Due to circumstances, I will attempt to update this story on a regular schedule.
From now on, it will be on Sunday or Monday every week about 12-3pm GMT Time, starting from this chapter. This make things easier for me coordinate my plans for the week.
Also at least now you know when to check this story for updates!
That's all. Enjoy this relatively short chapter!
Chapter 10: The Magician Council
As the carriage move, Aphrodite was thinking that she could use the opportunity to ask Phine about the 2nd job she took without mentioning Edwin's involvement. Despite his behaviour, that old man was still a Magic Sage after all, a talented and powerful magician.
As these were the few rare times she have use the coach, Aphrodite peered outside and saw the common folks looking at them. The rose symbol on the carriage was instantly recognised and well known by everyone. It held high respect even among the ordinary people.
Aphrodite felt the carriage stopped and was the first to leave followed by Luke.
Lay in front of the coach was the headquarters of the Magician Council.
This council consisted of talented magicians all over the country of Amagi, where magicians trade and interact freely without much barriers such as money. Skills and information were freely exchanged so everyone, even outsiders who want to know or get something could be benefited. Phine, as the only Magic Sage in the country, just happened to be one of the important person in this organisation.
The majestic entrance of the building was guarded by several trainee magicians. These were simple jobs given to them as part of their training. 2 of them approached the goddess when they noticed the coach.
Although the two's expression could not be said as respectful, but when they saw the neatly dressed Aphrodite they were still polite. Because they were just magicians in training and not a true magician yet, they still could not treat a noble too haughtily.
"What business do you have, Miss?" One of the apprentice magicians politely asked.
"I'm looking for Phine." Aphrodite emotionlessly replied.
This made the magicians frown. You cannot just meet Phine, a magic sage, whenever you wanted to. It was obvious that the girl before them was from a noble family and had perhaps came only to satisfy her curiosity and gaze at the majestic Phine in reverence. What they did not noticed was that the girl in front of them called Phine's name directly without the slightest trace of awe.
Coming to these conclusions, one of them said, "Sir Phine isn't here, he's travelling."
Aphrodite simply replied casually, "Fine. Then when he finds out that both of you block me outside, bear the consequences yourself."
The 2 magicians paused, then glanced at each other. This girl have a point.
"Wait here, I'll go report first." Finally, the more quick-witted out of the two ran in after saying this sentence.
Aphrodite did not speak and quietly stood there patiently. The people walking by the entrance however, either looked at her for a while or stare a glance either due to her appearance or because they recognised the rose symbol.
Aphrodite was quite impressed with the family this girl was in. She was used to being revered and instantly recognised everywhere as a goddess of her own right. Nevertheless, this family of the girl she was in, the fact most of the people recognised them showed how much power and the level of respect they have. The feelings were similar.
Suddenly behind the goddess, there was the sound of multiple footsteps which stopped.
"Why are you here?" An extremely loathing voice sounded from behind Aphrodite.
Aphrodite ignored the voice when she heard it, not bothering to respond or acknowledge the person.
The voice belonged to Hebe.
Hebe stood at the door, frowning at the familiar figure, her heart burning with rage. That night it was only because this despicable, man-hater idiot shamelessly tricked her into thinking their uncle had arrived that she had suffered that sneak attack. Afterwards, she was grounded for a whole month. In that annoying time, Hebe had thought it all out very clearly. If it was not for Aphrodite using those dirty, underhanded methods, she definitely would not have lost. Hebe fumed with rage and clenched her teeth every time she thought of the humiliation and terror of that night. Burning shame, a terrible disgrace to be scared by this idiot. Also just because she was extremely pretty and adore by many man she could get away easily! She must definitely pay back that humiliation!
Aphrodite felt a bit disappointed that this older sister of hers still have yet to learn her lesson. Which was why she was not going to bother to talk to her right now.
Standing in front of Hebe was an old man wearing a long magician's robe. The way he wore and acted was as if someone who was quite powerful and cautious. This was the principal of the Innova Institute. Mace looked at the blonde haired girl's back, understanding that was Hebe's young sister. He did not have any positive impressions of this girl. He already heard about her absurd actions, of course, from his prized student.
Hebe saw Aphrodite ignoring her and her whole body shook, ready to explode, but she remembered this was the Magician Council and she was with the principal. She restrained herself, and asked the nearby Luke coldly, "Luke, what are you guys doing here?"
"We are here to find Sir Phine," Luke answered emotionlessly, neither servile nor overbearing.
After hearing this, Hebe almost laughed out loud. That moronic sister of hers want to meet the Magic Sage? Even for her, it was only after pleading with the principal for so long that he agreed to let them meet the great Magic Sage Phine, hoping he would give some guidance. Though she was quite disturbed by Phine's perverted attitude.
Luke's eyes flashed an indescribable light for a second. There was a trace of ridicule, but it was very indistinct.
"This is nonsense. You think he is someone you can just easily meet?" Hebe laughed mockingly.
Like before, Aphrodite did not respond to Hebe's ridicule. She even ignored the principal. Maybe the other students would respectfully give their greetings when they met the principal, but for the goddess, she did not. This person hold no importance to her.
Luke also kept quiet, not saying anything about Phine already making Aphrodite his student.
Mace quietly coughed, "Hebe, let's go inside."
"Yes, Sir." Hebe could teach this girl some other time, there are more important things to do.
Just as everyone was silent, the sound of hurried footsteps sounded from the entrance of the Magician Council building.
Phine, the perverted old man, skipped out the door. The moment he saw Aphrodite his smile blossomed. Running quickly out, his mouth started vulgarly singing, "Oh my darling. I thought you will never come. I been waiting for you all the time."
Mace and Hebe blanked out, completely frozen. Phine was calling who what? This had never happened before.
Luke had an undetectable ridiculing cold smile. He was enjoying the scene in front of him.
The trainee magician who went to report almost bit his tongue off. He only mention about a blonde haired girl who was looking to see him. He never thought that Phine would quickly jumped and dashed out.
The people all were frozen in awe. Who was the darling that Phine referred to? It must be Hebe. Who else but her. No way it's that man-hater Rosalyn.
The next moment, Phine had already rushed up to Aphrodite and attempted a hug, which Aphrodite barely dodged. Then the old man agilely turned and extended his hand to lift the skirt. The skirt was only lifted slightly before Aphrodite quickly withdrew backwards. Luke held onto Aphrodite's waist and the goddess kicked out with force. Her foot landed accurately on the perverted man's face.
Crows cawed in the sky, leaves floated around in the air. Awkwardness filled the air.
That was so well-coordinated, Aphrodite thought, impressed by herself how the whole thing went.
Hebe's brain completely stopped running, her face a mixed coloured palette, as splendid as could be. She just stood there motionless, wondering what had just happened.
"My precious miss, how could you treat your tutor this way?" Phine pretending to be hurt.
Phine fished out a handkerchief and pouted. On his face there was an obvious footprint.
Aphrodite looked up and saw Luke's face staring down on her. "H-how long are you going to hold me?"
Luke hurriedly let go at once, "Sorry Miss Rosalyn."
Shit. Luke slightly shook his head. I didn't expect that I forgot to release her. What is gotten into me these days?
Luke was after all still in his early youths.
"Hmph," Aphrodite humped without so much as thanking his bodyguard and turned back to Phine. "You do that again and I will make sure the next thing you see is hell."
"Oh, my precious student, don't be like that." Phine still did not change the way he addressed and squinted perversely at Aphrodite's bosom. "Hmm, I see not much have changed since we last met. Wanna bet on what are you wearing underneath?"
The people around them twitched their mouths. They never expected Phine to be so brazenly shameless.
Aphrodite's immediate cold face, made Phine a little uneasy. He coughed and became a little more serious. "Well, Rosalyn, first follow me to my office. I'll give you my notebook."
"Yes, Sir." Aphrodite replied.
Phine led Aphrodite and Luke into the Magician Council building. He was so cheerful that he had totally forgotten about the other people who was standing at the entrance.
"Phine." Mace finally called out.
"Oh?" Only then the old man turned around and saw Mace. "Ah? Mace, why are you here?"
This sentence made Mace's mouth tremble.
These two completely different treatments made everyone flabbergasted and wordless.
"Phine, it was you who said you had time today and told me to come over." Mace answered carefully.
"Oh, well, I'm busy now. Come another day." Phine's mind was fully focused on his student.
"Alright." Mace said, with slight traces of irritation.
Everyone stared at Aphrodite as she disappeared into the Magician Council's door.
In particular, Hebe looked at her sister's back and almost swallowed her teeth.
Hebe could not settle her heart and could not believe what had just happened before her eyes. The Magic Sage acted so intimately with that idiot and even fawned over her! Hatred, jealousy, unwillingness, Hebe was swallowed up by these emotions in an instant.
"Sir, what's going on? Why is she so close with Sir Phine?" Hebe gritted her teeth, pushing down her emotions.
She's the talented genius here, she deserved to be his student. Not that idiotic sister of hers. Her sister must have sway him with that appearance of hers. He always have a soft spot for pretty girls so that must be it.
"I'm not sure either. But the thing I do know is, Phine has already taken her as his student and treats her very dotingly." Mace sighed lightly. "Despite whatever feeling all of you here have on the matter, the matter is already decided. So I expect all of you to have proper respect to Rosalyn."
"Yes, Sir." On the surface, they all promised, but Mace could not know Hebe's true thoughts. In her heart, jealousy and hate grew crazily, attempting to burst out.
In the Magician Council Headquarters, Aphrodite observed the interior.
They were on the first floor right now. It was like a big plaza with a few windows around. These were where magicians could apply for assessments. In the middle, there was a huge, round platform. Looking up, the ceiling above the round platform was empty. It was actually a huge elevator that went straight to the top.
Getting onto the elevator, Phine casually started chanting, and the round platform steadily ascended. When they slowly reached the second floor, Aphrodite was surprised to find that it consisted of shops closely linked together. Every shop had a shopkeeper, and judging by the style of their robes, they were all trainee magicians. So this was where they trade items and information.
Phine seemed to see the goddess's expression and laughingly explained, "Great isn't it? No money involved. Just the old barter or trust among each other."
The goddess understood. This was a great idea and made interactions between magicians easier.
This kind of shops were on the 2nd and 3rd floor. On the 4th floor were personal office of magicians, the higher up, the higher the status.
Naturally, the top floor was Phine's laboratory. It was the only one.
"So Rosalyn, how is my place?" Phine, exactly like a child showing off, pointed at his huge office, hoping to please.
"Messy." Aphrodite replied indifferently.
Near the window was the table where probably Phine do the paperwork. There were equipment all over the tables and chairs. Book and papers lying around in the floor, not sort out by any order.
The goddess hate messy places like this. It just so disorderly. Everything must be perfect. Be perfect at all times no matter the environment.
"Wait." A notebook suddenly appeared in Phine's hand and he handed it to Aphrodite, "Here, these are my notes when I first became a magician. They should be very useful."
Aphrodite accepted it and flipped through it, raising her eyebrows. Sure enough, the views in this notebook were very unique and to the point. She cannot deny that this perverted old man is still very smart. He knows his knowledge very well.
"Presently, you're not ready to use too high level spells, I'll teach them to you when the time comes. The world of magic is exquisite and wide. You can't be too patient on learning magic." Phine said seriously.
Coincidentally, it was similar to what Edwin said.
"Yes, I know, Sir Phine." Aphrodite's "Sir Phine" made the old man elated.
"Next week is the princess's birthday, you must arrive early," Phine suddenly changed the topic.
Aphrodite was a bit puzzled. She do not think he would care about the outside world and attend this kind of boring banquet, but now he brought up this topic himself. Then she saw the old man's evil grin, and her intuition told her that nothing good would come out of this.
Aphrodite sighed, "Sir, did anyone ever told you that your smile is very obscene?"
"Really?" Phine immediately became serious and asked frowning.
"May I know the reason why I need to come early?"
"It's nothing much. You will see on that day," Phine said, bringing back his smile.
Aphrodite looked at her tutor sceptically.
"Well, darling Rosalyn, wait for me to finish all this work and then I'll go find you in your mansion," Phine seems to be in extremely good mood.
"Yes Sir," Aphrodite nodded and did not ask anything.
In any case, the goddess would find out which guy it was that her tutor mentioned on that day.
"Remember, you must go early to the palace." Phine mentioned again just in case.
Aphrodite nodded.
Suddenly she remembered something. "Sir, do you have any special wands or anything?"
"What kind do you want?" Phine blinked, slightly surprised.
"I want to give the princess a gift, but I haven't thought of anything suitable. She must already have a lot of jewellery."
Phine glanced around his office and then suddenly a gorgeous wand appeared in his hand. It was exquisite, with many clear and beautiful jewels inlaid on it, reflecting the light perfectly, looking so pretty and useful. The antique designs on the wand made it look even more mysterious.
"This really isn't anything precious, but it's enough to cajole a young girl who likes pretty things." Phine handed the wand over.
Although Phine said this, the wand was not a cheap thing. It was just that in his eyes, it was not much. After taking it, Aphrodite frowned slightly. That was easy enough in tricking him to give something.
"I'll see you later then my darling student" Phine said affectionately, focusing back to his work.
Just go die you creep! Aphrodite hastily leave the room.
She was not going to stay on the same room as that perverted old man.
The pair left the Magician Council and went on the carriage. Aphrodite leaned on the side of the carriage in the back with her eyes closed to rest. She realised how much it took to just talk to this old man.
After the carriage travelled for a while, Aphrodite opened her eyes and look outside.
The coach was not going on the right path.
Aphrodite sighed internally. Here she goes again. Will have to keep her entertain I guess.
The goddess pitied the little girl. Since she was just a spoiled child after all. That over-pampered, silly girl, seems like the previous fight was not enough for her. Maybe it's death for this young human girl this time.
Luke's eyes became devoid of any emotion. He slowly lifted his head towards Aphrodite and said steadily, "Anything detrimental to you, anything in your way, I will eliminate without any hesitation."
"Even if it's my older sister?"
"Yes, Miss Rosalyn." Luke said decisively.
His handsome face was extremely cold as ice and frigid.
Aphrodite smiled. This can be quite interesting.
"Then let me see what you said to me is true."
At the moment, Aphrodite's soft and quiet voice sounded like a true devil.