A gratified smile appeared on the Mag"s face at the sight of Amy"s and Anna"s sleeping faces. Fairy tales should be designed to teach children to be strong and independent, and not to rely on some creepy necrophilic prince to save them.Mag crept away from Amy"s little bed before lying down in his own bed. He then thought about the events that had unfolded earlier. The city lord"s castle had essentially thrown their support behind him, so he was only awaiting a final decision from the Buffett Family. Scheer would be the one to decide whether their three-way collaboration would eventuate or not.
Mag then began to examine the 0.5 strength point bag within his body. This was the reward that he had received from completing that mission earlier in the day, and even though it wasn"t much, it really had arrived in the nick of time.
His trip to Rodu would undoubtedly be fraught with peril, so the more powerful he was, the greater the chance he would have of survival.
Mag lay on his bed for a long while, and only after the clock struck midnight did he silently get up and sneak out onto the balcony.
After getting out onto the balcony, Mag said internally, "System, fully activate the restaurant"s soundproofing effect, and then hit me with that half of a strength point."
The horrific experience of being struck by lightning on the last occasion was still fresh in his mind, and no normal person would want to experience that a second time. However, in his pursuit of power, he had no choice but to bring this torture on himself.
"The restaurant"s soundproofing effect has been completely activated. One bolt of lightning coming right up; please close your eyes!"
The system"s voice was tinged with a hint of joy as if it took pleasure in inflicting pain on Mag.
Mag pursed his lips and suppressed the urge to say anything as he stood at the center of the balcony, awaiting the incoming lightning strike.
There had to be no worse feeling in this world than waiting to be struck by lightning.
As such, when the ma.s.sive bolt of lightning finally descended from the sky and crashed down on his body, he was struck by a sense of relief amid the excruciating pain.
"Phew~"
A long while later, Mag exhaled as he stretched out his stiff and rigid body. There were still currents of electricity dancing over his body and crackling whenever they came into contact with each other.
Mag looked down at his charred charcoal-like body, only to discover that even his underwear had been zapped to dust. A gust of cold autumnal wind blew past his crown jewels, and he shuddered as he hurriedly draped a bathrobe over his own shoulders. Thank heavens I took off my clothes before this. Otherwise, I"d have one less set of clothes to wear.
After going upstairs, Mag began to a.s.sess the enhancements his body had experienced while taking a bath.
The most obvious effect was the increase in strength. With the strength coursing through his current body, Mag felt as if he could fell an Ironhide Bull with a single punch.
This wasn"t an arrogant delusion. Instead, it was an objective a.s.sessment of the capabilities of a 4th-tier knight.
A normal 4th-tier knight would perhaps be able to successfully capture an Ironhide Bull through the use of advanced sword techniques and other abilities.
However, if a 4th-tier knight specialized in refining and training their body, then their const.i.tution would make them powerful enough to face off against an Ironhide Bull directly.
Alex was a man who could even face a giant dragon head on in his prime, so his const.i.tution was naturally incredibly powerful.
I have to master all of the sword forms I can at the 4th-tier before I go to Rodu. Mag slowly clenched his fists as he made up his mind.
…
In a lavish and intricate room in the Buffett Manor, Scheer sat alone in front of a window. She was holding a half-full gla.s.s of wine in her hand, while her brows were furrowed in deep thought.
Following a prolonged silence, Scheer turned her attention to her winegla.s.s before suddenly downing its contents in one go. After doing that, she seemed to have made up her mind, and she smiled as she said, "In the past, I"ve always taken a more steady approach that minimizes risk in my investments, but this time, I"m going to take a gamble. If I succeed, the Buffett Family will be taken to even greater heights, and we"ll truly become one of the premier families on the Norland Continent. Aside from the bank and the winery, we"ll be adding the steam train to our list of ventures."
Scheer put down her gla.s.s and turned off the lights as she murmured to herself, "I hope you won"t disappoint me, Mr. Mag."
…
In a hotel room in the northern region of the city.
Snarr, who had altered his appearance into one of a heavily bearded man, was carefully studying a map under the light of a lamp. There were a few red circles around various locations on the map, and it was already appearing rather messy.
"It really isn"t an easy task to find someone who"s trying to conceal himself in Chaos City. I have no one I can trust here, either. Hopefully, my luck will be good and I"ll be able to find Master Alex and Young Mistress Amy soon." Snarr sighed as he quickly wrote a letter before inserting it into a thin bamboo tube. He then opened the door and let loose a long whistle.
A hummingbird that was only around the size of a thumb flew toward him before landing on his hand. He strapped the small bamboo tube to the hummingbird"s leg before setting it free, and it disappeared into the night in the blink of an eye.
…
Rodu, the second prince"s manor.
A butler quickly walked into the study with a letter before offering it up with both hands in a respectful manner. "Your Highness, this is a letter from Amba.s.sador Cayrols."
"Cayrols?" Josh"s brows furrowed. Then, the other letter in his hand was incinerated with a ball of green fire. He accepted the letter being offered to him by the butler before reading through its contents.
"Mag? Is that a coincidence?" While reading through the letter, Josh"s brows furrowed even deeper. However, as he continued to read, he shook his head as he murmured to himself, "No, there"s no way that Alex would become a chef. Even as a cripple, there"s no way that he would become a chef. He"s far too proud to submit to others and cook at their behest."
The butler stood silently off to the side, not daring to make even the slightest sound.
After reading through Cayrols" letter, Josh was silent for a while before writing a letter in response.
Cayrols had been Rodu"s amba.s.sador in Chaos City for over 10 years, and that resume guaranteed him a high-ranking position when he came back to Rodu. Josh was trying to recruit him to his side in order to a.s.sist his bid to seize the throne.
Furthermore, Josh was very interested in this so-called incredible chef from Chaos City that could cook for the king on his birthday. He had been scrambling to find a good birthday present for the king, yet his efforts had proven futile thus far. If this chef really was as amazing as Cayrols claimed, and could bring joy to the king on his birthday, then it was very much worth a try.
"Seuss has encountered some difficulties over at Chaos City, so get Cayrols to help him one last time before he comes back from Chaos City." Josh finished his letter and folded it up before handing it over to the butler.
…
"Mr. Mag, have you made your decision?"
The next morning, Mag had only just woken up when he was greeted by the sound of knocking on the door.