By the time Max and Sophia returned to the castle, it was already evening, and Iris was waiting for them in the castle hall, sipping tea and reading a few papers that seemed to be city development approval documents.
Max greeted her, sat down beside her, and asked the maid to pour them a cup of tea. They began to relax, completely worn out from a day of visiting various places and getting caught up in a fight that led to a trip to the public security office.
Although they were tired, they quickly grasped the city's political structure and other details, leaving them with a good impression. If they weren't adventurous ship captains, they might have chosen to settle here.
While they were reminiscing the maid has brewed fresh tea and handed them the cups, Max tasted the tea and found the tea has right amount of spice with sugar and good herbal scent which has alleviated their exhaustion in one sip.
The savored the tea happily while waiting for Iris to complete their review of paper which she is busy with.
Soon, Iris completed her work and placed the paper in a file, which she handed to the butler waiting beside her. She asked him to deliver the files to the cabinet ministers and arranged to meet them tomorrow.
The butler took the files, secured them in a bag, gave a salute, and left the castle through the front door.
Iris turned to Max, leaned closer with a happy smile, and asked him how the city was. Max set down his empty teacup and began describing his experience of the city, complimenting her on the excellent management that had kept it thriving with a steady population of 10,000.
Iris blushed with happiness, but Max explained that he had gotten into a quarrel with the fellow ship captains near the merchant guild and was forced to visit the security department. This delay made them late returning to the castle, and her eyes turned frosty.
Max, realizing she was upset about someone picking a fight without reason, began calming her down. He explained that this wasn't the first time he had quarreled with others when they were together, and she understood that his ideology often clashed with others, leading to conflicts. He urged her to stop wasting time making things harder for them, as he will take care of his problems with ease as usual.
Iris calmed down but secretly resolved to investigate the incident and seek justice for Max. Max, noticing that she pretended to agree, realized she was lying but chose not to confront her. Instead, he shifted the conversation to the gift she mentioned preparing for him.
Iris was successfully diverted and asked if he knew how to enter extraordinary state.
Max was perplexed by the question and replied that it was simply by consuming extraordinary fruits and flesh, to which Iris responded, "Not correct."
Iris explained that the islands are just a small part of the world, and there is a main continent in the deeper ocean that belongs to humans, which we might need to discover in the future. However, as she was the first to build a city rated as excellent, she gained system gift which has description about extraordinary path that didn't require them to consume extraordinary fruits or the flesh of monsters.
She researched according to the extraordinary methods and created many extraordinary meditations which the guards and the citizens of the island are now freely participating.
The methods they have are reduced versions of the original methods and they can buy other methods from the merchant guild when they have enough money and merits.
Back to the extraordinary method, Iris took out a small book and presented it to Max, saying this is the original method of the extraordinary. It helps in managing internal mana, building their body and spirit, and progressing in upgrading their life levels without needing to consume extraordinary items.
Max took the book with doubt and noticed its cover was entirely pitch black, without any title. He began to question whether the book contained any meditation methods for practice, but seeing Iris's happy expression, he set his doubts aside, opened the book, and started reading.
Max quickly became engrossed in the details of the book, losing track of the world around him. Sophia, sitting beside him, felt left out and started wondering if she should return to the room and come back once he was done with the topic. Noticing Sophia's dilemma, Iris picked up another book, handed it to her, and mentioned that she had chosen one based on her preferences, knowing Sophia preferred fighting from the rear rather than on the frontline.
Sophia felt her ears burn with shame as Iris easily uncovered her dilemma, and she only took the book when Iris urged her to take it if she valued their friendship.
Iris explained that the book is called the Book of Mage, as she discovered it later in another treasure chest. No one on the island practiced its spells because it required full dedication and time to master them. Only a few tried but gave up after practicing a few times. Sophia can take the book since Iris informed her that it's just a copy, and she still has the original with her.
Sophia happily took the book after Iris confirmed its identity, and she immediately began engrossing herself in studying the details within it.
Iris noticed they were engrossed in reading, so she instructed the maids to prepare the practice rooms, anticipating they would want to practice the techniques after studying them. She also asked other maids to heat the water in the guest room, as they would bathe after the exercise.
She then asked the butler to guide Max and Sophia to the exercise room, where she planned to begin the practice first. She stood up from the chair and left the hall room.
Soon the room has the sound of the book pages turning as Max and Sophia didn't even lift their heads as they heard iris leaving.
Soon, Max was the first to finish reading his book and noticed Sophia deeply engrossed in another one. He also saw that only one of the butlers was waiting for them in the hall.
Sophia also emerged from the trance after finishing the book, and the butler informed them about Iris's instruction. They both agreed, eager to practice the techniques they had just learned and master them.
With the castle butler leading the way, they followed him to the castle's basement, where a small stadium-like space is dedicated to the lord of the castle's practice.