Traveling Companions

Arrow waved farewell to his mother in the shadows. Then, holding the black cat, he pushed open the wooden door and entered the inn.

The flames burning in the fireplace drove away the slight chill of dusk. The inn's living room was bustling and boisterous, people coming and going. When they heard the wooden door move, some instinctively turned their heads and noticed the handsome boy in a strange gray-black robe, holding a large black cat.

Whistle! Whistle!

Several whistles rang out. A group of wandering mercenaries in tattered leather, their faces flushed red, swayed to their feet. One of them turned to the crowd and jeered loudly, "What do I see? Another pitiful child brainwashed by childish books. Looks like he's deeply obsessed—strange clothes, an utterly mismatched longsword, and look at what he's holding."

"What's that? A black cat?"

The hall erupted in laughter, and the atmosphere grew even livelier.

Even in a world where information flowed swiftly, when faced with certain truths, there would always be many 'exceptionally intelligent geniuses' who interpreted them in reverse, all to display their intellectual superiority. Let alone in this closed-off world.

Because many things had to be kept hidden from ordinary people, most wizards living among the populace arranged an ordinary identity for themselves. Arrow's grandfather, for instance, held a Noble Title. Yet to Grandfather, that title was merely for publicity; he did not even remember what Noble Title it was.

Wizards who did not involve themselves in the world had no need, nor any desire, to communicate with ordinary people. On top of that, there were all manner of ignorant yet bold swindlers.

This had resulted in the image of wizards, in the eyes of many ordinary people, being nothing but eccentric, reclusive madmen muttering mysterious nonsense.

Even if a few people had truly witnessed a wizard's abilities and voluntarily spread the word, they would be scorned and excluded by others. Then there were those who knew the truth and deliberately concealed it.

After all, although the academy recruited students every year, it could not possibly accept everyone—not to mention matters of talent and human reproduction.

Just the theory of "Ignorance is Bliss" alone meant that if there were too many new students, every student might encounter danger. The existing Mentors could not protect them all, and no Mentor would be willing to play nanny day and night.

Thus, among the limited number of accepted students, those with better aptitude received more resources, those with average aptitude could still enter the academy, and even those with relatively poor aptitude had a chance to become Wizard Apprentices if they were willing to pay a small price.

Just as in Arrow's previous life, there were many who promoted the idea that 'studying was useless.' Once fewer people competed for resources, those who knew the correct information possessed a kind of advantage in itself.

For those who chose to conceal the truth, these were all tangible benefits!

When faced with the ignorant mockery of fools, ignoring them was the best choice!

Otherwise, if he truly debated with them, he would still be mocked if he lost. If he won, these fools would be the ones who profited.

Arrow remained calm and walked toward the bar cabinet as though he had heard nothing. The biting remarks around him were no more than a breeze brushing his face.

"Quiet, all of you! This isn't a place for you to drunkenly raise hell!"

The middle-aged bartender barked at them, then turned back and rested both hands on the bar cabinet. Smiling, he asked, "Future Lord Wizard, what can I do for you?"

He had been here for a long time. Because ships transporting Knight Breakthrough Potion often passed through this place, he had seen powerful knights treat wizards with respect. Though he did not know why, he was willing to show them some courtesy.

It was not because he knew how powerful wizards were. It was simply a middle-aged man's reverence for the world.

"My mother booked a room here. Can you take me there?"

After speaking, Arrow took out a wooden plaque his mother had given him.

The middle-aged bartender examined it and softly exclaimed, "A luxurious top-floor seaside-view room? That's the best room we have. Your mother treats you very well!"

For some reason, those who ran inns and restaurants all liked giving rooms such long names. Did that make the rooms any better?

No!

It only made the rooms more expensive!

Once he confirmed that this unusually dressed blond boy was an important customer, the middle-aged bartender became even more enthusiastic. "It's so late. Would you like something to eat? Our first meeting is fate—I'll give you this meal for free."

Arrow had actually noticed long ago that the wooden plaque was marked with 'three meals free,' but he pretended not to know and politely nodded. "Then thank you very much."

"You can eat over there," the middle-aged bartender said, leaning closer and lowering his voice. "I overheard a few things from their conversation. Perhaps you can become friends."

Oh?

Arrow followed the direction the bartender pointed and noticed two boys and a girl sitting in the corner, three young people about his own age.

The three of them were not dressed in gray-black apprentice robes like Arrow, but with a little thought, it was easy to understand. At this time, young people of this age who had been discussing wizards were most likely those heading for the wizard test tomorrow.

Remembering that his mother had told him to blend in with the other young men and head to the Port with them tomorrow, Arrow gave it some thought and made his decision.

After briefly looking over the menu and casually ordering a few dishes, Arrow carried the food in one hand and held the black cat in the other as he headed over.

"Good evening, gentlemen, Miss. My apologies for disturbing you. My name is Arrow Garner. I'm delighted to meet you all here at this time and in this place."

Arrow smiled slightly. His golden hair shimmered with a faint halo in the firelight, while the gray-black apprentice robe draped over his sturdy body, neat and mysterious.

"May I sit here? I think we may have some topics in common."

Though Arrow said that, he had already set down his plate and plopped into the empty seat with the black cat in his arms.

Across from Arrow, a boy dressed in luxurious clothes and covered in powder spoke in a disgruntled low voice. "From the way you speak, you should be a noble as well. How can you be so rude? Don't you know you cannot sit beside a Lady?"

Anywhere with inconvenient travel could have different accents within ten miles. Thus, even though everyone spoke the Fien Language, the speech of commoners from different places carried subtle differences.

Only nobles generally possessed the most authentic Fien pronunciation. Combined with certain pronunciation habits unique to nobles, Arrow had immediately been taken for a noble.

The Girl beside Arrow was also dressed exquisitely. She had fair skin, large eyes, and several cute freckles on her face. When she turned and noticed Arrow's features, a flash of amazement passed through her eyes. She hurriedly said, "It's fine. This isn't some formal restaurant, after all. Everyone can sit wherever they like. Um... my name is Emily Harling. Just call me Emily."

"Thank you."

Sensing the boy's tension and indignation, as well as the girl's admiration and expectation, Arrow could not help but laugh.

What a precocious world.

After handing a grilled fish to his enlightenment teacher, Arrow looked up and smiled. "And how should I address you two gentlemen?"

The Linen-clothed Boy answered in a muffled voice, "Monli."

The Noble Boy glared at Arrow in dissatisfaction. "You still haven't answered my question!"

Arrow thought back for a moment before recalling what the Noble Boy had said. He smiled and shook his head. "Look at my clothes. I'm no noble."

The Noble Boy sneered. "So you think you're a wizard? Do you think that dressing like this will make Lord Wizards think more highly of you and let you pass the assessment?"

Arrow only smiled without replying, lowering his head to eat.

There were indeed other Wizard Apprentices stationed throughout this 'small island,' but it was unlikely that another Wizard Apprentice would happen to have a child around ten years old who needed to go further their studies at this very time.

Arrow would not explain that his clothes could indeed make wizards think more highly of him. To a certain extent, even this opportunity for the boys existed because of him. If the families of the Wizard Apprentices stationed here had not reported it, Jungle Home would never have sent a ship to this 'small island' to recruit students.

This was a benefit for those Wizard Apprentices willing to stand guard here for a long time.

Of course, the benefit Jungle Home provided only included sending a wizard over with the ship. Whether they Meet Standards and could truly enter the academy still depended on their aptitude and strength.

Sensing that the atmosphere had become somewhat stifling, Emily quickly changed the subject. "His name is Joseph Whitek. Joseph, we're all people who are going to become wizards. There's no need to dwell on our past identities."

All people who were going to become wizards?

Arrow glanced at the Girl.

You've got quite the nerve!

Still, she was rather clever. With one simple sentence, she had sidestepped the matter of Arrow's clothes and indirectly answered the Noble Boy's question.

There was not much food on the tray. Arrow had trained for a long time and had always possessed a good appetite. Without losing his elegance, he finished everything in only a few bites.

"Thank you."

After thanking the bartender who came to take away his tray and brought him a cup of water, Arrow tidied himself up slightly. Then he turned back to the Girl beside him and asked with a smile, "Can you tell me what you were discussing just now?"

"Of course," the Girl said. She had no resistance at all to Arrow's smile, her eyes dreamy as she explained, "We were talking about Monli. You know, even among us nobles, only a few know that wizards exist. None of us expected that there would be a commoner here alone."

That was true. Although the Wizard Academy did not care whether someone was a noble, unless a wizard personally recruited students, the children gathering here would certainly be led by nobles.

After all, how could the children of ordinary commoners afford to travel so far?

Arrow curiously glanced at the Linen-clothed Boy and pressed, "Why?"

Monli explained in a muffled voice, "When I was little, I fell into the bottom of a well and entered a mysterious place. After I somehow came back out, I told my parents about it."

"My parents did not believe me at first, but it spread during casual conversations. Later, our Baron Lord Heard about it and had me brought into his Castle. Just yesterday, he even sent someone to bring me here."

Thank you to Huayue Yi for yesterday's reward.

Thank you to Silent Night Wanderer and Netheril Legendary Lich Lavok for once again sending recommendation votes.

Thank you to readers 'Reader 11568...2880' and Beast 999 for their recommendation votes.