Chapter 93: You're Serious About This?
A city appeared before Triss.
High walls surrounded it, sharp spires towered, their tops glittering.
On the other side of the city was the sea, the grey-green surface reflecting the morning sun, scattered with white sails.
The capital of Temeria's Velen Province.
Triss's destination, Aretuza Academy, was in Gors Velen.
A long queue of people formed at the city gate to enter.
But Triss sat upright in her saddle, urging her horse to trot forward.
The guards stationed at the city gate noticed the sorceress and immediately let her pass.
They used the shafts of their spears to knock away those who stubbornly refused to move or were too slow.
"This way, this way, honored lady!" a guard called out.
He only dared to glance at the sorceress once before quickly lowering his head, then turned and shouted at the queue waiting to enter the city gate, "Make way, make way, you country bumpkins!"
The captain of the guard, who had been hiding in the guardroom to avoid the commotion, heard the noise outside and came out with a gloomy expression.
"You bunch of good-for-nothings! Can't you even handle this simple task? Is it so hard to make those peasants line up properly? Do I have to watch over you for even this little thing?"
The guard captain's grumbling words vanished the moment he saw Triss.
His face immediately flushed red, his eyes widened, his mouth opened, and then he reacted quickly with a deep bow.
"Honored lady, I humbly welcome you to Gors Velen," he mumbled, then straightened his back, revealing his most ingratiating smile.
"I am at your disposal... How may I serve you? Do you require an escort? Or a guide? Is there anyone you need me to find?"
"That won't be necessary." Triss sat up straighter in her saddle, looking down at him.
She didn't care about his previous grumbling, nor did she intend to teach Vissegerd, the lord of Velen, that his subordinates shouldn't be absent from their posts to drink.
That was originally Vissegerd's own responsibility and duty.
She simply said in a flat tone, "I need to go to Thanedd Island."
"Of course, Madam. Very well, Madam."
The guard captain and his men hurriedly cleared a path.
"Thank you." The sorceress urged her horse forward, and the guards bowed respectfully as she passed.
Thanedd Island was located in the bay northwest of Gors Velen and was built by elves using magic.
It was a domain exclusively for sorcerers.
On the island was a sorceress academy, Aretuza Academy, connected to Gors Velen by a bridge.
From a distance, Thanedd Island looked like a huge stone pillar rising from the waves.
A massive telepathic tower surrounded a spiral road.
Winding staircases and platforms were submerged in green forests and gardens.
Towering white towers dotted the greenery, attached to swan-necked stones, and a domed building was surrounded by galleries.
It looked as if it had been carved out of the mountain rising from the sea.
At the top of the island was Tor Lara, the Tower of the Gull, which contained a portal inside.
But the portal of the Tower of the Gull was usually closed. This was mainly to protect the academy.
For the same reason, a distortion blockade mechanism was usually activated on Thanedd Island all day long.
Anyone who arrived on Thanedd Island by opening a portal without the permission of the Dean of Aretuza Academy would be instantly teleported into a dungeon paved with dimeritium.
Therefore, Triss could only open the portal outside Gors Velen and then ride her horse over.
After entering Thanedd Island, thanks to Sorceress Triss's dual identity as a sorceress and a royal advisor, she proceeded smoothly all the way to the Dean's office.
She pushed open the door and walked in.
Margarita Laux-Antille, the Dean of Aretuza Academy, looked up from her desk.
"Isn't this our esteemed royal advisor? Triss, what brings you back to our humble abode? Let me guess, could it be that King Foltest believes that one sorceress is enough in his court?"
Triss returned her smile. "Of course not. It's good to see you, Rita."
Margarita stood up and walked around Triss.
"I really envy you. Look at me, I'm either wiping noses of crying brats or fighting wits with rude students who don't respect their teachers."
Triss's eyes followed Margarita as she circled her.
"What can you do? It was Tissaia who chose you to take over her position. By the way, do you know where Tissaia is? What's with that look in your eyes?"
A smile appeared at the corner of Margarita's mouth. "I seem to smell something suspicious. You're looking for Tissaia as soon as you return. What's the matter? Or have you run into trouble?"
Triss shook her head.
"Neither. I just want to ask her for a favor."
"A favor? That means you've run into trouble."
Margarita returned to her dean's office chair and sat down.
She crossed one leg over the other. "Speak, Triss. I am, after all, the dean of a prestigious magic academy in the North, and Tissaia's appointed high-ranking sorceress. What can I do for you?"
"You can't," Triss quickly added before the other could jump up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, "I want to ask Tissaia to cast an expansion spell for me."
"Just an expansion spell? What need is there for that long-faced, pedantic, everything-correcting serious lady? What's wrong with me?"
"No, I need a permanent, stable expansion spell, and the internal space must not be smaller than a villa."
Margarita's smile froze.
Her mouth gaped open—although this seemed somewhat unbecoming for the dean who always tried to maintain a refined and elegant demeanor in front of her students.
"Do you know what you're saying, Triss? A stable expansion spell, and a space as large as a villa? What do you want to do?"
She suddenly seemed to think of something, looking at Triss suspiciously. "Wait, don't tell me you've fallen in love with someone?"
Triss's face stiffened as if she had been stabbed in the heart.
She had no choice but to put on a stern face and say, "That's none of your business."
A smile reappeared on Margarita's face.
But this smile was like the mischievous grin of one student who had discovered another's secretly hidden diary back when they were still students.
"You didn't deny it immediately! Triss Merigold, the top student of Aretuza Academy, the royal advisor to King Foltest... has actually fallen hopelessly in love with someone."
"And judging by your expression, it doesn't seem like just a fleeting fling either."
"Other sorceresses just play around, but you're actually serious about this?"