Chapter 108

Reynold still stared at me in disbelief. After a long pause, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he managed to utter, "So, the time I saw you going back to 'Nightfall Romance Club' for a part-time job after work..."

"Ah! I can quit if you don't like it." I replied seriously. Compared to a husband I could legally have sex with, I didn't care about the little extra money from the club job. Anyway, my salary was quite high now, not less than Reynold's.

Reynold seems to... well, that's the expression on my face when I used to turn into a bear and go out to hunt deer, the little deer I held under my paws looked like that. Tsk tsk, so cute.

I could practically hear the gears spinning wildly in Reynold's head. After thinking for a long time, he asked me, "Then... could you... not whip me?"

"Of course," I replied decisively.

Reynold took a few deep breaths, then nodded to me and replied, "Okay, then when we get back, we can announce our relationship, and then..."

Ha, easy and effortless, done!

He mentioned a timeline, but I don't care about that stuff. Reynold had a PR team during his campaign, so I'll just provide myself, and let his team handle the rest of the persona.

What I need to think about is, where should we start? Whips? Reynold said no whips, so what should we use instead? I remember that Ciprins' research institute did a new project last year that made a fortune—a bio-electric current-inspired magic massage stick? Maybe we could go to the institute and get one to try.

Hmm, let me think... what about rattan? I need to plan this out carefully and make a list when I get home.

Chapter 108

As we were talking, the entire city suddenly shook. This time the tremor was so widespread, especially since we were in the suburbs. And this time it wasn't just a Magic Power fluctuation; the ground was actually shaking.

Mel and I were both stunned, while the others, being soldiers, were indeed far more disciplined than us. Before Lady Crow could unleash the Druid's Mourner aura again, they uniformly pulled out their communicators and began contacting someone—I guessed they were asking what had happened.

But I don't think it could be a natural phenomenon like an earthquake. The entire plain and hilly area where the Temple of Light is located has never experienced an earthquake. In ancient times, the priests proclaimed it as a miracle of the God of Light. Later... modern geologists say it's because this plain is very ancient, with thick and inactive rock layers, so there are no earthquakes... Although Luolan and the others still say it's the protection of the God of Light that makes this land so solid, well, from a theological point of view, it seems to make sense. After all, all life in this world was given by the God of Light.

Mel and I didn't sense any Magic Power instability in the space this time, so we stood there obediently, waiting for their news, to avoid asking questions that might cause trouble.

During this time, I checked with Damala and found that, in order to prevent my teacher's intimidating power from waning, she had arranged for five banshees to stay at the bottom of the mage tower in the ruins, and the banshees had set up a small sealing magic circle, so I shouldn't worry for the time being.

That's alright... However, I didn't tell her that I wasn't too worried at first...

Ahem... It's because when Damala went to check the ruins, I took out that tormented demon and carefully asked it if there were any hidden dangers inside the ruins. I even specifically asked how dangerous the demons were (even if I stay at home, I can't just be intimate with Mel; we are all disciplined and mature mages, unlike apprentices who neglect their magic practice by writing and drawing). As a result, it trembled and told me that my teacher had... well, basically tortured those demons even more than it had. And this demon eagerly recommended the experimental uses of those demons to me, truly selling out its own kind to the fullest. So I put my worries about the demons aside.

Now that Damala mentioned it, I also feel that we shouldn't leave this "hidden danger" behind. My teacher is a dark priest, and one of the duties of their Shadow Moon Temple is to prevent otherworldly creatures from coming to the prime plane and causing trouble. That's why my teacher reluctantly sealed such good experimental materials instead of keeping them for himself... But I'm not a priest, so I think I can go and take one home from time to time. Our mage tower now has an absolutely fantastic laboratory, specially designed with protective spells to deal with demons.

In the next course, shall we begin teaching the apprentices how to deal with demons? However, those demons that haven't been dealt with before are still somewhat dangerous. My well-trained demon is quite good and suitable for the apprentices to begin learning this subject from the basics.

Thinking about it, I took the demon out of my spatial ring. The demon was actually sleeping soundly in my ring. I took it out and kneaded it for a long time before I could reshape it.

"Go back to the mage tower, prepare the equipment and materials in the laboratory, and then wait for me." I nudged it awake and gave the order.

"No!!! Please don't--"

I grabbed the noisy devil to stop it from disturbing the Crow ladies who were working nearby. Seeing how pitifully it was crying, I... sighed and had no choice but to hand it to Mel.

Mel took the demon, a smirk playing on his lips—a classic dark wizard smile I could only envy—and said to the devil, "Are you going in yourself, or are you prepared for us to do it to you—"

Whoosh—before Mel could finish speaking, the demon had already darted out the window, and a mournful howl echoed from afar, "No need for you to do it—I'll do it myself—"

Hmm, that's a good girl, I nodded in satisfaction.

"What! What's the parliament saying now?"

I turned around and saw Lady Crow grabbing her adjutant and tossing the poor man around, while Reynold... tsk tsk, Reynold has already become Lady Crow's accomplice so quickly. He was yelling at the poor adjutant, "Explain yourself! Do you know what you're saying? If you report something wrong, can you take responsibility for it?!"

Wow... that's quite impressive.

Lusien's face was deathly pale; I had never seen him with such an expression before. For a moment, I thought one of Reynold's secretaries had "time-traveled" to this world.

Luolan asked the question that was on the minds of the three of us onlookers, "What happened?"

"The Marshal is dead!" Crow and Reynold shouted in unison, "Sudden cardiac arrest? Who the hell would believe that?!"

The three of us stood together, watching two men from political circles unleash their madness, especially Reynold, who is usually very careful to maintain his composure and rarely acts so hysterically, roaring and jumping around like this.

Because I don't know the Marshal of the Federal Legion, I still don't know his name. I only know that he exists from the conversations of Lady Crow and the others. Luolan doesn't know the Marshal either, because the Temple of Light, as the temple of God, does not allow participation in politics, and the Marshal of the Legion is not a public speaking enthusiast like Reynold. Even if the public bumps into him on the street, or even if they love surfing the Internet and watching TV, they still won't recognize him.

Mel frowned. "I met the Marshal once. I remember him as a strong warrior, though he wasn't exactly young, but..."

"See!" Lady Crow roared, pointing at Mel, "Even these mages whose heads are filled with nothing but spells can see something's wrong. Unless I'm an idiot, I wouldn't believe that His Excellency the Marshal would suffer a sudden heart attack and die at this critical juncture!"

Hmm, at this crucial juncture? That means something else must have happened at the same time, right?

Sure enough, Reynold rubbed his temples, his face somber as if he too had suddenly grasped the power of decay and become Mourner. He said, "The explosion just now occurred at an oil refinery in the industrial park, refining magic crystals to purify compounds... uh, the kind of fuel that the Magitech Corps mechs need to use." He specifically told me, "You know, magic weapons need to be refueled; they can't generate energy on their own. Besides the core magic crystals that power them, there's also a liquid fuel, the one I just mentioned. It's not easy to produce."

I nodded to indicate that I understood.

Lady Crow continued her confident roar, "While we were away, several important Federation energy stations and supply points were attacked, and the magic weapon factories suffered frequent accidents. Although the initial assessment is that Machine Zealots were involved, the Magitech Corps have been unable to deploy their main forces for a large-scale investigation. The council rejected the Marshal's security request three times, and then just now someone from the military came and said that the Marshal died of a heart attack from anger. Damn it, would a veteran general who has seen battle die from such a joke? This would be an international scandal! I don't believe it!"