Medieval Gacha Lord-Chapter 84: New Milestones

Chapter 84: New Milestones

In the European world of today, even the libraries of some larger theological seminaries often held no more than a hundred volumes. In contrast, the Royal Library of Constantinople, as early as six hundred years ago, already boasted a collection of over one hundred thousand books.

One must remember that papermaking had not yet been introduced at that time; collections often used papyrus imported from Egypt, expensive parchment, and silk cloth.

In the world today, the only library that could compare to the Royal Library of Constantinople was the Cairo Library in the Ayyubid Kingdom. But despite all this both of them paled in comparison to the Academy of Gondishapur in Persia. as early as six centuries ago, it housed more than four hundred thousand books.

"Constantinople’s collection of books, and the system of exchanging contribution for resources and intelligence—I must admit, it is indeed very tempting." Lothar shook his head. "But I cannot possibly abandon my title and fief to run off to Constantinople with you. The identity of a sorcerer is only a small part of me."

"It doesn’t matter. We can first establish a preliminary cooperative relationship, then cultivate trust between us bit by bit. The Witches’ Association is not an organization eager for quick success and short-term gains."

Anna said with a smile, "We both know that Henry Caesar’s perverse actions will not succeed, because no witch is willing to be driven like a hawk or a hound. I know this well, so our Witches’ Association leans more towards cooperation rather than control. If you desire more advanced spellbooks, rarer casting materials, or potion recipes, the Basílissa, who is the richest person alive, will naturally spend heavily to acquire them for you. But the prerequisite is that you must exchange contribution for them. Equal exchange is our guiding principle."

Anna’s face was perfectly composed. She very much hoped Lothar would join the association, because having a male sorcerer with an outstanding appearance would be a significant asset in recruiting other witches.

’Clippity-clop—’ The sound of a patrol’s hooves drew nearer.

Anna smiled, lifted the hem of her skirt, and performed a lady’s curtsy.

"This conversation has been quite smooth. A little later, I will pay another visit. Hopefully, by then, our meeting will be accompanied by sweet wine and roast meat, not like now, standing on the main street enduring the sun’s glare. Oh, right. I must tell you beforehand, do not place any Magic-Resistant Gold nearby. I can smell that stuff. If I feel threatened, this meeting will have to be declared over."

Anna turned, her figure gradually dissolving into black mist.

’Quite cautious indeed.’ This meant that Magic-Resistant Gold posed a greater threat to witches than he had imagined.

Lothar mused, "Uldin, do you think what this witch named Anna said is reliable?"

Uldin pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "I do not know, but I cannot think of any reason she would have to deceive you. Moreover, I believe that as long as one restrains their greed and never pays the price before seeing an equivalent return, one will never be deceived."

Lothar nodded. "In any case, having an additional channel is definitely a good thing, whether for acquiring intelligence or knowledge."

He wasn’t an orthodox spellcaster. Although he shared Fringilla’s talent, he was still at the stage of knowing ’that’ it was so, but not ’why’ it was so. Constantinople’s collection of books held great allure not only for him but also for Fringilla.

But he wouldn’t grasp the minor and neglect the major because of it.

His status as a feudal lord was his foundation. He also wouldn’t have too much energy to bury himself in a library all day, researching those dry, uninteresting ancient texts written in who-knows-what language.

***

Returning to the main hall of the headquarters, Lothar handed the reins to Ryan, who had come to meet him.

"Send a squad to support Ulm. I’ve given him a mission. If there are any findings, report back immediately. Absolutely no acting on your own initiative."

"Milord, when I handle things, you can always rest assured." Ryan immediately accepted the order and departed. He could feel himself gradually being excluded from his lord’s inner circle, which made him even more desperate to achieve merit and be granted a knight’s title by Lothar.

Lothar then instructed the Inspector, "Richard, take Uldin for a bath and to freshen up. Later, I need to take him for an audience with His Majesty the King. He can’t go smelling of sweat."

As soon as he entered his rooms, Lothar saw Fringilla, wearing a black silk long dress, very proudly showing off before Banu. The latter, however, paid her no mind; merely shifting her angle slightly, she continued to immerse herself in the plot of her novel.

Seeing her level of concentration, no one would believe she wasn’t reading some literary classic but rather Lothar’s cool webnov... ahem fantasy story, which had quite a few embellishments.

"Ah, you’re back!" Fringilla skipped over to Lothar, lifted her skirt hem, and twirled. "Look at the pattern on it! I embroidered it myself! Well, is it pretty?"

Today, she had combed her long white hair into twin ponytails, with soft bangs covering her forehead. Her slender body and pale skin evoked a feeling of tender affection.

"Hmm—" Looking closely, the black silk long dress she wore had a pattern resembling small dogs. Lothar examined it for a moment. Although he found it hard to understand why one would embroider dogs on a dress, he still showed an appreciative expression.

"Truly amazing. Simply vivid and lifelike." He very cleverly omitted the part about the dogs.

Sure enough, Fringilla said with a self-satisfied look, "This pattern on it is the gargoyle emblem of our Blood Court’s Țepeș royal family. Only royalty can use it."

’So, they were gargoyles. I had a feeling Fringilla wasn’t the type to like small animals.’ Lothar let out a quiet sigh, feeling as if he were as tired as if raising a child.

Fringilla circled Lothar once, then suddenly, as if remembering something, a suspicious look appeared on her face. She leaned close to Lothar and sniffed.

Lothar pressed her head down. "Don’t be like a little puppy."

Fringilla exclaimed in surprise, "You have the scent of magic on you! Someone has placed a tracking-type spell on you! Whom did you meet?"

"It was a witch who claims to be a royal advisor to the Empress of the Eastern Empire."

"Fringilla, are you sure it’s just a tracking spell? No other negative effects?"

Fringilla shook her head. "It’s a very simple sigil. The magic retained within it is also very gentle. Do you want me to remove it for you?"

"Then let’s not remove it for now. That witch mistook me for a spellcaster of this world and wants me to join their convocation. She will visit again later."

Fringilla said with some excitement, "I’ve long wanted to see what the spellcasters of this world are like! Unfortunately, I haven’t had the chance before. It would be even better if I could taste the magic blood flowing in their veins!"

Just then, the system’s notification sound chimed opportunely in Lothar’s mind.

[You have activated the following milestones:

Wizard’s Convocation: You join a secret society organization containing at least ten wizards. (Incomplete)

Evil Lord: Under your command, at least five dark creatures serve you. (3/5)

Holy Apostle: Under your command, at least five clergy members serve you. (1/5)]

Lothar merely glanced at the three milestones and then ignored the latter two. What kind of characters he drew from the gacha was out of his control; no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn’t increase his progress in completing the latter two.

It all depended on the will of Heavenly Father.

The Wizard’s Convocation milestone, however, could be completed very easily. It seemed joining this Witches’ Association Anna spoke of was now imperative.

Besides this, the Model Territory milestone was also nearing completion. This was thanks to Lothar temporarily exempting the various villages from taxes during this period and also lending out many farm tools and seeds for a fee, just barely allowing nearly a thousand people in his fief to achieve subsistence.

But the ’two hundred wealthy individuals’ part truly stumped Lothar. He couldn’t just directly give them money, could he?

***

Lothar, after being attended to by maidservants for his bath, donned a silk formal suit and walked out of the great hall. Uldin, still with that stern expression, stood under the blazing sun, unmoving. It was unknown how long he had waited.

"Been waiting long?"

"No."

"Next time, at least find a shade to wait." Lothar didn’t suggest Uldin wait inside, because he knew very well that for someone like Uldin, being in the same room as a vampire and a member of the Ghost Race was worse than death.

"Let’s go. We’re going for an audience with the King."

Uldin said gravely, "It is a great honor. I have also heard legends of this Leper King. Although this world is an otherworld, I still very much look forward to witnessing this King’s grace with my own eyes." freēnovelkiss.com

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