An icy gust swept past, chilling Russell's neck as he hurried along. He shivered involuntarily, tucked his head lower, and quickened his steps toward the depths of the palace.
Looking at His Majesty the Emperor's private study, still several hundred meters away, Russell sighed inwardly.
In weather this cold, he should have been comfortably settled in his own room, enjoying the warmth of his magic air conditioner, sipping steaming black tea, and watching the New Moon Merchant Guild's newly released scenic documentary, "Sains Continent from Above." Instead, he had been forced to come to the palace, more than ten kilometers from his home. What an ordeal.
Thank goodness the Xinfei Merchant Guild had invented the comfortable, speedy mana sedan. It had spared him a lengthy journey and kept His Majesty from growing displeased at being made to wait too long.
Once inside the palace, however, there were no convenient means of transport. He had to cover the remaining distance on his own two legs.
Unfortunately, the Candel Empire's palace was the largest complex of buildings on the continent. To reflect the empire's grandeur, almost any two buildings within it were separated by several hundred or even a thousand meters. As a result, it took Russell more than twenty minutes just to reach the private study where His Majesty had summoned him from the front hall-and that was with him jogging the entire way.
At that thought, Russell suddenly remembered something.
Apparently, the palace administrator had once suggested that His Majesty install some magic lifts made by the Xinfei Merchant Guild within the palace. They would save considerable time when traveling through the grounds and spare His Majesty a great deal of physical exertion.
Yet His Majesty had flatly rejected this obviously practical and useful proposal.
Although His Majesty had said