Chapter 208: Chapter 206: A Convenient Deal

Whether it’s related or not doesn’t really matter anymore.

What matters is that Puniel needs Hilia to help treat the two Puppet Masters.

The healing process went smoothly.

The power within the Divine Fragment used her as a medium to enter the two unlucky Puppet Masters’ bodies, stopped their souls from slipping away any further, and then began nurturing their souls, stabilizing their condition.

However, all Hilia could do was stabilize them; as for the soul’s loss, she couldn’t restore it all at once.

Luckily, there were fruits that could replenish the soul.

Following Rose’s instructions, Hilia wrote down the medicinal fruits and herbs needed and handed the list to the City Lord, saying, "The most I can do is help stabilize their souls so they wake up, but they’ll still be very weak after waking, needing long-term nourishment—maybe two or three years before they fully recover."

Puniel glanced somewhat warily at the Divine Fragment between Hilia’s fingers, then nodded, "Understood, I’ll get them what they need right away."

As he spoke, he called in a servant and ordered them to gather information about the herbs and fruits on the list.

After instructing the servant, Hilia asked, "Where did you put that Heart of the Magic Puppet?"

"It’s in the warehouse. Miss Hilia, are you interested in the Heart of the Magic Puppet?"

Hilia nodded. "I need that Heart of the Magic Puppet; I wonder if Lord City Lord would be willing to hand it over to me?"

Puniel fell into thought.

Hilia continued, "For a Heart of the Magic Puppet of this power, it can no longer be used on a puppet. You’ve seen the state of that ’Magic Puppet Person’—if you want to use it, you’d need to go to that level.

"Although Hearts of this quality are very rare and exceedingly precious, if they can’t be used for puppets, they’re actually a burden for you, Lord City Lord—too much trouble for nothing, and might even get the Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association’s attention, getting hassled every day."

As she spoke, Hilia spun the Divine Fragment on her fingertip, saying, "For example, right now, using the Heart of the Magic Puppet, I can already sense the locations of other high-grade Hearts nearby. Hm... in that direction, right?"

Puniel was startled, then nodded. "Yes, the warehouse is that way."

Vanessa frowned. "Hilia, what do you want that for?"

Hilia smiled slightly. "I have a god’s blessing, so I can withstand the impact of these Hearts of the Magic Puppet and even use them to increase my spiritual power and soul strength."

Vanessa said, "You said the Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association can use other Hearts of the Magic Puppet to pinpoint your location. If they use that to track you, that’s too dangerous."

Hilia shook her head, "No, you need to get really close to sense anything—just like the day our Divine Hall was destroyed, and like last night, when that ’Magic Puppet Person’ reacted at the end."

Vanessa and Puniel had already pieced together an explanation they found convincing, so Hilia went along with their logic.

"And I’m a student of the Divine Magic Academy, inside Huijin City, near Huijin Divine Hall. If people from the Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association get close, they’ll get caught immediately."

Seeing that Puniel was still a bit reluctant, Hilia said, "If Lord City Lord can’t bear to part with it, then never mind, I won’t force it, either. Vanessa, Mom, I’ll be heading back to the inn to keep working on scrolls."

Vanessa nodded, "Alright, go ahead."

Just as Hilia was about to leave, Puniel called out, "Wait a minute."

"Anything else, Lord City Lord?" Hilia turned her head.

"Ahem, Miss Hilia, don’t be so hasty. I didn’t say I wouldn’t give it to you. I just hope that, after taking it, you might introduce me to someone."

Hilia smiled, "Of course, no problem—it’s just a small thing."

She knew Puniel meant an introduction to the Elf Royal Family.

She didn’t mind—just a small matter.

Of course, if Puniel didn’t give her the Heart of the Magic Puppet, this "small matter" wouldn’t be so easy after all.

Puniel saw Hilia about to leave and understood the implication, so in the end, he made a decision.

That Heart of the Magic Puppet was definitely a high-quality one, worth a small fortune at first glance.

But that was only if it could be put to use.

If it’s not usable in a puppet, it’s really no different than an ordinary gem.

If you can’t use it yourself—and can’t let others use it—what is it but trash?

Maybe you could sell it, but what if someone accidentally touched it, went unconscious on the spot, and then blamed you for it?

Some things are precious in the right hands, but in others, they’re worthless.

Like a paleontology fossil—you’d think fossils are valuable, but only to a specific crowd; to everyone else, they’re worthless.

If you want to raise the price banking on that, but people just ignore you, there’s nothing you can do.

Compared to fossils, this Heart of the Magic Puppet is much riskier. Even aside from heretics in the city being able to sense it, you could have a fatal accident just in daily storage—if someone’s careless and touches it, that could be a death.

So, after some thought, Puniel decided to use it in exchange for access to the Elf Royal Family. If he could get in touch with them and negotiate trade or alliances, that would be huge for the growth of Southern Border City.

Under Puniel’s guidance, Hilia quickly arrived at the warehouse where the Heart of the Magic Puppet was kept. The Heart in her hand began to glow faintly as they approached, resonating with it.

Puniel couldn’t help but sigh at the sight. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Taking a small box down from a warehouse shelf, Puniel unlocked the code and opened it. The Heart of the Magic Puppet inside also emitted a faint light, matching the one Hilia held.

Rose said, "It’s the same type of Heart. Its strength is double the one you have."

Double the strength, so about twenty percent of the whole.

Rose clicked her tongue in the sealed land and asked Ethel, "Just how many pieces did you split your Divine Format into?"

Ethel replied, "Five. The biggest one is where I sleep; one you used to lure me in; one I used to fall into your trap; and the last two are about the same size as the one you lured me with, kept in the Deep Sea Mutual Aid Association."

"Tell me the location of your Land of Sleep."

Ethel snorted, "It’s out at sea. That girl you descended into can’t get there."

"Don’t worry about that. Just give me the coordinates."

"No."

Boom!

Ethel went flying backward.

"Will you give it or not?"

"No..."

Boom!

After giving Ethel a fierce beating, Rose said coolly, "The Divine Format is useless to me. If you don’t say, I don’t care, but from now on, I’ll beat you up once a day."

"Rose, you devil!"

Boom!

Some time later.

"Cough, cough, cough. The coordinates are in the Sea of Tranquility... Satisfied now? You damn demon! If you’ve got the guts, just kill me!"

"That’s better. Why make me hit you every time?"

Rose flexed her fist and smiled. "I won’t kill you. Of course, you’re free to end it yourself. I’ll even help tell the legends of your miraculous suicide."

"You..."

...

Meanwhile, on Hilia’s side, Puniel watched enviously as Hilia took the Heart of the Magic Puppet with no ill effects and couldn’t help feeling eager to try it himself.

He considered himself a Tier Four Mage, stronger than the Puppet Masters, so he figured he could withstand it.

Seeing his thoughts, Hilia smiled and said, "The impact of the Heart of the Magic Puppet has nothing to do with strength—it’s all about soul strength. If Lord City Lord has ever strengthened his soul, then it’s safe to touch. Have you ever worked on soul strength, Lord City Lord?"

Puniel shook his head.

The soul is basically irrelevant to mages nowadays. Almost no demon or mage can directly attack the soul—at most, they can attack the spiritual space.

Puniel watched with reluctance as Hilia put away the Heart of the Magic Puppet, secretly sighing to himself: "She’s the Holy Court Saintess, so I’ll just treat it as a donation to the Holy Court. Maybe I can get some benefits from them."