Chapter 147 (1/2)

Chapter 147: The Flaming Hand (Part 1)

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Alina’s lifeless body was set on fire and burned to ashes. Link then spread the ashes across the surface of the stream in the middle of the forest and let her remains flow away with the course of the water.

And that was the end of the Three Musketeers of the Silver Moon.

Her sword was made of solid gold and the magic seal on it contained a lot of thorium, so Link used his enchantment skill to isolate these elements and divide them equally between Eleanor and himself.

From there, Link now had ten pounds of gold and another ounce of thorium, which in total was worth the eye-watering amount of 20,000 gold coins.

Once everything was settled, Link and Eleanor then parted ways at King’s Lane near the Girvent Forest.

“I’ve repaid my debt to you for saving my life with the Scroll of Enlightenment. I’ve even helped you in deciphering the code in the original scroll and found Alina – don’t you think you should show me a bit more gratitude?”

Link thought she had a point there, he never expected to have gained so much by acquainting himself with a person he had assumed to be evil. The Scroll of Enlightenment, the Glyph of Soul, the secret code document—Link had acquired all this with Eleanor’s help and they were all extremely useful items!

His skills in enchantment were something he was proud of the most right now, so he made Eleanor an offer.

“I’ll make you another magic gear then,” he said.

“Good!” replied Eleanor. “My left arm feels a bit empty at the moment, I think another bracelet there would be nice, but I don’t feel like forking out the gold coins for the price of the materials.”

“Alright, I got it,” said Link. “I’ll start working on it the moment I get back to the academy. Write to me when you want to get it and I’ll send it to you.”

“It’s a deal,” said Eleanor. “Make sure this new bracelet of mine is as exquisite as my Phoenix bracelet, or I won’t forgive you for it!” She caressed the beloved Flame Blast bracelet on her wrist lovingly as she spoke, although she had now renamed it as her Phoenix bracelet.

“I will try my best,” said Link with a pursed smile.

They then waved goodbye to each other and Link turned down King’s Lane. Eleanor stood in the forest watching Link’s figure disappear gradually.

“Link, my name is Eleanor!” she shouted when Link was almost out of sight.

Link didn’t turn back around but waved his hand to indicate that he’d heard her. He walked on until finally his figure was blocked behind a tree and disappeared completely.

Eleanor sighed softly as she turned around and headed into the depths of the Girvent Forest.

Now I’m alone again, she thought.

Meanwhile, Link walked along King’s Lane alone. He could encounter someone anytime on the road so he didn’t summon the Wind Fenrir to avoid alarming a passer-by, so he continued to walk all the way back.

After about ten minutes of walking, an oxcart came up behind him. He gave the peasant driving the oxcart a silver coin and hopped on it. The oxcart moved sluggishly, so he only reached the academy late in the afternoon.

It was winter at the time and the weather hadn’t been so good on that day as well. There were even some snowflakes drifting in the wind. Once he stepped down from the oxcart, Link gathered his sleeves and pulled up the hood of his robe and entered the academy.

It had been such a cold day, in fact, even Vincent was absent from his usual spot in the garden. He had kept himself warm inside the cottage instead. When he heard someone’s footsteps at the gates, he opened the window to take a look outside. Once he discovered it was someone wearing the Magician’s robe of the East Cove Magic Academy he decided there was no threat to be found and closed the window.

As he treaded the snow-covered path in the chilly wind on his way back to his Mage Tower, Link suddenly thought of his mother again.

Her name was Lilith. She was 40 years old this year and she was a woman so kind and gentle that one might think she was weak. Link wondered how she was getting along now in that small cottage in the countryside.

There were always shortages of all kinds in that cottage, thought Link. I wonder if she had enough coal and firewood to protect her from this cold. How are the servants treating her? Does she even have enough clothes or food to survive this season?

Although she was just the mother of this body that his soul inhabited and was not his actual blood relation at all, the memories of her still remained in his mind, making it hard for him to bear the thoughts that she might be suffering a hard life right now.

I’ve refused the offers from the dean and the king to join the army, so there shouldn’t be any reason blocking me from visiting her. Pufferfish County isn’t so far away from here, anyway. I’d better pay her a visit.

As he came to a decision Link’s footsteps began to quicken. He reached the Mage Tower right when Herrera was giving a lecture to the apprentices in the hall on the first floor. When she saw Link, she nodded at him and continued her lecture. Link took a seat in the hall and went on to study a magic textbook there.

Half an hour later, Herrera’s lecture was over. She then walked over to Link.

“Is everything in the capital city settled?” she asked.

“Yes,” answered Link. “I’ve gotten hold of some things that I must inform you of, but I can’t do it here.” Link was using the softest voice possible to prevent anyone from overhearing him. He was talking about the secret code document that Eleanor had given him. He knew that the authorities would find it very useful.

“Let’s go to the top floor,” Herrera said.