Supreme Magus novel Chapter 152

"Lith’s greatest virtue is that he has no ambition. He never asked me for titles or power, nor has he tried to turn his village into his own small kingdom, like many mages of humble origins do, intoxicated by their new abilities.

It implies that whenever you require his services, he’ll never try to harm the Kingdom, since your goals are unlikely to clash with his."

Sylpha thought back at her husband words during their last quarrel. Maybe he was right wanting to arrange Lith’s reward as soon as possible.

"I still think that your evaluation is too exaggerated. He is still just a kid, even if he becomes as powerful as Marth, he is still far from a level S threat."

Mirim shook her head, sighing.

"You are thinking too straightforward. He is not going to raise an undead army like the god of death, or unleash a plague like Hatorne. He may not be capable of such feats, but that doesn’t make him less dangerous.

What makes you underestimate Lith, is that so far he abides to the law, but that’s because it suits him. If there is one thing I understood about him, is that he wants to be left alone.

Think about his past. When his brothers started to antagonize him, one was disowned and the other left of his own choice. When a noble family messed with him, it was wiped out, because after killing several adults without shedding a tear, he had the presence of spirit of bringing proof of their contractor.

And he was respectively five and six years old at the time. Each of his achievements, taken separately is remarkable. But when you assemble all the pieces of the puzzle you get a kid that lacks any conscience, patient, manipulative, unscrupulous towards his own kin, let alone strangers.

And you are letting such a person near the most dangerous disease the Griffon Kingdom has ever faced. Think about it. He accepted to help you because he was promised a reward of his own choice, Lith couldn’t care less about the infected.

If he manages to cure it, you’ll have to take into account that he probably is capable or replicating it, or even make it worse. If angered, there is no telling how far Lith is willing to go for revenge, and I am not willing to learn it the hard way.

That’s why I always bound him only through gratitude, helping him when he needed. Consider him a freelance to call I the times of need, but always remember to pay his due.

Force him to live under your roof, and he’ll burn the house down after boarding up doors and windows."

Sylpha mulled those words for a few seconds, drumming her fingers on the armrest.

"I see your point with the kite strategy. Too dangerous to bring him close, too valuable to kill. Good thinking, without him, we would still be in hot waters with the plague. Any idea about how to reward him?"

"It’s still too early to tell. Give him something precious, but not too much, otherwise he will not need us anymore."

Sylpha nodded.

"What about the box? Any news?"

"No, the lock is really complicated, and we have only one shot at it. Same for the former Headmistress Linnea and Hatorne. I don’t think we have to worry about Hatorne, though.

She has left the Kingdom the same day the lab exploded, and that was a big mistake on her side. Here she could still rely on her contractor, but once the other countries learn what she did, they’ll kill her in our stead.

The Blood Desert tribes value honour above everything else, and what she did is the highest form of cowardice, killing hundreds of innocents for money. As for the Gorgon Empire, the Magic Empress would never employ someone that didn’t hesitate betraying her own country."

"Agreed. If I had ever suspected she was capable of doing such a thing, I would have killed her years ago."

"Geniuses are erratic." Mirim sighed. "That’s why they are so precious yet so dangerous. And that’s why I prefer people like Lith or Marth, they are predictable."

The two women kept talking for hours discussing the future of the mages of the whole country.

***