Ruger believed there was still something he did not know. Missing memories left gaps in countless details, and listening to others could only give him a general picture. The true significance of certain things often lay in those very details.
Ruger put away the Identity Badge, inwardly scorning that Demon Wizard's stinginess. But when he remembered the two small gifts he had received earlier, he quietly lowered that scorn by a couple of notches.
"Hahahaha." The woman laughed.
Ruger looked up just in time to see those mirth-filled eyes fixed on him.
"You must be thinking something bad again," the woman said with a smile.
"Mm, just a little private reflection," Ruger said earnestly.
After speaking, he glanced around and leaned closer.
"Your Excellency, are you a Wizard?" Ruger asked, curiosity written all over his face.
The woman paused to consider.
"Perhaps I can be, perhaps I can't. I haven't tried," the woman said with a smile. "You need to understand one thing clearly: she is she, and I am I. I am neither that heart nor that astonishing Nine-Ring Wizard. I have no claim to the honor of being the world's first Nine-Ring Wizard, so perhaps you can spare yourself a great many pointless thoughts."
"But no matter how you look at it, there's no denying that you and that Nine-Ring Wizard are connected," Ruger said.
"Of course. That's undeniable," the woman said with a shrug.
Ruger glanced around again.
"Then do you know how that Nine-Ring Wizard died? Why did she die? What caused her death? Did the Nine-Ring Wizards of later generations gain any insights from it?" Ruger asked in a low voice.
The woman watched him without blinking, smiling silently.
She kept watching until even the thick-skinned Ruger began to feel uncomfortable.
"That isn't something a