Chapter 52

"Listen, that's Saruman..."

The head of the Mages' Guild, the master of the Sage Tower, the Saruman who had intimidated the Thousand Sails City for twenty years—let alone a mere alchemist like Morin, even the President Rhys would have to show sufficient respect to this First Mage.

Just thinking about it made Morin feel his legs go weak.

What to do, what to do...

That was the First Mage of Thousand Sails City, one of the butchers who personally wiped out the Black Wing Bandits. In front of him, Morin was nothing more than an ant that could be crushed at will.

Morin stood there with a pale face, his legs trembling uncontrollably, and cold sweat trickling down his forehead...

"Merlin, do you need me to help you resolve this?" Saruman walked into the Gilded Rose's hall, not looking at the trembling Morin, nor asking about the cause, and his first words were whether Lin Yun needed help to resolve the issue.

Yes, resolve!

If anyone else had said this, it would likely have caused the Alchemists' Guild to be unhappy. What a joke, the Alchemists' Guild's seal, you want to resolve it just like that? Do you even respect the Alchemists' Guild?

But when Saruman said it, it was completely reasonable. The seven or eight black-robed alchemists present, plus the trembling Morin, none of them found anything wrong with it, because these words came from Saruman.

If Saruman said to resolve it, then no matter what happened, no matter who was right or wrong, no matter the cause, the matter had to be resolved.

This was Saruman's status in Thousand Sails City.

Lin Yun also knew that as long as Saruman said a word, these black-robed alchemists and Morin would definitely pack up and return to the Alchemists' Guild, and the seal and the hearing would have nothing to do with him.

But after thinking for a moment, Lin Yun shook his head and declined Saruman's offer: "No need."

It wasn't because of some laughable pride or strange dignity.

In fact, for Lin Yun, who came from the end times, pride and dignity were things that could be dropped at any moment.

The reason he declined Saruman's offer was simply because he felt there were too few alchemists at the Gilded Rose...

"Archmage Saruman, the situation with the Magic Runes Construction Example is roughly as I described on the way. I will visit the Sage Tower again in a few days, and at that time, I will seek your guidance..."

"Alright." Seeing that Lin Yun had made up his mind, Saruman did not try to persuade him further. He nodded with a smile and then turned to look at Morin: "Please convey my greetings to Rhys."

With that, he turned and left the Gilded Rose.

"Yes, yes..." Only then did Morin let out a deep breath, his legs giving way, and he sat down on the stairs. But Morin, immersed in the joy of surviving, didn't care about these things. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, not even bothering to clean the dust from his face, and ran to Lin Yun.

This time, Morin's face no longer had a condescending expression; instead, it was a flattering smile: "M-Merlin Mage, it's a misunderstanding, a complete misunderstanding..."

"Hehe, if it's a misunderstanding, it's all good." Lin Yun smiled as if he had completely forgotten the unpleasantness: "Alchemist Morin, it seems there are still a few shelves that haven't been sealed."

"No, no, no need, no need to seal them..." Morin's smile was more like a grimace.

Damn, if I had known you were acquainted with Saruman, I wouldn't have come to seal your property.

In the end, not only did I get nothing, but I also brought out Saruman. How unlucky can I be...

"Really no need?"

"Really no need..." Morin was almost in tears.

"Alright then..." Lin Yun nodded in relief and then suddenly asked: "By the way, Alchemist Morin, when does the hearing start?"

"The hearing starts in an hour... No, no, I'm not rushing you, Merlin Mage. If you really don't have time, the hearing can be..."

Morin almost slapped himself as soon as he said this. Why bring up the hearing when he had just managed to avoid the sealing? Was he trying to bring Saruman back?

"No, I have plenty of time!"

"Ah?"

"From here to the Alchemists' Guild, it takes about half an hour. Alchemist Morin, you should hurry and finish sealing the shelves."

"Ah?"

Morin let out two "ahs," feeling as if he himself had been sealed.

After working at the Alchemists' Guild for so many years, Morin had never seen a shop owner who was so eager to attend a hearing and even urged him to hurry and seal the shelves. What was going on? Was he being sealed or was Morin being sealed?

One was urging, the other was letting it slide...

The sealing work was naturally done in a hurry. Morin directed a few black-robed alchemists to quickly seal a few shelves and nervously declared that the sealing was complete.

The worst part was, just before leaving, Lin Yun asked another question.

"By the way, Alchemist Morin, will anything be missing from my shop after the hearing?"

"No!" Morin almost cried, shaking his head firmly: "Absolutely not!"

At first, Morin had indeed planned to take some benefits. After all, whether the Gilded Rose could continue operating after the hearing was uncertain, and taking some benefits wouldn't cause any trouble.

But now, even if Morin had a hundred lives, he wouldn't dare to do it...

The young owner of the Gilded Rose was someone who could speak to Saruman. Taking anything from him would be courting death.

Moreover, with Saruman's last words, even President Rhys would have to give some face. The hearing would just be a formality, and the Gilded Rose would continue operating. If Morin took anything, and Saruman came back, what would he do?

Just thinking about it made Morin's legs go weak again...

Fortunately, Lin Yun didn't ask anything more on the way. The two of them rode in the same carriage and soon arrived at the Alchemists' Guild.

Checking the time, it was exactly one hour.

The hearing was held on the second floor. Morin respectfully escorted Lin Yun to the door and knocked: "Mafa Merlin of the Gilded Rose has arrived."

"Please let him in."

Lin Yun pushed open the slightly ajar door. Inside was a spacious meeting room with very simple furnishings: a few chairs and a long table. Behind the long table sat three middle-aged men, all in their forties to fifties.

About ten meters away from the long table, a single chair was placed, which was obviously for Lin Yun.

"Merlin Mage, please sit." After escorting Lin Yun into the meeting room, Morin respectfully asked him to sit down and then ran to one of the middle-aged men, whispering a few words in his ear.

After hearing Morin's words, the middle-aged man was clearly surprised. He looked at Lin Yun with a doubtful gaze and then quickly lowered his head to hide his surprise. However, his right hand, holding a quill, betrayed his nervousness, almost dropping the quill several times...

Although they were about ten meters apart and Morin's voice was low, Lin Yun could still read his lips. He seemed to have said: "Saruman brought him back..."

It seemed this middle-aged man was Morin's backer in the Alchemists' Guild...

As Morin left the meeting room, the hearing officially began.

"You are Mafa Merlin?" The one who spoke first was the middle-aged man sitting in the middle, about fifty years old, whose magical aura gave Lin Yun a slight sense of pressure.

If Lin Yun had not yet advanced to the High Mage level, he might have only felt the pressure. But now, as a High Mage, his sensitivity to magical auras had increased, and he could see at a glance that this middle-aged man was a Fifth-Rank High Mage.

However, he might have taken some wrong turns in his advancement, leading to an imbalance in his five magic runes. He had probably reached this level with the help of alchemical potions, but he would likely stop at the Fifth-Rank High Mage level.

"Mafa Merlin?" After the middle-aged man asked, he received no response, and his brows furrowed. As a high-ranking member of the Alchemists' Guild, he had presided over at least eighty hearings, and never before had the first question been ignored...

With two colleagues watching, the middle-aged man felt his face was lost, and his impression of Lin Yun naturally worsened.

"Ah, yes, I am Mafa Merlin." Lin Yun, who had been feeling sorry for the man's stagnation at the Fifth-Rank High Mage level, finally snapped back to reality upon hearing the second question.

"Alright, Mafa Merlin, please explain the situation regarding the Gilded Rose under your name."

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By the way, I don't have acrophobia, so a higher position on the recommendation list is fine!

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