"Sounds good then. Sir Amon, prepare yourself for tomorrow's hunting festival. If you need weapons, we can provide you with them, and Lady Roxanne can prepare a good gift in exchange; it is tradition that if a lady gets gifted the head of a monster, she returns something back." Ruby wanted to make sure that they did it properly. For her, it was important that anyone follow the tradition during the festival days.
Good, then let us eat and then go to our room, Honey." Amon declared with a big smile on his face. He went through a few things, and Roxanne wanted him to use the unique opportunity to relax.
----
After lunch, Amon and Roxanne were brought to their guest room. But there was one thing that did not leave Amon. The guards. He knew that it was their job to ensure that no guest tried to harm the imperial family, but they were extra cautious. They were always watched. They were unwatched in their room, but they could not know if someone would listen to their conversations.
"Can't these rats fuck off already?" Roxanne had no objections to being watched the whole time they were outside. She made sure that they could not hear them, but as soon as the two of them left the room, guards or servants would watch every step they made.
Well, that is probably my fault." After all, I kicked the ass of one of the guards last time." Amon sat on a chair and thought about the thing he did a month ago.
"Hey Amon I am bored. Can you tell me something interesting while you are cultivating?" Roxanne saw how Amon got into the lotus position. They sometimes talk about Qi, but often there are other things to talk about, and Roxanne does not have to know everything about them. She was a mage, and that meant the only thing she had to do was pray to the gods who blessed her and train her magic.
Sure, I will tell you about the difference between walking the path of qi and cultivating it." Amon had already started talking to his wife with his eyes closed.
"If you walk the paths of Qi, you have to walk every branching point in order to achieve its full strength, but if you cultivate, you do something similar to what you do when you pray to your gods. You get the acknowledgment of the Qi, and then they gift you something in return, and this is the ability to let Qi be stored in your body."
Roxanne lay on the bed on her belly while she supported his head with her hands. She looks like a small child listening to her older brother. She loved it when Amon talked about Qi. The reason for it is that he always sounds happy when he talks about it. Amon hates Mana but loves Qi. For him, being able to use Qi is like being blessed for someone else. For him, Qi was something like a savior, god, and friend all at once. It is true that the Qi sees him mostly as an entertainer, but this is fine for him, and right now he is for the Qi something like a character in a new series that got realized they do not love the show or him, but they find it entertaining watching his life, and that is all he needs.
"I understand then that walking on the paths of Qi and learning skills is like when we mages train Mana in order to use magic. Cultivating it is like when we pray to our gods, and for that, we get strong with our gift. Is that right? You just get other boni."
Roxanne was a smart mage who knew much about the theory of Mana and magic.
"Then I will now tell you something about mana and magic. Do you know what it is that we mages call Arcane magic?"
Amon shook his head. He never learned more than deeded for mana and magic. Just basic tactics, a little bit of theory, and a few other things that are dangerous for him while fighting a mage.
"Arcane magic is trying to copy the powers the gods gave us. Thousands or millions of years ago, four powerful mages made these fundamentals; they tried to copy the gods powers and use Mana for their advantage and manipulate it, and so magic was born." Roxanne shortly closes her eyes and then opens them wide again.
"The three mages made the so-called five disciplines of magic. Theses were:
Dark magic: Used to curse something or someone and do other demonic things.
Elemental magic: Using the four elements (fire, air, water, and earth), mix them together and create new elements.
Physical magic: Manipulate your own or someone else's body with mana.
Surrounding magic: Manipulate your surroundings and use them to your advantage.
Raw magic: Use mana in its raw form and forge or create spells with it. It is the hardest to do of all the four disciplines and is hard to describe, so I will just give you a demonstration."
Amon opened one eye and looked at what his wife had done.
She hopped out of bed and placed her palm towards the ceiling of the room. Soon a blue ball of energy was created. It did not look like an element or something that made her previous explanation, and she then remembered its name.
"Magic bullet." He just said this because he encountered many mages who used this magic. It was always something like a blue ball that caused damage when it hit something.
Roxanne nodded. She did not want to waste more time and thought that it was the end of the exclamations. She only wanted Amon to focus on his cultivation right now and think of nothing else. Amon only listened to this because his wife was the one telling him. Normally, he would say that the person should shut up and let him do his thing.
---
"Reginald, did something happen with our guests, or is there any problem?" Ruby asked the butler with the long gray beard who was on her side during the New Year's event.
"Nothing in particular. Lady Roxanne used magic so that no one could hear them, but that is nothing unusual. Many people do this, especially when they want to sleep." The butler declared for him that nothing special had happened. Actions like casting a noise barrier were really nothing unusual.
Yes, I heard the two of them do it every night or even during the day." Ruby thought that she should finally look for a lover. Maybe her father would even allow marriage after all; they were the most powerful empire on the entire continent. They didn't need a marriage to gain more power. A simple war would probably suffice.
"Take good care of them. If this thing turns out to get worse, we need the support of a powerful guild."