The air was quiet, and the sunlight obscured by the dark clouds cast a gray light, as if to render the mysterious atmosphere of the present.

A nice male voice sounded: "When you think of the gods, what is the first thought that comes to mind?"

A few seconds later.

The pensive Tails unconsciously opened his eyes, released a hollow gaze, and responded softly in an eerie atmosphere: "Gods, very different from us. ”

"Out of place with us. ”

"Far from us. ”

The male voice was silent for a moment, as if savoring the answer.

"So," the other man continued, after a while, "what is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the world?"

The prince frowned slightly.

"The world?"

Tails raised his head slightly, looking at each other as if he were looking at a statue in a temple, with a mysterious expression and a quiet tone: "We are in it. ”

"We're embedded in it. ”

"We are in it. ”

The male voice paused again for a moment, letting out a low moan.

"Very good, very 'Juche school' style," the nice male voice chuckled softly, "Now, eliminate the previous answers, empty yourself, close your eyes and do it again." Listen, when you think of the gods......"

Tails nodded unconsciously, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

"The ...... of the Gods"

Next Second......

Bang!

The prince opened his eyes suddenly, and slapped his palm on the chessboard in front of him!

I saw Tails exhale deeply, and an emotion called boredom instantly appeared in his empty and ignorant eyes.

"Oh God, I've had enough," the boy interrupted as he leaned back in his chair and clutched his forehead in pain, "how long have we been arguing on this topic?"

In front of the prince, the handsome man on the other end of the chessboard gently turned his eyes.

"Less than an hour. The latter said softly.

Tails sighed in annoyance and spread his hands: "One hour, how many answers have I given you to the same two questions?"

"God?"

The prince raised his left hand and counted it one finger at a time, his tone full of perfunctory and discontent: "From 'Creator,' 'Holy Being,' 'All-Knowing and All-Powerful,' 'Manipulator of Puppets,' 'Watcher in the Dark,' to 'Visitors from Another World,' 'Answering Prayers,' 'Ruthless Keepers,' 'Conspiracy Outside the Box,'......"

The man on the other side of the chessboard listened quietly to Tails' words, not moving.

"The world?"

Tails counted the fingers of his left hand and raised his right hand: "From 'All People', 'Vibrant', 'Animal Planet', 'Material World', 'Beautiful Future and Hope', 'Bad World', 'Unfair Society' to 'The World Is Wrong', 'Heaven and Earth Are Unkind', 'On the Verge of Destruction'......"

Tails, who had a splitting headache, let out a breath and continued to complain, "Is there fifteen? If you combine two or two, there can be hundreds of ......."

At this moment, the man opposite gently raised a finger.

For a moment, Tails only felt that the air he inhaled had become crisp and moist, and the cold sensation that penetrated deep into his lungs made his bored brain cold.

The prince stopped, blinked, and calmed himself in a deep breath.

"Your mind isn't here. ”

In the open-air box of the chess and card room, Ashda Sawn, who was opposite Tails, gently lowered his finger and said flatly: "At least not with me." ”

Tails came back to his senses and looked up at the Qi Wizard across the chessboard, and then at Valhalla in the distance beyond the terrace.

He let out a breath and stepped away from his chair, rubbing his face in frustration.

"I'm sorry," the boy shook his head awkwardly and pushed a piece forward, "There's been a lot of going on lately—I'm a little out of shape." ”

It's been almost a month since Listening Day and Viscount Cambida's visit.

From that day on, Tails was troubled by the troubles involved in the arrival of the Black Sand Lord: the relationship between the Liberal Alliance and Exter, the struggle between King Chaman and his opponents, the undercurrent of power in Longxiao City, the positions and choices of the Walton family—and, of course, the marriage of the Grand Duchess—but surprisingly, despite the growing agitation of Tyles after listening to Putile's analysis, the city had been surprisingly calm for ten days.

The vassals did not continue to negotiate and force marriages, and the Count of Lisbane remained as steady as ever—no matter how many times Tails tried to communicate with him about Thelma's marriage.

Kambida never left Longxiao City, and the envoy of the Black Sand Territory lived in the noble inn of the Axe District, and went deep into Jian Kou under the protection of the Black Sand Lord's own people, neither interacting with any vassals nor meeting with the Grand Duke.

For a month, no crows had flown in from the west, such as the city of Qiyuan, and there was no information about the Freedom Alliance or the war.

The situation in Longxiao City is like a gently rippling lake, and it is not alarming, but because of this, Tails's heart is even more uneasy: the water surface before boiling is probably like this.

Until he received the next sky blue invitation.

"What's the recent thing?"

"You mean the little girl I found in your bed six years ago?" Ashida snorted softly, and said lightly, "the one you gave to the Grand Duke's throne just because I slept with you one night?"

Tails' expression froze.

"Oh, my God," said the prince very unhappily after a second, "The Tower of Souls has not taught you, how to use the modern Western Continent lingua franca correctly so as not to cause misunderstanding?"

"Indeed, the modern lingua franca was gradually formed after the end battle," Ashida still looked at ease, but Tails always felt that there was a faint sneer hidden under his calm face: "When I was your age, the governess taught me the imperial Chinese - maybe mixed with some lingua franca words, and the tower of souls used the orthodox written language of the ancient empire. ”

I'm not complaining about your lingua franca at all, right......

But the mentally exhausted prince had given up arguing with him.

Tails sighed helplessly and changed the subject: "I really didn't expect that the famous Qi Demon Master would also care about the affairs of us little vulgar people?"

Ashida raised her eyes slightly.

"Just because I don't want to care about these boring things doesn't mean I'm deaf or blind. ”

"As I said, being too constrained in mundane affairs will affect your progress," the Qi Magician said unhurriedly, seemingly unfazed by the student's wandering, "Maybe you don't understand yet, but as a preparatory magician, if you don't have a solid foundation......"

"A solid foundation is the result of unreserved instruction from the teachers, not unwarranted hypnotherapy," Tails squinted at him, retorting unequivocally, "Looks like I need a teacher like this." ”

Maybe Ashida's temper is really good, or maybe he doesn't care about the sarcasm from the student at all, only to see the magician say lightly: "Very good, it seems that you have recovered your spirits, then we will ...... again"

Fed up, Tails let out a sigh of relief and looked helplessly at the ceiling.

"Are you sure you want to continue with the topic from the previous lesson?"

The prince slouched at the chess pieces, causing both Lord Justin and Waiya in the distance to look strangely: "Remember, the Emperors, and how did they betray you?"

A blue light flashed in Ashida's eyes.

"They're enemies, you just need to know that. ”

The magician said coldly: "The level that the Twin Emperors have surpassed you, unlike Giza and me, they have immeasurable influence on this world, the more you know, the more likely you are to expose yourself to their eyes and ears, intentionally or unintentionally." ”

Tails' eyes moved.

Immeasurable impact.

Intentional or unintentional eyes and ears.

"What do you mean," the prince asked, tentatively after catching something, "after the end of the war, they, as magicians, still keep in touch with the countries of the world?"

Ashida looked at him steadily, and said sarcastically: "Think with your thumb, Your Highness, even me, Giza, and ...... Such an existence can spend more than a hundred years secretly running a gray gang that is entangled with the aristocratic forces and takes what they need, as our eyes, ears and bloodhounds. ”

"Do you think that as the winner of the final battle, those two **** for more than 600 years are just to find a comfortable nest, pile up all the treasures and then climb in to sleep?"

Tails frowned: "So ......"

Ashida shook her head, "You'll find out one day, and I don't even have to tell you." ”

The prince exhaled painfully: "You make me more curious. ”

"'Curiosity kills the magician,'" replied Ashida, reflexively, "remember—these are the words of your teacher and guide." ”

Tails scoffed disdainfully.

It looks like the magician is going to die......

At this moment, Tails's heart moved.

"By the way, speaking of teachers......"

"Mr. Saxon, you told me last time that there are a few rules that are best to follow in class?"

"You know," muttered the prince, "think of every word, and ask rhetorical questions at any time, and express yourself clearly, and question each other, and ...... and so on."

Ashda bowed his head slightly, his palm moving up slightly, and Tails, who had grown to know him, knew that this was a sign that the Qi Magician allowed him to finish his words.

Tails took a deep breath and looked into the magician's almost emotionless eyes:

"So, if there were still people in the world who told me almost exactly the same rules......"

"What could it be?"

At that moment, Tails clearly saw Ashida's right eyebrow raised.

"Who?" asked Ashida, seemingly calmly.

"An older governess, from the Dragon's Kiss Academy in the Duchy of Alenzo," Tails couldn't help but squint his eyes as he imagined the funny image of the thin old man, "Merry Hipser." ”

Ashida paused for a second.

"Dragon Kiss Academy?" he seemed to chew on the word, then raised his head slightly:

"Hmph, that makes sense. ”

Tails' eyes widened, "What do you mean?"

Ashida grabbed a chess piece:

"Back in the days of kings and ancient empires, the province of Dragon's Kiss was a famous place of refuge, and when war came, many scholars, literati, merchants, fallen nobles and other refugees would choose to go there—and mages were no exception. ”

"You mean, the Dragon's Kiss Academy has a deep connection with the Magic Tower?"

"It's not just the origin," the magician shook his head and put the chess pieces in the next position: "The founder of the Dragon Kiss Academy a thousand years ago was originally a mage of the Soul Tower—some of the teaching rules in the Soul Tower undoubtedly influenced the Dragon Kiss Academy. ”

Tails remembered what Ramon had told him about the fact that magic was extinct, and he couldn't help but feel a shock in his heart.

"So, the Dragon Kiss Academy also teaches magic?" the prince picked up the table in surprise, "But ......"

Ashida interrupted him emotionlessly.

"I know what you're thinking: the Dragon's Kiss Academy hasn't been able to avoid the catastrophe of magic extinction after the War of Ends, and most of the books that are considered magic or related to magic have been destroyed. ”

Tails' face darkened.

But then he raised his head and said with a small hope, "Well, there is still a small part?"

"Yes, but not the kind you think - it's your turn. ”

Ashida replied unconcernedly:

"The mage who established the Dragon Kiss Academy is the backbone of the Epic Seat, and his expertise in the Soul Tower is history and literature, specializing in the origin of civilization in poetry, and the Dragon Kiss Academy has naturally shifted in the direction of his research. ”

Tails frowned and grabbed the king and removed him from Ashida's hunt - their chess game was again unwittingly 'general'.

But he immediately reacted to Ashida's words.

"History, literature?" said the prince in surprise, "The Magic Tower still studies these?"

Ashida chuckled.

"That's not all. ”

"Among the three major magic towers, the largest soul tower alone, there are various branches of magic like galactic stars. ”

The mage raised his gaze slightly, and the blue light flowed.

In Tails' curious and eager eyes, Ashda skillfully and quickly spat out a dizzying array of nouns:

"The Seat of Gold specializes in studying the impact of economic and monetary resources on human beings; the Epic Seat is good at cooperating with ascetics to discover new things from archaeological remains; the Seat of Speculation tortures human language and logic; the Seat of Power believes that only by going deep into secular society can we better understand the world and self, it is the largest resident mage of the Soul Tower, and almost every lord will hire a mage as a consultant The habit of starting from it also provided a precedent for the later Seat of Ten Thousand Laws; the Seat of Nature is friendly with the Tower of Alchemy, advocating the discovery of objective natural laws and flexible use, and there are countless sub-seats under it......”

Tails pondered the other party's words in fascination, and then shook slightly: "Wait, gold, epic, speculative...... This is magic, too?"

The prince turned his head and cast a suspicious look at the other man, seeking answers.

Ashida returned to his original indifference, and he asked lightly, "What do you think magic is?"

Tails took a deep breath and began to think.

"Although I have heard Ramon say that magic seems to have a wide range," the prince said in disbelief, scratching his head, "but the impact of the monetary economy on humanity is also too ......"

"Money, economy?" interrupted Ashida, repeating it.

The Qi Demon Master's eyes were sharp and serious.

"Money—think about it, mages can profoundly change the lives and fates of thousands of people with just a few small metal discs and useless waste paper, and affect the history and future of a country and a place. ”

"Success, family ruin, all in it, the king and the people, the nobles and the people, all of them - and these are all from the night of hard thinking and writing in the magic tower. ”

Tails raised an eyebrow.

Ashida's body leaned forward slightly, and the look in his eyes made Tails can't help but look sideways: "Tell me, what kind of spell, what kind of magic can do such a thing?"

"If this weren't magic......"

"And what else is magic?"

(End of chapter)