Roy, sitting in the corner of the tiered classroom, looked somewhat absentminded. After all, being targeted by a naga assassin was hardly a pleasant experience.
Roy barely paid attention to the historical events the elf princess was describing from the podium.
He simply opened his book and set it casually on the desk. He had originally intended to jot down some key points, but he found that Teacher Ophelia was covering even more than what was written in the book...
Sitting in his chair, he pondered everything that had happened recently.
First, he had witnessed Jefferson's murder at the tavern. Then, he had unexpectedly learned that Pelius, the elf thief, had stolen the Holy Grail. Other than those two things, nothing else seemed noteworthy. Surely no one would secretly hire a naga assassin to silence him over that...
Or perhaps it was because he often fished by the sea. As a distant relative of fish, the naga assassin had transformed into a righteous avenger and sneaked ashore to hunt him down! But with so many Fishing Boats at the harbor, how could Roy possibly be first in line...
Fishing Boats?
A spark flashed through Roy's mind. He recalled the naga assassin's gaze, as well as the several human sailors who had died recently.
Could the naga assassin have mistaken him for a human Sailor? Was that why he had tried to kill him right in the street? Roy realized that the answer was likely there. During the assassination attempt, the naga assassin had clearly reacted strongly to the harbor docks and sea vessels.
As time passed, the light streaming through the tiered classroom's glass windows quietly shifted. The elves who had been sitting in the sun had moved into the shade, while Roy, seated in the corner, was gradually exposed to the sunlight instead.
The sunlight was bright and dazzling.
Roy had remained quiet the entire time, his head lowered, making himself as inconspicuous as possible.
Yet the moment he was exposed to the sunlight, Princess Ophelia recognized him at a glance.
Princess Ophelia's gaze settled on Roy.
"That student!"
Princess Ophelia called out to Roy.
At that moment, nearly every elf in the tiered classroom turned to look at Roy, but Roy was still lost in thought...
That state lasted only two seconds before Roy was jolted awake by everyone's stares.
Only then did Roy realize that Princess Ophelia was calmly staring at him.
Roy hurriedly rose from his seat and looked at Princess Ophelia with a bewildered expression, groaning inwardly. Didn't this elf princess never ask questions in class? Why had she suddenly called on me? More importantly, I hadn't even heard what Princess Ophelia just said.
"That student, tell us: after the Elven Dynasty split apart, which Elven Kingdom did the Woodzerman Area become part of?"
"..."
How could Roy possibly know about the Woodzerman Area? He had never even heard the name before. Besides, he had casually flipped through this modern history book over the past few days, and at least the first fifty pages contained no mention of the Woodzerman Area.
"Sorry, I was distracted just now."
Though it was embarrassing, Roy could only force himself to say it.
Princess Ophelia calmly looked at Roy, her gaze lingering on his face for three seconds before she said, "Sit down. Focus and listen carefully, or I will give you a failing grade and make you retake this course."
Roy was somewhat dumbfounded and quickly replied,
"Understood, Teacher!"
After obediently sitting down, Roy still found other elf students constantly sneaking glances at him. Everyone knew Princess Ophelia never called on students in public, yet before class today, she had not only suggested changing the teaching method but had also questioned a student during the lesson...
Everyone looked at Roy, privately guessing what background this student, who looked so much like a human, could possibly have to make Princess Ophelia call on him to answer a question.
At noon, Roy indeed did not see Steve and his friends again.
He arrived at the academy entrance and took a Long Carriage to the entrance of Brown Street. By then, the heavy fog by the sea had completely dispersed, and there were few pedestrians on Brown Street.
The noon sun was intense, and water vapor rose from the distant beach, making the air look severely distorted.
The stone pavement was even hot beneath his feet. Several large sailing ships were moored at the nearby harbor. Though their sails had been furled and tied to the lowest yardarm, the upright main masts, all manner of poles, and countless hanging ropes made the ships look extremely cluttered.
The most eye-catching among them was an entirely black Five-Masted Sailing Ship, anchored in the deep-water area.
Perhaps because of its deep draft, the gap between its deck and the dock was less than five meters. Quite a few crewmen could be seen scrubbing the deck with seawater...
As Roy passed the Potion Shop, the Night Blade Leopard, which had been lying in the shade by the entrance to cool off, suddenly flicked its tail and darted back into its poorly ventilated den.
Roy nearly tripped over a protruding corner of a stone slab. He stumbled forward several steps before barely managing to steady himself...
Then he turned and spotted the general store next to the Potion Shop. Nearly half the items inside were related to fishing gear, and Roy usually bought his fishhooks and fishing lines there.
The Boss of the general store also loved fishing. According to him, he had never returned empty-handed from a trip out to sea. Roy's earliest fishing skills had been taught to him personally by the Boss.
Back then, Roy had only bought a fishhook and a few meters of fishing line. Even so, the Boss had enthusiastically closed the shop and taken Roy to the shore, personally teaching him how to dig up Sand Worms, tie the line, and bait the hook...
This general store was open only seven or eight days a month. The rest of the time, the Boss was almost always out at sea fishing.
Probably because of the heavy fog this morning, the Boss had been unable to go out to sea today.
As soon as Roy entered the general store, he saw the Boss carving a small wooden fish. He was the darkest Half-Elf Roy had ever seen, his skin the color of coffee mixed with milk. Since he wore a scarf around his neck, there was a distinct white ring beneath it...
"Good afternoon, Duke!"
When the Boss of the general store saw Roy enter, he immediately smiled and asked,
"Oh, Roy. What are you looking to buy this time?"
Roy was very familiar with this general store.
Duke, the Boss of the general store, had always wanted Roy to help watch the shop so he could free himself completely and take a large ship out to sea to catch even bigger fish...
However, Ms. Belinda had sternly refused that proposal.
"Those large fishhooks."
Roy pointed to the largest fishhooks in the general store, each about as thick as a little finger.
Hooks of that size would have been perfectly suitable as meat hooks...
"Are you heading out to sea for something big?" Duke immediately perked up and asked Roy.
Then he instantly realized something was wrong and hurriedly stopped Roy.
"The last time Mrs. Winnie blocked my doorway, she specifically told me not to sell you large fishhooks because she was terribly worried that you'd hang Little K from the lamppost at the street entrance."
Roy immediately promised, "Don't worry, Duke. I guarantee I won't do anything to her kitten this time. Brown Street hasn't been very peaceful lately, so I'm planning to set up a ground-spike trap near my home."
Duke, the Boss of the general store, did not ask what kind of ground-spike trap Roy intended to make. Hearing that it was not meant for the Night Blade Leopard at the neighboring Potion Shop, he relaxed.
"Oh, that's good, that's good! I also heard a naga assassin had appeared by the sea. I often go out to sea, so I frequently run into Naga. All the Naga I've met have been warm and gentle..."
Roy had no interest whatsoever in hearing his stories about having water fights with Naga mermaid girls on reef islands. He took the large fishhooks and turned to leave.
Duke, the Boss of the general store, hurriedly called after Roy, "Hey... hey! Roy, the sun is blazing outside... You can't go fishing at a time like this anyway. Sit down and chat with me, and have some nice cold grapefruit tea!"
Roy waved his hand and replied to Duke, "I have things to do this afternoon. Another day."
After leaving the general store, Roy headed directly to the entrance of the temple.
Jasper had been on duty at the main entrance yesterday, but today it was Abbott's turn. Through the open wooden door of the gatehouse, Roy saw Abbott sitting inside and praying.
Ever since he had seen Roy advance to become a Level Two Novice Priest, that fellow had become exceptionally diligent...
Roy did not disturb him. Instead, he pushed open the side door and entered the temple's front courtyard. The statue of the Goddess of Freedom still stood in the pool at the center of the courtyard, but unfortunately, the Goddess's Holy Radiance could not shine upon the Elf Continent...
When Roy saw Priest Anderson, his complexion was no longer as pale as before.
He sat at the edge of the pool, looking as though he were soaking his feet in it, staring blankly at the statue of the Goddess.
He looked somewhat dejected. Roy recalled the temple gathering from a few days ago. Since even the Goddess's radiance could not reach the Elf Continent, where did the holy water in the pool come from? Seeing Priest Anderson's condition, Roy seemed to have guessed the answer.
As he passed Priest Anderson, Roy gave him a solemn salute, but Priest Anderson gave no response at all...
Priest Anderson appeared to be in terrible mental condition.
Roy went around the hedge of cypresses and entered the temple's rear courtyard. After changing into his Novice Priest robe, he went into the Study Room.
Jasper happened to be praying in the Study Room, and he stopped when he saw Roy arrive.
High Priest Reed was over by the confessional, listening to a believer confess the sins of his life.
Priest Theodore was still absent from the temple.
Jasper said that Priest Theodore had been invited by Elven Nobles in the city to conduct a purification ritual.
"Jasper, could you heal me again?"
Roy lifted his Novice Priest robe, allowing Jasper to see the bandages wrapped around his chest and abdomen.
Jasper's eyes widened. Rage surged straight to his head, and he sprang to his feet. Facing Roy, he grabbed both of Roy's shoulders and said furiously,
"...How did you get hurt this badly again? Roy, you can't stay silent this time. You need to expose their crimes at Elf Academy..."
Jasper's grip caught the wound on Roy's shoulder, making the pain so intense that Roy nearly cried out.
He quickly pulled free and said to Jasper, "Jasper, listen to me first. This morning, I encountered a Naga. He was the one who gave me these injuries..."
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