Sovereign of the Ashes

Three months later, the second batch of war mages successfully returned to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

The mages arrived on a space fortress from a divine tower affiliated with the Pyro Secret Society in the north, which reportedly had a close relationship with Sein’s grandmaster, Feylis.

Not only did this divine tower facilitate the mages’ return to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring at no charge, but it also provided two airships for their use upon returning to the Magus World.

While the gesture of the two airships might seem minor, Sein interpreted it as that divine tower’s attempt to establish a stronger bond with the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring

The commercial area in the chain of islands near the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring had seen increased activity lately.

News of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring concluding an interplanar war had spread far and wide, drawing numerous airships, knights, and mages to the area, significantly boosting its commercial activity.

“It seems the interplanar war has had a greater impact on the development of the divine tower than I initially thought,” Sein remarked.

His observation was further reinforced by the recent efforts led by Master Archimedes, the dean of the divine tower academy, especially in the commercial area surrounding the tower.

Selina was also keenly awaiting the return of the second group of mages to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring as she was excited to select the “gift” Sein had promised her.

Regardless of the gift’s nature, Selina was delighted to receive anything as long as it was from Sein and would treasure it.

Yet, her excitement was momentarily overshadowed when she witnessed Eileen descending from the airship and embracing Sein.

Mark’s expression also stiffened upon seeing the scene, as he was among those gathered outside the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring to welcome Eileen and the others.

In the world of mages, marriages were not taboo. Given that full-fledged mages often lived for thousands of years, it was not rare to see spouses with an age gap of several decades or even centuries.

Dean Empyrean and his wife, Lady Seraphine, were nearly eight hundred years apart.

Therefore, the special bond between Sein and Eileen did not warrant secrecy within the divine tower.

Nevertheless, Sein felt a tad uneasy about public displays of affection, not out of aversion to Eileen but due to his reserved nature.

As Eileen once noted, Sein was a reserved and mature Rank One mage. Being with Sein might not offer many thrills and surprises, but his dependability offered a sense of security, which was exactly why she had chosen him.

Among the items Eileen returned with were various resources and materials Sein had gathered from the otherworldly battlefields, mostly consisting of living specimens.

Among those specimens, Sein presented Selina with a palm-sized Pyro Lizard.

Despite its ordinary appearance and modest size, the Pyro Lizard was a quasi-ranked creature, capable of breathing flames that could injure even a full-fledged mage.

This made it among the more prized creatures in Sein’s collection of living specimens. Presenting it to Selina was Sein’s way of expressing his significance to her.

Unfortunately, Selina’s focus had shifted toward Eileen, who appeared to have a close relationship with Sein.

This was not the first time Selina had seen Eileen, she recognized Eileen as the mage who had assisted her with her enrollment years ago.

It seemed like many things had happened during the years Sein spent in the Viridian Venom Flame World.

Watching Sein and Eileen walking together ahead of her, Selina remained silent.

She was not a jealous woman, but the sight did leave her feeling slightly upset.

Besides Eileen’s conspicuous presence, there was another living specimen among those brought back by Sein that drew a curious glance from Selina.

It was a “woman” encased in a cubic glass case. Selina intuitively sensed she was not from the Magus World.

The distinctive oval bump on her forehead and her attire set her apart from the women of the Magus World.

The humanoid specimen definitely attracted a lot of attention from the mages and magic initiates at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

Even Dean Archimedes, Empyrean, and several other Rank Three grand mages, who had gathered to welcome Eileen and the other returning mages, marveled at the glass case.

Dean Archimedes approached Sein and commented, “A living engineer, huh? You’ve acquired quite a bounty from the Viridian Venom Flame World, Sein.”

The old dean’s interest in the living engineer was palpable, though he expressed no desire to purchase it. Sein did not express any intention of selling her either.

Instead, he offered a few of the many Neisse Civilization creatures he had collected as living specimens in the Viridian Venom Flame World to the old dean.

The old dean nodded and graciously accepted his offer.

Neisse Civilization creatures were not rare finds, with many seen disembarking from the airships in an orderly fashion, serving as trophies for the mages who had participated in the war.

Living engineers, such as the one in Sein’s possession, were exceptionally scarce.

Including the female engineer Sein had captured, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring had only managed to secure two of them in the war, with the other being the prize of another Rank Two mage.

Given their energetic nature and the ability to self-destruct in dire situations, living engineers were a rarity.

The mages had amassed various incomplete remains of the engineers, salvaged from the wreckage of destroyed mechas.

Among these finds, some had uncovered a complete arm, while others had retrieved different body parts.

Sein returned to the top floors of the divine tower with his spoils of war.

Since Eileen had her own quarters within the divine tower, she parted ways with Sein.

Given her share of loot to sort through, it would likely take her some time to organize everything.

“Should I come to you tonight, or will you visit me?” Eileen whispered to Sein telepathically before they parted.

Sein remained unfazed as he responded, “Either is fine.”

“I’ll come to you, then. I never visited the top floors of the tower!” Eileen said.