Chapter 83: The Big Chair

Countless images flashed in Su Ye’s mind. The most eye-catching image was him rushing up and interrogating Carlos.

However, Su Ye only smiled.

“What a pity,” Su Ye muttered as he turned his head and looked forward.

Carlos smiled and did not say anything.

The crowd looked at the backs of the two people. For some reason, they felt that both of them were very confident.

Up until now, no one could tell for sure who was the one who stole the fruits of the other’s labor.

Suddenly, footsteps came from the depths of the council house.

A tall old man slowly walked to the center from the left side of the parliament floor.

Everyone slightly bowed their heads to greet the old man.

The old man was wearing a typical white himation. On his left chest, he wore a Sailing Ship badge that was dark gold in color. On his right hand, he held a golden scepter. There was a ruby the size of a baby’s fist at the top of the scepter.

Within the ruby, there was a thin layer of smoke. Upon closer inspection, each plume of smoke seemed like a long snake.

Two people entered the council house after the old man. They were both Sage Archmages who wore dark golden Sailing Ship badges. One of them was Dean Lawrence, whom Su Ye had met yesterday.

Soon, the old man holding the golden scepter stood in front of the chair in the middle and looked down below. The other two masters stood on either side of him.

Su Ye noticed that Niedern gave him a look that made him very uncomfortable.

Su Ye quietly looked at the old man holding the golden scepter.

The old man had eye bags, cheeks, and a chin that were droopy. They looked like small plain pockets filled with coins. However, his complexion was exceptionally ruddy and healthy. The tinge of red on his fair skin was abnormal.

He didn’t have a beard. His short white hair was sparse.

From afar, his head looked like a red egg with a sprinkle of white sugar on top.

Su Ye carefully observed the old man’s himation. It was made of expensive silk and was adorned with exquisite accessories. Every detail was perfect.

He looked more like an exhibit under the spotlight in a transparent exhibition cabinet in a museum.

The old man, Lawrence, and the other man were all Sage Archmages. However, when compared to the old man, Lawrence and the other man appeared shabby, even out at the elbows.

Su Ye’s heart sank slightly.

The old man had an amiable smile on his face. He gently put down the scepter in his right hand. The bottom of the scepter knocked against the floor.

Thump.

The sound of the soft knock quickly spread out in all directions.

Wherever the sound passed, plants grew and vines flourished.

Dense green leaves and vines grew from the ground and covered the columns, inner walls, and outer walls of the hall, giving the entire council house a new look.

Soft exclamations could be heard from outside the council house.

The initially gloomy sky actually began to brighten up. In the end, the area within a hundred meters radius of the council house became as bright as day. The ground was covered with a thick patch of grass while flowers bloomed everywhere. Butterfly spirits danced in the air, scattering fragrant pollen.

These butterfly spirits had human appearances, but only the size of a pinky finger. They flapped their wings continuously and looked especially adorable.

Some girls tried to touch the butterfly spirits with their fingers, but the latter flew away while giggling.

The strange thing was that many butterfly spirits circled around Palos. They danced around her as though they were flattering her.

Palos paid no attention to these cute little things. Her arms were wrapped around her large magic book as she stared intently into the main hall.

Both inside and outside of the council house were filled with joy and the aura of spring. It was more like a festival.

“It’s the Evergreen Scepter, a legendary item…” Lake’s voice was very heavy.

“Judging from your tone…” Hort said hesitantly.

Lake introduced the man in a low voice, “The old man’s a Sage Archmage, a cabinet member of the Congress of Magic. His name is Cromwell. He’s a noble. More accurately speaking, he is a Mage that advocates nobles.”

“Then, is Su Ye in danger?” Hort was both angry and anxious.

Lake nodded.

An uneasy feeling spread among the students of the third class.

The nobles were all beaming with joy. Master Cromwell had a great reputation amongst the nobles of Athens. Even though currently he had already resigned from all positions in the Noble Academy, he had been teaching there for a long period of time.

Su Ye stared at Cromwell’s exquisite and luxurious clothes. He figured out where Carlos’ confidence came from.

Cromwell smiled as he swept his gaze across the entire hall and said, “It’s nothing more than two children playing around. Why are you all so nervous? Sit down, everyone, including the two poor children.”

Cromwell tapped his scepter lightly once again. Behind the people who did not have seats in the hall, vines appeared from the ground, squirming and rising as they wove themselves into low-back wicker chairs.

However, no one sat down.

Lawrence said, “Since Master Cromwell has given us the permission to sit, please take a seat.”

After saying that, Lawrence took the initiative to sit down.

The rest of the people also followed suit.

In the end, only Su Ye, Carlos, and Cromwell were left standing.

Su Ye glanced at Carlos from the corner of his eyes and bowed slightly to Cromwell. He said, “You are really a kind master.”

With that, Su Ye sat down.

“Thank you, Master Cromwell.” Carlos bowed and then took a seat.

“You are all good children.” With a kind look on his face, Cromwell was the last to sit.

The moment he sat down, Cromwell tapped the table with his index finger. A ray of light shot out from the table on his left, forming a pale white pillar of light, which was about a foot tall and as thick as an arm.

A pale brown, goatskin magic scroll with a platinum edge slowly rose from the light and unfolded.

“This is the letter of appointment for the arbitrator issued by the Congress of Magic. I, Cromwell, will be fully in charge of this arbitration and will be the main arbitrator. Anyone who has any objections can raise it now. If anyone has no objections before the arbitration but disagrees with my judgment afterwards, they can only appeal to the cabinet.”

At this moment, a sharp shout suddenly came from outside the door.

“You don’t even know how to properly lift a chair. Do you think you’re worthy of being humans? Carry me steadily! Those in front, make way for me!”

As soon as this voice sounded, the faces of many mages in the hall changed slightly. Some of their faces darkened; some didn’t know whether to laugh or cry; some had smiles on their faces while others looked miserable.

Su Ye held onto the armrest of the rattan chair with both hands and turned around in astonishment. He poked his head out and saw that the crowd outside the hall had parted and opened up a path. Everyone looked curiously at the source of the voice.

They saw Hort, Lake, Rolon, and Ebert carrying a gold-rimmed high-back chair. The back of the chair was made of magic red velvet. It was just the right softness for anyone who leaned their back on it. The cushion was made from the skin of an unknown black magical beast. It was soft yet durable.

The four legs of the chair were slightly bent outwards. Wavelike patterns could be seen at the feet of the chair.

To Su Ye’s surprise, there was a foot-long red mouth on the back of the chair. The size of the mouth was enough to swallow a human head. Its white teeth were like flashing lights, as if they were inlaid with diamonds.

“So it’s a living spirit…” Su Ye thought to himself. He vaguely remembered someone once said that there was a chair which had a foul mouth in Plato Academy. Its status was not low and it was most likely related to Master Plato. However, this was Su Ye’s first time seeing it in person.

“Hurry up! What are you looking at? Haven’t you seen me moving before? You’re ignorant. Who did this to the council house? Such a tasteless design! There’s no gold, no gemstones, and no treasures! It’s vulgar!”