Epic of The Demonic Sage

Lita was Astonished by these scandalous words. If Asher's words were heard by others and taken out of context, it would be no less than treason!

But Gabriel on the other hand had his head lowered. Lita saw this and knew that he was feeling the same as her.

"Dear, don't take Asher's words to heart! He doesn't…." Lita was pleading when she was suddenly interrupted.

"AHAHAHA! EXCELLENT! THE BLOOD OF INANIS HAS SHOWN ITS FANGS AGAIN!" Gabriel laughed out loud, much to the shock of others.

Even Lucius had not expected that the Count would react like this. But seeing this, he felt excited deep down. He wondered if the Count was as he thought he was…

Gabriel calmed down a few seconds later and looked at Lucius strongly.

"Can you replicate this?" Gabriel asked.

"Yes, I can do this with other gifts, too. Even yours… if given time." Lucius answered, increasing the level of shock even more.

Gabriel only smiled only more. The middle aged count had a frown or a straight face most of the time in these years. Things had only gotten worse over the years and his land was suffering along with his family. 

He had suppressed his true feelings all this time. He had been feeling helpless about himself, his family, his son and his land. But now… his son, which was the source of his worry, had given him the best surprise that he could have.

"Perfect! What do you need?" Gabriel stated right away.

Lucius was pleased with the Count's response and was already starting to like this 'father' of his more than the one in his past life.

"I'll need information or more accurately, information about the gifts, as detailed as possible. Then I need information about Rune beasts and either gifts. I will also need a ton of information on the various materials in this world, whether they be metals, woods, minerals, or anything similar.

What we have here is not enough… I'll need more if I want to find the perfect solution to upgrading a gift." Lucius answered.

The Count rubbed his coarse beard in a thinking gesture.

"Getting the information ail be difficult… the one that we have here in the mansion is already a lot. If you want more than this, then there are only a few places that will have it." Gabriel stated.

"And what are these places?" Lucius asked.

"If your want more information about gifts then it will be found at the Grand repository of Etara. There are also more books written by various scholars in the Royal Academy of the Grantz Kingdom. As for the information about various materials… you will find it in the Artificers guild and the Royal Academy should have some too." Gabriel answered.

"Gaining access to any of these places is not easy. The Grand Repository of Etara can only be accessed by the high clergy of the Church of Etara. In the case of the Artificers guild it is even obvious as one needs to be an artificer to even be able to enter the building, not to mention depending on their contributions, they may or may not be allowed to view it.

The Royal Academy though maybe the easier option among the three. Only needs to be a student and then visit their library. Though there are more restrictions from what I've heard. But I don't know its specifics." Gabriel explained.

Having heard all this, Lucius's mind turned at great speed. He analyzed his options and made a few approaches to it.

'I'll need more time to think about this. For now, I should still be able to upgrade low ranked gifts with the information that I have here.' Lucius thought.

"We'll think of this in the future. For now, I reckon, I should be able to do it for some gifts. If I get stuck in some part which cannot be solved by the information here, I'll try other options." Lucius replied.

"Alright… I'll leave that up to you," Gabriel replied.

"Well, now that we have a plan for the long-term growth of our family, I believe there is a need to address the current problem that is plaguing us," Lucius said.

"Current problem? You mean… the Viscount?" Lita guessed.

"Indeed, mother. Though that's not just that. We are also having a financial crisis right now. And for that very thing, I have this prepared…" Lucius said as he pushed the tray in front of him towards them.

The tray had two glasses that had been filled with the same drink Lucius was previously drinking.

"What is this?" Lita asked, while Gabriel smelled.

"Wine? You made wine?" Gabriel suddenly said.

"Yes, father. It is wine." Lucius replied.

"Why did you make wine? Do you mean to say we should sell this wine?" Lita asked, connecting the dots.

"Indeed mother," Lucius affirmed.

"Selling wine… it won't be enough, though. How will we get past the other wine makers and brewers? Some of our lower ranked nobles already are in this business. Plus, even if we join now, it will not be profitable. It will take us far too long to turn a profit." Gabriel analyzed.

"We won't, father. Why don't you taste and tell me what you think about the wine I made?" Lucius offered.

Gabriel carefully picked up the glass of wine and took a small sip. The translucent liquid spread on his tongue while letting out a sweet and sour taste. He felt pleased with it and swallowed it down, only to realize the sweet and sour taste had become like fire!

The heat spread from his throat all the way down to his stomach, where it settled like a drunkard's bum!

The kick from the drink was strong enough that Gabriel shook his head.

"This is powerful… yet delicious… how did you make it?" Gabriel wondered, thinking that it must have used a complex combination of fruits to achieve a taste like this.

Even Lita drank a little bit to see if her husband's reaction was worth it, only to find out that it was only less. For a fair woman like her, the alcohol direly made her cheeks flush red.