Supreme Magus

3127 Paid by Others (Part 1)

"That's exactly what I was afraid of." Faluel sighed. "The bodies you have chosen follow Awakened beauty standards. If you go around looking like that, you are going to draw a lot of attention. Tone it down, like me."

Faluel's human form was very cute but she was no head-turner. At least until one interacted with her. There was so much grace and elegance in her poise that a human would find it hard to take their eyes off her.

After everyone becaverage-looking, Leegaain snapped his fingers and Warped them away.

"Grampa, wait-" Before the Hydra could finish the phrase, everyone was already in Ne'sra.

At first, she cursed the Guardian's nbut then realized that he had chosen a place where the group would go unnoticed as their destination.

It was the city plaza and on top of a raised dais, a bard was singing one of the most famous songs of his repertoire while dancers and performers acted according to the scene described in the lyrics.

All eyes were on stage so no one witnessed the small groups appearing in the empty alleys. On top of that, Thrud's former followers were all Awakened and there was a mind link already established between them.

'Thank the gods Grampa is as smart as he looks.' Faluel sighed in relief. 'Doppelgangers, spread out and do whatever you want. If you encounter trouble, ask a guard, call me, or run to the closest Divine Beast.

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'Everyone else, with me.' Her words fell on deaf minds.

Everyone was mesmerized by the play, especially the Doppelgangers. They had no notion of arts or entertainment. They were akin to a child who had never seen a toy and suddenly found himself in a toy shop.

The music, the dancing, the colorful costumes, everything was new and beautiful to them. The Divine Beasts, instead, were outraged. According to the pamphlets on the walls, the play was called "A Magus' Tale".

The actors had already gone past the part where the SuprMagus had slain the evil minions of the Mad Queen and had moved to more recent events. A white-clad actor wielding a prop-Ragnarök was fighting against a group of acrobats.

Multiple people dressed in stone grey stood on each other's shoulders to reproduce the height gap between Lith's Tiamat form and Thaymos.

Chore magic conjured colorful but harmless spells and the various special effects the play required. The Lith-actor lost but then a blonde woman emerged from behind the scenes and pushed one of the acrobats' chest, making the lost city crumble under her touch.

The spectators cheered as the Tyris-actress repeated the speech the Guardian had addressed to the people of Jiera. Adding a few artistic liberties and corny lines, of course.

Seeing "Lith" being celebrated even in defeat and the various stuffed dolls shaped as Divine Beasts' heads hung to the actor's belt enraged Faluel's guests.

'What did you expect?' She said via the mind link, drawing their gazes on her. 'This is enemy territory. Here you are the monsters and Lith is the hero.'

'Then why did you want to start our journey from your side of the Kingdom?' Ophius asked. 'To humiliate us?'

'No. To show you that Mogar didn't end with Thrud's defeat. That the people of our country are free and happy. Look around.'

Only then did the Divine Beasts notice that Ne'sra still bore the scars from the War of the Griffons. Many houses had yet to be fully rebuilt and huge craters in the streets had been filled with dirt and covered with cobblestones, waiting to be paved again.

Yet the people crowding the plaza smiled.

There were a few guards here and there, but just enough to ensure the safety of the citizens, not to police them all. There were beggars and homeless people, but not as many as the Divine Beasts would expect from the rule of tyrants.

Most of all, what struck them was the enthusiasm of those too far away from the stage to follow the play. They didn't talk about the past, but about the future.

"I can't believe we are about to receive the first batch of materials from the colonies!" Said a man.

"And I can't wait for a Tablet of my own." A woman said. "Jongleurs are fun for a while but they take whole songs to get to the point. If you want information, you have to either find a reliable source or read boring edicts at the city hall until you find what you are looking for.

"With the Web, I'll have everything in the palm of my hand. I will be capable of speaking with my relatives without wasting days of travel."

"Yeah, that's nice, but I'm more interested in the Trains." A merchant said. "I can't wait to sell my goods to multiple stores and expand my market without spending a fortune on bodyguards.

"Any news about our position in the rankings? The construction of Ne'sra's station is already in progress but I've heard that loyal cities will get priority and we are traitors."

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Many mumbled and sighed, cursing Velan Deirus' nin fear they would end up at the bottom of the line because of him.

'Traitors? What are they talking about?' Ufyl asked. 'This city fought us tooth and nail. They are valiant soldiers. Is this how the Royals reward their loyal citizens?'

'Loyal my scaly ass.' Faluel quelled the outrage of the Divine Beasts by sharing with them the details of the former regional Lord's betrayal and how the local authorities of Ne'sra had mistreated the Golden Knight.

'What an insufferable bunch of assholes!' Leari said in even greater outrage. 'These people are worse than traitors, they are ungrateful!'

The Thunderbird had died at Solus' hands and respected her as a warrior. Leari's multiple deaths had made her appreciate life and admire those who despite their mortality dared to face Thrud's immortal army.

'Yeah, and as you guys have learned the hard way, Lith isn't big on forgiveness. These people have every reason to be worried.' The Hydra replied.

The group spent the following days in Ne'sra. Sjust toured the city and listened to the gossip. Aside from the rebuilding of the city, the colonies in Jiera, and the reorganization of the Deirus region were the hottest topics.

"To think that just a few years ago we hosted two of the great academies, something only the Distar Marquisate ever achieved." A female mage sighed.

After Velan's death, the Black Griffon had becan independent small region of its own. Controlling the finances of an academy gave the local lord great power and influence.

The Crown couldn't afford someone they didn't trust as much as Mirim to rule over two of the six great academies.

Marquis Distar was also the Headmaster of the Black Griffon, which in theory brough three academies under the control of the Distar Household, but they had proven their loyalty in blood.

"Yeah, that's sad, but we still have the Fire Griffon." A male mage said. "As soon as Void Magic becomes an official course, we can apply to take it as a specialization!"

The Divine Beasts had faced Void Magic and knew how powerful it was. They couldn't believe that Lith had shared it with the Royals and that they in turn had shared Void Magic with the whole Kingdom.