Chapter 113: Chapter 99 Soldiers Robbing and Wishing (2425 words)_1 Chapter 113: Chapter 99 Soldiers Robbing and Wishing (2425 words)_1 Ivita and the Hearthstone Grand Witch moved through the inside of the town hall, a building that was at least five stories tall, housing not just an expansive meeting hall but numerous government offices.

They made their way up to the second floor, as the old witch had already explored the first floor and found nothing of note.

On their way up, they spotted a group of soldiers, from an unknown faction, attempting to dislodge a blue sapphire the size of a thumb from a statue on the stairwell. The statue was that of a three-eyed angel.

Ivita and the soldiers locked eyes, and the soldiers froze with fear.

They recognized Ivita as a friend of Lady Alice, and knew that he was a formidable noble lord, from a conversation between Ivita and Alice.

At this moment, they were terrified at being caught stealing from the town hall by Ivita.

Ivita recognized them too, and gave one of them a pat on the shoulder, whispering, “Be careful not to get caught, and don’t mention having seen me.”

The soldiers’ expressions shifted from fear to surprise, and then to knowing smiles shared with Ivita.

“Of course, Baron, we swear to God and The Church that we will never reveal that we’ve seen you here.”

Ah, sir, you are indeed a good man. If only our superior officer could be someone like you, we would feel as joyous as being in the Divine Kingdom.”

Even the veteran amongst them found this lord rather amusing and likable.

With an impassive smile, Ivita moved upwards to the second floor of the town hall with the old witch.

She would not interfere in the actions of another’s soldiers.

Perhaps this was a kind of indulgence shown towards the children of others; after all, it had nothing to do with him. If his own troops were to behave so disparagingly, then certainly he would have to intervene.

In the history he had observed in his previous life, every case showed that indulging an army only lead to its arrogance, eventually resulting in disaster.

An army must have its own discipline.

Otherwise, it could be the knife that brings about one’s own destruction.

The Hearthstone Grand Witch whispered to Ivita, “Your Highness, should I go back and kill those who have seen us?”

Ivita shook his head and laughed, “There’s no need for that. These people will not inform on us, as they’ve committed a crime punishable by death according to the city laws.”

“Moreover, a few soldiers without status could accuse a penniless, vagabond explorer, but not a Baron with real authority over territories.”

“Given my current standing in Parviga, I am beyond blame of such men.”

“Killing recklessly would only bring about more trouble.”

Ivita continued, “My principle is to either not kill at all or, if needs to kill, to annihilate completely, to eliminate future trouble.”

The old witch was taken aback, and fell silent for a while.

She interpreted Ivita’s words of ‘complete annihilation’ in a different twist.

In the long corridor of the town hall’s second floor, several scattered soldiers passed by Ivita and the old witch, with both parties making efforts not to look at each other.

These men only cared about looting.

This was a drawback of poor military discipline, but it was common in most armies; when one sends his men to war, they are bound to loot as well.

As a career where lives were always on the line, without discipline, these men’s quality could be no better than robbers and bandits.

If one were to enforce a prohibition against looting in an army without substantial civility and discipline, it could spur a mutiny instead.

The Old Witch opened the largest room on the second-floor corridor, which turned out to be a rest room.

The Old Witch said: “This city hall was originally built so large by the city council to compete in wealth with the wealthy clans and nobility of Parviga. Many rooms above the third floor are uncleaned with dust, insects, and cobwebs. People generally don’t go to rooms above the third floor. I’ve just looked around briefly before, and generally speaking, there are only some old files stored there.”

“As a treasure of Parviga, the Water Dragon’s Tooth must be on the second or third floor, it’s definitely within these two floors.”

Ivita glanced around the resting room. The fireplace in the room was empty. There were gold leaves as decorations on it. Other than a gold-and-red wool carpet on the ground, embroidered with flags from various guilds in Parviga, there were just common furniture such as sofas and chairs, and a small wooden standing mechanical clock.

This did not look anything special.

Ivita stepped out of the resting room and opened the door next to the resting room. As a result, several men in white shirts and grey leather shoes were hiding under the desk, shivering. Hearing the sound of the door opening, they ran out in fear, past Ivita, and frantically towards the stairs from the second floor to the third floor.

As they fled, some papers flew out of the office. Ivita picked them up and saw they were accounts for tax collection.

He glanced at them casually, then put them back, closed the office door, went back to the resting room, and closed the door of the resting room to prevent any soldiers from coming in.

The Hearthstone Grand Witch proposed: “Your Majesty, how about I look on the third floor and you look on the second floor?”

Ivita shook his head. “That would be inefficient. We might not find the Water Dragon’s Tooth even after the war is over.”

“Use my Wishing Necklace.”

“Let the elf in the necklace point out the location of the Water Dragon’s Tooth. I think it can do it.”

The Hearthstone Grand Witch realized, right, they had this trick.

The Hearthstone Grand Witch contemplated for a moment, “Using the Necklace Elf doesn’t require any offerings, but we must confirm the language of the place where it was made, and then tell it in that language that you want to make a wish and wipe the surface of the necklace three times.”

“In this process, we need to contribute some mana, which is insignificant for wizards. It can be quickly regenerated, but if a mortal uses the necklace recklessly, they will experience a loss of energy.”

“But using the Necklace Elf does come with a price. You must obey a rule engraved on the necklace.”

“Let me see, the text on this silver necklace is… the language of the Ancient Kankanhat People. Ah, they once had activities in the Apulia Region. Now, this language might be extinct.”

“The meaning of it is…”

“You must choose one of the three rules and follow it until you give up the necklace.”

“First Rule: you can’t break any agreement made with anyone during the period when you are the owner of the necklace. If you do, you will automatically lose your status as the necklace’s owner.”

“Second Rule: you can’t lie during the period while you are the owner of the necklace. If you do, you will automatically lose your status as the owner of the necklace.”

“Third Rule: You can’t keep parrots during the period when you are the owner of the necklace. If you do, you will automatically lose your status as the owner of the necklace.”

Ivita didn’t hesitate: “I choose the third rule.”

Because only the third rule imposed the least restriction on him, but none of these three rules were actually punishing. The worst punishment would be losing the status as the owner of the necklace.

The Hearthstone Grand Witch thought lowly, who is His Majesty planning to break an agreement with and lie to? Her heart felt icy cold.

After thinking for a while, the Old Witch suddenly proposed to Ivita: “Your Majesty, parrots are quite lovely.”

“Why don’t you choose the second rule? It would be such a pity if you can’t keep parrots. What if you meet a rare magical creature, and that magical creature is a parrot?”

Ivita stared at the Old Witch without speaking.

The Old Witch jumped in fright immediately and said: “Your words are law to me, Your Majesty. You may begin.”

“The elf will confirm which rule you choose. I will read the language of the Ancient Kankanhat People for you.”