Chapter 23: Shadows

Stidvenson's arrival merely stirred up a small ripple in Deep Blue and soon vanished among the rolling waves. Ten days later, Liana Morninglight's return was grandeur, but it didn't attract much attention either. The legendary mage always made a grand entrance, even if it was just for an excursion to the White Deer Forest, which was only a hundred kilometers away. As for the outcome of the decisive battle between the two legends, no one knew. Even Stidvenson himself didn't receive any definite news through family channels.

Deep Blue continued to operate tensely and orderly, driven by the torrent of gold coins.

Only Gray noticed that Liana Morninglight's joy had suddenly increased a lot this month, reaching a record high of 800,000 gold coins. It was a huge sum anywhere else, but not in Deep Blue. After receiving an abnormally large amount of joy, Gray soon found that his coursework had also increased, especially the course "Foundations of Complex Magic Arrays" under the personal guidance of a Grand Mage, which naturally required advanced raw materials to practice with. Thus, in Deep Blue's distorted price system, Gray's "huge" income melted like a snowball under the sun. It was estimated that by summer, his extra income would be completely depleted, and he would have to worry about maintaining a balance between income and expenditure again.

Ailin still brought meals every day. Gray needed to eat more and more, and his eating methods became stranger, with stricter requirements for timing and frequency. What was more painful was that the food was obviously much more peculiar, some even unbearable. But with Ailin's companionship and explanations, the whole process was miraculously no longer arduous.

Every time Gray finished eating, Ailin would be intimate with him in different ways. Sometimes it was a kiss, sometimes a touch, and sometimes just a simple hug. Under the girl's guidance, Gray had roughly understood the physical structure of women. It was just that intimacy occasionally stirred the boiling blood in Gray's body, which he needed to suppress through a meditation-like method. However, in a confused state, Gray had already sensed that something would happen soon. The fruit was still unripe, but instinct was driving him to explore the depths of the girl's body. But the time the girl left after meals was not long, at most only five minutes. Every time the time was up, she would leave immediately, precise like a magic pendulum.

And on this day at the end of the month, it was time for the usual dessert after the meal.

This time, the girl held Gray's hand and gently explored a huge pearl shell button on her bodice. The surface was rough with concave-convex patterns, and the touch was particularly clear under the senses stimulated by food. Therefore, the contrast between the smooth and slippery sensation when his fingers slid and touched something else was even more prominent.

Gray suddenly felt that his body's restlessness became unusually obvious. In his haste, he glanced and saw that the button had come undone, and there was no obstacle inside. At this moment, the attraction of the girl's body was almost fatal. He suddenly pulled off the girl's last piece of clothing with force. The girl was only slightly flustered at first, then she held Gray's hand, made him stand straight, slid down along his body, and then bowed her head.

It was a fierce infusion, and the fruit was instantly close to maturity!

Just when Gray was looking forward to another infusion, Ailin suddenly jumped up and said urgently, "Oh no, time's almost up!" She quickly put on her clothes, grabbed the tableware, and ran away.

"Will something happen tomorrow..." Gray thought somewhat blankly. His heart was still beating close to the limit, so fast that he felt somewhat suffocated.

The next day, nothing he had been expecting happened. Ailin seemed to have something on her mind, and her little face revealed an unmistakable gloom. When Gray asked about it, she refused to say anything. After the meal, Ailin grabbed Gray's hand, placed it on her chest, pressed it gently, and then left in a hurry.

Intimacy had a price. Regardless of the level of contact, Ailin would charge one gold coin. Gray, who was now familiar with the prices in Deep Blue, naturally knew that one gold coin was nothing. It might not even be enough for the girl to eat her fill. So he always asked the girl a lot of questions and paid for them. It was just that the girl's charging standard was also strictly enforced, completely based on the value of the information itself, and she wouldn't take any more than that.

In fact, most of the information she could obtain was not valuable. The most expensive piece of information was that all of Papan's followers disappeared from Deep Blue after the magical duel, and some of them seemed to have never returned to their families. In addition, the entire duel was said to be related to Lianduofu, another student of Lianne Dawn. The price Eileen set for this information was 120 gold coins. Besides this, there was no information priced above 50 gold coins. So Gray knew that all the gold coins he had paid in the past month were not enough to support the girl's one-day magical practice. Of course, this was calculated based on his own standards.

From this day on, Eileen's attitude suddenly changed. Her contact with Gray became very restrained. No matter how intimate they became, she would not really pluck the fruit.

Although the fruit was already ripe.

Gray also sensed Eileen's change, but no matter how he persisted in asking or tried to beat around the bush, he could not get an answer. However, when he was eating attentively, he occasionally glanced with the corner of his eye and saw another Eileen sobbing behind the girl's bright smile. So Gray's world also darkened. Besides the daily necessary study and training, Gray had no energy for anything else. And indeed, nothing special happened in the following month. Only at a public lecture with hundreds of people, someone named Stevenson特意 walked over to greet him and introduced himself as a student of Lianne Dawn.

Then time passed as usual, and summer arrived quietly.

Eileen was getting more and more hurried. She obviously started to keep a distance from Gray and even stopped accepting the one gold coin per day. Therefore, the special meal became increasingly difficult to swallow, and the portion kept increasing over time. Gray had obviously grown taller and stronger. Basic physique was added to his curriculum, exercising his body in the way of a professional warrior. As time went by, Gray's magical training speed gradually increased, which he himself found incredible because most of his time was still occupied by heavy coursework.

With the arrival of summer, the Floating Ice Bay also entered its most beautiful season. The sea was calm like silk, the glaciers were deep blue, the sky was clear, the air was pure, and all the vegetation presented the richest colors of the year, splendid and brilliant. The number of tourists had increased significantly, and the handsome men and beautiful women sunbathing on the beach became a beautiful scenery. But Aiden Gray had no mood to appreciate it; his heart was still gloomy.

This evening, Eileen left Gray's residence as usual. As the heavy metal door closed, a magical symbol on her clothes flashed, sending the message far away. In the shadow in the distance, there stood a mage wrapped in a dark mage's robe, with sharp eyes always fixed on the girl, making her unconsciously speed up her steps. Only after the girl walked far away did the mage look at the magical timer in his hand. The received message indicated that Eileen had left Gray's residence within the specified time. He then nodded, wrapped the mage's robe tightly, and disappeared into the darkness.

Eileen quickly walked towards the passage leading to the upper level. Although the teleportation magic array was convenient, it was expensive. Only mages with official positions in Deep Blue could afford to use it frequently. The passage was just tiring and time-consuming. Anyone with a little martial arts foundation could climb from the bottom to the top in one breath, so the walking passage was the first choice for most people. The girl hurriedly walked past the corner but suddenly found someone standing in front of her. She was caught off guard and almost bumped into the other person's arms!

The girl exclaimed. Fortunately, her young body reacted quickly, so she didn't really bump into the other person. She said sorry and brushed past the other person, but her hand was tightly grasped by the other person. It was a very strong hand, making Eileen completely unable to break free, and even her wrist felt so painful that the bones seemed to crack.

"Your name is Eileen?" This was a tall young mage with a gentle voice, but the stable and unrelenting force transmitted from that hand made the sensitive Eileen know that this person was actually not good-tempered.

"I am Eileen. What should I call you?" Eileen asked politely and tried to withdraw her grasped hand unobtrusively, but her efforts were fruitless.

"My name is Stevenson. Since you also earn a little money by selling information, you should know who I am." The young mage smiled and said.

Under his sharp and cold gaze, Aileen felt like a frog stared down by a snake. A layer of cold sweat suddenly broke out on her body, and her wet clothes stuck to her, making her extremely uncomfortable. When the young mage revealed his name, her heart immediately turned ice-cold. Of course, she knew who Steevenson was. Azure belonged to Liana Dawn, and every new student she took on was headline news in Azure. Although she had clearly sensed Steevenson's malice, his identity made her powerless to resist. Besides the shock, a trace of despair emerged.

"Respected Mr. Steevenson, I always leave on time, never delaying or doing anything out of line! What else do you require from me?" Aileen cried out in panic and confusion.

Steevenson leaned slightly forward, his face close to Aileen's. His right hand first touched the girl's waist and then moved upward, fully experiencing the softness of her chest, which was not particularly full but resilient, before lifting her chin and forcibly raising her face. Their faces were so close that their noses almost touched.

"I heard you get a gold coin from Grey every day. Now, you must tell me everything about how you get this gold coin," Steevenson's voice grew deeper and lower, accompanied by a strange rustling sound, like a snake spitting out its blood-red tongue. And as he spoke, he really did lick the girl's lips with a long tongue, like a lizard.

Aileen felt chilled all over. Steevenson was gradually emitting an aura that made her extremely fearful, even making her body start to stiffen, similar to the feeling of being under a minor fear spell. This should be some kind of bloodline ability, but it made her feel even more despairing. It was rare in Azure to see someone so young able to manifest their bloodline abilities.

However, Steevenson's words made the girl's eyes light up. She didn't know where she found the strength, but she suddenly pushed Steevenson away and shouted, "You're not from the Enforcement Mage Corps!"

Steevenson was taken aback, then chuckled and said, "I didn't expect you to be so clever! I'm indeed not a member of the Enforcement Mage Corps, but..."

"No buts! Don't touch me again! If you insist, I'll scream," the girl's voice grew louder. This was a remote area, and each area had good control over the direction and amount of sound wave transmission to avoid excessive noise and echoes. So the girl's voice wouldn't carry far; screaming loudly wouldn't help. The key was that every public area in Azure had magical recording equipment. The girl's screams were only to be recorded by the magical recording equipment. Azure was the domain of the legendary mage. If Steevenson used violence to get the girl's body, Liana Dawn would know about it soon. Given the temper of the legendary mage, the best outcome for Steevenson would be like Landorf, beaten up and then stripped of his apprenticeship and expelled from Azure.

Everyone in Azure had a corresponding price, and the girl was clear about her own value. She believed that no normal person would give up their status as an apprentice to a legendary mage just to get her body.

Steevenson indeed stopped and didn't intend to take further action. The girl didn't want to provoke him too much; there was something about this man that made her shiver. So Aileen didn't stay longer and turned to run in the direction of the teleportation array. Even if it cost her a lot more money, she didn't want to get close to Steevenson again.

"Maybe you can reconsider," came Steevenson's voice from behind Aileen, along with another sound that made her hesitate—the crisp sound of gold coins colliding.

"At least two hundred gold coins!" The fine clinking sound instinctively allowed the girl to estimate the approximate number of gold coins. So she slowly stopped and turned back.

"I'm safe anyway..." the girl thought, but her heart was beating faster.

Steevenson was still standing in place, looking at her like a wolf staring at its prey, smiling calmly and confidently. A exquisite leather money pouch was jumping up and down in his right hand, constantly emitting the enticing sound of gold coins colliding. The pouch wasn't large but was sufficiently bulky. At first glance, Aileen was even more certain of her initial judgment—at least two hundred gold coins. Moreover, her extensive experience, keen perception, and the dim environment allowed the girl to notice that the pouch was emitting a faint magical glow. It was a money pouch made of enchanted leather!

Leather that could be enchanted was expensive, and using enchanted leather to make a money pouch was even more rare. Only the direct descendants of true aristocratic families could afford such a luxurious act. The enchantments on a money pouch could be "space" to increase actual storage capacity, "lightness" to make the pouch and its contents lighter, or "durability." Even the worst, purely decorative "gleam," would make the value of a money pouch far exceed the gold coins it could contain.

Stivenson's smile increasingly resembled a venomous snake, while the frog felt powerless to escape. "I touched you just now, so this is the reward you deserve. Come, take it!"

Aileen felt only a dryness in her throat, unable to utter a word. She wanted to turn and run immediately, but her feet moved toward Stivenson, and various thoughts kept colliding in her mind.

"He won't force me anymore, and he already touched me just now, so this money is just a compensation for what has happened, isn't it..." In the midst of her chaotic thoughts, Aileen suddenly realized that she had unconsciously walked to Stivenson. And as if knowing what she was thinking, Stivenson directly grabbed her hand, placed the money pouch in her palm, and said with a devilish smile, "The money pouch is also for you."

"But, I..." Aileen felt so dry in her throat that she couldn't even say a complete sentence. She felt that everything was not quite right, but she couldn't pinpoint what was wrong.

"I know you need money now, and the tradition of Deep Blue emphasizes fair and voluntary transactions. So I have a suggestion for you. If..." Stivenson paused, his gaze sweeping from top to bottom over the girl's body, making her shiver instantly, before continuing, "If you can maintain your current physical state and accompany me to bed, you will definitely receive a satisfactory reward. For example, I can repay all your debts for you..."

"No, I can't..." Aileen shook her head vigorously, her face turning pale. She stepped backward, her hand tightly gripping the money pouch, her finger joints turning bluish-white due to excessive force.

Stivenson stood with his hands behind his back, not intending to coerce her at all. Instead, he said, "Take your time; you can consider it slowly. My suggestion is valid within one month."

Aileen suddenly turned and fled.

Behind Stivenson, Minnie appeared like a ghost. Her light-colored eyes fixed on the departing figure of the girl and said coldly, "People who live in the marginal areas of the lower class would do anything for money. Are all the people you're interested in like this? If so, then don't even think about touching me."

Stivenson suddenly smiled and said in a low voice, "Our marriage contract has already been established. According to the rules, I can touch you in any way I want now!"

He pulled Minnie to his front and directly inserted his right hand into her robe, rubbing and groping forcefully. Minnie's face had turned pale due to anger, but her struggles and resistance were all futile. At seventeen, Stivenson was physically strong, completely dominating Minnie, who was still a teenage girl.

"The teacher won't let you off!" Minnie screamed hysterically. She waved her hands and kicked her feet, resisting futilely, seemingly forgetting that she was a mage and a newly adult girl.

"Teacher?" Stivenson sneered and said, "Without the financial support of the Soram family, could you even afford the tuition at Deep Blue? Too many changes have happened in just one month. Without our Soram's assistance, Duke Neo might not even be able to keep his own territory. He is now eager to exchange every gold coin for enchanted arrows. How could he have the means to support a talented daughter studying at Deep Blue? Don't be naive. If he really had the ability, why would he sell you to the Sorams?"

Upon hearing the word "sell," Minnie's face turned even more pale and dismal. In terms of the underlying transaction of this marriage contract, the naked and urgent exchange of interests was not much different from buying and selling.

"Without me, dear Miss Minnie, your enjoyable life at Deep Blue, the dazzling aura of being the personal disciple of a legendary mage, will all be gone tomorrow! Have you really considered it clearly?" Stivenson's words were as cold as the wind from a frozen hell, making Minnie's whole body stiff, and her struggles became weaker and weaker. His hand, just like his voice, was icy cold, slowly sliding downward. "Dear Miss Minnie, if you have considered it clearly, then please spread your legs."

Minnie suddenly trembled violently, tears streaming from her tightly closed eyes.

Stivenson then resumed his elegant aristocratic tone and even smiled, saying, "Regarding Aileen, there's only one reason why I'm interested in her: our Aiden Gray clearly likes her a bit, so I want to make her my woman first. And regarding Aiden Gray, you will definitely help me."

"My dear Minnie, you've been too focused on studying magic that you haven't paid attention to the outside world for a long time, or even to our family's news. You probably don't know who is attacking Lord Neo's territory. But it's alright, I can tell you. It's Lady Alize Akmond. And our Aiden Gray's full name is Aiden Gray Akmond. Dear, do you see the connection now? Heh, actually, you should feel relieved. If it was Aiden Gray's father, Gavin Warsong Akmond, attacking Lord Neo's territory, your father wouldn't have lasted until our Soram family's reinforcements arrived! At that point, do you think you would still be worth a marriage contract with the Sorams? If that day ever came, you would be no different from Aileen in the marginal regions. A daughter of a landless marquis, her body could be bought back with gold coins. Even if you were more expensive than her, you would still be valued in gold coins."

"Alright, having said so much, you should know that Aiden Gray is our common enemy. So, help me, dear."

Stivenson patted Minnie's face and then looked at her satisfiedly as her gaze towards Aiden Gray's residence was now filled with unmistakable hatred.