Because it was near the mines, the sky of Holsava City was covered by dust all year around, which made it dim and gray. He was now at the center of a dark valley, where the architectural style was more inclined to the mysteriousness and grimness that sorcerers preferred.
The middle-aged woman that Fernando asked was an ordinary person. She wavered and replied, “Yes, Mr. Sorcerer. Tuck moved away a month ago.”
The reverence and fear for sorcerers had been etched to the blood of the civilians of the Magic Empire.
Fernando looked around. The buildings here were mottled and heavy, with the traces of aging everywhere. Realizing that Tuck did not seem to have enjoyed his life in this place, he went on to ask, “Do you know where he moved to? Exactly how many years ago did he move out?”
The middle-aged woman thought in fear for a moment before replying, “Mr. Sorcerer, I remember clearly that it rained hard that day. It was exactly the middle of the last month.”
As a matter of fact, the sorcerers had a detailed and complicated regulation on years, months, and days, such as the Year of Winter, the Month of Bronze, and Day Thanos. However, it was impossible for ordinary people to remember those things. They mostly still referred to the months with their original names in the common tongue.
Fernando nodded. The magic he secretly performed told him that her words were trustworthy and without interference. The middle-aged woman was also not secretly a senior-rank sorcerer, which he had already confirmed.
The middle-aged woman was more or less relieved seeing the beautiful girl before him nodding her head. She was much more smooth when she said, “Mr. Tuck is a sorcerer who does not like talking. He mostly hid in his room for experiments every day. However, a few days before he moved out, when I ran into him in the lobby, I heard him talking about ‘Kufuray’, ‘my new life will begin there’, etc.”
She had been a civilian in the neighborhood until she was hired by Tuck as his servant.
“Kufuray…” Fernando repeated the name and soon found the corresponding place in the map in his memories. It was a city to the northwest of Aalto on the border between the territory of sorcerers and that of a dozen heretic churches that were against the Saint Truth. There weren’t abundant mines and unique resources in the city.
Why did Tuck go to that city? Fernando was puzzled.
Then, he performed divinity, and after making sure that there were no obvious dangers, he decided to go there and take a look. He could also observe the heretic churches by the way. He had always been curious about the gods’ forms of existence and the reason why the Church was preaching about faith. It was a pity that the Saint Truth was too powerful in Holm for him to observe and study. Now that he had come to Aalto, he might as well take a look at it by the way.
After his wish was fulfilled, he would return to Aalto and go back to Holm with the newly-recruited sorcerers.
Furan is one hot chick. It’s a shame that I can’t spend more time with her, Fernando thought regretfully before he chuckled to himself. However, she will definitely go crazy if she learns my real identity. It’s not bad to leave as soon as possible.
Now that the Liege of Death had raised the attention of the legends, their communication with Holm would definitely be more frequent. So, it would be a disaster if the old fox accidentally revealed that the envoy he sent was a guy named Fernando.
…
Kufuray City was a business city in the Magic Empire. It had a huge population and was significantly more prosperous than the mining city Holsava.
The sun was high. Fernando observed the city from the sky. Pedestrians walked like ants, and towers rose high intimidatingly. There was nothing wrong.
He descended and landed out of the city, not attempting to challenge the defense circles of the city. Then, with the credentials that Furan gave him, he passed the gate.
The moment he entered the city, Fernando felt that the bright sunlight was dimmed, as if he had come to a cold and obscure forest.
“The magic circles of this city have been kept running at such a level?” Fernando speculated.
On the street, the residents of Kufuray seemed familiar with each other. Fernando saw many people in groups of ten discussing something in a low voice.
“What’s happening?” Fernando thought warily. He cast a spell of distraction and approached them.
“Don’t forget to go to the priest tonight. He will pray for us.”
“I will. I have to repent.”
…
Similar words entered Fernando’s ears. There was nothing that deserved his attention.
Fernando sniffed. “It seems that the heretic churches have developed new followers here. Hehe. It’s better than believing in the Saint Truth.”
He listened to another few groups and found nothing strange. So, he went to the Office of Sorcerers at the center of the city and asked about Tuck. According to the rules of the Magic Empire, only if the sorcerers were registered in the local office could they enjoy the privileges, including subsidies, of the sorcerers.
Very soon, he left the office in satisfaction. Tuck was indeed here.
And I was worried that he might’ve lost his mind and run loose.
Fernando thought to himself and walked to 24, Right Angle Street according to the file. It was the residence that Tuck was given.
The Right Angle Street was near the city wall. It was as lackluster as Holsava City in the dust. The buildings here were also grim and ragged, as if they hadn’t been repaired for a long time. Sorcerers never bothered to waste their time on the houses other than their magic towers. According to them, the civilians they raised were exactly for such things!
“Tuck is ostracized in this place too? But he hasn’t been here for long,” Fernando murmured, suspecting that it was Beto’s influence.
Of course, he didn’t think that Beto did it directly, or Tuck would have gone missing. However, Beto’s dislike would be spread out from his circle and his followers to other cities, and somebody would try to please him.
Dum, dum, dum.
Fernando stopped before a two-floored villa and knocked on the door.
The villa was so old that it did not even have a common magic doorbell.
After a few knocks, there was no response at all, not even a magic pet or an alchemical puppet.
“Tuck is not here?” Fernando mumbled. What bad luck.
He tried knocking again, with a greater force to create bigger noises.
Dum, dum. Squeak…
After Fernando’s movement, the door of the room was slowly opened. It was not really closed at all.
Fernando vaguely sensed that something was not right, but then he realized that Tuck was only a sorcerer who just rose to the senior rank. So, he boldly released the Secret Eye and investigated every corner with it.
The desks and chairs in the house had a thin layer of dust. There was not a living soul both upstairs and downstairs. There wasn’t a secret room either.
“Notes in the library, and materials in the laboratory… Did Tuck leave in a hurry when he was preparing for an experiment?” Fernando speculated according to the feedback of the Secret Eye. “It’s also possible that he did not leave but went missing…”
Otherwise, a sorcerer wouldn’t have left his notes in the library instead of carrying it with him.
It puzzled Fernando. The guy who made Tuck disappear didn’t take away the notebook? Why? That was a sorcerer’s most valuable treasure!
His confusion brewed. After confirming that there was no danger, Fernando entered the study and decided to find clues from Tuck’s notes.
“Earth, fire, wind, and water. I’m so sick of the four elements and cannot understand the content behind at all.
“Maybe I should try studying the mysteries of gods! All the churches have so many experts and fake gods. It means that the secrets of power and immortality must be behind it…
“The thing that I accidentally obtained seems related to the mysteries of gods. However, I cannot study it due to the lack of materials…
“I’m told that some heretic churches are preaching in Kufuray City, which still belongs to the sorcerers. This is truly a gift from the Goddess of Fortune.
“My new life will begin here!”
It was more like Tuck’s journal than a real magic notebook. Fernando was less puzzled. If the guy had left in a hurry, it was not entirely necessary to bring the notebook.
“Something is not right!”
Suddenly, a few words that were obviously written in a haste entered Fernando’s eyes. He could almost sense the fear in them.
“What did Tuck find?”
Fernando’s relief was gone. At this moment, he heard footsteps coming from the gate!
…
“Where are you hiding Nando? She’s supposed to be back the day before yesterday!” Furan came and questioned Antec.
Antec couldn’t be more innocent. “How would I know? I don’t even know where you sent her.”
“Hehe. If I know you’ve done anything bad because of jealousy, I’ll feed you to the nightmare in person!” Furan observed carefully and felt that Antec was not lying. In the end, she said, “That’s strange. It takes only half a day to travel between Holsava and this place. Why is she still not here?”
“What’s she doing in Holsava?” Antec asked curiously.
Thinking about other things, Furan answered casually, “I asked her to go and find Tuck. Although Tuck is not very likable, he’s still…”
Antec stood up all of a sudden. He was shocked. “Tuck? Wasn’t he allured to Kufuray by Beto with a trick?”
“What? Kufuray?” Furan was also shocked.
“This is bad. Nando hasn’t followed him there, has she?” Antec walked to Furan anxiously.
