Chapter 110 - When The Storm Rises (1/2)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
For a long time after Jenni finished speaking, neither Gawain nor Heidi broke the silence.
However, Heidi could sense a powerful aura brimming out from her ancestor’s body. It was like an ice crevasse beside her; it was such that by simply sitting near him, she could sense all her magical power gradually freezing, and this unbearable sensation lasted until Gawain opened his mouth.
When Gawain spoke, his tone was, unexpectedly, very peaceful. “What is your master’s name?”
“…William, William Birken,” Jenni said, stuttering slightly. “He isn’t a palace mage but is a person of great standing in the city of St. Soniel. He is the Honorary Advisor of the Royal Mages Institute, and… is very powerful.”
Gawain only nodded quietly. “William Birken, Honorary Advisor of the Royal Mages Institute, I got it.”
Heidi felt that the atmosphere was too stifling; she had to say something to get the air that had almost frozen over to circulate again. “After that? Are you still continuing to research the contents of the notes?”
“I pretended to have given up on the theories in the notebook, but I secretly continued to study them,” Jenni said in a low voice. “Originally, master also developed that tiny bit of interest in the notes, but he disdained reading them in detail. Instead, he sat by and watched what we could come up with. Mr. Ravencrest’s death seemed to become a piece of evidence for master to be sure that the research in the notes was absurd and wrong. So, he put them out of his mind, while I pretended to have given up on those theories as he had.”
“So, it is impossible for him to ever know the existence of constant E. He disdained to even read a single assertion in the notes in detail and finished making all judgment based only on impression… based on that foolish impression of his.” Gawain’s tone was extremely contemptuous. “He has no idea what he is despising. Neither does he know what he has let slip. Better yet, he doesn’t even know that he had let something slip— I have never heard of such a foolish and ignorant person.”
Jenni’s eyes widened slightly. This was her first time hearing someone use the two words ‘foolish’ and ‘ignorant’ to evaluate her master, to evaluate an archmage who had an illustrious reputation in the Royal Mages Institute and even an honorary seat in the Association of Mystics…
However, she did not dare to agree with Gawain. She only dropped her head slightly and went on, “Then I slowly became a skilled Runemaster. Master had once been curious why I was able to complete the adjustment of runes with magic techniques at the apprentice level, but he still had many other matters to pay attention to, and slave apprentices like me are innumerable in his mage tower. Very soon, his attention was shifted away from me— until not long ago. News that the King wanted to organize a Southern Borders pioneering team came. Various aristocrats in positions of power and influence began organizing this team, and master suddenly came to me…”
Heidi sneered lightly. “So this is due to Archmage William Birken. Packaging a grade-four runemaster with the foundation of a mage apprentice into an intermediate professional and arranging for her to join the team.”
“He probably just wanted to get rid of a burden. After all, in his eyes… I’ve always been considered someone who is neither obedient nor talented.” Jenni nodded with a bitter smile. “Besides, to have a mage apprentice make up the numbers with the rank of a runemaster, this is already severe deception and dishonor, so he’d probably gotten the instigation and support of certain big figures in the capital. Duke, I wish to remind you, I am not an exception. Half of this hundred-men team have been shoved in like that to make up the numbers and are essentially outcasts and radicals. We are either burdens with no status and have been kicked out or hold an empty professional rank and cannot be put to use in reality. Just like that grade-two official mage, Mr. Santis. Although he is a grade-two arcanist, he has an inherently frail spiritual power and can only continuously release three to four grade-two spells. And the carpenter Mr. Blues spent half his life studying gears but was ostracized by the Carpenters Association because he was no good at socializing. He’d been expelled from the association many years ago. Not until the organization of the pioneering team this time did the association find him, reinstate his status as a member, and add him to the team just for the numbers…”
Heidi was left agape. “Does that bunch of aristocrats in the capital have to go so far…”
However, Gawain could not help but break out in laughter. “I’ve got to thank them instead. Thank every clan who had a hand in this matter and also thank Jenni’s master. Those idiots would never know how much wealth they’ve let through. Radicals and rebels? Alright, what my land fears the least is rebelling. If those people who cling to old ideas with a pile of connections were to really come over, I wouldn’t want them!”
Heidi watched Gawain with a worried gaze. “Ancestor, you don’t have to console yourself like this…”
“…Why are you also showing inclinations of becoming more ‘Rebecca’-like?”
“Huh?”
“I mean Iron-Hea— Never mind, you won’t understand even if I spell it out.” Gawain waved his hand and turned to look at Jenni. “Let bygones be bygones, Miss Jenni Perot. You’ve arrived at your new home. Toss all your past fears and worries aside. You may continue your research openly and as you please. Not only will I permit that, I will even support you. From now on, you may go to Heidi’s to collect materials for rune research every month. I only have one request—”
Jenni completely did not expect Gawain to declare his support for her so frankly and even passionately. She was still lost in great shock and only asked subconsciously at this point, “What request?”
“Sort out your research. Sum them up into simple and straightforward formulas and theorems,” Gawain said while looking at the notebook on the table. “I can tell from your notes that you are a practical researcher. You are good at using experience to arrive at these formulas, and I happen to have someone who can complement you in my territory — my descendant, Rebecca Cecil. She is a girl who is very quick-witted and also skilled at mathematics. I will have you two study these together. I hope that the end-product you ultimately create could be a…”
Gawain suddenly stopped here as if choosing his words carefully. Until a few seconds after, under Heidi and Jenni’s curious gazes, he then found the most suitable word. “Textbook. I hope that you can tidy all these into a textbook, a textbook that can be understood by as many people as possible. Of course, that is the ultimate outcome. It is a wish of mine, and it will be really tough to achieve. You can take it slow, and let me know if you lack anything.”
“Are these… really that important?” Jenni finally realized that Gawain wasn’t deceiving her. But apart from being immensely surprised, she only felt confused and bewildered. “Do you want to foster runemasters like me in great numbers?”
Gawain smiled. “Foster runemasters? No, I plan on making the contents in this notebook, in the days to come, the general knowledge for every spellcaster on this territory, or even general knowledge for every person.”