The First Magic World War

As soon as Mama Karen left, Anne Brittany collapsed into Charles's arms, tears falling like pearls as she whispered, "I am a bad woman, a selfish woman. I struggled for so long, but in the end... I chose selfishness."

"Mister Mecklen, I know this is highly immoral of me to say, but I still want to ask: Would you go to battle for my sake?"

"I, Anne Brittany, swear on my family's honor that if you do not return, I shall never marry in my lifetime!"

"Or, you can refuse me."

Charles gently patted Anne's back and spoke in a low voice, "But this is also what I've dreamt of. Please allow me to accept this request. You know, this is the only chance a poor boy has to marry a count's daughter."

Anne let out a chuckle, only to succumb once more to tears welling in her sorrowful eyes.

Charles wasn't actually a poor boy, but as the son of a merchant, he was naturally separated by a chasm from the nobility. Without personal merit that could propel him to great heights, even if he accumulated more wealth, he wouldn't get the approval from a count to give away his daughter in marriage.

Charles wasn't particularly afraid of going to war; he had Insight, he possessed the Bloodflame Transformation Art, his ability to survive was far greater than that of an ordinary Transcendent.

Moreover, he truly needed an opportunity that could quickly enhance his strength.

After all, he was under the pressing threat of the Evil God's descent.

And the battlefield was his only chance.

Anne stepped out of Elysian Pastoral Street No. 58, wiped her tears, and boarded the carriage.

As the carriage turned out of Elysian Pastoral Avenue, another carriage awaited. With elegant poise, Mama Karen stepped down and said, "Miss, you won the wager with the count."

But Anne felt no excitement or joy, only sadness as she said, "I feel like a bad girl."

"I am forcing the person I love the most to go to war. I feel deep guilt and unease."

Mama Karen chuckled lightly and said, "Miss, you need not blame yourself; you've done nothing wrong."

"And don't blame the count either."

"Even the count has things he cannot do. He worries that the most delicate rose of his household could be picked by someone careless, so he was compelled to use this last resort and conduct these tests."

In a soft voice, Anne said, "The first time he met me, he risked his life running into the Evil God's Corridor to save me; such testing was absolutely unnecessary."

With a faint smile, Mama Karen thought to herself, "Without that bold move, he would not have even had the chance to be tested this time."

"The count has already sent people to investigate this young man in Behemoth Duchy."

"The results of the investigation, the count burned them the very same day, showed them to no one, didn't mention a word to anybody, and was in a foul mood all day long."

"He reached for his beloved sword nine times, and picked up the Silver Rhinoceros twice..."

"The count would probably have liked to kill Mister Mecklen himself."

"I guess, Mister Mecklen must be quite an interesting young man! He probably has quite a few dark secrets."

Anne murmured softly to herself, "I have never wished so fervently that a war would not break out."

"Every Empire wants to expand, and smaller nations are drawn into their orbit; this war has become inevitable," Mama Karen said.

"Miss, you need not worry too much. Your father will not send him to a dangerous unit. After all, he is not as ambitious as Mister Krel."

"Lord Count has taken advantage of Mister Krel this time, I hope he won't be angry."

Anne wanted to retort, but upon reflection, Charles's day-to-day actions did indeed seem to lack grand ambitions. As the son of a wealthy merchant, he simply couldn't compare to a young nobleman like Krel, who had access to far more resources.

After seeing Anne off, Charles couldn't resist whistling to himself.

He said to Madam Nancy, "Please go to the Cat and Clover Café and pick up my three little darlings. While you're at it, buy a few pounds of beef, some lamb, pork, onions, lettuce, and spices, and get two more barrels of ale—we're celebrating today."

Madam Nancy agreed and set off.

Soon after, delivery boys from various shops came to deliver goods, and Charles told them to take everything to the backyard.

Charles had already prepared a set of barbecuing tools essential for any transmigrator. Back on Earth, he hadn't been this industrious; having transmigrated to such a bustling commercial street like Elysian Pastoral Street No. 58, eating out was too convenient. Even when he didn't feel like going out, with Madam Nancy offering private chef services, he had even less reason to bother.

The view from the third-floor terrace was better, but after barbecuing, cleaning up would be a hassle. Running up and down the stairs didn't appeal to Charles, and while he himself didn't want to do it, bossing Madam Nancy around felt somewhat improper.

When Madam Nancy came back with the last batch of goods and three kittens, Charles had already carved dozens of skewers, loaded them with various cuts of meat, seasoned with spices and fine salt, and began grilling over the brazier, the aroma wafting through the air.

Upon seeing their owner, the kittens immediately jumped out of the bamboo basket Madam Nancy was carrying, meowing and darting towards Charles, rubbing against his pant legs.

Seeing his cats, Charles was also quite happy. He communicated with them for a while using the Soul Communication Spell, took care of feeding the kittens first, and then called over to Madam Nancy, "Let's have a bite together."

Madam Nancy didn't stand on ceremony. She took over the barbecuing, freeing Charles.

Watching her skilled movements, Charles was surprised and asked, "Madam Nancy, how come you seem so familiar with barbecuing?"

As she barbecued, Madam Nancy replied, "I have a friend who was a cook. We worked together for our former employer. She was very good at barbecuing, and my last employer loved grilled meat, so I often helped and picked up a few things."

Charles became interested and asked, "Does that lady have a new job now?"

Madam Nancy shook her head and said, "She's not like me, not a person from the Old Continent. She's a native from the New Continent, from a distant land in the east, captured and brought to Fars by the war, not a free person."

"Her master had promised that as long as she served for five years, she would be granted a Freedom Certificate, allowing her to become a free person. But when her master invested in the gold mines in the New Continent and lost everything, he reneged on his word and sold her off to fatten his purse."

Charles immediately fell silent; he knew about the human trafficking in the Old Continent, and even Elysian Pastoral Avenue had a slave market. He simply preferred not to dwell on these issues.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Madam Nancy seemed to realize she had misspoken and fell silent.

Lifting a skewer of grilled meat, Charles tried to lighten the mood with a smile and asked, "What's the lady's name?"

As she placed a skewer of mushrooms on the grill, Madam Nancy said, "Her name was too long, and I only remember her nickname: Mrs. Plum Sauce."