"I may not be part of the army anymore, but the Kingdom is my birthplace and the magical beasts' community is the closest thing to a family I have. Ajatar agreed to take me in after I offered to help him protect his turf.
"Between undead beasts preying on their kin and the undead who fail to infiltrate human cities to feed, Awakened Lords have their workload increased because humans do not care for what happens in the wilds as long as it doesn't threaten their lifestyle.
"Besides, I needed something to do while waiting for your call." Morok said, making her chuckle.
At the second course, they started to chat about their respective apprenticeships, sharing stories about their hardships and successes. After years spent hiding her activities from mostly everyone she knew, Quylla had a good time speaking freely.
Even at the academy, she rarely opened up to someone about her research. Laymen wouldn't understand a word of what she said, whereas competent mages would gladly steal her ideas.
The field of magical research was very competitive and even inside her own team, everyone only looked after themselves. To make matters worse, her talent often made others jealous.
Male Mages in her same field avoided Quylla like a plague while nobles only sought her to become magical bloodlines and for the power that being close with the Ernas household would provide them.
Morok was rude and often foul-mouthed, but he didn't seem to care about her being a better mage or even having a better mana core. His only reaction to learning she would probably achieve a violet core was to propose a toast.
"Are you really okay with not being Awakened? This way you'll be stuck with a blue core your whole life whereas Awakened can achieve a violet core and use Spirit Magic. It's pretty awesome if you ask me." Quylla felt tipsy for having drunk a bit too much.
Morok was a heavyweight and she had got carried away following his lead.
"If there's one thing I learned in my brief time as a feudal lord, is that with more power come a lot more responsibilities. I don't want to be forced to join the Council and being just a true mage is an excellent excuse to skip the Spirit Magic class." He said, making her laugh hard.
"That wasn't even funny. You should really stop drinking."
"I guess you're right." Quylla said after noticing that people were staring at her and she couldn't care less. "I need a detoxify spell but I'm having trouble focusing. Do you mind giving me a hand?"
Getting rid of alcohol from the bloodstream required but a tier one spell that Morok promptly administered. Its only side effect was the dire need for a bathroom to literally flush the wine out.
While the sobered up Quylla rushed to the lavatory, Morok used her absence to pay the bill in advance, giving the waiter both a generous tip and an apology.
'Like Master Ajatar always says, even beasts act like humans when they live among them whereas I act like neither a human nor a beast, just like a prick.' He thought.
Before leaving the Gluttonous Scorpicore, Quylla had to drink an entire water jug to make up for the lost fluids, but aside from that, her mind was as sharp as ever.
Once outside, Morok put his hands in his pockets so as to "casually" offer his arm to her which she "casually" failed to notice while they walked towards the city's Warp Gate.
"You know, if you didn't tell me, I wouldn't have ever thought that you were adopted." Morok said after checking the notes on his left hand.
"Why? Do I act as stuck up as purebred noble?" Quylla felt slightly annoyed at the idea of having become like those she hated the most.
"Not at all. I briefly met your parents in the past and you remind me of them a lot. I always thought you had gotten your mother's looks and your father's talent." Morok said.
"Thanks, it means the world for me." The idea that she could pass for her beloved parents' child was the best compliment that Quylla could ever hope for and made her puff her chest out with pride.
In the past, to express how fitting she was to her bloodline, Morok would have said that he found Quylla almost as beautiful as Friya and as muscular as Phloria. After Faluel's training, Quylla had gained a few kilos of pure muscles and become a couple of centimeters thicker in every direction, but not in a sexy way.
"How many times do I have to tell you?" The Drake's voice still echoed inside Morok's head. "If you use the mother as a benchmark, it sounds like a compliment. If you use the sister, instead, it sounds like you wish you could bang the other woman."
"I'm not worthy of your teachings, Master Ajatar." Morok had even kneeled to the Drake after realizing how wise his mentor was in all truly important aspects of life.
Ajatar had accepted to teach his pupil about the dos and don'ts of dating only because he was sick of Morok treating him like a wretched creature who knew nothing about women.
The realization that such lessons had garnered him the Tyrant's undying gratitude whereas teaching Morok the secrets of true magic had left little to no impression, made the Drake wish someone would beat his disciple in the head until it started to work properly.
"By the way, what happens when you give back a fief? Did you lose your merits as it happens to those who failed to become Lords?" Quylla asked.
In the Griffon Kingdom, when a mage asked for a noble title and its lands, they would be granted full authority over their chosen fief for a trial period while the previous lord of the region taught them the ropes.
Being a genius in magic didn't mean to be also capable of ruling a piece of the country. The mage needed to study the Kingdom's laws and to prove their ability as both politicians and administrators.
To become the permanent ruler of their fief, the mage had to be at least as capable as the person they were going to replace. In case of failure, the mage would keep their title and be assigned a smaller territory to see if they could manage it on their own.
"I didn't fail, young miss, I backed out." Morok snorted. "I got my merits back and exchanged them for the title of Great Mage. This way, I get all of the money and none of the hassle."
"Wait, are you really a Great Mage?" Quylla's voice held so much incredulity and so little admiration that it managed to dent even Morok's thick skin.
"Yeah. This might sound odd to you, but risking your life for the Kingdom on a daily basis for years is valued a lot more than sitting on your ass all day and wait for enlightenment like academics do." He took his deep green robe out of his dimensional amulet and shoved it in her face.
"I didn't mean to belittle your achievements. I can only imagine what you went through while you worked as a Ranger in the wilds. It's just…" Quylla didn't know how to express her feelings without sounding like a female Morok.
