“Hiss… good luck…”
The green snake mulled over these words, seemingly unconvinced.
“Hiss… First the Sandrift Gorge, then the North Sunny Wasteland… Hiss… What a coincidence indeed.”
Granny Kasi, who was listening nearby, rolled her eyes.
The “Earthly Ghost” was insinuating that her intelligence and judgment were flawed.
Unwilling to be belittled without evidence, Granny Kasi retorted,
“Isn’t there another observer? If you don’t trust me, go ask him or her.” She said sarcastically.
“Hiss… He’s dead.”
“What?”
The green snake’s response was so crisp that it startled Granny Kasi.
According to her information, no one had died in Sunny Town yesterday. The only place with a death was the North Sunny Wasteland.
This meant that the other observer was involved in the previous night’s incident.
Was it a bounty hunter? Was it Nassar? Or was it…
“Could it be that Crimson Serpent King… is one of your Shadow Serpent Society members?” Granny Kasi inquired.
“Hiss… Yes, the true form ofCrimson Serpent King is the Magic Spirit Walker Splurt. You must have heard his name, hiss.”
“No way! Splurt? …How could those bounty hunters possibly stand against him?”
Upon hearing this name, Granny Kasi’s eyes widened.
She found it difficult to accept this reality, no wonder the Earthly Ghost had sensed something amiss earlier.
With Splurt’s power, annihilating the novice second-tier members of the Quest Guild should have been effortless.
“Hiss… Forget it, the dead are dead. Before the next observer is arranged, hiss… Kasi, you must perform well.”
The Earthly Ghost felt only a little regret for Splurt’s death; grief was out of the question.
Granny Kasi understood that their relationship with the Shadow Serpent Society was merely one of mutual exploitation, so she had nothing more to say.
However, she intended to take advantage of this opportunity to secure some benefits for herself.
“No problem, I’ll do my best. But you promised to help me find my family, and there’s been no news for a long time… Lord Earthly Ghost, you must give me a deadline.”
“Hiss… Alright, I’ll hurry it up, hiss… I’ll have news for you within ten days.”
The green snake agreed readily, and Granny Kasi decided to trust it for the time being.
“Fine, I’ll be waiting.”
.
Bidding farewell to the green snake, Granny Kasi watched it vanish into the distant thicket.
In response, she raised her middle finger in the direction of its disappearance.
Granny Kasi was not one to be endlessly enticed by grandiose promises from the Earthly Ghost.
Additionally, the death of another observer, Splurt, had heightened Granny Kasi’s vigilance.
Her intuition told her that even if Banning hadn’t killed Splurt, he must be indirectly involved.
— (This young man, Banning… I must be on guard…)
·
At the same time, Tyler was at Emilia’s house, pondering his battle strategy.
Perhaps too engrossed in thought, he didn’t notice Emilia stirring awake on the bed.
Her head felt heavy and foggy as if she had been knocked out and laid there for a long time.
Supporting her head, she slowly sat up and saw Banning seemingly lost in thought. The sight startled her to full alertness. 𝒩𝞸𝓋𝗅𝐞xt.𝔠𝔬𝔪
— (Why is Banning in my house?!)
The temporarily amnesiac Emilia nearly screamed but managed to hold herself back.
As her clarity returned, she recalled preparing a meal with Banning, followed by her suggestion to taste apple wine together. Then…
— (Did Banning get me drunk?!)
— (Wait… did I… did I get myself drunk?)
Emilia was incredulous. She remembered only having two glasses.
Weren’t foxkin known for their alcohol tolerance? Was she the disgrace of her family?
Unfortunately, Emilia didn’t yet know that the alcohol tolerance of foxkin required regular drinking to maintain. As a girl who had never touched alcohol before, her tolerance was unpredictable.
At that moment, Emilia prayed fervently that she hadn’t said anything she shouldn’t have while intoxicated.
Afterward, she belatedly realized her “top priority” should have been checking her own body.
Hastily lifting the covers, she saw nothing untoward had happened.
Admiring Banning’s gentlemanly conduct from afar, Emilia felt a tinge of disappointment.
She wondered if her lack of allure was the reason Banning hadn’t done anything inappropriate, yet she secretly hoped he would.
“Ah, you’re awake. When did you wake up?”
Emilia tried to slip out of bed quietly, but the creak of the wooden bed alerted Banning.
“Just… just now,” Emilia whispered, covering herself with the blanket once more.
“Does your head hurt?”
Banning gently touched Emilia’s forehead with concern, making her heart race.
“No, it doesn’t,” Emilia was unsure why he asked.
“That’s good. You had too much to drink at noon, and I was worried you’d have a headache.”
“Ah, did I drink a lot?” Emilia was startled, wondering if she misremembered while drunk.
“Yeah, do you remember how much you had?”
“I… How much did I drink?” Emilia asked cautiously.
Grinning, Banning held up two fingers and replied, “Two glasses,” before bursting into laughter.
Realizing she had been tricked by Banning, Emilia was about to get angry when her stomach growled.
She had only had two glasses of wine at noon and hadn’t eaten anything else.
Banning patted Emilia’s head before heading to the kitchen to reheat the lunch dishes and bring them to her bedside.
His alternating mischievousness and tender care left Emilia unable to find it in herself to be angry.
.
After enjoying their meal, Emilia took the initiative to clean up, while Banning made no objections, sitting at the dining table as if deep in thought.
Soon, it was time for dinner, and the two prepared the meal together and shared it.
This ordinary, day-to-day life felt strikingly similar to that of a married couple.
Emilia found herself enveloped in a warm and sweet atmosphere, leaving her somewhat dazed.
Just as she mustered the courage to discuss the “pecking kiss” matter with Banning, he placed a magic book on the table.
“Teacher Emilia, I’d like to consult you on some questions about magic.”
As soon as magic was mentioned, Emilia became enthusiastic, temporarily putting the “pecking kiss” topic on the back burner.
·
Banning sought Emilia’s advice on the relationship between the power and rank of magic.
Emilia explained that there were many types of magic, such as elemental, curse, and illusion, among others.
Even within the same rank, the power of different types could vary greatly.
Some spells had no damaging effects, providing only support. However, if they were to focus solely on elemental magic, it wasn’t impossible to classify patterns.
“How exactly are they classified?” Banning inquired.
Emilia was about to answer directly, but then a sudden idea struck her, and she decided to seize the opportunity to gain an advantage over Banning.
“Well… if you want to know, you must first agree to help me with something.”