“The Debury Magic Academy?”
“Yes.”
Count Toka picked up the teacup in front of him, took a light sip, and began to speak:
“For certain reasons, I cannot go to the Royal Capital right now. My daughter also needs to be sent to the Royal Capital's Debury Academy to study for her own reasons.
“However, it is a long journey from here to the Royal Capital. It takes two months on foot, and even by carriage, it takes nearly a month.
“My daughter is not very strong, and I am truly worried about her safety. That is why I would like to ask you to escort her for me.”
Count Toka sighed softly.
In truth, there shouldn't have been any need to employ an S-rank adventurer; hiring a few A-rank adventurer teams would have sufficed.
But for some unknown reason, high-tier magical beasts had suddenly completely disappeared over the past year and a half. This had resulted in powerful adventurers being unable to take on suitable quests in Toka City.
More and more powerful adventurers and adventurer teams had left Toka City for other cities.
Nowadays, the number of adventurers in Toka City was less than half of what it was a year and a half ago. There were only a dozen or so high-level adventurers, and only two S-rank adventurers.
One was the president of the guild, and the other was the young, handsome youth before him.
Before this meeting, he had been worried—not about strength, of course, as the strength of every S-rank adventurer was certified by the Adventurer's Guild.
He was worried that this so-called youngest adventurer would be a hot-tempered, ill-mannered fellow.
After all, he had seen many geniuses like that, wishing they could tilt their noses up to the sky and look down on everyone.
Naturally, all of these worries vanished upon meeting Xia De.
Seeing Xia De frown slightly after hearing this, Count Toka raised his teacup, took another sip, and continued with a smile:
“Of course, since this is a commission, there will naturally be a reward.
“And as an S-rank adventurer, Mr. Xia De, you surely do not lack gold coins.
“Therefore, we can offer Mr. Xia De an opportunity.”
Xia De asked in confusion, “An opportunity?”
“Yes, an opportunity.
“Motoser.”
He called out softly to the butler.
The butler immediately stepped forward from behind him, holding a box in his hands. Inside the box was a letter.
“I believe Mr. Xia De is aware.
“Weapons today can be divided into four grades: Common, Extraordinary, Epic, and Legendary.”
Xia De nodded slightly. He had heard Hilia mention the weapon grading system before, but he had never paid it any mind.
After all, he had obtained Starfall right at the start of his journey—a weapon that even Hilia, with her discerning eyes as an elven princess, considered incredibly powerful.
Thus, he had no interest in learning about other weapons.
Besides, he mostly used his shadow and black flames to face his enemies, only wielding Starfall when he wanted to get some exercise.
Therefore, weapons were practically redundant to him.
But Count Toka was obviously unable to understand this. Once the old butler placed the box on the table, Count Toka pushed it in front of Xia De and said:
“Legendary-grade weapons have not appeared for a very long time. The famous ones that exist today are each comparable to national treasures.
“Thus, the strongest weapons currently known are Epic-grade weapons, and there are only a little over a hundred of them, scattered across our entire continent.
“Compared to the vastness of this continent, a count of just over a hundred is truly negligible.
“This shows just how rare they are.
“As long as you have this letter, Mr. Xia De, you can unconditionally have that master blacksmith in the Royal Capital forge an Epic-grade weapon for you.
“He is known as one of the closest to a Legendary-grade blacksmith in the past century.
“What do you think of this reward?”
Count Toka smiled, squinting his eyes as he quietly watched Xia De. His face bore a look of absolute certainty that Xia De would accept.
After after, even some Calamity-class powerhouses would covet an Epic-grade weapon.
Had it not been for his past friendship with this master blacksmith, his expression probably wouldn't be so relaxed when discussing Epic-grade weapons.
He believed that no one could refuse such terms.
In truth, the mere status of an S-rank adventurer was not worthy of an Epic-grade weapon's value, but Xia De also held the title of the 'youngest S-rank adventurer.'
As for lying about his age, that was even more impossible.
Perhaps the promotions for lower-ranked adventurers were not as troublesome, but every S-rank certification required a bone age test.
Another point was that Xia De had suddenly become active a year and a half ago. A year and a half ago was a special time—he would never forget that day.
The darkness that devoured the earth.
The Cataclysm!
It had also appeared on that very day. Whether this was a coincidence or something else, Count Toka dared not think too deeply about it.
Therefore, this Epic-grade weapon was also an attempt to win Xia De over. Even if it failed, it would at least extend the goodwill of the Count's estate to him.
However, in the face of the confident Count Toka, Xia De did not take the bait. Instead, he shifted the topic:
“Could you introduce this Debury Magic Academy to me?”
Count Toka was slightly taken aback, clearly not expecting such a flat reaction from Xia De. Nevertheless, he began to introduce the academy to him:
“The Debury Magic Academy is a magic academy established in the Royal Capital. It was founded by the companion of the Hero, that legendary Archmage.
“It has a long history, and it is said that its library contains magic from all over the world, of every kind imaginable.”
“I agree.”
Xia De suddenly spoke, interrupting Count Toka.
Count Toka froze again, then asked uncertainly, “What do you mean, Mr. Xia De?”
Xia De nodded slightly and said, “I agree to escort your daughter to the Royal Capital.”
“Thank you very much, Mr. Xia De. I will leave my daughter's safety in your hands.”
Joy appeared on Count Toka's face, and he added:
“Of course, I won't trouble you too much, Mr. Xia De. I will arrange for an A-rank team to escort her alongside you.”
Xia De nodded, put away the box containing the letter, and politely took his leave of Count Toka.
“In that case, I will take my leave now. I need to make some preparations. We will depart in three days.”
Then, without waiting for Count Toka's response, his figure flashed, and he vanished on the spot.
The pupils of the two Calamity powerhouses present contracted sharply, their faces filled with shock.
Because just now, neither of them had sensed how Xia De had left.
Thus, the answer to their previous speculation was obvious.
Count Toka could no longer maintain his aristocratic composure. He exchanged a shocked look with the butler and said with difficulty:
“No, we must discipline Lilith properly. We have to make her restrain her temper so she doesn't offend Mr. Xia De.”
The old butler, Motoser, nodded in agreement.
After leaving, Xia De returned to the rented cottage that Hilia had transferred to him. Gazing quietly at the room, he said in a relaxed tone:
“It's time to say goodbye.”
He stored his belongings back into his storage space and erased all traces of himself. Finally, his gaze fell upon the pink decorations hanging in the room, which had been there since he first arrived.
He smiled gently. “Since I'm keeping her things safe, keeping one item is the same as keeping a whole bunch. So...”
Xia De stored the decorations Hilia had left behind into his storage space, placing them quietly beside her outfit.
Afterward, he checked out of the room and walked into an empty alleyway.
He snapped his fingers softly. In the next second, he appeared outside the village he knew so well.
Rate on N.U.
