Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Hill urged Alice, "Then you should persuade him. He lives too close to the human world. It's only a matter of time before he gets driven away. And Alice, if you still have friends around here, tell them to move away soon."

"Is this related to your recent trip?"

"Somewhat, the human kingdom Saral nearby is going to have trouble, there might be a fight," stated Hill as he stood up to change his robe, "A new deity has emerged. A God War might break out. There will be more humans around here soon."

Alice meowed loudly a few times in curse.

Hill looked at him, realizing even Spirits of Nature could curse. Indeed, humans rarely communicated with these beings. The innocence and cuteness depicted in legends are all human fantasies.

However, it amused Hill that even when cursing, Spirits of Nature reverted to their own language.

After cursing for a while, Alice turned to Hill and said, "Can I invite some friends to temporarily stay on your land?"

"As long as they don't harm anyone, they can come any time. But they must promise nature: not to harm anyone in my land."

"Hill, won't you invite more humans to live here?"

"I am going to build a small village at the entrance of the valley to host any newcomers. My only relatives are Mage Fran and Adrian. As for the others in the valley, except for Boen, no one has the capability to harm your friends."

"Okay. Boen is good too," Alice said simply. "I will tell them. For creatures with long lifespans, God Wars are truly disgusting."

She jumped onto the window, turned to Hill, and said, "I'll go talk to Merkel. He will make his choice. If he doesn't sign the contract, then abandon the mine. Can he move here too?"

"Only if he swears."

"Hill is the best, meow~"

Hill shouted, "Go to List for some food and let Merkel know, the only good thing about humans is that they have a lot of food!"

Alice meowed and ran off.

When Hill walked into the sitting room, Fran and Adrian were already seated, waiting for him to join them for breakfast.

Boen was standing at the door, apparently prepared to serve.

Hill glanced at Boen, then turned to Fran, "What about my grandfather's attendants? How long will it take for them to arrive?"

Fran spoke slowly, "Most are gone. I entered the capital alone. The servants were assigned by the Royal Palace, they returned there after I left. When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter, and many in my merchant group left too; there's no place for them to trade in the wilderness. There are still about a dozen people, I asked them to leave gradually."

Hill had no choice but to steel himself and ask, "And the apprentices?"

Fran lifted his eyelid, "What do you want to ask? You know my apprentices are contracted with the Magic Tower, don't you?"

"I am a Magician," Hill stated calmly. "Although Boen has a good foundation learning from me, I don't know how to teach him to enter the Mage stage."

"Do you want him to come with me?"

Hill glanced sideways, motioning Boen to keep quiet, "Grandfather, you need people to follow and serve you. Uncle Adrian is already an Archmage. There are many tasks that are inappropriate for him to handle. And grandfather, you need attendants, at the very least someone to cook, right?"

Adrian interjected, "Do you want their whole family to come with us?"

"I hope Aunt Lina can be freed from her servile status, but they are still very restrained," Hill explained. "But if they follow you as family members of an apprentice, they'll just be ordinary civilians."

Hill was clearly regretful, "In your area, living outside the tower means they are Free Citizens. Here, I can't let go and have them live out in a farmstead struggling, even if it's better for them, I can't do it. Since grandfather's attendants from the Royal Palace didn't come, no one will treat them as slaves anymore. I actually can't bear it, but I can't teach Boen, and Boen's siblings are growing up too—I don't want them to live a life of lesser status like Boen."

Adrian said, "The two of them don't have Mage Aptitude."

Hill turned his head and said, "They both learned to read from a young age, and they know a little about Mage Knight knowledge. If they lived with the people from Grandfather's trading company, at the very least they could become merchants."

He finally added emphatically, "I don't want Boen to stay here, clearly an apprentice yet living like a servant. His younger siblings should marry ordinary people, not choose someone from among the servants in the end."

He looked at Fran pleadingly: "Grandfather, please help me. Moreover, Boen is trained as a butler, he can do many things for you. Lina and Locke could also help you train the servants."

Fran thought for a moment: "That could work. I still need some apprentices to do work. You've trained this Boen well, his foundation is solid. But becoming an Archmage depends on opportunity, he might as well manage the apprentices."

Hill was extremely happy: "Thank you, Grandfather!"

Boen couldn't control his emotions and turned to leave the room, Hill quickly stood up.

Fran picked up his knife and fork and said, "Dining time is half an hour, we'll set off immediately afterward."

Hill picked up a sandwich from his plate and chased after Boen out the door.

As expected, Boen was waiting outside. Emotionally, he asked Hill, why did he have to go to Fran's place?

Hill pulled him back to his own bedroom, tightly closing the door: "What I just said wasn't complete, but the reasons are similar. The main reason is for your and Dean and Shani's sake. Also, Lina and Locke are old now, they really shouldn't continue to work hard as servants!"

Boen asked, "Are there any other reasons? These aren't important! And mom and dad don't think it's hard."

Hill said, "Yes, there's another most important reason, I can't ruin your future. There are many things I hadn't anticipated before. Becoming a Magician, many things are too different. All my past plans were based on a Mage's standpoint. You don't feel it now because the Earth-Wood-Water Element is good for ordinary people, at least it ensures good health.

But these are an obstacle to your path as a Mage. I absolutely can't use Fire Element Spells, and the growth and summoning of Earth-Wood-Water Elemental Spirits won't stop. But this will exclude the Fire Element from the territory.

But your family all has Fire Element Aptitude. If you're at Fran's place, you might still become an Archmage, but with me, you couldn't even become a Mage.

Also, for Dean and Shani, they don't have Mage Aptitude, and Knight awakening can only rely on their physical fitness. In a place devoid of Fire Element, there's no possibility of awakening."

Boen murmured, "But I'm your butler! Let them go, let mom and dad accompany them! I'll stay."

Hill said bluntly, "Do you think my grandfather is what? A philanthropist? If you weren't useful, he wouldn't consider taking Dean and the others. And Boen, you should know, I will only prioritize you."

He quickly finished his sandwich and continued, "Grandfather and Uncle Adrian realized early on that my land wasn't suitable for Mages, that's why they were eager to build the Mage Tower. I only understood it myself last night.

If I don't cram you in now, once Uncle Adrian gets everything sorted out, you'd be useless. An Alchemist Master like Grandfather mostly uses Alchemy Golems for daily tasks. You've seen, List mostly needs maids for laundry and cooking. Grandfather's Tower Spirit will only be more powerful.

Boen, I hope you have a bright future, if I let you remain my servant forever, why would I teach you so much?"

He stopped Boen from objecting: "I absolutely won't allow you to waste your own future. Initially, my idea for you was exactly the position Grandfather has now given you. But now I can no longer take apprentices here. Staying here, you would only be out of place. Boen, you're already 20 years old, think more about yourself!"

Boen hung his head and remained silent.

Hill sadly looked at him: Boen had followed him since childhood, Hill was his faith. But he couldn't stay any longer.

Hill knew that sending Boen and his family away would leave him alone. Although it's close by, Fran's Magic Tower wouldn't be as relaxed as here, Boen would no longer have casual days.

Hill couldn't always go see him. In front of Fran, the more indifferent the behavior, the better. And he also didn't want to go there often and affect Uncle Adrian.

He gave Fran ordinary reasons that would pass scrutiny, but absolutely couldn't say that it was because his identity as a Magician would impede Boen. Because his nanny's family was diligent and had no more use after adulthood, it's quite normal among noble children to let them go free and find them a better path. But if it were due to serving him that would impede a servant's future and release them, affecting the master's servants absolutely wouldn't end well.

Fran and Uncle Adrian are both such traditional nobles. Hill had noticed early on that Uncle Adrian always scrutinized Lina, eventually deciding Hill was just soft-hearted and didn't bother further. But his feelings for Lina weren't that deep, Lina's greatest love was for Melanie; her love was directed at Melanie's children, those complex emotions, if Hill were just an ordinary child might not perceive them, it's just a pity Hill was already over forty years old in his previous life, having experienced the most genuine parental love, he could tell.

Only Boen, who had been determined to follow Hill since childhood, always considered Hill in every moment. He would even hide his own parents for Hill. He was Hill's most important childhood playmate, Boen's given Hill the only unconditional love he's received in this world for the past decade or more.

Uncle Adrian always thought he taught Boen magic because of Lina. But Hill, as someone grown up in modern society, where likes and dislikes are clear, had long been accustomed to an equal give and take. If it were just Lina's family, he definitely would arrange things well for them in Saral, not burdened by taking them along.