Chapter 607 The Protagonist’s Reputation is Tarnished Again
Roland didn’t actually want to partic.i.p.ate in political struggles and framings, but as a Mage, he was in desperate need of resources, including both materials and connections.
He believed that he had been making such fast progress exactly because of his connections.
At the birth point, Falken, the old Priest, gave him a lot of help and hints, or he couldn’t have picked up spellcasting so quickly.
He made acquaintances with Aldo in Delpon and became the deputy chairman of its Magic Tower. The monthly salaries of that job were critical for him as a beginner.
Then, he met Ans, Andonara, and other people who had offered him tremendous help.
He also had a group of loyal friends who always answered his invitations on important quests.
He made use of his resources, joined the Red Magic Tower, and here he was.
After everything he had been through, Roland found that resources were as important to a Mage as hard training.
The resources included not just magic materials, but also one’s social connections. Thinking for a moment, Roland asked, “Fine, how should I help you?”
“Speak nicely for us in front of the First Princess, and ill of Young Martin. Simple as that.”
Roland stared at Grantham peacefully.
The man was wearing a gentle smile in the moonlight, yet Roland felt that he was sneering now and then.
A few simple words would change the future of a man.
This guy was very good with politics and shrewd enough.
No wonder he had become a Legend.
Although the Warriors had the largest number, they had the smallest proportion of Legends of all cla.s.ses.
It was because the Warriors were generally uneducated.
Roland had been collecting books whenever he had time.
He had collected a lot of books from the Red Magic Tower, the Spatial Magic Tower, etc.
Also, he had focused on books related to magic and cla.s.ses.
When he was too tired, he would read the books that described the culture and history of this world.
It was safe to say that as a player who didn’t need to sleep, Roland had several more hours to spend on books and experiments each day than the Mages of this world did.
Having read a lot of books, Roland learned plenty of fun facts.
For example, Roland had learned that Mages were the cla.s.s with the highest proportion of Legends, followed by Bards.
Those two cla.s.ses all needed a huge amount of learning. Leaving the Mages aside, almost all the high-level Bards were walking dictionaries.
Those Bards, who were usually skilled at music, traveled everywhere that had intelligent creatures.
They had witnessed all kinds of joys and sorrows.
Since they were literate, they could write what they saw and heard into biographies or compile it into songs.
They could experience the power of the mind from other people’s feelings.
Therefore, all the Legends were worldly and knowledgeable.
In comparison, the Warriors, who had a simple lifestyle, were mostly too lazy to learn.
If they encountered an enemy, they’d just cut him apart.
If they ran into any difficulties, they’d just overcome it.
To become a Legend, one had to understand the truth of the mind.
That happened to be a specialty of the Mages, and the pursuit of the Bards.
It was not hard to conclude that those two cla.s.ses had the highest chance of turning into Legends.
Therefore, a Legendary Warrior was, in a way, even more fearsome than a Legendary Mage.
“All right, no problem.” Roland nodded. “Then what’s your price, Mr. Grantham?”
“Another thirty kilograms of Meteorite Minerals.”
Roland frowned.
“It’s the last of the Meteorite Minerals we have.” Grantham opened his hands. “Maybe it’s not a decent price, but maybe we can pay you in a different way, say, our friends.h.i.+p.”
On the surface, thirty kilograms for a few words should be a great bargain for Roland.
But truthfully, it wasn’t profitable for Roland at all.
First of all, favors were something that must be returned.
Although Roland and Andonara had been protecting the First Princess, she had also lent her dominion to Roland and gave him all the power to rule it.
She only made such an investment because Roland had the potential to build a floating city in the future.
However, if the First Princess was to help oust Young Martin, things would become quite complicated. Of course, in terms of the cost, Young Martin was definitely not as important as the power to rule over a city.
However… Stephanie could deal with her dominion in any way she wanted, and ousting Young Martin would implicate the balance among different forces. Roland had no doubt that the First Princess would agree to help if he asked her, but would it get her more deeply mired in politics and affect her plans, or even worse, affect her ability to inherit the crown?
That would be different from taking part in a party where she accidentally got involved in something. In other people’s eyes, she didn’t do anything aggressively.
However, if she were to help oust Young Martin, it would be an aggressive action. Roland had to consider how other people would view her and if any conflict would be caused.
Therefore, all things considered, it was easy for Roland to ask, but there might be dire ramifications.
If the First Princess got into trouble, the stability of her dominion might be affected, which could indirectly slow down Roland’s production of magic bricks.
Seeing that Roland was still considering, Grantham said with a smile, “Why are you hesitating, sir? It’s just a couple of words.”
As if woken up by him, Roland shook his head. “Sorry, but I can’t accept your request. I’m not that influential with the First Princess!”
“Is that so?” Grantham heaved a sigh and said regretfully, “In any case, we’re still friends. If you’re ever in trouble, you can come to the Guild of Warriors. We’ll definitely give you a hand if we can.”
“Sure.” Roland nodded.
He didn’t take Grantham’s words seriously.
It was just formality.
The two parties bid farewell.
Roland returned to the First Princess’s manor.
At this moment, the First Princess was sipping fruit wine on the balcony.
Such wine had a low alcohol content and could hardly inebriate anybody, but Stephanie’s cheeks were still red.
She looked particularly pretty in the moonlight.
Sitting opposite her, Roland asked with a smile, “Drowning your sorrows?” “No!” Stephanie shook her head. “Do you want me to oust Young Martin next?”
She gazed at Roland with hazy eyes as if she were drunk.
Roland shook his head. “No.”
“Why not?”
“It will be troublesome.”
Hearing that, Stephanie smiled and voluntarily poured half a cup of fruit wine for Roland. Then, she casually and quickly clicked her own cup again Roland’s before he picked it up.
“Thank you.” Stephanie smiled happily and genuinely, as if she had just taken off a mask. “For treating me as a friend.”
Roland was smart, and not at all unperceptive. He knew what Stephanie meant.
Stephanie was implying that she would not just regard him as a person she cooperated with but a partner she could trust.
They had known each other for half a year.
But they had never been really close until this moment.
Their hearts were like two hedgehogs whose spines were fully erect. Neither of them dared to let down their guard, fearing that they would get stung.
But the spines on certain hearts were softer than they looked, and it was fine to touch them, unless you stung them brutally first.
It took Stephanie half a year, and what happened tonight, for her to really see it through.
Therefore, she let down all her guard frankly. Roland raised the cup at her and drank the wine down.
“All right, give me twenty Dragon Meat Reagents and I’ll make something good for you, then you can go back to Delpon.” Stephanie smiled. “If you linger any longer, I think Andonara will kill me.”
“She isn’t that mean.” While talking, Roland took out the Dragon Meat Reagents and put them on the table.
“Are you sure? If you dare to stay over, I’ll have to run away.” Stephanie sneered. “I don’t want to be cut into pieces by my good friend.”
Roland thought for a moment and realized that it was truly possible. He teleported back to Delpon.
Looking at where Roland disappeared from, Stephanie smiled delightedly and asked her butler to store the Dragon Meat Reagents.
Roland took a two-day rest after he returned to Delpon.
He was truly exhausted, not physically but mentally.
He had been either studying magic or doing quests with few breaks.
However, he had spent the two days with Andonara and Vivian.
He seemed to be taking a vacation, but he wasn’t exactly resting.
He felt mentally fulfilled, but physically fatigued.
It was quite a subtle feeling. Roland wondered if it counted as a vacation at all. Then, he sent a message to the guild channel. Roland: “Are you all Masters now? I need four for an epic dungeon quest.”
He felt that it was time to process the quest of the vampires’ True Ancestor.
Schuck: “I’ll ride Margret to you. Coming soon.”
Li Lin: “Me, Brazil, and Raffel are still in the Church of Love in the capital of Urganda. It will take days for us to ride a horse back. Roland, come pick us up.”
They had been in the Church of Love in Urganda for a long time, and through the power of s.e.x, they had successfully become Masters.
That was why Roland summoned them for the quest.
Roland: “Fine, but wash up first. You must be smelly after your ‘multiplayer sport.””
Li Lin: “Bro, the priestesses all know the cleaning skill.”
Roland: “Then wait for me there. I need to buy a map of Urganda first… I should be able to find you in 24 hours.”
The whole thing was settled quickly.
The True Ancestor of the vampires… Roland thought for a moment and found Christina, whom he hadn’t talked to for a long time.
“Do you know the truth of the vampires’ origins?”
Christina, who was now fair and plump, widened her eyes. “Boss, are you finally laying your evil hands on little girls? I thought you only liked married women and widows, so I planned to marry someone first and then kill him.”
Roland: ???