On duty at night, updated in advance.

"I think I may not be clear enough. The old mage apparently thought that Rhaegar was unhappy that he had not recommended him to the court, but had only sent him to the prince of a place, "As the emperor's favorite brother, the prince's domain is no smaller than any kingdom in the place where you came, and if it weren't for those monsters, the taxes of his domain alone would be enough to cover one-tenth of the empire's income, and as the emperor's reward, only a small part of these taxes were symbolically paid to the treasury, and the rest went to the prince." What's more, Imperial law has strict restrictions on nobles, and even members of the royal family other than the Emperor can only have a maximum of one mage, and as far as I know, Prince Kohler's last magical advisor resigned more than a decade ago..."

"I understand what you mean," Rhaegar interrupted Hocker with a smile, "I have no intention of disliking this position, and in fact, if you had asked me to go to the Prince in the first place, instead of telling me about the situation in the City of Miracles, I would not hesitate to say yes." He maintained a calm but firm tone, "I've never been involved in politics, but that doesn't mean I don't know anything about it, and even though you didn't answer my question, the only thing that can make you, the first mage of the empire other than the Archmage Tower, feel troublesome is probably the battle for the throne." ”

"I know a little bit about the laws of the Empire," Rhaegar continued, "Apart from His Majesty's two princes, the Prince should be the third in line to the throne, and in some ways, his prestige even exceeds that of Prince Philun, who is the second prince, so even if he hides far away and behaves like no other, he will still be at the center of the vortex." ”

Hocker was silent.

"Then," said the old mage in a deep voice, "it seems that I must tell the truth. He paused, as if pondering how to phrase it, but before he could speak, the geist had already spoken.

"If you are asking me to protect the Prince," said Rhaegar, "then I can accept such an arrangement. He looked at the Chief Court Mage sitting behind the table opposite, a smile that was decent, but indescribable.

A flush rose on Hocker's cheeks, and the old mage, who had been seen through his mind, suddenly felt as if he was being stripped naked in front of this young junior.

"Kohler is a good man," he coughed lightly twice to hide his embarrassment, "and of the three generations of royalty I have served, he is the only one who can be judged like this, he has no interest in the throne and power, and his only hobby is helping those in need - at least a third of his annual income is spent on charity." ”

Hocker's shame faded as the conversation progressed, replaced by a sense of calmness.

"I have to apologize to you," he said, "and I do have some selfish motives in sending you to Kohler. Despite his lack of conflict, there are always those who see him as a threat, and he has been assassinated at least three times this year alone, and I suspect that those monsters are also the work of his enemies, and in such a situation, I must send someone to protect him, or countless poor people will be lost again because of his death. ”

"Why don't you send your own men?" asked Rhaegar "If I don't come, don't you have anyone else to send?"

A terrifying glint twinkled in his eyes, and if it was really like the latter he had suggested, there was no doubt that Carson had once again used him as a pawn to exploit after using himself as a scapegoat.

"I didn't know you were coming," Hocker said without hesitation, and even Rhaegar was almost impressed by his sincerity, "In fact, if you came a day later, I would have sent my most powerful disciple, a seventh-order mage, to Kohler. ”

"But my arrival has changed your mind," Rhaegar said, "as an outsider mage who has nothing to do with anything in the Empire, I am undoubtedly more qualified than anyone else for such a position, which will not only ensure the safety of the Prince, but also keep me away from the maelstrom of the City of Miracles." ”

He stood up and saluted Hocker, "I'll leave in an hour," the geist said, "No one will find out I've been here, and no one will know about our relationship." He picked up the letter on the table and left Hocker's room the next moment.

As early as when Hocker asked him to go to Prince Kohler's domain, Rhaegar recognized the opportunity: his soul fragment was inside the Archmage Tower, a sacred place in the hearts of the entire Venerable Saint Endos, and according to what he had known for several days, the Mage Tower would never allow an outsider to enter, unless the other party could get the recommendation of some person who held the highest power in the Empire, and there was no doubt that neither Hocker nor Prince Kohler were such people.

If he made such a request now, he would most likely be denied - recommending someone to the Archmage Tower was not a trivial matter even for Hocker, and his gratitude and trust in Carson would have allowed him to entrust Rhaegar with the task of protecting Kohler, but it would not be enough for him to risk revealing the top secrets of St. Endos' magic to recommend a mage who was still a stranger to him. But after he publicly revealed the other party's intentions and accepted the task of protecting the prince, everything was different.

First, Kohler's protection was enough to make the prince trust him. Rhaegar believed that even if Kohler was truly uncontested, he would never give up on befriending an archmage as a royal family after realizing the benefits of having a mage friend, as evidenced by his dealings with Hocker, and that in order to gain his friendship, a recommendation would be nothing more than a favor for him after confirming his reliability.

Second, if Rhaegar had accepted the assignment at the outset, Hocker might have felt a little guilty in his heart, but this guilt would soon be diluted, and even in the old mage's heart, he would have felt good at keeping his benefactor and friend's student away from politics. But the unceremonious debunking of the geist undoubtedly made the whole thing fundamentally change - According to Carson's description of his friend and Rhaegar's own observations, this is a man of great integrity and over-principle, and the old mage has fallen into a deep uneasiness after being told about his intentions, which is exacerbated by Rhaegar's acceptance of the task despite knowing that the other party is trying to do so, and in such a situation, when he makes his own request after completing the mission, there is no doubt that Hockel will do his best to fulfill his wish in order to gain peace of mind.

"I'll remember it all," Hocker said finally before Rhaegar left, "and I'll remember what you did for me." ”

St. Endos' is a vast empire, this vast country is surrounded by the endless sea to the east, the Henorr forest to the west, and the vast mountains to the north and south into an irregular quadrilateral, endless territory, fertile soil, abundant products, and a brave and warlike army, so that this country dominated by the plains has always been the object of worship and yearning of the surrounding countries in the years after the war of the gods.

Throughout the Empire, the City of Wonders is undoubtedly the dream place of residence for many people, especially those with ambitious fortunes and powers, however for ordinary people, if given a choice, they may prefer to live in another place - from the national capital, riding *** After a few days of walking south, one will come to a vast plain surrounded by hills, with rich land, pleasant climate, beautiful scenery, and rich and benevolent lords, who never have to worry about all kinds of natural disasters, and never have to fear being caught in a prison cell for not being able to pay their taxes, and which is enviously called the plain of plenty among the commoners of St. Endos.

At this moment, however, at least from the village where Rhaegar had arrived, the paradise of the common people had completely changed: the crops that were about to be harvested were thrown into the fields in a mess, apparently trampled by some large creatures, the houses in the village were either destroyed by force or turned to ashes, and people were only crammed into a few houses that were still in good condition, and the simple smiles on the faces of the originally enthusiastic and indisputable inhabitants were no longer visible, and everyone had a deep fear in their eyes... Clearly, this place has just suffered a great catastrophe.

"If you're here to borrow it," several young men stood in front of a group of women and children who looked like frightened lambs, blocking Rhaeggar's path, their eyes visibly wary and uneasy as they looked at the geist, "I'm sorry, as you can see, this place has just been attacked by a demonic beast, and I'm afraid we can't help you in any way." A strong young man at the head said, one of his arms bandaged and blood still oozing from it, "unless you're willing to huddle with us." ”

"I have no intention of disturbing you," Rhaegar said mildly, "I'm just passing through here and will be leaving soon." He held out his hand, and a white light fell on the young man who spoke, and the wound on the latter's arm healed completely in a matter of seconds.

"You're a mage!" the young man looked at the stranger in front of him in a strange robe, his face full of surprise and excitement, "His Majesty the Emperor sent you to help us?"