Originheart City, on the bustling main thoroughfare, a shadow was dashing.
The surrounding pedestrians showed no surprise at the sight of the speeding shadow; it seemed they had grown accustomed to it. In fact, some even thought that today, the shadow seemed to move much slower than usual.
Just like on the rooftop of a small building on the street corner, where Daluk, engrossed in stone polishing with his grandfather, voiced his doubt, âWhy does it seem like Sheriff Tullas is running much slower today, and he doesnât seem to be running across the rooftops anymore?â
Normally, Tullas would be running and jumping across rooftops, causing considerable damage to many buildings. Today, however, Tullas was running on the streets, which was indeed unusual.
Dalukâs grandfather, having just finished sculpting a branch on a tree sculpture, looked up briefly and said slowly, âIt has nothing to do with the sheriff. Itâs about the person behind him.â
The person behind him? Daluk glanced over skeptically, only now noticing that indeed, there was someone following Sheriff Tullas. This figure appeared much frailer, seemingly a woman, who was more than ten meters behind Tullas, gasping and grinding her teeth as she continued to run.
Daluk also noticed that Tullas frequently turned his head back to roar.
Although he couldnât hear the sound, Dalukâs sight was quite keen, and he could guess Tullasâs words from the shape of his mouthâ
âStop following me!â
Daluk was puzzled. If Tullas was clearly trying to drive the woman away, why was his own speed slower than usual?
In response to Dalukâs question, his grandfather chuckled, âThatâs because our sheriff is a very kind person.â
A kind person? Daluk still didnât understand, but his grandfather offered no further explanation.
Daluk had to change the subject and turned his attention to the woman following Tullas, âI donât think Iâve seen this woman before?â
âHer? Iâve met her once,â recalled Dalukâs grandfather. âA few days ago, when I was near the square installing a tree sculpture with the city construction team, I saw her. At that time, the sheriff was holding her wrist and running towards the Sky Tower.â
Dalukâs grandfather paused, clicking his tongue twice, his expression filled with nostalgia, âThe romance of the young is as passionate as fire. It makes me reminisce about my bygone youth, a beautiful time of running under the sunsetâŚâ
Seeing his grandfatherâs looks ready to reminisce, Daluk quickly interjected, âIâve heard Sheriff Tullas say before that heâs thousands of years old, much older than grandpa by several cycles.â
Dalukâs grandfather: â⌠He must be lying. Iâve seen the sheriffâs face after he took off the Bullhorn Helm, fresh as a daisy!â
âFresh as a daisy?â Daluk, recalling Tullasâs perpetually bared pectorals and abs, found it hard to imagine how his face could be âfreshâ?
Daluk couldnât help but press for more details.
The conversation that followed gradually turned into a gossip.
Meanwhile, at the top of the Sky Tower, Angel was quietly observing Tullas on the distant street below, and Mandhela, who was following behind him.
Although Angel did not hear the conversation between Daluk and his grandfather, he could see that Tullas was clearly moving much slower than before and was no longer leaping into the air.
âSo, it is because of Mandhela?â Angel mused quietly.
âYes, donât be fooled by Tullas normally looking so unruly. Deep down, he still has a gentle side,â came a resonating voice from behind Angel. It was Frode who had approached.
Angel looked surprised, âYou mean, Tullas has feelings for Mandhela?â
Frode shook his head: âFrom my observations, thatâs not the case. Replace Mandhela with anyone else, and Tullas would likely behave the same way. He appears carefree and reluctant to take responsibility for anything, but that only applies to himself. When it involves others, he wonât say it, but he is still willing to take responsibility.â
Angel didnât understand Frodeâs implication.
Frode explained, âIâve always been thinking about how to deal with Tullas but couldnât come up with anything. However, Monroe gave me a suggestion, saying why not let someone patrol with Tullas.â
âAlthough Tullas has always been reluctant to have someone accompany him on duty, when the task was truly assigned, he would only get angry with me. As for the person on duty⌠Now itâs Mandhela, he unexpectedly takes his responsibility seriously. You see him running ahead alone, but heâs actually maintaining a distance that Mandhela can catch up with, thatâs his tenderness.â
Having heard this, Angel understood the intricacies involved.
Although Tullas seemed like a man who didnât want to shoulder responsibilities, he surprisingly possessed a strong sense of duty.
If arranged this way, it truly could restrain Tullasâs unruly nature.
âCity Lord Monroe has a remarkable gift for judging character,â Angel complimented. Back when Monroe was just a candidate for city lord, she had invited Jon, who was unknown to her at the time, to be her staff multiple times. Now she had discerned Tullasâs underlying character, demonstrating Monroeâs extraordinary insight.
âIndeed, City Lord Monroe is outstanding,â Frode praised Monroe, but his gaze covertly sized up Angel, his mind echoing the rumor Lyon once mentioned.
There seemed to be a significant change in Angelâs aura, very different from before.
Could the rumor Lyon spoke of be true?
While Frode was pondering, Angel suddenly asked, âThen why did you assign this duty to Mandhela?â
Frode shrugged, âI just had a moment of inspiration, and I arranged it.â
It could be called a flash of inspiration, but Frode did give it some thought. Mandhela entered the Wilderness of Dreams, and the first person to communicate with her was Tullas. Although there wasnât a particular reason, Tullas was relatively familiar to Mandhela. Pairing her with someone she was familiar with first would make it easier for her to integrate into Originheart City.
Furthermore, Tullas was an enthusiastic person who wouldnât mind Mandhelaâs cold alienation; this extreme combination could be considered a form of neutralization.
The only thing Frode was worried about was whether Tullas would abandon Mandhela during their patrols and run off on his own.
Now, Frode had learned that Tullas was much gentler than he had imagined.
âSo, has Mandhela undergone any changes during this time?â Angel asked again.
âWhen Mandhela is at work, she spends most of her time chasing after Tullas, just like now.â Frode pointed to the two figures in the distance getting smaller: âI can tell that at least at this moment, all her thoughts are on the chase; she isnât thinking of those matters in reality.â
âThatâs actually not bad,â Angel said, utilizing the Power of Nightmare Illusion to adopt âGodâs Viewâ and take a closer look at Mandhelaâs current expression. Indeed, there was a significant change from when she was first sent into the Wilderness of Dreams; she was exhibiting a lot more emotion and was no longer as cold.
âMandhela is a very sensitive person. Iâll try to subtly change her character without leaving any traces,â Frode said.
Angel nodded, âLetâs leave it at that for now.â
Having said that, Angel withdrew his gaze and turned to walk towards the inside of the tower.
Meanwhile, Mandhela, who was in the midst of the chase, glanced suspiciously at the distance, feeling as though someone had been watching her. However, when Mandhela looked back, she saw nothing.
âPerhaps, it was just an illusion?â Without dwelling on it, Mandhela continued to grit her teeth and chase after the man ahead⌠that bastard.
Angel entered the room that Frode usually used for research, sat down, and looked at Frode, âYou seem like you have something to say?â
Earlier on, Angel had noticed that Frode was sneakily glancing at him, with a blank expression on his face, as if he had a lot to say.
Frode, a bit embarrassed, pinched his grey temple hair, âEarlier on, your elder brother told me some news that Iâm a bit concerned aboutâŚâ
Angel looked at Frode, somewhat surprised that what Frode wanted to say had something to do with his brother.
âIâd like to ask you a question,â Frode hesitated for a moment but still asked, âHave you become an Official Wizard?â
Angel hadnât expected Frode to ask this question, and he didnât hide it, responding naturally, âYes, didnât I tell you when I came here last time?â
Frode: ââŚNo.â
It seemed that Angel had just remembered something, âOh, I suppose I did forget to mention it.â
Upon learning of Angelâs promotion, Frode felt a surge of excitement, but seeing Angelâs dismissive attitude of âOh, I forgot,â instantly, he felt a rush of complaints.
How could one forget such a big event?
If Frode himself had been promoted to Official Wizard, even if he were low-key, there would be noticeable differences from before.
As for Angel, although there were some differences, they were only in his aura; his attitude and behavior remained as before. Even after Frode had observed these changes, he did not associate it with Angelâs promotion. Had it not been for the news that Lyon brought about Angelâs promotion, Frode probably would have been kept in the dark much longer.
Thousands of internal complaints gushed forth but finally condensed into a simple, ââŚCongratulations, sir.â
Angel, neither confirming nor denying, nodded, âThis promotion was a bit rushed; Iâll find time to explain it to you later. However, I am curious, how is this matter related to my brother Lyon?â
With a stoic expression, Frode recounted slowly and clearly the news that Lyon had brought earlier.
âIt has already reached Sky Mechanical City? Hmm, reported by âSky of Truthâ?â Angel frowned, recalling that the last report about his contact with the mysterious, and Isabelâs return to the Southern Domain was also first reported by this magazine, âHow would they know?â
While Angel was muttering, Frode took out a stack of papers from a drawer.
âI asked Lyon to transcribe the articles from âSky of Truthâ; you might want to take a look,â Frode suggested.
With curiosity, Angel received the stack of papers, not too thick, with handwriting he was very familiar withâindeed the work of his brother Lyon.
After several minutes, Angel had read through all of them.
The content recorded was mostly true, even mentioning the âspeculation that Wizard Pat had reached outside the gates of True Knowledge,â which was also true. However, the words were very sensational and adulatory, so much so that even Angel felt it was a bit much.
Putting aside the praise, Angel really wanted to know how had the content spread so quickly to reach Sky Mechanical City?
Was it someone from Black Castle who had spread it?
Angel instinctively looked at the articleâs byline:
ââŚYour Grandpa Stone?â
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