Badge in Azure Chapter 256

Chapter 256: War on Sregl Island (Part 1)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Lex returned to the fifth floor where Saleen was waiting for her. When she saw Saleen, Lex felt anger rising up in her. Saleen couldn’t have mentioned that to Jason, could he? If not, why would Jason make such an unusual request?
“Lex, what did Jason say?”
He did not know Lex was angry and had asked at the wrong time, as Lex replied angrily, “He asked me to marry you. The hell of god’s punishment will be the dowry. Tell me honestly, was this your idea?”
When Lex was angry, her face turned a deep shade of red and her breathing quickened.
“Ah? Then did you agree?” Saleen had not reacted and allowed his tongue to slip.
Lex grew even angrier. As she looked at Saleen, she could tell that he was not the mastermind behind this. For some reason, upon seeing Saleen’s expression, she became even angrier. She raised her fist and punched Saleen on the nose.
Saleen had not expected Lex to be this violent, and moreover, she had practiced some martial arts when she was young. Even without any sword aura, she was much quicker than many swordsmen. This punch came without warning and landed squarely on Saleen’s nose. Saleen gave a shout as blood spurted out. He covered his nose and knelt down, not knowing why Lex had hit him.
Only after hitting him did Lex feel that he was innocent and release a Chunlin spell. The green aura seeped into his body and his nose stopped bleeding, but it did not stop the pain within his nose bridge as tears welled up in his eyes.
“Why did you hit me?” Saleen asked dejectedly.
Lex raised her fist again as Saleen quickly backed away. He was as strong as Lex but not as skilled at her in close combat. He held his nose and stared at Lex. The redness on her face faded away as she lowered her fist and asked, “Are you alright?”
“Alright? Why don’t I try punching you?”
Saleen was still focused on Lex’s affairs and getting punched for no reason had left him feeling troubled. At the moment, he did not notice the embarrassment within Lex’s eyes.
Saleen could not really punch Lex anyways, and he said in a low voice, “This isn’t even my fault. Getting punched for no reason, aiya…”
As Lex listened to his whining, she felt anger rising within her again as she swung her fists at the air and left Saleen’s room.
As Lex left the room, Nailisi appeared from out of nowhere. She took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood off of Saleen’s face and said, giggling, “Saleen, do you know why you were hit?”
“How would I know? Lex is crazy.”
“She isn’t. You are the dumb one. Sigh, come over and lie down.” Nailisi dragged Saleen over and laid him on the bed as she laid down as well and explained to him, “I am sure Lex likes you, and yet you said this had nothing to do with you. Why wouldn’t she be angry?”
“Nailisi, if you spout nonsense again… wait? Did you say she likes me?”
“Master, do you not know? I have been reading some books, and they mentioned that human feelings are the strangest of them all. We demons like people who are strong, but humans are different. It doesn’t matter if a person is strong or weak or rich or poor – once someone fancies the other, they cannot let go. Don’t think Lex is from a rich background. How many of the people around her can she actually speak to? They are either her men or those with hidden motives. If it were you, you would need to be wary too, wouldn’t you?”
“That’s true, but what does that have to do with me?”
Nailisi gave a whine as she buried her face into the pillow. She looked up at Saleen with her piercing green eyes and said, “But you spent a year with her in the hell of god’s punishment. Didn’t you fall for her?”
“Perhaps a little, but not enough for marriage?”
“Master, did something go wrong while you were in puberty? Let me take a look!” Nailisi said, about to take off his clothes. Saleen kicked her away while thinking about Lex’s reaction, still not believing that Nailisi was correct.
Nailisi crawled off of the bed. Her excitement did not wane as she said to Saleen, “Master, if you want to know if Lex really likes you, it is simple.”
“What?”
“Go and find her now, and no matter what she says, give her a tight hug and kiss her. If she likes you, she will not resist.”
“And what if she doesn’t? Will I be burned to death?” Saleen glared at Nailisi.
“Your teacher is the master of this magic tower. How would she dare?” Nailisi opened her eyes wide and said in a shocked voice, “She would chase you away at most, Master. Try it.”
“Why don’t you go and try it?”
“Oh… I have already matured and it is impossible for me to become a male now. Master, why aren’t you interested in me?”
“Interested? Oh, you mean sexually? You’re a demon. I don’t want to breed a new species with you.” Saleen’s reply was standard for a mage and Nailisi’s excitement waned upon hearing it, looking almost sad.
“Sigh, women are so troublesome.” Saleen could not figure out what this had to do with Lex’s plan. No matter what Lex felt for him, the problem regarding the hell of god’s punishment could not be resolved, could it?
“Sika isn’t troublesome, but don’t you have the same attitude towards her? Master, you must be sick,” Nailisi said angrily.
“What attitude is this!”
“It is the attitude of a contract creature. You don’t want me but you don’t allow me to be with anyone else. Will I have to go without offspring in the future?” Nailisi’s words were harsh, but she was not wrong. Before her, there had not been a contract creature like this.
“When have I disallowed you from being with others?”
“Those are your words. Once I mate with someone else, you can suffer then.” Nailisi scrunched her face up and made an unusually scary face.
Saleen felt a chill down his spine. If Nailisi were really to do that, it would be most unfortunate for him.
“Nailisi, I won’t allow you to do that!”
“Are those your words?”
“We are talking about Lex’s affairs. Why are you talking about this?” Saleen could not win an argument against Nailisi and felt ridiculous. All a contract creature had to do was to listen and obey. It was just his luck to get one with funny thoughts. He could only blame himself for his lack of experience back then, having signed a soul contract on a whim.
Nailisi gave a smirk. She had incited Saleen to harass Lex, and if anything went wrong, Lex would never pester Saleen again. It was a pity that Saleen had not believed her words and the plan had failed.
In Nailisi’s eyes, Sika was a much better choice than Lex.
Firstly, Sika’s thought more simply, and if she got together with Saleen, she would not lose anything in the future. Secondly, Sika was physically stronger and was nearly as strong as some of the creatures in the demonic realm. With a body like that, her offspring would be very strong. As Saleen’s contract creature, Nailisi did not want to be affected by his death, and following after his offspring was not a bad idea.
A contract handover through a bloodline was relatively safe, and if Saleen handed her over to someone unrelated when he died, Nailisi would be in trouble. Her soul could be damaged, and she could be forced to another dimension. If Saleen were to die by accident, she had no idea what would happen to her.
Demons were all quite crafty, and always left a safe road for retreat.
Lex returned to her room and was not in the mood to meditate. She could only stare angrily out of the window. What type of attitude was that from Saleen? Even though we have not said anything to each other, we have gone through life and death together. He must feel something, shouldn’t he?
Saleen was like a stiff stone. Aside from magic, he had no reaction to other things. He did not like pursuing the arts and did not care for a finer life. None of this mattered, but what infuriated her was that even in a moment like that, he had not had a reaction. Could I have become ugly in the past two years?
Despite being a grand mage, Lex’s head was filled with thoughts that only a little girl would have.
Marrying Saleen in exchange for the support of Sregl Island? Definitely not! Lex banged her fists on the bed, angry at herself. After a while, thinking back to her dead father, Lex became sad again. Her father was not around and even though she was a viscountess, she was like duckweed, not having any roots.
If she lost the support of Holy Rock City, Bitter Water Prefecture would only be a small county with an army of twenty thousand troops, almost the same as a hereditary duke. Her uncle did not support her and her brother was not sensible. It seemed there was not much hope of her avenging her father.
So what if she was a grade-6 mage? She could not overthrow the Holy See alone.
After a moment of melancholy, Lex calmed herself down and said to herself, “Lex, Lex! Your father gave you this name in the hopes that you would be as strong as a man. Didn’t Saleen come from nothing as well? If he could do it, why can’t you?”
No matter how strong the Holy See was, it was the same as Alchemy City with major internal strife. If not, it would not have made use of her father’s passing to attack Loulan Duchy. The nobles’ troops had only cared about their personal interests and would not fight to the end with the knights from the Holy See.
Jason wanted her family’s magic lineage. He could find his own way to obtain it, since anyways, the lineage belonged to Alchemy City. In addition to magic, the Grukos family had their own secret arts which could be learned by both mages and swordsmen. If they had relied solely on one magic lineage, they could not have built such a powerful empire in the first place.
Jason wanted this lineage so he could find a way to become a grade-10 mage. If he found it, he would surely pass it down to Saleen. Could Saleen have been hiding this from her?
Understanding this, Lex was no longer angry. She suddenly understood that Jason had been telling her that if an agreement was reached from both sides, no one could guarantee what would happen in the end.
The mages on Sregl Island were well united because they held common interests. However, she did not have the same interests as them, and to build up mutual trust and affection would take too much time. If she accepted this agreement, the mages on this island would see a glimmer of hope.
Saleen’s teacher was extremely intelligent, indeed.
Lex finally understood Jason’s intentions and was relieved. She had wanted to find Jason immediately when suddenly, a piercing magic alarm sounded from outside of the magic tower.