Su Cheng: ...
These wanted posters flying everywhere wouldn't be magical portraits; after all, those are quite expensive to produce.
But even though it was just a static image, the portrait was quite lifelike.
Black hair and snow-white skin, dark eyes and red lips. Despite having deep, striking features, his downcast eyes gave him a somewhat pitiful and vulnerable look.
Compared to the deity from a thousand years later, this musician gentleman looked very docile and well-behaved, not at all like a murderer.
Of course, although Su Cheng didn't know the exact details, judging by his personality, she felt he wasn't the type to actively murder for money.
Or perhaps it was because she had a fling with him, so she instinctively felt that someone else must have done something terrible to him first.
"What is it?"
The blond youth beside her looked a bit displeased, seemingly annoyed that she had been staring at the portrait for so long.
Su Cheng slowly shook her head. "I just thought he looked familiar, but I don't usually pay much attention to wanted criminals. I suddenly remembered that I seem to have seen his wanted poster before. I didn't expect them to be distributed all the way to the Principality of Anser..."
"These things aren't worth paying attention to. You're right, there's no need to waste your time."
Gerald looked understanding. "According to those people, a lowly entertainer killing an Earl of the Empire, the Emperor's nephew, is a massive disgrace. The deceased's family feels even more humiliated, so they are determined to kill him. They say they want to skin him alive and tear him limb from limb. Hmph, these stupid nobles. Does a noble who can be killed by a mere musician even deserve a title?"
Before Su Cheng could say anything, he dropped the subject and simply mentioned there was a ready-to-wear clothing store ahead, asking if she wanted to buy a couple of outfits.
"Don't misunderstand, it's just to make do for one night. After all, your dress was completely soaked."
Gerald continued, "I've already made an appointment with a tailor to take your measurements tomorrow. You can take a bath tonight. Of course, washing and drying your dress is just a matter of two spells, so it's fine if you don't want to buy anything..."
Su Cheng blinked. "When you say two spells, do you mean there are specific spells designed for this, or did you cleverly adapt a certain spell?"
"Oh, you could say I modified some spells."
He replied with feigned indifference. His face showed not a hint of pride or smugness; instead, it looked somewhat gloomy, as if it were a bad thing.
Su Cheng was instinctively curious, but then she remembered that if the poems were true, this was a guy who had smashed his own brother's face into a honeycomb.
So, if he was showing signs of displeasure, it was probably best not to provoke him.
"...Actually, I'm quite easy to shop for," Su Cheng said dryly. "You don't need to go to the trouble of hiring a tailor. I'll just go buy a few pieces."
"If you insist," the blond youth curled his lip, looking rather disapproving. "The things in ready-to-wear shops aren't as good as—"
"Gerald!"
A loud shout suddenly rang out on the bustling night market street.
Several young people walked toward them, almost all holding snacks, radiating an aura of magic.
"Feels like we haven't seen you in ages," the young man in the lead asked. "Have you not been at school? Wow, who is this beautiful lady?"
The others also looked over, their eyes showing amazement.
Gerald's expression was extremely ugly. "My friend. And to answer your question, I haven't been to school, and I won't be going back."
"Uh," the person seemed to notice his displeasure and softened his tone. "Sorry, you two, sorry. It's just, did something happen? John and Nina were asking about you earlier. They said..."
"I just don't want to go!" Gerald interrupted him. "Tell them they can find a new member for their research group. Besides, my cooperation with them wasn't pleasant anyway, so I don't want to know what they said!"
The person was dumbfounded.
"Hey," another person seemed dissatisfied with his tone. "They've always cared about you. Even if you don't care about their friendship, you don't have to talk like that, do you? Forget it, a pampered young master like you definitely looks down on us commoners..."
Gerald sneered. "If you met two classmates who do nothing, refuse to contribute magic or provide inspiration, constantly claim they don't understand this or that without being willing to read a few books to expand their knowledge, don't even want to discuss your research content, just want to rely on you to finish everything, and constantly say you're not as good as your brother, you wouldn't miss them either. I look down on them? That's right, I do look down on people who have no ability of their own but always want to take advantage of others! Wait, I almost forgot, you're the exact same type, so of course you'd speak up for them!"
The other person was left speechless by his retort, his face turning ugly. He raised a finger and pointed at him. "You really aren't as good as your brother—"
Su Cheng suddenly felt things were taking a bad turn.
Gerald was already very unhappy, and hearing this sentence made him lose control. He grabbed the other person's hand. "You keep harping on about 'us commoners'. Your despicable swindler parents sold fake magic potions that killed real commoners, destroying over a dozen families! You've known about their deeds for a long time, haven't you? Did you do anything? No, you just enjoyed the money they made, bragging everywhere that your family was rich enough to buy several islands. And now that those two animals are in prison and your family's assets have been confiscated, you call yourself a commoner? You're nothing but the child of criminals!"
"You!"
The person was completely enraged and swung a fist at his face.
At that moment, Su Cheng felt a strange fluctuation.
It was an invisible, silent, but absolute tearing—
Space seemed to be slashed open by an unseen blade.
The resentful-looking person hadn't even realized what had happened before half of his right arm fell from the air.
The hand was even still clenched into a fist.
A second later, blood sprayed from the cross-section of the arm severed at the elbow.
The severed cut was perfectly neat; from the flesh to the bone, it was a completely flat surface, as was the severed limb that fell to the ground.
Gasps and screams erupted from the surroundings. The injured person clutched his arm and began to howl in agony, while the other classmates were completely shocked.
Pedestrians nearby quickly made way, and soon patrolling knights rushed over. "What's going on?!"
These soldiers of the Principality of Anser rode amphibious magical beasts.
They looked like some kind of long-legged crocodile, their bodies covered in light-colored horny scales, draped in blue, white, and gold armor and saddles.
It was Su Cheng's first time seeing this kind of magical beast, and she couldn't help but take a few extra glances.
"...He tried to hit me first," Gerald crossed his arms. "Everyone here can testify to that."
The patrol soldiers turned their heads to look at the injured person, and then at the classmates beside him.
Those young people hummed and hawed, either turning their heads away or lowering their heads in silence. No one spoke up.
Gerald looked at them coldly. "If—"
"I can testify." Su Cheng raised her hand. "I saw that man trying to punch him first. He was just defending himself."
Gerald turned his head, looking at her in surprise, and then desperately shot her meaningful glances.
The squad leader of the patrol guard looked at her. "...Your accent sounds like you're from the Empire."
Gerald gritted his teeth slightly, looking at her in exasperation, his face clearly saying he knew this would happen.
Su Cheng also understood what he meant; she was currently an undocumented resident. "Yes, I am. Of course, I wasn't the only one who saw it. Many people around here saw it too. They might not want to get into trouble, so they don't want to testify. I have an idea! I have a few gold coins here. Anyone willing to testify can get a gold coin as long as they tell the truth. You patrol guards can randomly pick a few people and take them to different rooms to talk. As long as their stories match, the truth will be obvious. After all, there isn't enough time for them to collude."
Before she could finish her sentence, several passersby had already rushed over, stretching their arms out and shouting that they were willing, looking as if they wanted to snatch the gold coins right out of her hands.
Gerald: "......"
A hint of helplessness appeared on his originally furious face.
"Alright," the patrol squad leader raised her hand, shooing the rowdy volunteers aside. "I understand now."
Her gaze swept over Gerald, seemingly examining his clothing and jewelry to assess his status.
"It seems the situation is quite clear," the captain said slowly. "Judging by the attitude of these people, they are obviously confident that they can get the money by telling the truth. Even though it was self-defense, sir, using this level of magic in a busy downtown area and causing some impact on the public environment still requires a fine."
Gerald nodded, took out a handful of gold coins, and handed them to her. "The rest is to buy you officers a drink."
The captain took them with satisfaction. "Since that's the case, you two can settle this privately."
Saying that, she prepared to leave with her subordinates.
The injured man shouted repeatedly, "No! No, no, no! Even so, that was excessive defense! He should pay me! I didn't... I didn't want to hit him! I just wanted to scare him. I'm a mage, I can't even lift an oil barrel. Who could my fists possibly hurt?"
The captain looked at him impatiently. "I think he knows you're a mage too. Since your fists are so unthreatening, why did you think you could scare him?"
The injured man was instantly left speechless.
Gerald sneered, "It's not a fatal wound anyway. You can go find the people from the Church."
Su Cheng couldn't help but look at him.
Wasn't this place the territory of the Secret Cult of the Eternal Night? Why did he immediately suggest looking for the Church?
"There's only one Church temple in all of Yasuo, and it's so far from here!"
The injured man wailed, "And this kind of injury requires at least a priest to heal. They charge a lot of money, and I don't have that much. You have to compensate me..."
"You can't even afford a few gold coins, yet you dare to provoke me," Gerald continued to sneer. "I won't compensate you. If you're not satisfied, you can sue me. Oh, wait, you probably can't afford the legal fees. Then you deserve it. How about this: you can either stay a cripple, or go die."
After saying that, he turned and walked away.
The patrol knights also left, and the crowd of onlookers gradually dispersed. The injured man picked up his arm and ran away, leaving the few classmates looking at each other in dismay.
"...Anyway," the person who had greeted them first looked at Su Cheng. "Speaking of which, I still don't know how to address you?"
Su Cheng looked at him. "Speaking of which, I'm not sure if I want to know you, or anyone among you."
The expressions of the few people turned rather ugly.
"Sorry, you probably think we behaved terribly."
The man sighed. "We are students from Maritas Academy. As you probably know, Gerald used to be our classmate. His grades were always excellent, but he really couldn't compare to his older brother. His brother, Arthos, completed many successful and easy-to-cast magic modification projects. His papers were written so well, and the professors and the dean of the academy all liked him. Although Gerald wasn't bad either, his personality was a bit withdrawn, and his temper was rather strange..."
"I don't think he's strange at all," Su Cheng crossed her arms. "I haven't read any papers or studied any magic, so I won't comment on that. But that injured guy picked a fight first, and none of you spoke up for Gerald, nor were you willing to testify in the end. I think he's right to stop attending classes. Maybe you lot are the reason he doesn't want to go to school, if that place is filled with your kind."
After saying that, she felt a bit of regret.
She had originally wanted to ask these people more about Gerald.
Because judging from the name Arthos, which had once appeared in poetry, a certain someone was ninety-nine percent likely to be the God of Jealousy.
"You..." The man's face turned red from her words. "We just..."
Su Cheng also turned and walked away.
Forget it.
If he was the future God of Jealousy, who knew if he was eavesdropping on them right now. If she said even one wrong sentence, she might be hammered to death.
She numbly bought a large bunch of grilled squid. After paying, she saw the stall owner point to the condiments, so she brushed on a thick layer of hot sauce herself and randomly sprinkled some spices over it.
Su Cheng ate as she walked towards the clothing store. Just as she turned the corner, she was intercepted.
Gerald stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. "Why are you so slow? Oh, do you like eating that?"
Su Cheng nodded slowly. "It's pretty good. Do you want a couple of skewers?"
"Just one," he hesitated for a moment. "Seeing you eat it with such relish, I think I'm a bit hungry too."
"Are you sure it's not because you ate too little for dinner?"
"Maybe," he lowered his head and took two bites. "Mhm, a bit spicy, but not bad. Why are you looking at me like that?"
Su Cheng raised a finger and pointed to the corner of her mouth.
Gerald immediately realized what she meant and hurriedly reached up to wipe his mouth. Only after doing so did he remember he had a handkerchief, which he then took out to wipe his hands.
"...Damn it!"
The blond boy fussed about in a fluster.
Su Cheng watched this scene silently, knowing that his mood was definitely not as calm as it appeared, so she decided not to ask anything.
Gerald finished gnawing on the squid skewer and looked at the perfectly clean stick in his hand, seeming a bit surprised himself. "...I actually finished it."
"Maybe you just prefer this flavor?" Su Cheng thought for a moment. "Or this hot sauce? How about we ask for their recipe, or have your servants try to replicate this taste?"
Gerald looked at her quietly for a few seconds. "Really? After all of this, that's what you want to ask me?"
"It's very important," Su Cheng swallowed a mouthful of grilled squid. "I don't mean anything else, but you eat too little. Although it doesn't matter for an expert of your level, if you could eat a bit more—"
The next second, the blond boy suddenly leaned forward and pulled her into a hug.
Su Cheng was still holding a grilled squid skewer, so she could only raise her arm high to avoid brushing it against his beautiful hair.
"Thank you," he murmured, his voice muffled as he buried his face in her shoulder. "Thank you for being willing to help me. You aren't a local, and you don't have proper entry documents. You're risking being taken away and locked up..."
Gerald paused for a moment, then whispered into her ear, "Of course, that won't happen. If it ever came to that, I would kill them all."
