Sorcerer’s Handbook

“I know you might not want to accept my gift… but what if I wore garter stockings?”

Yvaren lifted her long skirt up to her thighs, revealing an alluring glimpse of her fair skin. Dressed in his butler’s uniform, Ashe felt no vibration in his heart and continued to vigorously scrub the glass.

“I mean, even if you want to use your charms, don’t stand outside the glass. What’s the difference between this and looking at a risqué picture?”

“What if there were no glass and you actually tried to touch me?” Yvaren pouted, taking out a notebook and jotting down observations, “When facing garter stockings, Ashe Heath’s eyes become fixed, heart rate increases by 13%, resistance slightly weaker than with black stockings, probably a T0-level fetish… I’ve collected enough information. I’ll have an illusion sorcerer create a film starring you and Annan, incorporating all the elements that make your heart race. You’ll definitely buy it.”

Ashe felt as if struck by lightning: “Are you threatening me?”

“This is clearly a temptation!”

“What if the young lady finds out? Besides, she’s not even my type!”

“Really? But in yesterday’s list of beauties, your heart rate spiked the most when you saw Annan. Maybe Annan isn’t your type, but given your current status, she’s the one who excites you the most. After all, you men have a desire to conquer… Oh, does that mean you have an interest in me too?” Yvaren clapped her hands lightly, her eyes filled with amusement. “If you’re willing to accept my patronage, I wouldn’t mind giving you a chance to pursue me.”

“Oh, please don’t make such disgusting jokes, I still have to clean the glass.”

“Damn it.” Suddenly, Yvaren’s expression changed. The eye mark on her right eyelid glared coldly at Ashe, sending shivers down the cult leader’s spine.

She opened the Gospel Book, twisted her right hand, and pulled a tomato out of thin air, smashing it against the glass window. The expensive juice, worth hundreds of Gospel points, splattered all over Ashe’s view.

“You’re welcome. Since you love cleaning glass so much, I’ll let you clean it slowly.”

Yvaren left triumphantly, like a mischievous child who had just pulled off a prank. Ashe looked at the mess in front of him and had no choice but to continue cleaning up this unwarranted malice. He wiped the glass, mopped the floor, cleaned the lampshades… After two or three hours of hard work, the cult leader finally managed to thoroughly clean the corridor.

At 11 o’clock, it was time for lunch break. Ashe put away his cleaning tools and went to the canteen on the basement level. By this time, dozens of servants were already dining there, and these were just the ones responsible for the main building.

It was said that Belldate Manor had as many as 80,000 servants. The manor had canteens in various locations, including the forest, snow mountain, wilderness, and even hell, each with different flavors. The canteen in the main building was considered to be of medium quality, while the one built above the hell’s magma received unanimous praise, making the servants particularly eager to be assigned to the hell area.

But none of this mattered to Ashe. He approached the serving window and saw an array of dishes: giant mantis shrimp, basil red clam meat, charcoal-grilled razor clams, Eden Zero Lala Fatty, teriyaki grabroot… These dishes were not only enticing but also shockingly expensive, with none priced below three digits in bell points.

Ashe took out his Gospel Book, which contained a “Belldate Manor Card.” His hard work this morning had earned him 30 bell points, which could be used for purchases throughout Belldate Manor. This was the only currency accepted in the manor; Gospel points, silver coins, and other forms of currency were useless here.

Servants could eat and drink without worrying about the price, but Ashe had to budget carefully. Of course, he could also order without any concern because his “Manor Card” had already activated the “Bell-Pay” service. If he overspent, his loan limit would automatically cover the excess.

Ashe’s maximum loan limit from “Bell-Pay” was… 100 million bell points.

There was no interest, and the repayment period could be extended up to 10 years. This meant Ashe could spend freely, as it would be a problem for him to be in the Gospel Kingdom or even in Mephila 10 years later. No matter how powerful Yvaren was, she couldn’t time travel to collect debts.

But Ashe only ordered the 10 bell points curry mush and the 5 bell points bread. Carrying his tray, he soon spotted his companions. They were the only ones among the delicious delicacies of the canteen, eating mush, making them look like the lowest of the low among the servants.

“Where are Annan and Banjeet?” Ashe asked as he sat down.

“Annan has been assigned to the prairie area, and Banjeet to the snow mountain area. Apparently, those are high-income positions that can earn a lot of bell points,” Igor replied. “It seems Yvaren plans to take us down one by one.”

“Uncle Harvey,” Lise asked, “Are you sure that’s enough for you?”

Harvey’s meal was even more meager than Ashe’s. He had only a bag of bread crusts and a cup of water, chewing the crusts slowly like a pigeon.

Igor instantly understood: “Harvey, what did you buy from Yvaren?”

“…A skull.”

“A skull?” Ashe was taken aback. “You could easily get one from any grave after we leave here. Why buy it from Yvaren?”

“You don’t understand!” Harvey said seriously. “It’s the most perfect human skull I’ve ever seen. The alveolar ridge, brow ridge, supraorbital margin, infraorbital foramen, anterior nasal spine, nasal cavity, and alveolar process… Not a single defect, no injuries, no cosmetic alterations, just pure, unblemished beauty in death. I’ve never seen such a beautiful skull in my entire life. If I had encountered such a skull earlier, it would have saved me at least a month of study!”

“In the past, I would have been willing to pay 10 gold coins for it. Now, it only cost me 50 bell points, and I couldn’t resist!”

“And now you’re stuck eating bread crusts.” Igor’s face was grim. “Luckily, you can still work. Otherwise, we’d have to support you.”

Although Harvey had been nearly bisected by a red-haired female sorcerer, rendering his waist almost powerless, he could manipulate himself using corpse control techniques. It didn’t seem to affect his daily life and work.

“Harvey is no longer dependable. Yvaren has figured out his weakness. He can’t even use ‘Bell-Pay’ anymore. We can’t count on him to save money for emergencies,” Igor said, looking at the remaining two. “You guys haven’t splurged recently, right? You should have saved some bell points?”

Ashe and Lise exchanged glances and fell into silence.

Igor felt a sense of foreboding. “Did Yvaren tempt you too?”

Lise hesitated and then opened her palm. Inside her half-finger glove was a flexible mirror that she could squeeze and reshape without damaging it. “Sister Yvaren said this is a special flexible mirror glove from her company. It’s not available outside, and she sold it to me for just 50 bell points. It’s such a steal…”

Igor knew how important mirrors were to Lise and her sister. He sighed heavily and turned to Ashe. “What did you buy?”

Ashe nonchalantly ate his mush. “I… I haven’t actually bought anything yet.”

Though it was just mush, it was quite substantial with mashed potatoes, carrots, and beef. Paired with bread, it was enough to fill his stomach.

“But you’re planning to buy something?” Igor accurately read between Ashe’s lines. “Yvaren has already figured out your preferences and is preparing an irresistible temptation just for you?”

Ashe responded righteously, “Don’t worry, Igor. No matter how Yvaren tries to tempt me, I won’t fall for it. I’m not like Harvey, that flamboyant fool.”

“You’re right, you’re not a flamboyant fool. You’re just a fool.” Igor looked exasperated. “So, you’re telling me all three of you have spent all your bell points?”

“I haven’t bought anything yet!”

“I believe in you, Ashe. You never fail to disappoint when it comes to being disappointing.” The con artist rubbed his forehead in frustration. “You had the nerve to tell me I could trust you and discuss things with you… Idiots!”

The three of them flinched. Hearing Igor’s straightforward anger without his usual sarcastic tone made them realize he was truly upset this time.

“Aunt Bukin, I only spent my savings. I didn’t use Bell-Pay!”

“Yeah, I still have some bell points left for bread crusts. If worse comes to worst, I can eat grass.”

“Igor, could you at least use ‘you all’ when you scold us? Otherwise, it feels like you’re only yelling at me.”

Igor sighed again. “Do you even understand our situation? Do you think just avoiding Yvaren’s gifts and not using Bell-Pay will protect you from the ‘Dominance Sect’ influence?”