Chapter 395 - 275: Waiting (2)

This was his last bottle of wine, one he’d hidden away to satisfy his own cravings. After all, hoping to save any wine from a group of heavy drinkers was nothing but wishful thinking.

Bodoff didn’t stand on ceremony. He took it and downed a large mouthful in one go, getting a little on his beard, before letting out a satisfied sigh. "That’s just the public’s perception. In fact, most Mages even have a habit of drinking heavily."

"It seems Mages aren’t as detached from the mortal world as I thought," Levi said, shaking his head. In his imagination...

...High Tier Mages were supposed to be old academics who spent all day in their Mage Towers researching profound and lofty Magic, ignoring worldly affairs.

Even their food was supposed to be all sorts of Magic Food.

"Detached from the mortal world? Mr. Levi, that’s a good way to put it." Bodoff chuckled. The old man had a kindness about him that naturally put people at ease. He leaned in close to the Lord and whispered, "But as far as I know, His Excellency the Great Mage of our Mage Tower has an illegitimate child out there. How could you call that ’detached from the mortal world’?"

This piece of gossip was truly explosive. The Great Mage of the Mage Tower was arguably the strongest powerhouse among all Casters in Debei.

His power was top-tier; after all, he wouldn’t be in that position if it wasn’t.

He didn’t know about the others, but his mind was already reeling. However, more than the gossip itself, there was something else he wanted to know.

"Master Bodoff, I’d hate to interrupt what comes next, but are you sure it’s okay to be bad-mouthing His Excellency the Great Mage behind his back? What if he finds out?"

Even though Bodoff was a High Tier Mage, if the two of them were to fight, the odds would be ninety-ten. The Great Mage, high up in his Mage Tower, could probably take on nine Bodoffs with one hand.

"But the thing is, he isn’t here right now. And even if he finds out later, what can he do if I just deny it to my dying breath?" Bodoff blinked a few times, looking quite cunning.

"Ahem." The Lord had wanted to act like a gentleman and righteously declare that prying into someone’s private affairs was not the way of a Knight, but in the end, he couldn’t restrain his curiosity. He leaned in and whispered, "So who is the mother of this illegitimate child? To capture the heart of a Great Mage so obsessed with Magic, she must be a beauty beyond imagination."

"She’s an Elf Physician. Her beauty is indeed far beyond that of an ordinary person, but..."

When it comes to stories, there’s nothing more dreaded than hearing the word "but," because everyone knows the most important part always comes next.

If it had been anyone else daring to leave him hanging like this, the Lord would have already given them a good beating. But considering the old man was an intellectual, the Lord decided to refrain from violence.

Bodoff glanced mischievously at the Holy Knights, who had crept closer at some point. The burly men immediately started scratching the backs of their heads in embarrassment.

You couldn’t blame the Holy Knights. The Great Mage of the Mage Tower was so incredibly famous he was a household name in Debei. Anyone who heard gossip about him would be unable to resist listening in.

"But... this Elf Physician was a companion from the Great Mage’s younger days when they traveled together. At the time, the Great Mage didn’t even like her."

Bodoff took a sip of wine and continued, his tone unhurried.

"Then why did he end up with her?" At some point, Fatir had sat down next to the Lord. Though her face was expressionless, her tone was clearly filled with curiosity.

"That brings us to another matter. The Great Mage was once the disciple of a Magic Elf. Under her long-term tutelage, he gradually developed feelings for his teacher that went beyond mere admiration."

"Whoa, a student-teacher romance!" the Lord exclaimed, taking a large bite of his apple. Anytime a story involved teachers, sisters-in-law, or the like, he would become unusually interested, and his appetite would grow surprisingly hearty.

However, a forbidden romance that would have been condemned by the world in his past life was clearly not so rejected by the people of this one.

"Unfortunately, that Elf, who was quite renowned in the Magic Realm, harshly condemned those feelings and expelled the Great Mage from her tutelage." Bodoff shook his head, as if lamenting how such one-sided affections rarely come to fruition.

"Then it seems the Great Mage didn’t admire his teacher as much as you’d think, or else how could he have fallen for the Elf Physician who was his companion?"

Fatir laid the Goddess Spirit Staff horizontally across her lap. She took the apple the Lord offered and slowly began to peel it with a small knife.

Bodoff gave a very ordinary smile, but then casually dropped a bombshell: "Because that Elf Physician is the daughter of the Great Mage’s teacher."

"Whoa!"

This time, a collective gasp of shock nearly blew the roof off the tent.

The various leaders of High Cliff Castle had gathered around at some point. As a bunch of country bumpkins hearing such a sensational story for the first time, they were naturally unable to keep their minds as calm as still water.

"Tsk, tsk. He couldn’t get his teacher, so he just found a substitute who looked like her."

Sophia said, her words slightly muffled. Her cheeks were stuffed with food like a hamster’s.

"This isn’t for little kids to hear. Go find Mier and play." The Lord gave her a light flick on the forehead.

If he ended up being a bad influence on a child, he wouldn’t be able to escape the blame.

"What do you mean? I read this story in a storybook a long time ago," Sophia said resentfully, rubbing her head.

Instantly, all eyes snapped toward her. Even Bodoff couldn’t help but shoot her a sideways glance. Everyone was stunned.

"Huh? You guys don’t know?" Sophia’s surprise was no less than theirs.

"Solon Bai’en is super famous! He even came to Dragon Island once. He just looked like a normal old man, but his Magic Cultivation was so high that even Uncle Fiat couldn’t compare."

"When he was traveling across the Middle Ages Continent, one of his companions was Uncle Fiat, so Uncle Fiat recorded everything and called it *Solon’s Continental Travelogue*. Books like that about the outside world are bestsellers on Dragon Island."

"’Once’? How long ago was ’once’ exactly?" No matter how he thought about it, the Lord couldn’t believe that Sophia had actually met the Great Mage.

It was said that ever since the man had stepped into that Realm, he had remained in the Mage Tower and hadn’t taken a single step outside for decades.

"I don’t remember clearly. About thirty-some years ago, I guess," Sophia said, counting on her fingers.

In truth, Giant Dragons have powerful memories; she was just too lazy to search through her memory palace.

After all, besides treasure, she didn’t want to waste energy meticulously recording anything else.

"..." Except for Bodoff, everyone else was scratching their heads in a daze.

Thirty-some years... At that time, their fathers were probably still just kids.

...

Bodoff couldn’t help but take another look at the maiden. When he had first seen her dragon horns, he’d assumed she was a Dragon Vein Human that the noble Levi had found somewhere.

After all, illegitimate children between Giant Dragons and various other Races were as common as dirt across the realms. A human of Dragon Descendant lineage was hardly anything to be surprised about.

But, even if she was a Dragon Descendant, whose lifespan was somewhat longer than an ordinary person’s, it was impossible for her to still look like a young maiden after more than thirty years.

This was very likely a Giant Dragon skilled in the Transformation Technique!

Bodoff was no ignorant country bumpkin. He had lived for nearly a hundred years and had seen many things that ordinary people could hardly imagine, so he didn’t find this deduction particularly hard to accept.

He asked impassively, "Young lady, I still don’t know your name. Would you mind telling me?"

"Huh? My name is Sophia Anse Ledesma." The Silver Dragon Maiden was clearly a carefree soul, and she gave her shortened name without any suspicion.

This was because a Giant Dragon’s full name was long enough to fill a book, and since their True Name could not be revealed lightly, they generally used a shortened version.

Even so, it was enough for Bodoff to guess her origins. Though his expression remained placid, his heart was already in turmoil.

’She’s a descendant of *that* lady!’