“Of course, I’m not forcing it; if Anlor classmate is willing, you can give it a try with me?”
“No, no, no, I’m willing! Very willing!”
“Ah!” Having just agreed, Anlor thought of something and hurriedly took out seven silver coins from a storage ring in her hand, handing them to Ye Xu.
“I’ll pay right now; thank you so, so much, Ye Xu classmate.”
She was already dirt poor right now, and now that a classmate was offering her a chance to save money, she definitely couldn’t pass it up—especially since this person was Ye Xu.
“Mm.” Seeing this, Ye Xu, who had just finished eating, didn’t mind; he wiped his mouth, then took the silver coins from Anlor’s hand and nodded.
“By the way, Anlor classmate, where is your hangar?”
Without a doubt, having Ye Xu personally maintain the machine—this wasn’t something that could be done for a mere seven silver coins a month.
For the vast majority of people in this world, this was an opportunity priceless beyond measure.
Of course, Ye Xu himself had no particular thoughts about it; after all, in his view, this was just a reasonable investment.
From one afternoon’s casual chat, he increasingly recognized the talent and will of the girl before him.
Just think of it as cultivating a future assistant for Rawi, that guy who likes to get stuck in dead ends—very worthwhile.
“Mm, it’s in Hangar 17, spot 43…” As soon as she said the name, even Anlor felt a bit embarrassed and scratched her face; after all, who would think that someone with a relatively new custom exclusive machine would park it in such a remote corner.
“It’s fine.” Of course, Ye Xu didn’t mind this; rather, it suited his intentions perfectly.
Even among the Magic Academy’s hangars, the technical levels between different hangars were completely different.
In most cases, the first eight hangars, created directly by teachers, had a fairly obvious technical gap compared to the later twelve.
Like their deeply customized Radiant Sun Type-14 machines, even if sent to hangars after number eight, they wouldn’t dare accept them, because they lacked the maintenance technical capability.
Of course, there were benefits to this; for example, to compete for business, those hangars further back would add some extra services under the same package.
For instance, with the same ten-silver-coin mid-tier package, most hangars after number eight would provide free repair services when your machine had minor wear.
If your model was on the older side, they were undoubtedly a more cost-effective choice.
And for Ye Xu now, being in a remote location undoubtedly benefited him as well, after all, some things weren’t suitable to be seen by others.
“Then, Anlor classmate, although it might be a bit presumptuous, please assist me.”
After one afternoon of pouring out her past, the relationships among the few had unconsciously drawn closer; Ye Xu, following Isxila and Anlor, began to call the other by name in private.
“It might be a little uncomfortable next; bear with it for a moment.”
Then, under the puzzled gazes of the other three, Ye Xu walked behind Anlor, extended his joined index and middle fingers, and gently pressed them against the snow-white nape exposed behind Anlor’s collar.
“Eek!”
In the next moment, a night-purple light shone, and Anlor trembled all over, feeling only a strange mana fluctuation begin to travel along her spine, rushing straight into her brain, invading her limbs and bones.
Anlor’s detailed physical conditions were thereby perceived by Ye Xu.
The spiritual strength in her soul, the mana wavelength in her body, the patterns of mana flow in her meridians—all were laid bare before Ye Xu without omission.
As spiritual light flashed in his eyes, these data were thereby completely stored by Ye Xu into the Night God Throne system, awaiting future use when maintaining Anlor’s machine.
“Done.” About three minutes later, Ye Xu released his hand, and the night-purple mana light dimmed accordingly.
“Ye Xu classmate, what was that?” Even now, Anlor couldn’t forget that wondrous sensation from just now.
Although it felt a bit strange at first, soon, that wondrous fullness of her limbs and bones being filled by a powerful mana brought a peculiar flavor.
Anlor twisted her body, feeling only somewhat…
Comfortable?
“I conducted a check on Anlor classmate’s body, collecting data like your soul strength and mana wavelength, to facilitate future machine maintenance.”
“Eh? Does machine maintenance actually require a physical exam?” Hearing this for the first time, Anlor was a bit surprised, and couldn’t help feeling a few hints of shock in her heart.
…
“Rest assured, with Nal classmate helping, you’ve picked up a huge bargain; his magitech skills are extremely, extremely impressive~”
Beside her, a tiny flash of sourness passed through Isxila’s eyes; she gave Ye Xu a slightly reproachful glance, then smiled and said to Anlor.
“Eh~ Is it that impressive??? Even Princess Isxila says so…”
As a princess, even if she might not know these techniques herself, her breadth of vision was definitely far beyond ordinary people.
To receive such an evaluation from Isxila, Anlor only now realized how big a bargain she had picked up.
“Very impressive; the type where the Radiant Sun Empire’s Machine Research Institute would bow their heads in submission upon seeing him.” Isxila said in a teasing tone, and Ye Xu beside her hurriedly “coughed” twice to interrupt.
“Mm-hmm~”
Of course, Anlor definitely wouldn’t believe it entirely.
After all, what kind of place was the Radiant Sun Empire’s Machine Research Institute?
It, along with the Radiant Sun Empire’s imperial capital’s Magician Association headquarters and the Radiant Sun Empire Research Institute, were known as the three holy lands for theoretical school mages in the world.
Every generation’s foundational blueprints guiding the world’s Magitech Knights, from the Radiant Sun Type-14 to the initial Radiant Sun Type-1, and even earlier models, all came from the hands of the Radiant Sun Empire’s Machine Research Institute.
And precisely because of this powerful capability, the Radiant Sun Empire was also the only one among the four great empires that sold externally and would cast Magitech Knights for other nations.
As for the other empires, even though they possessed self-research and construction capabilities for Magitech Knights, their data was not publicly disclosed or sold.
To say a student could surpass the Machine Research Institute was definitely exaggerated, but for Isxila, a dignified princess, to dare boast so extravagantly, it definitely wasn’t without basis.
Perhaps Ye Xu classmate really was a top genius who, at this age, had technical prowess rivaling senior mages from the Radiant Sun Empire’s Machine Research Institute?
For a moment, Anlor couldn’t help but look forward to it.
“Waiter, the check!”
Standing up and waving at the front desk.
And just as Anlor wanted to pay the bill quickly and take Ye Xu to prepare her Infernal Prison, Ye Xu pressed her hand down.
“I’ll cover the bill; Anlor classmate, keep your own money for your studies.” Ye Xu smiled and stepped in front of Anlor, then interfaced with the approaching waiter, took out a card, and swiped it on the magitech device like a card reader handed over by the waiter, paying just like that.
“Eh eh eh, how can this be?”
She had originally come to treat, and had already taken a big advantage from Ye Xu; now, having Ye Xu snatch the payment, Anlor felt somehow like she had a déjà vu of being kept?
“It’s no problem; after all, Anlor classmate’s own money has more important uses, right?”
“If you really want to repay me, after becoming a knight of the Eternal Night Knight Order in the future, don’t forget to give a hand up to this little illegitimate son of an earl’s house.” To this, Ye Xu joked nonchalantly, then added.
“It’s getting late now; Anlor classmate, head to the magitech and alchemy departments to prepare for class soon.”
“After school in the afternoon, I’ll come find you and maintain your machine.”
“Mm-hmm…”
The other had already shown such goodwill, and Anlor knew that refusing further would be a bit affected.
With budding feelings and a face full of blush, the girl lifted her head, gazed at the youth before her whose figure wasn’t particularly tall but was immensely towering in her eyes, thanked him softly once more, then fled the restaurant as if escaping.
And behind her, Lol, looking at his princess majesty who was now exuding an almost tangible black aura all over, having turned into a “vinegar spirit,” hurriedly wiped his sweat.
“In that case, this subject won’t disturb Your Highness the Princess; I’ll take my leave first to go to class.”
Then, Lol stood up and walked straight toward the restaurant door.
And, as he passed Ye Xu, under his puzzled gaze, slightly opened his squinted blue eyes, revealing a hint of pity, patted his shoulder just like that, and decisively left.