The Black Iron Glory
repercussions

Chapter 67

Consequent

Morssen constantly gave Claude a gloomy look for the rest of the week. Although Claude greeted her gently every morning, he would only snort in response, instead, especially after how the Whitestag Dawn Edition reported the incident about Claude climbing onto the roof to seek fresh air only to fall asleep and cause misunderstandings with the patrolling guards. Morssen's mood only worsened after reading that.

Although the newspaper did not mention Claude, reporting the person involved as 'Master A' instead, everyone knew who they were really talking about. Morssen was very dissatisfied. One of the reasons for that was the publication of the newspaper made his son into a laughing stock. Although it was only published in small columns, it did not stop his peers and friends from teasing him. "Your son didn't sleep on the roof last night again, did he?" some of them would say, just to make Morssen feel worse.

He was also angry as a father because of Claude's own recklessness. How does he make gall sleep on the roof? The roof was on the third floor and was at least 14 meters off the ground, not to mention tilting! Slip even the slightest attention will see him roll over and fall. That's too dangerous.

In that regard, Morssen thanked the guards for having seen his son back then. If they didn't report it early and Claude actually fell off the roof, everything would be too late. The harmless gossip ended up as a tragedy. Morssen preferred the first over the last. Being laughed at by others is much better than losing a loved one. He is a good father who cares about his children.

For that reason, Morssen even freed himself one afternoon to take care of the patrol captain that night to express his gratitude. That earned him a lot of praise from the visitors of the old shop. Many of them thought of him as a real man who reciprocated the help he received.

As for the newspaper, Morssen called for a big meeting as he returned to city hall with an agenda of tackling tax evasion and the cleanliness of the city. Factories and workshops in all Whitestags carried out a massive investigative campaign and the slightest mistake was punished with fines and orders to correct the error in a very limited time.

Morante Dawn Edition was one of the most vetted companies during this campaign. The investigation turned out to be a lot of problems with their side, among which there were 13 fines for hygiene. The editor-in-chief was completely crushed because of all the fines. In the end, one of the newspaper's investors visited Morssen with a gift for mercy and also met Sir Fux, a member of the lower house. Only after that did Morssen set aside the publication.

Instead, Claude's life was not smooth. He was barred from rooftops and ridiculed by his schoolmates for more than a week. Claude even got a nickname: Claude the Roofer. Those who don't know will actually think that he's some kind of chimney cleaner.

Personally, he didn't really care about what people called him. However, Eriksson and Welikro secretly beat up some of the students who called Claude that name. The four of them did not get along well with the others at school in the first place, and the other students were afraid of the brutal behavior of the four. Although Claude tried hard to control his emotions after moving in, he was still one of the four terrors in their school. He became such a rare laughingstock that the other students who disliked them did not want to miss the opportunity to make fun of Claude.

He cares more about one thing. While his father was angry, he could understand that it was because of his love for him. But ever since he was barred from going up to the roof by his father, he realized that he could only do three Hexagram Meditations instead of six when he was on the roof. After three times, he would feel a little dizzy from oppressing his mental strength too much, accompanied by a hint of throbbing pain in his temple. No wonder Landes warned against practicing too much at first.

However, that alone made another question in Claude's mind. Didn't anyone notice that meditating under the moon nearly doubled its effectiveness? I can meditate all night on the moon. Not only did it not interfere with my mental strength at all, it even made me feel refreshed like I was using stimulants.

Claude did not believe that not a single magus had noticed the trick for several millennia. He could only come up with two reasons for this: the first was that very few magi discovered this trick and deliberately kept it a secret.

The other is a security issue. Landes states in the diary that one must find a quiet place where one will not be disturbed during meditation. Although the danger of being bullied was not stated directly, like how one would lose control over one's cultivation in a cultivation novel, he reasoned that it was because magus was at its most vulnerable position during meditation, he reasoned that it was because magus was at its most vulnerable position during meditation, given how almost all the sensations from the outside world are cut off in the country. They will not be stronger than a seven-year-old. One strike would be enough to kill a meditating magus.

Naturally, Claude also considered the possibility that his mental strength was an oddity that allowed him to recover when exposed to moonlight. But he doesn't think it makes sense. The astonishing number of magi would certainly not be that low for thousands of years a magical civilization existed. Surely someone like him would show up if it was really a special trait or something. The ones who had mental strength stronger than Claude were almost certainly many. Landes' mental strength rating of eight seemed much higher than what Claude would judge himself.

Fortunately, Mrs Ferd examined him out of worry and did not wake him from his deep sleep, also stopping her siblings, Angelina and Bloweyk, from bringing the snow dog to disturb him. Only through a long period of sleep did he completely recover. That was one of the benefits of his youth.

After learning the lesson, Claude no longer went up to the roof or meditated all night. Now, he only meditated at nine o'clock the night before going to bed. After three times, it usually ends around two and he is tired enough to sleep. He wakes up at seven in the morning, takes a shower, has breakfast, and goes to school as usual.

Although she only slept five hours at night, the fatigue of meditation ensured that she spent that time in deep sleep. The night was dreamless until the bell rang at dawn; the quality of sleep could not be better. In addition, he was only 16 years old, still young and full of spirit. He could also make up for sleep deprivation during his academic flow period before noon. That's how he didn't damage his body and ended up looking like a cliche magus villain in the novels that were often depicted as pale and fragile.

Recently, the only thing that made him happy was how Borkal ended up selling the shaliun he gave him for a high price of 12 kron of gold. It came as a great surprise to all his friends. If the shaliun was traded to the city bank, it would only trade with two gold cronies. Eriksson and Welikro were both somewhat touched and wanted to sell their own gold coins as well.

Borkal says that the reason for selling so much is because of luck. His four father friends intended to have one shaliun in their collection, so he sold it in an auction at his house. Given that his father was hosting and he had a complaint with the two people present, he continued to raise the price throughout the auction and managed to settle that ridiculous amount in the end.

Even the buyers who managed to win the auction felt one regret because the shaliun could be bought for ten gold kronos at market price. Although the shaliun rarely appeared for sale and would be purchased as soon as it appeared, 12 kron of gold was more than the value of that coin. However, the buyer was unable to return after making the offer and was happy to close the deal with Borkal.

Borkal believes that his father's friend didn't really lose out on the deal. Even though the coin is sold at a high price of 12 kron, the price of the coin will easily grow to 12 or even 15 kron after a decade or two is secured.

The reason is simple: shaliuns are made by magi using alchemical forging techniques instead of the standard print-and-mint techniques that most coin makers use. Their number will only decrease over time, meaning that the price of the coin will only go up, not down. Any coin collector worth salt would definitely have a shaliun in his collection.

Borkal's explanation snapped at Eriksson and Welikro for their desire to sell coins. Since Borkal reasoned that the coin would continue to rise in price, they felt it was better to keep it. It's not that they're in a hurry to spend money in the first place. Keeping coins as a family heirloom is also a good option.

Eriksson announced one piece of good news: they will be able to shoot ducks in Lake Balinga off his boat on Sunday.

Renovation of fins and wavepiercer to build his ship some time ago. They had originally planned to go duck hunting last Sunday, but Claude had been asleep for most of the day. Although Borkal and Welikro went to the dock, Pegg stopped the three of them from sailing. At the time, the ship was still being tested in shallow waters. Livewell should also be tested to make sure there are no leaks.

So, Borkal and Welikro help Eriksson carry goods to and from the ship on Pegg's instructions and come home tired. The fishing vessel still has to be simmered for three or more days before it is handed over for hull inspection. Only after such security checks can the testing journey begin.

"Are you sure you didn't ask us to go out there and work again?" ask Borkal. Welikro agreed. They were both very frightened by their experience last Sunday and did not think that building a fishing boat would be very troublesome, with all the meticulous checks.

"I didn't. I can swear if you will," said Eriksson with his ears flushed in embarrassment, "Uncle Pegg had finished inspecting the hull and thought that it was perfectly constructed. Now it's worth the sea, so that's why I invite you all to hunt. You mistakenly thought of my good intentions! "