A mage's journey begins with a battle mage.

Chapter 87 The Banquet

As the carriage drove away from the slums, the familiar streets and streetlights reminded Jiang Shuzhou that he had finally returned to the civilized world.

It's hard to imagine that civilization and barbarism are only ten minutes apart.

However, there was nothing that could be done about it. The slums were not originally under the jurisdiction of Velisco, and this renovation was already considered a mercy from the mages.

At least not many people starve to death in the slums every day. Jiang Shuzhou saw in the newspaper a few days ago that the Alliance of Saints was experiencing another famine.

Of course, according to the newspapers, this was actually intentional, in order to purify the faith.

The method is quite simple: the pastors just need to distribute porridge.

At this point, you could give him a bite to eat and he'd kneel down and call you "father." He doesn't even ask for anything else; all he wants is for you to kneel and listen to two lectures. What else is there to say but believe him?

Although it's common for the Mage Alliance to slander the gods, Jiang Shuzhou still felt that this matter was quite credible.

There has never been a major famine within the Mage Alliance, since it's something that can be solved with a single spell.

Leaving aside legendary spells, even the high-level spell "Rejuvenation" can greatly accelerate plant growth. Planting anything and harvesting several crops a day is not a dream.

Priests can do the same, of course.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Inside a banquet hall in the central area, song and dance performances were taking place on stage, while countless waiters moved about below, refilling the monks' drinks, discarding the cold dishes, and replacing them with freshly cooked hot dishes.

The monks were scattered on both sides. Some were exchanging ideas, some were watching the performance on stage, and some were simply focused on eating, ignoring their surroundings.

Led by a waiter, Jiang Shuzhou also joined the banquet.

Looking around, the mages were divided into two factions. The mages on the left were dressed in more splendid clothes and were younger. Their fitted clothes were embroidered with gorgeous patterns, and they wore rings on their hands and brocades on their collars. They looked more like nobles than mages.

On the right, they were no different from traditional mages, all wearing black robes, with only a few patterns on the robes, which were magical runes.

Jiang Shuzhou was observing the monks present, and the monks present were also observing him.

Upon seeing Jiang Shuzhou's attire, most of the traditional monks on the right nodded to him in greeting.

"Tsk, another old fogey." These were the words of a young monk on the left.

It seems some people aren't very friendly.

Hey bro, let me tell you something: is it possible that I'm younger than you?

My buddy's only nineteen and he's already considered an old man.

After pulling down his hood, Jiang Shuzhou walked straight to the right, demonstrating his stance through his actions.

"You're really young and promising. If there were a few more young people like you in the league, we old fogies would feel much more at ease."

"It was said by a middle-aged monk with a weathered face."

It's obvious that this person is a true senior, and his youthful appearance is purely due to his age-preserving techniques, probably from drinking some kind of potion.

Nodding to pay his respects to the senior colleague, Jiang Shuzhou walked to a corner.

"Navis the Mage?"

He had only walked halfway when Jiang Shuzhou suddenly heard someone calling him.

Looking back, I saw that it was Master Jiawei, and the younger one next to him should be Master Jian.

I knew it! They called me over, but then they couldn't find any of their own people. Turns out they were hiding inside.

"Venerable Jiawei, Venerable Jian, it's been a long time! How have you been lately?"

"Not bad." This was said by Master Ji'an.

"Not very good." This was said by the monk Javi.

How am I supposed to explain this?

It was originally just a few pleasantries, something that could have been dealt with casually.

Are you planning to confide in me?

As expected of a mage, he's never lost in a battle of intelligence, nor has he ever won in a battle of emotional intelligence. It's no exaggeration to say that.

"What's bothering you? Why not share it? Let's brainstorm together and maybe we can find a solution?"

Now that things had come to this, Jiang Shuzhou had no intention of letting the matter drop and changing the subject. After all, they were acquaintances, and he should at least show some concern and ask what was going on.

"It's nothing much, just about the case."

Afterwards, Master Jiawei poured out his grievances to the two of them, telling them about the recent surge in various outrageous cases.

Accusations of sexual harassment in public, demands for half the gold coins after a breakup, staged accidents involving horse-drawn carriages—these used to happen only once every ten days or so, but now they happen almost every day.

Of course, these cases are generally unrelated to the sorcerer. After all, if you dare to falsely accuse a sorcerer, he might actually challenge you to a fair and square magical contest.

The kind of loss that turns you to ashes.

Although it has nothing to do with the monk, it has a lot to do with the monk Jiawei.

As a magistrate who specializes in managing court trials, he is responsible for the final approval of almost all cases.

This caused him great suffering in his eyes. After enduring this torment for quite some time, Master Jiawei finally managed to secure a job assignment abroad. Now, like Jiang Shuzhou, he is also in charge of managing a slum.

This was probably due to guidance from a master, most likely a player. Fortunately, Master Jiawei managed things well, and with a combination of kindness and severity, not many wrongful convictions were made.

As expected of a veteran mage, he wasn't fooled by that at all.

Master Ji'an, who was standing nearby, also shared his experience. Like Jiang Shuzhou, he was also in charge of the governance of a district. However, that area was much quieter than Jiang Shuzhou's dock area, at least he didn't need to be patrolled every few days.

The biggest thing recently was that a house caught fire and the whole family was wiped out.

He originally wanted to investigate further, but after sensing the residual magic at the scene and conducting a further investigation, he gave up the idea.

"It was the day before you joined the Mage Alliance. How unpredictable fate is."

Master Gian said that it was obvious that the house that caught fire was the Baker family, and Gian probably found out something from the investigation.

Jiang Shuzhou took a sip of red wine and smiled without saying a word.

"Never mind, that's not important. By the way, your recent task should also be to manage a slum, right?"

Master Javier didn't care about such things at all; all he wanted to do now was finish his mission quickly and then go study magic.

These days, he's been watching those outrageous cases every day, and he feels like his worldview is about to shatter. He has no energy left to study magic, and it's driving him crazy.

"That's not difficult. I've already come up with a plan and made a strategy."

Jiang Shuzhou responded.

"But before that, let's discuss some magical knowledge first. After all, truth always becomes clearer through debate, and we shouldn't forget to learn while doing our work."

The two monks had no objection to this; completing the work was merely a side matter, while learning magic was the important thing.

And so the three monks discussed for more than two hours, during which they argued with each other, their emotions running high, and they completely abandoned their monkly airs.

"Master Navis, you are indeed a young man of great talent and a man of profound ability."

"Not at all, Master Ji'an, you are no less accomplished."

"Master Jiawei is truly learned and knowledgeable."

"I'm just taking advantage of being older."

The three of them then exchanged compliments for a while.

This reflects genuine thoughts. Both Jiang Shuzhou and the other two mages made considerable progress in this discussion, broadening their horizons and clarifying their path forward.

Finally, Jiang Shuzhou discussed and shared his thoughts on slum governance with the other two monks.

"By the way, Venerable Navis, do you know why we suddenly need to address the slums?" Venerable Javi suddenly asked.

How would I know?

"According to what I know, Princess Serena of the Mermaid Empire will be coming to Velisco for negotiations. The slum redevelopment was initiated in order to leave a good impression on the princess."

Seeing Jiang Shuzhou's confusion, Master Jia Wei said.

What were they talking about?

"Of course it's about the Storm Sea War. The Fishman Kingdom is a vassal of the Mermaid Empire."

Well, so it turns out he's just cleaning up the mess for the Fishman Kingdom.

"More importantly, in a few days, all the high-ranking mages of the Mage Alliance in Storm Sea will gather here for negotiations."

Looks like you've got quite a background, you old codger, you even know that.