Chapter 43: The Age of Sentimentalism

That day, Ethan discovered a fourth way to enter the small town—being escorted into the town jail on suspicion of pimping. The only drawback was that his range of activity was severely limited, leaving him practically confined to a cramped interrogation room.

However, he was not alone. The elderly butler who had questioned him earlier was undergoing interrogation in the next room.

Although Hearthfire Bay was steeped in darkness and illicit dealings, most of the town's guards were former members of the Royal Army and still adhered to certain codes, such as the strict prohibition of illegal activities in the presence of minors. To this, Ethan, a young man radiating positive energy, gave a hearty thumbs-up.

"Look, I really am an elemental evoker."

Ethan snapped his fingers toward the guard in charge of his interrogation. Watching the flames ignite in his palm, the guard was finally convinced and took another careful look at the advertisement card.

Despite the suggestive illustration, the registered information was entirely legitimate.

The guard rubbed his forehead and said, "Next time, don't use cards that are so easily misinterpreted."

"My friend, business is tough these days. A man has to use a few gimmicks, doesn't he?"

Hearing this, the guard could only nod helplessly.

Everyone was just ordinary people trying to make a living in this place; why make things difficult for each other?

He waved a hand. "Alright, you're free to go."

"Thanks, brother."

Ethan gave a polite salute. However, the elderly butler who had been brought in with him was not so fortunate; as Ethan walked out, the butler was just recounting his twelfth visit to the Pink Ladies this month. The young girl, who clearly came from a prominent background, was waiting for him at the barracks entrance. Seeing her, Ethan walked straight over. "You see, the guards let me out. Now you believe I'm not some strange, dangerous person, right?"

This could be considered a blessing in disguise. After going through this ordeal, he was officially certified by Hearthfire Bay as a genuinely good person, and Ethan suggested that others might want to treat him with a bit more respect.

The girl lowered her head and dropped her gaze, her golden bangs half-covering her face as she seemed to experience a sorrow inappropriate for her years.

"If you have any troubles, feel free to tell me. My prices are fair, and I never cheat anyone—young or old."

"Sigh, you wouldn't understand even if I told you."

The girl finally cast another glance back at him and said with old-fashioned solemnity, "You'll understand when you reach my age."

?

Ethan felt a sudden surge of respect. Could this girl be an elf or some kind of long-lived being who only looked around ten years old, but had actually lived for centuries?

He asked, "Miss, how old are you?"

"I'm turning eleven this year."

No wonder.

Ethan understood. Eleven—a sentimental age that reminded him of his own green years, a time when his heart was often filled with sorrow, like the night he spent in absolute misery after failing to draw the role of the father in a game of playing house.

"Precisely because I don't understand, you need to explain it to me. Who knows, maybe I can help. Look at this."

Ethan ignited a ball of flame in his palm right in front of the girl. As expected, she was captivated by the flickering flames, her eyes lighting up. But immediately afterward, the wave of sorrow seemed to wash over her again, and she said flatly, "Judging by you, you've clearly never been in love, but I'll be merciful and explain it to you anyway."

?

I have no grudge against you; why must you use such harsh words to wound me?

Meanwhile, Ethan fell into a deep state of self-doubt. He felt compelled to re-read the information on the advertisement card. Here he was, magnificent Heisenberg—a name that sounded like someone who licked blood off knife blades and smuggled dangerous goods—yet why did all his commissions revolve around romance?

Did he really look like a man who was great at romance?

The girl said, "The person I like is being sent to the front lines, and I want to go see him. But an evil magician broke into my house and won't let me go."

Ethan had to admit that from the moment the girl started speaking, every single sentence she uttered required a long time for him to digest the staggering amount of information within. When these pieces combined, they delivered a mind-boggling impact.

"How old is your sweetheart?"

"Fourteen." At the mention of her sweetheart, a flush appeared on the girl's fair, tender cheeks. "He is already an independent knight of the Royal Army."

As she spoke, Ethan began automatically piecing together the truth.

This client was most likely the pampered daughter of some high-ranking noble family who had fallen in love with a poor young man struggling to make his way in the Royal Army. When her family found out, they threw the book at her for early romance and neglecting her duties, hiring a magician to watch over her so she couldn't sneak off to the military camp to find her sweetheart.

"So, you came to Hearthfire Bay to find a way to defeat this evil magician?"

"The magicians here all claim to be experts and grandmasters, but the moment they hear the evil magician's name, they run away in terror. A bunch of frauds!"

"What kind of name is that scary?"

"The servants in the mansion all call him Mr. 'Silver Fox'."

"Hmm, that does sound a bit tricky."

Although Ethan had never heard the moniker Silver Fox, if it were a personal title bestowed upon him by the Empire or the Astrologers' Guild, it would mean he had made some outstanding contributions or held an extremely high reputation among grand mages. It was understandable why the experts of Hearthfire Bay were unwilling to provoke a long-established grand master mage.

The girl immediately put on a look of utter disdain. "See? Even you were scared by his name."

"I only said the commission is quite tricky, which means the original price won't cover it."

"Young miss, he's a swindler; don't waste your time on him."

The elderly butler, just stepping out of the interrogation room, happened to witness this scene. He adjusted his slightly disheveled tailcoat and spoke up.

While the pimp accusation had indeed been a misunderstanding, the fact that this fellow still tried to raise the price after hearing the name Silver Fox proved that he was nothing more than a scam artist looking to make a quick buck and run.

Conjuring a flame in the palm of one's hand was nothing special; it was a trick any novice elemental evoker could perform.

"I can craft nine magical scrolls for you. If you don't trust me, you can pay me after the job is done. Besides, the reward for the commission isn't money."

The butler was indeed momentarily taken aback by Ethan's words. He shot Ethan a look that clearly meant "let's talk outside." Ethan caught his drift and stepped out of the barracks doors first.

Before the elderly butler could even speak as he emerged, Ethan asked, "Before that, you need to answer me a question. If I understand correctly, the 'evil magician' was hired by her parents to keep her in line. Aren't you defying their will by bringing her here?"

There were suspicious details hidden in every corner of this matter, and for a moment he couldn't fathom what kind of butler would dare to oppose the head of the household.

If the young girl truly escaped from the magician, reckoning day would inevitably catch up with the butler. After all, a cloistered young miss of only eleven years old certainly wouldn't know how to initiate teleportation magic and travel to a place like Hearthfire Bay.

"That is because the master did not tell the young miss the truth."

A complex array of emotions flickered across the elderly butler's face. After a long silence, he sighed and said, "They were assigned a mission of no return. That child is destined never to come back."