Although the Dark Cloud was not very intelligent, it has a strong perception of goodwill and malice. As soon as the devil ruffled its mane, it shook its body and leapt away from the devil.
The devil was stunned, then angrily grabbed Dark Cloud with a layer of negative magic, "How dare a mere beast like you look down upon the great Garfield?"
"Neigh!" Dark Cloud neighed, taking a threatening stance against the devil. Its front hooves rested on the ground, ready to charge at the devil at any moment.
The devil was even more cross, and continued to move forward with a smirk. With their strength, the horse was nothing to them. "It seems that I need to teach you a lesson, to let you know that Gar-"
Before the devil could finish their monologue, their body was broken with countless whippings, and Adam's voice could be heard behind them, "What lesson, may I ask?"
The devil turned their head painfully, watching Adam walk towards them with grass, beans, and all kinds of food in his arms. He ignored the pain and rushed to Adam's side, "My great Master, why do this rough work on your own? Allow your loyal servant to help you."
"Go away," Adam swept the devil aside with one foot.
After seeing Adam, Dark Cloud let out a cheerful neigh, and obediently stood behind the trough, waiting for Adam to feed it.
Ophelia, the Earl, and the Duke came to the stables to look for Adam. They found Adam sitting motionlessly by the trough, staring at Dark Cloud eating its food while patting it.
"Haha!" the Duke laughed. "I didn't expect Mr. Adam to have such an interest in horses! If you'd like, you can choose from my horse farm and take whichever horse you like."
Adam just realised the three of them staring at him and stood up immediately, "Is there something wrong?"
"I have something to ask, Mr. Adam," the Duke expressed. "Dinner is about to start, so let's talk at the dining table."
Dinner at the Duke's mansion was as extravagant as ever, but Adam had long been accustomed to the high-quality food in the Mage Continent. He simply sampled on a few dishes, not intending to eat the rest. Seeing Adam put down his knife and fork, they also stopped eating.
After a brief silence, the Duke said, "Mr. Adam, as you know it, the royal family of Madeira was completely wiped out by the Supreme God Cult."
Adam nodded.
"So, Madeira needs a new leader so that it can better serve the Moldo Mage Academy. I don't think there is a more qualified noble on the island other than me and Earl Johnson, so..."
"What does the Academy think?" Adam asked.
"Mr. Adam, the Academy appointed you as the person in charge, so you can fully decide what happens to this island."
"Well," Adam paused. "I don't have any opinion. Decide amongst yourselves." Even if it wasn't for this mission, Adam would never set foot on this island. Whatever happens on this island had nothing to do with Adam.
The Duke smiled, but the Earl had a stone-like face. Ophelia was relieved, knowing that she no longer owes her surname "Johnson" anything.
After returning to his room, the devil popped out, "Master, you are way too generous. Those two humans simply wanted to give you some benefits."
"Their benefits mean nothing to me," Adam expressed. "At most, I obtain some power stones, and I already have an unlimited supply of them."
The devil blinked, thinking of Adam's meditation research and his upcoming research papers for electric magic. Adam wouldn't be lacking in any power stones.
...
Early the next morning, the Duke and the Earl saw all of them off. Dark Cloud decided to follow Adam and Ophelia as well, as they boarded the merchant ship.
Ships from the Mage Continent do not often come to Madeira Island since it wasn't worth it. Hence, the four of them could only ride this ordinary vessel.
Everyone on the merchant ship were ordinary people. They expressed their fear and respect towards the four apprentices, and the captain allowed them to stay in the top cabin. Dark Cloud was even given a special person to serve it personally. The devil expressed their jealousy towards Adam, but Adam kicked them out of his room. Hence, the devil happily found the captain, and used Adam's form to make a fortune.
The three-month long voyage was basically uneventful. Sea creatures occasionally attacked the ship, but they were all happily devoured by the devil. Because of this, the devil was given a better treatment, and they finally felt like they were getting the respect they deserved.
When they arrived at the Mage Continent, the devil had made a lot of money on the ship, and they were covered with all sorts of precious gems and trinkets. They dangled their rewards in front of Dark Cloud, which made the Dark Cloud very irritated.
"Dispose of the garbage on you," Adam said, walking out of the port.
The devil retorted, "How can these be garbage?! This is the reward for me helping those humans on board!"
"I'm not saying that to spite you, I'm just saying that these items cannot withstand the pressure of teleportation. You need to dispose of it before we enter the portal to the Academy," Adam explained.
The devil was stunned for a moment, looking at the trinkets dangling on their body. They couldn't possibly ask Adam for help, so they could only look at the others for help.
Crystal chuckled and said, "I can help you, but you have too much jewellery on you, you really need to sort it out."
The devil frantically and reluctantly discarded some of their trinkets, deciding on a few for Crystal to keep.
"Actually," Ophelia suddenly said as they were standing in front of the portal. "You could have asked the people on the ship to help you send it to the Academy."
After saying that, Ophelia guided Dark Cloud into the portal, saluting the mage overseeing the portal before entering herself.
Before Dark Cloud disappeared, it flashed a mocking expression and snorted towards the devil.
The devil was dumbfounded and handed the remaining items to Crystal with tears in their eyes, glaring at Ophelia and Dark Cloud with grief.
Soon, all of them returned to the Tower after a long absence.
However, before they could return, an alchemy puppet came straight towards them, "Apprentice Adam, the Black Mage is waiting for you."
