Chapter 016: The Lion’s Excessive Demand (2)

Du Fan snorted, wearing a smug expression, and said, “Since President Edward is so generous, not too much money is needed. Just prepare a few million for me. I’ll prepare a list of magical materials later and have someone collect them. As for people… I don’t know what I’ll need yet, but I require President Edward’s promise that if I ever need anything in the future, you’ll immediately provide it. Lastly, power—being a Magical Executive seems quite good. So what if I take that position? But as for keeping things secret, I’m sure President Edward can handle that well!”

Edward smiled slightly and said, “Alright, I agree to all your requests. But Du Fan, since you’re asking for so much, if you end up getting nothing, I definitely won’t let you off easy. Take this badge for now, but remember not to let anyone see it. As long as you wear this badge and enter any branch of the Mage Guild, everyone will know you’re the Magical Executive! As for money and other items, it will take some time to arrange, but don’t worry—I’ll surely deliver them to you later.”

With that, Edward seemed to reach into thin air and somehow pulled out a magical badge, throwing it at Du Fan from afar.

Du Fan caught it and took a look. It was a hexagonal-shaped magical badge, emitting waves of magical energy. His heart stirred, but he said nothing and simply stuffed the badge into his storage ring.

The one thing he hadn’t expected was that his final demand, which was already extremely excessive, had been fully accepted by President Edward. It seemed the secret of the Angelic Array was truly important!

But was it really possible to force someone like him, a minor figure, to carry out such an important task? Why not simply bribe the powerful figures in the Holy Church?

After pondering for a moment, Du Fan suddenly realized that such an absolute secret like the Angelic Array could only be known within the Holy Church by the most devout archbishops. Such people were surely not someone Edward would dare to mess with. Unless he wanted to provoke a full-scale war between the two major factions—but obviously, President Edward didn’t have the audacity for that yet!

Watching Du Fan’s actions, Edward said calmly, “Du Fan, I’m leaving everything that comes next to you. I trust you won’t disappoint me. But your current strength is still a bit insufficient. It’s best to practice more when you have time. I don’t know who the person behind you is who taught you speech magic, but they must be quite remarkable. It shouldn’t be hard for them to make you a bit stronger, right?”
“However…” At this point, Edward seemed to hesitate for a moment before standing up. He fumbled around on the bookshelf for a while before finally pulling out a thin scroll of parchment, which he tossed to Du Fan. “Du Fan, I can see that you have a natural affinity for the wind element. I’m giving you these wind magic theories and spells. Go and study them carefully; it will definitely be beneficial.”
Magic theories and spells?
A look of surprise finally appeared on Du Fan’s face.
After all, the money, power, possessions, and people he had asked for before—Edward, the president, would give them to him, which was within his expectations. But the fact that he was willing to give him the most important things for a magician, like magic theories and spells, was beyond his imagination…
No matter what Edward’s intentions were, giving him these magic theories and spells surely didn’t come with good intentions.
But fortunately, he still had Chenchen at home. If he showed her this, she would likely understand what was going on. As for now…
In other words, it would be foolish not to take it!
With that thought, Du Fan took the items without hesitation, gave Edward a faint smile, and said, “Then I really must thank you, President.”
Edward smiled and said, “What’s there to thank me for? As long as you do what I asked of you, there will be more benefits than just this.”
Benefits…? Probably not, Du Fan thought to himself, but he still smiled and said, “Then let’s do this. I’ll go prepare a list of magic materials right away. If President Edward has no further instructions, I’ll take my leave.”
“Go ahead,” Edward nodded. “Also, there’s no need to make a big deal out of your visit to my Holy Church today. I’ll have someone spread the word that you were brought here because of the Milak potion you have. Anthony probably won’t inquire about this either. Just act like you don’t know.”
Du Fan sneered and said, “Then I really must thank you, President Edward.”

Edward shook his head, hesitated for a moment before speaking softly again, “There’s more… The person who contacted you today is no ordinary individual. The men I sent to ‘protect’ you were all taken care of by him. So you need to be extremely cautious around him. I really don’t want anything to happen to you, Du Fan.”
Du Fan snorted and said, “President Edward, thank you for your concern. But since you want me to do this job, please arrange for someone to ‘protect’ me from now on. Otherwise, I might just kill everyone I meet.”
Edward replied calmly, “Since you don’t like having people follow you, then I’ll make sure those guys don’t follow you.”
Seeing President Edward’s expression, Du Fan suddenly had an idea. He originally wanted to leave, but he couldn’t help but say, “Then, President Edward, since you know so much, I actually have a question for you… Is it true that the current emperor of the Gavin Empire, Austin III, is about to die?”
A hint of surprise finally appeared on Edward’s usually calm face. He stared at Du Fan and said meaningfully, “How do you know that?”
Du Fan frowned for a moment before smiling lightly and saying, “Since President Edward says so, it must be true. I see… Then I’ll take my leave first…”
With that, Du Fan slowly stood up and walked toward the door.
Edward watched his back for a while before saying gravely, “Du Fan, since you know that Austin III is about to die, you must also be aware that changes will soon occur in the capital. But exactly when, we don’t know… Be extremely careful. I don’t want you to die for no reason.”
Du Fan turned around and smiled, “Then I really do have to thank President Edward…”
After saying that, Du Fan pulled open the door of the laboratory and quickly stepped outside.
It wasn’t until the door closed again that Edward frowned and muttered to himself, “How did this Du Fan find out about this? Duke Green definitely knows about it, but he surely wouldn’t reveal it by accident. As for the Holy Church, it seems he doesn’t have the qualifications yet… It seems this Du Fan is indeed not ordinary!”
At that point, Edward walked over to his desk, picked up an ancient-looking bell, and gave it a gentle shake.
With that movement, a melodious sound with a magical rhythm spread out.

A moment later, magic circles appeared in all four corners of the room simultaneously. The circles slowly merged together to form a teleportation magic circle. Soon after, Kristy’s figure appeared in the room.
Edward saw Kristy and nodded, saying, “Kristy, you heard what I and Du Fan said just now, right?”
Kristy nodded and replied, “Yes, all the students heard it. But teacher, I don’t understand…”
“What don’t you understand?”
Kristy hesitated for a moment before saying, “That Du Fan may indeed not be an ordinary person, but assigning him such an important task as uncovering the secrets of the Angelic Magic Circle seems a bit frivolous. Moreover, giving him so many benefits at once…”
Edward shook his head and said, “Kristy, I understand what you mean. Although the matter of the Angelic Magic Circle is important, I’m not very confident that he can handle it. Or rather, whether he can succeed or not… I still need such an excuse to get close to him and provide him with everything he needs. The Angelic Magic Circle is important, but it’s just an excuse. What really matters is establishing a connection with him.”
Kristy thought for a while and said, “But…”
“There’s no but,” Edward waved his hand. “Kristy, tell me, what kind of person do you think Du Fan is?”
Kristy quickly replied, “He’s definitely not an ordinary person. At least I can’t fathom his schemes at all. Teacher, among these nobles in the capital over the years, this is the first time I’ve met someone his age with such cunning. But even if he’s extraordinary, is he really that important to us?”
“Yes, very important,” Edward smiled and nodded. “Kristy, first, you need to understand who our enemy really is. Only then can you understand… why I say Du Fan is extremely important to us.”
“Our enemy? Isn’t it the Holy Church?”