"It takes about thirteen gold coins to rebuild a stable... If you round up, that's twenty gold coins..."
"It takes two gold coins to rebuild an ox cart. The money is secondary, but the most important thing is that the ox pulling the cart was frightened... This cow is the strongest one in Idar's team. It is full of energy.
Because of you, there may be a few fewer calves this year, so the cost of mental damage and treatment and upbringing...total up, I will give you ten gold coins..."
"If you add in the white bread you stole before and the cost of treating your injuries..."
Bruno stopped the pen in his hand, raised his head, and said with a smile: "My respected mage advisor, Mr. Arnel Blood, you now owe me a total of forty-five gold coins, which means... you are now dead.
You owe me three months’ salary.”
Anel stared blankly at the large series of numbers Bruno listed on the parchment. After a long while, he said: "If thirteen gold coins are rounded up... shouldn't it be ten gold coins?"
"This is our tradition in Idar, as long as it's high, it's not low." Bruno explained.
"So that's it..." Anel nodded thoughtfully.
"So..." Bruno took out a roll of parchment and said, "This is an employment contract that I asked Old Ford to rewrite. Please take a look at it and then sign it..."
While Anel was looking down at the employment contract, Bruno said: "According to the new contract, before the debt is paid off, your monthly salary is still fifteen gold coins, but five gold coins will be automatically deducted.
To repay the debt, the calculation rules for the interest on the debt are stated in the contract..."
Anel only felt that the words on the parchment were pitifully small and densely packed, which made his head ache for a while: "Can't the words be made bigger..."
"I'm sorry, Idar has been quite nervous about the parchment paper he received recently... If there is no problem, just sign it quickly..." Bruno said with a smile.
Anel didn't bother to read, he just picked up the pen and signed his name in a few strokes.
Bruno took the contract from Arnel, looked at it carefully, and then stamped it with the seal of the Stuart family with satisfaction. A mage's contract of sale was completed, perfect...
"Ahem..." Bruno cleared his throat, straightened his sitting posture, and said, "Mr. Arnel, it's time for us to talk about other things...for example, your levitation technique..."
"Levitation is the first magic I came into contact with. Although I don't know higher-level magic yet, it is absolutely easy to perform levitation." Anel is full of confidence.
"How many times can it be released in a day? How long can it last at one time?" Bruno asked directly.
"Also, what do you think of working eight hours a day? It should be quite humane..."
Anel: "???"
I am a mage, a mage!
You still work eight hours a day? None of the production team members are so productive!
"Bruno Stuart, Count of Idar," Arnel finally said seriously: "Are you sure you are not kidding?"
"I don't think so."
"Casting spells will greatly consume the caster's mental power and magic power. Let alone working eight hours a day, even casting spells for two hours continuously is unthinkable." Anel retorted.
"I need to remind you that the reason why I hired you is to build a hanging garden. If you only rely on serfs to build it, then the completion of the construction will be almost impossible, so I want you to assist those serfs.
Apply levitation to the stone or wood to speed up the progress of the project." Bruno said frankly.
"Associating with serfs is the disgrace of a mage! It is a stain on the nobility!" Anel said angrily.
"How big do you think the gap is between us and the serfs?" Bruno asked back: "It's just that we are better born! The serfs are neither stupid nor despicable. They rely on their own strength to obtain food and shelter. We
Who have the right to despise them?"
The room suddenly became quiet, as if the air had solidified. Bruno stopped talking and just watched the complicated expression on Anel's face constantly changing.
For Arnel, Bruno's remarks today are already shocking.
After all, the western part of the empire where he was born was probably the place where the oppression and persecution of serfs was the most severe on the entire continent. More than half of the serfs in the entire Idar territory were purchased from slave traders in the western part of the empire.
Anel seemed to have given up resistance. After all, he had to lower his head under the eaves, so he said with some resignation: "It takes about seven or eight seconds for me to sing the levitation spell, but I can release up to eight or nine magic spells continuously.
You need to rest afterward. You should know that releasing magic consumes a lot of the mage's mental energy."
Bruno nodded in approval.
In fact, Bruno didn't know anything about magic. After Anel arrived, he also conducted some "tutoring". Therefore, in Bruno's view, Anel's efficiency in releasing the levitation technique was already very high.
After all, for most ordinary mage apprentices, they may need to rest after releasing three or two magic spells.
But what surprised Bruno was that if Anel's mental power could support him to release the levitation spell eight or nine times in a row, then such mental power should be considered extremely good, and he should not be limited to basic magic at all...
However, if Arnell didn't say anything, Bruno wouldn't delve into it. After all, the most important thing is to start work as soon as possible.
As for the requirements such as "eight hours of work a day" that Bruno made at the beginning, they naturally don't count, but... isn't that what negotiation is like? Asking for a high price and paying back the money, if you set a realistic price from the beginning
Request, there is no telling whether Anel, a noble mage, will push further...
After thinking for a moment, Bruno suddenly said: "There is one thing I have always wanted to ask you. You know... There is usually a magic mark on the envelopes between the Regency Council and the nobles to ensure that the letters have not been opened before they are delivered.
Once the envelope is destroyed, the magic imprint will dissipate. In this case...can the levitation technique be attached to certain objects, so that these objects have a levitation effect for a certain period of time?"
"Huh?" Anel was stunned for a moment. It seemed like he had never considered this question before...
"It should be... impossible. After all, no one has ever tried it." Anel said uncertainly.
"Then how does the magic mark on the envelope exist for a long time?" Bruno asked
"That's a special kind of magic circle..." Anel thought thoughtfully, as if he had grasped a vague filament, but he still couldn't figure it out.