Chương 103: Curiosity Killed the Cat

Doevm doused some of the laundry with water magic and cleaned himself with it. He took one last look at his old library, then ordered his men to dismantle every brick, every bookshelf, and break every piece of ash into powder. As he watched, he grew tired once more. His boiling rage and beating heart slowed and cooled.

Doevm walked back to town after he was absolutely sure that even the remains were gone. He snuck past the city guards. By snuck, that meant he just walked right past the untrained, sleeping farmers who happened to have swords at their waists. The city at night was quiet and barren. The wind whistled as it went through tiny holes and cracks of houses.

While he had only been to the inn once, he still remembered where it was. As he climbed up the side of the inn, he felt with his mana sense that someone was inside his room. 'This was sooner than expected,' he thought as he climbed up to his window, where he found Thomas standing near his door.

"Sneaking around a night doesn't paint you in a good light," Thomas said as he did his best to stand up straight.

"Depends on the reason," Doevm said as he threw his things on his bed, making Thomas wince.

"Do you have a good reason?" Thomas circled around Doevm, as if by looking at him with a different angle, he could discover all his secrets.

"Not one I'm willing to share." Doevm sat on the windowsill, the sun rising behind his back giving him a radiance. "Why are you in my room?"

"To ask you what you are." Thomas squinted and put a hand to block the light. "Frey might not care what you are or what you can do, but I'm not like him. Do you realize the thoughts floating around in my head from everything you've done in the past week? Will you tell me what's happening?"

"Nope," Doevm jumped from the windowsill and landed in the room. Thomas took a step back. "I'm human just like you. I have my own life and you don't need to own that too. I thought you weren't like the nobles who wanted to control everything. Why do you feel the need to control me?"

Thomas took another step back, his face going through various expressions as he thought about his next words. "I-I" He stuttered.

"You're hypocritical, selfish, and naïve, but I am supposed to protect you, so I will do that. If you feel uncomfortable with me around, I can separate from the Virility household. Do you want me to leave even though my only crime is that I have lived my entire life serving you and your family?"

"No," Thomas shook his head. "But I just want to know-"

"Deal with it," Doevm opened the door and shoved Thomas out. "And don't do this again." He slammed the door and went back to bed, having experienced another burst of fatigue. 'I think I'm still a little angry, not that I would know.' He shut his eyes and replayed the events of the past few hours. 'What book was it? Which one did he steal?'

…

The next morning, everyone gathered for breakfast down at the bar. They were quiet as they ate. Spoons scraped against bowls; slowly, wearily. As opposed to their silence, the bar was noisy. As their meal continued, the volume increased. Even the waitress looked a little hurried as she set down their food, nearly knocking over one of their drinks. She apologized and left the inn for a bit.

"What's gotten into her?" Frey asked as he pressed his face against the single small window the inn had. "There's a celebration going on outside!" He slurped down the rest of his soup and stepped outside. Thomas glanced at Doevm, then followed behind. Doevm sighed and followed Thomas. Wade tried to get up but the clerk glared at him. He frowned as he sat with the four bowls in front of him, fumbling the appropriate payment out of his pockets.

All over the city, cheers echoed. The weather was clear, and the sun illuminated the fountain's water, which sprayed over the children playing in it. While the population was small, when everyone was dancing in the city square, it made it hard for Doevm to find Thomas. That, however, didn't stop him from doing so. Thomas standing next to Frey near the fountain. Their eyes were glued to the large amount of livestock being pushed through the crowd. "I didn't know a city could be this lively," Frey said. "What happened?"

"The livestock are back!" The crowd cheered as if they had heard him. "The bandits are no more. They disappeared without a trace. We can be free from them!"

"Thanks," Frey said although his words were drowned out by the cheering.

Thomas took a step back from everything.

'Everyone's so happy just for some livestock. I don't understand. Who could have wiped out the bandits…?' He glanced over at Doevm, who was watching with a bored expression. 'Did he do this? The way the waitress sounded; there must have been a large group of bandits if the entire town couldn't handle them. Doevm didn't even ask for our help. Maybe I was wrong about him. Maybe…' he shook his head. 'No, something isn't right about this. When has Doevm ever done something out of the goodness of his heart. He wouldn't even bury people, let alone do something with no reward.'

Doevm stood behind Frey and Thomas. "Alright, the farmers have their livestock. let's go."

"Why are you in such a rush?" Frey let Doevm attempt to pull him, smirking when Doevm's feet slid in the dirt while his own remained still. "We were planning to leave, but let's stay a bit and enjoy this. We could actually get some meat if they're feeling generous."

"I want to leave now because of what's to follow after this. We arrived and the same day the bandits get wiped out. Who do you think they'll assume did this?"

"Us," Frey nodded. "Which is wrong, but why does that mean we need to leave?"

"They're going to try to throw us a party," Wade walked out of the inn with everyone's bags packed and tucked under his arms. "And we need to keep moving. Remember that we have get to Draken as fast as we can. In addition, if we, as servants of nobles, cleaned up another noble's territory, it would be seen as disrespect in the courts, and the noble who rules over this land would use it to try to weaken the Virility household. Let's go," To Frey's dismay, they left the city within the hour. Their carriage was a boat that carried them through the ocean of ecstatic farmers.

As Doevm watched Scrap City fade out of his view from atop the carriage, he couldn't help but curse. 'That's the third time this has happened. What did I benefit from my actions? Nothing. Now Thomas suspects me even more, although this action will make me appear in a good light.' He walked along the top of the carriage to the front.

The mountains in the distance were much larger than at the Virility household. Before they were the size of a thumb. Now, they were the size of a house. His mind wondered through his memories to the general, who caught a fireball with life essence. 'Much has changed in a hundred years. Forests had time to grow. My name, which used to be spoken every day, is now just someone that Arthur beat. What happened to life essence? What happened to magic? What more can I learn?'

He pulled out a map. From Petal Town to Draken, Scrap City was the only noteworthy place between. The next stop was Draken capital, the place where Maximus Draken lived for decades before he was practically erased from history, the place where the knights' academy and the magic academy were based, the place where he would most likely find another legacy. He folded the map back up and slid it into his pocket. 'I wonder what's changed in the capital since I've been there?'