"Generally speaking," Master Irene said in the tone of teaching ignorant children, "it takes about a year to teach an ordinary illiterate who can read and write into an assistant who can do odd jobs for a wizard. And it takes about a year to train a person who can't even have a sharp knife.

It takes about three years to train an indistinguishable chick into a qualified spy. Unfortunately, we only have one night, and we have to deprive you of the time to sleep."

Shireen raised her eyebrows, "As an illiterate, I still need to eat and sleep. I'm deeply sorry for this."

The old woman tapped her cane on the ground, "Okay, I know you're unhappy. But since everyone is sitting here, it's too late to look back. Do you understand?"

Shireen looked at the dead leaves. The female elf nodded slowly while chewing the grapes. It seemed to be a bit threatening.

Awesome, what a pleasant weekend. "But you also said that I need at least four years of training before..."

"Four years will allow you to become a qualified mage spy, but the gods are merciful. You don't need to be 'qualified' to have a chance to succeed in this mission. So we might as well give it a try, eh? Let's start by teaching you how to avoid your own accidental tragic death.

Bar."

Shireen straightened her posture uncomfortably. In order to ensure that they could read the words in the book clearly, Dead Leaf lit a few more lamps in the basement. The room was bright now, but Shireen felt that those lights made her unable to

Escape everywhere.

"First of all, the first and simplest common sense is that when dealing with wizards, always obey before asking questions. If you don't understand his instructions, of course you can ask him for an explanation. But most wizards have less patience with stupid people.

It's very limited, so if you don't want to exhaust his little patience too early, you'd better be smart."

"But I don't know anything about magic," Shireen said gloomily. "They will definitely think they are talking to monkeys."

"About this, Miss Illiterate," Master Irene waved her hand impatiently, "The good news is that, to them, it doesn't matter even if you can't tell the difference between the Eshin Rune and the Aiden Rune. Because of your identity

He is an employee of the Magical Disaster Insurance Company, so it is perfectly normal for him to know nothing about magic."

"Oh? Then what should I worry about?"

"What are you worried about? Ha, Miss Illiterate, you have too much to worry about! What do you think you are going to do? Employment internship? Your mission is to lurk around wizards and get all kinds of valuable information.

Most of them are written in runes. Speaking of which, do you know what runes are?"

Shireen shrugged, "I've heard about it, but I don't know a single letter. I heard that all books related to runes are controlled by the Wizards' Association, and only those who become wizard apprentices can access that knowledge. Ordinary people don't have any knowledge at all.

Chance."

"Ha, you are a pretty little illiterate." The old woman stroked her glasses, "Yes, runes are strictly controlled and are almost exclusive to wizards. Their books, letters and all kinds of

Most written materials related to magic are recorded in runes. For wizards, runes themselves are the most basic and convenient means of encryption." Master Irene paused, "This is what you have to learn.

The second rune."

Shireen looked at the hardcover book on the table uneasily. She was a little curious about the origin of the "Elementary Rune Tutorial", but she didn't dare to ask. When getting along with Thomas Ende's gang, it might not be a good habit to ask for details.

...But learning runes in one day? "Well, I think this might not be a good plan." Shireen said tentatively.

"Why, now I suddenly have no confidence in my reading and writing skills? Weren't you quite unconvinced just now?"

"This is no joke," Shireen frowned, "We are talking about a language, and I am afraid it is the most obscure language in the world."

Dead Leaf finally finished eating the last grape and put the handkerchief containing grape seeds into his pocket. "It's not as difficult as you think." The female elf also pulled up a chair for herself, "First of all, you don't need to learn pronunciation.

And words, just remember how to write each rune letter. Secondly, your time is not just tonight, you can study at home every night."

Shireen breathed a sigh of relief, but only a small breath. "Can I take this book with me?" she asked.

"Of course not, but you can copy down the contents related to the rune letters and take them home. For now, you just need to know how to write each letter." The female elf grinned, "How about it, it sounds simple.

Too much?"

In fact, it's not that simple at all.

For the rest of that night, Shireen sat at the table in the basement, listening to Master Irene reciting all kinds of incredible "common sense" while trying to imprint the letters on the rune book of unknown origin in her mind.

The old woman was pacing back and forth in the basement, her cane poking at the floor, making click, click, click sounds. It was not easy to concentrate under such noise.

Master Irene would occasionally stop suddenly and question her on the knowledge points she had mentioned before. If Shireen answered incorrectly or failed to answer, it would attract a burst of ingenious cynicism.

"Why do wizards need solitude when meditating?"

"Because it may fail due to interference during meditation?" She thought hard, but she could only recall these nonsense.

The answer was obviously not good enough, because Master Irene pursed her lips.

"Well," Shireen licked her lips and suddenly remembered the answer, "If you disturb the meditating wizards, you may be attacked unconsciously by them. In order to avoid unnecessary damage, wizards must be alone when meditating."

"Huh, that's a bit of a rescue. What is the magic net?"

"The Magic Network is a communication network shared by wizards. They weave various specific patterns to establish spiritual connections with other wizards. They can achieve long-distance information exchange through the Magic Network..."

Master Yireni suddenly glared at her, "Did I ask you to stop? Answer while copying!"

Shireen quickly continued to copy the runes. Master Irene began to pace again, click, click.

There were more and more things in her mind, and her eyelids became heavier and heavier. In the end, she even confused Omar and Ork. Master Irene kept talking about illiteracy and so on.

Dead leaves suddenly appeared from the corner of the room, "Okay, that's it for today, I'll take you home."

But it was unnecessary, for Shireen fell asleep as soon as she touched the table.

When she woke up, it was already the next morning.

Someone moved her to the bed after she fell asleep. Shireen yawned and looked around, finding that this strange bedroom was smaller than her room in the Tulip Apartment, but it was very clean.

The window of the room was open, and the morning sunlight shone in. Shireen straightened up and stretched.

She was a little uncomfortable not sleeping in her own bed, but she was so sleepy yesterday that she didn't know what time she stayed up until the end.

Fortunately, today is the weekend, so she won't arouse suspicion if she doesn't go home. Next, all she needs to do is...

There were footsteps outside the door, and soon it turned into a knock on the door.

Should she say "come in"? But she is only wearing a tight shirt now, so it is obviously not appropriate to invite others into the house. At least you need to find out the identity of the other person first.

"Who is it?" she asked.

Shireen breathed a sigh of relief as Dead Leaf pushed open the door. The female elf held a bag in each hand and piled it on her bed.

"Where are my other clothes?" Shireen thought that she should be angry.

"I threw them away." Dead Leaf said, "They are all rags. You can't go to see the wizard dressed like that."

"Then how can I go there? Wearing a tight shirt?"

"It's a great idea, but it's a pity that it makes no sense. The wizard's assistants are two witches, both of whom are said to be stunning beauties. So he must not be interested in you... What's more, you are just an ordinary person with no talent."

"Hey! In that case, just do it and let me, a poor ordinary person, go."

"How is that possible? I still expect you to lay golden eggs for me." The female elf patted the bag she brought in, "Put these on and go downstairs for breakfast. Mr. End wants to talk to you."

Shirin suddenly lost her interest in joking. She nodded silently. Then Dead Leaf left the room and closed the door.

She climbed out of bed, closed the window, and then opened the bag that Dead Leaf brought in. Inside was a set of women's clothes, which were better than any set of clothes she had worn since coming to Huoyin City.

The top was a new style that she had seen in a magazine recently. It was comfortable and well-fitting. The light yellow skirt fit her lines just right, and the metal skirt support on the inside of the waist prevented the inconvenience caused by the petticoat clinging to the body.

She only wore such clothes at home. Her stepmother had been busy arranging for her marriage since she was eighteen years old, and had been trying hard to dress her up beautifully.

The memories of her family made her feel even sadder. Even getting along with her stepmother was better than being with those people downstairs. Unfortunately, she had no choice.

There was no mirror in the room, but Dead Leaf left a comb for her. Shireen briefly smoothed her hair to make sure it was not messy and tangled.

Then she walked out of the room and went down to the first floor.

Thomas Ende was sitting at the dining table, holding a newspaper in his hand and reading it while drinking coffee. There were only the remains of food on the plate in front of him.

There was nothing in front of Dead Leaf, but she held a bunch of bright red grapes in her hand as always.

"Ah, Miss Mallon." Mr. End said without raising his head, "Welcome to join us. What would you like?"

"I want my clothes back." Shireen sat in the seat left for her.

"Send it to be washed. After washing, it will be sent back to your home." He replied.

Shireen looked at the dead leaves reproachfully, and the female elf smiled and raised the grapes to greet her.

"That's great." Shireen said, "Then let's have some breakfast."

Shireen should be scared to be in the same room with the two people who had kidnapped her. But maybe this daily scene was too normal, and she didn't feel scared at all.

They seemed to be just a pair of ordinary partners, and Shirin was the new member of the team. She felt a little weird, but since she is still alive, this inference is probably correct.

She glanced at the newspaper Thomas End was reading. The news headline on the front page was "The seventh sage to protect the country is about to take office! Fire Seal City welcomes her protector for the second time."

"How about some pancakes? Tea or coffee?" Thomas End's voice came from behind the newspaper.

How did he do it? Carrying such a dark secret with him, yet living like an ordinary person? Why is his breakfast pancakes and coffee? Shouldn't it be raw meat with blood or something?

"Okay, let's have pancakes and some tea," she said.

"Master Yireni thinks very highly of you." He said suddenly.

"If being illiterate with uncivilized intelligence is a high compliment, yes." Shireen shrugged, "Won't she come to have breakfast with us?"

"Unfortunately, Master Irene has gone back. She said that your talent is indeed limited, so there is no benefit in instilling too much knowledge. But she thinks that you are pretty good at learning runes, so the basic requirements of the task are met."

"Huh?" Shirin felt a little surprised.

"That is to say, you have officially joined the group. Next, you have to find a way to pass the test of Avon Insurance Company, I think it will be tomorrow." Thomas End put down the newspaper in his hand, "Besides that, I hope you

Spend more money to dress yourself up. Fortunately today is the weekend, we have plenty of time to make you more attractive... Eat your breakfast quickly, and then Dead Leaf will accompany you to go shopping."
Chapter completed!