In the current Western Europe, even some large-scale Divinity Schools often do not have a collection exceeding a hundred volumes.

Whereas the Royal Library in Constantinople had already housed over a hundred thousand books five hundred years ago.

Back then, papermaking had not yet been introduced; collections often used papyrus from Egypt, expensive parchment, and silk cloth.

In the Western World today, the only library that can compare with the Royal Library of Constantinople is the Cairo Library of the Ayyubid Kingdom.

"The collection in Constantinople, along with the ability to exchange resources and intelligence through contribution, admittedly, is very enticing."

Losa shook his head and said, "But I can't abandon my title and territory and run off to Constantinople with you; my identity as a Wizard is just a small part of me."

"No worries, we can first establish a preliminary cooperative relationship, and gradually cultivate mutual trust. The Levant Witch Association is not a group that rushes for instant success."

Anna smiled and said, "We all know that Henry Caesar's wrongful deeds won't succeed."

"Because no Wizard would be willing to be driven like a hound. I understand this, so our Levant Witch Association favors cooperation rather than control."

"You want more advanced Spellbooks, rarer Casting Materials, Magic Potion Recipes, naturally, the immensely wealthy Barcelona will spend heavily to acquire them for you. But first, you have to exchange for them with contributions."

"Equivalent exchange is our rule."

Witch Anna looked complacent.

She hoped Losa would join the association, as having a strikingly attractive Warlock would help attract other Witches to the association, adding a lot of leverage.

Clip-clop—

The sound of the patrol team's hooves gradually approached.

Anna smiled, lifted her skirt hem, and gave a lady-like curtsy, "This conversation went smoothly; I will pay another visit later. Hopefully by then, we'll meet accompanied by sweet wine and roasted meat, rather than standing on the street under the scorching sun."

"Oh, by the way. I must tell you in advance, don't place Demon-Blocking Gold nearby; I can smell it, and if I feel threatened, this conversation will have to end."

Anna turned around, her silhouette gradually turning into black mist and dissipating.

Quite cautious...

This means that Demon-Blocking Gold poses more of a threat to Witches than I imagined.

Losa pondered, "Urding, do you think what this Witch named Anna said is reliable?"

Urding thought for a moment, shook his head, "I don't know, but I can't think of any reason why she would deceive you. Moreover, I believe as long as one restrains greed, never paying the price before seeing equivalent returns, one will not be conned."

"Your words can be summed up by a saying: don't cast eagles until you see rabbits."

"Anyway, having an additional channel is definitely good, whether for obtaining intelligence or knowledge."

Losa nodded, he wasn't a traditional Caster.

Though he shared Furinjira's Talent, he still remained at a point where he knew the 'how' but not the 'why'.

Constantinople's collection tempted not just him but Furinjira immensely.

Yet he would not pursue this to the detriment of his foundation.

His identity as a Feudal Lord was his root.

He wouldn't have much energy to stay cooped up in a library all day, studying those dry and tedious ancient texts written in unknown languages.

…

Returning to the main hall of the residence.

Losa handed the reins to Laine who came up, "Send a team to support Ulm; I've entrusted a task to him. If anything is found, report back promptly; avoid making any decisions rashly."

"My lord, you can rest assured when I handle things."

Laine immediately accepted his orders and left.

He could feel he was gradually being edged out of his lord's inner circle, which made him increasingly eager to earn merits and be granted the title of Knight by Losa.

Losa then instructed the Inspector, "Richard, take Urding to bathe and clean up a bit; shortly, I'll take him to see His Majesty the King, and we can't have him still covered in sweat."

Upon entry, Losa saw Furinjira, wearing a black silk dress, boasting before Prajna.

Even though the latter didn't care, she simply changed her angle and continued immersed in the novel's plot.

Seeing her seriousness, anyone would believe it was a classic literary piece rather than the sensational fantasy novel version that Losa added embellishments to.

"Ah, you're back!"

Furinjira bounced over to Losa, lifted her skirt, and twirled around, "Look at the pattern on it, I embroidered it myself. How is it, does it look nice?"

Today, she had braided her white hair into twin tails, with soft bangs covering her forehead.

Her slender body, revealing pale skin devoid of any blood color, naturally evoked a sense of compassion.

"Hmm—"

Looking closely, her black silk dress had patterns similar to puppies.

Losa scrutinized for a while, although he couldn't comprehend why someone would embroider "dogs" on a dress, he still showed a look of appreciation, "Really impressive, simply lifelike."

He cleverly omitted "your dog is lifelike," reducing it to "lifelike."

Sure enough, Furinjira said confidently, "The pattern on here is the Stone Gargoyle emblem of our Blood Royal Court, the Cepesh Royal Family; only royalty can use it."

So it was a Stone Gargoyle.

I thought Furinjira's personality wouldn't be one that likes small animals.

Losa let out a slight sigh, feeling like he was babysitting.

Furinjira circled Losa but suddenly seemed to recall something, showing a suspicious look, and leaned in to sniff Losa, taking a whiff.

Losa held her head down.

"Don't act like a puppy?"

Furinjira inquired with alarm, "There's a magical aura on you, someone has cast a tracking Spell on you. Who did you meet?"

"A Witch who claimed to be a royal advisor of the Eastern Empire Empress."

"Furin, are you sure it's just a tracking Spell? No other Negative Effect?"

Furinjira shook her head, "It's a very simple Curse Seal, the Magic Power retained within is very gentle. Should I remove it for you?"

"Then just leave it for now; the Witch took me for a Caster of this world, wanting me to join their gathering; she'll visit again tonight."

Furinjira was a bit excited, "I've always wanted to see this world's Casters, it's a pity there hasn't been a chance before now. If I could taste the Magic Power blood flowing within them, it would be even better."

At this time, a system reminder echoed in Losa's ear:

You have activated the following milestones:

Witch Gathering: You've joined a secret society with at least ten Witches. (Incomplete)

Evil Lord: Under your command, at least five dark creatures serve you. (3/5)

Holy Apostle: Under your command, at least five Clergy serve you. (1/5)

Losa only glanced at the three milestones before ignoring the latter ones.

No matter what character the card draw yielded, it was unrelated to him; no amount of effort would increase the completion progress for the latter two, entirely dependent on fate.

Although "fate" seemed to suggest a foregone conclusion that he was an "Evil Lord," no doubt.

However, the Witch Gathering milestone was very easy to complete; it appears joining the Levant Witch Association, as the Witch Anna described, is bound to happen.

Additionally, the Model Territory milestone was also nearing completion.

This was thanks to Losa, who recently exempted various villages from taxes, and lent many farming tools and seeds, narrowly ensuring nearly a thousand people in the territory achieved subsistence.

But two hundred affluent populace indeed stumped Losa.

Can't just give money directly, right?

…

After being attended to by the Maid, bathed, and dressed in a silk gown, Losa walked out of the main hall.

Urding still had that stern facial look, standing under the scorching sun, silent, it's unclear how long he'd been waiting.

"Been waiting long?"

"No."

"At least find a shady place to wait next time."

Losa didn't imply asking Urding to wait inside, as he knew very well for someone like Urding, being in the same room with Vampires and Ghost Race was harder than death.

"Come on, let's go see the King."

Urding said solemnly, "Honored, I have heard the Legend of this King of Leprosy, although this world is an alien world, I still look forward to seeing this King's demeanor."

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