The baron's visit

Beneath the clear, crystalline water, all the Air Coral began producing bubbles at once, their resilient bubbles merging one after another.

Soon, the entire lakebed was enclosed within a bubble.

The Air Coral remained in the water, however, as though the bubbles were deliberately avoiding them.

Watching all this, Kroya suddenly grew interested. After casting a spell, he plunged straight into the water.

With magic to help him, swimming was easy as long as there was no danger of drowning. Besides, he had already known how to swim before transmigrating.

He slowly swam up to the bubble and gently poked it with a finger. At first, he felt some resistance, but as his mana seeped out, his finger immediately slipped through. Then his whole body followed.

Just like that, he was inside the bubble.

The resilient bubble remained intact, merely wobbling once before returning to normal.

He dropped in from outside and just barely managed to steady himself.

His feet sank into the thick silt on the lakebed. Fortunately, it was not too deep here, or his entire body would have sunk into it.

"Whoa, it's huge."

Only after entering the bubble did Kroya truly appreciate its enormous size. It covered the entire lakebed, and this lake spanned half a mu!

Its height was impressive too, probably at least four meters.

The clear lake water was held outside the bubble, and the setting sun poured down through it, creating a truly magnificent sight.

Most importantly, the air inside the bubble was actually suffused with mana, as though it were constantly drawing mana from the lake water and the ground below to replenish itself.

Although it was still nowhere near as good as his room created with the Mansion Spell, it could already count as a mana-gathering array.

"If this could work in the sea..."

He instantly realized how this thing could be used. If bubbles like this could form in the sea, he could not only mine the mineral veins on the seabed but also gradually expand them using the boundless mana in the seawater.

Eventually, even creating an underwater settlement would be no problem.

When he had followed the merfolk down to the seabed earlier, he had already sensed the mana-rich silt there-the remains left behind by dead Magic Plants and magical beasts.

Perhaps the mana within it was abundant enough to condense into magic crystals.

The seabed was an enormous treasure trove!

Kroya walked around the lakebed for a while, confirming that it felt neither cramped nor oppressive. The air flowing into his nostrils remained fresh the whole time.

Clearly, the Air Coral could exchange air as well.

He decided to let the Air Coral grow here for now and plant some water-aligned Magic Plants on the lakebed. Once they matured, he would transplant them into the sea.

Having made his decision, he set off to leave.

He passed out of the bubble at its edge, then swam toward the surface.

The sky had already begun to darken. He first used a surge of mana to evaporate all the moisture on his body, then started toward the castle.

On the way, he ran straight into Ate, the knight who had come looking for him.

The sturdy knight wore close-fitting leather armor over his bulging muscles. His face was rather aloof and handsome, but his goofy smile spoiled that impression.

Upon seeing Kroya, he said excitedly, "Lord Kroya, that merchant named Sai Liu just arrived. He says he has a major business deal he'd like to discuss with you in person!"

"What business requires speaking to me in person?" Kroya frowned. "Did Rob send you?"

He had, after all, entrusted all these minor affairs to Rob precisely because he did not want to meet people who were not particularly important.

It was only a merchant. Kroya was the one with the goods, so there was no need for him to rush over and talk to the man.

Frankly, he was not very pleased.

They should not bother him with such trivial matters.

Noticing Kroya's displeasure, Ate hurriedly dropped to one knee and explained, "My lord, it's because a noble came with Sai Liu-Baron Kermoyer of Vast Sea Commandery."

"Vast Sea Commandery... Tsk. What brought him here?"

Kroya felt somewhat irritated, but since a noble had come in person, propriety dictated that he, as the host, receive him.

After all, a titled noble was entirely different from an ordinary person. The gap might well be greater than that between a human and a dog.

He was a person in power himself, so he had to observe the formalities. After all, he did not know how much longer he would be staying here.

Some degree of contact was inevitable.

"Fine. I'll go meet him."

He shook his head and walked on.

Behind him, Ate breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly rose from the ground, and followed. For some reason, he felt that Kroya seemed more intimidating today.

Even a mere frown from Kroya filled him with dread, leaving him without the slightest thought of disobedience.

Inside the castle's reception room.

A young man in rather plain clothing stood there.

Beside him, the merchant Sai Liu stood respectfully, while several guards stood behind him with their hands clasped behind their backs.

The young man had a distinctly extraordinary bearing.

Every movement carried the dignified air of someone born above others.

The butler Rob waited nearby, his expression unchanged. He was the butler of Kroya, a mage, so even a baron warranted only a little respect.

A first-level mage could obtain a baron's title if he wished, making the two essentially equal in standing.

He represented Kroya and had to be neither servile nor overbearing... Besides, before his family had fallen to ruin, what had a mere baron amounted to?

Not even as much as his family's groom.

The room's atmosphere remained somewhat stifling until Kroya pushed open the door. Dressed in blue mage robes, he wore an indifferent expression.

His stride was utterly relaxed.

He swept his gaze across the room and chuckled. "Baron Kermoyer, you've suddenly come to visit my territory without even sending a visiting card. That's rather presumptuous of you!"

Normally, nobles sent a visiting card before calling on one another, allowing their host time to prepare. Arriving unexpectedly like this was, in fact, quite presumptuous.

As a Second-Level Mage and a lord appointed by the Mage Association, he had no need to be particularly friendly to the man.

Baron Kermoyer smiled in return, then actually bowed slightly. "Indeed, I was presumptuous. Please forgive me, Master Mage."

"Oh?"

With a noble apologizing in person like this, even Kroya had to soften his expression despite his displeasure. He instructed Rob to serve tea and pastries.

Then he sat down first and said evenly, "What exactly brings you here, Baron? I still have magical experiments to conduct, so please get straight to the point."

The baron also sat down, took a box from one of the guards behind him, and offered it to Kroya.

"Mage Kroya, I've already reserved all your white iron ingots through Sai Liu. I was most impressed by your refining methods.

If you could help me refine this metal, I would be willing to pay one gold coin per kilogram."

That was certainly no small sum.

Could it be some kind of magical metal?

Frowning, Kroya opened the box. The moment he did, the metal inside dazzled his eyes.

A faint trace of surprise appeared on his otherwise expressionless face.