Baro looked like one of the kingdom's wise officials, dressed in broad clothing. And he was. At his age, white strands had already appeared in his black hair. He crossed his arms behind his back, held his head erect, and thrust out his chest. When he looked around, everyone around him knelt.
This was authority. It was the cultivation equivalent of him sitting in the seat he had devoted so many years to. Even the tavern owner who had just terrorized the miners turned his head and looked away. Kasuur had fallen silent and seemed to be looking for an opportunity to escape. His hands were shaking. He felt a wave of energy touch his heart. It was as if that energy could rupture his veins at any moment. He just wanted to escape and get away from that energy.
The whole tavern was in the same state. The people who had been singing and dancing were now completely silent. The dangerous belly dancer had stopped casting provocative glances and was looking at Baro hesitantly. She, like the others, was uncomfortable with this authority. They didn't think about running away. They couldn't. It was too dangerous to attract attention in this quiet environment.
"I can really see the resemblance to Maria in your faces."
Except for one person, of course.
There was one person who had never lifted a finger against his authority.
' Against me, authority is only a weakness!'
That was how Mais sensed his presence.
Mais fixed his gray eyes on this man's face. He couldn't see him, but he knew where he was. Suddenly, a cat emerged from his clothes. Only her head was visible, and she had white fur. She stepped out of Mais' neck and looked at Baro with a curious expression.
Baro was astonished by Mais' endurance. When he saw the cat, he realized it was the three-tailed sage beast Maria had told him about. Maybe he was the one who protected Mais from his authority.
He put some distance between himself and the cat. At least enough to resist a sudden move by the cat. This was normal. Mais, however, did not like it.
Not because he wanted to kill Sage Baro. Rather, he was upset because he couldn't pick his pockets.
The little boy was more of a thief than a prince.
Although he had a palace full of things, most of them were either dangerous to reveal or could only be used in the Sage Realm. Mais wanted to see if there was anything in Baro's pockets that he could use right away. Baro was the only one who might actually have something useful.
Any Core Realm expert who heard this could not help but laugh out loud. Picking the pockets of a high-ranking sage was definitely not something a Core Realm expert would do.
"I think you know why I'm here," Baro said. Mais shook his head from side to side.
"We are not from around here. Ordinary peasants... it might be fair to say we are. But I imagine you would like to buy our skills. You realize our potential is far superior to your daughter's, don't you? Did Maria tell you who I am? "
There was silence everywhere. The conversation between Mais and Baro could be heard by everyone. Mais didn't say directly that he was an alchemist. He thought Baro would understand, though.
It must not have been easy for someone like Baro to rule the Yellow City. It is a source of gold. Of course, other clans would want to send workers there to get their hands on the treasures. Baro probably belonged to a clan, too. That's how he had maintained his authority in the city all this time. However, he could still lose control if a Master Alchemist appeared suddenly. Mais was not staying with the city lord just for the time he spent with Maria. He stayed with him because he was the city lord. Mais wanted Baro to understand that.
Baro frowned. He had thought about tricking little children into signing a contract. Apparently, he couldn't get away with it that easily.
Still, it didn't matter. It was better that he was smart and agreed to cooperate.
"You—"
"We want two villas in the center of the city. We also want a monthly salary. Every month, I will send you a list of the plants I need. If any treasures turn up in the area that will help us advance our cultivation, we will know about it. In return, I will speed up your daughter's cultivation."
Mais interrupted Baro, causing the whole tavern to turn white. Baro also frowned. To everyone, this deal seemed worthless. The payoff was too vague. Maria was already progressing quickly, so it was difficult to understand why Mais was helping her. Besides, there was another Master Alchemist in the city. But Baro could see much further than that.
The villas were acceptable. The salary, of course. The plants, too. But the next request for news was just another request, hidden beneath Mais's words.
Authority.
Mais wanted a title. For himself and Kasuur. It would make their work easier, and it would be harder to take action against them. They were going to be officers.
It was quite valuable, and the Baro would, of course, accept it. It would also bring two geniuses' names to the attention of the city's population. His daughter's cultivation was just a facade. The cat in Mais' arms and their age were much more important. It was worth it.
"I accept."
Baro turned to leave, but at that moment, he felt a tug behind him.
Mais had stood up. He held the waist of Baro's broad robe, head bowed.
"I want to ask you something."
"Ask."
Mais stopped. It was difficult to ask, but he had to. He had to ask calmly, keeping a straight face no matter the answer.
"Do you know what happened to the World Empire?"
As the city lord of such an important city, Baro must have heard something.
These words should never have been spoken. It was vital for the prince, who had been sent away to deal with dangerous situations, to remain anonymous. But for Mais, finding out what had happened to them was his top priority.
Baro raised one eyebrow suspiciously and looked down at the short young man. He admired Mais' ability to hide his emotions. He couldn't understand what he was thinking when he looked at him at all. But he knew it was impossible for a peasant to know about the World Empire, let alone what was going on there.
So, he decided to tell him. Not even Baro could have guessed that the young man before him was the son of the emperor of the entire world. At least he suspected that the boy had some connection to the city.
"The emperor is dead. He was overthrown by the First Prince, who had been exiled years ago for rebelling. He probably made a deal with pirates to take over the empire. The third prince is also dead. The second prince was castrated. The imperial elders had no choice but to support the new emperor."
Mais froze for a moment. He lowered his head and remained silent for a while. Kasuur looked at him. He didn't seem to understand why Mais would ask such a question or react this way. Moura also looked at the blind boy out of the corner of his eye.
Anyone looking at Mais could tell that he was having a hard time. That wound had not formed on its own, and Mais was only nine years old. What must it be like for such a young child to lose the color of the world?
"What about the eunuchs? What happened to the eunuchs of the princes?"
"They died. The third eunuch died in the rebellion while trying to protect his prince. The second eunuch refused to let his prince be castrated. They said he died of illness. The first eunuch will be hanged tomorrow. There will also be a coronation. Baro said. After that, he didn't wait any longer. He was sure that Mais would not really show his colors. The world empire was too far away. It was too far away to have any connection to the city. No matter how suspicious the questions were, Baro was sure that Mais was connected to someone in the city, and he was trying to find out about his or her condition. So, Mais was trying to find out about the city indirectly.
Mais did not make a move either. He just stood there for a few seconds. Then, he let himself fall back. There was the seat he had just sat on. His buttocks stuck to its softness. His entire body collapsed onto the seat, but no one noticed.
"It's getting late. Let's stay in a hotel for the night."
Kasuur, who was interested in the women and had begun to caress them involuntarily, turned his head away, looking unhappy. The two women next to him frowned, revealing sweet expressions.
Mais stood up. At that moment, two gold coins appeared in his hand. He threw them towards the two women. They caught the money in midair and immediately turned around and left. Kasuur just stared after them.
"But... But... But..."
His cheeks wobbled when he said "but," which made him look like a loser. Without his amazing talent, he would probably be nothing more than a freak with that weird green hair. Even now, he was dependent on Mais.
"Let's go."
But Mais needed Kasuur, too. He couldn't see in front of him. All this time, Kasuur had taken him here and there. Kasuur took him to a nice hotel. It was a large building. It had only three floors. The building was jet black and appeared to glow red in the sunset. Kasuur thought it looked beautiful.
He bought two rooms with the money Mais gave him. When he got to the door, Mais asked him to leave.
"Are you sure? You don't look well?"
A condescending smile appeared on Mais's face.
"I've been with you for months. If you just realized that I'm not well, then I'm going to spit in your face."
"Okay, okay. I'm leaving right now."
Kasuur ran away. Mais didn't say anything. Everything was still dark when he entered the room. He stretched his staff forward and poked around. He found the bed and sat on it. It was just in time. He looked out the window at the sunset. The red rays hit his body and illuminated him. Tired people were going home. There were people waiting for them. It was peaceful. The view was wonderful.
The view was wonderful...
"I wish I..."
These words did not continue. In that big room, a child cried his heart out, pulling his knees to his chest. He didn't know what else to do. There was no one to tell him what to do. Now he was all alone in this entire world.