Raymond’s pupils slightly contracted. Then, he relaxed all over, exhaled deeply, and took big strides forward:
"Garrett! Little Garrett! It’s really you coming back!"
He opened his arms from five or six steps away. Four steps, three steps, two steps, his gaze fell on the badge on Garrett’s chest, and he suddenly paused:
In the center of the quadruple rings, a brilliant silver star quietly shimred.
A Level Six Mage.
Behind him, the gasps of the city guards rose and fell.
In the whole Hartland City, the number of professionals at this level was countable on one hand. Especially spellcasters—several bishops, the hosts of the Mage Tower, each one, soone they needed to bow to, soone they needed to address as "Your Excellency."
Raymond froze in place. His arms were stiffly outstretched, but he didn’t continue moving forward. After a mont, he quietly let them fall, wiping the sweat from his palms on his trousers.
"I’m still Little Garrett, huh!" Garrett, however, without hesitation, lunged forward and hugged him tightly. His arms tightened with a creaking sound.
"Brother Raymond, you’ve gotten much stronger! You must be close to becoming a knight, right?"
Raymond finally smiled. Feeling the tight embrace squeezing his ribs, he let out a "hey" as he exerted strength in his arms to break free:
"You haven’t gotten any stronger. As much strength as before—although, you’ve grown taller!"
He raised his hand to asure. When Garrett left, he had been a head shorter, his hair reaching only up to Raymond’s chin, but now it was up to his eyebrows:
"You haven’t been training properly these years, have you?"
Garrett lowered his head to avoid his gaze, and like the young boy he once was, quickly stuck out his tongue slightly.
It wasn’t just about not training properly, he had actually regressed from a Level 1 warrior back to Level 0—later his teacher had said, "It’s not easy to regress like you have."
If it weren’t for the advancent to Level 5 that refined him, Raymond probably would’ve seen a good-for-nothing…
"Brother Raymond, could you possibly co ho early today?" He forcibly changed the subject:
"I want to eat Aunt Eileen’s pickled at!"
"Alright, alright!" The smile in Raymond’s eyes was unstoppable. He reached out and ruffled Garrett’s hair, half-turning to his fellow soldiers, waving his hand:
"Little Garrett is back. —I’ll head back first, you guys cover for !"
"Sure thing, Captain!"
"Don’t worry and go back, Captain!"
"If anyone asks, we’ll say that the Mage himself is back! —Even the city lord will approve this excuse!"
The soldiers responded with giggling. Garrett turned around and waved at Seraina:
"Seraina, let’s go!"
With the clatter of hooves, the beautiful silver-haired girl, even with her elven ears hidden, remained the most eye-catching figure. As the city guards stared dumbfounded, she followed a giant deer, nimbly bounding forward:
"Garrett, shall we go? I want to see the place where you used to live!"
"Let’s go!"
They proceeded straight down the main road. In all of Hartland City, this was the only road that could accommodate the Silvermoon Deer to wander freely. Thus, the deer, with its back higher than a man’s head and antlers over four ters wide, stood there, filling the entire street.
Along the way, they naturally cleared the path. Passersby stood under the eaves, and carriages retreated into alleys, making way for them.
Jokingly, such a big deer was definitely a high-tier magical beast, one could die without knowing how if bumped by it—
And there was soone leading it slowly ahead!
Soone capable of controlling a high-tier magical beast was definitely a high-tier professional! Unapproachable, unapproachable…
The street montarily emptied. Garrett, while walking, pointed out places to Seraina with a smile:
"This is the best comrcial street in town, well, the only comrcial street, actually…"
"That store sells all sorts of things from overseas, including tobacco…"
"This one sells paper, pens, and ink. When I went to buy paper, I encountered their owner choking, I saved him, and he gave a big stack of paper…"
"This is the biggest bakery in town, but honestly, I think Aunt Maggie’s bread tastes better…"
Seraina looked around, glancing left and right, then withdrew her gaze, uninterested. Suddenly ahead, hooves clattered, and several horsen galloped over, pulling up their reins and dismounting quickly as they approached:
"Mage Sir—"
"Knight Nolan! Knight Flynn! I’m Garrett
! Don’t you rember ?"
Garrett raised a radiant smile. The newcors paused, sizing him up and down, recognizing the shadow of the boy from four years ago on Garrett’s face, then relaxed:
"Little Garrett... no, Mage Nordmark? You’re back?"
Hurrying over were the city guard’s Captain Nolan and Lieutenant Flynn. When Garrett left, one was Level 7, and the other Level 5. Hearing reports of a suspected high-tier magical beast boldly entering the city, both ca imdiately due to their duties—
Unfortunately, they took a different route from the gatekeeper who relayed the ssage and didn’t receive the news.
Seeing it was an acquaintance, they both sighed in relief: Thank heavens, no need to fight. They walked alongside Garrett, each leading a horse:
"Mage Nordmark, you’re back?"
"Is this giant deer your mount? What level?"
"How long are you back this ti? Or are you staying for good?"
"Who is this young lady…"
They exchanged pleasantries as they walked. Garrett kept a smile on his face, answering every question they had. After walking half a street, another horseman rushed over, dismounted, and saluted directly in front of Garrett:
"Mage Nordmark! I am here by order of the city lord’s office, please, Sir Mage, co to the city lord’s residence for a talk!"
The road ahead was completely cleared, a straight path leading directly to the city lord’s residence. Behind the knight, a luxurious carriage drawn by four horses sped towards them, slowing only a few dozen steps away. Clearly, this was the city lord sending his own vehicle, specially to pick him up.
Garrett sighed silently.
What a hassle, he shouldn’t have ridden Apa into the city, stirring up so much attention… If only he had snuck in quietly…
Sigh as he might, business was business. Garrett composed his expression, expertly adopting the deanor of an experienced ergency departnt associate director—both approachable and authoritative:
"This return ho is to visit family and friends, eager to see them. I appreciate the city lord’s kind intentions, after eting with relatives and friends, I will naturally pay a visit."
After finishing, he turned his head towards Knight Nolan and Knight Flynn, his smile bright:
"Uncle Nolan, Uncle Flynn, sorry, I’m off to Uncle Karen’s place first! See you later! —Seraina, let’s go!"
Saying so, he made a 90-degree turn, ducked into an alley, and waved outside. The silver-haired girl cast a light from her hand, and the three-ter-tall giant deer instantly shrank to the size of a small deer, bouncing along behind them, darting about.
The alley was narrow, the eaves low. Garrett didn’t mind at all, even stopping at a bakery they passed to buy a big bag of bread, walking quickly forward with his arms full. Soon, they arrived at a humble brick-and-stone house, shouting loudly:
"Uncle Karen! Aunt Eileen! I’m back!"
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