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"Magic Knights?"
Hearing this, Bai En and the other two couldn't help but murmur softly, especially Jie Kai, who had been in the Magic Knights the longest. He lowered his head in thought. He had been with the Aqua Deer for several years now, knew some people, and had even collaborated with other Magic Knights on missions.
But he had never heard of a person named Nois. Could he be a new member who joined this year after passing the assessment?
"What a pity, if that incident hadn't happened?" Bai En continued, following Walden's words, "What incident are you referring to?"
"I already said it earlier…"
Walden replied weakly, "There was a major collapse in the mine. Our parents died in it, and Nois's father also died in the collapse. His mother was rescued, but her lower body was paralyzed… she lost her legs."
"Because of this, Nois left the Magic Knights and returned to the town to start taking care of his mother."
"Many people in town still feel regret about this, after all, he was the first to successfully join the Magic Knights in recent years…"
His sister Dilia suddenly interrupted Walden, "Brother, Nois, he… he's a bad guy."
"How could that be?"
Walden's rhetorical question carried an inexplicable confidence. That was his idol; who would believe that the idol who motivated him to move forward was actually a bad person?
The surrounding silence made Walden lose his confidence. He observed the expressions of Bai En and the others, as if trying to find a flaw in their disguise.
But with his younger sister still looking down, and the indifference and solemnity on the faces of those beside him, Walden took two steps back in disbelief. He made a final struggle: "A bad person? I don't believe it! Then tell me, what bad things has he done?"
"It's not impossible that he was forced, right?"
"Little sister, you still remember, don't you? Nois taught us how to use and cast magic. In the summer, he would take us and other children to catch fireflies. Do you remember him talking about his dream—to join the Magic Knights and become the Wizard King!"
"How could such a person do bad things? How could he be a bad guy?"
Full of doubt and questions, no one responded to him, nor did anyone argue with him. Bai En and the others stood coldly to the side, discussing their next actions.
Arguing with a child is a laborious task, especially when they are emotionally agitated, and judging a person's good or evil through argument is utterly useless.
They were clearly more willing to spend their time on more critical matters.
"Since Nois's mother is in Mohat Town, we might still catch him if we hurry back now." Bai En summarized the key information he had obtained from Walden.
If it was truly as someone had said, that Nois left the Magic Knights for his mother, then he couldn't have deserted alone.
Jie Kai nodded in agreement, "No matter what, we have to go to Mohat Town one more time, even if it's just to simply take these two little ones back."
"Once… if we meet again, this time we must apprehend those vicious guys and question them about their organization and purpose."
There was a Space Mage in the opposing team, so even if they hurried back quickly, they probably would have already evacuated. But if something else happened, then it would be uncertain… Without further ado, the three of them mounted their flying brooms and took Walden and Dilia, flying towards Mohat Town.
Looking at Walden, who was gripping the handle of his flying broom tightly with a very melancholic expression, Bai En, with his eyes lowered, offered a word of comfort: "As you said, if you believe he's not a bad person, then prove it with facts."
"People sometimes change."
Under the azure sky, the flying brooms pulled long white vapor trails, speeding through the wind.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
When Bai En and the others appeared above Mohat Town on their flying brooms, they discovered something extremely alarming: thick smoke was billowing from the town into the sky, and ravenous flames were burning brightly within the town walls.
The flames devoured the red-tiled houses, and beneath the dense smoke and ash, the cries of people fleeing in panic were hidden, as if the end of the world had arrived.
"How could this be?" Walden, sitting on the flying broom, was stunned.
Although this was a magical world where almost everyone had awakened magic, this was a small town in the Common Realm, very close to the Hui Wai Realm. The people in the town only mastered some basic life magic; they were, after all, no match for the nobles and royalty of the Royal Capital.
Trying to extinguish these ravenous flames with water magic would be like trying to put out a forest fire with a teacup—utterly useless.
The fires in the town were generally burning inwards from the east and west, as if their routes had been planned. The buildings in the south were sparse, so the flames did not spread as quickly there.
"Save people first!"
At Jie Kai's command, he flew towards the east first. Nancy, with the little girl Dilia, hurried towards the west. The two went to the areas most severely affected by the fire.
Bai En, hovering in the air, asked Walden, "Which direction is Nois's house?"
The little boy, having snapped out of his daze, pointed a direction with his hand. The flying broom shot towards the south like a silver thread, while residents below were rushing to the fire zones with buckets of water.
"Quick, go put out the fire!"
"Fires have erupted in both the east and west, everyone, put in more effort to extinguish them!"
The further south they flew, the sparser the figures became, until, guided by Walden, Bai En stopped in front of a dilapidated red-roofed house. The old, gray-white plaster had peeled off, revealing the stacked blue bricks inside.
Just as Bai En and Walden stepped onto the open ground in front of the house, the door inside opened, and a white-haired young man walked out. Seeing Bai En and Walden, he first froze, then a smile appeared on his face.
"Nois!"
Walden waved and greeted Nois, preparing to walk forward, but was pulled back by Bai En.
"The knife in his hand is dripping blood…"
"Eh?!"
Walden stopped. He looked at Nois, and just as Bai En had said, the dagger in his left hand was stained with uncleaned blood.
"Yo, Walden~ Long time no see!" Nois's smile didn't falter, showing no concern for the blood on the dagger.
Bai En pulled Walden behind him.
"Don't say 'long time no see,' didn't we just see each other?" Bai En gently stroked Walden's head, signaling to leave things to him, "Did you forget? You really have a bad memory."
"That's understandable, to forget one's dream and embark on a path of no return."
The smile on Nois's face faded.
"Hey, did you kill someone? The blood on your knife hasn't dried yet." Bai En suddenly asked.
"Mm."
"Who was it?"
Nois closed the door, wiped the blood from the dagger with his clothes, and quietly replied, "Just a woman unrelated to you."
...