Even if Roland has more questions, he is still on the same side.

Although Roland hasn't directly converted to the Light, he is still one of us.

Christine refused Roland entry into the Prayer Room, and her reason was simple.

"No idle people allowed during the treatment."

Even though not being able to go in made Roland a bit uneasy, he trusted Christine's professional ability.

As the initiator of the Holy Spring Revival Ceremony, Christine was a lucky one blessed by the gods.

If even she couldn't save them, then it was basically hopeless.

Although Alina suffered backlash, her injuries weren't severe, so Roland wasn't too worried.

He has been very busy during this period and really had no time to accompany her, so he had to leave.

The construction in the Governor's Territory was progressing in an orderly fashion.

It proceeded sequentially in the order of industry, military, infrastructure, economy, and education.

Carrying out these constructions required massive funds.

Splitting the Val City State gained some money, but not much.

According to the rules, Val City just joined the Empire, and its existing status would not be changed for the next ten years.

Val City North District's current status is a directly governed territory, neither directly under the Imperial Family nor the Governor's Territory, and naturally, Roland could not take the money from here.

But this time he ultimately had the greatest merit, so William could not give him nothing at all and left three-tenths of the spoils in the Governor's Territory.

Seven-tenths? That's for the national treasury.

As a loyal minister to Her Majesty the Empress and a cornerstone of the Empire, Roland found no argument to refute it.

Even if all these spoils belonged to Roland, the funding gap would still be large.

The hunt plan against the illegal Samaritan merchants had to continue.

Roland returned to the Governor's Mansion, skillfully spinning a weighted quill between his fingers, thinking carefully.

Has anything been overlooked due to these busy times?

The plan to set a trap for the Samaritan merchants was known only to him, Sif, and Stanley.

At least in the planning stage, the officials of the Three Provinces were not informed.

After all, these people once had deep ties with the Samaritan merchants; who could guarantee their loyalty?

But Stanley was different.

He had a blood feud with the Samaritans, and his life's turning point began from marrying a Samaritan wife.

The support from his wife's clan helped him reach a high position, but also quickly brought him down.

These events weren't enough to make Stanley hate completely; what truly broke his heart was finding out their child wasn't his.

He too had an illegitimate child, but at least he didn't bring them home.

He didn't cross the line.

Followers of the Goddess of Fengrao could only have one wife, but there were no limits on lovers.

The Emperor and high tier Nobles obviously wouldn't be satisfied with one woman.

Their countermeasure was legal lovers.

The status of legal lovers was lower than that of a wife, mainly to satisfy men's needs.

Their children were illegitimate, normally having no inheritance rights.

By convention, as long as the woman and illegitimate child outside weren't brought home, it wasn't considered betrayal.

Stanley's wife knew about his affairs outside, but Stanley didn't know how wild his wife was playing.

Regarding this mess, Roland respected Stanley's choice.

As Roland was lost in thought, there was a knock on the door.

"Lord Governor, someone is seeking to see you, claiming to be your friend who once provided you with special tools."

"Special tools?"

Thinking of the other's identity, Roland smiled as he stood up and headed towards the door.

"Mr. Sura, long time no see."

Roland smiled and extended his right hand to the magic tools shop owner Sura (who appeared in chapters 83 and 84).

Sura hesitated slightly but still reached out and shook hands with Roland.

The handshake was a popular custom during the Magic Empire, putting down weapons and extending a hand to signify no hostility.

The Magic Empire was gone, but traces of magic civilization persisted.

Sura, feeling the magic power flowing in Roland's body, was somewhat sentimental.

Roland was a good candidate for learning magic.

But he also understood Roland's reason for not following his mentor to study.

Magic was in decline.

To be precise, magic wasn't in decline but lacked resources.

No matter how good a fuel car is, it can't start without fuel.

Magic is good, but there are no more magic crystal stones.

Fortunately, he came prepared this time.

Roland invited Sura into a small guest room and had the attendants serve tea.

When only the two were left in the room, Roland smiled and asked, "Mr. Sura, you must have a purpose with this visit, so feel free to speak directly."

"I wouldn't say coming from afar."

Sura smiled and said, "The Magic Association has a secret teleportation array near Val Lake, and I came from there."

"Since it's a secret teleportation array, you shouldn't be telling me," Roland smiled and shook his head.

Sura replied with a serious expression, "You accepted the teacher's wordless book, so you're one of us. Anyway, you won't spread it, right?"

Clearly, Sura was trying to build rapport.

Sharing secrets can quickly bring people closer.

Roland lifted the tea, took a sip, and didn't speak.

The meaning was obvious, the appearance characteristics of the Magic Empire descendants were significantly different from others, and although the Magic Association signed a peace treaty with human countries, this treaty would soon expire.

Whether to renew, how to renew, and for how long were uncertain questions.

Recalling the recently concluded international conference, Roland's eyes lit up.

Could it be that Sura came for the renewal?

After understanding the other's intent, he smiled and said, "Mr. Sura, there are still three years and four months before the peace agreement expires, so it's not too late to talk about renewal then."

"Currently, Sif and I can't make any decisions."

Sura smiled and asked back, "And when that time comes, can you make a decision?"

Roland smiled without answering.

Sometimes not speaking is also an answer.

Sura shifted the topic, lowered his voice, and said, "If I'm not mistaken, you've used up the magic in the ring, haven't you?"

Roland never denied the wonders of the magic world. He pulled out the somewhat damaged ring and smiled, saying:

"Many thanks, it really saved my life. Mr. Sura, giving this ring as a gift truly seems a bit unjust."

Sura was almost amused by Roland's words.

A gift?

The items Roland bought last time combined weren't worth a fraction of this!

A ring that could store magic was common, but one that could store and automatically release life-saving magic was rare.

Sura didn't point it out but continued, "Mr. Roland, what do you think of magic?"

"The strong and complete power system of mages is the foundation for establishing a strong magic civilization. I highly recognize the rich and powerful nature of magic, but unfortunately, the magic crystal ore is depleted."

Commonly known that no matter how much is praised before, the real intention is the regret/but following.

Magic is indeed good; it can compete with the Extraordinary Power System up to Tier One.

But the Magic System has two fatal flaws.

First, there's a lack of feasible promotion channels between Tier One and Tier Zero.

There are theories, but no practical results.

But unlike the Extraordinary System based on Soul Cards, this path has already produced three Goddesses.

The Path of Transcendence is confirmed to be traversable with multiple routes leading to the True God.

The magic path is difficult, with an uncertain future and divine retribution looming overhead.

Not to mention, the magic crystal stones are gone.

Roland wasn't foolish enough to choose a dead end.

Sura understood Roland's meaning. He took Roland's ring back, took out a magic scroll from his pocket, where purple light danced at his fingertip, and quickly completed the recharging.

Handing the ring back to Roland, he smiled, saying, "After-sales service is finished."

"Thank you for making a special trip. How much does the after-sales cost this time?" Roland happily took the ring back.

It's a life-saving divine artifact; even with Divine Protection, who would mind having more ways to save themselves?

"The first after-sale service is free of charge."

Sura smiled and said, "There's one more thing, Master Anthony would like to meet you."

"Oh my, you should have told me such an important thing earlier. Master Anthony is a senior I greatly respect, and I dare not neglect his matters."

"Give me a moment to prepare. By the way, is there a particular reason the master wants to see me? If convenient, please tell me so I can prepare in advance."

Seeing Roland's proactive attitude, Sura nodded quietly, somewhat understanding why the teacher had a unique appreciation for Roland.

Potential is certainly an essential factor, and Roland's social skills were also crucial.

He calmly stated, "The magic crystal ore veins aren't exhausted."

Roland's eyes lit up.

He began to understand the reason for the change in Sif's destiny.

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