Chapter 52: Thus Spake the Cat

Divination is a branch of magic. As vassals to the God of Deception, deities granted diviners the ability to glimpse the future. Today, the President of the Astrological Society, who bears the title of "The Scholar," is a powerful fourth-tier diviner, and many bizarre anecdotes about the Lady Scholar circulate among the common folk.

Ever since the founding of the empire, every Scholar has been a confidant to the king, their prophecies often helping the empire foresee impending perils so that preparations could be made in advance.

Ethan sat before the diviner, feeling as though needles were pricking his back.

At this moment, Captain Haig was still reeling in the wind, all his romantic fervor for the future shattered by the cold, harsh figure of "twenty years."

Haig was already thirty-five years old, which meant that until the advanced age of fifty-five, he would continue his bachelor's life.

To make matters worse, the average life expectancy of ordinary people in this era was only around sixty years.

Therefore, knowing the future was not necessarily a good thing.

Ethan swore that when he saw Haig being so eager just now, it was out of good intentions and definitely not on purpose!

The diviner's expression remained unchanged, as if she were entirely unaware that she had just crushed a middle-aged man's hopes. She placed her hands upon the crystal ball, narrowing her eyes as she asked, "Which part of the future do you wish to know?"

The onlookers craned their necks. When any chosen lucky individual was asked this, most answers related to wealth, family, romance, or health, though not everyone received a favorable reply.

They secretly guessed Ethan's thoughts, figuring that even though Ethan held the title of "Mysticism Expert" in the small town, as a young man of his age, he would most likely still want to explore the secrets of love.

However, the next moment, Ethan gave an answer that surprised everyone present: "An adventure."

An adventure?

What kind of question was that?

The crowd murmured in discussion, and some began to feel that he was wasting his opportunity.

"I want to know what interesting things will happen in the future."

The diviner did not reply to Ethan, but the corners of her lips curved upward slightly. The light and shadow within the crystal ball shifted in myriad ways. Ethan carefully studied the transforming imagery for a long while, but ultimately failed to make heads or tails of it. However, he once again caught a glimpse of the trajectory of flowing magic, which somewhat resembled the activation of a teleportation magic node.

Her magical trajectory was pale green.

The entire process lasted about a minute. The pale green trail and the light and shadow within the crystal ball were withdrawn. The diviner gazed at Ethan with her pitch-black pupils and said, "You will reunite with an old friend."

That was it?

The surrounding residents were baffled. In their eyes, Ethan and the diviner were like two riddlers, talking about things they could not possibly understand, and they could not fathom for the life of them why reuniting with an old friend could possibly count as an adventure.

Perhaps this was simply how mysticism experts operated.

The good news was that Ethan did not take up too much time.

Having received his reply, Ethan stood up to express his gratitude, though he felt a lingering sense of confusion. In the two years since he had arrived in this world, he had stayed entirely in Riverwood without ever leaving. Although he maintained good relations with the town's residents, he could hardly claim to have any close friends, generally keeping things to the level of nodding acquaintances when passing each other on the road.

However, his train of thought was quickly interrupted by an unexpected situation.

As Ethan stepped out of the crowd, a figure as sturdy as a small mountain appeared behind him, locking his shoulder with an arm as rigid as steel.

Captain Haig had recovered his wits and launched a sneak attack on him!

"Brother Ethan, things have come to this, surely you know what must be done?"

Haig's eyes seemed brimming with unshed tears. He had always been a rather emotional man, as well as a warm-hearted guard captain among the townspeople. Whenever trouble befell someone's family and they sought Haig's help, as long as it was within his power, he would always be the first to rush forward.

Despite failing the examination for the Kingdom's Military Knight Corps, Haig still considered himself a knight.

Haig cried out, "Don't even think about running away! You must drink with me to your heart's content today! Ask your own conscience how long it has been since you went out for a drink with me?"

"I cannot be blamed for this either; the Containment Bureau has strict discipline!"

Ethan spoke sheer nonsense. He had spent nearly every night recently in Hearth Bay, naturally having no spare time to go drinking and carousing with Haig. "Besides, I'm on official business today!"

"Official business?"

"I'm here to buy a cauldron."

"That doesn't get in the way! Once you buy the cauldron, I'll carry it to the tavern for you! What kind of damn discipline is that? Can it possibly police us having a little drink after off-duty hours?"

Ethan did not refuse any further. Facing this older brother figure who had always looked out for him, it was hard not to feel a pang of sympathy—especially after learning that Haig was seemingly destined to be alone for the rest of his life.

Ethan answered the call: "Let's go, to the tavern!"

That night, a heavily battered Haig drank with extraordinary abandon. Not long after the gathering began, he grew somewhat intoxicated and, true to form, raised his goblet high just as he had in the past, recounting those stories Ethan had already heard a dozen times over. The tavern, which originally had very few patrons, grew quite lively thanks to Haig's boisterous shouting.

With hazy eyes and a thickened tongue, Haig muttered, "Brother Ethan, tell me, I'm not such a bad fellow, am I?"

"Mm."

"Being the baron's guard captain isn't a shabby gig either, right?"

"Mm."

"Then why am I so profoundly wretched?"

Having suffered a Waterloo in his personal romance, Haig tugged at Ethan's sleeve and finally spilled a story Ethan had never heard before: "Do you remember, the last time we drank, you encouraged me to confess my feelings to the baron's head housekeeper? I went and did it!"

"And then?"

"And then, and then!" The unbearable past nearly brought Haig to old tears. "She said she had always looked upon me as an elder brother!"

That was likely where the problem lay.

Haig was well-liked in town, but the young women all seemed to regard him as a trustworthy older brother figure.

However, aside from serving as a listener, Ethan was utterly powerless to help.

After all, even the most brilliant elemental sculptor would find it difficult to resolve personal emotional matters, let alone the renowned Heisenberg.

Haig was merely letting off steam because he was drunk, and he didn't expect any answers. He drank himself under the table round after round until late into the night, when Haig suddenly rose from the table with a burst of retroactive energy, shouting with his eyes shut, "Time's about up! You haven't got much strength, come on, big brother will help you carry the cauldron back!"

And thus, the most bizarre scene imaginable unfolded.

Carrying the cauldron with unsteady steps and tightly closed eyes, Haig walked aimlessly forward like a zombie infected by a cursed object.

While Ethan walked beside him, looking very much like an evil necromancer.

When the silhouette of the apartment emerged in the deep night, this "puppet" Haig finally succumbed to the overwhelming weight, collapsing face-first onto the ground together with the cauldron and falling sound asleep right where he lay.

Ethan massaged his temples.

He would simply have to let Haig stay the night at his place; thank goodness he had moved into a larger house with plenty of spare room in the living room.

He intended to return to the apartment first and call Miss Chloe out to help, but a rustling sound coming from nearby almost instantly caught his attention.

A strange premonition spread rapidly.

Driven by this hunch, Ethan walked toward the shadowed base of the wall, a corner untouched even by the moonlight.

Deep within the shadows, some entity was also slowly approaching him, piece by piece entering his line of sight.

A ragdoll cat with pristine white fur and a pair of uniquely glowing red eyes.

The cat's frail body shivered in the cold wind, its hindquarters timidly concealed within the shadows.

It looked up at Ethan.

"Meow~"

The cat spoke thus.