Abel put on a warm smile, “What happened, you two?”
Carlos had an upset look on his face, “Abel, I should’ve never come to his banquet.”
“Wait. Why?” Abel asked. For some reason, Camille was just as upset as Carlos.
Camille lowered her head, “Mentor just told us that we couldn’t have any food here. Do you know how hard it is for us, Abel? We’ve been trying not to smell them every day when we are in Harry Castle, but now that they are right in front of us…”
That just reminded Abel. Both Carlos and Camille had yet to become official wizards. It’d be a waste if they were to eat food that contained the rabbit essence.
Abel said with a sympathetic look on his face, “Mentor is right. You should try to stay away from these dishes. How about I get something ordinary for you two?”
Camille rolled her eyes, “Uh, no. I can’t eat normal food when I smell all this, you know.”
“Right, sorry,” Abel looked away for a bit, “Did you, uh, have you heard from Warren and Audrey?”
Warren and Audrey were Wizard Morton’s disciples. Abel hadn’t seen them before, but from what he’s heard, the two locked themselves up on the sixth and seventh floor of the Morton Magic Tower outside Bakong City.
Camille shook her head, “Remember when you were chased after by Wizard Cliff? Everyone left the Morton Magic Tower when that happened, but both of them didn’t make it when the floors were unlocked.”
Abel sighed, “I’m so sorry to hear that. Mentor must be very sad about this. I should’ve been there earlier to comfort him.”
“Thank you for saying that,” Camille nodded in acknowledgment, “Mentor did expect this to happen, but he’s been doing everything he can to make sure that it won’t happen again. Wizard apprentices don’t have a high rate of being official wizards. This is why he only picks really talented students.”
Abel tried to change the subject, “Let’s spare that talk for another time. For now, I hope you two focus on your training. I’ve already prepared magic towers for both of you.”
Camille quickly changed her tone, “Wow, really? Is it alright if I paint the whole tower in pink?”
Carlos suddenly interrupted, “I want short-distance portals everywhere in mine. I’ve had enough walking on stairs.”
What Carlos said did bring back some good memories. When the three of them were back at the Morton Magic Tower, Carlos would always complain about how many stairs he had to climb. Anyways, the three started smiling at each other as they reminisced about the time they had together.
Meanwhile, Duke Albert drank red wine over the distance. He kept his distance from Abel and his classmates but nodded when he crossed eyes with Abel. When Abel noticed, he went up to him to say his greetings.
Duke Albert smiled, “It’s only been two years, Abel. I didn’t expect you to grow so much!”
Abel lowered his knees, “My honorable Duke Albert, it is my pleasure to see you here. I can’t stress enough how much I miss the days when I was with the elves.”
When Abel finished his sentence, Duke Albert quickly activated a magic circle that he wore on his waist. This way, the two were covered with an invisible force field. The energy that was emitted caught the attention of multiple advanced wizards present, but when they saw how natural Abel was, they all didn’t bother to ask anything.
Still, Abel’s elder sign card started sending emergency signals to Abel. The guardian spirit was trying to send a warning to him through the battle command spirit. If Abel didn’t shut down the emergency signal device with his power of the Will, the battle fort 03 would’ve entered into combat mode immediately.
Whatever Duke Alberta wanted to say, it must be very important.
Duke Alberta looked at Abel,” I’m not sure if you’ve heard about this, Abel, so I’m just going to tell you from the start.”
“Yes,” Abel listened.
“From what I’ve gathered, the dwarves have suffered a decrease in their food production. The elves are in a similar situation. Fruits and other food products have been on a decline. The humans have yet to face this problem, but according to the elder of my clan, there will be a disaster coming soon. It will be big enough that the whole Holy Continent will suffer because of it.”
Abel nodded, “What you’re saying definitely makes sense. When I was at the Orc Empire, I saw a great decline in the production of food. It’s one of the reasons that the Orc Empire started the war.”
Duke Alberta continued, “If the humans suffer a food shortage, then the duchy of Carmel will be at a very different place than where it is now. It’s the same reason that I’m here.”
The duchy of Carmel was heavily-reliant on its agriculture. It’s one of the largest producers of food in the human world, and due to its very southern location, it became the ideal place for running farms and growing crops. In times of prosperity, it’d be selling food that was less valuable than anything, but in times of a food crisis, there would be no doubt that there would be someone who was going to buy it at a very high price.
Duke Alberta’s objective was simple: by allying with the duchy of Carmel, no one would feel that it was right to ask for favors from Abel. Yes, not even if there was a lack of food that could be distributed.
Abel turned to ask, “So how long do you think it’ll take?”
“Ten,” Duke Albert said with a depressed look, “At least ten years. Since the outbreak came too quickly, we elves didn’t have enough time to make enough storage for ourselves, and no, we can’t just buy from the humans. The diet we have is too different from what humans produce.”
This just reminded Abel of his three goddesses statue. He was a lucky man. With the irrigation device that he had, it would only take one month to collect wheat that was ripened. He had to keep it a secret, though. With Harvest City under his control, he would make sure that none of the noblemen would have access to the secret technology he was utilizing.
Abel spoke to Duke Albert, “If you don’t mind me suggesting, I suppose the elves can try to change their diet.”
“What do you mean?” Duke Albert asked.
“If the elves can change their main diet to what the humans have, I can make sure that there’ll be enough supplies to feed the whole population.
Duke Albert shook his head immediately, “It’s a shocking statement, coming even from you. I’m afraid it’s not possible, however. We elves have a very high demand for fruits. What humans eat cannot provide us the necessary nutrition for our survival.”
“I’ll be straight with you, Duke Albert,” Abel went closer, “I have a special potion that allows me to create a massive amount of crop harvest. It’s not something that I’m prepared to sell to others if you know what I mean.”
Duke Albert widened his eyes, “You mean you can multiply the food sources that the humans have?”
Abel nodded with the confidence of an alchemy prodigy, “Indeed. I’ve already been testing it with the Harry Family. We are using the potion on a massive area that’s outside Harvest City.”
“So is it possible to increase the production of fruits?”
Abel wasn’t too certain, “I didn’t do enough tests for that, but it should be very likely.”
“Well,” Duke Albert scratched his head, “If I remember correctly, Master Bennett doesn’t have his own property amongst the elves. You only have a title that was granted to you, am I correct?”
“Well, yes,” Abel replied with a bit of surprise.
“Very well. When I’m back, I’ll talk with the Grand Duke. I’ll ask her to grant Master Bennett his own property outside Angstrom City. I’ll also advise her to consider promoting Master Bennett’s rank amongst the elves.”
