The Sorcerer's Handbook

Chapter 199: Told You Not to Ask!

While brushing his teeth, Iger stared at the words the Revelation spirit had scrawled across the mirror. Don’t ask any questions about Ashe Heth.

He didn’t doubt the message itself, but he couldn’t help feeling annoyed. Why does it always have to be about him? Ever since I met him, the Revelation spirit has revealed something tied to that guy nine out of ten times. Worse, the last revelation even told me to spend eternity with Amy and have nine children with her!

But... thinking about it now, being with Amy would at least keep me from getting tangled up with that idiot again, right? Alright, I get it. From now on, whenever things go wrong, just blame Ashe... Wait. Hold on. How is a half-veela even supposed to have nine children with a Moonshadow?

Sure, Amy is cute in a neurotic kind of way, with a perky rear, a soft chest, a slim waist, a fluffy tail, and wolf ears that are quite pleasant to touch. But the Blood Moon Moonshadow doesn’t even have reproductive cells. From the start, she couldn’t possibly have children. In other words, there’s no way Amy could ever have kids.

Wait... does that mean the Revelation meant I’m supposed to have them? With the Blood Moon Kingdom’s biological modification technology, it isn’t entirely impossible... No, no, great. I almost fell for that trap. Why would I need to have children anyway? I certainly don’t need that kind of fertility reward.

Finishing his morning routine, Iger drew back the curtains and nearly blinded himself as sunlight poured in.

It was hard to believe that in such a sprawling, two-tiered city, sunlight could reach every corner without obstruction. Last night, he had noticed how the city’s buildings were arranged like the petals of a blooming flower. The structures closest to the central lake were low and delicate, while those stretching toward the city’s edges rose taller.

At night, it wasn’t obvious, but in daylight, the sunlight hitting the lake reflected off every surface, scattering like a flower blooming across the entire city. Viewed from above, the city gleamed brilliantly. Fast-moving automated vehicles zipped along the streets, while well-dressed citizens moved with an almost weightless elegance.

Compared to the Gospel Kingdom, the Blood Moon Kingdom was undeniably darker. Still, that didn’t automatically make the Gospel Kingdom better. Focus only on Caimon City’s upper-class and government districts, and it’d also seem like a polite, refined, almost idyllic place, full of comfort and prosperity.

As Ashe had said, if this were truly a paradise, would the cultists of the Four Pillars Cult be packed into the underground hall, indulging in cruel, real-life pranks purely out of boredom? The brighter the light, the deeper the shadows. Material abundance solved nothing completely. No one here starved, but once survival was secured, people naturally craved more—more possessions, more power, more status, more security, or even more pleasure.

All races were the same. Even the lowliest goblin longed to rule the world, and even the most conservative elves yearned to witness destruction. That was why Mind Class sorcery held such dominance in this era.

Iger entered the living room to find Harvey and Lys already at breakfast, with Pankey attending to them. The spread included jam-covered bread, vegetable salad, milk coffee, and custard-filled lala fat. Aside from the morning indulgence in high-calorie lala fat, it was typical Blood Moon fare.

”Where’s Miss Annan?” Iger asked.

”She went out for social obligations,” Pankey replied with a faint smile, his calm butler demeanor stirring a subtle unease in Iger. ”If you need anything, just ask.”

Iger glanced toward the room at the end of the hall. ”And Ashe?”

”He’s not up yet,” Harvey said, sprinkling a liberal amount of pungent chili powder on his bread before taking a bite. ”Let’s go wake him up?”

”Why should I?” Iger said, turning to the small ponytailed girl. ”Lys, go wake up the guy who’s going to be your servant for the next 101 days.”

Lys corrected seriously. ”He’s not a servant. He’s my daddy!”

Iger waved a hand, smirking. ”I see... I see... so in this kingdom, servants are called daddy, huh? Go on... Wait, now that I think about it, this isn’t Shattered Lake anymore...”

Finally! Now that I am out of the Shattered Lake Prison, my daily social hacks can actually come in handy!

Soon, Iger grabbed a bucket of water and crouched beside Lys, signaling her to knock on the door and call out.

”Daddy, breakfast is ready!

”Daddy, the sun is shining so bright! Come out and play with me!

”Daddy, Aunt Perskin is sniffing the lala fats with her nose!”

Ashe flung the door open. ”Really?!”

Now!

Iger poured the prank water over him. It was a Miracle-infused liquid that could be ingested or applied externally, but it worked best as a face-wash. Anyone struck by it would instantly feel overwhelming anger. If their first sight afterward was something beautiful, that anger would transform immediately into an equal measure of affection, directed at the beauty before them. If the first sight was ugly, the anger would instead ignite into a powerful, murderous intent.

This Miracle, also known as the First Encounter of Life, was one of the few Mind Class Miracles Iger possessed. Combined with his natural charm, it could max out a target’s affection level in an instant, putting them completely under his control. Normally, he would use it subtly, like slipping it into his victim’s drink, but with Ashe, subtlety was unnecessary. Pouring it straight on him worked best.

Splash!

Clang!

The bucket flew into the air, struck the ceiling, and clattered back down.

Ashe, still in a ready-to-counter stance, looked at the drenched Iger and Lys, bewildered. ”What are you two doing?”

He hadn’t even registered what had happened, but because Iger attacked from outside his line of sight, Ashe’s Savage Instinct triggered an automatic counterattack.

Both Iger and Lys glanced at him at the same time. Lys then lifted her chin and shot Iger a look dripping with disdain, as if to say, ”How can you be worse than my dad?”

She stomped hard on Ashe’s foot, let out two indignant whines, and retreated to her room to change.

Iger quickly calmed his mind with the help of his spirits and confirmed firsthand that he felt no affection toward Ashe. Hm... seeing him like this makes me want to stomp him, too. That must mean the ”affection drastically decreases” effect has been triggered. So there’s nothing to worry about.

Satisfied, Iger mimicked Lys and stomped on Ashe’s foot. He snorted, then headed back to his room to change.

At that moment, he remembered the revelation he’d received earlier. Since he’d asked about Ashe, he’d come up with the idea to use the prank water, which had, in turn, given Ashe the chance to humiliate him. Damn it! This is all Ashe’s fault!

Ashe, meanwhile, remained utterly confused. Did they skip breakfast or something? Those footstomps felt like soft pillows compared to Freya’s night raid... She had hit far harder.