Chapter 33. Reward.
The incident at the palace was not made public. Almost three days passed, but no one found out about him, only rumors circulated that they remained rumors. A ceremony and funeral was also held, where the king expressed condolences to the relatives of the victims.
After that, two more days passed and an ornate carriage drawn by four horses arrived for Eros and his friends. On which they were brought to the palace, where they were met by the same butler that had been that evening and escorted them to the great hall. At the end of which was a throne on which Tom E. Fiore sat, and to his right was his wife Yuki E. Fiore.
As soon as all four were within ten meters of them, they bowed.
- Let's not do it, - the king said in a slightly tired voice, - Today I invited you as guests, and also to thank you for your invaluable help and for this, you can ask for anything.
Eros, on the other hand, thought, after all, such a chance in life is rarely given. As soon as the titan heard the words of the king, he immediately came to mind only one "throne", but he quickly threw it out of his head. It would be too good, and even if he asked for it, he would simply be thrown out of the palace. Therefore, Eros began to think more rationally. Title? No, why should he? Since in the future he decided to become a guild master, and it is also possible to become one of the Ten Holy Mages, then some title will be useless to him. Then money? But the titan immediately threw it out of his head, because in four years he is already going to earn a lot. Artifacts? Still, there was a temptation to ask for a powerful artifact, and later to disassemble and study it, but he rejected this too. And there is only one thing left ...
- Have you chosen?
- Yes, - the titan answered confidently, - We choose knowledge, - they made this choice together when they were still in the hotel, since Eros assumed such a development of events.
- Knowledge, right? - the king's opinion in relation to these four has grown very high, nevertheless, it is not the first time he gives someone such a choice and always, as one, they chose only wealth, and Eros was the first who chose knowledge, - If so, then I will give you have access to your personal collection, you can come at any time, the guards will let you in, "his wife looked at her husband in surprise, but decided to remain silent.
- We thank you, Your Majesty.
- Oh, not worth it, - he waved his hand and called one of the guards, - Norman, escort these people, show them where my library is.
After talking for a few more minutes, they left the hall and Daton came out of the shadow of the corner.
- My king, do you really trust them that much? - he asked uncertainly, - And even give them access to your collection ?!
- Calm down, Daton, - the king said with a soft smile, - I trust them.
- What if they are spies ?! We don't know exactly who they really are! Or they might even try to kill you!
- I doubt it, they seemed like good people to me, - said the queen, stroking her husband's hand.
- Calm down, - his tone was still calm, and a smile played on his lips, - If they wanted to harm me or my wife, nothing would save us.
Duton froze like thunder.
- Are they that strong? He asked with a start.
- Kama told me that if they try to kill us, then his squad will not interfere, because for them the primary task is to protect the Palace and execute the criminals sentenced to death, and the king can always be replaced, - Tom said with a bitter smile, - Yes and you think, for such a long time in the place of the king, I will not be able to recognize the essence of a person?
- I understood you, my king, I apologize for doubting you, - the minister said, bowing deeply.
- Bring me something to drink.
- Dear!
- Well, I am a little, quite a little, - he looked pitifully at his wife.
- But, we have two more meetings scheduled with Count Dar… - Daton stammered.
- Reschedule for tomorrow, and today I take the day off.
- But ... - but seeing the king's firm gaze and seeing the queen's nod, he had no choice but to send the butler for the best wine.
***
As they walked through the palace and descended lower and lower, Eros asked the knight about the collection.
- His Majesty has the largest collection of books, among them there are many rare or even ancient ones that are hundreds of years old, I was there only once and was amazed at their number.
- Interesting, - Eros's gaze lit up after what he heard.
They had already lost him, so all three thought, looking at how Eros asked the man about everything, and he reluctantly answered him.
A few minutes later, they reached a steel door on the sides of which there were two knights, and as soon as they saw people walking towards them, they immediately grabbed their swords. But the knight accompanying them came forward and showed a small medallion. They immediately removed their hands from their swords, nodding and opening the doors.
Going inside, they froze, before them appeared dozens of wooden shelves eight meters high, filled with books on a variety of disciplines.
The King's library was in no way inferior to the same Fairy Tail, because one won in quantity, and the other in quality. And what Eros liked the most was that each section was marked and related to the same direction, that is, there was an order that he lacked so much.
Lily went to the shelves related to medicine, and Rick and Roni just started wandering around and looking for what they called "something interesting." Eros, having typed books on his specialties, sat down at the table and began natural cramming ...
Eros himself did not notice how evening came. He was brought out of the trance by Lily, who also remained in the palace, Rick and Roni had already left them a few hours ago.
Recovering himself, the titan was embarrassed to see several stacks of books around him.
- Probably read it.
- Indeed, the" book monster "suits you very much, this is a nickname, - Lily said with a cheerful smile.
Eros smiled slightly, took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.
"Still, reading at a speed of 128x for ten hours in a row is overkill."
- Come on, Rick and Roni have long left the library, and tomorrow you will still have time to read, no one kicks us out of here.
- OK OK…
***
Eros hoped to spend no more than a month in the capital, but apparently they will have to stay. After all, a whole month has passed, and the titanium has not read even half of the contents. Still, there were too many books, although he had read everything on Artifactory and Runes. At the moment, he studied the topic of "magic" in all aspects.
Also during this month, he learned an interesting thing. The queen was a magician, a conjurer of celestial spirits. In the books, of course, there was a lot of information on this magic, but getting to know it directly from the magician who uses it is much better.
*A week ago.*
- I thank you for giving me some time, - said Eros, bowing.
- So, what did you want to know from me, young man? The Queen asked with a soft smile.
- I would like you to tell about the magic of celestial spirits.
She looked at Eros in surprise.
- Hmm ... Why do you need this? I can definitely say that you are not a celestial spirit magician, like your friends.
- Interest, I want to know about all kinds of magic
- Of course I can, but wouldn't it be better to read everything from books? - she was certainly surprised by his answer, but still decided to help.
- Books are one thing, but hearing from a celestial spirit charmer is another, and in the books some topics are poorly disclosed, such as a contract, in one it is described as a contract between a master and a servant, in the other as equilateral, and in the third it is generally some kind of nonsense.
- I understood you, - nodding thoughtfully, she continued, - Well, I think two hours will be enough, yet I don't know much about this magic, if you want to know more, then you better turn to Leila Heartfilia, she is one of the strongest , and possibly the strongest spellcaster of celestial spirits.
- That's how it is, good, but still ...
- Yes, then let's start with the basics, - smiling, she took out a golden key with the sign of scales and a silver one, - The magic of the celestial spirits, basically all, the essence consists in invoking the Celestial Spirits, opening their gates with the help of the Keys of the Celestial Spirits. These keys are divided into two classes: Silver and Gold. The Silver Keys summon simple Spirits, the Golden Keys summon the Zodiac spirits possessing tremendous power. I think you have already read this in the books, - Eros nodded, - Well, about the contract, there are no slaves and servants in it, it is concluded by mutual consent of both parties. For example, if the spirit does not want to conclude a contract with you, then you cannot force it to do it, hypnosis or some other way to manipulate them will not help, that is, you have to talk to the spirit, find out at what time it can be summoned and only after that, the contract will be concluded. All clear?
- Yes, now everything has become clear, - Eros nodded rather, after Yuki's explanation, everything became much clearer, - I have a question.
- M?
- As for the fact that the spirit cannot be subdued, that is, hypnotized, I read the information in which everything was written quite the opposite. They, like ordinary people, are fed such magic.
- Did I say that? - the woman said with a smile, confusing Eros, - I said that when concluding a contract, this will not help, because as soon as he frees himself from this magic, he can easily break it, and the King of Celestial Spirits will not accept such an agreement.
- That's how it is ... How can you terminate the contract?
- If the magician wants, then he himself can do it at will, or if the magician dies, the contract is terminated automatically, - she looked thoughtfully at the keys, - I also heard that there were cases when the contract could be terminated if the magician they'll go to jail, but I can't be sure of that.
- I get it, then the next question ...
So Eros sat for almost three hours, asking the queen about everything, some questions even puzzled her herself. But still, what he wanted, the titan found out and thanking her, he returned to the hotel where he continued to ponder everything.