Chapter 017: Kristy

Their encounter this time was almost silent; before any real testing could begin, it was already over.
Yet both of them realized that although the other seemed unremarkable on the surface, their strength was by no means ordinary.
They exchanged glances for a moment longer, then Du Fan suddenly smiled gently and said, “By the way, I haven’t asked yet—may I know how I should address you, esteemed mage?”
The female mage seemed to remember at that moment that she still needed to introduce herself. She withdrew her gaze from Du Fan, assumed a strange posture, stood up slightly, grabbed one corner of her robe, and bent forward slightly before finally speaking in a rarely serious tone, “My name is Kristy. Of course, you may call me Miss Kristy, or perhaps Lady Mage Kristy. I really don’t care much about such things.”
Kristy? What a peculiar name.
Du Fan thought maliciously, trying desperately to recall any information about this name. Unfortunately, he sadly realized that he knew nothing about this mage named Kristy, while she seemed to know everything about him. No matter how he looked at it, he was at a serious disadvantage today!
Yet despite these thoughts, Du Fan’s face wore the most perfect smile as he praised her softly, “Kristy? What a name that perfectly matches your beauty! I think anyone who hears such a beautiful name will surely think of the graceful and elegant Miss Kristy.”
Although Kristy’s behavior from start to now had nothing to do with grace or elegance, Du Fan’s carefree praise made her giggle. After a moment, she glanced at Du Fan from head to toe and said, “Well, Young Master Du Fan… I don’t think two mages need to be so formal, right? After all, there are already few mages in this world. If you develop bad habits at a young age, just like those monsters in the high towers, that wouldn’t be good.”
Du Fan frowned slightly, but his smile quickly concealed his fleeting confusion. He simply replied indifferently, “Lady Kristy, you’re joking. Although I know a bit of inferior magic, I’m definitely not worthy of the title of mage…”

Christie smiled faintly and said, “Young Master Du Fan, you’re too polite. If someone with your abilities can’t even be called a magician, then those first-level magicians must be driving themselves to despair one by one… Right?” As she spoke, Christie calmly looked at Du Fan, a hint of amusement—and also a hint of coldness—in her eyes, as if waiting for his reply.

But Du Fan didn’t answer her. He simply picked up the black tea served by the servant earlier and took a sip before saying, “This is black tea sent from the southern regions. It was dried before being shipped and treated with certain herbs, so although it has lost some of its freshness, its taste is still similar… Miss Christie, you might as well try more.”

Christie remained silent, just watching Du Fan quietly.

Du Fan also said nothing. It took him a long time to slowly finish the black tea in his cup. After that, he set down the cup and clapped his hands, saying, “Miss Christie, could you tell me what brings you to see me today?”

Christie smiled slightly and glanced at Du Fan, saying, “Haven’t you guessed it a bit already, Young Master Du Fan?”

Du Fan touched his nose and smiled bitterly. “Guessing is just guessing—it’s definitely not the truth. If I don’t hear what you have in mind, I, Du Fan, will feel quite uneasy!”

“Do you get that way too?” Christie glanced at Du Fan before continuing, “Well then, Young Master Du Fan, please listen carefully… I, Christie, am here on behalf of the Magicians’ Guild to invite you to their headquarters.”

Du Fan’s brows twitched, and he inwardly smiled bitterly.

The Magicians’ Guild? Really the Magicians’ Guild?

Aren’t the people from the Magicians’ Guild usually at odds with those from the Holy Church? Now they’re sending such a high-ranking magician to invite him—their intentions are quite clear.

For those old monsters from the Magicians’ Guild to be friendly toward someone like him, a charlatan… it’s simply unbelievable…

And most importantly, Du Fan himself didn’t understand what value he had to make those old monsters from the Magicians’ Guild go to the trouble of inviting him.

With these thoughts in mind, Du Fan couldn’t help but glance at Kristy across from him and said in a solemn tone, “Well… Miss Kristy, I suppose you know who I am… Wouldn’t it be inappropriate for me to go to the Mage Guild?”
Kristy blinked and said innocently, “Young Master Du Fan, you’re the third young master of the Green family and a White Robed Priest of the Holy Church. What’s the problem? You’re neither a fugitive of the empire nor an heretic… There’s absolutely no issue!”
Du Fan was stunned and once again forced to smile bitterly.
Although it was well known that the Holy Church and the Mage Guild were at odds, no one had ever brought it up or discussed it openly…
With Kristy acting so foolish now, did he really have to shake her and say, “You idiot! Don’t you know the Holy Church and the Mage Guild are enemies? What exactly do you want from me?”
Of course, he could never do such a thing, but given her current attitude…
Du Fan suddenly felt an urge to laugh out loud… He was indeed different from his past self!
Back then, although he had some reputation in the Holy Church, which of those powerful figures would have paid attention to him? Now that he had power, not only did the Holy Church view him differently, but even people from the Mage Guild were trying to win him over… It was truly an honor!
But should he go or not?
After pondering for a moment, Du Fan quickly made up his mind. The situation in the capital was complex, and meeting with the people from the Mage Guild might not be entirely pointless. Perhaps this encounter could even bring him some opportunities.
With this thought, Du Fan smiled slightly and said, “Miss Kristy, if you think there’s no problem with my identity, then since you ask me to go to the Mage Guild, I naturally should go… Although I’m not yet a mage, I’ve long heard great things about the Mage Guild!”
He wasn’t wrong in saying this. In fact, whether it was mages or other professions, one needed to go to the guild for level certification to determine their rank. Otherwise, no matter how strong one was, they couldn’t prove their level.
Of course, some ultimate powerhouses disdained such procedures, but for ordinary people, level certification was crucial.

Du Fan also never took this level certification seriously. So, with his current magical power, although he could already be considered a fifth-level mage, he wasn’t even a magic apprentice in the Mage Guild due to the lack of such certification.
Hearing Du Fan agree, Kristi didn’t say much. She simply gave him a half-smiling glance before saying after a moment, “Young Master Du Fan, then I’ll be waiting for you at the Mage Guild these days. You can come anytime… Of course, I’d be very happy even if you just come to see me…”
Looking at her expression, Du Fan almost blurted out, “What if I come to have a friendly match with you?” But he held back. After all, on the surface, he was likely no match for Kristi! Teasing her would be seeking death! Although Kristi seemed like a fairy, if he really dared to try anything with her, he probably wouldn’t get off easy!
With Du Fan’s visit to the Mage Guild basically settled, Miss Kristi lost her serious demeanor and started chatting casually with him, chirping away—far from the image of a mage. Du Fan didn’t know how to refuse, so he could only keep up the casual conversation. But since Du Fan wasn’t someone who stayed put, and Miss Kristi wasn’t as simple as she seemed, both of them belonged to the despicable and shameless type. Their conversation even took on a sense of mutual understanding as if they’d long awaited meeting each other. If it weren’t for Miss Kristi still having magic experiments to conduct, Du Fan was ready to talk all day.
As for whether things would go as far as bed, that was something no one could predict.
By the time Miss Kristi was sent out of the duke’s mansion, half of the day had already passed.
Standing at the entrance of the duke’s mansion, Du Fan watched the carriage marked with hexagram runes drive away slowly, unable to help but frown.