Chapter 142.
Chapter 142 Questions and Answers
Lardy asked, “So, what have you decided to do with me now?”
Paul rubbed his chin while looking at the female counselor, “Dispose? Why do you use such a cold word?”
The female counselor revealed a bitter smile, “Isn’t tying up witches and burning them to death a practice that the church has always advocated?”
Paul stood up all of a sudden, “You saved the lives of a large group of us, I am not an ungrateful person, and I will not burn you to death even if I say so.”
Lardy’s hanging heart dropped a little, thankful that she hadn’t made the wrong choice in the first place.
“Thank you, Count Graiman.”
“It’s what I’m supposed to do, remember the conversation we had under the moon when you first came to Lakewood? What was it I said then – an animal that looks like a donkey, walks like a donkey, and brays like a donkey is a donkey – ah, sorry, I was just making an analogy. “
It suddenly occurred to him that the great beauty sitting in front of him was a sorceress, and using a donkey as an analogy didn’t seem appropriate.
“Pfft!” The female counselor laughed out at once, “That analogy is quite refreshing.”
Paul and Austin looked at each other, the distance between them and the female counselor seemed to be gone.
“Anyway, I hope we are living in an enlightened time, we will keep your identity a secret for now, and we also hope that you will continue to live and work here as an advisor to the Council of State, just as you did before.”
“Are you not afraid of the consequences you might bear if the Church finds out?”
“As far as I have investigated, there has not been a single explicit law to date that states that witches must be handed over to the Church or burned to death upon discovery, and previous instances have relied almost exclusively on the ‘self-consciousness’ of the populace and those in power, although this ‘self-consciousness’ was catalyzed by their own ignorance and the compulsion and coercion of the Church.”
Paul remembered how Dean Leonard and Father Anderson had come over to investigate his suspicions of witchcraft when he had first made his musket, and how he himself had been intimidated by what they called the Inquisition at the time.
Lardy was surprised that Count Graiman’s tone contained a vague disdain for the Church.
Paul continued, “However, in light of what happened this time, it is important that I have a thorough understanding of the mysterious group of witches or mages, and I hope that you will truthfully will answer some of my questions.”
“Of course, Lord Gleeman, I will certainly know everything, but I don’t want to reveal information about other mages.”
“I won’t ask you to do anything to betray your fellow mages, so I’ll start asking.”
Paul gave her a reassuring look and then opened his mouth to ask questions.
“People generally call you wizards, but you have said that you prefer to call yourselves mages, the two are pronounced very similarly, and what is the difference?”
“There’s no difference, both of these appellations refer to the same kind of people, it’s just that the church likes to use the word ‘sorcerer’ when demonizing us, and over time this word has contained a pejorative connotation, and when it spreads far and wide in the folklore it also inevitably affects ourselves, after all, most of the mages are from the folklore, so we prefer to call ourselves ‘mages’ to cut ourselves off from that evil and depraved image in the public’s mind.”
“How did you guys get or pass on these strange abilities, uh …… also known as [magic]?”
“After a person becomes a true mage, he becomes qualified to take on apprentices, and if he has the intention to do so, he will seek out qualified children in the folklore to teach him about magic. A person who is new to magic can only be called an apprentice, and it is not until his abilities are recognized by his mentor that he can qualify to be called a mage.”
“How did you become a mage?”
“I met my mentor when I was 6 years old, and she was the one who taught me the knowledge of arcane magic. Sorry, that’s all I can say about my mentor.”
“Okay, so when you seek apprentices, won’t they or their parents mind who you are? After all, mages are portrayed in folklore ……” “Given the poor image of mages in folklore, we will first have a long contact with the target and get to know each other, then we will identify ourselves when it is appropriate, and only if the other party is interested will we take them on as an apprentice, and there are mages who will spend their entire lives looking for an heir. But there are also a few evil mages who will use some dishonorable means to coerce and compel the other party to become an apprentice. There are also ordinary people who take the initiative to seek, contact and learn magic for some special purposes.”
“Special purposes?”
“Wealth, power, hatred, and so on.”
“What kind of magic do you all have?”
“There are spells that directly attack, such as the ‘fireball’ that people have the impression that all mages know, and there are spells that confuse people’s minds, allowing them to hallucinate or subconsciously obey the mage’s commands, though the conditions for casting such spells are extremely harsh. There are also spells that can enhance the human body’s abilities, such as the mage in this incident who made himself strong and invulnerable to swords and spears.”
“Enhance human abilities? Unlimited strength?”
Austin, who was at the side, suddenly thought of something, and he asked, “Can you make medicines with magical effects?”
Lardy nodded her head and confirmed, “Some mages who are also also proficient in alchemy at the same time are able to make magic potions, how strong an effect can be attached to it depends on the level of that mage.”
Paul and Austin said that the sorcerer who blocked the road this time said that Gaden was his subordinate, so the matter is clear, the mysterious medicines that the pirates are taking are provided by this sorcerer, Gaden pirate group can rise so quickly due to the support of this sorcerer is inextricably linked.
“How strong can you guys be? How many ordinary people can a mage deal with?”
“My lord, it is impossible to specify, magic is not just for fighting, there are many mages who can even be said to be incapable of fighting. If you’re talking about the kind of mages that specialize in combat, a new mage who has just started his career could be taken out head-on by an ordinary person if he doesn’t know certain targeted magic or doesn’t have a good grasp of magic, however, as the level of spell casting refines and his combat experience increases, he’ll be able to gradually manage to take on more than one person at a time. However, knights and experienced veterans who have been trained since childhood can also easily take on large groups of ordinary people, and in the end, other than being able to cast mysterious magic, we are not that different from ordinary people.”
“The guy we met seemed to think otherwise, his words were full of superiority.”
Lardy was silent for a while and said, “It is true that there are some mages who think they are above ordinary people. But my lord, there are such people in any group. Forgive me, but don’t almost all nobles also think that their bloodline is more noble than commoners?”
“Uh-huh!” Austin cleared his throat, reminding her that the comment was too much.
Paul didn’t get angry, but just said sardonically, “Uh …… not all nobles think so la. This guy we met, what level is he among mages who specialize in combat?”
Lardy frowned slightly and said, “Very strong, he would be the strongest in close combat of any mage I know. However, if it weren’t for my inconvenience these days …… it wouldn’t be such a mess!”
Paul didn’t hear much of what she said afterward, “Hm? What inconvenience?”
The female counselor’s face blushed slightly, “Nothing, my lord, do you have anything else to ask?”
“Ah, not at the moment, I’ll think of it later. “
Paul came to her and smiled, “Ms. Lardy, it looks like you’re going to have to take on one more identity – my occult advisor, I wonder what you’d like? “
Laddie looked up and stared intently into his eyes, as if probing his heart.
After a long moment, the female advisor responded softly, “With great pleasure, my lord.”
(End of chapter)