Sovereign of the Ashes

Chapter 717: Conversations

Upon his return to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, Sein first visited the fox maiden, Yuri, and others to deliver their gifts.

Yuri’s elemental cannon was not immediately usable. Sein had to work with her to study it before making certain modifications so that it could be compressed and integrated into her Burning Flame Unit.

According to the seller from the Capiche Business Alliance, the elemental cannon was a product of Norman Federation’s technology combined with Magus World’s alchemy.

The Norman Federation, a major technological civilization, held a prominent position in the Magus Alliance and could be considered one of the top-tier elders, just like the Beastmen World and Elven World.

The Neisse Civilization, known for its mecha constructs and engineers, was also considered a technological civilization, albeit barely.

Thus, not only the mechanics from Magus World’s Steel City found the subjugated Neisse Civilization of interest.

Other alliance members inclined toward technological growth also eyed the post-war spoils of this major world.

Even if they could not get a bite of the meat, they were content with just a sip of the soup.

The priest’s codex provided to the fox maiden was a more comprehensive training material for beastmen, which she could immediately utilize.

Sein’s capabilities were limited and he had little interest in the Beastmen World’s deity system, leaving him unable to assist the fox maiden further for now.

Leaving the fox maiden, Azelia, Sein saw Selina in the incubation room, where she was tending to her specimens of plants and creatures.

Despite her affinity for pyro and lumen elements, Sein noticed she had a keen interest in plants.

Inside the incubation room, she kept many specimens she had gathered from the Verdant Leaf World, some of which were gifts from Sein.

Among the specimens, the most valuable were the activator fairies from Lorianne’s world laboratory.

The taro Selina was currently tending to was one of these.

After providing it with ample water and nutrients, Selina playfully tickled it, causing the small, pure white taro to wriggle and emit adorable cries.

Sein had never really found these activator fairies adorable, believing that consuming them was perhaps the best approach.

However, Selina would never consider such an action. At most, she would only extract these activator fairies’ body juices for the meals she prepared for Sein without endangering their lives.

Selina was a kind mage, and her performance during the Verdant Leaf World War had shown that she was better suited to being an academy mage.

“You like them a lot?” Sein could not help but ask.

Looking up, Selina replied, “Yes, I love plants and little animals. Azelia’s Aragorn is quite cute as well.”

“When I was young, my mother used to take me to play in the flower garden. I still remember those good times,” she shared nostalgically.

“What kind of person is your mother?” Sein asked.

Selina’s mother was actually Sein’s aunt, his mother’s younger sister.

“My mother was warm and kind. She often used to put white flowers in my hair and also taught me many things, including my first lessons in magic,” Selina recalled fondly, clasping her hands on her chest.

“Oh, she also told me about her older sister, saying that Aunt Catherine was even prettier than her and how she was a strong woman,” she added.

“Strong, huh...?” Sein gazed out of the divine tower for a long time before finally letting out a sigh.

***

After returning to the divine tower, Sein quickly returned to his daily routine.

He delved into a variety of experiments and research—body tempering, alchemy, apothecary studies, mecha alterations, advanced research in pyro elemental magic, summoning arts, as well as soul and spatial magic.

Like any dedicated mage, Sein felt there were never enough hours in the day whenever he got into the groove of experimentation.

Of course, some mages also experienced a plateau after extensive research, finding themselves unable to progress when their thoughts ran dry and their research hit a bottleneck.

Sein had yet to face such a scenario.

He felt a universe of mysteries still awaited him, brimming with unknowns he was eager to uncover.

Perhaps, this insatiable curiosity was Sein’s true talent.

Many mages envied those like Sein, who always seemed to have a clear direction for research and a relentless passion for discovery.

During this time, the best news for Sein came from far away in the Western Archipelago—the chaotic conflict among the black towers was finally beginning to see mediation.

Sein was uncertain if a higher power within the Magus World had intervened to mediate the disputes among the black towers.

However, he would not be surprised if this were the case, given that Blackhaven was still under the jurisdiction of the Magus World.

From what Leena had shared with him, no black tower gained any benefits after so many years of fighting.

Although the Black Tower of Cinderbones managed to retain most of its resource points, the collective black towers suffered numerous casualties, including many full-fledged black mages.

The toll was even heavier on black magic initiates and the innocent lower-class civilians caught in the crossfire!

To those within the Magus World, these internal conflicts were seen almost entirely as detrimental, offering little to no benefit to their homeplane and representing nothing more than ruthless competition.

Perhaps the only silver lining was that the conflicts might have slightly thinned the black mages’ ranks.

However, the overall impact was minimal as no black mages above Rank Four and above had perished and those at lower ranks could be replenished over a few hundred years.

According to Leena, the Black Tower of Cinderbones began mass recruitment for its academy immediately after the war’s end.

Those new black magic initiates who survived the grueling death trial would eventually qualify as black mages.

Sein had little interest in the casualties at Blackhaven or the losses sustained by the Black Tower of Cinderbones.

He had been extremely worried for Leena.

What genuinely put his mind at ease was knowing that with the end of the war, Leena would finally be safer after decades of constant peril.

“The Black Tower of Cinderbones is entering a period of growth, and the surrounding black towers will likely enjoy peace for decades, if not centuries, to come,” Leena said through the magic array.

“With your Divine Tower of Verdant Spring facing an upcoming interplanar war, perhaps I can sneak over and join you,” she added.

“Really?” Sein responded, visibly delighted.

While Sein longed for Leena, she too missed him deeply.

After enduring decades of strife and bloodshed in Blackhaven, she yearned to find solace in Sein’s arms.

Unlike Sein, who would face difficulties in Blackhaven, Leena could easily travel incognito to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring and join the war.

This was made even more feasible by the support of Lorianne, a Rank Four Tower Master, who was aware of and sympathetic to the couple’s feelings.

As long as Lorianne could provide them a haven, no one would be able to find out Leena’s identity as a black mage.

“I’ll speak with my mentor about this,” Sein declared enthusiastically.

It was good timing to bring this up as Lorianne also had matters she wished to discuss with Sein.