A Real Wizard

Fairy Tale Town was an exceptionally peculiar alliance of wizard organizations in the Southern Region. Or rather, it was merely a concept, formed by many wizard organizations willing to acknowledge that concept. Some wizard organizations were also too weak, and surrounded by powerful forces, they joined the wizard alliance for self-preservation.

Gloria's wizard organization was called Candy House in the Forest. Candy House had joined Fairy Tale Town four hundred years ago and stood out among Fairy Tale Town's many subordinate organizations. This was because the vast majority of the Southern Region's gourmet wizards came from Candy House.

The difficulty of advancing as a gourmet wizard ranked among the highest in the entire mystical world. At present, the number of gourmet wizards who had appeared publicly in the Southern Region could be counted on one's fingers. Gloria was among the very best of them.

"Gloria's combat strength may not be especially great, but the strangeness of her spells is such that even bloodline wizards renowned for their offensive power are sometimes unwilling to provoke her." After speaking of Fairy Tale Town, Flora turned to Gloria. "Anyway, on my list of wizards I wouldn't want as enemies, she could probably rank in the top ten

."

"Obtaining Barbie Restaurant's gold card means you've already formed a bond with her. Once you advance to become an official wizard, this favor may bring you gains beyond imagination."

Flora's words were very utilitarian. But that was the wizard world—sentiment was less useful than profit.

Sanders nodded slightly. Rarely, he also offered an assessment of Gloria:

"She is a real wizard. Whether as an opponent or a friend, she is worthy of respect."

A real... wizard? Angel murmured silently. He did not understand what a "real wizard" meant. Were other people not real wizards?

Sanders merely smiled at Angel's confusion and did not explain the deeper meaning behind those words. A wizard had to walk their own path. If it were laid bare now, it would instead be easy to lose oneself in a maze of confusion.

However, Sanders still added:

"Walk your own path, unbound by those who came before. And keep walking it tirelessly, day after day, decade after decade. Even if the road ahead is unknown, that too is a unique landscape. Such wizards are real wizards." Sanders stroked his staff. "Unfortunately, many wizards understand this principle and have always wished to walk this road, but their accumulation of knowledge is insufficient, and their comprehension leaves much to be desired. As a result, there are fewer and fewer real wizards now."

Sanders stopped there and did not continue on the subject. Yet because of those words, when Angel faced choices about his future, he would eventually embark upon a path that truly belonged to him.

As the conversation continued, Angel felt the atmosphere become far more harmonious than the initial awkwardness. Under Flora's guidance, Angel also spoke about some things from his own life.

However, his life had always revolved around the same three points, so in summary, there were only three things: "studying, eating, sleeping."

Angel thought that such a dull and tedious life would make his newly acknowledged mentor feel that he was very boring.

With trepidation, Angel looked toward Sanders.

Nothing could be read from Sanders's face. He merely placed his staff on the table, crossed one leg over the other, and said in an offhand manner, "Judging from your past life, you already possess the attitude of a wizard dedicated to research, but you are overly gentle. It seems you are better suited to becoming an academic wizard."

At Sanders's words, Angel froze.

From their earlier interaction, Angel had already learned that Sanders and Flora both came from Savage Cave. Savage Cave was one of the top organizations in the Southern Region. Black wizards made up the majority, while white wizards were few, and basically belonged to Savage Cave's "dissenting faction." The academic wizards Sanders spoke of were, for the most part, white wizards.

In the eyes of wizard apprentices, Sanders and Flora were both black wizards, yet Sanders had now labeled him an "academic wizard"... Could it be that he was dissatisfied with him?

Recalling Flora's earlier conversation with Moro, in which her words also held much disdain for academic wizards, Angel felt himself becoming anxious over imagined gains and losses. He silently cursed himself for being too sensitive, but could not stop himself from overthinking.

Angel's inner turmoil was written all over his face. Seeing this, Sanders glanced at Flora.

Flora immediately understood and smiled, then patted Angel's shoulder. "Hehehe, it seems that once we return to the organization, the relationship between us and the dissenting faction will have to improve through you!"

"You needn't care about factional distinctions either. Many times, what you do is decided in a single thought. Whether one is white, black, or gray

, none of that is a standard for judging a person. 'Dissenting faction' is merely a nickname we came up with in private. Wizards are seen across the planes as bloody and cruel, while most of those sent to garrison other planes are academic wizards, so academic wizards are not necessarily good people. It still depends on what you do. White wizards, black wizards—these classifications invented by apprentices are completely unreliable, so don't take them too seriously."

"I dislike academic wizards simply because some academic wizards in our Savage Cave are completely two-faced. It isn't because I have any issue with that kind of wizard."

After hearing Flora's words, Angel realized that his thoughts had been seen through again, and could not help blushing.

Fortunately, Gloria came gliding in from outside carrying a tray at that moment, barely managing to divert everyone's attention.

A porcelain tray was covered by an exquisite lid and gently placed before Angel, drawing everyone's gaze. Soup Weasel and Greasy Bird followed behind Gloria, each carrying a tray. They placed them before Flora and Sanders.

"What's the use of making it look so exquisite? It's all going into storage equipment to be taken away anyway." Flora grumbled as she lifted the lid.

On the tray sat a transparent, teardrop-shaped crystal bottle. Its cap was made of bindings and a cork, and faint magical runes shimmered across its cross-section.

There was water in the bottle. It appeared empty, but with a true-sight spell, one could immediately discover a transparent worm swimming gleefully back and forth inside.

This worm was a Fragment Mayfly.

"Little brother Angel, please enjoy." Gloria gave him a sultry wink, but given her figure, the gesture made everyone's stomach acid surge.

Enjoy? Was I supposed to drink this water? Unable to see the Fragment Mayfly, Angel could only shake the crystal bottle in confusion.

"There is a Fragment Mayfly inside. You have no use for it yet, so you can keep it for now," Sanders said. "After returning to the organization, you can sell it in exchange for supplies you need. But I do not recommend selling it. The Fragment Mayfly's effect is one of a kind. Once you become a wizard, it may be of great use."

Sanders seemed extremely certain that Angel would become a wizard. Gloria looked at Angel with a strange expression. Her speculation remained unconfirmed, and it scratched at her heart until it itched unbearably.

Gloria instructed Soup Weasel to remain on standby beside Angel, while she went over to the cooking utensils.

"Sanders, now it's your turn. Still Twisted Baworm?" Gloria's question sounded ordinary, but her brows and eyes were lowered, making it impossible to see what she was thinking.

Sanders curled his lips.

Gloria's question sounded perfectly normal, but after what had happened in the gold-card banquet hall, how could Sanders not know that she was actually using this question to secretly gauge Angel's talent from his answer?

If Sanders answered, "No need," Gloria could easily infer certain things. A custom-made food ordered continuously for decades suddenly changed in such a short time—how could that not arouse suspicion?

On the surface, it was a question, but beneath it lay hidden meaning.

Of course, Sanders knew Gloria was merely gossiping about Angel's talent, rather than truly trying to pry into it.

But as someone who enjoyed making others grind their teeth in frustration, how could he so easily satisfy anyone's curiosity—especially when this person was already his student?

With his protective streak awakened, Sanders replied with an indifferent gaze, "Of course."