It was dusk, and the giant ship of Lilith Cottage Wizard Academy sailed upon the waves stirred by the sea breeze.

On the deck, two to three hundred wizard apprentices were shouting excitedly, pointing at an approaching ocean liner three hundred meters away.

"Look, real pirates! It's my first time seeing pirates."

"Aren't the pirates too timid? Why aren't they rushing over?"

The wizard apprentices chatted nonchalantly, and even the sailors appeared calm.

It was no wonder there was no fear of these legendary pirates. As the ocean liner of Lilith Cottage Wizard Academy, even the fifty-plus sailors were all standard knights. Add to that the sailor leader and Dira's servant, Baron, both possessing the strength of legendary knights.

With such defenses, the average pirate ship stood no chance against this wizard academy's vessel.

Even if larger pirate ships attempted to plunder, the presence of Wizard Dira would dissuade them—no pirate would dare board.

Nidhogg gazed toward the distant pirate ship.

That pirate ship was somewhat smaller, about seventy to eighty meters long, yet its deck, masts, and railings were swarming with people—easily numbering in the hundreds.

These pirates were all men, clad in ragged clothing, some missing limbs, eyes, and wielding daggers, bows, and grappling hooks as they shouted wildly, bursting with energy.

As for the absence of women on the pirate ship?

Pirates believed that women would bring misfortune to their ship, attracting powerful sea monsters to capsize it and luring evil sea sirens to devour them, leaving only bones.

All pirates were firm believers in this superstition.

However, Nidhogg noticed that the pirate ship didn't immediately approach the wizard ship. The reason was simple: the pirate captain had spotted something unusual through his spyglass.

The ship... was filled with cheering, jubilant children?

Suddenly, this seasoned pirate captain seemed to realize something, his face changing drastically, a layer of cold sweat forming on his brow, and his remaining eye betraying his deep fear. He shouted to the helmsman beside him, "Turn around, quick, turn the ship around!"

The pirate captain's abrupt command startled those around him, even sending his shoulder-sitting monkey leaping to the railing with a screech.

As for the helmsman, he was already petrified, stammering, "Turn around?"

Clearly, the pirate captain held significant authority.

A metal hook shoved the helmsman aside as the captain, without a word of explanation, whirled the wheel with his remaining arm, steering the pirate ship and its hundreds of bewildered crew away at breakneck speed.

On the other side.

The door to the exclusive chamber of Wizard Dira on the Lilith Cottage ship suddenly opened, and two children, a boy and a girl, emerged curiously.

The sight of two children, roughly the same age as the apprentices, stepping out of the wizard's room left everyone on deck incredulous.

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The apprentices began to buzz with speculation.

"Who are they to not stay in the cabins? I'm sick of the mustiness and mushroom soup!"

"Who knows... maybe they're the wizard's offspring?"

"Don't make wild guesses. Those of us on deck heard Wizard Dira say those two are rare geniuses of the wizard academy, the likes of which come around only once a century..."

The crowd murmured, pointing at the two children who seemed utterly unconcerned, their arrogance reminiscent of Yorkris back in Bissel City—utterly irritating.

The girl wore a white dress, golden hair cascading down, her amber-blue eyes appearing innocent and pure, with a charming smile like a little princess.

Yet, the disdainful glint in her eyes as she glanced over the crowd revealed she wasn't as innocent as she appeared.

The boy, meanwhile, was busy playing with a white mouse, ignoring everyone on the deck, as if the mouse were more significant than anyone present.

If a word had to describe them, it would be disdain.

"Brother Yunli, look, those pirates ran away. How boring."

The girl pouted, her golden hair blowing naturally in the sea breeze.

The boy, toying with the mouse, didn't even look up, scoffing, "I told you, no pirates would dare attack a wizard academy ship. You wouldn't listen and insisted on coming out. The deck stinks; let's go back."

"Okay, but it's so boring..."

Ignoring the crowd's angry glares, the girl and boy casually returned to the room reserved for wizards.

On the deck, although the sailors took it in stride, the apprentices were furious, their outbursts echoing, their annoyance palpable.

After all, who were they?

To these children on deck, they were the elite, chosen from thousands as wizard apprentices, destined to become great wizards, proud of their status. What made those two think they were any better?

The deck stinks...

Then how had they endured the musty cabins?

Many believed the pair merely had connections on the wizarding continent or knew Wizard Dira—just riding on their coattails.

Including Nidhogg, everyone felt a surge of resentment toward them.

But, despite the resentment, no one dared question Wizard Dira, and thus, the pirate episode came to an end.

Three days after the pirate scare, Nidhogg was in his cabin, memorizing the "Scent Atlas" when he heard a knock on the door. He shook his head, assuming it was Binhansen again, who often dropped by unannounced.

Yet upon opening the door, he found it was Yorkris and Yorkliana.

Surprised, Nidhogg welcomed them in.

Thinking for a moment, Nidhogg offered some juice he had been saving as a treat.

The juice was preserved using noble methods, ensuring it stayed fresh for two months.

It was evident that after the cabin brawl, Yorkris was no longer as arrogant, more composed and mature.

While Yorkliana was still a bit shy, this time she spoke up first.

"Brother Nidhogg, thank you for helping us. My brother and I are very grateful."

Her voice was small, and even as a girl, she seemed embarrassed to say such humble words.

"Uh... you don't need to worry about it."

Nidhogg brushed it off.

Honestly, in that situation, despite previous displeasure with Yorkris, as fellow comrades in the same group, it was necessary to stand up, at least in Nidhogg's view.

Moreover, Nina played the decisive role in the end.

"No, no, we truly are grateful, Brother Nidhogg. Really."

Yorkliana hurriedly added, seemingly feeling her gratitude wasn't adequately expressed. She then solemnly produced two stones from her clothes and handed them to Nidhogg.

"This is a treasure my brother and I acquired by chance when we were younger. We later learned these are magic stones, currency among wizards. Over the years, we wasted some, and now only a few remain, so... we're giving you these two magic stones as a token of our gratitude."

Nidhogg was taken aback, staring at the siblings. They had wizard currency?

These weren't mere gold or silver coins; they were something the average person never saw. Nidhogg hadn't heard of such things before.

It turned out that these siblings had possessed such precious items all along, explaining Yorkris's past arrogance. They were in possession of high-class goods.

And Wade—so he had bribed Wizard Arnovoz with a magic stone.

...

Moments later, Yorkris and Yorkliana took their leave.

During the visit, Yorkliana did most of the talking, while Yorkris remained silent, clearly affected by the earlier incident, feeling awkward around Nidhogg.

As they were about to leave, Yorkris suddenly patted Nidhogg's shoulder and said earnestly, "I was wrong before."

Then he left without looking back.

Nidhogg nodded politely, saying nothing more.

Once the siblings departed, Nidhogg resumed his seat at the table, where two thumb-sized stones now lay—the legendary magic stones.

Intrigued, Nidhogg picked them up to study. He knew that for a wizard apprentice, even a single magic stone was a significant treasure.