Although I am now a prince, but in order to survive...BL

Chapter 26

After leaving the hiding place, Jay took a look at the neighborhood. Everything looked exactly the same as before he disappeared. The weather is the same. The goats are in place. The spirit of the earth... well, unless he changed his field of activity. I was not admiring the local beauty of nature now, but I began to inspect the land next to the tower in a circle. Although maybe he did it earlier, Jay just didn't notice at the time. In any case, the boy did not pay much attention to the spirit of the earth. After making sure that time was not passing outside, Jay was delighted and, in turn, upset by this. No, of course, it's good that his disappearance was not noticed. It is unlikely that he would like to reveal the secret of the magic tower (even to those very magicians). But what a pity that the "time freeze" cannot be used outside the "hiding place" of the tower. Something told Jay that in his future life such a spell would be very useful. In the same moments of danger, for example. After all, as by this time it became known to Jay, they are sharpening their grudge against him. So, in any case, you will not be able to avoid trouble and when you meet them, you will need to think quickly. And this... do you know how tedious and difficult it is?In just one minute, or even a second, you will need to sort through a bunch of options "how to save your own skin" and choose only one correct one. Despite the fact that Jay considered himself a pretty smart guy and there were moments when he was particularly proud of his mind, he was also very familiar with the saying, which says that an old woman has her own hole. So at the moment, he didn't dare to overestimate his mind. However, if only there was not all hope for him in critical moments. Unfortunately, alas, he did not yet possess strong physical strength, he did not have a talent for magic, he did not even have a weapon (again, he needed money to purchase it). And here the spell "time freeze" would be very useful.But similar thoughts appeared in Jay, just as quickly and disappeared later. This thing is certainly necessary, no one disputes. But if you look carefully at how spells worked in this world... Jay would be better off relying on himself in critical moments than on magic. The same always works, if it works, then only with an error. And in order to understand this, it is not necessary to go far, it is enough to remember how the portal scroll works. According to his idea, he should move forward. But this happens only in six cases out of four.Jay let out a long sigh as he remembered his "magic" experience with the scrolls and entered the tower. This time he was in the "real" magic tower without interference. As soon as Jay saw the liveliness inside, he immediately realized it. However, he did not rejoice much, because as it soon turned out, the old magician was no longer here. He has long since left, leaving behind his former students in not very good condition. Some of them were unconscious, some had a broken arm, and some were bleeding completely. If Jay hadn't found out from the mouth of the water spirit who had previously visited the magic tower, he would have thought that a bandit had been here. Yes, to such an extent, everyone looked so bad."And maybe it's a good thing that I didn't meet him directly today. Judging by his deeds, the type is cruel. So, he may not want to tell me about the spell I need. It is then worth figuring out how to make his tongue chatty before looking for a meeting with him." After completing the examination of the victims, Jay made some conclusions for himself, thanks to which he stopped feeling dejected because he was late. And finding the spirit of water in the crowd, he went to him to collect debts. Not for this help, but for the last one. And it doesn't matter if she was there or not. In any case, he was promised money, he didn't pull anyone's tongue.The water Spirit was talking to Wei at that time."Where is he?" Cleaned up so fast already? – Speaking, the spirit of the earth, did not forget to move restlessly.- Yes, it would be better not to come! How dare he come here at all?! Coward! Chose the same time when most of us are absent. If he had stayed a little longer..." Wei shook his fist threateningly in the air. – We'd all get together and show him!- So he left completely intact? The earth spirit asked in surprise. During his absence, he hoped that someone had managed to cripple his former "master" a little. Still, there were plenty of magicians here. Okay, he didn't have time to react in time, and he got injured, but he was alone, no one could cover his back. And these... these! Couldn't they attack in a crowd? – You just let him go!- Who was going to let him go? No one wanted to. It's all because of the protective ring! You tried to attack him yourself at first, but nothing happened. It's all about him! It saved his life today! – Wei, released his irritation by this time and was already talking more calmly. – It turns out that there is protection from magic ... - The last sentence sounded rather dull. – Have you ever heard of such a thing?- So it's all about the ring. And I counted... Apparently then he managed to get the right bones somewhere.- So it's true? Really?Yeah, magic doesn't always work. – The water spirit, realizing that he began to get distracted, continued the conversation with Wei, deciding to think about the ring later. – The old master of the tower always told the students about this when he conducted the next lesson. I thought the "traitor" mentioned this to you.- The traitor, as you put it, did not speak in class. He reported this before his departure today. – One of the magicians who suffered the most joined the conversation. Only unlike Wei, he was not friendly to the spirit. Having learned that the spirit was not surprised at all when he heard about the protective ring, the magician began to splash out on him the accumulated resentment for today. – With arrogance and mocking us all. And all because of you. You live in the tower, too. Why didn't you tell us that magic doesn't always work? Maybe you're plotting something against us, too?- what? Hey, don't you dare equate me with an old man. I'm obviously not like him. I've never led you by the nose. The water spirit was immediately indignant. Still, how could he tolerate comparisons with a human? He is a spirit, a creature of nature, possessing unique magic and intelligence (do you know how much knowledge is stored in his head? Very, very much). And who is this one? A selfish, cunning, greedy, narrow-minded old man. How can two of them be compared at all?The most serious quarrel began, to which everyone who was in the tower began to join in turn. Jay realized that he would not hear anything interesting further, decided to take a closer look at all the dark places and corners available here. Still, this is not a hiding place, the place is inhabited, unlike him, where only things are in the office, here they should be scattered everywhere. Maybe you can stumble upon a precious stone or find a book with a magical alphabet? And what if? At first, he only paid attention to the victims. So anything can happen. In any case, debt collection can wait, but there is no such important matter. The argument will stop sooner or later, and then they will surely notice an outsider like Jay. So it was impossible to miss the moment.Jay slowly began to move his head from side to side, assessing how much this or that thing would cost. Rug. Chair. Broom. Wooden barrel. You're unlikely to earn much on this, and you'll fix the roof even more. And that's exactly what Jay planned to do if he got rich today. After all, it would be too dangerous to live in a house with a leak from above during the rainy season. Firstly, you can catch a cold. And this, in turn, will require the purchase of medicines, which in this world are more expensive than food, as Jay found out when he was interested in the economic situation in the kingdom. Yes, in the same past world of Jay, meat can be bought cheaper than medicine here, such a biting price. To be honest, when Jay found out about it, he almost died once again. Secondly, because of the hole in the roof, the house can fill up with water and get wet, and later become covered with mold, the same fungus can appear again. Naturally, the conditions for life will already be unsuitable. Because with current technologies, it will be easier to demolish the old house and build a new one. But this, you know, is also not a cheap thing, even more expensive than buying medicines. Naturally, no one would want to face such troubles, and Jay, who had a leaky wallet, even more so. But it looks like today wasn't his day. The Magicians didn't keep anything expensive in the tower, at least not on the ground floor. Jay sadly stopped turning his head around and finally glanced at Wei."Okay, I hope he will please me at least," it was with this thought that Jay turned to the magician, immediately getting down to business.- I'm here to collect a debt. The water spirit promised that you would pay if I helped him.- If you helped him, let him pay for it himself. What's that got to do with me? Wei leaned against the wall and yawned. – You helped him, not me. Figure it out for yourself. – Soon he closed his eyes and began to doze. The quarrel taking place nearby did not bother him at all.Jay almost choked when he witnessed such arrogant behavior of the magician. What did he say? Figure it out yourself? Aren't they friends with the water spirit? Why didn't he ask what kind of service Jay had rendered and how much he owed? How can you behave like this when they demand money from you?!- Yes, I... yes! Ugh, - Jay wanted to talk to the magician again, but remembering his "brother" with whom, by the way, it was not so easy to deal with, he resolutely rejected this idea. Oh, those magicians. Dealing with them, not only you will not get a debt, but you will not be left without cowards later. However... it is also impossible to deal with the main debtor now. He wasn't going to stop arguing altogether.Jay found the water spirit in the crowd and, seeing his furious appearance, felt his fists begin to itch. He suddenly suddenly wanted to hit someone. And for what it was. He promised him mountains of gold. And what actually happened? He was brazenly deceived! That's what!- It's time to end this. – Jay slowly moved towards the crowd and grabbed the spirit, headed to a corner where there was no one."You don't think it was him, do you?"- I'll figure it out myself. Just tell me, will you help me or not? – On the way out of the corner of his ear, Jay heard the voice of a neighbor. He turned his head towards the sound and saw him talking to one of the magicians.Jay was surprised by this discovery, and then got angry. "Does he have any acquaintances among the magicians? Why didn't he tell him about it?" He wanted to shake the whole soul out of his neighbor. After all, he... he could have saved a lot of money on magic scrolls from the very beginning. After all, but ten percent discount from the original price is not a small amount. And Jay would have been able to get it for sure, he was just sure of it, if there was a friend among the magicians."I knew I should have sent him away from the start. While I'm trying to get through at least one more day, he's..." Jay clenched his hands tightly into fists. The water spirit immediately cried out in pain. Jay hurried to let him out and, without waiting for him to examine his injuries, demanded a debt from him. The boy didn't want to stay in the magic tower anymore and the only thing he wanted now was - to be as far away from this place as possible, leaving the neighbor to get on his own two feet. So that he would find out for himself how difficult it is to live when you don't have money (you won't hire a coachman to give you a lift home. You can't get a portal scroll to travel to a familiar area.). – You promised me a service earlier. I won't ask you for money. You don't have them anyway. Just teach me the magic language instead.- Why do you need to know the magic language? Aren't you an ordinary person? – The water spirit wanted revenge for the fact that he was almost crushed, but when Jay voiced his request, he could not help but show curiosity. – Do you really want to try to create scrolls? Then forget about it. You're not going to make it."It's none of your business what I want to do. – Jay did not explain why he had such a request. The water spirit probably wouldn't have understood him anyway. He lived in this world, and here people did not need to study more than one language.To be honest, Jay himself was ready to become one of these people until today. Even if he has to deal with a foreigner one day, you can hire an interpreter. He was ready to pay money. But then what about the magic books that he took from the cache and those that were still there? Perhaps he will be able to take them all out without arousing suspicion of frequent visits to the tower. Perhaps. But it is not yet a fact that some magician can agree to translate the titles of books or will not begin to deceive him in translation. Thus, an expensive book will almost have to be given away for free. No, Jay couldn't trust the magicians. They were all, in his opinion, dubious personalities. So it turned out that Jay could only entrust the translation of books to himself, which means that, whether you want it or not, you had to learn a foreign language.- If it's not mine, it's not mine. I'm not going to teach you anyway. You're not from the magic tower. Even if I promised something, I can't break the old master's rule. It is forbidden to teach ordinary people magic. The water spirit took care of his wounds, showing no further interest in Jay.- Am I asking you to teach magic? We are talking about a magical language. For some reason, I don't think anything is written about him in the rules. "Jay wasn't the type to give up quickly.- You don't live in a tower, how can you know it? Since I said it, it means that it is. That's it, stop bothering me. Otherwise I might get angry. – The water spirit did not forget that someone almost crushed him and was ready to avenge the pain at any moment.- Are you done here? When will we be back? – The spirit of the earth flew in through the window and, holding small stones in his hands, flew up to Jay and sat on his shoulder, thereby interrupting the fight that had almost begun. – Are you two arguing about something? Why do you both have that look on your faces? Water spirit, shouldn't you have a calm temperament? Are you definitely a spirit of water, not wind? – Being in a good mood, the spirit of the earth became incredibly talkative, as always."Don't you dare mention a traitor to me. I'm a water spirit, I don't look like him at all. He was ready now to throw himself at the earth spirit with his fists. It didn't seem to matter to him now who he hit first.- Water and wind, similar elements. They can go crazy in one second. – Jay kindly gave some information to the spirit of the earth, for interrupting an argument that had almost begun. Which, by the way, Jay didn't need at all. Surely he would have been delayed because of him, and then the neighbor got free. And the plans to teach people a lesson definitely failed. – Well, I said your request, I hope you keep your word. Remember, you asked for help, I came. For my part, I did everything as agreed. And the fact that the old magician wasn't here... that's beside the point. I'll be waiting for you in a couple of days. – And while a new dispute did not begin (and the water spirit loved this business very much, as he noticed), Jay said goodbye to his debtor and left the tower. – Now you can go home. - Jay felt his pockets and found no magic scrolls in them. Without thinking twice, the boy turned for help to the only magical creature next to him. "With your earth magic, can you help us get there?" You're still here because of me. I found the stones. What kind of stones?"It's not just rocks. It's a gift to me from an old beast. I thought it was stolen, but no, everything is in place. The territory of the magic tower proves its safety. Rumors do not deceive. I'll deliver it. I'm kind today, not like some. But have we forgotten anyone? He was with us, what's his name... What's his name? Lives, what's with you.- He has business here. He asked him not to wait.- Yes? Well, all right. – The spirit of the earth soon created a large earth golem with the help of his magic, and when they climbed on it, he told him to go towards the house. Jay was glad that the neighbor stayed in the tower, when suddenly...- I seem to be on time. An extremely familiar voice sounded nearby.Jay suppressed the smile that was ready to appear on his face and began to look at the views, ignoring the appearance of an extra passenger. After all, otherwise, he would definitely start envying someone else's strength again. Among other things, it turns out that with its help, you can easily climb a fifteen-meter earth golem without breaking a sweat at all. Just a couple of jumps and you're already standing on your shoulder. Absolutely no effort for you! And, the fact that everything is exactly the way it is, Jay knew for sure, since he saw everything with his own eyes. Well, okay, out of the corner of my eye. But it doesn't really matter. The fact is, it looks like he's going to have to step up his training now. And first of all, to do this is not to get rid of envy. Nowadays, what guy doesn't dream of becoming strong? There are a lot of people like Jay. Here the matter is different. No matter how you look at it, this world is completely different from the old one. Magic, spirits, strong children... In order to live well and not let anyone spoil your life, it is absolutely impossible to be a weakling.Jay made for himself a new schedule of morning and evening workouts (which he had to add) and only then began to admire the local views of nature. Not forgetting to write down in your mind the places where the houses stood. Jay planned to look there in his spare time, it was necessary to find out what is grown in those settlements. Suddenly it will be possible to earn extra money on those products? After all, it wasn't always possible to sell tomatoes in their own juice. Sooner or later, the novelty will get boring, and then there will be some losses instead of profits. It is worth taking measures in advance. And somehow Jay doesn't want to miss the opportunity to save money on scrolls. While relations with the spirit of the earth are good, you need to use his services. And then they are such spirits... today they smile at you and consider you a friend, and tomorrow they sprinkle curses on you and consider you an enemy. And speaking of the latter..."I wonder why the wind spirit refused to fly? He usually doesn't like to stay in one place for too long. - While they were getting home, Jay remembered the suspicious behavior of the wind spirit. – It looks like he has something to hide. Although... maybe he just doesn't like the tower of magicians?"- Look, it seems to be raining there. Are we going further? – The spirit of the earth noticed that the sky was gray ahead, and asked Jay if they should wait it out.- Here, - Jay stopped thinking about trifles and took out from under his clothes one of the books he got from a hiding place and handed it to the spirit. – Hide under the cover if you're afraid of rain. I don't think we need to stop. It's probably just a cloud hanging over some place. It's not necessarily raining all over that area. In general, we are still two hours away. It should be dry there. – It was unknown who, in this way, Jay was consoling, either the spirit of the earth, or himself. But the mood managed to stabilize. In any case, these two felt good after that. And what about the third passenger.... Jay didn't want to mention him at all, he was too angry with him!When they got to the area where it was raining, Jay decided that he didn't want to get wet either and covered his head with the remaining book. His neighbor just so happened to think the same way with him and took the book from him. Jay, of course, wanted to fight for his property. I really wanted to. But considering how high they were and that there was no flat surface under them... if you take a couple of steps to the side, you can easily fall off. The earth golem had too smooth a surface due to heavy rain. Unfortunately, he was walking quite a big one. Jay naturally couldn't move as he wished. He grabbed a small stone that the spirit of the earth had created so that he could hold on to it during the journey and, bending down, tried to pick up the book. The boy's arms were too short. He couldn't reach it. As a result, Jay had to spend more than two hours in the rain. When they finally reached the familiar forest and went down, all his clothes were soaked and his body was chilled. But that wasn't the worst thing that was waiting for Jay. It was also raining in this area. It looks like it's too late to think about repairing the roof. Isn't it?