my armed maid

Chapter 15 14: The Bayhart Brothers and Sisters (double update)
Alchemist is a very chaotic profession. This fact was understood by Nolen when he first came into contact with alchemy ten years ago.

Teacher Rusty is open to all customers who come to his door. Some people find lame excuses to ask him to refine poison, while others bluntly want to order explosives to blow up their enemies... Rusty answers all requests with a smile. All orders accepted.

According to him, this is what alchemists eat.The emergence of alchemy comes from human beings' desire to "turn stone into gold" and "immortality". Its existence is in response to the overflowing various desires of human beings.

If you just want to maintain world order and peace, it would be better to change your career as soon as possible and become a pure doctor or scholar.

In fact, most alchemists walk the line between good and evil, because in the Roland Empire, alchemists have a famous "privilege of immunity" - "I am not the one who kills, I am a soldier."

A murderer kills someone using a tool made by an alchemist. Even if the alchemist subjectively intends to help the murderer commit murder, he will still not be punished by law.

Even the alchemist has the right to remain silent on this matter, which is called protecting the privacy of his guests and himself.

This privilege not only greatly expanded the living space of alchemists, but also enabled the rapid and barbaric development and progress of alchemy.

It was born from human desires and grew from human desires.

Of course, alchemists occasionally reject requests from customers that are clearly excessive and unrealistic.

But generally as long as the money is in place, the alchemists will win over the commission.

This moment is a typical example. After some bargaining, Nolen finally accepted the commission to improve the formula and signed a confidentiality contract with Sharman:
During the experimental stage of improving the formula, the client must not only reimburse the alchemist for all alchemy material costs, but also pay a fixed salary to the alchemist every day for his research;

Within the agreed time, if the alchemist fails to produce results that satisfy the entrusting party, the entrustment will be terminated;
If the results are achieved, the entrusting party will settle the final payment for completing the entrustment for the alchemist.

After the commission is completed, the alchemist shares the experimental results with the client.

Alchemists are required to keep the results of their experiments confidential and are not allowed to trade the results with third parties within a certain period of time.

Judging from the content of the contract, no matter whether the commission is completed or not, the alchemist will not suffer any loss. Even if it fails, he will only not get the final payment of the commission. The alchemist's expenses during the commission period will be borne by the client.

If we really want to talk about losses, it will probably be that our reputation will be affected. Over time, no one will go to those incompetent alchemists to negotiate business.

As for Nolen, possessing the Book of Omniscient Knowledge he never has to worry about the day he will fail.

First, he has sufficient confidence in his alchemy level. Even if he does not rely on the Book of Omniscient Knowledge, he cannot be troubled by ordinary entrustments.

Second, even if he accidentally touches his knowledge blind spot, he can directly consume knowledge points to ask questions in the book of omniscience and directly obtain the most perfect formula answer for the stimulant potion.

However, the knowledge points in the Book of Omniscient Knowledge are extremely valuable, and a certain amount of knowledge points will only be generated based on their rarity when the pages of the book are turned and new items and spells are recorded.

At present, he wants to use all the knowledge points in his hand to obtain spells, such as "exploding fireball" and "electric shock" magic circle, which he obtained by asking questions in the book.

In short, this is the last insurance measure to prevent yourself from capsizing in the gutter.

So he signed the contract readily, humming a song and returned to the workshop with the sample and formula of the stimulant potion.

Yuna came back earlier than him. She had already gone to school to retrieve her belongings. At this time, she was wearing the training uniform of the Knight Academy and practicing swordsmanship in the yard with a long sword in hand.

Nolen did not disturb her, but stood aside and observed secretly.

He does not have the talent to become an extraordinary person, so he is very interested in the extraordinary power of mages and knights.

In the yard, the iron sword was swung vigorously by Yuna like a light branch. The sunlight cast a dazzling light on the sword's edge, presenting a silvery sword dance to the viewers.

Unfortunately, the only flaw is that the pace of Yuna's lower body obviously did not keep up with the rhythm of the sword swing of her upper body. In a stagger, the balance and beauty of the entire sword dance were instantly destroyed.

She stopped training, took a breath, hammered her thigh with some annoyance, and then looked in the direction of Nolen.

"Not satisfied with this prosthetic limb?" Nolen walked over.

Yuna shook her head quickly: "No, it's not. This is my problem. I'm not fully familiar with how to control it yet."

"Don't worry, you can get familiar with your new legs during this time."

Nolen nodded, "I only ask that you clean the workshop every morning, and then put my three meals at the door of the laboratory on time. You can move freely the rest of the time -

"Of course, if you plan to go out, please report to me. Do you have anything else to do?"

"Nothing."

"That's good, but it's good to have motivation. Don't practice too hard."

Nolen waved his hand and walked to his room, "If you encounter any problems, come to me. Although I am not as good at fighting as you, I am professional in solving difficult and complicated diseases."

Yuna nodded and silently watched him leave. The words of thanks came to her lips, but she swallowed them back in the end.

There were people supporting her behind her back - this fact gave her tired body a little bit of motivation.

……

As night falls, the City Lord's Mansion.

Passing through the red-carpeted corridor, Ryan opened the door to the city lord's study.

Sitting in the study is a young man in his 20s. He is wearing an elegant gold silk nightgown and is sitting at the table correcting documents.

Seeing Ryan's visit, the young man put down the pen and paper in his hand, stood up and greeted him enthusiastically: "Uncle Ryan, you are here."

"You don't have to be so polite, Lord City Lord." Ryan took a seat, looked at the young man who was making tea for him, and coughed lightly, "I can do it myself."

If this scene was seen by outsiders, who would have thought that this young man who was so respectful to him was actually Ivan Bayhart, the lord of Linfeng City?

Three years ago, the old city lord fell ill, so he gave up his position as the lord of Linfeng City and the head of the Bayhart family to his 23-year-old eldest son, Ivan Bayhart, and went to enjoy his old age.

It wouldn't matter if it were a peaceful time. Ivan could safely operate and develop in Linfeng City for a few years to make up for his lack of government experience and leadership qualities.

Unexpectedly, Roland I died a year later, and the eldest prince and the second prince fought for the throne. Undercurrents surged throughout the Roland Empire, and civil strife broke out frequently.

Living in troubled times, every decision he makes may affect the future development of Linfeng City, which puts pressure on the young city lord Ivan. He often has to rely on Ryan to make suggestions for him.

From the perspective of the city owner, Ryan is the leader of the Linfeng Knights, the dean of the Linfeng Knights Academy, and an eighth-level knight with decades of combat experience.

From a family perspective, Ryan and the old city lord were comrades-in-arms, and he personally taught him swordsmanship when he was young. He was not only his uncle, but also his teacher.

This made Ivan attach great importance to Ryan's advice to him, and it was also the reason why he was willing to make tea for Ryan himself.

The two chatted for a while, and then Ryan cut to the chase and said, "Our scouts have detected more and more heavily armed prairie troops in the territory. They are looting nearby villages in groups and have caused us real losses and harsh consequences." Influence.

"There are more and more voices in the city asking us to send troops to exterminate the grassland people. Have you thought of a way to deal with it?"

Ivan said cautiously: "The grassland people have invaded the territory of the Roland Empire. The top priority is to report the situation to the royal family. I have sent a request for help to the imperial capital a few days ago."

Ryan shook his head: "The two princes are still fighting for the throne. The imperial capital has already been busy with itself. How can there be any spare power to support us?"

"Then we can't hold on. Linfeng City has solid city walls, powerful city defense magic cannons and reliable magic array barriers. Those barbarians will definitely not be able to attack it."

"But this will sacrifice the surrounding villages outside the city. If the prairie people siege the city and cut off the supplies from our rear, it will also be troublesome for us."

Lane raised objections, "What's more, passive defense has not yet begun. This will greatly affect our morale."

Ivan sighed: "I understand what uncle said, but it is undeniable that the prairie people's combat effectiveness on the plains is much better than ours.

"They are a nation on horseback, and everyone is a natural cavalry... When our previous armies fought against them at the border, didn't they always lose more than they win?"

Ryan shook his head: "Individual advantages are not the decisive factor in determining the direction of the war. We can use tactics and resources to wear them down. In any case, fleeing before fighting is an insult to the knight's honor."

"Uncle is thinking about honor, and I am thinking about the future of Linfeng City."

Ivan actually did not give in at this moment, "In these troubled times, I will do my best to retain the effective forces in the city. All high-risk decisions are not within my scope of consideration."

Seeing his resolute attitude, Ryan did not try to persuade her anymore, but changed the subject and said, "Speaking of which, Evelin just returned to the city this afternoon. Haven't you met her yet?"

Ivan's eyes lit up: "Is Eve here?"

Evelin is seven years younger than him, the little princess of the Bayhart family, and his biological sister.

The brother and sister had a very good relationship when they were young. Later, Evelin awakened her excellent talent as a mage and was sent to study abroad in the imperial capital by her parents.

Now that the imperial capital is in chaos, Linfeng City has also been invaded by the prairie people. After receiving the news from her brother, Evelin decided to embark on a journey home. She calculated that it was almost time.

As if to verify his suspicion, the unknocked door was roughly pushed open.

"Ivan! I really can't stand listening to you. I didn't expect that after two years of not seeing you, you have turned into a coward who can only hide in the city and tremble!"

The crisp girl's voice rang out in the study room. Ivan looked at the savage girl who pushed in the door in astonishment. She had long chestnut hair and a beautiful face that was still dusty from the journey, but her eyes were clear and sharp, and she had a pair of beautiful eyes. He glared at his brother in front of him.

"you!?"

Ivan was confused. He thought that his reunion with his sister would be full of long-awaited touching and tenderness, but he did not expect that she would verbally attack him as soon as they met.

At that moment, the resentment accumulated in his chest also burst out, and he shouted angrily: "What do you know! Do you think that war is just playing house? After practicing in the imperial capital for so many years, this is how the teachers there teach you rules and politeness?"

"Yes, I don't understand anything!" Evelin held her head high, "I only know that my friends were hurt by the prairie people, and my people in Linfeng City were hurt by the prairie people, so I will take revenge at all costs. Go back, it's that simple!
"If you don't dare to fight, then let me do it! I will take my people to meet them outside the city and let them see how powerful we are!"

After saying that, without waiting for Ivan's reaction, he turned around and left in a hurry, leaving only Ivan with an ugly face and Ryan with a weird look.

The atmosphere in the study was silent for a moment, and Ivan smiled awkwardly at Ryan:
"I made my uncle laugh. I don't know why this child has such a strong temper. She used to have this character. I didn't expect that even after going to the imperial capital, she couldn't change her bad temper. It's really a headache."

“Evelin is 19 years old this year, she is not young anymore.” Ryan shook his head and said, “But speaking of why she was so angry just now, I do know the reason.

"I just met her at the door, and I told her about Yuna - the student who was scheduled to be her personal guard this year.

“When the prairie people looted Ganlin Village that day, Yuna was at the scene. Her relatives were killed by the prairie people in front of her eyes, and her legs were cut off. She will live in pain that is worse than death for the rest of her life.

"You may not be able to empathize with a stranger, but she is my student and Evelin's friend. We feel sorry for her experience, so we are even more resentful towards the prairie people."

Ryan said and stood up: "I'm leaving first. No matter what, you are the lord of Linfeng City. No matter what decision you make, as a soldier and a knight, I will firmly implement your will.

"But don't forget, Ivan... The reason why humans are different from those beasts that seek advantages and avoid disadvantages is because we have a bottom line that cannot be compromised.

"As long as you give the order, I am willing to lead the knights of Linfeng City to eliminate all invading enemies, use their blood to pay tribute to those innocent people, and exchange for the true peace and tranquility of Linfeng City."

(End of this chapter)