The Great Wizard

The girl looked flustered, glancing at Freyr timidly, "Excuse me, I..."

"This little creature is a high-level Magical Creature, right?" Freyr said sternly, "As its owner, you didn't watch over it properly, allowing it to roam into the southern heartland of the empire! Don't you know how much trouble a Magical Creature can cause in a populated area?"

Ryan, standing beside him, wanted to laugh but didn't dare. The other party was a Great Wizard, after all!

Seeing the girl's golden emblem, Ryan swallowed hard. For a low-level wizard like him, his lifelong dream was to one day wear such a gold emblem!

"Uh… this-this-this..." The girl showed a guilty expression and lowered her head, "My teacher is away. I-I-I was supposed to watch over Choo Choo, but it ran away when my sister came to visit... I-I-I have been looking for it for many days."

"Your negligence is no excuse for the mistakes made," Freyr said righteously, "Do you know that having such a high-level Magical Creature near a peaceful town can cause great fear among the residents? These brave soldiers came to the mountains to capture it to protect the area! Do you know how much harm your little pet has caused our brave soldiers?"

The girl couldn't say anything, only looking at Freyr with guilty and pleading eyes.

Freyr felt more confident, thinking that this girl seemed inexperienced and naive, easy to deceive.

"This creature caused panic! The soldiers bled and sweated to capture it and protect the peace! And now you want to take it away just like that? Don't you feel any guilt?"

The girl's head drooped even lower.

Finally, after Freyr finished speaking, the girl mustered the courage to say cautiously, "I-I-I am willing to apologize for its behavior..."

"Save your apology!" Freyr said sharply, "If apologies worked, why would we need the police?"

"Po-police… what is that?"

Freyr coughed to hide his embarrassment, having spoken out of turn. There were no police in this world.

"What I mean is," Freyr straightened up and said loudly, "Do you think a simple apology can compensate for the blood and sweat of our brave soldiers?"

His words were somewhat harsh on the girl.

In reality, the search teams hadn't bled much. The bloody scene earlier was just an illusion. Once the illusion was broken, everyone was merely knocked out, with no real injuries. At most, they might have a few nightmares later. The losses weren't significant.

The only person injured was the female knight, Calista.

Freyr naturally wouldn't waste this opportunity to negotiate. He took a few steps back, revealing the injured female knight being supported by his subordinates.

Calista's face was somewhat pale, a sign of sudden blood loss, but overall she seemed alright. Still, seeing Calista, a woman who could barely stand, with a hand wrapped in white bandages and disheveled hair, made the young Witch girl feel even more guilty.

"C-c-can I compensate you in any way?" The young Witch's eyes reddened again.

Freyr sighed, a satisfied glint in his eye as he glanced at Ryan beside him. Having discussed potions with Freyr every day, Ryan had come to understand his young master's temperament quite well. Seeing Freyr's signal, Ryan stepped forward, bowing slightly and said, "Honorable Great Wizard."

The girl noticed Ryan's wizard robe and immediately returned the bow, saying, "Wizard sir."

In that moment, Ryan blushed... He never imagined in his lifetime that a Great Wizard of level eight or above would address him as "Wizard sir."

"Well, I think your little pet has caused some damage to this place. Simply letting it go wouldn't sit well with these soldiers who have suffered because of it. Moreover, my master, the esteemed heir of the Russell family, Earl Edward's eldest son, Master Freyr, was also greatly alarmed by this incident. Therefore, I believe some form of punishment for this little creature is necessary."

"N-no-no, if my-my-my teacher sees it hurt, he-he-he will punish me…" The young wizard was sweating, "If my-my teacher gets angry, you-you will also…"

"Honorable Great Wizard, may I ask who your teacher is? I can't imagine who in the empire could have trained a Great Wizard like you," Ryan probed.

The young wizard looked troubled, "I-I-I can't say."

Ryan frowned slightly but then smiled, "At least, you could tell us your name, right?"

"Ah…" The young wizard sighed in relief, finding this question answerable, "My-my name is Lilith Young, level eight Wizard of the Magic Society." Remembering her teacher's basic etiquette lessons, she blushed and bowed slightly, asking politely, "May I also know your name, honorable Wizard sir?"

This time Ryan really blushed, "I… Ryan, Magic Society… um, level one wizard."

By the end of his sentence, Ryan wished he could find a hole to crawl into.

A level one wizard was practically an ant compared to an eight-level wizard! Many well-known Great Wizards on the continent even had apprentices who were level two or three wizards.

However, this naïve girl seemed unaware of these distinctions. She still bowed courteously, which immediately endeared her to Ryan.

Look at that! An eight-level wizard bowing to me, Ryan!

"Now, please show us your sincerity in compensation," Freyr said at the right moment.

"W-well…" Lilith looked troubled. She thought for a moment, then took out a small pouch from her robe and opened it, revealing a piece of aquamarine, "I-I-I have this aquamarine gem. Although it's only of medium quality…"

The more she spoke, the more she stuttered. Finally, in desperation, she held out the fist-sized aquamarine with both hands, her eyes pleading.

Aquamarine?