Chapter 218: The Discussion Inside the Castle |
The moment Fran entered Snow Bear City, she immediately identified herself as a Battle Mage from the Northern Society.
Around the Northern Society, people still held the Northern Society’s name in high regard.
And when they heard that Fran had been hired by the lord, they became even more careful not to offend her.
Before long, Fran was brought into a castle, where Blake Snow Bear was already waiting to receive her at the entrance.
“Welcome, friend of the Northern Society, Mage.”
Blake’s tone was extremely respectful. He knew how powerful these Battle Mages were, and he also knew the strength of the Northern Society, so naturally he did not dare slight her and immediately had her invited in.
Moreover, Blake had another matter he wanted to discuss with someone from the Alliance.
Could he perhaps join the Alliance?
Now he finally understood why that former lord had looked so delighted after joining the Alliance, and why so many surrounding lords had been waiting with eager anticipation.
He had heard that the previous lord, after selling his territory to the Alliance, had received a reward of one thousand gold coins.
Still, he also knew that the chances were probably very slim. After all, so many lords had tried to apply, to the point of nearly trampling over one another, yet none of them had received a reply from the Alliance.
And since he had only just begun entertaining this thought, he would likely be rejected from the very start.
Blake led Fran into a lavishly decorated room.
Three mounted animal heads hung on the walls. Opposite them was a painting of a man holding a knight’s sword, and that knight bore a slight resemblance to Blake.
The floor of the room was covered with a carpet that was soft, but not overly so. It seemed to be made from the fur of some kind of animal.
Blake guided Fran to a cushioned chair and sat down himself before speaking first.
“Mage, may I ask when you plan to deal with that Undead Creature?”
“I’ll leave tomorrow.”
‘So soon!’ Blake was startled inwardly. He had not expected her to move so quickly. Usually, had he not heard that those Battle Mages often delayed for a while before taking action?
For example, one of them might suddenly say:
“My Battle Merits for this month are already enough. Let’s wait two more days. That way, by the time I return, it will just happen to be next month, and next month’s Battle Merits will be enough too.”
Things like that.
The people who hired them usually had no choice but to wait. They could not press the matter too hard.
Fortunately, those Battle Mages were still fairly trustworthy. In the end, they always completed the commission.
“By the way, Mage, could you perhaps set the matter of the mine aside for the moment and remain here for a few days?”
“Please rest assured, this is not about the payment...”
Blake had already prepared the reward for the Northern Society’s commission long ago.
If the knights under his command had not all refused to go into the mine to eliminate that Undead Creature, he would not even have needed to send a commission to a mage of the Northern Society.
His knights would rather hand over their personal property than go into the mine, saying that it was too dark, the environment was too cramped, and horses could not be ridden in there.
After all, he might dare delay anyone else’s payment, but he would never dare delay payment owed to the Northern Society.
The number of Battle Mages they had might very well exceed the total number of knights across all the surrounding territories combined.
Not to mention that those Battle Mages were far stronger than ordinary knights, only slightly weaker than lords like himself.
So there was absolutely no way he would dare offend those mages in such a matter.
The reason he wanted Fran to stay was because of another issue, one that had been giving him a severe headache.
“What is it?”
“It’s like this... recently, for reasons unknown, many First-Tier Professionals have come into my territory. And before long, a group of followers of the Goddess of the Currents will also arrive.”
“Their strength is simply too great. Even as the lord, I do not have enough power to deal with them.”
“So I was hoping that you might remain here for a while, Mage, and allow me to borrow your name to deter these people.”
“Please rest assured, Mage. I will pay you separately for this matter.”
Fran stroked her chin and considered it.
In truth, the moment Blake mentioned those followers of the Goddess of the Currents, she had already wanted to stay a while longer and see things for herself.
But that was something she intended to do only after eliminating the Undead Creature.
Up to now, she had only heard about the followers of gods while in the Material Realm. She had never truly seen what the believers here were actually like.
She also wanted to observe other believers for a time before deciding whether she should help the Lord of Radiance develop followers in the Material Realm.
But Blake clearly wanted her to remain here and wait for the arrival of the followers of the Goddess of the Currents, so that she could intimidate them on his behalf.
She understood exactly what was going on.
Those professionals flooding into Snow Bear City, along with the followers of the Goddess of the Currents, were most likely all here because of the item the thief had stolen.
Those professionals were probably after the bounty offered by the lord of White Dragon Harbor, while that item itself carried the aura of the sea.
It was entirely possible that these followers of the Goddess of the Currents had come for the item itself.
And Blake’s reason for wanting to borrow her name was equally obvious. He knew the name of the Alliance, and he knew what the Alliance’s mages represented on this continent.
Even after she left, Blake could still wrap himself in the Alliance’s prestige and make those people think twice before doing anything too extreme.
It was a good plan, and Fran herself had little to worry about, because the Northern Frontier was still far too close to the Alliance.
After thinking it over for a short while, Fran felt that agreeing posed no real problem. Those people most likely would not make a move against Blake anyway.
“I can agree, but you must accept my conditions.”
“Please, say them.”
“First, I will stay here for only five days. After five days, I will leave.”
“That is no problem at all.” Blake readily agreed. What he needed most was a bit of Fran’s cooperation.
As long as she helped him put on a display of deterrence, it made no difference to him how many days she stayed.
“Second, the payment I want is somewhat unusual. I want the monsters of the Northern Frontier alive, one of each kind.”
Blake paused. Faced with such a strange form of payment, he did not agree immediately, but instead confirmed it first.
“Even the weaker monsters?”
“That’s right. Of course, if you can locate a First-Tier Monster, I can count that as one as well.”
“I want about one hundred monsters, and they must be delivered to me after I finish subjugating the Undead Creature.”
What Fran wanted right now was to make use of Blake’s identity as a lord to help her collect these monsters and gather more medals.
That suited her perfectly, since some Ice Elemental Affinity was still better than none.
Blake thought for a moment, then nodded.
“Agreed.”