Instigation and a Wager

(The new book, Salted Fish Warlock of the 80s, has been uploaded. Everyone is welcome to take a look!)

(This is the fourth chapter! Seeking recommendations!)

"Isn't this the young Master Merlin, the knight who lost his fief? How have you become so destitute that you've come to the Baron of Red Maple's home to sponge a meal? If you lack the money to buy barley for a fire, you could have come to borrow from me! Our Gerry family's territory is vast; we aren't short of a few Copper Horns for you!"

Just as the butler was reporting to his master, the guest outside had already brushed aside the servants' attempts to stop him and invited himself in.

The newcomer was a noble youth of about twenty, though his face bore a thick air of hooliganism, making him look more like a street ruffian than a noble, and his appearance was far from pleasing. Beside the youth was an elderly mage wearing magnificent mage robes, holding a wooden staff as tall as a man, with a face full of white whiskers and hair as white as snow.

Barley is generally a coarse grain consumed daily only by the poorest commoners or slaves; the black bread baked from flour ground from it is hard, dry, and difficult to swallow, and few nobles ever have the chance to try it. The other party saying this was naturally mocking Donald's status as a fallen noble. However, he clearly did not know that the wealth Donald currently possessed likely exceeded that of an average landed noble. At the very least, being able to pull out thousands or tens of thousands of Gold Sols at once was something those hereditary petty nobles with territories smaller than a baron could not achieve even after saving for decades!

The other party's words were so unpleasant that even the Baron of Red Maple, who operated on the principle of harmony, could not help but furrow his brows deeply. However, upon seeing the old mage beside the youth, this merchant-noble clearly had some reservations, and the reprimand that reached his lips was swallowed back.

On the contrary, although Donald was furious inside, he still managed to maintain his noble demeanor and did not resort to a brawl, though he secretly taught the other party a small lesson. Mobilizing his mental energy to cast a mage's trick, he grabbed a piece of raw steak prepared for grilling on the spot and slammed it hard against the mouth that made one wish to tear it to shreds.

"Ugh!... Ptooey!"

"Who is it? Which bastard dares to play tricks on this young master? Come out and face your death!"

The noble youth had been showing off his power, and never expected to suffer such a humiliating display. Naturally, he was incomparably furious and began to curse loudly.

However, the old mage beside the youth had his white eyebrows twitching. He opened his mouth and pointed at Donald, saying, "Audacious apprentice, how dare you show off your pathetic apprentice-level spells in front of this Master! Why don't you come out and apologize for your mistake!"

"All are equal before magic. You are not my teacher, and we have never met. What qualification do you have to make me admit a mistake?"

Donald's calm voice rang out. The old mage was choked by these words, then immediately said angrily, "Just because I am your senior! Did your teacher not teach you the etiquette of mages?"

Seeing this old mage relying on his age to bully others, Donald, who had his own backing, naturally would not allow himself to be insulted and looked down upon, and he quickly gave a retort.

"The Master is indeed an old master; whether in age or rank, you are a model for apprentices of our generation. However, my teacher is only Master Messer. Could it be that your status is already comparable to his?"

"This..."

Upon hearing the name Messer, the old mage was speechless on the spot. If he said anything detrimental about that person, even if that person were magnanimous and did not hold a grudge, the other mages in the North Shire would not let him off, and he would have no future in the North Shire.

The old mage had his reservations, but the youth was so angry his head was spinning, and he cursed, "What Master Messer? I've never even heard of him! Do you know who is standing before you? To offend me is to offend the entire Lordship of Gerry, you..."

Before the youth could finish, he was violently yanked by the old mage beside him, cutting off the rest of his words.

Seeing the old mage's face turn blue with a mix of shock and anger, the youth was about to ask what was wrong when he heard Donald chuckle from across the way:

"If you dared to say that in Giant Stone City, that would be a truly admirable act! I am certain that within half a day, you would be turned into a roast pig by all the mages in the North Shire combined. Even the city guards and their Governor of the North Shire would not dare to intervene."

Even the Baron of Red Maple beside him nodded in agreement. This person was truly too stupid; he even dared to utter words insulting that Master. Even the great nobles of the kingdom would only treat that person as an equal and would never dare to be disrespectful.

To put it mildly, that person would likely be magnanimous and let the matter drop; to put it severely, the other party's noble title and their entire family territory would likely be destroyed by that one sentence.

By then, the old mage had already explained the stakes to the youth, scaring the fellow until his face turned pale.

Seeing that the youth had been taught a lesson and was behaving, the Baron of Red Maple then spoke to him in an unhurried manner.

"Sodo, are you here to see Saolin again today? And who is this respected Master Mage?"

Only then did the youth manage to force a smile and say, "This is Master Snow, the new mage consultant hired by our Lordship of Gerry. I heard that Uncle Ernest and sister Saolin both admire mages very much, so I specifically invited Master Snow to pay a visit!"

The conversation between the two also cleared up the doubts in Donald's mind regarding why the youth had appeared here so coincidentally.

This youth was the grandson of the old Gerry who had seized their family's territory years ago, and the son of the current Lord Gerry, Sodo. He had also insulted and mocked the former Donald many times. To borrow a saying from his past life, he would recognize him even if he were turned to ash. As soon as this guy appeared, Donald felt both old and new hatreds welling up in his heart.

Back then, the Merlin family's fief was obtained through the schemes of that swindler, old Gerry. At that time, old Gerry was merely a butler for the house of the previous Viscount Macbeth. In order to help his son—the current Lord Gerry—get ahead, he plotted to seize the fief of the declining Merlin family, then requested that it be inherited by his son, who had officially been promoted from a knight's squire to a knight.

Logically, the Merlin family, like the Baron of Red Maple, were not direct noble vassals of Viscount Macbeth, but local lords belonging to His Majesty the King. It was just that the Gerry family somehow bribed officials in the Royal Court to obtain the Merlin family's fief, and then he was directly enfeoffed as a Lord by his master.

Although Donald, who had changed souls, knew that there must have been support from the Viscount's family behind all this, he felt the most resentment toward the shameless actions of the Gerry family in swindling his family's fief and causing his grandfather to die of anger, as recorded in his memories.

Lord Gerry, a vassal of Viscount Macbeth, was very covetous of the Baron of Red Maple's territory and assets. Also acting under the instructions of Viscount Macbeth behind him, he instigated his son to pursue the Baron's daughter. Even Viscount Macbeth was very jealous of the Baron of Red Maple's two major industries: maple sugar and wine!

Today, this son of Lord Gerry had brought Master Snow, a third-rank mage newly hired by the Gerry family, specifically to show off in front of his future father-in-law to increase his bargaining chips for marrying the Baron's daughter.

One must know that the Baron of Red Maple had always wanted to establish a connection with mages, but no mage had ever responded. Mages were all arrogant, even if they were only low-level mages of the Black Iron initial stage.

Therefore, since the family had just recruited this third-rank mage, and seeing that the Baron of Red Maple had not given a direct answer regarding the marriage, Lord Gerry had come up with this method that was both a show of force and a display of wealth.

Speaking of this Master Snow, he was of commoner origin. His original name was rather vulgar, so he changed it himself to Snow.

In this world, ordinary commoners generally only have names and no surnames. Often, if the father is called Rob, the son is called Little Rob. If they have many children, even the illiterate commoner parents find it difficult just to come up with names.

As for slaves, most only have code names and lack even a formal name. If a commoner has their own surname, their ancestors must have been associated with the nobility or the professional class, and their status would be a cut above the average commoner.

The reason this old mage only used a single-character name was so that outsiders would mostly address him as Master Snow, which gave him a deep sense of superiority.

With his rank, he was far from being worthy of the title "Master," even though his appearance and attire looked more like a master than the North Shire's number one mage, Master Messer. One must know that only high-level mages can barely be called masters, and true masters are Gold-rank Archmages. Strictly speaking, Messer had not yet reached the Silver-rank mage level, but considering that the Master's achievements in alchemy had reached the Silver realm, as well as his prestige in the North Shire, calling him a master was completely beyond reproach.

It is said that even the masters of the Kingdom Mage Association were very respectful toward Master Messer, the only high-level alchemist and equipment enchantment master in Celt.

Inheriting the traditions of the ancient Magic Empire, mages believe in the theory that in the pursuit of truth, those who have attained it come first.

Master Snow was already nearly sixty years old and was still only a third-rank low-level mage. Because he was narrow-minded, he had always held feelings ranging from envy to jealousy toward talented young apprentices. This psychology became more severe as his age increased and his rank stagnated. Therefore, seeing Donald, a seventeen-year-old young apprentice, made him feel as uncomfortable as if a fire were burning in his heart.

The news that a genius apprentice had appeared at the Giant Stone City Association and had been taken in by Messer as an apprentice was something Master Snow had heard from his good friend, the mage Naron, after the fact. He never expected to encounter him so coincidentally while accompanying his employer's son on business. And the apprentice Donald before him was the very model of the younger generation; how could it not make the old mage burn with jealousy?

Upon hearing the name Master Snow, Donald also raised his vigilance immediately. Previously, in the warning from the mage association attendant, the name Master Snow was the one who appeared alongside the Black Iron mid-stage mage, Naron. This Master Snow's attitude was likely not much better than that one's!

Seeing that both sides were silent and the atmosphere had fallen into an awkward state, the Baron of Red Maple, as the host, stepped forward to ease the tension.

"I am hosting a banquet today for Knight Merlin to celebrate his successful transition into a noble and promising mage apprentice. The two of you have arrived at just the right time. Since that is the case, why not sit down together and celebrate with Knight Merlin?"

Sodo was still feeling uneasy about his previous blunder, and Master Snow took the opportunity to step down, pulling Sodo along to take his seat.

As the appetizers and main courses were served one after another, Donald ate with great relish, while Sodo and his companion, who had been arrogant and smug just moments ago, found themselves unable to swallow a single bite.

Sodo, having recovered from the fright of his own slip of the tongue, felt his temper flare as he watched Donald thoroughly enjoying the delicacies.

He had frequently caused trouble for Donald in the past, but he never expected this small, down-and-out noble to have a chance at a comeback! Thinking of this, Sodo felt more and more that he could not allow this kid to continue growing, while the Snow Mage beside him, already consumed by the flames of jealousy, wished he could immediately destroy this rumored genius apprentice.

The two whispered to each other at the dining table, eventually coming up with a desperate plan. They would find a way to provoke the young apprentice into a magical duel with the old mage and force him to wager the ring gifted by that master. As long as he lost this gift, the master would likely be displeased, and Donald would no longer be able to rely on the reputation of Messer.

The Snow Mage was the first to set down his cutlery, wiping his mouth with a napkin with feigned elegance before speaking:

"Apprentice Merlinar, I have heard of your performance in the Mage Association certification assessment. I wonder if you would be willing to discuss magic with me, a third-level mage?"

Watching this old mage intentionally mimic noble etiquette, Donald noted that because of his commoner background and lack of systematic training, the imitation was flawed; it would have been better to be natural and spontaneous rather than appearing so affected and incongruous.

Donald did not know what the other party was planning, but he knew it certainly wasn't anything good. However, he did not fear a third-level mage. With a large supply of magical beast cores and Elemental Crystals in his possession, he could ensure he would resist or even subdue the old mage before him, whether through powerful summoned creatures or the formidable equipment within the Book of Truth.

Donald knew the other party had ill intentions and wanted to see what they were up to, so he nodded indifferently.

Seeing Donald's nonchalant attitude made the Snow Mage's blood boil again. He was a dignified mage who had mastered third-level spellcasting, his strength already at the peak of the Black Iron stage, yet this apprentice seemed to disdain even communicating with him. How could he not be jealous and resentful?

"It seems Apprentice Merlinar is very confident in himself! Why don't we have a wager? We can have a duel using the practice methods commonly used by mages to liven up the Baron of Red Maple's banquet, how about that?"

"Sure! I wonder how you, Snow Mage, would like to compete?"

Sodo interjected from the side, "A duel between two mages is a rare sight among us nobles; it wouldn't be right without a prize. How about the wager being the ring and staff in your hands?"

Watching the two of them singing in harmony to goad him into their trap, and seeing the Baron of Red Maple watching with interest, Donald sneered in his heart. If he were an ordinary, prideful young man, he would likely have stepped right into their scheme!

However, although Donald had not lost the impulsive nature of a young man, he possessed the soul of a thirty-year-old. Having experienced a second life, he was relatively more composed, and from the very beginning, he had been wary of these two, so he would naturally not fall for it easily. Even if he didn't take the Snow Mage, a mere third-level mage, to heart, he would not easily allow himself to be threatened.

He looked at Sodo and his companion with a hesitant expression, and under their expectant gazes, he suddenly revealed a bright smile, though the words he uttered made them feel the urge to vomit blood.

"Sorry, I refuse!"