"What? He was a magician too?"
David stared at Russell in surprise. He never doubted Balthazar's judgment. If Balthazar said so, then it had to be true.
"David, even if you can't tell an ordinary person from a magician, did you not see the magic ring on his hand?"
Balthazar scolded him irritably. His apprentice was so foolish it was almost painful to watch.
"A ring..."
At that, David looked at Russell's hands and indeed spotted a ring on one of his fingers.
"There's no need to be on guard. I mean no harm. Otherwise, before you arrived, your foolish apprentice would already have been dealt with." Russell rubbed Nenya, Ring of Water. There was a heartbreaking story behind this ring.
More precisely, it was a sorrowful love story. For reasons such as their identities, the man and woman had ultimately failed to end up together. It was quite a pity.
"I know. David really is a fool."
Balthazar nodded in agreement, then asked with a stern face, "Who are you? Did you come for me, or for David?"
"Balthazar, you don't need to be nervous. I came here to investigate the mysterious incident in Chinatown last night."
As he spoke, Russell flashed his police badge to establish his identity.
"You know me?"
Balthazar was deeply surprised. Not only had he been out of contact for ten years, but even when he was free, he had wandered all over the world and rarely revealed his identity. No one should have recognized him.
"David told me."
Russell once again told the truth, repeating the information David had revealed earlier. "I know you were imprisoned for ten years. I also know there's an evil magician hiding in New York, and that there's a vessel spirit that seals powerful wizards."
Balthazar was speechless