CHAPTER 59: DO’S FRIEND

Cathedral Train Station, Londan, night.

The luxury train slowly came to a stop. The passengers disembarked one by one while servants who had been waiting on the platform boarded to carry their masters’ luggage. Heeding Silvia’s warning, Wayne returned to Londan alone and didn’t contact anyone. He quietly walked out of the train station with his suitcase. Looking at the foggy night, he took a deep breath in front of a taxi.

Londan, I’m back!

The fire elements within his body sensed his emotional reaction and cheered. He narrowed his eyes. Three months ago, he had been forced to flee Londan with his tail between his legs, but he had been reborn in the meantime. He was no longer the naive weakling he had been.

“Times have changed. From today on, no one will raise their voice at me—”

“Hey, taxi’s here! If you aren’t getting in, let someone else take the ride. There’s a long line!”

Behind him were a dozen people queuing for taxis at the station entrance. Wayne was first in line but stood there daydreaming instead of getting into the available car, frustrating those waiting for their turns. They raised their voices and snapped at him.

He hurriedly bowed in apology before diving into the taxi sheepishly. He gave the driver the address and urged him to hurry, also making it clear that he was a local and could tell if the car went on a detour. He'd better not cheat him.

Otherwise, I’ll make grass grow out of your ass!

The taxi pulled away from the station. Wayne turned to the car window and flipped those impatient people off. Whiny jerks. He had only made them wait for a moment. They had no patience at all.

“Rude!”

He huffed. The earlier declaration didn’t count. From now on, he truly wouldn’t allow anyone to raise their voice at him.

In the back of the car, he closed his eyes to rest, his thoughts wandering as he meditated to sense the distribution of the four elements in the city.

Three months ago, he had been a total newbie, not even a beginner in magic. Therefore, he only noticed now the unusual abundance of four elements permeating Londan, making it a training paradise for mages.

However, the omnipresent fog posed a problem. When he meditated, it felt like his thoughts were sinking into a swamp, wrapped by some indescribable viscous substance. He couldn’t put the feeling into words, at least not words he could say in polite company. It was like... doing that. Pushing in increased resistance, while pulling out increased suction.

Yes, he was talking about swimming. Resistance was coming from all directions, as if he were underwater.

In his perception, the fog was alive and afraid of light. Even the street lamps that lit up at night could disperse it. It actively avoided the light while cautiously probing it, small tendrils reaching out from the edge of the fog.

The four elements gave the fog a wide berth, unwilling to associate with it. They gathered in large quantities under the street lamps like insects drawn to light bulbs in the dark.

Wayne nodded in approval. Nights in Londan were perfect for meditation. Regardless of the state of the elements during the day, they gathered in extremely high density in specific spots at night. He could grab a huge mouthful with a sweep of his tentacles. Meditation efficiency would be more than ten times higher here than in Enrod.

Nevertheless, he didn’t immediately start plundering the elemental particles and even turned away the fire elements that sought him out, criticizing the shameful betrayal of their fellow elements. Londan was a big city with many watchful eyes. He didn’t want to let loose and be mistaken for a villain.

He knew how noticeable it would be for him to start plundering elements. As soon as he opened his arms, massive waves of fire elements would rush to him with earth, water, and wind elements in their clutch. He wouldn’t be able to drive them away even if he tried!

That would attract too much unwanted attention.

Silvia had told him to lie low and not contact Veronica and others he knew. His master wouldn’t have said that without a reason. He took the warning to heart and planned to find a quiet place where no one would disturb him to meditate. The detective agency was out of the question, but he couldn’t immediately think of a suitable location. The warehouse district or the docks, perhaps? Which would be better?

First things first, he needed to check on Do.

The dog had been on her own for three months, running around the city every night. She had to know the city better than he did. Perhaps she would give him more useful suggestions.

He contacted Do through the Book of Greed, telling her to wait at the detective agency and stay put tonight instead of wandering around. Do responded in whimpers, arguing that she had been sleeping in the backyard during the day and faithfully guarding the agency at night without straying far. Occasionally, she went out to bite her enemies, but that was all. She had been a dedicated watchdog and hadn’t roamed around the city for a long time.

Wayne placated her and fed her plenty of mana.

***

Detective Agency.

Wayne checked his watch after getting out of the taxi. The travel time told him that the driver had still taken a detour.

“In this materialistic society, there aren’t many honest people like me...” he muttered with a sigh, climbing over the wall into the backyard rather than taking the front door. Do came up to him while wagging her tail.

During the three months they were apart, Do had become better looking, and her appearance more lifelike. The fog filling her skeleton had solidified further to a near-concrete manifestation. Her muscles were well-developed, her black fur glossy. Now, she looked no different from an ordinary Doberman, only appearing a little translucent with visible bones when under strong light.

He patted the dog’s head, gathering mana in his palm to feed her. Do’s tail wagged so fast that it became a blur as she licked the mana clean. Then she licked some more for the lingering taste.

She could now freely switch between incorporeal and physical states, and her cool tongue made Wayne let out a hearty laugh. He rubbed the dog’s head and pinched her drooping ears until they stood upright. Indeed, Dobermans looked cooler with erect ears. Even her gaze became fiercer. Tail docking, on the other hand, was just plain wrong. There was no reason to suppress a dog’s nature.

Do didn’t like her ears upright. She nudged Wayne’s hand a couple of times to make her ears flop back down. He didn’t insist; whatever made the dog happy.

“Do, you know any place in Londan that’s secluded with no one within a ten-mile radius?”

He opened the back door and led the way inside. His three months of absence left the desk, chairs, and bookshelves covered in a layer of dust. He lowered his suitcase and flipped through his diary. The last entry was written on March twentieth. He’d need to find time to fill in the missing entries.

He had it all in his head: he would write a realistic story of an optimistic, kind young man traveling far for his dreams, arriving at a poor, underdeveloped town. There, he spread knowledge and brought joy and hope to the townspeople, thus injecting the community with new life. On the day of departure, the townspeople walked with him for ten miles, reluctant to let him leave. The young man couldn’t help but choke up, tears blurring his eyes several times.

That’s how it should go!

Do couldn’t speak, but she could communicate with Wayne telepathically through the Book of Greed’s contract. “I don’t know Londan very well, and I haven’t left home much the past three months. I did make a friend who prefers staying in quiet places. She should be able to give you some advice.”

“Friend?!”

Wayne was flabbergasted. Who would be bold enough to befriend an undead hound at night? A mage? And Do said she, so was it a female mage?

He raised his eyebrows and asked Do to arrange for a meeting. He would like to meet her friend. It would be even better if she could tell him a remote place with no one in the vicinity.

“No need for that. I’ll just call her here.”

“That convenient? What’s her name?”

“Julia.”

“Julia. Nice name. Sounds beautiful.” Wayne nodded cheerfully.

“She is.” Do nodded. From an undead’s perspective, Julia had excellent bone structure and was indeed a spirited and beautiful mare.

She sent out a signal that spread like ripples, creating a resonance with the fog to transmit the message at a low frequency that was undetectable to humans. Moments later, Do received a response.

“Master, she’s here. She’s in the backyard.”

“That’s fast!”

Wayne straightened his clothes. Veryl had trained him to unconsciously check his appearance when meeting a lady to avoid making her uncomfortable. He pushed the door to the backyard. When he saw the visitor, his smile stilled.

There was no female mage—only a powerfully built undead warhorse. Cold light wrapped around white bones, saddle and reins draped on the back and around the neck, a mouth full of messy teeth, black smoke wreathing the frame, and purple flames coming out of the nostrils.

(◞)ﾟдﾟ(◟)

Holy shit, Do, what kind of friend have you been hanging out with?

This—is this the kind of friend you can just bring home?!