“That’s it?” Basar asked. “Just a small bounty on his head and nothing else?”

“I apologize, Master. But that’s all the information I could gather,” His protector replied with a dutiful bow.

“Is that really it?” Basar snorted. He rubbed his nose, which was slightly swollen, anger coloring his next words. “That bastard is practically nobody. How dare he!”

He brought down his fist and smashed the table in front of him. A small crack appeared on the luxurious wooden surface. But noticing his outburst, he retreated his hand and massaged his forehead. “No, I cannot mess this up now. I’ve spent years on this… He is with Argusa’s. Nothing is simple with that family.”

Fortunately, he missed the strange face his protector made. Otherwise, who knows how he would react…

Basar continued, “Have you checked with the Witch Association? They should have at least something on him.”

The stoic middle-aged man who served as Basar’s protector shook his head, “They are the ones who provided this information. Neither they nor anybody else had anything else on this person.”

“Useless... I presume you’ve already removed those two cowards. Nobody must know about the humiliation I’ve experienced today and there is no excuse for them deciding that it was better to back off instead of facing that silver-eyed bastard.” Basar then pointed his finger at his protector, “And make sure to get me a better artifact that actually provides solid mental protection. If it breaks once again, it would be on you!”

“It will be done, master,” The protector bowed deeply, “Anything else?”

“No, that’s all for today. If I need anything I will call for you. For now, I want to rest.” Said Basar with a wave of his hand, practically shooing the guy away. But just as his protector took a couple of steps, Basar added, “Get me a new table tomorrow, and make sure to give me a report from the scouts first thing in the morning.”

“It shall be done,” His protector said before gracefully retreating.

Once, he was alone. Basar stood from his chair and went straight to his bed. He dove into his silky sheets, his back touching the smooth surface. He, of course, didn’t even bother removing his clothes. Why bother doing that when the following day, servants would help him freshen up again? He was feeling lazy. That was also the reason why he didn’t have an office inside his mansion. Having a desk inside his own room would save him many unnecessary walks.

Thinking about how his day went. He subconsciously touched his nose. That mental attack was like a hammer hitting directly at his brain. It temporarily shut down his consciousness, forcing his body to go fully limp. What a bizarre and unpleasant experience…

Before he succumbed to anger yet again, he took a deep breath. His sleep was more important than having useless thoughts about the unknown peasant who, by sheer luck, managed to harm him. He would deal with the lowlife, one way or another…

His eyelids grew heavy, just about hair from being completely closed.

Ho…Hoo…

He was never faster woken than before. The distinct sound of an owl resounded inside his ears. It was loud and strangely close. Basar’s eyes were drawn towards the balcony. He could swear it came from there. But then he remembered this wasn’t the first time something similar had happened. Lost-tamed beasts tend to wander the city and disturb the nights.

Mansion servants certainly heard it, too. If anything, the beast was most likely already removed from his property.

He relaxed again.

Ho…Hoo…

It came again five minutes later. This time, it was much louder. In all panic, he forced himself to search for servants and check what the problem was with the bird.

But, unfortunately. The hoot came again… again… and again.

Neither he nor any personnel inside the mansion could find where the sound came from. It periodically resounded inside their heads, forcing them to blindly search everything!

That night… was a sleepless one.

***

“Who is a good and hardworking girl? Yes, you are!” Veles smiled while rubbing Vera’s feathers under her neck. He could see his bird was truly enjoying the moment, but that inner pride didn’t allow her to display much of it.

“What are you two weirdos doing this early?” Tora ruffled her messy hair and asked. Following this motion was a morning yawn, a completely uncovered one that spread to others like a plague. Further proven by Davis, who mirrored Tora’s example.

She appeared to have completely forgotten the previous night's mess he and Davis made, not like she didn’t give them an excessive nagging about it with her words mostly targeted at them being selfish. Because, apparently, they didn’t give her a chance to participate in the fun part with them…

Veles looked at her getup and shook his head. This was probably the first time he’d seen her without that oversized alchemist robe. And she wore the most tomboyish clothing he could think of. It was just a bland brown t-shirt twice her size combined with plaid red sweatpants. How tasteless, “Nothing much, just enjoying the fresh morning. Come join us,” he gestured for her to sit in one of the chairs.

She looked around and asked, “Why are you outside, and why is there so much food?”

Veles, who carefully cut another piece of pumpkin pie for himself, replied, “Because spending mornings outside in the fresh air is healthy, and this gazebo provides a very nice view. Combine that with food, and you get the best morning ever.”

Tora didn’t comment further. She just sat down across from Veles and carefully observed what was on the table. It took her a minute to register everything. Her brows perked while she said, “Being in the fresh air is healthy, sure… but then why is everything here just sweets?”

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“Not everything,” Veles went out of his way and handed her a plate filled with a freshly prepared omelet with some neatly chopped tomatoes on the side. He hoped with this, she wouldn’t ask about the rest of the food. He liked sweet things, so he ate them—that was all to it.

“Thanks,” That’s all Tora said as she took a bite immediately, but just as she took it, she went fast for a second, her eyes slightly widened. “Damn, how the hell could an omelet taste this good? Where did you get this!”

“I made it,” replied Veles with a smirk. “In fact, most of this stuff is made by me.”

“You don’t say. Never took you for a cook,” Tora then decided to change the topic and pointed her fork at Davis. “Tough, I do wonder what is happening with him? Why is he… covered in dirt?”

Davis, who was the target of her comment, looked at himself and blankly replied, “There was a particular person who found it within a reason to wake me up early in the morning and ask me to fix the mess in the garden. Apparently, it was for my own good to practice my earth attribute and also be diligent at that.”

“Well, it is,” Veles simply stated. His hands busily worked as he prepared a small piece of pie for Vera.

Hearing this, Davis snapped his way. “Maybe if you didn’t wake me up just as the first light of the day came, I wouldn’t have minded it too much! But we both know you were just bored and wanted to mess with me.”

Veles was too preoccupied with watching Vera eat her piece of pie gracefully to care about Davis’s rant. His little bird never ceased to amaze him with her behavior. He even saw Tora being equally impressed by the bird’s flawless etiquette.

Shifting his focus back on eating. Veles simultaneously started reading the newspapers that he’d acquired during his last night’s little walk. The first topic that caught his attention was something Davis would be interested in, so he read it aloud, “This week, Theocracy of Bardus had announced that the expedition they had sent directly at the epicenter of Heaven’s presence was met with disaster. The Paladin of Bardus’s Third Order, Lucius, had experienced grave injuries that, by the word of Theocracy, weren’t lethal but had put him in a dangerous situation. According to the Head Bishop of the Third Order, Lucius’s expedition encountered an unknown and unstable artifact that was found around the site. This forced Lucius to sacrifice himself for the survival of his comrades. Details about the renowned Tenth Stage Paladin’s health and the findings of the expedition are currently unknown. However, the Theocracy had promised to share the details to the public once every bit of information is accounted for.”

Veles saw that Davis’s jaw was wide open. He’d obviously picked on what this story was about. But he wasn’t letting out the next words. It was Tora instead who decided to comment between her mouthfuls, “So all that preparation and their main Tenth Stage got injured. What a shame. They looked so confident in their ability.”

“Oh, you know more about this?” Veles asked.

She took a piece of fresh tomato and looked at him, “Kinda… Theocracy had been preparing themselves for something grand a few months before that event, and they went out of their way to gather numerous supplies. Because of that, the word got around that their Diviners had predicted a great change and they were preparing to profit greatly from it. Well, you know how that ended…”

“Hmm, good to know,” After saying that, Veles went back to reading the papers.

But he was immediately interrupted by Tora’s curious question, “Why such strong interest in this?”

Veles simply looked her in the eyes and said, “Because I was the one who blew that Lucius guy up. Let me tell you, I was certain that even the Tenth Stage would die in that explosion, but it looks like my calculations were wrong.”

Tora scoffed at his statement and shook her head, “Sure, whatever you say,” then she just continued gobbling down the food in front of her.

Veles smiled and turned his attention to Davis, who was like a fish on land. His mouth kept opening and closing, lacking any smart words to say. But Veles just shrugged, not bothering with this anymore. His previous words weren’t without reason. He tried to test this ‘emphatic’ ability Tora said to possess. The main concern he had was whether she could decipher truth from lies. If she could, then it would be a problem, but seeing her previous reaction, she was in the good.

This also reminded Veles about his past, mainly concerning the empaths that came his way, which numbered quite a lot. Tora and even that Olgled guy had some kind of empathic skills. Before, when he was imprisoned, three of his visitors also had similar skills. And even back in the day, before he started seriously searching for a way to remove his curse, he encountered many empaths during his travels…

For some unknown reason, he was like a magnet to them. Though, It wouldn’t be that much of a problem to Veles if almost ninety percent of them weren’t complete nutcases, which tends to be a trend surrounding all the empaths…

Just as he was about to immerse himself into reading random articles, Veles remembered something, “Mind telling me why you are so interested in my affinity? It can’t be just for the thrill of experimenting on something new.”

Tora, understanding it was a question for her, spent a second pondering, “Hmm…” She carefully scanned their surroundings before continuing, “I will tell you. But please don’t talk about it to my sister or anyone else about it.”

This matter sounded serious, so Veles promised, “Nobody will hear a word from me,” he then pointed at Davis, who also made a zipping motion over his mouth.

“Good,” Tora started, “There is this person who suffers from a severe disease. They mean a lot to me, and they are the reason why I’ve decided to travel around the world in search of a cure. And well, seeing how your spell or affinity, whatever that is, works, I have hope it can help me find a cure or at least give me a push in the right direction.”

Well, this was probably the first time Veles had heard a tinge of emotion in her voice, and Davis also looked genuinely shocked by the weight her words carried.

“Mind explaining what kind of disease you are dealing with?” Asked Veles, “If you give me enough details, I might provide you some help.”

Tora thought doubtfully for a second while taking another mouthful of omelet, “It is a disease that attacks the nervous system. The person who suffers from it is numb to pain, and their skin gradually deforms due to all the unknown injuries they sustain over time. It also affects the person’s skin and eyes in bizarre ways…”

She continued in more detail and Veles’s eye twitched as he watched her casually explaining the disease while eating. Her previous words about her noble way of adventuring to find a cure managed to ramp up Veles’s opinion of her, but it would seem it would gradually deteriorate over time.

But the disease she was talking about was almost identical to leprosy. It should be easily curable if it were bacteria-based. Veles was even certain that he could cure this person to top health in a day or two. Yet, he wouldn’t even suggest that. He was confident that Tora wouldn’t be pleased if he did something like that. She seemed to have really dedicated a good portion of her life to finding this cure… So, he would only nudge her slightly in the right direction, without taking the achievement of finding the cure from her.

“Understand, I will help you as much I can,” Then Veles took a small booklet from his storage ring and handed it to Tora, “After you learn the language in this book, I will participate in any test you wish to perform.”

“A language book?” She took it in wonder and flipped a few pages, “Why would I need that?”

“Let’s just say it would be necessary to learn it if you want to read the rest of the medical books I have. Also, I would appreciate it if you keep this to yourself and don’t ask many questions,” said Veles.

“If it helps me, I don’t care,” Tora replied.

Veles could easily tell she was holding back her curiosity. All the books he had inside his ring were written using this language—their number was astronomical, and most of them were focused on a medical nature. Obviously, all of them were written by him. They were in his possession even before he awoke in this world, although unfortunately, he didn’t have all of them. Like he intended to give Tora a couple of books that could help her, he’d already given many back in the day.

As to why most of them were medical books, it was because of the curse Veles suffered from. To say he was a master of biology—whether it was magical nature or not—would be an understatement. He had his fair experience with various diseases. And he made sure to document them.

Seeing Tora immediately engrossed in the dictionary he provided, Veles was reminded that it wasn’t the first one he’d given. That troublesome gravity girl got one, too… Recalling all the things he poured inside her storage ring before sending her away, he wondered how she fared right now…