The Wrap-up

In the courtyard of the House of Cadell, moonlight illuminated four incomplete skeletons, mostly slender bones stained a pale yellow.

The principal, a band of white wrapped around his waist, scanned the scene with sharp eyes. A hint of confusion creased his face, slightly pale from blood loss.

"I've already killed that monster, so why can't I remember anything? Besides Tom, what were the names of these four children?"

"Although the journal didn't mention it..." Roy pursed his lips. "I think this kind of amnesia is irreversible, even if the Child-Eater is dead. Only those who survive, like Tom, can have the traces they left in the real world restored." The five-pointed star on Roy's left sleeve was as good as new.

Cadell shook his head, seemingly displeased with the outcome.

"At least we saved little Tom," Roy said. "And from now on, the children in the school will never be threatened by monsters again."

Strangely enough, an hour after the two removed the skeletons from the tree hollow, the hollow at the base of the Horn Tree sealed itself. When Roy tried to sprinkle salt upwards, he could no longer summon the tree hollow; the Horn Tree seemed to have completely lost its magic.

Roy had a vague feeling that the underground space where the Child-Eater had lived might not have been inside the Horn Tree, but rather in another dimension. Shortly after the Child-Eater died, the magic maintaining the space gradually dissipated, making the tree hollow impossible to find. He had originally intended to return and cut off the tongue of the charred corpse. Oakes had said it was quite valuable.

But now, it seemed there was no chance.

"How is it? Do you have any new discoveries?" Faywen approached from the direction of the house, her pretty face etched with fatigue and sorrow. The relative she had desperately searched for had turned into a skeleton without a word, and she couldn't even retrieve her memories of him.

Two years of effort seemed to have been in vain.

"Can you identify these children?"

"I'm afraid not... It seems the amnesia is irreversible now." Noticing her grim expression, Roy comforted her, "Sister Faywen, 'he' has been freed from the demonic cave of the tree hollow. Perhaps he has entered the kingdom of Prophet Lebioda. We also avenged him and found his... remains. We can finally find a place to bury him. Please don't be too sad."

Faywen covered her face and took a deep breath, wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes. "Actually, when I saw the journal, I guessed he was gone. I just couldn't accept it for a while... But you're right. His soul must have entered the Prophet's kingdom. I will find a good place to bury his remains."

After a brief silence, "Let's talk about something happy... How is that kid Tom?"

"I just gave him a hot bath and applied some ointment. He's asleep again." Mentioning the survivor, a little light finally appeared in Faywen's beautiful eyes. "He's lucky. He only has a few scratches and a bite wound on his neck. And he has no memory of the entire ordeal. He only remembers sleeping and then waking up to see you two and that monster..."

"The Child-Eater will give him a few nightmares, but nothing else."

"That's good." Roy glanced at the sky again. "We'll deal with the rest tomorrow. I should head back to the mill."

"Wait, Roy," Cadell suddenly asked, "where did that bomb you used on the Child-Eater come from?"

Sensing the anticipation in his eyes, Roy understood. This member of the Revolutionary Army must have his sights set on the "Dancing Star."

"That's a special alchemical bomb made by a Witcher..." Roy lied. "Only those recognized by a Witcher can activate it. It was a self-defense gift from my teacher, and there's only one. It's gone after use."

"Is that so?" Cadell's face couldn't hide his disappointment.

Back at the mill, Roy found Toya by the pond. The girl was staring blankly at her reflection on the water's surface, her expression dejected, her back exuding loneliness. Roy thought that if she were at the House of Cadell, she would surely have been hunted.

"Sorry, I'm late today," Roy said, sitting down beside her. The girl's shoulders trembled, and an uncontrollable joy appeared on her round face, the end of her words trembling slightly. "It's okay, I understand... You have work in the city too, you must have been busy today, right?"

In reality, she was terrified. She had a strong feeling that the pleasant times of the past half-month might have just been her illusion. Today, when she realized Roy wasn't returning to the mill on time, this worry reached its peak, and her heart was filled with despair.

Fortunately, it was just a false alarm! He was back... This friend was real.

Every cell in Toya's body felt relieved.

Roy shook his head. "It wasn't because of work. I encountered a strange event at the House of Cadell recently, related to the magic I told you about before, and also about those neglected children. Would you like to hear about it?"

"Okay!"

The next morning, Roy, having finished his Meditation, woke up precisely at four o'clock. He first disposed of the body of the bald man in his spatial storage.

Then he hurried to the market in Edersberg. It was here, at the herb stall he had worked at for over half a month, that he still had an unsettled score.

However, as he squeezed past a group of bare-chested laborers and reached the herb stall, he found it had "gone empty."

Not only was the stall owner, Tross, who had set traps for him twice in the lower city, gone, but even the shelves had been dismantled. It was now an empty lot.

He unwillingly found Emil, who sold barbecue, to inquire... but the answer he received surprised him.

"You're asking about Uncle Tross? I thought he told you. After he finished setting up his stall yesterday morning, he left Edersberg with all his family and belongings."

"He moved away with his family?"

He had been operating in Edersberg for over ten years, and he was willing to abandon it all?

Afraid of a teenage boy like me?

It didn't make sense.

"Who told you he had been running an herb shop in Edersberg for over ten years?" Emil asked, looking astonished. "He only came to the city two months ago, not much earlier than you. Speaking of which, his business was actually quite good. Why did he suddenly move..."

Who exactly was this guy? A professional con artist?

Roy pondered for a long time, only remembering his lewd smile, and felt inexplicably uneasy.

Let him go!

Since the job at the herb stall fell through, he allocated more of his morning to the poultry stall. After killing the monsters under the tree hollow, his Experience Points reached LV2 (820/1000). If business picked up a bit during this period, he might reach LV3 in less than a week.

In the afternoon at the House of Cadell, it was still as peaceful as ever. The children were playing joyfully under the Horn Tree, seemingly completely unaware of the boy standing alone at the classroom entrance, gazing intently, who had returned.

The neglected remained neglected. Nothing had changed.

"Tom, go join them." Roy patted the boy's golden hair and encouraged him, "You've already escaped from the jaws of a ferocious monster and crawled back from the brink of death, what else is there to fear?"

"If you want to be noticed and make more friends, you have to take the initiative to strive for it. Staring around like an idiot has no effect. If anyone dares to bully you again, fight them!"

Roy suddenly pushed the stunned boy into the crowd. He watched as the boy, with a flushed face, awkwardly greeted the students around him.

Cadell quietly came up to Roy's side, her complexion not good. The injuries she sustained last night would take her a while to recover from.

The matter of the horned tree and the monsters dwelling beneath it had all been concealed by the principal.

The traces of the dead children had not been recovered and were still forgotten by the world. Even if they were made public, what would they bring besides suspicion and trouble?

"This morning, Faywen and I buried the remains in the nearby graveyard." Cadell paused, "There's one more thing. Roy, no matter what, because you helped the school resolve this hidden danger, Faywen recovered her relative's remains, and those poor children saw the light of day again. I thank you on their behalf. I know the rules of a Witcher... I will pay you a reward. How about 100 Crowns?"

In reality, a hundred Crowns wasn't even enough for the material cost of Dancing Star. But this was probably all Cadell could afford.

"This amount of money isn't enough." Roy glanced at the boys and girls running in the courtyard, a soft spot in his heart suddenly touched. "Change it into a meal for me."

"Then please, do accept this gift, Roy."

Faywen quietly emerged from behind Cadell, took off the silver pendant from her chest, and hung it around his neck.

Her beautiful eyes held gratitude. "Believe me, it will bring you good luck and blessings..."

Thanks to the King of the Night, Zhuang Mengxin, for the reward and monthly ticket support! Thank you all for your support!