Chapter 694 - Alex, Long Time no See
“The city walls are so high! They’re even higher than the walls at Chaos City. I feel like… I feel like…” Amy stood beside the city wall and attempted to look up at the top of the wall. The higher up she looked, the more she had to tilt her head back, and she eventually lost her balance, causing her to fall backward.
Mag caught Amy with a smile as he said, “You won’t be able to see the top of such a tall wall.”
Back when he had first left Rodu, Amy had only been a few months old, so she definitely wouldn’t recall her time spent here.
“Father, let’s hurry up and go eat some good food.” Amy looked at Mag with anticipation shimmering in her large blue eyes.
Mag looked down at Amy’s expectant expression, and he was almost compelled into agreeing to her request, but he still shook his head in the end as he said, “We won’t be able to do that today.”
Cayrols strode over to them and pointed over to a nearby horse-drawn carriage with a small tower design on the curtain, saying, “Mr. Mag, please get onto that horse-drawn carriage. I’ll get the coach driver to take you to His Highness’ manor. His Majesty’s birthday banquet will be taking place on the day after tomorrow, and His Highness would like to verify your cooking skills in person.”
“Alright.” Mag nodded calmly before carrying Amy onto the horse-drawn carriage, but his heart was already thumping in his chest.
This second prince was almost entirely responsible for Mag Alex’s fall from grace, and even after so many years had passed, this second prince still wasn’t willing to give up on killing him.
Now, he was about to go visit the second prince at his manor—he felt as if he were a lamb walking into a wolf’s den.
However, risk and reward came hand in hand. Mag was taking a huge gamble, betting that his sworn enemy wouldn’t be able to recognize him even if they were to stand face-to-face in close proximity with each other. If his disguise could pass even this rigorous test, then he wouldn’t have to worry about his cover being blown ever again.
Mag was extremely confident that he would be able to accomplish this.
That was because he was Shen Mag, not Mag Alex.
He just had to be himself, a candidate to become the God of Cookery, and no one should be able to draw a connection between him and that dragon-slaying warrior who had once stood at the pinnacle of the entire Norland Continent.
Amy turned to Mag with a curious expression inside the carriage, and asked, “Father, whom are we going to see now?”
Mag looked back at Amy with a smile, and said, “We’re going to meet the second prince of the Roth Empire now. Make sure not to give him a nickname when we see him. Even if you do think of a nickname, you can’t say it to his face. Otherwise, I might be taken away by bad people.”
“Alright.” Amy could tell that Mag wasn’t joking, and she nodded firmly in response. However, she then quickly drew her wand with a solemn expression, and said, “Don’t worry, Father, if any baddies try to take you away, I’m going to beat them up!”
Mag shook his head, and said, “I know you’re very powerful, Little Amy, but we have to be more careful here in Rodu. We can’t let too many people here find out how powerful you are. There are many powerful baddies in this world, and they might take you away from me, do you understand?”
Amy nodded with a serious expression, and said, “I do. I’m going to become more powerful so I can protect you, Father.”
“Good girl.” Mag smiled as he patted Amy’s head, and a surge of warmth flowed through his heart. He vowed, “Don’t worry, I’m going to do my best to become more powerful as well.”
The horse-drawn carriage stopped outside the lavish manor, and Mag disembarked while holding Amy’s little hand. Mag looked at the familiar scene laid out before him, and was struck with a sense of nostalgia.
The intricately carved white stone pillars, the string of western round-domed buildings, the immaculately maintained garden, and the fountain at the very center of the courtyard; aside from the second prince, there was only a handful of people who could own such a large manor in Rodu, where land was worth its weight in gold.
Amy pointed at the fountain, and exclaimed, “Father, look! That frog is blasting water so high into the air from its mouth!”
Mag turned his gaze toward the direction that Amy was pointing in, and discovered that it was clearly a golden dragon in the fountain, but Amy was too short, and could only see the top half of the dragon’s head, which made it look like a frog. With that in mind, a smile appeared on Mag’s face as he lifted Amy up in his arms. “That’s actually a golden dragon.”
“A golden dragon that looks like a frog? It’s so ugly.” Amy was looking at the golden dragon in the fountain with a disdainful expression.
Mag took a closer look at the golden dragon sculpture, only to find that it was indeed quite hideous. It didn’t possess any of the prestige that a golden dragon should have, and if one were to only look at its head, it did bear a strong resemblance to a frog.
The middle-aged man who was guiding them toward the manor turned around with a tense expression, and said, “Shh, don’t say such things, little girl. This golden dragon sculpture was erected by His Highness based on a painting drawn by His Majesty. If someone else hears you saying that, you could get beheaded.”
“Really?” A fearful expression appeared on Amy’s face. However, she then turned toward the fountain with a conflicted look in her eyes, and reaffirmed, “But it really is ugly.”
“Alright, let’s not talk about that anymore,” Mag said as he raised his eyebrows. This was the creation of a prince who was terrible at sculpting based on the artwork of a king who was a terrible artist. It was rather amusing that they were showing off their flaws as if it were something to be proud of.
Along the way, Mag saw several more strange-looking sculptures. It was a new discovery to him that the second prince, Josh, had such a hobby.
However, compared to the third prince, who was able to carve extremely life-like sculptures from the most mundane pieces of wood, Josh was very much an amateur hobbyist.
The middle-aged man was most likely a butler at the manor, and as he led Mag and Amy into a large hall, he turned to the two of them, and carefully cautioned, “Please wait here for a moment. His Highness will come to meet you when he’s ready. Do be careful when you’re speaking to His Highness; especially you, little girl, make sure you don’t say anything you shouldn’t say.”
Amy nodded obediently, and replied, “Alright, I promise not to tell him that his golden dragon looks like a frog.”
“Thanks for your hard work.” Mag nodded with a smile. He could tell that this butler was a kindhearted person… unlike some of the other people here in the second prince’s manor.
The butler nodded before turning to leave. He actually shouldn’t say so much, but that little girl was very adorable, and he simply couldn’t bear to see her come to harm, so he offered the two of them some cautionary words in case they said something that was not to the second prince’s liking and were punished as a result.
Mag began to survey the large hall they were in. The room was quite spacious, with six chairs and a table positioned at the center of the room, as well as a bookshelf that was filled with all types of books situated by the wall. There was a small round table beside the bookshelf, upon which were placed all types of desserts, and on the table beside the main seat, there was a black claymore.
“Tian Du!”
Mag’s heart rate abruptly began to accelerate upon seeing this sword.
Right at this moment, the sound of footsteps began to approach the hall, and a warm male voice sounded. “Alex, long time no see.”