A second! Remember to bookmark [](), ad-free, fast updates, free reading!
He actually kindly helped cover for her lie? "So what's the price? What do you want me to do?" The other party's favorability was only at the [Friendly] level, far from reaching a higher tier. If they said they'd help cover for him unconditionally, Sean wouldn't believe it.
Especially since this matter wasn't that simple... If it really involved so many factions and higher-ups as she claimed, even covering for him came with certain risks.
"Very simple. The matter of the stone tablet's origin ends here. Even if you know the reason, don't speak of it. This secret must stay buried, or it'll cause a lot of trouble... including you, young lady." Freylia glanced at Ignia beside her.
The other girl nodded cautiously. After hearing so much about the importance of this matter, Ignia naturally understood!
In the days that followed, Sean stayed in the count's estate's guesthouse under the guise of recovering from illness. It could no longer be called the count's estate now, but rather the Hamilton family's estate. After Count Hamilton's death, no successor was named, and the three children's infighting grew fiercer. Even on the day of Count Hamilton's funeral, the three were competing.
According to tradition, the eldest son would inherit the position, but Count Hamilton had no such intention during his lifetime. As the second son, Ryan Hamilton had close ties with higher-ups and vehemently opposed this notion, citing his father's many speeches as evidence. In essence, he argued that Count Hamilton had intended to appoint based on merit, not birthright!
But that made things hard to settle. Compared to her two brothers, Aelia chose to rally the surrounding nobles, especially the relatively prestigious Viscount Isaac, hoping he would pull strings with higher-ups to push her into the count's position.
In short, with the quelling of the riots and Count Hamilton's death, Koga City seemed forced into calm, but everyone could see the real issue was yet to come. Sean couldn't escape involvement either, as he was the only survivor in the count's mansion...
Although both Sean and Ignia claimed they were heading to the eastern district when they encountered rioters and had to flee to the count's mansion, it didn't change the fact that they were survivors. If not for the Red Dragon Witch Freylia stepping forward to speak for them, Sean felt the surrounding nobles would have forced him to fabricate a 'false will.'
Because in Freylia's account, Count Hamilton was killed by some curse, without mentioning the Cain stone tablet, so some still believed Sean might have witnessed the count's death.
Regarding the enemy, Freylia directly named the organization behind Weissman. It seemed to be called: The Immortals.
Sean had never heard of these names, but he remembered Weissman's ally, that level 10 warrior, once said something. 'What I wanted, Count Hamilton couldn't give.' Meaning someone offered a more tempting deal, so he betrayed him...
From that perspective, the events in Koga City might have been long-planned by that organization called The Immortals, with the rioters merely being their cover. Just pawns they could use in the whole affair.
But as time passed, Sean had more questions. In the first few days, he was in a [Confused!] state and couldn't think, but after waking up, he found many things puzzling.
If Weissman had succeeded, what was his ultimate goal? Just to see the stone tablet's power? Clearly not...
Sean still remembered the scene that day—Weissman's [Frenzy!] and [Excitement!]. Such emotions must have come from a long-awaited result, but they ultimately underestimated the stone tablet's power. Yet one failure didn't negate the goal.
What did he ultimately want? If they succeeded, what would they gain? The power of the Cain stone tablet? But the tablet was in someone else's hands; if they wanted it, they should have planned to steal it from the prince's mansion... Count Hamilton was just infected by some energy upon contact.
Or did they want that chaotic monster? Every time Sean thought about it, his heart trembled, and he still felt haunted.
Whenever he walked past dark corners with unusual lighting, he couldn't help but look back... wondering if an irregular, one-eyed spherical creature was still writhing in the pitch-black shadows. That thing was probably beyond human control!
Putting those issues aside, there were good news... Letters from Taylor Mian, Luke, and Dantie arrived only after eight days. They had learned about the Koga City events a few days later.
Normally, the journey from Koga City to Taylor Mian took two or three days, and during the riots, the city was locked down, so the letters arrived eight or nine days later...
In the letters, Dantie and Luke asked about the situation in Koga City and strongly urged him to return to Taylor Mian. Because the town was the safest!
Sean had always thought his town was too isolated, but after this incident, he realized isolation had its benefits. At least the townspeople were much simpler than those in Koga City, with little scheming... Their daily routine was very straightforward: wake up, work, eat, then sleep and wait for the next day.
Sean even began to understand why some young people from the town chose to return after a few years of adventure. Perhaps in their hearts, more than the courage to strive outside, it was the cold reality of human nature that chilled them...
Life, after all. No matter how you live, it's fine.
Sean's reply didn't mention returning; instead, he wanted to stay in Koga City for a while. Mainly because going back now might just get him called out again.
The struggle for the count's position in Koga City had already caught the attention of higher-ups, and the final decision might come from the King of the Basharan Empire! Now, all sides were using every connection to win the favor of the upper nobility...
Sean also knew that as the last witness to Count Hamilton's death, he would likely be dragged into this 'battlefield'... So no matter what, he would be kept here. Besides, he genuinely wanted to pursue the town's planting project.
From the fruit shops on Brookan Avenue, Sean learned where the little girl had lived—it was indeed a town outside the city, roughly southwest, now a deserted village. The road at the village entrance was overgrown with weeds...
It was quite large. Though abandoned, the number of ruined houses showed this was once a big village.
According to the coachman who brought him here, Leo Village was prosperous a decade ago. To its south was Viscount Isaac's Xiaowan Town. Continuing south from Xiaowan Town would lead out of the country...
So foreign caravans would stop here, and ten years ago, wagon teams would choose to rest here. Walking into the village, Sean indeed saw fruit trees planted nearby...
Just then, a prompt appeared in his vision: [Someone approaching...] He hadn't had this prompt before; he only noticed it recently. It seemed to appear when someone had their sights set on him for a while.
As if he had leveled up.
"So you're here." Freylia's voice came from behind in the distance.