I, the wizard, the foolish Buddha.

After taking a few sips, Roland's eyebrows twitched slightly.

He was looking for something refreshing and thirst-quenching, so this cup of coffee came at just the right time. What pleased the old man even more was that the coffee beans were those that Teresa and the others had grown in Strawtown, which was exactly the flavor Roland liked best, and it was excellent, with just the right amount of sweetness.

"That's thoughtful of you. I should consider giving you a raise," Roland said with satisfaction, then continued to check his notes.

Upon hearing about the salary, the maid became somewhat excited.

All these years, the master still hasn't paid anyone a salary.

She nervously wanted to ask how many silver foxes she would receive, and whether they could cover all her wages from the past few years. But seeing that the master was always busy, she didn't dare to ask. So, blushing, she clutched her divine robe and stood there timidly looking at the master.

Seeing that the master had picked up his pen again, the maid finally couldn't hold back any longer.

She mustered her courage and said, "Sir, are you telling the truth?"

Seemingly somewhat frightened, the maid's voice grew softer and softer, but she still mimicked the tone everyone used to use when teasing the master, subtly reminding him:

"Master, I've been following you since the academy."

Upon hearing these words, Roland frowned, raised his head with great displeasure, and looked at this tactless young lady.

Upon seeing this, Roland was nearly scared to death.

Beside the table, Miss Olivia stood dressed in a magnificent goddess robe. She held a silver tray in her arms, her fingers clenched so tightly they were almost white.

"Could you...could you settle my wages?" Olivia said, her face flushed, as if these words had exhausted all her courage.

Joan, Helena, and the others frantically gave Roland meaningful glances.

It seems everyone is worried that Roland might say something that offends her before she understands the situation.

Without needing anyone to give him a hint, Roland already knew what was going on.

Diana inexplicably 'woke up'.

Before, Roland would never have understood why Diana had woken up. But now that he had read through the Book of Rest and roughly understood the Queen's three faces, he could guess the reason to some extent.

Roland thought to himself, 'My elder sister appeared for a while yesterday afternoon—that was right when Olivia started her afternoon nap.'

After chatting with Joan for a while, the eldest sister and the queen went for a walk on the roof of the carriage. Around three or four o'clock, Olivia replaced the eldest sister and the queen again—this was because Olivia had finished her afternoon nap.

The eldest sister, the queen, was not asleep; she had simply been replaced by Olivia.

So during dinner that evening, the deity did have an effect on both Olivia and the eldest sister, the Queen.

So, now that Olivia and her older sister are awake, it's naturally Diana who has woken up.

Diana seemed a little scared when she saw Roland frowning and not saying anything.

As a village girl, Diana has learned a lot from Roland, but her underlying mindset is still that of a small-farmer.

Therefore, the presence of so many high-ranking officials and priests in the carriage made Diana very uneasy.

She was actually a very perceptive person and knew that it was inappropriate to ask the master about his salary in front of so many people.

But it was precisely because of this that she felt it was even more necessary for her to demand her unpaid wages.

Because for those stingy gentlemen, they will only rush to find a way to pay someone off when they feel they have lost face.

At that moment, all the 'important people' were watching them. Diana was extremely nervous.

But she still mustered her courage and reminded him, "Master, in our village, there used to be people who worked for the lord's family, and they could earn two silver fox coins a month."

Hearing this, Helena and Joan could hardly contain themselves.

But they still didn't dare to go closer, and instead stood at a distance and spoke.

"Give it to her quickly, Roland."

"Ahem, senior, now that we've settled your wages, Diana can go back and rest."

It seems something strange happened this morning, so much so that no one dares to approach this area. Now everyone hopes that Roland can comfort 'Olivia' and let her go back to rest.

However, Mr. Roland seemed not to understand what everyone meant and actually laughed out loud.

"Two Silver Fox coins a month?"

Are you crazy for money?!

"That woman in your village earns two silver fox coins because she sleeps with the master. Do you sleep with the master?"

Roland's words nearly scared everyone to death. Diana's face turned red and white, and she almost cried.

But she stubbornly said, "Master, don't try to fool me. I asked before, and the maids who help out in the kitchen earn more than ten gold pounds a year. That's fifty silver foxes in Eastern currency."

Roland chuckled and said, "Good, good, you can read and do math, right? Master has really done his job teaching you all these years."

Roland's smile made Diana involuntarily shrink back, knowing that the master was angry.

But she still stood there, determined to get back all the wages she had earned over the years.

Roland said, "Since you're going to settle accounts with me, I'll settle them for you."

You are indeed a very good cook, and you do more than just this one job—the seven of you usually have one person do the work while the other is being bossed around.

But this is what you should do! Because the master provides you with food and lodging, and even teaches you a skill!

At this point, Roland abruptly changed the subject and asked, "In your village, are there any lucky ones who can become apprentices at the blacksmith's shop in town?"

Diana hesitated for a moment, then said, "Our neighbor, Little John, is one."

Roland asked, "How did he become an apprentice?"

Diana said, "His family are relatives of the old blacksmith. When we went there, they brought two large baskets of potatoes, a large bundle of firewood, and a basket of eggs."

As she spoke, Diana burst into tears: "Master, eggs are so expensive, we can't afford them."

This time, the onlookers really couldn't stand it anymore—how hard this family must be living, etc., isn't this the time to talk about this? Hey sir! Can you stop messing around? If Olivia wakes up, she'll definitely kill you!

Roland continued, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was talking to himself, "Hmph, you owe the master more than just a basket of eggs."

The master not only taught you so many skills, but also bought you so many clothes—does little John in your village have any new clothes?

As he spoke, Roland tugged at the hem of Diana's robe and said, "Look at this fabric. In this carriage, among all these high-ranking men of the Holy Court, none of them are dressed as well as you."

Diana just cried and didn't say anything. She seemed to be getting more and more frightened, worried that the master would ask her for money for the clothes.

She did want to take off her clothes, but the problem was that over the years, the master had given her more than just this one garment.

Seeing Diana rubbing her eyes and crying, Roland picked up his pen and wrote a few lines in the book—it looked like he was doing some accounting.

Then he found a piece of paper and wrote a bunch of things down.

Helena, who was not far away, curiously craned her neck and glanced in this direction, only to find that Roland had written what appeared to be a list of exorbitant debts.

Based on the number on the list, even if someone were to leave the tower as a high-level alchemist—no, this alchemist would never leave the tower, destined to work for the Rabbi for life. It's a classic Black Abyss tactic. Helena had heard of similar things back in the academy. Although the Supervisory Council was strict, rumors still circulated that some unscrupulous instructors would secretly cheat their students like this.

However, Helena had only heard about it before, and today she finally met her.

Roland shoved the list of debts into Diana's hand and waved her away impatiently.

Diana, however, clutched the note and refused to leave.

Roland frowned and said, "What, don't you understand my calculations?"

Diana sobbed, "The wages."

Joan, who was standing to the side, could no longer hold back and said, "Roland."

Helena interjected, "Just give it to her, please. Is that alright?"

Roland glared at them with displeasure, but after thinking for a moment, he still took out a few low-grade magic stones from his pocket and threw them on the table: "These are for you."

Diana refused the magic stones, choking back tears as she said, "I...I want the Silver Fox."

At that moment, Teresa walked over.

She had just entered carriage number 2 two minutes ago and had been watching from the side for a while.

She walked over, gently put her arm around Diana's shoulder, and wiped away her tears to comfort her: "Diana, why do you need money? Has something happened at home?"

Diana rubbed her eyes and nodded, saying, "A letter has arrived from home."

As she spoke, she pulled a crumpled letter from her bosom.

Suddenly, everyone in the carriage felt something was wrong.

Especially some of the priestesses, they knew very well what was on their lord's body. There were absolutely no letters.

Upon seeing the letter, Helena and Joan were stunned for a moment, unable to help but recall the 'Observer and the Dice' incident, and a very strange expression appeared on their faces.

They looked at the pen on Roland's desk, then at Roland's magic book, and suddenly they all understood.

Roland, who was standing to the side, did not say anything after seeing the letter. He took the letter with a look of surprise (pretending to be surprised) and then opened it to read the contents.

The person who wrote the calligraphy has very good handwriting; they are clearly a knowledgeable and learned person.

Moreover, he was using the 'Byronian style' used by the Eastern Wizarding Academy, which made him look like an old apprentice who had returned to his hometown after failing to make it in the academy.

The letter essentially stated that Diana's father had committed a crime by hunting deer and had been imprisoned by the lord. He was to either pay a sum of money or be hanged.

Judging from the date on the signature, this happened several months ago!

But the letter must have just arrived in Diana's hands.

After reading the letter, Roland said, "'The spell was quite effective. This letter should have been gathering dust somewhere in the south, but you summoned it. Hmph, it seems the master did not teach you this skill in vain.'"

Roland's words subtly reminded her that he hadn't taught her the craft for nothing. Upon hearing this, Diana burst into tears and tried to kneel down to beg her master.

If Theresa hadn't quickly helped her up, she would have knelt down.

"Don't worry, your family is fine."

Roland said, "I don't know the specifics, but this letter is clearly written by a wizard apprentice. Regardless of what kind of apprentice he is, this letter is being sent through the official post station."

Although it wasn't delivered, which apprentice would be willing to write a letter? They certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to watch the lord commit evil deeds against a relative of someone 'suspected to be related to Roland Alaye'.

After all, the rule that ordinary people were not allowed to hunt deer was abolished more than 20 years ago.

The lord is always looking for trouble. Even if that apprentice is someone who can't make it in the academy, a simple report to the local authorities would be enough to finish him off.

After putting down the letter, Roland looked up and said, "Diana, when I saved you, you never contacted your family."

So, your family doesn't know where you went—they probably all think you were killed by bandits.

This letter certainly wasn't delivered through connections by your family.

Roland's words calmed Diana down considerably. Although she was still confused, she understood what her master meant—her family was definitely alright.

Theresa interjected appropriately, "Sir, what's the story behind this letter?"

Roland stroked his chin and thought for a moment before saying, "Our people all know that I rescued Diana from the bandits near Seaburg Port, so Diana's household registration is on file in the Eastern Territory."

Over the years, all sorts of news and rumors about me have been flying around in the East. Even official newspapers can't help but gossip a little, not to mention the gossip-loving media.

There's been a lot of news about 'Diana, the Saint of Heraca' and 'the chief disciple of the Black Blood Shepherdess'.

So, we don't know where Diana lives. That idiot has never left the village in her entire life and doesn't even know where her own home is.

However, everyone in the wizarding circles around Seaburg Port knows that a high-ranking wizard named 'Diana' came from their hometown.

The greedy lord had no reason to target a poor hunter—he was targeting a large group of people.

He was basically trying to make money, and he must have made quite a fuss about it. This matter must have alarmed the local wizarding community, leading to the arrest of the lord.

Then it was discovered that one of the hunters among those punished was very likely a relative of Diana.

So one of the wizards (apprentices), wanting to claim credit, tentatively wrote a letter.

This letter should have arrived smoothly within a few days, but you know, there's been fighting in the South for the past few months, so after it reached the South, it disappeared without a trace. The postman might have even died on the way.

After Roland's analysis, everyone suddenly understood.

He said to Theresa, "Take Diana to contact the East and investigate this matter. My intuition is usually right; judging from her fate, neither her father nor mother seems destined for a short life."

Theresa led Diana away from carriage number 2, and the many priestesses, seeing their mistress leave, hurriedly followed.

The carriage was suddenly left with only Roland, Joan, and Helena.

Seeing Roland wiping away cold sweat as he flipped through the 'magic book' on the table, Helena and Joan hurriedly came over.

Just as the two had predicted, the book was indeed the 'Book of Rest'.

Helena and Joan couldn't help but give Roland a thumbs up.

It turns out that Roland deliberately provoked Diana's emotions and then secretly altered the 'Book of Rest' while she was crying.

He made up a story on the spot, taking advantage of Diana's demand for unpaid wages.

Roland had just been making up a story while secretly contacting Theresa, asking her to come and perform a double act with him. And so the two of them managed to fool Diana.

The whole story about Diana's family was fabricated by Roland. His original plan was for Teresa to tell him that Diana's family was short of money due to some issues, to persuade him to pay her wages, and then for him and Teresa to put on a show.

He never intended to fabricate a story about something happening in Diana's family or her father being arrested by the lord!
I never even considered fabricating a letter.

However, Diana pulled out a letter!

And the whole thing changed with this letter—the lie became the truth!
(End of this chapter)