If I blow up half the city, I am pretty sure the emperor's goodwill will vanish. However, all I can do is try it out and see how it goes, but I trust that Lin came up with a good spell. So, when we reach the palace I just walk up, put my hand on the stone, and add the missing piece of the spell.

It still takes me about an hour since I have to add the spell to the entire palace. Of course, if I wanted it to just blow up it would be much easier. However, to keep it contained I need to make sure that the spell erupts all at once.

Basically, I complete the spell on a section and hold it just before it activates. Then I move on to the next section while still holding the completed sections. Once all the sections are complete, I let go and let all of them activate at the exact same time.

When the spell activates the entire palace erupts into fire and light that blasts into the sky. Up close it is blinding, but from a distance it is probably an awesome sight. Luckily, there is no sound from the blast or everyone nearby would be deafened.

The flames and light are probably going to last a couple of hours before all the mana is used up. However, since everything is going upwards as planned, I don't need to sit here and watch it. I just explain to the commander that it will burn until there is no stone left.

As long as no one is stupid enough to touch the flames, no one will get hurt. Once my eyes clear and I can see again, I head back to the hotel with Lyrica still following me. When we reach the hotel an attendant quickly guides me to my suite.

There are crates of materials already sitting there waiting for me so I get to work making scanners. I figure thirty scanners should be enough to satisfy the emperor and I can just keep the extra materials. I take a break for lunch, but I am still able to finish the scanners before dinnertime.

Once the scanners are done I move to the last crate, which should contain the wood I need. To my delight, not only is the wood good enough, but there is more than I need for the staff. Meaning there will be some left over that I can take back and give to Athena.

The wood will only be a tiny amount compared to the size of the ship, but I still think it will help. Even if it is only a small improvement, small changes can add up eventually. Besides, Athena might get some interesting traits from wood this special.

Even without counting the number of elves saved, this trip is turning out quite profitable. Now all that is left to do to complete my part of the deal is to make the staff. Although, with the scanners the value of the staff has dropped quite a bit.

Still, I go ahead and make the staff since I promised that I would and they have already paid for it. Besides, once the staff is done, I can go check out the desert and satisfy my curiosity. Having created one before, making the staff doesn't cause me any problems.

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Lyrica says "Done? Can I ask a favor?"

"Yes, I am. What is the favor?"

Lyrica says "Can you make me a scanner? I want to give one to my mistress."

"Sure, I can. But why would a goddess need a scanner?"

Lyrica says "If my mistress can understand how it works she should be able to do something similar. Like mark any demon that passes the empire's borders."

"Well, I am all for more dead demons, so sure. Here you go."

Lyrica says "Thank you. I will be going now. There is no longer a need for me to continue observing you."

"Oh, alright. Well, goodbye I guess."

Lyrica says "Goodbye. It was interesting to meet you."

With the scanner in hand, Lyrica dissipates into particles of light and zips through the ceiling. It is a relief to no longer have someone following me and watching my every move. Just as I am thinking about eating there is a knock on my door, it is the emperor's attendant.

The emperor and empress have invited me to join them for dinner and of course I accept. It would be rude not to and I have a fairly good impression of the two of them. Besides, I need to deliver the scanners and the staff to them anyways.

Aside from that, I am curious about southern food and the emperor should have the best chefs. Hopefully, I can get some new dishes to take back with me and share with Lin. So, I follow the attendant to the emperor's suite and am glad to see there are a lot less people.

There are still guards around the room of course, but most of the nobles are gone. Before sitting down I hand over all of the scanners and the staff. Several mages in robes come out of a side room to take possession of them.

"The staff gathers its own mana and can be used once a day. You can also feed it mana to use it more often. The scanners on the other hand can't gather mana and can only be used using the mana of the holder."

Court Mage says "Thank you for the explanation."

Emperor Amn says "Prioritize cleaning out the capital, then send squads to clear out the rest of the cities."

Court Mage says "Understood!"

After the mages leave to carry out their orders, dinner is brought in by the servants. I am surprised by the fact that I am given two servings, one normal sized and one huge. The huge serving is set directly in front of me while the normal one is off to the side.

"Your spies have really paid close attention to me, haven't they?"

Empress Atesh says "Of course they have. Their job is to keep an eye on anything or anyone that can affect the empire. I would say you absolutely qualify, wouldn't you?"

"Well, I can't argue that. Although, without your invitation, chances are that I would have never come to the south. I was completely focused on getting home."

Emperor Amn says "Well, I am glad that you accepted our invitation. You have solved several problems for us, including one we didn't even know about. How is the food? Is it to your liking?"

"Oh, yes. The food is excellent. I happen to enjoy spicy food."

Empress Atesh says "That's good. A lot of outsiders can't handle the spices that we commonly use."

"Spicy food is something that often takes some getting used to. Then again there are people who just don't like it. Everyone has different tastes."

Emperor Amn says "Very true. So, are you planning to leave now that our deal is done?"

"That was my original plan, but now I think I will stay another day. I am really curious about this living desert that I heard about."