The Strategy to Become Good at Magic – Chapter 68

TL: TAS coming soon. I’ll see you guys next Wednesday for the next chapter.

 

Chapter 68 – Choice

The next day, the Druids packed up their belongings and bid their farewell to the other races. They were ready to return back to their own forest.

The demons were the most reluctant to see them leave, simply because they still owed them half a month’s worth of laundry washing, and expressed their regret deeply.

Before the Druids left, the team leader took a special trip to the giant tree and handed her an ordinary looking leaf as a gift.

“I would think that a gentleman would at least give some form of jewelry, if not a diamond ring before.” Sue studied the leaf for a while before sighing. She raised her head to give him a serious look: “I’m disappointed in you!”

“……” The gentlemanly Druid team leader’s lips jerked a few times and also sighed: “Sue…… You’re not a lady yet….. My clansmen even suggested me to give you candy!”

[Who?! Who dares to look down on my taste?!] Sue’s sharp gazes swept through the Druids when she heard the remark. Everyone looked away and a few even started whistling.

“………” Sue fell into a deep silence as it appeared that everyone voted for that.

“Sue, this leaf isn’t an ordinary leaf.” The Druid team leader quickly explained when he saw that she was dissatisfied.

“Oh?!” Sue checked the leaf carefully for another ten seconds: “How is it not ordinary? Just because the leaf is similar to how ‘A diamond is forever’?!”

“No! Take a closer look!” The Druid team leader directly got Sue to look at it under the sunlight. “The veins of this leaf are filled with moving Mana, when you look at under the sun it will turn gold…..”

“Whoa! 24K gold?!” (TL: #sarcasm)

“…….” The Druid team leader finally understood he needed to be direct with Sue, and all subtleties are pointless: “The Mana that’s inside the leaf are done by infusing the Nature Elements into it. With this leaf, you can safely go through our Druids Mist Barrier, and not be attacked by any of us…… And it is everlasting.”

[I see. So the leaf is something like a permit and if I ever need to visit them, I just need to put it on.]

“Sue, I said before that we are willing to provide you with aid if you need it.” The Druid team leader’s smile was warm: “I believe that a little girl who is capable of getting along with the Magical Beasts would definitely respect nature. The Druids welcome friends who protect it.”

“Thank you……” Sue was really moved this time, she thought the Druids were just pretending to help yesterday: “I don’t really have anything nice to give you in return. How about I pack up some meat jerky for you on the way back?!”

“…… If you can, please pack more fruits and bread for us.”

After a session of pleasantries, Sue finally sent the Druids off and brought Xiao Bai to the camping area, in order to get the various races’ farewell date. Once she did, she got to knew that all races were about to return home after a day or so. The earliest date to set off came from the Titans, and they prepared to leave that very afternoon. The Merfolks and Demons were the latest to move off, as they planned to leave two days later.

The only exception was the unfortunate bard who seemed to want to stay for a longer time……

“Sue, about the prince’s curse……” The merfolk team leader grabbed her to get a corner and out other people’s earshot.

“Let him return with you?!” Sue took the initiative.

“……. No, if something happened to the prince, we Merfolks are unable to take on this responsibility.” The team leader smiled wryly: “We would recommend that the prince return to the royal family, then have the royal family send elite guards to accompany him to us…… Or that you and the prince come along with us.”

“Have me to go to the Merfolks too?!” Sue was shocked: “But why?!”

“It has been many days since the empire started investigating, but there has been no news that they have searched here. Prince Fedrus’s disappearance has not been announced as well…… ” The merfolk team leader hesitated and gritted his teeth before he spoke: “I suspect, that perhaps the Tobias royal family has given up on finding the prince. Therefore it is pointless to continue waiting, and the best choice is for you to bring him along and go back with us. When the curse is dispelled we can think about the next move.

“….. You mean that the royal family has other princes right?!”

“Yes. The eldest prince is currently training in the army, while the second prince is studying in the Academy of Light…… Even though the prince is the most talented in magic amongst the royal family, but that doesn’t mean that he could be sacrificed. Perhaps the mastermind of all these made everyone believe there was no point in searching for him?!” The merfolk team leader sighed: “Currently the queen is the only one who insists on finding him, but perhaps she alone isn’t enough to change the royal family’s decision.”

“Tsk! This is like a reenactment of the bloody wars of the roses.” Sue was also helpless after listening to the merfolk team leader. “This is why you shouldn’t have too many children and wives!”

“…… Sue, forgive me when I say I do not understand what you said.”

“What I mean is, if you have less children there would be less quarrels, at least they wouldn’t need to worry about which toes they are stepping on.”

“Well perhaps what you said is true.” The merfolk team leader seemed to reminisce about the history of the continent. “Still, have you decided to go back with us?!”

“Well…. I’m saying if there’s a possibility—” Sue was a little troubled: “What if the humans came looking for him just right after we left?!”

It sounded like she was about to kidnap someone’s child, and it did not seem like it was a good thing!

“…… That possibility is very small.”

“…… *Sigh*. Since you’re going to leave the day after, I’ll think about it a little more!”

After the discussion between the merfolk team leader ended, the demon team leader also came along to ask if she was interested in attaining a noble title back in the demon race, by going back with them. She gently declined and he left with disappointment.

Finally Duke Slane came to greet her……