Chapter 107: We Mages All Work in Convents

Chapter 107: We Mages All Work in Convents

When Louis drove the car, slowly navigating through the bustling crowd and arrived at the entrance of the Mage Association, he noticed that the building the Association was stationed in seemed to have once been a Moon Goddess Convent—it was large, but also very run-down. It appeared it hadn’t been repaired for quite some time. Louis also saw on a balcony upstairs, a Mother splash out a basin of water with a clatter—and then she waved at Ron.

There were also painted ladies walking back and forth inside the windows—dressed like nuns.

They really seemed to be nuns…

“Ahem, the Association has always been short on operating funds, so the ‘nuns’ have rented out some areas. Ahem, the money they pay is indeed quite generous,” Ron coughed, looking somewhat awkward.

“Sir, those nuns originally belonged to this Convent too,” Bach stroked his beard and said. “The Moon Goddess is also known as the Goddess of Love. So some convents are a bit special. And ever since the Moon Goddess Divine Officials left this place, we couldn’t very well drive them away. So they all stayed. Usually, they do some cleaning work in the Association, ahem… they also indeed take on some side jobs.”

Louis nodded blankly.

So the Divine Officials of some churches also ran this kind of business!

Right, Bishop John mentioned yesterday that some convents specifically brew wine too.

No wonder these magic enthusiasts all lack a bit of respect for Archmage John and his ilk…

Since the Association moved here, the Mages have come to understand these Divine Officials quite well… The Divine Officials and the Mages have pretty much gotten to know each other thoroughly, with no sense of mystery left.

It seemed magic enthusiasts all seemed to lack a bit of reverence for the Archmages, and people from other associations appeared the same—around this church ruin, many special buildings had been constructed. Some buildings were even connected to the church itself.

They were definitely connected inside too.

These buildings, though they looked a bit messy, were probably guilds or clubs—there was even a firearms club.

Hmm, there seemed to be a brothel too.

It seemed various adventurer guilds could directly enter the Magic Enthusiasts Association through the buildings and move around inside. So strictly speaking, this should be a complex of buildings, and the Magic Enthusiasts Association was one of the core hubs for various guilds.

While parking, Louis also saw a group of little Yordles playing with revolvers and daggers—these Yordles didn’t look as friendly as the ones in the academy.

They all looked rather fierce; all sorts of shady characters seemed scared of these Yordle cutthroats. And Fox, upon seeing them, tucked its tail and ran off with its head down.

Clearly, in a situation where most people didn’t understand magic, the Yordle Gunslingers were the most terrifying and notorious—they were even whistling at the Vintage Car.

Their sneaky looks seemed to say—Brothers, we’ve got a job!

How dare this kind of car drive here?

Don’t know what car it is, but it looks pretty valuable. The people inside also look pretty rich.

Whoever you are, watch how we strip the wheels off this car and sell them today!

Kate had never seen such ruffians? Seeing their stance, she didn’t even dare look their way—even the real Wizard Helen she was holding didn’t dare look over.

“Louis, the Yordles here are really scary,” Helen pouted, whispering fearfully. She was calling for her enforcer.

But before Louis could move, his subordinate, the Archmage Bach, gave a disdainful smile.

When Louis and the others got out of the car, Louis saw Bach, who had stepped out, holding a book and starting to mutter incantations mysteriously at the Vintage Car. But unfortunately, before he could show off his real magic for the first time that day, the surrounding crowd scattered in a panic.

This left Bach feeling a bit disappointed.

Ron looked at the ‘crows’ and ‘vultures’ by the roadside and suddenly sneered coldly. Those who recognized them all screamed and ran away as if they’d seen a ghost.

Several scar-faced Yordles, hunched over and about to run, saw Ron beckon them. They wiped cold sweat off their brows, lowered their heads, and walked over flatteringly.

“Sir Ron, you watch, I’ll definitely take good care of this car for you! If anyone dares scratch even a bit of paint, I’ll blow their head off!”

After saying that, the leading scar-faced Yordle started shouting at a group of loiterers across the street. “No sense of sight! Can’t you see the car wheels are dirty? Go find someone from the car wash immediately and clean this gentleman’s car thoroughly, inside and out!”

The crows and vultures on both sides of the street started bustling about. And everyone who saw Ron and the others had flattering looks on their faces.

No wonder Ron and his crew could survive in this place. People were very much in awe of them.

If Ron and a group of gunslingers were to fight one-on-one, he might not necessarily win. But people were in awe of him, in awe of his knowledge.

Their knowledge was indeed awe-inspiring—there were mercenaries who had encountered monsters that couldn’t be killed with guns, and were even faster than bullets.

Not to mention, Ron and a few other famous Mages frequently transported things like werewolves and various strange corpses to the Association for anatomical research—some Mages were even rumored to be terrifying Dark Wizards; people feared getting lazy sores on their heads or running pus from their feet just from being looked at by them.

And right here, they encountered someone dressed very much like a Dark Wizard—if there really was an Agent here, they’d definitely arrest him as a Necromancer or evil spirit caster.

This person was named Cardi, and he was directing several Dragonborn to carry body bags through a small side door near the entrance that led directly to a semi-basement.

Those Dragonborn could each carry five or six body bags, but in front of this ‘Mage’ gentleman, they were nodding and bowing, being very careful. Even some armed people nearby circled wide around this ‘Necromancer.’

Upon seeing Ron, this Mage gentleman’s eyes lit up, and he walked over enthusiastically. Louis heard that this guy had just bought some unclaimed corpses from a cemetery’s cold storage. Some were rumored to be people who ‘died’ after being bitten by werewolves or Vampires.

Louis couldn’t help but glance at those body bags—they were constantly moving.

Not understanding anything about magic, yet daring to study this kind of stuff, they really were bold.

The Mage gentleman chatted with Ron and the others for a while, then greeted Louis and Kate friendly before leaving.

Watching his retreating figure, Ron whispered somewhat awkwardly. “Mr. Cardi is very fond of necromancy, ahem… though he hasn’t managed to learn a single necromancy spell. But in the field of surgical medicine, he’s becoming increasingly famous—and he’s particularly skilled at treating werewolf venom and blood sickness. Often, many Royal Court Archmages or famous doctors come to seek his advice… ahem, so, Cardi understands everything except magic.”

Previously, when Ron talked about ‘necromancy’ magic, he was proud of it—after all, he often claimed to ‘know a little’ and frequently studied with Mr. Cardi while holding various editions of ‘The Book of the Dead.’

Ron had even personally written a ‘Book of the Dead.’

So now, after witnessing real magic, Ron felt a bit awkward—Ron could easily guess that he actually knew nothing about necromancy, and all those necromancy books he’d read were fake—it seemed, including the one he wrote himself.

“That’s good, Ron. I also quite like necromancy. I’ve read a few Books of the Dead before too,” Louis patted Ron’s shoulder and said. “We should study it together sometime.”

Ron and the others first looked at each other in slight surprise, then followed him with overwhelming joy.

“Sir, the first floor is the office hall. The second floor is where the Association’s ‘official Mages’ usually stay; it’s very quiet, and there’s a Library. And there’s also a basement here, with Laboratories, even prison cells, a morgue.”

“Let’s take a look around the first floor first,” Louis said, placing one hand behind Helen’s and Kate’s backs, and stepped into the hall.

…