"A more concrete reward...?"
President Brenda and Valger exchanged a look.
In truth, they both felt a sense of relief that Ansu was directly asking for a 'reward'.
After all, this young man with a mysterious background and unfathomable strength had helped them more than once or twice.
There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world; if the other party never made any demands, it would be even more unsettling, as that often meant they were plotting for something far more unbearable.
"Then, may I ask..." Valger inquired tentatively, "What kind of reward do you want, Ansu?"
"First." Ansu looked at Valger with a serious tone. "You need to hand over all the crimson marrowstone in your possession, along with the associated magic formulas used for detonation."
"That is certainly possible." Valger nodded immediately.
After learning of Barcas's plot, it was impossible for him to maintain any connection with that evil demon leader. Keeping those dangerous crystals in his hands was nothing but a disaster waiting to happen.
As for handing over the magic formulas...
Valger's gaze instinctively drifted toward Heidi, who was jumping around the tavern chasing after Vera.
Some time ago, Ansu had given him a miraculous 'inhibiting serum'. At first, he had been skeptical, but he hadn't expected the medicine to actually suppress the increasingly severe pollution symptoms on Heidi's body.
For those few days, the father and daughter had been so happy they could hardly sleep.
To ensure Heidi continued to receive treatment, he had already resolved to accept the olive branch Ansu extended and join his team, so sharing these techniques was only natural.
Seeing Valger agree so readily, Ansu nodded with satisfaction.
"Very well."
His gaze slowly turned toward President Brenda, who had remained silent throughout.
"As for you, Madam President." Ansu proposed with a smile, "Before I state my purpose, I would like to invite the members of the magic mutual aid association to assist me in completing a crucial experiment."
"What experiment?" Brenda's brow slowly furrowed.
"We have made a breakthrough in the solution to the problem of magic pollution."
Ansu's voice was clear and steady, yet it sounded like a thunderclap in their ears.
"What!?" Valger's eyes widened, his expression a mix of shock and joy.
President Brenda froze for a moment, her aged eyes filled with astonishment.
She had indeed held onto hope for this, but she hadn't expected progress to be so rapid, to the point where she briefly doubted if she had misheard him.
"I guessed you would be shocked, perhaps even find it hard to believe." Ansu took in their reactions. "So, it is better to let the facts speak for themselves."
With that, his gaze swept across the tavern.
Although the mages of the association were deliberately keeping their voices low, their eyes had remained focused on this corner.
"May I invite a fellow mage to come over?" Ansu asked, his gaze landing on a table not far away.
Sitting there was a haggard middle-aged mage with deep-set eyes.
His name was Old Jason, and he had long suffered from the 'whispers' that followed spellcasting; recently, he had even begun to see hallucinations that didn't exist.
Even casting the most basic 1st Circle magic caused Old Jason immense pain, making him a perfect case for demonstrating the results.
"Old Jason, would you like to try the new type of magic our team has created?" Ansu's voice was calm.
"New... magic?" Old Jason looked up blankly, his eyes somewhat unfocused.
"We call it Safe Magic." Ansu explained patiently, but his words were earth-shattering. "To be precise, it is a type of magic that allows you to cast spells without being eroded by pollution."
"How is that possible!?"
Not only was Old Jason stunned, but the entire tavern fell into a buzzing discussion.
Astonishment, doubt, and various emotions surged one after another.
Magic pollution was the 'Sword of Damocles' hanging over every mage's head, an universally accepted price that could not be eradicated.
Safe Magic? It sounded like a pipe dream!
"This is the only way you can be saved." Ansu's gaze calmly swept over the others. "If you don't want to try, I'll pick someone else."
"I'll try! I'll give it a try!"
Old Jason hurriedly squeezed through the crowd and stumbled over.
Ansu said no more and opened a notebook he had prepared beforehand. It contained a 1st Circle magic specifically prepared by him and Celia for testing—【Acid Splash】.
In the time that followed, Ansu taught the guiding incantation and the corresponding magic structure to Old Jason.
Thanks to the fact that the 【Ring of Pure Protection】 was indeed streamlined, and that Old Jason himself was a very experienced mage, learning this piece of magic didn't take much time.
Subsequently, Old Jason walked toward a wall with a skeptical expression.
He extended a slightly trembling finger and concentrated his mental power, beginning to construct that familiar yet somewhat different spell model according to the method Ansu had taught him.
Inside the tavern, everyone watched Old Jason without blinking, the atmosphere silent.
After a brief incantation, a glob of eerie green acid struck the stone wall.
A pungent scent filled the air, and soon, the acid spread rapidly, leaving a clear mark on the wall surface.
The spell was complete.
But Old Jason froze in place.
He looked as if he had witnessed an impossible miracle, his pupils gradually dilating.
"There... there was no voice..."
"It's gone? When I cast the spell, inside my head... it was quiet!?"
Old Jason turned back with joy and looked at everyone. "It's true! This magic is truly safe!"
With a bang, the noisy discussions and cries of surprise exploded.
"Really!?"
"Old Jason has been tortured by backlash for years! He just added that little bit of something? And... and he can block the pollution?"
"What was that structure? I think I saw a few runes clearly..."
The mages' gazes instantly became incredibly burning.
Everyone stared intently at Ansu, their eyes filled with longing and a reverence that bordered on worship.
"Lord Ansu! Please... teach me too!"
"Magic is saved! We are truly saved!"
The waves of excitement almost lifted the roof off the tavern. A few non-mage demihuman regulars watched the boiling crowd of mages in stunned silence, feeling as if they were all losing their minds together.
President Brenda and Valger were even more shocked, unable to stay seated; they knew better than anyone what this meant.
One must know that for nearly a thousand years, the entire magic world had been shrouded in a pessimistic consensus.
People believed the problem of magic pollution was unsolvable.
Magic was dead.
Yet Ansu had allowed them to see a glimmer of light in this desperate situation.
The way the two of them looked at Ansu now was quite different.
Such a great achievement... was born from his team? This team of theirs had practically saved the entire magic world!
With this merit alone, even if they were made leaders in the hearts of all mages, they would be fully qualified!
Feeling the fanatical atmosphere of the scene, the corners of Ansu's mouth couldn't help but rise slightly.
So fanatical... no wonder they all liked giving speeches so much.
But to maintain his mysterious and high-status persona.
Ansu still tried to press his lips together, suppressing the smile back into his eyes and leaving a look of indifference on his face.
He raised his hand and pressed down slightly. The boiling tavern quickly quieted down as everyone looked at him with bated breath.
"This kind of magic, I can certainly teach to all of you."
The structure of the magic formula was simple enough that there was no learning threshold; even if he wanted to monopolize it, he couldn't.
Of course, his original intention was to make it open-source.
That was why Ansu had left his own little 'Easter egg' within the 【Ring of Pure Protection】, essentially placing an advertisement for his team.
The Magic Safety Standardization Committee.
"I have always hoped to save magic and save every fellow mage."
"To let magic return to being that great discipline of seeking the truth of the world."
Ansu's voice was not loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.
The fire of hope burned in every pair of eyes.
"But." Ansu's tone shifted as his gaze fell back onto President Brenda's face. "I have one condition."
"In order to facilitate the rapid spread of Safe Magic throughout the magic world—"
"I need to become the President of the Magic Mutual Aid Association."
As those words fell, the entire tavern fell into silence.
All the mages looked toward the president standing to the side, Brenda.
Brenda hadn't expected Ansu to propose such a condition. Today, shocking events had come one after another...
So...
Ansu was actually after this?
He had laid so much groundwork, and in the end, he was aiming for... her position?
On Brenda's aged face, the wrinkles seemed to deepen at this moment as she tried her best to think of Ansu's true purpose behind this move.
"My goal is actually very simple." As if seeing through what the president was thinking, Ansu walked over and whispered to the old lady.
"Perhaps you and Valger have already noticed that our research team... is not quite legal in the Empire."
"So I need the identity of a legal organization to continue advancing these studies that truly benefit all fellow mages."
Ansu had this concept in mind for a long time. The Northern Magic Mutual Aid Association was the key to allowing the cult to operate legally.
"Is that so..." Brenda looked at Ansu with suspicion and surprise.
Ansu shrugged slightly. "With our team's strength, we could actually achieve our goal without your consent, couldn't we?"
"That is indeed true..." Valger's expression was complex.
He had witnessed the unfathomable experts around Ansu; the subtle pressure each of them emitted made his heart race.
If Ansu wanted to wipe out the magic mutual aid association, it would be as easy as blowing away dust.
Furthermore, Ansu hadn't hidden much from him. In Lawrence Manor, he had occasionally heard them mention terms like 'cult' and 'Lord Hermit'...
An ancient black magic organization hidden deep in the shadows surfaced in his mind.
The Echoes of Truth cult.
Indeed, only such an organization would never give up the most dangerous explorations into the source of magic to challenge this nearly unsolvable chronic disease.
"I actually... have no attachment to this position." Brenda looked at Ansu, then slowly scanned the familiar faces in the tavern.
Finally, she let out a slow sigh, her voice filled with exhaustion.
"I am old and my energy is failing. In truth... I have been looking for a suitable successor for a long time."
Her gaze swept over Valger. "Originally, I had my heart set on Valger. He is very talented, but his personality is too extreme..."
"If not for Lord Ansu this time, the disaster he nearly caused... would have been a catastrophic tragedy that destroyed all of Norvigel."
Valger lowered his head in shame.
President Brenda looked back at Ansu, her eyes complex.
"The Mutual Aid Tavern... in my heart, is not just a place that sells a few cups of cheap barley beer."
"The previous president and I always hoped... that in this world full of discrimination, here in the North, there would be a good place for mages to find shelter and support each other."
Ansu met her gaze. "I understand. Please believe me, the magic mutual aid association will not deviate from its name or its original intentions."
President Brenda stared at him for a long time.
Finally.
"Very well..."
"I hope you can truly bring... a better future for the mages."
Valger was not surprised by this result. He smiled at Ansu and said, "Then, President Ansu, I'll be in your care from now on."
...
The next morning, Ansu vaguely felt something unusual in his sleep and slowly opened his eyes.
He looked toward the bedroom door with bleary eyes.
He felt as if... someone was outside the door, quietly peeking at him.
But he couldn't sense any dangerous aura...
Strange.
Ansu rubbed his eyes and propped himself up. Just then—
He clearly saw a shadow flash past the gap under the door.
He froze for a moment, then threw off the covers, got out of bed, and pulled open the door.
"Freya...?"
In the hallway, the pink-haired girl was tiptoeing away. She clearly hadn't expected Ansu to suddenly open the door and couldn't hide in time, freezing in place.
"Lord, Lord Ansu..."
"Good morning~~"
Freya turned around, a smile even brighter than the dawn blooming on her face as she tried to hide her embarrassment.
"You..." Ansu studied her suspiciously. "Why are you walking back and forth outside my door so early in the morning instead of sleeping?"
"I..." Freya's cheeks instantly turned bright red. She waved her hands and quickly explained, "Lord Ansu, please don't misunderstand! I wasn't monitoring you! I wasn't darkly peeking at you while you slept either..."
"Oh, is that so..." Ansu looked at her helplessly, then glanced at the sky outside the hallway window.
It was just barely light outside.
With a sigh, Ansu studied the hesitant Freya, who clearly had something on her mind. "Do you... have something to talk to me about?"
Freya hesitated for a long time before finally speaking in a small voice, "Lord Ansu... have you... finished most of the things you needed to do lately?"
"Let me think." Ansu rubbed his chin and began to ponder.
"First, the most important problem of magic pollution has been solved. Then, I successfully became the new president of the magic mutual aid association... Next, we need to promote Safe Magic on a large scale to deepen our influence in the magic world. I also need to publish a paper with Professor Duncan to formally announce this breakthrough to the magic academic world..."
As Ansu listed the items one by one, Freya listened to his seemingly endless 'to-do list', and the small bit of expectation and joy on her face dimmed bit by bit.
Finally, she lowered her head sadly, and the smile she was trying to maintain gradually became strained.
Midway through speaking, Ansu suddenly noticed the change in her mood and quickly stopped.
He almost forgot... the great plan to protect the little Holy Maiden's mental health!
"Actually..." Ansu's tone became lighthearted. "Most of those specific execution tasks can be left to the people below. As for myself, I don't have much to be busy with right now."
"Really? That's wonderful!" Freya's eyes instantly lit up.
"Lord Ansu, since you have time..."
She took a small step closer.
"I think the weather today is quite nice, so why don't we go..."
Freya lowered her head, her face flushing as she couldn't bring herself to say 'on a date'.
"Ah, right!" Ansu remembered his previous promise to her—to take her out once he was done.
"Sure, Freya." Ansu agreed with a smile. "I think today is a perfect day."
"Yay!"
Freya was so happy she almost jumped.
"Lord Ansu, wait for me! I'll be ready very soon... really soon!"
After saying that, she turned like a happy butterfly and lightly ran back to her room to get dressed up.
Watching her jubilant departure, Ansu quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
This is good... the Miss Witch is busy collecting experimental data from the association members and hasn't mentioned a date. The timing finally worked out.
Ansu, the master of time management.
To ensure life, health, and safety, avoid the field of carnage!
But just as he turned to go back into his room—
"Buzz."
As luck would have it, his Communication Amulet suddenly flickered.
Ansu's eyelid twitched as an ominous premonition suddenly surged, and he hurriedly pulled out the Communication Amulet.
「Ansu, do you have time?」
「The weather is so nice today, let's go on a date!」
Ansu: "......"
Rate on N.U.
