abnabooks Chapter 88 Job Invitation
Chapter 88 Job Invitation
The next day was Saturday, a rare day off. Although Zag was a new employee at Mrs. Weyland's Aromatic Apothecary, his excellent work ability and investment value meant he didn't have to work overtime on the weekend. Another employee, George, was a different story. He was a guy who couldn't even do basic arithmetic and could only use counting rods. If it weren't for his ability to write, Rowan would have fired him long ago.
But Zag didn't sleep in; instead, he went to the association's office early in the morning.
He desperately wanted to know what would happen next in the cult incident, as it concerned his life!
"According to the investigation results, Viscount Cecilius and his wife were misled. They only started contacting this organization last week and believed it was a genuine magical research gathering. The Viscount planned to build a new magic tower in the eastern territory—he had indeed been preparing for this for many years, and we have seen all the evidence. Therefore, from the perspective of the kingdom's laws, we cannot convict him."
The person who came to explain the situation to Zag was Lyra, because Liam had been holding Friggia's scepter until dawn in order to stay conscious, and had just gone to rest.
"Of course, Mayor Anton Cecilius has resigned, and a new mayoral election will be held next week. The Earl of the Eastern Territory is very concerned about this matter and will come in person next week... This is the official news."
As Leila spoke, she deliberately winked.
Zha Ge, understanding the unspoken meaning, asked, "Isn't that news that's not publicly available?"
Lyra replied, "Mr. Barton came to ensure that no one from the Cecilius family holds any important positions in East Port, while the Viscount and his wife have been 'invited' to Holland next month to meet with the Royal Chief Mage. The Royal Chief Mage will examine their health to ensure they are not influenced by cults or have any subtle curses... You know, that's a euphemism. In reality, I will be watching over them until they are handed over to the Golden Palace."
Unexpectedly, both the Golden Palace and the Association reacted very quickly, and their handling of the situation was much more cautious and conservative than Zag had imagined.
This is vastly different from the efficiency and competence of the governments in the Western countries he lived in before his time travel.
Zag thought to himself, "It sounds like you have a lot of distrust towards Viscount Cecilius and his family."
Leila spread her hands dramatically: "It's hard to trust people, isn't it? After all, something this big happened!"
Zag was more concerned with something else: "Has the alchemist been found?"
"Unfortunately, they got away."
"They got away!?" Zag was a little incredulous, staring wide-eyed as he demanded, "What do you mean, 'got away'!?"
Lyra looked completely innocent: "There's nothing we can do. He used a teleportation scroll, making him very difficult to track. Last night, with the fortune teller's help, we only managed to reach the eastern part of Mudcrab Town before discovering he had already sailed out to sea. There's simply no way to catch him!"
"So, we'll just leave it at that!?"
"Of course not. I'm not in charge of the follow-up to this case. As for the maritime matters... well, someone else will take over. But don't worry, Golden Palace won't let him roam free. Once the Margarita Island matter is resolved, the association will have enough manpower to catch that guy!"
It was already a very good result to get Leila's patient explanation—if an ordinary person had asked about this, they might have been "asked" to leave the office by now for obstructing the association.
From this perspective, having high spirituality and being accepted by the association is actually a good thing, as it allows one to enjoy sufficient "preferential treatment" in most situations where people are obviously treated differently based on their social status.
"How's Liam?"
Zag still cares about Liam, after all, it was because of him that he became a "distinguished guest" of the association.
Well, he's still a long way from being a true VIP. After all, he could at least get a cup of dragon's blood tea at Ms. Rowan's place, but here at the residence, he couldn't even get a sip of cold water.
Leila replied, "He's doing alright, but he'll probably need to rest for ten days to two weeks... The good news is that he's been transferred to East Port as a temporary consultant. The East Port office is practically empty; they're really short-staffed... What I mean is, you guys can go to 'Fisherman's Love' more often now."
Zag's lips twitched: "I wasn't that close to him, and besides, I can't afford 'fisherman's love'..."
Leila suggested, "Then you could consider becoming a sentry in Eastgate Harbor, which is something you're good at. The weekly wage is 2 gold pounds and 15 shillings, which is almost double what you'd earn working in Cabbage Town! Oh, and if you become the sentry captain, you can get an extra 5 shillings a week—that's more than you'd earn as a clerk in Holland!"
The salary did sound much higher, but Zag still preferred to study alchemy under Ms. Rowan—it was paid study, and the salary was much more generous than the stipends for master's and doctoral degrees!
However, Zag declined Lyra's invitation with another reason: "I've been a sentinel for three years now, I need to rest for a while."
Lyra, undeterred, continued to persuade her, "Just drink a few more bottles of [Hand of Healing], and with your spirituality, your magic resistance should be stronger than normal. Drinking three bottles a week shouldn't be a problem. As long as you drink it for two weeks straight, you can basically dispel all the pollution. Then, work for another three years, save up some money, and go straight to the Golden Palace as an apprentice!"
Zag said helplessly, "Even if I work for three years without eating or drinking, I can only save a little over three hundred gold pounds, which isn't even enough for a year's tuition!"
Upon hearing this, Leila's eyes widened in shock, and she exclaimed, "No, you really only get a fixed salary?!"
"I'm a law-abiding citizen!"
Zag made a joke that no one could understand, but that didn't stop Lyra from understanding what he meant.
Leila gave her a bewildered look: "Are you an idiot?"
But then, it dawned on her: "I understand why you were able to become friends with that Liam guy! Thank goodness for Lady Silvermoon! I thought only someone like him, a rigid old ghoul who looked like he crawled out of a thousand-year-old grave, could do something like this. I never imagined there were experts out there!"
Zag's face burned with embarrassment. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and explain, "The risks of taking kickbacks are too great. I don't want to have this 'dark history' brought up and made into a big deal out of some small thing in the future, and then you'll only see me in prison."
"Alright, then I can only say you're being cautious... Hmm, perhaps I can speak with the association and amend the regulations, for example, allowing sentry posts to charge a reasonable service fee of no more than 2%, so that they can be self-sufficient in other necessary expenses—"
"Anyway, the 'self-financing' clause was already in there, so the sentry post can legally take a cut. Hmm, I've always felt that the vague rule about sentries being self-financing is a ridiculous one. It's better to just put it out in the open. That way, local security can be guaranteed, and those overly greedy sentries can get lost!"
As Leila spoke, she stroked her chin, pondered for a few seconds, and then immediately pulled out a sheet of paper from the table and began to write.
"I'll write to the Golden Palace right now. These things can only be implemented if the order comes from there... *beep beep beep*... Let me think... Are you really not considering becoming a Sentinel? I heard from Liam that you even learned the [Fireball] spell yourself—you're a genius!"
Leila talked too much; even though it was just her talking, Zag was inexplicably getting a headache from the noise.
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[Snowball's Rant]: Magic resistance? Magic energy? What the hell is that stuff! It's all made up by Jin Gong! Isn't it normal that I don't know? Humph!