"Sean? Why haven’t you left yet?"
After leaving the Holy Sanctuary, Elvire and Elise had planned to wander around the square to relax and buy so more Witch Potions. But they hadn’t gone more than a few steps before they ran into Sean again.
Sean answered honestly, "I was waiting for you."
Elvire: "?"
’Waiting for ?’
The girl’s eyes grew wary. "Why were you waiting for ?"
Sean gave the sa reason as before. "I don’t know anyone else. As you know, I’m a hobody."
Hobodies usually have social anxiety.
"You say that like we’re good friends," Elvire retorted. ’If Sean wasn’t so easy on the eyes, I wouldn’t even be bothering with him right now.’
A knowing, mischievous look appeared in Elise’s eyes. "You were waiting for her in the street earlier, and now you’re waiting for her again... Tell , Mr. Great Author, you don’t have a thing for our Miss Fla Crow, do you?"
Elvire: "?"
Sean explained unhurriedly, "I was hoping to ask you two for so advice."
He neither confird nor denied it—a common conversational tactic.
Admitting it would have been inappropriate. Regardless of Sean’s own feelings, Elvire would surely have been resistant; even a joking confession would have been awkward. On the other hand, calling it a misunderstanding would be tantamount to denying Elvire’s charm. She might not have taken it to heart, but it certainly wasn’t the optimal response.
After all, Sean genuinely wanted to be friends with her.
As for what *kind* of friends...
That would likely depend on the story between her and Blake.
"What do you want to ask? Go ahead," Elvire said.
Sean got straight to the point. "I just spent a while wandering around the square. It’s lively, for sure, but not suitable for ditation. I couldn’t find a quiet place. The houses seem to be soundproofed, but they were all occupied. Do you have to pay to use them, like with things outside?"
"No, they’re first co, first served," Elvire said as they walked. "It’s just that this area of the square is crowded. Unless you get lucky, you usually won’t find an empty room. You can try North Street."
The northern region of the Void Technique Space is specifically designated for Wizards to cultivate. Although there aren’t many buildings, the atmosphere is quiet. No one makes any unnecessary noise. You could even find a spot to ditate in the middle of the street and not be disturbed.
"Which way do I go?" Sean asked, looking at the square teeming with people, unable to get his bearings.
"It’s over there... Actually, never mind." Elvire figured she was going for a walk anyway, so it didn’t matter where she went. She changed her tune. "Wait here while I buy sothing. I’ll take you there afterward so you don’t get lost."
The layout of the Void Technique Space wasn’t complex, but the area itself was vast—roughly the size of a mid-sized city. Since Sean was a newcor, taking a wrong turn could waste a significant amount of ti.
And for a Wizard, ti is the most precious resource—especially for a Novice Wizard, whose very survival depends on it.
"Okay, thank you, Miss Fla Crow." Sean followed obediently behind the young woman, a sight that made Elise chuckle.
She found this man rather interesting. He claid to have social anxiety, yet he perfectly played whatever role the situation called for. She didn’t believe Sean was truly so sweet, harmless guy at heart—a guy like that couldn’t kill, at least not so cleanly and efficiently, without letting a single Sll Crow escape.
Elise was more inclined to believe Sean’s mind was just as sharp as his looks. He was a gifted actor... or perhaps, a gifted pretender. A man like that would be an incredibly difficult enemy. She hoped he wasn’t one; it would be a sha to waste that handso face.
As the three of them walked, they turned quite a few heads.
Sean kept his head down the entire ti to avoid being recognized.
But the young woman—Elvire—seed to hold a high status here. Sean noticed many people stealing glances at her. It was just like when he had touched the statue: they only dared to look, not approach her to chat. Occasionally, a braver young man might pretend to be passing by just to say, "Good evening, Miss Elvire."
The girl would give a slight nod and keep walking.
After buying the Witch Potions at a shop, the three left the square. Elvire was silent for the entire walk. It was Elise who did most of the talking with Sean. The beautiful, mature woman treated him like a complete novice, explaining many of the basics of Mysticism: branches of Magic, potential paths of developnt, the pros and cons of ranged versus lee combat, and so on.
Sean actually knew all of this already, but he listened attentively, not wanting to let Elise’s efforts go to waste.
When Elise grew tired of talking, he pretended to process everything for a mont before finding an opportunity to speak to Elvire.
"You seem to have sothing on your mind," Sean said, feigning ignorance.
Elvire glanced up at him without answering, but Elise chid in with a smile, "I forgot to tell you. Sothing major happened during our eting tonight."
Sean put on a look of extre interest, then hesitated slightly. "Is this sothing I’m allowed to hear about?"
"It’s nothing you can’t hear," Elvire said, speaking up this ti. "That Carl Black you’ve been so curious about? He might not be dead."
’The news will spread soon enough, so it doesn’t matter if I tell Sean now.’
"Not dead?" Sean asked, shocked. "Then how many years has he been alive?"
Elvire replied, "Maybe he died, just not all the way."
Sean detected a hint of resentnt in her voice but said anyway, "Isn’t that a good thing?"
"It is a good thing. I hope he’s not dead, too. It’s just..." Elvire anticipated his next question. "Don’t ask any more about it. I don’t want to talk about it. If you’re looking for material for your writing, go ask soone else."
Sean: "..."
’But I can’t get it from anyone else.’
’Not everyone is worthy of having a story involving the great Mr. Carl Black.’
They were almost at North Street. Since speaking was forbidden inside, Elvire stopped at the entrance. "It’s just ahead," she told Sean. "But I suggest you return to your body first. Find a completely safe place and make sure you’re out of danger before coming back to the Void Technique Space for ditation."
’The flow of ti here is the sa as in the outside world. At most, only a few hours have passed between the Witch Hunter team being wiped out and running into Sean. That ans his real body is still in the Black Fruit Rainforest, not far from the scene. If the main force sent to investigate finds him, I’m afraid I won’t be seeing this face again tomorrow.’
Sensing her concern, Sean couldn’t help but smile. "Don’t worry. They won’t find ."
Elvire found his confidence to be a constant. "You’ve already left the Black Fruit Rainforest?"
Sean: "No."
Not only had he not left the rainforest, he hadn’t even left the small grove. He had simply found a suitable spot nearby, dug a deep pit, buried himself in it, covered the top with branches and leaves, and then entered the Void Technique Space.
Elvire: "?"
"You’ve got so real nerve."
"The most dangerous place is the safest place," Sean said. "I can’t be sure when they’ll get the news and head this way. If I try to leave now, I’m more likely to run right into them."
’I’ll have to leave, of course, but using the Truth Technique earlier took too much out of . My body needs to rest. Once I’ve recovered enough, I’ll head out in a different direction.’
’The only thing to worry about in the anti is the Sll Crows. That’s why I impaled the dozens of corpses on the trees. The grueso deaths of their comrades will startle and disorient any others that follow. Unless soone forces their heads down onto my ’grave’ to sniff, no one will find .’
Hearing this, a flicker of admiration showed in Elise’s beautiful eyes.
She admired n like Sean, who were audacious in both thought and action.
"So what now? What’s your plan?" Elvire asked. "Quill won’t let you get away."
Florist Hospital is backed by a family of imnse power. Killing one team of Witch Hunters might get them off your trail for a while, but hiding completely? With Sean’s current abilities, that would be incredibly difficult.
"It’s fine," Sean said. "I don’t plan on letting him get away, either."
’From the mont Quill went after Chris and tried to eliminate as well, our conflict had beco a battle to the death. Even if Quill didn’t co for , I would go for Quill.’
’This wasn’t as simple as avenging Chris. The best way to solve a problem is to eliminate the person who *is* the problem. As long as Quill lived, I could never be at ease.’
’And then there’s that police officer, Boger.’
’They must be quite surprised to learn the n they sent were killed instead, right?’
’This is only the beginning. Soon, they’ll be in for an even bigger surprise.’
"On the first of next month, I have a book signing. Would you two care to co and join the excitent?"
...
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