Inheritor Of Magic: The Magi King

"Is there anything else that you would like to have before you go? King Petros has a trade agreement with Forest Grove, so if you need something that is only available here, don't hesitate to ask, and we will make sure that you have it to take to the clinics with you.

I don't personally have a lot of experience in healing matters, so I have likely overlooked something important while we were preparing the gift packages for you." Wolfe explained to the witches.

The witch got a mischievous smile and nodded her head. "You know, if you could donate a Kind Intentions spell to the clinics, it would really help. The people will always tend to panic when there is a pandemic, or an important member of the community sick or dying.

That can lead to danger and threats against the healers, so if we were guaranteed to be safe inside our clinics, it would reduce a lot of the chaos. Nobody wants to have some noble brat pushing their way through and throwing sick commoners out into the street, so their family can go first."

King Petros chuckled. "I wish that I could deny that was likely to happen, but I can certainly see it as a hazard of the occupation. Some of them, especially the middle Nobles, have an extreme sense of entitlement, and they are also the ones least likely to spend the money for their own healer."

"How does that work? Shouldn't it be the lower Nobles who can't afford a healer?" Wolfe asked.

King Petros shook his head in response. Wolfe didn't quite understand the notion of social climbing, he had discovered when they first met.

"No, the lower Nobles are limited by their power level. They can't really advance any higher without a highly talented successor. So, they focus on business, and often have a large amount of money, like Baron Southland. The middle Nobles are mostly appointed Ranks, thanks to their power. What they are after is a higher title, more lands, and recognition, as appointed titles don't pass to their successors without a peerage.

If the Baron landed a Countess or a Duchess whose title was appointed thanks to her rank, she would be able to pass on her title to her children, now that the lands were in her family.

But on the other side, there are Dukes and Earls with peerages who don't have a talented successor, and they will want, or need, a powerful ally in the family to maintain their estates and influence. So the middle Nobles without land will go after them first, and try to improve their own position in life." The King explained.

Wolfe shrugged. "See, our way is much easier to understand. Cook is the real power in Forest Grove because she's got all the food."

The Witches burst into laughter, and from the side, the new arrivals did as well.

In a Noble household, the Castellano and the lead housekeeper were the ones who were ostensibly in charge, but it was the Cook who held real power because they arranged the meals and pantry for most households.

They might not be the ones in charge, but even if they weren't placing the food orders in a household, you could find yourself eating your least favourite meals every day for a week if you upset the cook.

Few Nobles would care enough to tell the Cook to stop serving one particular servant food they didn't like. Just the fact that you complained about a properly cooked and nutritious meal was seen as embarrassing. It was a matter that should be sorted between the servants.

"I have noticed that your city has quite the variety of recipes. Do you also train chefs?" King Petros asked.

"Not formally. We have a significant staff between the three major cafeterias, and then there are the food carts and restaurants, but we don't have a formal chef training course yet.

I will talk to Cook and the others, perhaps we can add it as an elective for the new mages. Most of them will be looking for work once they graduate, and adding more electives to the official courses would add a layer of credibility to their skills." Wolfe agreed.

The newly arrived beastkin were giggling.

"A school trained maid and cook? What sort of fancy is that?" One of them asked.

King Petros smiled at her. "I think that would likely get you a job as the Cook, Lead Housekeeper, or the Noble's personal assistant, as soon as you arrived at a Noble's estate. You would have all the qualifications for the top jobs in the house, and there would be no starting as a scullery maid or other menial job to prove yourself."

Mary patted her head, taking a moment to stroke the catgirl's there would be no starting as a scullery maid or other menial job to prove yourself."

ears. "Look at the ones we're sending today. They're more powerful, but they are all getting jobs as physicians, and even the King's personal physicians.

The others we are sending will be Healers for the Nobles that hire them. The magic you will be learning is different, but it is on par with the artificers and other magical craftsmen of your world. There is no reason that a graduate should have to take the lowest of servant jobs, and the chances of not finding a job somewhere are nearly zero.

Even here in this world, graduates from our training are highly valued."

That was both the best and worst thing to tell them. They all wanted the training, and the magical knowledge, but most of them only had vague notions of returning now that they had seen so many beastkin in the city, as well as all the lush greenery everywhere and the Faeries, who were always happy to welcome new people to the city.

Especially gullible new people who might buy sugar for them. Faeries loved sugar, and hated working to make money for more sugary treats. A whole new batch of beastkin from another world were perfect targets.