分 布鲁泽亚帝国与巴里斯王国的交汇处
The Kingdom of Barris, a human kingdom located in the southwest corner of the continent, beneath the Western Demon Territory, is a place where racial discrimination is quite serious. Although it has been somewhat weakened under the rule of the current king, Tovasan Miasaka Zeos, the people still hold a discriminatory attitude towards demi-humans. If we want to delve into the reasons, it can probably be attributed to the geographical location.
At the end of the Demon Age and the beginning of the Genesis, almost everyone on the continent was hostile to other races, with the demons being the most discriminated against. It wasn't until the Supreme Academy appeared in the lawless zone in the center of the continent that the discriminatory mentality of various races was eased. It has now developed into a trend that can almost be marked on a map - the closer a country is to the Supreme Academy in the center of the continent, the more open it is on racial issues.
For example, in the human empire "Bruzea Empire" sandwiched between the Holy Academy and the Kingdom of Barris, there are almost no racial issues. Intermarriage between people of different races is the norm, which is unimaginable in the Kingdom of Barris.
The reason why the Kingdom of Baris still has racial consciousness is that they are separated from the Holy Academy by the "Bruzea Empire". Some people say that if the Kingdom of Baris and the Bruzea Empire were to switch places, the Kingdom of Baris would most likely become an empire - the empire is much stronger than the kingdom in terms of economic and military strength.
Although the current King of the Kingdom of Baris, Tovasan, has made sufficient efforts to eliminate racial consciousness, this is not a matter of one day or one night. Moreover, the king is not the only one in charge of all military power in the kingdom. When issuing decrees, the existence of other powerful nobles must be taken into consideration.
In fact, the possibility of a rebellion among the nobles in the kingdom was already a problem left over from history. Whenever the king wanted to take action against the territories of other nobles, the faction to which this noble belonged would intervene to stop him. The pro-king faction and the aristocratic faction had become two clearly opposing sides during court meetings.
Despite being very rude, Ella, who was suffering from lack of sleep, couldn't help yawning while sitting in the carriage. Camisia had poured too much information about the background of the Baris Kingdom into her at once, causing her to be unable to hear it all. In the end, it went in one ear and out the other.
The dry and cold winter air and the dark clouds covering the sky became my first impression of the Kingdom of Paris.
The long explanation finally ended. Ella breathed a sigh of relief and lifted the curtain of the carriage to look outside - dark clouds covered the entire Kingdom of Baris in the distance, without a single gap. The hot wind blowing from the demon territory in the north and west turned into a biting cold current here. The muddy road where the carriage ran over left traces of wheel tracks. If the speed was faster, the mud and water on the road would definitely splash onto the carriage. It was about to rain here.
Feeling a little depressed, Ella lowered the curtain. Now, all the members of the "Branch of Disaster", including Camisia, were sitting in the carport. Unlike when they went to Dragon Island, they did not bring the little maids with them this time. The Kingdom of Baris was not as harmonious as the Dragon Clan. Bringing little maids who were mainly subhumans would definitely cause unnecessary trouble. In order not to bring psychological trauma to the little maids, Ella decided to leave them at the Holy Academy to look after the house, and asked Camisia to arrange a team of about fifty demon guards to be responsible for protecting the mansion.
As for the reason why the original plan was to arrange only ten people but the number was expanded five times, it was because when the demon guards heard that they were guarding the Demon King's mansion, they rushed to ask Camisia for help. After Camisia carefully selected, there were still 50 people left, so Ella had no choice but to agree to let them take charge of the task together, so that they could help with cleaning the mansion and cooking.
Right now, Iris was playing a chess game popular among the nobles with Lotte, Angelica was watching, and Shen Gan was wiping the xylophone. Feeling a little bored, Ella sighed softly and murmured.
"Teleport magic is incredibly convenient! It's like the academy is trying to get us out of here. They actually used a teleportation array to teleport us directly from the Holy Academy to the border between the Empire and the Kingdom, spanning the entire Bruzea Empire? I was thinking about going to the Empire to take a look."
"Well, if you want to see it, Miss Ella, you can do so on your way back. It just so happens that Miss Lucia asked Miss Ella to go to the Papal States."
Because it was now Iris's turn to make a move in the chess game, Lotte had the leisure to answer Ella. Even Lotte felt a little tired with Iris as her opponent, but fortunately, it was not a completely unbeatable situation.
As for Lucia's commission that Ruthie mentioned, it was in the morning that Lucia, who had just returned to the Holy Academy from Dragon Island, came to visit. Because she heard that she might be away from the Holy Academy for two months, Lucia hurriedly told her her background. The content was that she was appointed a high-ranking priest of the "Enstarnit" Church by Lucia and needed to go to the Papal States to receive baptism by the Pope.
Originally, he did not want to agree to this request. Compared with the current apprentice priest title, high-ranking priests are more troublesome. When the status is high, they will be troubled by various trivial matters. This is the same everywhere. Of course, if the status is high enough, there is no need to consider it anymore, such as the Demon Queen - no, this should be considered a special case.
There were two reasons why he finally agreed. First, only those with the title of priest could treat the wounded for free. In the short term, the temple's rules seemed very inhumane, but in the long run, this was a rule that everyone must abide by. The temple's people treated the wounded for free, and in this way, the treated people would have a good impression of the temple. Even if they did not become believers of the temple in the future, they would inevitably give money back to the temple out of gratitude. This money would allow the temple to continue to serve the people in the form of non-interference in internal affairs, cultivate priests, establish branch temples in remote areas, develop more powerful healing magic, and expel undead creatures.
This money is necessary for the temple to continue to develop, so the temple is disgusted by the behavior of adventurers and magic casters treating the wounded for free. This is particularly prominent in some countries, such as the less developed Kingdom of Baris, to the extent that a decree has been issued to prohibit it. The temple is almost entirely responsible for the treatment of non-military personnel in the Kingdom of Baris.
As for the second point he promised Lucia, it was the protective effect of baptism.
According to Lucia, anyone baptized by the Pope has the possibility of being resurrected. Although those who died of natural causes cannot be resurrected, those who died accidentally during adventures can be cast with the precious "resurrection" magic as long as their abilities are recognized by the Pope and they have made great contributions to the Papal States, and the baptismal protection effect already exists. Of course, she is not worried about dying. The reason she accepted the baptism was just to let Lotte and others be baptized as well, so that if an unexpected situation occurs in the future, there will be a last resort to save them. If her "Angel's Wings", "Rebirth Hymn", "Miracle Power", "Karin's Aria" or "Ceres's Hymn" do not work, she can choose the Pope's resurrection magic with a confirmed success rate.
"Well... we're definitely going to the Papal States, but they're in the eastern part of the continent, right? We're going to the Kingdom of Baris in the western part of the continent, right?"
"Wouldn't it be fine if we just took a detour? Didn't Lucia-chan say that the mission at the Holy Academy takes priority? Lotte-chan, it's your turn."
Iris said this seemingly nonchalantly, pushing down Lotte's chess piece with the chess piece in her hand.
Feeling troubled by the busy future, Ella let out a long breath, opened the curtains again, and looked out at the cold and gloomy environment where rain was about to fall.
“That’s all I can do…”
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