Pato City

Night came later to Pato City than it did to the surrounding areas, because the place was packed with excellent, energetic young people. This sort of group was generally bursting with energy, and no one could persuade them to obediently return home or to their dormitories right after sunset, saving that excess vitality to squander after sunrise the next day. After all, that would have been far too cruel. Even the strictest parents and instructors would not be so unreasonable...

What was more, after a day's work, people were happy to see those young men and women strolling noisily and cheerfully in groups along the main roads, discussing the knowledge they had learned, the beautiful girls they had met, the handsome men they had bumped into, and the strict teachers they had encountered. They might also go to the Holy Church Coalition's chapel to pray for their families and secret crushes, or sneak into the taverns that always turned a blind eye to them and furtively order a mug of ale.

All of this was thanks to Pading Knight Academy. This academy, built here seventy years ago after the Holy Church Coalition was persuaded to do so by the high-ranking Holy Knight Valentin Crow, who had once come from this place, had always been the common pride of all the locals.

It was also the fundamental reason Pato City, originally a small, lawless town in the countryside, could be so full of vitality. Countless families from within a hundred miles, and even farther away, wanted to send their children here to study and embark on the pinnacle of life... Er, I mean, to change the course of their predetermined fate.

Incidentally, children of Pato City's local residents could directly enter the Knight Academy to study once they turned sixteen. So, no matter when, owning a home in the school district was quite...

All right, I'll restrain myself.

In short, Pato City was a peaceful and lively little town—at least, under normal circumstances.

Yet beneath this calm, faint undercurrents were also surging. At the very least, some particularly perceptive people had already caught a whiff of something unusual.

The Warm Sun Squad, a second-year team at Pading Knight Academy, had been ambushed on their way back after completing their final assessment and had been almost completely wiped out. Only the light knight Dave, their captain, had survived. By the time he returned to the city, he had nearly died as well. There was not a single uninjured spot on his body, and it had been a miracle that he was saved before breathing his last.

The news had already spread...

The ones who had attacked them were two Crimson Ridge Beasts, which should never have appeared around Pato City. Although monsters of this level could not threaten Pato City with Pading Academy stationed there, they still made people uneasy.

Where had they come from? Why had they appeared here? Why had they attacked several innocent students? Would they come attack us next?

The source of fear was always the unknown. Some tough guys could fearlessly face most poisonous insects and wild beasts, and could even cut off their heads, eat the rest, and gain a huge amount of protein from them. But when faced with things like zombies, vampires, or the Kayako mother-and-son pair—creatures whose lethality might not even match the former—those tough guys would still tremble, then flee with a photographer who was just as tough...

Actually, every one of us enjoyed scaring ourselves, and most of the time reality was not quite that ridiculous. (It was merely cruel.)

But this time, things really were not that simple...

Moreover, an unwelcome guest who had already arrived in this small city would make an already complicated matter even more complicated, turning a major problem into an even bigger one.

"Ugh~ What a place that doesn't raise one's spirits in the slightest." Mo Tan was currently standing in a rarely visited alley, looking at the somewhat noisy street in the distance as he sighed languidly. Then he raised the corners of his mouth in a smile and murmured, "But I'll do my best to liven things up around here. You really don't have to thank me too much..."

By then, he had taken off the rather gloomy ceremonial robe and changed back into his original linen outfit, making himself look as inconspicuous and ordinary as possible. He then left the alley, casually grabbed a seemingly simple, honest-looking middle-aged man, and asked for directions as a traveler. After wandering around, he arrived at a tailor shop two streets away.

Although there were not many customers at this hour, it was not yet time for the shop to close. Mo Tan smoothly bought a white belted robe and a pair of long leather boots. Their quality was average, but at least they made him look presentable without standing out too much.

He then asked the owner where the cheapest lodging in Pato City was. After confirming it several times—he had no sense of direction—he hurried away.

A short while later, Mo Tan appeared in front of the "Black Rye" inn at the southernmost edge of the city and pushed the door open, swaggering inside.

"What do you want?" A middle-aged man sitting in a rocking chair beside the door, his hair resembling a bird's nest, glanced at him and impatiently straightened up. "Food or lodging? I don't have any other entertainment here."

Before Mo Tan could answer, a man completely covered in a cloak rushed down from the second floor. He quickly raised a hand to greet the man who seemed to be the owner and said at top speed, "He's my friend, the one I told you about earlier."

"Got it. Go on." The owner shrugged and lay back down. "Don't stand in the doorway if there's nothing else. You're getting in the way of my business."

"You have business here?" The apprentice thief Cole curled his lip at him after slightly lifting his hood, then gave Mo Tan an apologetic smile. "Let's go talk."

The latter nodded noncommittally and followed Cole to the second floor of the shabby inn, entering a small room at the very back.

"Let me confirm something first. Other than the owner just now..." After entering, Mo Tan leaned casually against the wall and softly asked Cole, who looked both respectful and uneasy, "Does anyone else know that Cole Shulen has returned to Pato City?"

The young thief apprentice lowered his head in obvious fear. "No one else does, sir. I'm truly sorry. I was supposed to follow your instructions and not let anyone know, but..."

"But the owner of the 'cheapest inn' where I told you to stay was someone you knew." Mo Tan smiled and shook his head. "You were probably worried that I wouldn't be able to find you, so you didn't change places. It's fine. I failed to consider that. I won't blame you for something like this."

"Thank you, sir." Cole nodded, then raised his head and asked with concern in his eyes, "I wonder how Rona is..."

"That elf girl's soul is still intact." Mo Tan raised a hand to interrupt him. "I'm not unreasonable, but what you need right now is calm. Only by staying calm can you avoid making mistakes. Do you understand me?"

Cole also realized that his emotions had become too agitated. He did not answer immediately, instead clenching his fists tightly. Only after a while did he look directly into Mo Tan's eyes and nod. "I'm fine now, sir."

This action improved Mo Tan's impression of him considerably. After all, it was extremely difficult for someone to truly calm down under such circumstances, let alone in such a short time.

From Cole's gaze, Mo Tan could no longer see the anxiety, longing, torment, and faint fear that had been there before. Or rather, those emotions had been hidden somewhere deeper, in a corner where they could no longer affect his rationality or judgment...

"You're impressive." Mo Tan nodded slightly. "Next, I'll tell you two things. During this process, I hope you can keep your emotions steady and maintain sufficient reason. Can you do that?"

Cole replied without hesitation, "Yes, sir."

"Call me Mr. Mo instead. Don't be so serious~ I don't like people who are excessively serious." Mo Tan smiled. He knew he was not the sort of person who could make countless knowledgeable figures tremble with excitement and beg to kneel before him as their big brother. It was merely that he held the soul Cole cared about most, and had used a little misdirection to make the other party blindly trust him for the time being. Precisely because of that, he did not want Cole to treat him too rigidly. That would undoubtedly create a subtle barrier between them. Although it might make things go smoothly in the short term, that barrier would gradually grow over time...

Mo Tan, who had placed himself in the position of a chess player, could not accept the hidden danger of becoming increasingly unable to understand his future "piece."

Cole did not react much. He merely answered quietly, "All right, Mr. Mo."

"First, you should have heard already, right? Only Dave returned alive from your squad." Mo Tan looked at Cole. "You should know what that means, right?"

Cole nodded heavily. The result was obvious. Other than himself and Dave, the other two had lost their lives, just like Rona.

"But in fact, only the male student who used a greatsword died. If I remember correctly, his name should have been Lada Dona." Mo Tan narrowed his eyes and said in a low voice, "The person who killed him was named Dave Sager."

What!?

Even though Cole had prepared himself to receive terrible news, he had never imagined that his companion had not died beneath the Crimson Ridge Beast's fangs and claws, but had instead been killed by another companion.

"This isn't..." Cole shook his head blankly, wanting to say something, but the person before him cut him off coldly.

"It is." Mo Tan shrugged and spread his hands. "By the time I arrived, Dave had already left. Your classmate named Lada had been directly impaled through the chest by a lance and died on the spot. Another female priest had been gravely wounded. I saved her and learned the entire sequence of Dave's sudden attack. She's hiding somewhere in Pato City just like you. If you don't believe me, you can secretly find her later and confirm it."

Cole stood there pale and dazed for a long time. At last, he shook his head dejectedly. "No, I believe you. Please continue..."

"All right." Mo Tan walked over to Cole and whispered into his ear, "Everything you experienced before was designed by Dave. Whether it was those two abnormal Crimson Ridge Beasts or the Warm Sun Squad, of which only one person survived, everything was part of his plan. Clearly, you and your companions became sacrifices to that plan... So now, if you don't mind, can you tell me how you feel?"

Cole remained silent, but blood had begun to seep from his tightly clenched teeth...

"Your answer, Cole." Mo Tan smiled calmly.

"Kill him!" Cole said with a tremor. His face had begun to twist under his rage. "If all of this is true, I want to tear him to pieces with my own hands!"

Mo Tan clapped his hands. "Excellent~ Especially the prerequisite that 'all of this is true.' Don't look at me like that, Cole. Vigilance and suspicion are good qualities. After all, compared to Dave, whom you've known for far longer, an unknown person like me is much harder to trust..."

Cole seemed to want to say something, but in the end he lowered his head without speaking. What this "Mr. Mo" had just said was not wrong. Perhaps deep down, he was even more suspicious of him. After all, compared with Dave, this mysterious man felt more like a conspirator.

He did not want to believe that Dave had betrayed him and the other three companions who had spent more than a year together day and night. If that were true, the deaths of the deceased would be unbearably tragic.

But Cole also did not want to believe that Mo Tan was deceiving him. If that were true, Rona's already slim hope of resurrection would vanish completely!

And so...

"Go verify the truth." Mo Tan smiled at Cole, who had just been about to speak. "That young female priest named Ai Fanye should currently be in a place called Rotten Rose. I don't know the exact details either. You can go find her later."

Cole froze, then still managed to give Mo Tan a bitter, forced smile. "Thank you for saving her."

"It was nothing." Mo Tan shrugged indifferently, then patted his shoulder. "But now you need to tell me a few things..."

Seven o'clock in the morning.

In a spacious, warmly colored bedroom, two game pods opened almost simultaneously.

"Good morning~ Xiaodao!" Ji Xiaoge greeted her twin younger sister, who had just sat up beside her. Dressed in adorable goose-yellow pajamas, she cheerfully reached out to fiddle with her sister's hair. "I've never seen you play a game with so much dedication before."

Ji Xiaodao looked somewhat dazed and did not react at all to her sister's prank. She merely replied absently, "Mm... good morning, Sis."

When she realized that her younger sister had not slapped her hand away as usual, Ji Xiaoge froze as well. Then she pursed her lips, suddenly pounced on her sister, knocked her onto the soft carpet, and vigorously rubbed Ji Xiaodao's tender cheeks. "So cute, so cute! You're too adorable, Sis! Give your sister a kiss... Er..."

"That's so boring!" Ji Xiaodao flushed bright red as she pressed her sister's face away. Ignoring the latter's flailing arms as she tried to hug her again, she lightly bit her lip and said quietly to Ji Xiaoge, who still refused to settle down, "Um... Sis... I might not be able to come find you for a while."

"Huh?! Aren't we together?"

"I mean in the game, dummy!"

"Oh. Why?"

"Because... there's someone I can't quite feel at ease about..."

"A boy?"

"Mm."

"..."

"Sis, where are you going?"

"To find Dad. When we were little, he said that whoever tried to steal his daughters away, he'd chop them up."

"Hey!!!!"