"Brothers"

When Edward and Young Master Francois dueled, White Hawk Duke and his sister-in-law Kaydelin were both on the second-floor balcony, looking down at the garden, with a clear view of the entire process.

After Edward easily dealt with his opponent, White Hawk Duke took a sip of the red tea in his hand and turned to ask Kaydelin, who was fanning herself:

"What do you think of this young man?"

"In what regard?" the Duke's sister-in-law asked.

"I mean his strength. I want to hear your evaluation of his combat as a spellcaster."

"I can't tell anything. I can only say his ideas are a bit wild and he's good at finding his opponent's weaknesses. The Shaping he used just now, calculated by the magic capacity of a formal Mage, might have only consumed one percent of his magic. His true limit is really hard to tell.

And I heard from Alice that he only used one item and a Zero-Level Trick from the Mage's Hand to deal with those two Vampire Counts.

This young man is quite unfathomable."

"Then I'm relieved. Andrea's choice must have some strength, I don't want Andrea to find a burden," the Duke said.

"Then your worry is unnecessary," Kaydelin, a great Mage, rolled her eyes at her brother-in-law.

"Why?" the Duke was a bit confused by his sister-in-law's meaning.

"Because of that sword."

"Are you saying Andrea doesn't need his protection with that sword?" the tea-drinking man raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, you're so stupid. I mean, Andrea said that young man can also use that sword, so why did he sell the sword to Andrea?" Kaydelin was a bit anxious and continued to remind her brother-in-law.

"Because he wants to woo my daughter? So he sold such a precious item to her cheaply?" The Duke was a bit too involved and couldn't quite grasp it.

"Forget it, I'll tell you directly."

Kaydelin said with the look of someone talking to an idiot.

"As a Professional, the reason he dared to give his most precious item to someone else is because he doesn't need it anymore! He should be confident that he can handle everything without that sword!"

"Hiss... This child is terrifying? Then he can fight two tiers above him?" The Duke gasped.

Kaydelin rolled her eyes and didn't reply. She just felt her brother-in-law's exclamation was a bit cliché...

Meanwhile, Edward had bid farewell to Princess and left the Duke's Mansion. As he left, Princess Andrea smilingly escorted him to the entrance of the Duke's Mansion, and they bid each other farewell, as if reluctant to part.

Edward found it amusing. His home was only two or three streets away. He could be there with a single step. What was there to be reluctant about?

Then, under the surprised gazes of the dignitaries preparing to board their carriages, he started to walk towards home. Everyone thought, did Princess fall for a pauper? Nowadays, even a Mage apprentice travels by carriage, and you, a dignified branch president of the Alchemist, can't afford a carriage?

Edward felt the surprised gazes of the crowd. He looked back, tipped his tall, round hat, and gave them a triumphant smile.

Walking had its advantages. Although the ball at the Duke's Mansion had ended, the streets were still lively. The market from the Fountain Square to Flower Street hadn't stopped, and merchants lit oil lamps to continue their night market.

Although the Fountain Square had been "borrowed" by the soldiers for a while for the fireworks, the citizens, having witnessed such a grand spectacle, came out of their homes in greater numbers and headed to the Fountain Square. The 'folk activities' were just reaching their peak.

People lit bonfires in a large area south of the center of the square. A large group of men and women in colorful traditional clothing held hands and danced a joyful bonfire dance. Folk musicians played violins, accordions, and other instruments to accompany them. Joyful singing filled the square.

On the other side of the square, street performers, appearing from nowhere, performed acts such as hat trick, plate spinning, fire breathing, sword swallowing, and breaking a stone on the chest, drawing gasps of amazement from the onlookers!

The main members of the night market had shifted from stalls selling ingredients and daily necessities to stalls selling various snacks and small accessories. Some stalls were selling meat pies in bread, like the Turkish kebab from his previous life, while others were skewering various meats and vegetables on bamboo sticks, brushing them with secret sauce, and grilling them over a fire. The meat sizzled over the charcoal fire, emitting an enticing aroma.

Adults walked through with their children, laughing and occasionally buying a candy or a skewer of grilled meat for their eager children. Young couples walked arm in arm, occasionally stopping at stalls selling cheap accessories to point and chat. Boys would buy a hairpin for their girlfriends and carefully put it on her. The girls would look in the small stall's mirror and happily kiss the boys on the cheek. Sailors at the beer stall bragged and drank beer from wooden mugs, leaving a "white mustache" around their mouths when they put down their mugs...

Seeing everything before him, Edward took a deep breath. He suddenly felt that this was life! The banquet and ball just now, apart from that beautiful figure, everything felt so distant from him! He should have brought her out too, to stroll through this night market together, to let her experience the joy of ordinary people like himself.

Thinking of this, he suddenly felt that it was really feasible, but then he shook his head and dismissed the idea. Although it was easy to do, it was the New Year, and he shouldn't cause trouble for others.

Smelling the enticing aroma of the grilled skewers, he suddenly felt hungry and walked towards the grilled meat stall. Just as he turned casually, he saw a familiar shadow.

At this time, on the north side of the Fountain Square, where the Holy Light Church was located, faint lights were emanating. Faint holy singing could be heard; it was the Holy Light Church's New Year's sermon ceremony.

Edward had heard from Elwin that this was the last time he would be leading the choir to sing hymns. Next year, when he turned 18, he would no longer be able to sing in the choirboy choir. He should still be singing hymns at this time.

And those faint lights were the collective divine art of all the priests in the Holy Light Church. This divine art had no practical effect; it only made the entire church light up at night, thus displaying a 'miracle' and attracting believers.

What he noticed was the back of a young man. The man stood motionless at the edge of the square, gazing at the Holy Light Church, or perhaps looking at the sky above the church.

His stiff figure seemed frozen, and under the reflection of the bonfire, it was out of place with the joyful atmosphere.

Edward hesitated because the back view was very familiar to him. He was one of the 'brothers' who left the deepest impression on him in God Descent (N) Brotherhood.

At that time, everyone decided to disband the God Descent (N) Brotherhood due to the persecution by the Ailande authorities and the pursuit by the hunter.

Edward prepared a Mithril amulet for each of them and instructed them that as long as they didn't take off the amulet, they wouldn't be noticed by the hunter.

As long as they wore the amulet and lived a normal life for a few years, because they wouldn't be carrying out divine decrees, the aura of the Baptism recipients would dissipate.

The young man before him was an idealist. Although he accepted Edward's amulet, he resolutely picked up a placard and led the immigrants from the victimized countries then in Ailande to the streets.

When Edward last saw him holding up an anti-war banner, shouting anti-war slogans, and blocking the Ailande Council building with a group of immigrants, he knew that this 'brother' might not return.

But why was he in the New Continent? Did he escape successfully? Numerous questions in his heart forced Edward to step forward. When he was still two or three meters away, Edward hesitantly called out:

"Kevin? Is that you?"

The man turned his head mechanically. The man's face was indeed Kevin, the 'brother' from back then. Just as Edward was about to happily step forward, he stopped. He felt something was wrong. The young man's eyes were very strange, as cold as a machine or some cold-blooded animal, as if he had never seen him before.

The man turned his head to an angle that would be difficult for an ordinary person, and then, without moving his head, slowly turned his body as well. He stared at Edward without blinking.

At this moment, Edward's hair stood on end. He felt all the sounds around him suddenly disappear, and the pedestrians and scenery became moving blocks of color, as if his phone in his previous life had opened a zoom lens, with only the young man before him in clear focus.

He quickly put on a 'Monocle (N)'. In the glasses, the young man was the same as before, and his background returned to the original scenery. However, the 'Kevin' before him was emitting an eerie purplish-red glow.

"Heh... heh..."

First came a series of unclear sounds, then, as if he hadn't spoken in a long time, he said in a strange tone:

"Sir... do you recognize this body? Cough... no, do you recognize me?"

"You're not Kevin, who are you? Or what are you?" Edward asked sternly. He felt something was wrong.

"Heh, heh. It... seems I've been seen... through." The Kevin before him spoke with a voice like that of a broken old radio from his past life, a voice tinged with the grinding sound of rust.

"You're also a member of that 'God Descent (N)' Brotherhood, right? What was your name again? Let me check his memories." The person's tone was like a robot chatting about everyday life.

At this point, Edward was tense all over, ready for battle. His left hand, hidden behind his back, had already retrieved an item from his Spatial Ring and was gently pressing it against his back.

Then, something seemed to writhe within the person's scalp. His eyeballs began to move asymmetrically, and his mouth hung open, drooling. It was as if something was trapped inside that body.

Suddenly, Kevin's right eye turned back to Edward. Half of his face contorted and deformed, like some stroke patients Edward had seen in his past life. That twisted half-face began to shout hoarsely:

"Ed...ward... run... quick...ly... I can't... hold... on... run..."

Having grown accustomed to princess's clumsy Ventriloquism, Edward understood. He was saying:

Edward, run quickly, it's a hunter, I can't hold on anymore! Run!

I saw that the work investment achievement had a requirement of 3000 words daily for 30 consecutive days. I was really afraid I couldn't do it. I'll grit my teeth and persevere. Starting yesterday, this is the second 3000. I can't let the investors down, right?