#96 - Gold's Secret - Two Worlds: I studied at Hogwarts

After Muen displayed his strength twice, Gorde offered Zalan conditions that he simply couldn't refuse.

Besides guaranteeing Muen a private room for rest,

Gorde also agreed to vacate the first-floor cabins of the Thorns, originally intended for senior crew members, to house the families of the old soldiers from the alley.

The captain even promised to provide free meals for eighty people during the voyage.

With these unexpectedly generous terms, Zalan readily agreed to set sail in two days.

"How did you manage to recreate this chart?"

After leaving the dock, Zalan meticulously examined the new sea chart but found nothing amiss.

"It's a spell I've recently learned."

Hearing Muen's explanation, Zalan grew even more curious.

He already knew that Muen had learned magic during those three missing minutes.

【But can so much be accomplished in three minutes?】

This thought sparked Zalan's intense curiosity about Muen's method of learning magic.

Especially Muen's ability to conjure a new sea chart, which Zalan found both incomprehensible and astonishing.

Having learned about the existence of court mages and spellcasters during the war, Zalan had always believed that magicians existed for the sake of war.

Yet, each time Muen revealed his magic, it seemed only to make life more convenient.

From this, Zalan could also tell that Muen's environment for learning magic wasn't very dangerous, which relieved him considerably.

"By the way, don't you think Gorde's offer is too good to be true?"

Muen wasn't particularly concerned about the sea chart; in his opinion, the Thorns' captain's unusual attitude warranted more attention.

Especially after Muen revealed the [Copying Spell], Gorde not only agreed to provide food and lodging,

but also wanted to recruit Muen to escort the cargo on the ship.

Of course, Gorde offered a very generous price.

As long as Muen agreed to accompany the ship on each voyage, he would receive a reward of one hundred gold coins.

One hundred gold coins, if converted into Muen's income on the farm, would take a full 100 years to earn.

"Gorde's attitude is actually quite normal; you must remember that you are now the king among the rats."

Zalan's words made Muen somewhat uncomfortable, although he knew that Zalan was referring to magicians as rats.

"I think you should call me 'Your Excellency' instead."

Muen's response made Zalan laugh happily.

Since dealing with [Night Owl], he had noticed that Muen seemed to have matured a bit.

"Alright, Your Excellency, the esteemed magician. Actually, Gorde is just a rather strong sea rat, and these three ships are this big sea rat's territory."

Hearing Zalan's explanation, Muen began to understand.

If magicians were the kings among the rats, and all the rats should be loyal and offer tribute to the king,

Gorde would be like a small leader among the rats, and, comparatively, he would naturally offer more tribute.

"Alright, although what you said isn't pleasant to hear, if this sea rat can safely transport all of us to the Vina Islands, it seems quite good."

As Muen spoke, he quickened his pace, and Zalan hurriedly caught up again.

"Don't worry, Your Excellency. Judging from the detailed sea chart that Gorde was able to produce, you can tell that this big sea rat is quite capable."

"Alright, he is indeed very capable, but what do you need this sea chart for?"

Seeing Zalan holding the sea chart tightly, Muen asked curiously.

"Of course, it's to find a way out for everyone."

Hearing Zalan's words, Muen remained silent, gazing at him, waiting for him to continue.

"Well, this war will definitely last a long time, just like the Gracia Federation's War of Independence and Sovereignty, which lasted for more than ten years. This time will be no exception."

"So, taking the sea chart is to find a truly suitable place to live?"

"That's right!"

"Although the Menila Empire is well-prepared this time, the Federation's high-ranking officials certainly won't sit idly by. The war will inevitably be extremely brutal, and all we can do is help these people get through this period safely."

Muen didn't know any more about the war situation than Zalan did.

However, the fact that the war was going to last for ten years was still a bit unbelievable to Muen.

At Hogwarts, Muen only needed seven years to graduate.

If calculated according to this time, the Federation's war might not even be over when Muen graduated.

"Fortunately, Gorde agreed to provide food and lodging after seeing your magic, so we can leave more food for Neil and the others."

Zalan had explained the Gracia Federation's military system to Muen.

The Federation's regular army was provided with food and lodging, but the temporarily conscripted militia had to provide their own food, weapons, and equipment before joining the regular army.

For the old soldiers in the alley, they had weapons and equipment, but food was currently very difficult to obtain.

Although Neil had received the news early and started storing food, the limited funds in everyone's hands meant that the food they bought wouldn't last more than half a year.

Now that the weather was getting colder and colder, the price of food was even more outrageously high.

So, Gorde's agreement to provide food and lodging this time really helped a lot.

While Muen and Zalan were returning to Old Soldier Alley, there was also a discussion about them on the Thorns.

As the Thorns' first mate, Karen Ruiz could be considered Gorde's most capable assistant.

Because of this, Karen was responsible for the largest of the three ships, the Thorns.

"Captain, aren't we giving that kid too much preferential treatment?"

In Karen's opinion, they should have been able to earn more this time.

Because of the arrival of the war, there were a lot of people who wanted to leave and buy tickets for their ship.

The first-floor cabins had already been sold for a price of fifty gold coins.

And now, these expensive locations were going to be provided free of charge to eighty unrelated people, plus free food.

That meant that they would be losing almost five thousand gold coins on this trip.

"Kid! Karen, when did you get so cocky? Didn't you realize that this is a powerful magician?"

When Muen cast his spell on the ship, only Zalan and Gorde were standing next to him. First Mate Karen only came to the deck after the crew member fell into the water, so he didn't see clearly what happened.

"I know he's a magician, but this price is too...: : :

"Enough! You only saw the crew member being cursed, but you didn't notice that this magician instantly incapacitated seven people."

"Instantly? No way!"

"Hmph! Do you think my eyes can be mistaken?"

"No, no, how could I question you?"

Seeing Gorde's expression turn stern, Karen looked a little flustered.

Having followed Gorde for fifteen years, he knew very well that his captain relied on those eyes to lead the fleet out of danger time and time again.

"Although this magician is young, I bet he has a powerful archmage or magister behind him."

Hearing Gorde's words, Karen's eyes widened a lot in an instant.

Archmage, Magister.

These words were just legendary names.

"Captain, if this magician is so powerful, can he help us deal with those sea monsters? We can also get to that place..."