Magat Randy glanced up at the scorching sun and raised a hand. A breeze swept up, moving him and the lounge chair beneath him a little farther into the shade of a nearby tree, until his entire body was hidden in shadow again.
"This damned weather."
After muttering a curse, Magat Randy turned to look at the dozen or so soldiers nearby. They were still standing beneath the blazing sun, fully armed and dressed in complete suits of armor despite the punishing heat. The sight made him feel considerably better.
Compared with those poor soldiers, he, a Great Mage, enjoyed incomparably better treatment in every respect.
Of course, if not for the Duchess's orders, he would never have stayed here on guard at noon, the hottest hour of such a sweltering day.
He was a distinguished Great Mage. If he refused, even the Duke himself could not actually force him to do anything.
But considering the almost inexhaustible benefits the Duke provided him, he was perfectly willing to serve both the Duke and his wife.
Ultimately, however powerful mages might be, they were still human.
Besides, magic research required a great many gold coins. On his own, Great Mage Randy would have struggled to obtain all the resources he wanted.
At that thought, he gave a quiet snort and directed his gaze toward the ground.
Among the captured members of the Xinfei Merchant Guild were quite a few mages, all of them reasonably capable.
That young female mage was particularly gifted. She had already attained the strength of a Level Seven Mage while still in her twenties, which even Great Mage Randy considered outstanding.
Yet a mage with such talent had failed to devote herself to magic research. Instead, she had joined that damned Xinfei Merchant Guild to research its