Hill nodded, "What others don’t have, I do; it really is a necessary treasure for showing off. But unless they truly like it, magical beasts won’t agree to follow." Hill just let them be.
"Mr. Hill, do you intend to open the valley now?" Rain Falling on Mortal Dust asked inquisitively.
"Sealing the mountain was previously necessary to keep the identity of magicians secret, but it’s no longer necessary," Hill spoke slowly, "However, if anyone harms the flora and fauna in the valley, not only will the individual be blacklisted, but their entire family will be prohibited from entering again."
"Then rest assured," Rain Falling on Mortal Dust said brazenly, "Our alliance has already taken a big advantage, and I will communicate with Snow Cloud Peak to arrange entry based on family contribution ranking, forbidding the carrying of weapons into the valley."
"Other undead tribes with friendly prestige will also enter," Hill said with a smile, "I’ll give you two separate paths."
"Of course, it’s different from our alliance, others have to work hard on tasks to gain such prestige, we wouldn’t incur the wrath of the crowd," Rain Falling on Mortal Dust said with a laugh, "Compared to others, joining a family and getting opportunities that would take others months of tasks to earn is already exceptionally good treatment."
Hill nodded, "It won’t open this soon, it will have to wait until the war with the demons is over."
"So that means another week?" Rain Falling on Mortal Dust chuckled, "Perfect, that gives us time to call everyone back. It’s also convenient to arrange members to queue up. Relying on luck like today, occasionally it’s fine, but more often and it gets in the way of business."
Seeing Hill nod, he left happily.
"Another week, huh!" Adrian exclaimed, "Time really flies!"
Hill nodded, "If they say so, there must be concrete news. Has His Majesty the King not been informed?"
"Isn’t this under the edict of the Pope to the undead tribes?" Adrian said, "He really separates the royal and divine powers clearly. It seems that in the future, the kings won’t also serve as Popes."
Hill nodded silently, thinking that William was probably planning to let the Space-Time Church exercise monitoring powers.
He looked at Adrian with a smile, "When is Uncle Adrian going to the capital? I’ll go have a look then."
"Once His Majesty the King officially issues the decree, announcing the end of the Demon Calamity," Adrian said with a vacant expression, "In another week, I’ll take Boen with me. Now that the teacher has become legendary, I really must find a successor soon, or even if I find the path to legend, I won’t have much time. I don’t want to end up that miserable."
"Grandfather became an Archmage in his early period by accumulating enough knowledge to advance quickly," Hill said with a smile, "Most people only start seeking their own way once they become magisters. Uncle Adrian needn’t rush."
Adrian waved his hand dismissively, "Hill, I know I may have to endure at the magister stage for decades, or even a century. But finding a student that truly suits me isn’t easy! I don’t want to continue dealing with miscellaneous affairs for decades, that’s something Archmages are supposed to do!"
Hill laughed, "I can’t believe that no one has sent students to you."
Adrian made a face, "Those idiots. The smart ones have already sent their children to the King’s Academy. Given our good relationship with His Majesty the King, how could we possibly accept students from families where we can’t see the full picture?"
He looked at the beautiful scenery outside and said quietly, "Times have long changed, and my Magic Tower will only carry on an elite succession. That mass apprenticeship model is doomed to end sooner or later. It’s better to join the King’s Academy early; after observing the students’ true natures for a few years, we’ll usually get a clearer understanding, and if one could really fool us all, that wouldn’t be bad either. Mages aren’t necessarily good people to begin with."
After thinking for a while, Hill said, "Since His Majesty the King wants Uncle Adrian to be the head of the Alchemy Academy, are there any benefits?"
"There are plenty of resources; do I need them?" Adrian said dismally.
"Are there any provisions for a Magic Tower?" Hill pressed on.
"He can provide me with a plot of land next to the academy, belonging to me forever," Adrian spoke with renewed vigor, "The materials for the Magic Tower must be prepared by myself, but they will give me enough money to build an Advanced Magic Tower."
"That’s not bad either," Hill nodded. "Doesn’t that mean we can send the people we don’t need here over there? Grandfather really isn’t interested in managing things. And the caravan has some use there as well."
"Are you thinking of training more people over there?" Adrian pondered. "That’s not a bad idea. If we only take one, there’s no changing them, but the rest can stay at the Magic Tower, which is a decent option. After we properly train the confirmed successor, we can send them over here."
He suddenly laughed, "Hey, has this come back to the capital again? What a lot of years of upheaval."
"But now it’s independent," Hill said unconcernedly. "Neither grandfather nor Uncle Adrian need to do much for the Royal Family. They can leave whenever they want, without owing anybody any favors."
Adrian ruffled Hill’s hair and said with a smile, "I know. Though we’ve circled back to the capital, everything we have now is our own."
"Doesn’t the Divine Realm interfere?" Hill suddenly thought.
"That one’s Divine Power is not oppressive," Adrian said with a smile, "it’s only sensitive to evil. Just look at Saral’s legend, those who still dare to stay only at Obastian’s side all have a bit of an issue. Otherwise, even if they are nostalgic for the Goldstone Mine, they would spend some time in the capital, hoping to get some Space Crystals!"
Adrian said with a sly smile, "Although the Space-Time Church claims it’s to control the tendency of the Undead Tribe’s factions, perhaps only a few dozen undead have been struck down, while hundreds from this world have died, nobles alike."
"What about those envoys last time?" Hill asked, puzzled.
"They were all notified before they came, which is why King Noah was able to enter," Adrian said with a laugh. "Since the king is so certain that his faction isn’t evil, King Noah was willing to give him a chance to speak."
"And the Elf Princess?" Hill pressed on.
"The Divine Array in the Royal Capital only judges the evil faction, so if they can enter, they must be neutral at worst," Adrian affirmed. "But they all have subordinates who didn’t enter the city."
Hill nodded. This meant that the overall faction of the elves had not slid toward evil, so naturally, they were no longer focused on this race.
He turned to look at the Rainbow Fields outside. It was truly beautiful.
Hill decided to let other places be, but these rainbows, he wanted puppets to come out and take care of them, to maintain them.
Alice shuffled back into Hill’s arms again, and Merkel sat down too.
"Hill, it’s possible that the cats and leopards won’t go out," Merkel said embarrassedly, "They won’t leave me and Alice. If more types of Magical Beasts go out, the valley will be full of our subordinates."
"It’s okay," Hill said with a smile. "You won’t be enemies with me, will you? Haven’t you all sworn oaths? When the Undead Tribe comes in, I’ll have to trouble Merkel to keep an eye on them!"
"When you made us swear oaths at first, it was just not to harm people in the valley," Merkel asked, puzzled. "Those who enter temporarily don’t count. What if a Magical Beast wants to harm the Undead Tribe?"
"Good words can’t save stupid creatures wanting to die," Hill said slowly. "If they want to harm humans at will in my territory, then if they get killed, I won’t intervene. But if the Undead Tribe starts it, Merkel, you can also kill them."
Merkel nodded in satisfaction: "No problem."
"I will have List follow along, and the Defensive Magic Array in the valley won’t be turned off," Hill sighed. "I have no other choice. If too many Magical Beasts are kept confined , they might go mad. We can only try it out and see."
"The number of the Undead Tribe is increasing," Adrian said. "Last time I heard someone asking His Majesty the King how many they could come, His Majesty the King only replied that there are already eighty million, and perhaps as many more to come."
Hill blinked. Was William about to open the game to other countries? He was really a bit curious, what would those Westerners feel about this strange Magic World?