CHAPTER 80: EAT

Zolt was taken aback by the firm answer. He looked at the boy before him and asked.

"So, when will you return the money we spent on you?"

Zephyr paused. From what he knew about the world economy, two gold sol was an amount no one could take lightly. The storm tower must have been desperate to curry favors when he was talented.

’Considering that the original Zephyr wanted to leave the castle and land to his family—his sister and children—I don’t think it would be right to return the property and call it a day. Ultimately, he fought with tooth and nail for that. It is his last remaining legacy.’

’So...I need to find some other way to clear the debt.’

Zephyr’s eyes glanced towards Corvinus.

Seeing it, Corvinus didn’t avoid his gaze. As someone who suggested Zephyr join the Royal Academy, he had a part in it. He was about to step in and speak.

However, Zephyr spoke first.

"Sir Corvinus, can I get that amount as a loan? I will pay it back within a year."

"You will?" Corvinus raised an eyebrow.

The amount was nothing to scoff at for even someone like Corvinus. After all, mages were money-consuming machines that constantly spent huge sums on their experiments and training. Not a day goes by without them wishing for more. So, Corvinus was a little hesitant when it came to paying.

Perhaps Zephyr noticed it and asked for a loan.

"How will you do that?" Corvinus asked.

"That’s something I can only tell you in private." Zephyr glanced at Zolt. "It’s better if others don’t know about it."

"Hoh! Is that so?" Corvinus squinted, caressing his pointy beard.

"Yes. I bet my life on it." Zephyr added to ensure that he wouldn’t renege on the promise. "If I can’t pay it back in a year, I will sell the mansion and land to you. Apparently, it is worth 3 gold sol."

Hearing it, Corvinus laughed.

Zephyr was exactly the kind of person he thought he was. Unlike the boring mages of the tower, he still could think and make decisions for himself.

"Young man, I will pay the amount for you. But, don’t believe everything they say." Corvinus pointed at Zolt. "The elixirs and potions they used must have cost a lot less since they were internally made by the Tower. Also, the land they gave and the castle...we still haven’t verified its value yet. From what I know, they might not be worth that much. Perhaps a gold sol at most."

Corvinus turned to Zolt.

"Were you trying to make a quick profit by exaggerating the value of everything, Sir Zolt?" He inquired with a smile.

Zolt wore a stiff expression as usual and replied.

"Not at all. It was the amount allocated by the tower."

Corvinus didn’t believe it. He shook his head and began speaking.

"You could have allocated the amount, but you don’t know for a fact if it all reached the young mage over there, do you? And even if it did, it would take some time to verify the value of everything. Let’s just say that I will pay after we come to a common agreement at a later time. How about that?"

Zolt thought expressionlessly for a second and nodded. He was happy with the outcome of Zephyr leaving the Storm Tower. Everything else was just a bonus. Fortunately for him, Corvinus didn’t bring up the topic of the lost arm and decided to let it go.

"Let’s do that, then." He said that and turned to leave.

No one stopped him.

____

That day, late into the evening, Zephyr found himself grilling three giant fish and a crab above a makeshift grill.

A bonfire lit up the area around him as Zephyr seasoned the fish lightly. The oil he splashed over the fish fell onto the charcoal fire below, sizzling and smoking occasionally.

Nearby, three people sat on stone chairs, gazing at the sea. The thunderstorm was returning, lighting up the horizon. Any second now, it would rain again.

Seeing that it was about to rain, one of the people sitting raised a wand and waved it in the air. Immediately, two giant stone pillars rose from either side of the bonfire.

After rising to a satisfactory height, the pillars fused above them, creating a circular roof wide enough to cover everyone.

"Master, how is it?" She asked.

"Hm...good. Your control over earth magic improved." Corvinus nodded.

The person who built the shelter was Aurelia.

"But, it’s not enough."

Corvinus stabbed his staff into the ground. Zephyr, who was about to run away, stopped and relaxed.

Immediately, a vast amount of mana flowed into the ground, then onto the stone pillars and roof. Thereafter, the roof rapidly shrank, its thickness reduced by more than a foot, leaving only a thin, one-inch slab of circular stone disk above.

Then the stone disk took on a wavy pattern, reinforcing its strength while making channels for the rainwater to flow into the ground.

After doing all that, Corvinus flicked his hand, making the large staff of his disappear into thin air.

Elenor, Aurelia’s personal attendant, watched what happened with great interest. Meanwhile, Zephyr relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief.

’The woman Aurelia is friggin crazy.’ He silently thought.

To think of making a shelter when it was about to rain was normal, at least for a mage. But what she made was not a shelter. It was practically a guillotine with protruding, sharp stone edges. It was a guillotine masquerading as a roof.

That’s why Zephyr tried to run away from underneath it.

"Do you understand what you did wrong?" Corvinus asked calmly, intending to teach his personal disciple.

"The thickness of the stone roof?"

"Anything else?" Corvinus encouraged her to speak.

"Perhaps the design...is there more?"

Corvinus smiled.

"Zephyr, what do you think?"

"Me?" Zephyr raised his head.

"Yes, did you notice anything else?"

Aurelia couldn’t understand why her master was asking a beginner mage about her spell.

Meanwhile, Zephyr hesitated.

Corvinus caught this and said in a relaxed tone.

"Don’t worry. She won’t do anything. And don’t say you didn’t see anything wrong. I saw you preparing to run away the moment the roof formed."

"This..." Zephyr smiled. "The spell solidified from top to bottom."

"Exactly." Corvinus slapped the handrest on his stone chair. The chair was also a spell construct made by them to sit. It almost broke under his heavy slap.