353 – Exploration Society

Disclaimer:

I don’t guarantee a 100% perfect translation. Feel free to correct me in the comments.

 

God, this took me so long, i need to get used to this.

Enjoy the chapter 😀 and the lore being thrown at us.

 

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As the night slowly faded, rays of light started to peek through the gaps of the window curtains.

Morning finally arrived.

Agatha had an almost sleepless night, her head was filled with Nightingale’s previous words.

“Uniting the people spread across the mainland into a strong group.”

“400 years can change many things, why do you still cling to that old concept, refusing to let it go?”

“We still have a lot of time, so why don’t you confirm it with your own eyes?”

After getting out of bed she arrived at the cloth rack, her hand felt the robes and stopped at the embroidered insignia symbolizing the Taqila Exploration Society. She remembered the time when she was awarded the robe by the Three High Seats, the happiness she felt at that moment was enough to make her fly. Exploring the mysteries of the world and pursuing the truth had always been her lifelong goal; it was what the Exploration Society believed in. What if that mortal could really prove the strength of his words?

She went outside the door after donning the robe, and then walked down the hallway.

As perhaps the last member of the Exploration Society and as Taqila’s only survivor, she wanted to build a new Holy City, yet she was aware such an endeavor could not be accomplished in one or two days. So before then, she could at least observe the abilities of this prince, and what made these witches consider him worthy to be followed.

After having breakfast, Agatha was accompanied by Wendy to the grey-haired prince’s office.

His appearance bore a resemblance to those living over 400 years ago, but he gave out a peculiar feeling compared with the common mercenary soldiers, merchants, and farmers from the downtown area. Even a family steward like Kraft was not the same, just by gazing into his eyes you could feel the depth of his thoughts was not that profound, and although at a simple glance you could tell he was a decade older, it seemed like an empty number. But this way of analyzing could not be used on the prince, particularly his eyes, clearly just ordinary pupils, yet gave those peeking into them an indescribable sense of confidence. A demeanor derived from a calm and peaceful life, as if he had lived for thousands of years, and had all the knowledge in the world.

Why did he give out this feeling?

Roland Wimbledon.

In a corner of her mind, Agatha recalled his name.

“How was last night’s rest?” The prince smiled. “Does wheat porridge and fried eggs from 400 years ahead of your time suit your palate?”

“Lousy, it would have been better if you hadn’t sent a witch into my room without permission.”

Surprised by her response, the Prince shook his head helplessly, “Well, next time I’ll make sure she knocks. By the way, if you want to go outside to visit the town and observe the way the people live, you can look for Nightingale and she will lead you there. If you want to examine the historical records, you can ask Ms. Scroll, she has all the books she has read in her head.”

“The way the people live?” Agatha frowned, “The Devils’ threat is at hand; all I want to observe is the mortal who dared boast about being able to defeat the Devils. If you have no real way to stop their attack, history and lifestyle will be meaningless!”

The prince smiled, “Heavy industry is important, but light industry and people’s livelihood are important as well.”

“Heavy what? Light what?”

“It’s nothing,” said the prince as he changed his tone, “this afternoon a test of the performance of a new weapon will be conducted, there you will see. But before that, I have some question I’d like to ask you about matters 450 years ago in the Holy City of Taqila.”

A new weapon the mortals can operate? The weapons that came to Agatha’s mind were a crossbow and a trebuchet, if it’s an improved version of these, they are still far from enough to deal with the Devils. But she kept her thoughts secret and replied, “Go ahead.”

“You mentioned before Taqila was ruled by witches, and ordinary people with no magical power were only counted as the lower class, what I want to ask is, how many meals per day did these people eat? What was their staple food? How often did they eat meat?”

She was shocked, the questions asked were entirely unexpected.

“Civilians also had status, some served under high ranked witches or doing trivial jobs like maintaining the public order, and were equivalent to the weak support witches; next were the farmers and merchants, and at the bottom were the slaves and unskilled laborers. As for your questions, I can’t answer since none of the witches living in the uptown area paid any attention to what ordinary people ate. The guards and servants in my tower were supplied with three meals a day, and once a week they could eat meat, with the exception of the Months of Demons.”

“How much were they paid?”

“Paid? With money?” She raised a brow. “They became my retinue, serving me as their master for all of their lives; I gave them shelter and food, I taught them knowledge, there was no need for more rewards.”

“So, it was like that.” The prince quickly wrote something on a sheet of paper, “What about farming, raising cattle, making iron goods; were witches also part of this sort of work?”

“Of course, those are the jobs of the support witches,” Agatha replied, “Even if their skills are better than a common person, they didn’t reach the standards of the Federation.”

This sort of back and forth lasted for nearly half an hour. The prince seemed to be interested in the basic necessities and daily life in the holy cities, asking very specific questions, and making Agatha have a hard time trying to understand him. Compared with these insignificant details, did he not care about the Devils occupying most of the boundaries of the Wild Lands, and the invasion that was soon to come?

After resting for a moment, he handed the recorded contents to Scroll and continued. “You said you were a member of the Exploration Society, is this association dedicated to the study of magic stones and magic power specifically?”

Finally, a decent question, Agatha nodded. “Yes, the so-called magic stones come from the transformation of God Punishment Stones. They can suppress a witch’s ability, but can also enable the witch to display an entirely different power.”

Everyone was stunned by these words, the witch called Tilly managed to ask, “How are they made?”

Feeling the past was finally of importance in their eyes, she was feeling a little proud as she answered, “This is a secret pursued by the Exploration Society for over 400 years, so we could clarify the connection between magic and magic stones, and for which we went great lengths to achieve. I’m willing to tell you, but you need to show me that knowledge that can help raise the chances of a witch awakening in exchange.”

Tilly and Roland looked at each other, “Of course, I have no problem with that, but there is something I don’t understand.”

As she raised her left hand, the blue crystal on her finger ring reflected a striking sheen.

“This gem was found in some ancient ruins and allows me to have the ability to freely fly, so without a doubt this is a magic stone. In the fight against the Devils, whether it’s for defense or offense, it could give the troops the chance to take the initiative; even under normal circumstances it can be used to shorten travel time.” She paused. “But why did you only rely on walking when you retreated? Isn’t it strange even for a High Rank awakened witch like you not to possess a magic stone so convenient?”

 

 

 

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