Chapter 120 - He May Be Ugly, But He Can Sing!
“Heh, Krassu, do you take me for that stupid dragon? You’d better stay out of this, or I’ll freeze you again!” Urien sneered, his voice cold as ice.
Irina? The name sounded familiar to Mag. Then the realization came as he watched the two furious old men.
Mag had read in Krassu’s file that he had tried to make the elven princess his disciple 20 years ago but failed. Apparently, Urien was involved in it. And this Irina is most probably the elven princess.
“Black Coal! Hello! Where is Green Pea?” Amy said delightedly, jumping down the chair. Ugly Duckling was eying the crow with hostility. It meowed at him, and looked like it was about to fly at him.
“She’s still sleeping, that lazybones,” the crow said with disdain. He took a glance at Krassu, and cowered in fright again. He had never seen such a terrifying old man oozing danger.
Amy nodded. “Oh.” Then, she turned to Urien and Krassu. “Turtle Grandpa, half-beard grandpa, are you fighting? No fighting in the restaurant.”
Krassu smiled, and shook his head immediately. “No, we’re just talking.” The look on his face was very hilarious.
Urien hesitated a moment, and managed a smile. “We’re not fighting.”
“Oh,” Amy said, disappointed. “You can take it outside if you want to fight. Then I can watch.”
The two old men didn’t know what to say. She was not here to mediate; she was encouraging them to fight! Amy reminded them of a young girl who had always wanted them to fight.
“Well, what brings you here?” Mag asked, stroking Amy’s hair. As much as he’d like to watch them fight too, clearly it was not the right time nor place. They’re here for Amy, or they wouldn’t be so submissive.
“Mag, I’d like to take Amy on as my disciple,” Krassu said. Mag gave a frown. The old man raised a hand, and added quickly, “I know you said you wouldn’t let her leave your side. I won’t take her to Rodu. I’ll build a magic room and teach her here. In Chaos City, no, on the whole continent, few people are better than me at teaching magic.”
Mag’s face lit up. This way, Amy doesn’t have to go to that Magus Tower. And he is indeed a very powerful magic caster…
The change of Mag’s expression brought a smile to Krassu’s lips. Over the last few days, he had figured out that Mag’s decision was crucial.
“Yeah. Few people are better than you. And it just so happens I’m one of them,” Urien said slowly. He turned to Mag and smiled. “I already have a magic room. I can teach her today. He has to ship all the materials from Rodu, and it will take him a month to build it. A month in which she’ll learn the basics about magic and at least three magic spells—from me. She’ll win at the starting line.”
Mag rubbed his chin thoughtfully. In fact, he was really happy on the inside. Two powerful magic casters were selling themselves in order to make Amy their disciple.
Krassu waved his hand. “Magic room is not very necessary in the beginning. I just need to say the word, and the Gray Temple will let me use their magic room.” Then he pulled a scroll out of his clothes, and spread it out on the table. “I have designed a magic room for Amy, one of a kind on the whole continent. It will be painted purple. And there will be a swing, wooden horse, and a lot of other amusement equipment for when she is tired from studying.”
Amy walked up to the table with the kitten in her arms and saw the swing, wooden horse, and various toys on the scroll. The purple magic room was decorated with many colorful stars, so dreamy. “Wow, that looks like fun!” Amy exclaimed in excitement.
Mag was also a little surprised to find that Krassu had gone to such great lengths to design such a great magic room.
Urien craned his head to take a glance at the drawing. “Colorful but useless,” he said with a tight look on his face. Despicable Krassu! He used the same trick before, and now he’s using it again! This little girl is not as smart as Irina. She can’t resist those toys, he thought, anxious.
Then he saw the birdcage, and his eyes brightened. “Amy, if you become my disciple, you can have Black Coal and Green Pea. They’ll play with you every day,” he said, smiling.
“Don’t do this to me, old man! Amy has a cat!” cried the crow, flapping in his cage.
“Meow!” Ugly Duckling bared its teeth at Black Coal. It might fly at the bird at any minute.
Black Coal became more frightened. He wasn’t very confident he could beat the little kitten.
Amy took a look at the crow with contempt, and said, “I don’t want them. Ugly Duckling is ugly, and Black Coal is uglier. Their ugly faces may make me ugly too.”
Krassu was worrying that the little girl might be tempted, so Amy’s words made him grin. “How can a bird be so ugly? Amy, if you like birds, I’ll catch a pretty peacock for you tomorrow.”
Urien looked a little abashed. His bird was indeed quite ugly, featherless with two leaves covering his embarrassing parts. His back was up against a wall. He gave a dry smile. “Black Coal may be ugly, but he can sing. Come on, sing for us.”
“Really?” Amy said, incredulous, looking at the crow.