Sovereign of the Ashes

Schlesyn enjoyed dealing with mages like Sein immensely.

Sein still remembered how picky Lorianne had been when she was choosing her space fortress.

She had toured every exhibition booth showing off the latest standard models and even checked the second-hand market.

After all that effort, she still ended up purchasing a mid-range standard fortress of the latest model...

A decisive client like Sein was every salesperson's dream in the Capiche Business Alliance.

When Schlesyn brought him to the alliance's headquarters to finalize the paperwork, Sein showed no hesitation or regret.

He paid in full on the spot, which only made Schlesyn's service even more enthusiastic.

They even exchanged crystal ball contact information, and Schlesyn mentioned that Sein could reach out to him directly for future purchases at the Capiche Business Alliance.

Schlesyn's business was not limited to space fortresses; he dabbled in other trades as well.

Sein pulled out his crystal ball and said, "As it happens, I need to purchase some war airships and portable magic cannons manufactured by the Capiche Business Alliance. The relevant models and quantities are all recorded inside here. Could you handle this for me, Schlesyn?"

"No problem!" Schlesyn replied, still working on Sein's fortress purchase contract. He took the crystal ball and gave it a quick glance.

It contained specifications for about twenty war airships and nearly two thousand magic cannons. It was a pretty big order.

Sein's spending on this trip did not stop there.

After arriving in Steel City, he also planned to have his space fortress modified and to purchase two prism forts.

All of that required even more money!

He was already short on cash by now, so he used the Silver Spider Ring to notify the Goddess of Wealth, asking her to prepare another batch of funds for him.

***

While Sein was spending lavishly at the Capiche Business Alliance, Lorianne arrived at the Divine Tower of Ashes.

She had come to bid him a temporary farewell as she would be traveling to the venue of the 25th Magus Alliance Conference with Gregory, Bernice, and others.

Leading the group was, of course, Feylis.

The Verdant Flame Faction's influence had already grown quite significant in certain circles.

Aelid and Berecca would also be attending the conference.

It was said that several of Feylis' friends from the Elemental Gate and the Pyro Secret Society would also be traveling with them.

Such a large group already counted as a formidable network. During the conference, Feylis planned to introduce some of her Magus Alliance contacts to her grand apprentices as well.

From Lorianne's perspective, it was a real pity that Sein could not attend, even though he was already a Rank Four mage.

She had come today for two reasons: to say goodbye and to console her apprentice.

However, to Lorianne's surprise, she was informed by Marie, the dean of the Divine Tower of Ashes Academy, that Sein was currently away.

"Where did he go?" Lorianne asked curiously.

There was nothing Marie needed to hide from Lorianne, so she answered directly, "The tower master seems to have gone to handle matters related to a space fortress."

"He went to buy a space fortress? I see," Lorianne said with a nod.

With Sein's assets, he could indeed afford to purchase a standard space fortress.

Although relieved that her apprentice was doing well enough to buy one so early, Lorianne still grumbled inwardly that the brat had not even consulted her on such a major decision.

She felt she could have offered some useful advice, or at least accompanied him.

Although she had to attend the 25th Magus Alliance Conference, there was no rush—it would not officially begin for another two hundred years. She could let Feylis and the others go on ahead and arrive a little later herself.

Lorianne pouted slightly, unable to suppress her mild annoyance.

But then she noticed Tourmaline lifting her head from Crescent Bay.

The dragon turtle had ascended to Rank Four long before Sein. As a native Rank Four creature of the Magus World, Tourmaline naturally qualified to attend the Magus Alliance Conference.

The Magus Alliance Conference was not just a gathering for knights, mages, and divine beings of the alliance. It also welcomed Rank Four and above sea races, magic beasts, demihumans, and even black mages from across Magus World.

However, black mages only had the qualification to attend. They had no voting rights, no speaking rights, and were essentially there just to make an appearance.

Because of this, many high-ranking black mages skipped it entirely.

Lorianne waved at the dragon turtle.

"Tourmaline, you should have received your invitation to the alliance's conference too, right? Shall we go together?"

The enormous dragon turtle quickly transformed into her human form and came to Lorianne's side, her two green arm ribbons floating and curling around her wrists.

"Sure, what about Sein?" Tourmaline rubbed her eyes, sounding sleepy and a little dazed.

"No need to worry about him, he's busy with other things. Let's go!" Lorianne scooped Tourmaline up and soared into the sky.

Tourmaline's strength law had reached an exceptionally refined level.

Despite her incredibly sturdy build, she was still light enough for the slender female mage to carry with ease.

No one really knew how Tourmaline, who spent most of her days napping and playing, had cultivated and honed her law power.

Holding the precious dragon turtle in her arms, Lorianne asked, "Tourmaline, can I take a small sample of your blood?"

Tourmaline snapped her eyes wide open, her drowsiness vanishing in an instant.

"No way! Needles again?!" she protested with a pout.

"Needles?" Lorianne tilted her head, clearly unfamiliar with the term.

Tourmaline bit her lower lip, her face twisting pitifully with the grim resolve of someone marching toward their own execution ground.

***

Sein, who was busy handling paperwork for his space fortress in Sky City, had no idea that Tourmaline had already been "kidnapped" by his mentor.

As he wrapped up the final steps of the fortress handover, he noticed a burly man holding a hammer and finalizing a fortress transaction nearby.

Sein's Azure Starbane was already parked on the Capiche Business Alliance's launchpad, ready to be piloted by their mages to the starport outside Magus World for docking.

On another launchpad was a massive pale-gold space fortress, likely owned by the burly man.

From Sein's knowledge of Magus World knights, the man clearly did not match their usual traits.

Could he be a deity from another world?

But how could a foreign deity directly purchase a space fortress from the Capiche Business Alliance?

By every measure, the pale‑gold fortress outclassed Sein's Azure Starbane.

Sein trusted his judgment, so he asked Schlesyn beside him, "Does the Magus Alliance not have a specialized trading market for foreign deities?"

The question made Schlesyn look up and glance into the distance.

"I don't know who he is either, but the one handling his purchase seems to be Master Raymond from our Capiche Business Alliance," Schlesyn replied.

"That's odd. Given Master Raymond's status, why would he personally select a fortress for a foreign deity?" he frowned in puzzlement and began checking his crystal ball.

Through the central information channel of the Capiche Business Alliance, Schlesyn discovered only that the buyer was from Titan World.

For strange reasons, his name was not displayed.

While Schlesyn was still piecing it together, Sein wore his Faceless Mask and took another look at the bare-chested foreign deity.

This time, Sein's attention was not on the man or even his fortress. His eyes were locked onto the hammer the stranger was holding.

"Huh?" Sein let out a surprised gasp.

Whatever he had just discovered was enough to make him lose his composure.