radicalducati Page 137
Page 137
"I see."
Latis sat at the table, nodded in sudden realization, and looked at the girls huddled on his bed, asking:
"Gentlemen, what are your thoughts?"
“That old man is a bit eccentric,” Yashutia said, frowning. “He even came to see me secretly after dinner and asked me about alchemy. I was wary, so I just gave him a few casual replies. The little bird is so delicate; I can’t let him handle it.”
The robin sighed softly, and was about to speak when Artemis said:
"He asked me some questions about Herod City. He seemed regretful after learning that none of my other clansmen had survived. He then began to subtly probe my opinion of the Queen, as if he were representing the interests of the royal family."
She stroked the robin's head and said seriously:
"As the nominal owner of this mage territory, I represent the position of everyone here, so I declined his invitation first. Of course, my opinion on what the little bird said is that it is worth understanding, but one should participate cautiously."
Yashutia suddenly gasped, slapped her thigh, and shouted:
"He must have discovered there are alchemists, dragons, and elves here, and he's planning to lure us to the royal palace for a reward! By the way, little bird, aren't you from a race called something like Corichou? Do you remember your previous experience? He's not going to trick you into selling you too, is he? I think you should skip those projects and switch to another academy..."
Before she could finish speaking, a dull metallic clang came from beside her, interrupting her.
Yashutia turned her head and saw that the robin's aggrieved face was instantly covered by black armor. Fully armored, she gently rose into the air, pushed open the door, and rushed out.
After a moment of silence, Yashutia pinched herself, grabbed her hair hard, and whispered:
"I shouldn't have brought up her past, I'm sorry..."
“Although the little bird seems sullen, she’s actually quite sensitive inside…” Latis scratched his head, looked at the plant guardians at the door slowly returning to ordinary flowers and grass, exchanged a glance with the half-elf, and sighed, saying:
"Let's not think the worst. I've met the principals of all three schools. They've been operating in Lundia for so many years, they shouldn't be bad people. And it's a good thing that Little Bird can have her own path. She doesn't necessarily have to spend her whole life under our protection."
"But I will absolutely protect her with my own life!" Yashutia seemed very angry with herself, shouting as if making a vow. She took a deep breath and whispered:
"I...I'll go apologize to her..."
Watching Yashutia run off so decisively, Latis shrugged helplessly, sat down next to the half-elf, put his arm around her waist, and asked:
"Arte, do you have any other ideas?"
Artemis sighed, and mimicking Latis's habitual gesture of stroking her chin, said:
"Actually, from Lord Fisherman's words, I can sense that there seems to be more to the story than meets the eye regarding the fall of Herod City back then... I'm wondering if the causes behind these massive upheavals are all connected..."
……
……
What am I doing...?
The robin stood in the courtyard, blankly disarming its motor armor, but a cool evening breeze instantly brought it back to its senses.
"I think I should... go back and apologize to everyone..."
She picked up the suitcase from the ground and suddenly noticed the huge red dragon lying on its back sleeping on the hill. She thought for a moment and decided to go and confide in this forgetful fellow.
……
"You said your main concern is about being forced to leave the family?"
Seifer, now a red-haired girl, lay sprawled on the hill, flicking her dragon tail in confusion, and asked:
"What's so good about a family? There aren't any dragons living together in Dragon Valley. Generally speaking, if dragons live together, it means they can't control a valley on their own. They don't have the ability to collect money, raise slaves, use magic to maintain the valley's environment, or continuously breed dragon eggs. They'll be ridiculed by everyone."
"Oh, no, that's not it." The robin, feeling utterly exasperated, rubbed his head and said:
“I was expelled because I was incapable, or rather… worse, I was sold. This makes me very worried that my older brother and the others will mind my background…”
"Hey, what's the big deal!" Serfa exhaled a breath of dragon breath, watching the tiny humanoid dragon breath turn into sparks and dissipate in the air. She then exhaled a few more times, finding it amusing, before saying:
"My dragon eggs are just randomly thrown around, aren't they? Anyway, they spawn naturally every few years, and the valley is often overflowing with them. It's also hard to find slaves to raise the eggs. Sometimes I hear that thieves from other planes steal dragon eggs, and I'm a little envious..."
She yawned and continued:
"Some dragon eggs are stolen and then change hands several times before hatching in the hands of knowledgeable people. But we dragons don't care about our origins. Once we become strong, we can leave our old and dying masters and return to Dragon Valley without any dragons mocking us."
"Ahhh..." the robin wailed softly, then remained silent for a few seconds. As if it had learned something from the red dragon's words, it suddenly laughed in relief.
She knelt on the ground, gazed for a while at the starry sky that Serfar was staring at, and asked curiously:
"Lord Serfa, what do you think about in your spare time?"
"Want to?" Serfar flicked his tail, feeling his mind go completely blank, and said in a serious tone:
"I'll do this when I get back to Dragon Valley! I feel like I left my brain at home..."
……
……
"Remember to ask Little Latis when the two pounds of meat I traded with him will arrive? Huh? You're asking what a trade is? He said it means a transaction between friends, and even said something like 'Latis and Serfal are best friends forever'..."
The robin came down from the hill, recalling the red dragon's words, and silently muttered:
"Big brother, don't even fool fools..."
She shook her head, intending to go back to the house to find Latis, when she suddenly saw Yashutia running around on the path carrying a magic crystal lamp.
The robin sat curiously under the trellis, watching Yashutia run around the valley three times before finally walking back to the courtyard dejectedly. She couldn't help but ask:
"Miss Kurosawa, what are you doing?"
"Ah, ah? Little bird, what are you doing here!"
Yashutia asked blankly, and before the robin could answer, she slid to her knees and pounced on the robin, shouting:
"Little bird, I'm sorry, I was wrong! If you're unhappy, just stomp on my feet twice!"
"Eh?" The robin jumped in surprise, shrinking back into the chair and whispering:
"Ms. Kurosawa, there's no need for this. Actually, it was my fault just now..."
"It's alright!" Yashutia patted her pert chest and said heartily, "One thing at a time, I also misspoke, and I should be punished!"
"Eh~"
The robin sat back on the edge of the chair, leaning over to look at Yashutia kneeling before him. He suddenly recalled the experience at the hot springs when Yashutia tried to brush his back but was instead pinned down. He chuckled softly to himself, thinking:
"Miss Kurosawa seems so carefree and easygoing on the surface, but she's actually a tsundere and a completely defenseless fool... Well then, I'll tease her a little..."
Her face flushed slightly, she coughed, and tiptoed. After confirming that her little leather shoes weren't too hard, she hesitated for a moment, then lifted her leg, which was clad in pantyhose, and used her toes to lift Yashutia's chin.
"Then... Miss Kurosawa, please help me... cough, take off my shoes, thank you..."
Yashutia felt the slightly trembling little foot in front of her chin, paused for a moment, and asked:
"That's it?"
"Is that...too much? Then forget it..." The robin's face instantly turned red. She hesitantly pulled her leg back, but felt a warmth on her ankle. Looking down, she saw Yashutia gripping her ankle tightly, saying boldly:
"It's okay! It's your first day of class, you must be tired from walking, right? Let me give you a massage!"
……
……
"That's strange, haven't they come back yet?"
Latis put down his magic notebook, took one last look at the difficult points he had marked, stood up, stretched, covered the half-elf sleeping in his bed with a blanket, and went downstairs.
"how about this?"
"A little pain……"
"Ouch, is it a broken bone? I'll stay up all night making you a wheelchair!"
Hearing the girls' whispers, Latis scratched his head, curiously walking forward, thinking to himself:
"It seems they've made up. What are they doing?"
He leaned against the wall, peering over the two girls under the crystal chandelier beneath the flower stand. Then, he watched the robin's tiny feet being twisted and turned by Yashutia, and fell silent.
"Let me go!"
Latis's mouth uttered those words automatically, then he snapped back to reality, looked at the foot he had involuntarily taken, and, under the surprised gazes of the two girls, said without changing his expression:
"I've been getting my feet massaged at a foot massage parlor for ten years. In that respect, I'm a true master."
His eyes shone with an overwhelming sense of conviction as he resolutely walked up to the girls, snatched the robin's little foot from Yashutia's hand, then lifted Yashutia onto a chair by her bottom with one hand, decisively pulled off her boots, and held her slightly warm, delicate foot in his other hand.
Latis grinned, looked down at the tiny feet of two different girls in each hand, and sighed contentedly.
"The little bird's pantyhose were slightly thicker, and beneath the smooth, thick surface, you could still feel her slender arches. Her feet were small, even her toes were tiny; her ankles were flexible, able to bend at various angles, yet so soft you felt they might crush them at any moment..."
"Yashtia's feet, on the other hand, were full of elastic muscles. Beneath the tight stockings, seemingly designed to protect her calves, each kneading caused her to unconsciously tense up. Although her skin wasn't visible under the stockings, one could imagine that faint veins were visible beneath the thin surface..."
"Hey, big brother!" After being frantically rubbed for a few minutes, Yashutia was just about to relax and enjoy Latis's massage when she suddenly opened her eyes wide and shouted in alarm:
"Big brother! You can't put it in your mouth!"
……
……
"Class, today is Wednesday. We'll be taking a closer look at the course 'Spell Slots and Cooldowns.'"
Silver Hugh took out her magic notebook from her bag and suddenly noticed the insulated lunchbox she was carrying. She sniffed the faint aroma of egg tarts and couldn't help but smile warmly.
"It seems like... I won't go hungry today?"
Suddenly, she remembered that last night, when she was being fed, Latis had inadvertently stuck his finger into her mouth and fiddled with her tongue, causing her to catch her breath for a moment.
"Silver Hugh, oh Silver Hugh, how old are you? Still happy to be fed, making such a fool of yourself..."
"Hmm, the spell slot is..."
SilverShuffle snapped out of his daze, glanced at the composed Latis, quickly cast a "Calming Spell" on himself to calm himself, and continued:
"For us mages who rely on the magic network to cast spells, carefully planning spell slots in battle is an extremely important aspect. As we all know, the number of spell slots increases progressively with your level: a third-ring mage has 1 third-ring spell slot, 2 second-ring spell slots, and 3 first-ring spell slots; a sixth-ring mage has 1 sixth-ring spell slot, 2 fifth-ring spell slots, and so on, and 6 first-ring spell slots."
"The spell slots provided by the magic network are very limited, and each spell slot will enter a three-hour cooldown period after use. Therefore, mages should try to avoid consecutive battles, or at least ensure three hours of rest between two adjacent battles."
"More importantly, it is important to carefully select your preparatory spells before the battle. Although many people have not yet unlocked enough spells to be selective, everyone should still learn them well so that they may be needed in the future."
"The so-called preparatory spell is to inform the magic network in advance that you have the tendency to cast these spells, so that the magic network will project the corresponding spell runes onto your soul in advance. During the battle, it is very difficult for the magic network to switch preparatory spells in an environment of violent fluctuation of magic elements."
Silvershoul shook his head and sighed, saying:
"Although the magic network has given mages extremely powerful abilities, to the point that no other profession can survive in this country, the magic network also has very strict restrictions on its use. I hope everyone can keep these in mind."