Chapter 60: Chapter 44: Miss Flame Crow’s Principles

Almost all the people who attacked Florist Hospital that night were from Alola Town.

Every single person in the town was a Wizard, including the shepherd tending his flock, the old artist painting, and the little boy delivering newspapers.

You could say this was the largest gathering place for Wizards in all of Siracle State, with over ten thousand Wizards living here long-term.

Sean was taken aback as he listened to Elvire’s explanation. He never thought she would bring him straight to their main base. He joked, "You trust me that much?"

If there was a mole, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Elvire looked at Sean. "What, you don’t want me to trust you?"

"That’s not it." Sean smiled. "To be honest, I’m quite happy."

It felt good to be trusted.

Seeing him smile, Elvire’s lips curved up as well, but she quickly suppressed it and said, "Don’t betray my trust, or you’ll die a horrible death."

This was really just a formality. Since she had brought Sean here, he was, in a sense, her person now. As the one who led him in, she felt it necessary to give him a symbolic warning.

After the incident at Florist Hospital, Elvire had come to completely regard Sean as one of her own. She had been feeling a bit guilty about doubting him before, so bringing him here this time was also her way of making amends.

’It’s just that I’ll never say these things out loud, nor is there a need to. Although this feeling is a bit strange, deep down, it seems I really don’t want Sean to think of me as a calculating woman...’

"I remember Elise just said you brought the patients from Florist Hospital over too?" Sean asked.

"Mhm." Elvire nodded.

Sean seemed to tease her jealously, "Don’t tell me I’m not a special case. That you trust everyone this much."

Elvire rolled her eyes. "Do I look that naive to you?"

Not just anyone could come to Alola Town as they pleased.

For those who were dishonest, this town was not their home, but their Hell.

Resources were scarce in this day and age, making Tier Five and higher Wizards extremely rare. There weren’t many in the entire Siracle State, but this town, including her, had a full ten of them.

One of them was known as the "Lie Breaker" and resided long-term in the town’s church.

He was a Priest, proficient in Mind Magic, and skilled at making people honest.

Every newcomer to the town would be personally questioned by him and would also need to visit him at the church for regular chats. No one could lie under his Mind Magic.

Wizards came and went from the town. It wasn’t as if Witch Hunters hadn’t tried to infiltrate before, but the end result was always the same—they were dealt with in the Witch Hunters’ own way: tied to a stake and burned.

When it came to their enemies, they never showed mercy.

"I see..."

Sean knew about Mind Magic. It was a very "clean" form of Magic, more reliable than any so-called lie detector, and could indeed determine with great accuracy whether a target harbored any ulterior motives.

"So, have I been tested too?" he asked.

Elvire replied, "Of course."

Actually, he hadn’t.

But she was going to say he had.

’I can’t let Sean think he’s too special to me.’

Sean chuckled and didn’t dwell on the topic, heading into town with her to stroll down the streets.

Compared to modern metropolises like Holkaydo and Old Segal City, the town felt much slower. The architectural style was rather retro, resembling the medieval aesthetic of the Void Technique Space. Few cars traveled the roads; horse-drawn carriages were a more common sight, hauling various goods instead of people.

Time here seemed to have rewound several decades, and a poignant sense of nostalgia permeated everything.

Perhaps because Elvire was well-known in town, everyone they met on the street greeted them politely and amicably. It made Sean feel like a government official visiting the common folk with an even higher-ranking leader to inspect the situation.

Reaching an intersection, Sean suddenly had a thought and asked her, "Can I borrow your phone for a second?"

Elvire was instinctively wary. "What are you trying to do?"

"Call your own phone to get my number?"

Sean: "..."

"You seem to know the drill."

"So I guessed right?"

Elvire turned her head away. "Not happening."

’I’m not giving Sean a chance to pull a move on me.’

’If he wants my number, can’t he just ask for it directly?’

But that really wasn’t his intention.

"I wanted to call Kate," he said.

When Elvire and Elise had helped him clean up, they hadn’t touched his phone. He had glanced at it when he got out of bed and saw it was dead, so he left it charging in the hospital room and didn’t bring it with him.

"Kate?"

Elvire remembered Yisha had told her before that Kate was the one who had helped Sean arrange the book signing.

And on the night they reinforced Florist Hospital, Sean had also called Kate for help.

Sean explained, "I want to have Kate come pick me up."

"You’re leaving?" Elvire was confused. "Don’t you like it here?"

"That’s not it, this place is great," Sean said, looking at the charmingly rustic streets while sneaking a glance at her out of the corner of his eye. He sighed softly. "But as great as it is, I can’t stay here forever. Cultivation and just living cost money, and didn’t you tell me to figure it out on my own? I don’t know many people. Kate is the only one who can help me, so I guess I have no choice but to swallow my pride and go to him."

"Are you two close?" Elvire had been wanting to ask this question.

"We’re alright," Sean said. "He seems pretty rich. He probably wouldn’t mind supporting one more worker."

Elvire: "?"

’What does he mean?’

’Is this guy really planning to go work for Kate?’

"No way!" Elvire refused flatly. "He might not mind, but I do."

Sean: "?"

"What do you mind?"

"You’re my person, yet you want to run off and follow Kate. If word gets out, how am I supposed to save face?" Elvire said.

Sean seemed not to have heard her clearly. He asked, puzzled, "What did you just say?"

"Whose person am I?"

Elvire: "..."

She suddenly realized.

Borrowing the phone wasn’t the move. *This* was the move.

Looking at Sean’s seemingly sincere eyes, asking the question so earnestly, Elvire averted her gaze and said, "Stop twisting my words."

Sean looked innocent. "I was just asking. How am I twisting anything?"

Elvire: "You’re not even allowed to ask!"

"Alright, alright, I won’t ask." Sean said helplessly. "Then I won’t go looking for Kate, okay?"

Elvire wanted to say that she wasn’t forbidding him from contacting Kate, just that she didn’t want him to go be Kate’s lackey. But before she could speak, Sean’s face grew troubled and he muttered, "Then where am I supposed to get money? Sigh, life is hard..."

Elvire: "..."

’Why do I feel like he’s putting on this pitiful act?’

’The strange thing is, I normally hate it when people act like that. But when Sean does it to me, I don’t find it repulsive. On the contrary, even though I know he’s just pretending, I can’t help but feel my heart soften a little.’

’Good thing I have principles. No matter how soft my heart gets, I’m not going to support a man. What would people think?’

"Go find Elise. She has money."

At that moment, Elise had no idea she had been thrown under the bus by her dear friend yet again. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

But even if she knew, she probably wouldn’t have had the time to complain right now.

Because she had just received a call and rushed to the church, only to be told that something major had happened.

The Hall of Truth in the Void Technique Space had, apparently, been robbed.

...