This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
T/N - Lol, MC’s at it again. Scholars, while learned, aren’t usually lawyers, nor are they experts of contracts. So poor Theodore is about to sell his soul to a devil. Well, a businessman, but honestly, what’s the difference?
Just as Lynn began to ponder in his mind how he could inconspicuously and slowly liquidate these black stones, then continuously expand his power, and finally gradually reach the pinnacle of life, Theodore continued to speak.
"However, my current research has hit a bottleneck..."
Hearing these words, Lynn's expression was even more distressed than Theodore's.
"How could that be?!"
Looking at the lord who was even more agitated than himself, Theodore rubbed his wig somewhat blankly, and then began to explain.
"Because the alchemical potions I carry with me have no effect on the black stones, I thought of burning them with fire.
But this place has no furnace with a high enough temperature, and normal methods can’t meet the requirements for high-temperature roasting."
Indeed, Blackstone Town was so poor that it didn't even have a blacksmith shop, making it very difficult to get a high-temperature furnace.
"But I encountered a good opportunity...
I heard that a witch was going to be judged here, so I asked someone in advance to put fine, crushed black stones into the pyre.
Unfortunately, the judgment was canceled for some reason...
I wanted to ask about it, but the people here don't trust outsiders very much and were unwilling to tell me.
By the time I rushed to the square, the judgment site didn't even have the ashes of the firewood left.
Sigh."
Theodore appeared quite regretful.
Lynn recalled for a moment. He had indeed used his authority as the lord to have someone move all of the firewood back to the castle.
And he had personally swept up and bagged the ashes on the ground, leaving not a single bit behind.
But in his memory, there were no particles resembling black stones in those ashes.
Then, this meant that the black stones used for the experiment were still in the firewood.
And the current firewood was...
Lynn slapped his thigh and said excitedly:
"Mr. Theodore, those firewood had indeed been burned, but they’re in my castle right now."
Hearing this, Theodore didn't react for a moment.
So, in fact, this lord had moved the firewood meant for judging the witch into his own castle and burned it there?
Why do that?
Did he specifically move the judgment site into his own home to conduct it privately?
Was this... some kind of niche fetish?
Although he had heard that the lords of the Milan Empire had many horrifying preferences because of their immense power within their territories, when truly encountering it, he still felt afraid.
For a moment, the gaze Theodore directed at Lynn carried a hint of awe and terror.
Lynn touched his own face, feeling somewhat baffled.
Why did everyone's gaze always suddenly become very strange when they looked at him?
But now wasn’t the time to care about such trivial matters.
"If those black stones are still in the firewood, I think they should have been fully subjected to high-temperature calcination.
If you don't mind, please come with me to my castle, and let me fulfill my duties as a host."
Faced with Lynn's invitation, Theodore nodded without any hesitation.
Although he had some fear in his heart regarding the preferences of the lord before him, this was clearly a lower priority compared to his desire to know the results of his experiment.
As long as he could make progress on his research, a scholar feared no danger.
——————————
Lynn, who had just left home not long ago, returned to the castle again.
Looking at the bursts of black smoke rising not far away, he nodded in gratification.
Very good, it seemed like she was indeed working hard.
"Hey, Employee Number One! Stop for a moment!
Come out and welcome our guest!"
As soon as Lynn's voice fell, the stable, which had been emitting bursts of crackling sounds, suddenly fell silent.
"Does my job also include this kind of work?!"
The melodious female voice cried out sharply, and the familiar witch's wail made Lynn subconsciously plug his ears.
"Because I have to protect you, I fired all of the servants!
Now a guest is coming, so can't you just welcome him?!"
He shouted back crossly.
"Can you not use weird phrasing! You made it sound so weird!
Also, you said you were going to protect me! Why did you bring someone over?!"
Looking at the scene of the ultra-long-distance dialogue before him, Theodore rubbed his temples.
He completely didn't know what the situation was now, nor why they were so noisy.
He just wanted to see if his sample black stones had undergone any changes under the high temperature.
Goddess of Wisdom above, were all Milanese people like this?
Lynn and Elysia's shouting match finally ended when the two parties met at the charcoal work area.
Looking at the woman this lord had called ‘Employee Number One’, Theodore, amidst his surprise, understood why he had found it difficult to comprehend the dialogue between Lynn and her.
Because this dark-skinned woman did indeed not look like she was from Milan.
He had heard that this peculiar ethnic group lived in the mid-south of the World Island, but he hadn't expected to actually see one here today.
In that case, then the protection Lynn spoke of must be similar to what the man had told him earlier, avoiding being captured or deported...
Just as Theodore prepared to praise Lynn's merciful heart, he saw the dark-skinned woman wipe her face.
...Her race seemed to have changed?
"Why did you bring someone over?"
Elysia looked warily at the bizarre gray-wig-wearing man who had been staring at her for some unknown reason.
"Because he also needs my protection, otherwise he’ll be arrested on charges of espionage.
The physical evidence is the soil samples on him, and the additional charges are suspected poisoning of the soil and colluding with the Frost Kingdom."
As soon as these words came out, Theodore couldn't even bother looking at the woman who had magically changed her race anymore and stared at Lynn with an expression of disbelief.
"Oh, my goodness! What’re you talking about, my friend?"
Lynn turned his head and revealed a harmless smile.
"I’m threatening you, of course, Mr. Theodore."
As he spoke, he spread his hands and walked towards the charcoal Elysia had burned—
Their quality was quite good. It was just that, because of uneven heating during the first attempt, there was a lot of fragmentation.
"What you see now is the witch I’m harboring."
He continued speaking, then he bent down and began to search and pick through the ashes.
"In order to prevent my debts from doubling and then being dragged away by the Church to be a hard-labor slave at Mount Malnar, I can only restrict your personal freedom, Mr. Theodore."
Seemingly having discovered something, an irrepressible look of pleasant surprise appeared on Lynn's face. He then grasped something in his palm and stood up.
"But, please rest assured.
I’m keeping you here to let you complete your experiment, respected scholar.
Do you remember? You said that a high-temperature environment might cause the black stones to exhibit changes."
After turning around, Lynn opened his palm towards Theodore.
In it was precisely a black stone.
To be precise, it was a black stone emitting a faint red light, its brightness fluctuating like it was breathing.
Even a layman could see the extraordinariness of this object.
But an expert would directly cry out in alarm.
Because this form was exactly the proof of a magic mineral containing extremely low fire attributes.
"As such, Mr. Theodore, I hope our cooperation can go a step further.
Please follow me into the castle. Let us discuss the matter of our contract."
——————————————————