The first time he moved the magic items he got from the black market to the study on the second floor, which was now Angelina's apothecary workshop, he found that the set of furniture he had specially ordered for the wooden hut in the wood had been moved back to the study by Angelina.
Claude didn't know what happened between his sister and Maria for her to be so determined to leave Normanley Wood.
Angelina drove the carriage Claude brought to a furniture workshop owner's house in Whitestag. She had him buy two ready-made wooden beds and two bedside cabinets and had the owner deliver them to her house.
She planned to make Arbeit's room into a double dormitory so that Myjack and Gum would feel at home.
As for Arbeit's bed, she moved it to her workshop and placed it against the wall by the door, turning it into Claude's little nest at night.
He was busy all the way until ten before he was finally done.
His mother and brother had already gone to bed. Myjack and Gum also bade each other goodnight and went to bed after washing up.
Claude asked Angelina to stay behind and wanted to have a good talk with her to understand the situation at home.
Angelina was prepared for this. She dictated a spell and Claude felt as if a bubble barrier had appeared in the room and enveloped the entire room.
"What kind of spell is that?" Claude asked.
"Silence," Angelina replied.
"Madam Maria taught it to me. That way, no matter how loud the room is, no one outside will be able to hear it."
"Then, how's your magic training going?" Claude asked with concern.
She gave it some thought. "It's alright. I think I'll be able to become a Third Ring rune magus in another half a year.
What about you? "
Claude felt rather awkward. His face was rather pale. Angelina had started her magic training under his guidance. It had been five years since he last saw her and she had become a Second Ring rune magus. In another half a year, she would become a Third Ring rune magus.
Claude, on the other hand, was already a First Ring rune magus before he joined the army. Even after five years, he was still a First Ring rune magus.
Although he had tried his best to cultivate, his magic cultivation had been intermittent during his military career. He estimated that it would take another two or three months before he could become a two-ring rune mage.
"You should know that it's hard to find an opportunity to practice magic in the army, and I have to be careful not to let others find out. However, I think I should be able to become a two-ring rune mage in two or three months."
Claude shook his head and said sadly, "By the way, Anna, what are the seven basic spells you inscribed after becoming a two-ring rune magus?"
"After I got promoted to a Tier 2 Rune Mage, I only managed to inscribe four Basic Spells: Stone to Mud, Mud to Stone, and Flame Control.
The last one is the battle spell you taught me, Shackles of Lightning.
I believe that these three are the most useful of the Tier 1 Rune Spells recorded in the diary. Stone to Mud and Mud to Stone are two basic spells that allow me to reinforce my room and fix the holes in it. Flame Control allows me to adjust the temperature at which I fuse materials during my alchemical experiments.
Apart from these three, the other four spells can be copied into a magic tome. There's no need to inscribe them as Basic Spells.
I noticed that I don't often use these four spells in my alchemical experiments. "
Seeing how confident his sister was, he had no choice but to admit that Angelina's magic had far surpassed his own. She already had her own ideas and didn't have to do whatever he told her to do.
Claude stood up silently and took out a blank book from his black leather pouch and handed it to his sister.
Angelina took a look and didn't quite understand why he gave her a blank book.
"Just apply a healing potion on it and you'll know," said Claude.
This was the masterpiece of his little lover, Sheerah. She had copied all the magic rune structures that her mother had left for her with a potion in this blank notebook.
After the potion dried, the pages would turn blank and would only show up after applying a healing potion.
"Since you still have three slots for Basic Spells, you can consider inscribing the three Tier 1 Spells here.
One is Energy Barrier, which you have to inscribe. The other is Light Body Soaring, which allows you to traverse mountains as if they were flat ground.
The last one is Stealth, Concealment, and Evasion, which are all very useful.
As for the rest of the spells, you can choose from them and copy them into your magic book if you find them suitable. "
As Anna smeared the healing potion on the blank sheet of paper, she looked at the light blue magic array structure that appeared. She asked curiously, "Big brother, how did you get so many spells?"
"It's nothing," Claude said after some hesitation, "I got to know a magus from Higros. She lives in seclusion in the forest.
I accidentally entered her hideout and got to know her. I helped her out a little and she gave me these spells. "
"Seriously?"
Angelina was shocked. "Don't the magi of Higros want to take back the throne of the continent?
How could they live in seclusion in the forest? "
"They're different," Claude said as he pointed at the spell book in his sister's hands, "They call themselves nature magi and are close to nature.
Look at the spells here and you'll understand. Most of them are about cultivating plants and animals. "
Only then did Angelina take a closer look at the spells on the book. "Wow, Plant Nurturing and Tree Rejuvenation. These two spells are really useful.
With these two spells, I can even open up my own medicinal field to grow all kinds of medicinal herbs I need.
Brother, can I inscribe these two spells as Basic Spells? "
"Don't even think about it." Claude rejected his sister's idea.
How should he put it? Perhaps Angelina was more qualified to become a nature magus than Sheerah. Sheerah didn't care about those two spells at all. What she wanted were more powerful combat spells.
That was probably due to the difference in their environment. Sheerah lived alone in the forest. Without powerful combat spells, she couldn't even chase away the three black bears that occupied her mother's cave.
Therefore, she longed for powerful combat spells, which would be of great help to her when she lived alone in the mountains.
Angelina, on the other hand, was different from Sheerah. Not only was she a magus, but she was also a herbalist. That was why she placed great importance on the two grade-zero spells that could cultivate medicinal herbs.
With those two spells, she could start a medicinal field in the mountains and grow the herbs she needed. She wouldn't have to spend a lot of money searching for them in the market.
Seeing his sister pout to show that she was starting to get angry, he had no choice but to give her an explanation. "Anna, those two are tier-0 spells. It's a huge waste to use them on a tier-1 spell slot.
In fact, with your current mana, casting these two Tier 0 spells in the spellbook is no different from casting basic spells. It's enough for you to open up a large medicinal field to grow the herbs you need.
"Don't forget that we're magi on the wild side and we can't reveal our identities to others.
"The three spells I asked you to inscribe are all related to our personal safety.
"No matter what kind of dangerous situation we encounter, those three spells can ensure our safety to a certain extent.
Energy Barrier can protect us from spell damage, Light Flight can help us run faster, and Stealth can help us avoid being caught. That's why I asked you to inscribe those three spells. "
Angelina lowered her head in embarrassment. "I understand, Brother. I'll do as you say."
Claude reached out to pat her head in a gratified manner. It was a gesture he was very familiar with when showing affection to his sister.
But when he touched his sister's hair, he suddenly remembered that she was now a nineteen-year-old girl and no longer the crybaby lolita he remembered.
His hand suddenly froze in place, not knowing whether he should continue to touch it or not …
She didn't seem to feel anything. Instead, she bumped her head against Claude's hand and pouted. "Brother, you're trying to mess up my hair again! You're such a bad brother!"
Claude pulled his hand back with a dry chuckle. He reminded himself that she was already a grown woman and he couldn't afford to be so intimate with her anymore.
He wasn't a pervert, so he didn't want to become a sissy maniac or something.
"By the way, Brother, I'm guessing that the magus who gave you the spell was a young and pretty one, right?" Angelina suddenly asked as she looked at the spell book in her hand.
"Erm, her name is Sheila."
Claude couldn't help but be impressed by women's intuition. However, he didn't want to tell his sister about him and Sheila.
After all, she had rejected his request to come back with him. Even his wish to marry her didn't move her at all. For a man like him, that was rather embarrassing.
"It's a good thing you didn't bring her back. Otherwise, Sister Kefnie would definitely be heartbroken."
She patted her chest and said, "Do you know how long Sister Kefnie has been waiting for you? Quite a number of handsome young officers in the naval base have been trying their best to woo her, but she hasn't accepted any of them.
Her sister and brother-in-law have been trying to convince her that you won't be able to survive the battle. It's been a year and a half and all the letters she sent were returned with no results.
Every time she comes to our house, she would tell Mother that you'll come back safely.
Actually, she misses you more than Mother does. Whenever she talks about you with me, she'll cry.
She even told me a few days ago that if anything happens to you, she's going to become a nun in the wargod temple. "
Claude suddenly felt like he was the scum of the earth. He was already glad that Sheila didn't come back with him.
If Sheila really did come back with him and he wanted to marry her, there was no telling how big of a commotion it would cause at home.
Other things aside, his mother might not let Sheila marry into the family. Her son bringing a wild woman back from who-knows-where to make her the daughter-in-law of House Ferd. Abandoning his lover who had waited for him for five years would definitely become a huge piece of news in Whitestag.
He might even become the Chen Shimei of this world. His name would spread far and wide among the people and he would become a target of scorn.
His mother wasn't in good health and might fall ill from the pressure.
When Kefnie found out that the lover she had been waiting for returned with a woman, she wouldn't know what she would do in her despair. Marrying someone else would be the best outcome. The worst case scenario would be suicide. That would make him the target of everyone's scorn.
Perhaps there would be countless people who would seek to fight with him to teach him a lesson, a heartless, heartless, and heartless person.
Sheila was the one who felt the most wronged. She had always lived in the mountains and had a pure and innocent personality. Now that she was dragged into this mess for no reason, he didn't know if she would go to extremes.
If she got angry and used a spell without a care in the world, the three of them and his sister would have no choice but to run for their lives. He didn't even know if his brother and mother would be able to be with him anymore.
The more he thought about it, the more afraid he became. He had seen the mental pressure of public opinion in his previous life.
Fortunately, Sheila didn't want to come back with him. He was still a little angry at first, but now, he only felt relieved.
So be it, he thought bitterly. As long as his family was fine and his mother and brother could live happily, what else could he be dissatisfied with?
Even though he was a transmigrator, he wasn't a dragon who could take on the entire world alone.
He didn't have any power or influence in this world and was only a mere captain.
Even though his previous experiences had given him the ambition to gain power, it required time and hard work. It wasn't something he could get just because he wanted it.
Given that he couldn't make himself a big figure, the only thing he could do was wait for the right time.
"… That captain knelt on one knee before Kefnie with the brightly-colored lunar flower in his hand and swore that as long as she accepted his love, he would take good care of her for the rest of her life and let her be happy forever. However, Kefnie only told him coldly that she already had a lover of her own and that he was fighting for the kingdom's prosperity at the frontlines.
"At that moment, as an officer of the kingdom, he was trying to steal his comrade's woman. Isn't that despicable and shameless?
The captain was so angry that he covered his face and left. "
His sister was still happily recounting how Kefnie was deeply in love with Claude. In her eyes, her brother had already become an official captain of the kingdom and the uniform he wore made him look extraordinarily heroic.
Now, Claude was completely worthy of Kefnie. The officers would always say that the grapes were sour when they couldn't eat them. They secretly mocked Claude that he would still be a soldier when he returned and they would still have to salute him when they saw him.
When Kefnie was about to marry him, all the officers would parade in their uniforms in front of them. That lucky brat would have to salute them for an entire day and wouldn't even be able to put his hand down.
Now, the officers would be able to see who would be the first to salute.
Just as Angelina was immersed in her thoughts, Claude slammed the table and said sternly, "Stop talking about Kefnie. I'll go see her tomorrow.
Now, tell me about your family's situation. What exactly happened at the wood that caused you to move back … "