Chapter 188 The Unavoidable Reality

At Shaoke's words, the Fifth Tier mage smiled to himself but did not speak up. However, Mage Roman, perhaps because she was familiar with him, merely pouted dismissively, showing she didn't mind Shaoke's remarks. Fortunately, in his somewhat agitated state, he didn't notice.

"Could you explain in detail why the military agreed to Mage Xueye's request?" After another toast drink, Mage Roman initiated the topic. Naturally, this subject would at least capture the mages' attention, preventing the conversation from falling into silence.

The Fifth Tier female mage nodded and quietly recounted the events within the military to the two young mages. However, she only provided a brief overview before cautioning Shaoke, "Mage Xueye, the military does not wish to see you defy orders like this again. Your temper is not what a mage should have."

"My current temper is indeed a bit poor," Shaoke admitted without hesitation to everything the Fifth Tier mage said. "If the military's appointments are reasonable, such incidents will definitely not happen again." He then added, "There have been precedents for this matter before. Why is it not allowed in my case? If it's not permitted, I have no choice but to leave. I am not obligated to stay in the military; I have other places to go." Of course, both women knew the place he meant.

Faced with Shaoke's retort, Mage Roman and the other Fifth Tier mage had to switch to a new topic. They didn't want to dwell too much on a matter that had already passed, as it held no significance now.

As the Fifth Tier female mage shifted the topic to discuss the situation in the capital, the atmosphere among the mages grew even more harmonious. Unfortunately, with the music starting, their conversation was forced to a halt.

Shaoke called over a maid and inquired about the situation, learning that a banquet was held every night on the top floor of this tavern. These banquets were organized by nobles or merchants, and guests dining here could join in, even if they didn't know the host.

Tables and chairs were quickly moved aside by attendants, clearing a large space for guests to dance. However, the host of the banquet had not yet arrived, so the atmosphere wasn't particularly lively. Still, many guests stood up to invite partners and began dancing. Since the banquet here wasn't overly formal, the guests enjoyed considerable freedom.

"You two chat here; I'm going to dance." The Fifth Tier female mage's small face flushed, her beautiful eyes fixed intently on the dancing couples, quickly revealing her love for dancing. Seeing Shaoke and the others nod in understanding, she quickly stood up, set down her staff, and moved toward the center, hoping to find a suitable dance partner. Although it wasn't easy, the female mage patiently wandered around, pursuing her interest.

Shaoke and Mage Roman simply changed positions and continued their intimate conversation. Meanwhile, Female Mage Roman, seeing that no one was paying attention to them, placed her small feet between Shaoke's legs as before, feeling the warmth emanating from him.

"Mage Xueye, let's leave this place!" After a short while, the Fifth Tier female mage, her face pale, interrupted Shaoke and the others' conversation. Seeing that Shaoke and the others had noticed her, she added, "I don't think this place suits us, so we should leave." As she spoke, her voice even choked up, and her small hands tightly gripped her delicate staff.

"What happened?" Seeing the Fifth Tier female mage's distressed expression, Shaoke immediately realized she had encountered a problem while looking for a dance partner—one severe enough to make a Fifth Tier female mage retreat without regard for her status. "I want to know exactly what happened," he said, swiftly placing the staff he had been toying with into the pouch on his back and covering it with his cloak. "What could make a Fifth Tier mage like you act this way?" Shaoke pressed the visibly upset Fifth Tier female mage again.

Seeing Shaoke's series of actions, Mage Roman nervously grabbed his arm. "Xueye, can we just rest here for a while before leaving?" she pleaded, looking at him with imploring eyes. She knew that whatever had upset a Fifth Tier mage to this extent was not something they, as Fourth Tier Mages, could resist, even with the military's backing. Worse still, they weren't on a mission, so the female mage couldn't be sure if the military would assist them in such a situation.

The Fifth Tier female mage bit her lip hard until blood trickled from her mouth but didn't answer Shaoke's question. She simply looked at him with pleading eyes, hoping he would agree to leave with her. After all, as a High-rank Mage, she couldn't abandon the other two mages and leave alone.

Seeing the two female mages' expressions, Shaoke—whose emotions had grown increasingly volatile after over a decade of hunting mages—suddenly grabbed the crystal cup adorned with fine gemstones from the table and slammed it onto the thickly carpeted floor. "Fine, we'll leave," Shaoke took a deep breath, trying to calm his emotions. He realized his already irritable temper hadn't improved upon seeing Mage Roman; instead, the events in the capital over the past few days had worsened his mood.

"Xueye, you should control your emotions. I feel you're not like your former self," Female Mage Roman said worriedly, grabbing Shaoke's arm and urging him to calm down. Meanwhile, the Fifth Tier female mage continued biting her lip, lost in thought as she followed Shaoke and the others outside.

Compared to the still lively and dancing guests, Shaoke and his companions seemed quite lonely. Fortunately, the mages didn't mind and only wished to leave as soon as possible.

"Honorable Mage, this is your bill for today," a young maid smiled as she handed a high-quality sandalwood paper to Shaoke and the others, quietly waiting for the mages to settle the payment.

Shaoke took it and glanced over it calmly. "Premium Frani Blue Wine costs only three common gold coins in other taverns, but here it's thirty. Superior Snowpeak Wine is twenty common gold coins elsewhere, but here it's two hundred." Reading the list, Shaoke recited the normal prices of these wines one by one, then cast an inquiring look at the maid, awaiting her explanation.

Hearing the expenses Shaoke mentioned, the two female mages' expressions turned quite unpleasant. Although they knew the costs here would be higher than elsewhere, they hadn't expected such a steep increase. This single bill amounted to thousands of common gold coins. Based on the two female mages' monthly allowances, they could barely cover less than a tenth of the total.

After hearing Shaoke's inquiry, the maid maintained her sweet smile and explained in detail that most of these wines were over a century old, hence the higher prices.

However, the maid's explanation didn't satisfy the three mages. Since they drank wine provided by the military every few days, they could easily discern the age of these wines. This was especially true for Female Mage Roman, who loved drinking and spent her entire monthly allowance on alcohol. Fortunately, the magic materials for her experiments were provided by the Blizzard Legion, so her experiments weren't halted.

The two female mages frowned and voiced their opinions. The Fifth Tier mage was no longer in a hurry to leave, as she didn't have enough money to cover this expense. She estimated that all the money the three mages carried combined wouldn't be enough to pay for today's consumption.

The young maid explained in detail again, insisting that the wines were indeed over a century old. This left the mages feeling helpless. Finally, an increasingly irritated Shaoke stopped the two female mages' explanations and tried to keep his voice calm. "Go find the person in charge here. I think what comes next is more than you can handle," he said, taking a common gold coin from his magic bag and gently tossing it on the ground.

The maid quickly understood Shaoke's gesture. She opened her mouth to say something but, seeing Shaoke repeatedly tighten his cloak, quickly left. As Shaoke had said, what would happen next was beyond her ability to handle, so she needed to find a senior manager.

The maid's departure didn't prompt Shaoke and the others to leave, as several idle attendants and maids were closely watching them. Moreover, the mages' limited dignity wouldn't allow them to leave in such a manner.

A middle-aged man in luxurious clothing soon arrived before Shaoke and the others, led by the maid. He first glanced at Shaoke, then looked at the two female mages. When his gaze passed over the Fifth Tier female mage's bleeding lips, he quietly instructed a maid to fetch medicine for the mage's use. Of course, the Fifth Tier female mage firmly declined his offer.

"Three mages, I believe there's been some misunderstanding about the situation here, so..." Seeing the Fifth Tier female mage reject his goodwill, the middle-aged man merely smiled slightly and said nothing more. Instead, he bent down, picked up the common gold coin from the floor, and handed it to Shaoke.

But Shaoke didn't take the coin. Instead, he repeated his earlier statement and emphasized, "We will not pay you any extra gold coins, not even a single coin. Because everything you're doing now is extortion. I think you understand—you are currently extorting three mages affiliated with the military."