Badge in Azure

“Okay fine, in order to make the people around Saleen have peace of mind, I will sign a contract.” Sharman still insisted on pulling Saleen’s sleeves, following behind him all the way to the temple.

Saleen was very familiar with a follower’s contract. In the presence of Isabella, both people signed the contract.

Sharman then asked, “Brother Saleen, you made me a general, but where are the soldiers?”

Saleen could not help but cackle, then said, “It’s still too early, you have to at least become a true grand swordmaster and you need to be eighteen years old. You have to become a grade-1 mage who possesses a certain number of spells. Only then will I give you an army.”

Sharman was on the verge of crying, in a wronged tone, she said, “Brother Saleen, were you having me on? I feel like I have been cheated!”

Saleen rubbed Sharman’s golden hair and said, “There is nothing hard about this, Isabella can teach you magic and it will not affect your swordsmanship training. If you want to lead an army, you can’t be the only one who is powerful. After learning the memory spell and possessing sufficient magic chords, I will let you read a lot of war-type books and I will ask people to teach you the basics of war. How old are you now?”

“Fifteen.”

“You are a prodigy, can’t you accomplish all of this in three years?”

“Is this for real? Will there be new requirements when that time comes?” Sharman’s eyes flashed, she was trying to act coy with Saleen.

“Master, if she is not willing to do it, I will. I have a lot of energy.” Nailisi appeared silently, causing Sharman to be frightened and shut her mouth. Sharman stopped fooling around.

She had no confidence dealing with Nailisi.

“Nailisi, why are you here, weren’t you at the port?”

“Sister Sika has something to tell you, she asked me to relay her message.” Nailisi stared at Sharman. Nailisi naturally harbored evil thoughts against this girl who dared act coy with her master.

“Master is mine, I will not share with other people. Mm, other than Sika…” Nailisi lamented in her heart, but she had excluded the winged skeleton. The winged skeleton and Master have a soul contract, it is too late to raise any objections. When I advance to grade-8 and all my abilities have been mastered, I will teach that fellow a lesson. A lesson every day.”

Other than Sika, anyone else who met Nailisi would be helpless. Saleen trusted and treated Nailisi very well. After this imp got cheated by Saleen, her future did not seem so bright anymore. If Saleen could not fulfill the one-thousand year promise, Nailisi’s life would also be ruined.

The current Saleen was pretty lenient towards Nailisi and the winged skeleton.

“Okay then, I will listen to you, Brother Saleen.” Sharman became obedient in that instant. Nailisi then retracted her ruthless glare. Nailisi could empathize with Saleen’s emotions, so she now had less misgivings compared to the past.

“Nailisi, tell me, what did Sika say?”

“Master, ask them to leave.” Nailisi pointed at Sharman and Isabella.

Sharman was still okay as she did not understand some rules, but Isabella was a little annoyed. Even though Nailisi was powerful, she was still Saleen’s contract creature, while Isabella was Saleen’s follower. In terms of status, Isabella’s status was higher than Nailisi’s, this fact was recognized by all mages.

Saleen also furrowed his brows, thinking if he had been too lenient with Nailisi.

“Nailisi, they are my followers, there is nothing to hide from them.”

“It’s up to you, Sister Sika wants eight-hundred-thousand gold coins,” Nailisi said. Sika was at her wits’ end already. After she began manufacturing the medicine, she discovered that six-hundred-thousand gold coins was insufficient. She required at least eight-hundred-thousand to one-million gold coins. She asked Nailisi to broach this topic with Saleen. Nailisi had listened in a couple of times when Saleen and Sika had intercourse.

Sika could push Saleen onto a bed forcefully, but she could not bear to demand money from Saleen.

“Eight-hundred-thousand gold coins?!” Saleen was astounded by this figure too. Lex had given him a huge sum of money, but it was for developing Huoxing City. The refurbishment of the three cities would cost a ton. Even though Saleen had his own ways of saving money, he still had to take care of the armies’ equipment and ration distribution, he needed an astronomical sum of money. The monthly expenditure had helped Saleen save quite a bit of money, but most of his cash flow came from the operation of the arena.

“Why does she need all that gold?” Saleen did not want to probe, but the figure was too horrifying, so he had to know the reason.

Nailisi looked at Sharman and Isabella, then said, “Sister Sika is trying to manufacture medicine.”

“What kind of medicine is it that it’s worth spending so much money?!” Saleen got even more bewildered.

“Hmm, Sister Sika said that this medicine will help the both of you have children. She also said that…”

“That’s enough! You two better leave the room.” Saleen was beyond upset, but Isabella was desperately holding back her laughter as she turned to leave the room. Sharman pondered for a moment, but she had no reason to stay either.

After the two people left, Saleen cast the Mute Enchantment. The spell which he used also produced mist, it did not just block out noise. Even if the Eye of a Mage was observing him, the user would not receive any images.

“Master, I already told you to ask them to leave, but you…”

Saleen moaned, then said, “Okay, I was wrong. Nailisi, why did Sika ask you to tell me this?”

“Master, Sister Sika was worried that you couldn’t raise the money, so she asked me to raise this question.”

“Worried that I couldn’t raise the money?” When Saleen heard this sentence, he felt his nose sniffle as tears swarmed up unknowingly. “I have become the king of a county, yet Sika is worried about my finances. If this is the outcome after all the tough struggles, then what is the meaning of my training and abilities?”

“I have this sum of money.” Saleen wiped his tears, then said, “Nailisi, tell Sika to look for me, I want to see her. No, I will go look for her myself.”

Saleen spoke incoherently, as he left to take care of this matter.

Nailisi did not dare act slowly, she trailed him from afar. After leaving the temple, Saleen walked towards the southern gardens.

As Saleen walked on the path, his emotions became more stable. He suddenly felt immense guilt towards Sika. “When I asked people to send a few thousand gold coins to her village previously, did it mean that that gesture could replace everything? Sika doesn’t want much, but it doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t put in any effort. I don’t seem to be very anxious about having children with Sika. Sika, Sika…”

Nailisi followed behind Saleen, she noticed that Saleen was walking more and more steadily, the flaws in his walking were also gradually disappearing. Nailisi then had peace of mind, “Judging by the way Saleen looked, he wouldn’t even be able to react in time if someone ambushed him. Metatrin could resist a huge army, but since it is open to trade, it wouldn’t be able to stop assassins from infiltrating. Perhaps there are assassins laying low in the city that want to harm Saleen.”

Saleen had calmed down, but he many more things on his mind now. “Sika kept persuading me to marry Lex and I am fond of Lex too. Lex has similar feelings for me and Lex can help me conquer the world, providing me with countless of opportunities. This seems to be the perfect choice, but where should I place Sika? Even though Lex can help me dominate the entire mainland, she can never replace Sika’s smile. Sika is frustrated over money, she even had to ask Nailisi to ask if I have eight-hundred-thousand gold coins. If I carry on like this, putting all the resources into my country, what will the outcome be? Back in Ceylon City, I only wanted one piece of bread every day. How did my desires turn into this?!”

Sika had her own house in the southern gardens and the best Caucasus warriors were stationed around her house. Seeing Saleen appear, the Caucasus warriors bowed respectfully, their gazes filled with an unexplainable envy.

They were not envious of Saleen’s status, it was no big deal being a king, they were actually envious that Saleen had obtained the adoration of the priestess.

The Caucasus warriors steered clear, trying to distance themselves from Sika’s house. They wanted to leave some privacy for the priestess and Saleen to enjoy. Nailisi stopped afar, she noticed that Sika’s wooden abode was furnished nicely, it had been carved out from a colossal ancient tree after the tree withered. All the routes which could be used by the enemy for an invasion had been blocked off by various structures.

The Caucasus warriors lived in these structures.

Nailisi found a large tree and leaped into it. She laid on a branch, having a bird’s eye view of the surroundings, allowing her to surveil it.

Saleen walked before Sika’s wooden house, then stretched out his hand and knocked on the door.

“Ah, Saleen, give me a moment!” Sika’s voice boomed throughout the house. This wooden house was separated into several stories, the surface area of each story was not very huge. In the house, Sika walked down the stairs and opened the door, her face seemed slightly flushed.

“Eh? How did you know it was me?” Saleen did not see any surveillance appliances around the house. He was curious as to how Sika knew it was him just from listening to the rapping of the door.

“Come in, come in.” Sika tugged at Saleen’s magic robe, pulling Saleen into the wooden house.

Saleen had not visited Sika’s house before. Whenever he came to the southern gardens, he would either go straight to the alchemy factories or he would be with Eleanor grooming the magic plants.

Sika dragged Saleen up the stairs, leading him to the fourth story. On the fourth story, there was a soft bed. Beside the window across the room was a table which had been carved out. To his surprise, Saleen realized that everything in the room had been blessed with elvish magic, including the table.

Atop the table was a wooden bowl which emitted a fresh medicinal fragrance.

“Sika…” Saleen held onto Sika’s hand and for the first time, he felt that Sika’s hand was very tender. The word ‘tender’ should never have been associated with Sika.

“What is it?” Sika removed Saleen’s cap, as she caressed his face. Saleen’s was clean and proper looking.

“Nailisi told me that you are short of an assistant to help you make medicine, so I plan to stay behind and help. The foundation of my magic pharmaceutical studies is very strong.”

“Help me to make medicine?” Sika immediately realized what he meant, as her face turned scarlet, then she hugged Saleen tightly. Sika inhaled deeply, smelling Saleen’s body which had been cleaned by magic.

“Yes, I will help you to make this medicine. This medicine must be successfully created.” Saleen vowed, “After we succeed, I want to make many babies with you.”