Throne of Magical Arcana

“That’s right.” After learning Fernando’s question, Antec made fun of him. “You were suspicious that a legend surrendered to the Church? What can they gain from that? The common archmages can receive safety and the materials provided by the Church. What can a legendary sorcerer get? After the external problems are eliminated, they will be the first guys to be thrown away.”

Such a smooth and convincing explanation did not sound like something that a guy as cowardly as Antec could have thought of so quickly.

He must have remembered it when the King of Nightmare and Stanis discussed it… Fernando mocked Antec in his heart and said solemnly, “What exactly are the legends researching in Kufuray City?”

“The mysteries of faith, the deification of gods,” Antec said frankly.

Fernando stared at him with his red eyes, until it was impossible for him to remain calm. He moved his shoulder back and asked, “What are you suspecting?”

“I don’t know, but I’m certain that it is definitely not the answer, at least not the most fundamental answer,” Fernando said solemnly.

Antec was obviously relieved. He looked at Fernando sincerely. “It is an answer nonetheless.”

“Got it. I won’t pursue it any further. Asking a coward to bear too much pressure will make him too scared to go to sleep.” Fernando heard Antec’s meaning between the lines. If he asked further, it was possible that his safety could not be guaranteed.

Antec was not angry after being mocked. He patted Fernando’s shoulder with a smile. “The more scared I am, the better I will sleep.”

The smooth feeling on his fingers made him move his hand back quickly. He blushed again because Fernando was still “Nando”!

Fernando sniffed. Feeling that his body had already recovered, he said, “I should get out of here as soon as possible. The rotten secrets buried below the ground disgust me. I have goosebumps all over my body.”

In short, he felt that the secrets were dangerous.

“I have brought over the sorcerers you hired. They’re out of the city.” Antec was very scared that Furan would see through Fernando’s identity, in which case he would definitely become collateral damage. So, he had been trying to persuade Fernando to leave as soon as possible.

Fernando looked at Antec in surprise. “It’s rare to see you so prepared.”

“Hehe.” Antec enjoyed Fernando’s “praise”.

Fernando talked with Antec for a while. After making deals about future reunions, he walked to the door and turned the knob.

At this moment, a man who appeared to be in his thirties walked in. He was so plain-looking that he would have been unrecognizable in any crowd.

He eyed Fernando up and down and said in a low voice, “Although you are a pervert, you have the vision and analysis abilities that are better than other people’s. That’s not bad.”

“Am I supposed to be happy for your ‘compliment’, you idiot who cannot distinguish between dream and reality?” Fernando was as mean as usual.

The man was Stanis, whom Antec had described and painted for Fernando before, and the future King of Nightmare.

“Words cannot bring you any benefits, but magic can,” Stanis said coldly. “According to Antec, you have some different opinions on illusions and dreams. I hope that they are not too shabby, or it will be a waste of my time.”

Fernando chuckled. “I also hope that you won’t waste my time.”

The two of them communicated their opinions on illusions and dreams in the ward. Although it did not involve the detailed magic symbols and structures, they both benefited a lot from the brainstorming.

A while after Fernando left, Furan, who had been occupied in her teacher’s work, came. It was not exactly love between her and Fernando, but she couldn’t help but feel guilty when she thought that Fernando’s misfortunes were because of her wrong intelligence.

“What? She has returned to Holm?” Furan looked at Antec and could hear nothing else.

She did not say goodbye to her? Did the recent happiness not deserve a farewell at all?

Furan was rather sad that Fernando had left and ignored her charm.

Suddenly, Stanis opened his mouth and said nonchalantly, “You’re interested in a female body with a male soul? Antec is not bad. He has a soul that is even more cowardly than ladies. He’ll fit your requirement after some physical modification.”

“What do you mean?” Furan was stunned at first. Then, all the confusions when she was with Fernando surged up, and she glared at Antec. Fernando was not a professional actor at all. It was okay for a short while, but as they spent more time together, there were certain details that Furan found perplexing.

Antec stepped back in fear. “It… It was none of my business. Fernando was just a pervert who liked to be a girl.”

He did not have the courage to lie before Furan’s face.

Gloomily, Furan gritted her teeth hard and did not say anything for a long time. Right when Antec was frightened and trying to move closer to Stanis, she suddenly waved her arm. “I’ll turn him into a real female next time I meet him!”

……

Ten years later, Rentato was warm and vigorous at the end of spring.

Fernando, still wearing his favorite red magic robe, ignored the knights and clerics in the city and soon reached the Roasted Fish Hotel.

“Old Green, you are still not dead!” he shouted the moment he entered the room.

Old Green narrowed his eyes and looked at him. “I’ll still be alive even after you are dead. Today’s letters.”

He threw a thick pile of letters to Fernando.

Ten years ago, after the Sword of Truth was sent back by the Church along with two saints, the situation was stabilized. However, as time went by, since the Church was caught in an impasse with the coalition army in Aalto and Tria, and the legends of the Church were distracted by the legendary sea monsters in the Boundless Ocean, the nobles in Holm began to have second thoughts and did not work as hard anymore.

The new situation reached an apex two years ago when the Liege of Death fully recovered and killed a grand cardinal in a head-on clash. Later on, the nobles would turn a blind eye to those in magic robes on the street as long as they were not with clerics. Also, more and more of them were secretly working with sorcerers, hoping that the Church could be struck out and a balance among the nobles, the sorcerers, and the Church could be forged.

An invisible hand appeared before Fernando before grabbing the letters and tearing them open. As per his expectation, he found Hathaway’s handwriting to be even more elegant now. On the letters were mathematical questions so complicated that even Fernando felt dazzled, having the illusion that he was not as good at mathematics as Hathaway.

Ten years might be too short to make a breakthrough in magic, but it was enough for a mathematical master with enough talents to rise!

“This girl is not too bad at mathematics,” Fernando remarked with his symbolic tone.

Green scorned. “This is your 39th similar remark. Is it really so difficult to admit that her mathematical talents are better than yours?”

Fernando did not hear that, for he had already sat down and dwelt in the world of mathematics.

“She has such a profound understanding of fluxion, no, calculus… She made decisive contributions…” The more Fernando read, the more shocked he became.

He had been writing to Hathaway and offering mathematical guidance over the past ten years, but when it came to the most cutting-edge fluxion, she only asked the basic definitions. Fluxion had been renamed into calculus by Douglas. However, in one of today’s letters, the knowledge on calculus that Hathaway gave was beyond his abilities, and he had to learn it first!

“When did she pick up calculus?”

Fernando thought suspiciously. He soon remembered something Douglas said, “A young friend believes that calculus sounds better than fluxion, and she has made great contributions to the establishment of this system. So, let’s name it as she says.”

At that time, he thought that Douglas was referring to Erica who dropped by a lot. He realized now that it had to be Hathaway. She had been writing to him as well as Douglas about mathematical knowledge!

Since when was she mathematically capable of co-establishing calculus with Douglas? Fernando grimaced, feeling that he had been left behind.

“Old man, Hathaway is still writing to Douglas?” Fernando raised his head and asked.

Old Green wiped the cup as usual and said casually, “Of course, your mathematical abilities are nothing compared to Douglas’. She wouldn’t have asked for your guidance if Douglas weren’t in Allyn all the time.”

He certainly did not mind striking Fernando.

“Nonetheless, calculus has been completed years sooner than I thought. This will be the most dazzling achievement in the history of magic!” Fernando did not feel bitter but talked in excitement.

Old Green was stunned by how open-minded he was. He asked, “The most dazzling achievement? Hehe. Who could’ve thought that one of the contributors is a little girl who is incapable of magic.”

He cared for Hathaway as a senior. Even though ten years had passed, Hathaway was still a little girl in his eyes.

“It seems that I need to treat her as an equal during our communication.” Fernando put the letters back, ready to study them further after he was back.

Old Green looked around. Seeing nobody here, he asked in a low voice, “Are we taking action tonight?”

Fernando nodded solemnly before he said in slight discomfort, “You… You’d better be careful.”

Having recovered his strength, the Liege of Death believed that it was high time that they occupied a major city with necessary infrastructure so that the defense he had been secretly worked on for decades could be established as soon as possible to resist God’s Arrival. It had been ten years. Nobody knew how strong the pope was and how long it would take before he could perform God’s Arrival. They could only make preparations as early as possible.

“Are you confident?” Old Green asked in concern.

Fernando nodded his head. “Of course, because the nobles will be on our side!”