Renith was the last one to enter the washroom.
She walked to the sink, symbolically held her hands under the running water for a moment, then deftly manipulated water magic with her fingertips, letting it flow over her body a dozen times to complete her washing.
By the time she was fully dressed and gently pushed open the bathroom door, she saw Vistah hunched over the desk. On the candlestick, a candle flickered with a faint light, casting his elongated shadow across the room.
Vistah held a pen tightly in his hand, writing with extreme care, each character seeming to pour all his heart and soul into it.
“What are you doing?” Renith asked softly.
“Oh! You scared me!” Vistah jolted violently, the pen nearly slipping from his grasp. He turned and, seeing it was Renith, his face showed a still-startled expression.
“Miss Anna, are you finished washing up?”
Previously, Lance had given Antina the pseudonym Renith used before in a letter. During dinner, Renith followed the letter’s content and briefly introduced herself to Antina and the others, simply stating her name was “Anna,” a mage currently traveling.
Vistah had been too focused on writing earlier and hadn’t heard Renith’s footsteps. He only sensed movement behind him, and turning to suddenly meet Renith’s face gave him quite a fright. However, he quickly composed himself and replied:
“I’m writing a letter. I write to my family in Klombester City every month.”
“Klombester? I remember that’s a distant city on the east coast.”
Renith tilted her head slightly, lost in thought. She recalled it was a remote area untouched by the demons, hence it had developed quite well.
“It was once just a prosperous fishing village, later gradually developing into a well-known shipping hub. After the beginning of the Priestess Era, it was officially established as a city.”
Her thoughts drifted back to over a hundred years ago when she had visited Klombes City. That city had developed quite nicely, and its aquatic products were exceptionally delicious… especially that large squid, sizzling and fragrant when pan-fried, truly memorable.
“But Klombes City is very far from here. Why did you come to the newly built Mobis City to develop?”
Klombes City and Mobis City were far apart, and Vistah’s choice made Renith curious.
“You must have studied history very well; I can’t remember these details.” Vistah touched his head sheepishly, a hint of a shy smile appearing on his face.
“Please don’t laugh at me. My academic performance was rather average; I didn’t get into any universities in Klombester City or other cities. But I was quite lucky. The new university in Mobis City had just finished construction and was recruiting students with lower score requirements. I just managed to catch that last opportunity.”
As he spoke, he fumbled for something in his pocket. It was a pocket watch containing a photo of Vistah’s family of five. He introduced Renith to his father, mother, and his dear younger sister.
Although the introduction was brief, Renith could tell that Vistah loved his family very much.
“Actually, my family initially didn’t agree with me coming to Mobis City. After all, Mobis City is far away, and my diploma was relatively good locally. Graduating directly meant I could find a decently paid job to support a family of four.”
As he spoke, a glint of determination appeared in Vistah’s eyes. He straightened his back a little, the shyness on his face fading somewhat, and his voice became louder and clearer.
“But I felt it wasn’t enough. I wanted to continue my studies, to try a different life, to see the sights of the empire. So, I decided to embark on a journey to this city. My parents were very open-minded and put me on the train to Mobis City to attend university.”
“This photo was taken two days before I boarded the train. The development was slow, and to get it on time, I almost missed that train.”
Renith’s gaze fell on the photo, which showed five figures. In the middle was Vistah, holding his eight-year-old sister tightly, a gentle smile on his face. Flanking Vistah were his parents, who looked quite young. The family stood together, a warm and happy picture.
Renith couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy; it was such a happy family.
“How are your studies going now? And what are your plans after that?”
“Well… I’m majoring in law and currently interning with Miss Antina. Miss Antina is like a half-teacher to me, and I’m very grateful to her. She didn’t look down on me for being an inexperienced novice and gave me this internship.”
“I plan to try to handle a few cases before graduation, to build a reputation through my own ability. After that, I’ll return to Klombester City to work, to properly support my parents and sister. Once my sister comes of age and my parents have someone to look after them, and I’ve earned enough money, I plan to travel across the empire.”
Travel across the empire?
That’s a wonderful ideal.
“I can’t claim to have traveled the entire empire, but I’ve been to most places.”
“Really?!” Vistah’s eyes lit up.
He seemed so easy to read; all his feelings and moods were written on his face. Gazing at Vistah’s face, Renith showed a slight smile.
“Of course, I wouldn’t lie to you about something like that.”
Vistah pointed to the restaurant across the street named ‘New Wind Restaurant’.
“Then next time! I’ll treat you to a meal at that restaurant across the street, and you must tell me all about your stories.”
“Of course,” Renith nodded.
It had been so many years since she had met a young man of such character. Someone striving for their family and their ideals – isn’t that truly excellent?
Renith couldn’t help but remark:
“Your family must be very proud of you.”
Vistah nodded slightly, his eyes full of pride, then gently closed the pocket watch and bent over the desk again to continue writing his letter.
Seeing this, Renith didn’t disturb him further and walked straight towards her room.
Just as Renith was about to pass Antina’s room, Antina’s door creaked open slowly, revealing a crack. Antina reached out from behind the door and waved gently at Renith.
“Is something the matter?” Renith asked softly.
Antina pulled the door open wider, her posture clearly inviting Renith inside. Renith, filled with curiosity, wondered what Antina wanted to say, being so secretive.
Entering the room, Renith found Antina’s room slightly more spacious than Lance’s. Looking around, the furnishings resembled a small gambling den. It turned out this was a small casino set up inside the tavern, now converted into Antina’s room.
Antina was wearing a brown nightgown. She pulled a table and two chairs from the corner of the room and gestured for Renith to sit down.
“Sorry to pull you over so late. I mainly wanted to talk to you about Lance… and some things about me.” Antina looked apologetic, seemingly uneasy about disturbing Renith.
“It’s fine, go ahead,” Renith said. She had rested well on the train, and these past couple of days didn’t require proper rest – just meditation or some research.
“Lance and Vistah are both law students at Brand University. They are outstanding students, carrying their families’ expectations and harboring great ambitions. When they were looking for internship opportunities, they found the firm I run, and I was happy to take them in.”
As she spoke, Antina rummaged through a cupboard and finally found a bottle of non-alcoholic juice.
“Want a glass? It’s too dull just talking dryly.” Antina shook the juice bottle.
Renith nodded. Antina brought wooden tankards and slowly poured the juice into them. The tankards were quite large; half the bottle only filled the bottom.
“However, compared to Vistah, Lance seems to have something more persistent, a ambition far exceeding personal gain. He once asked me what he would need to sue a breeding farm, a noble, and a ‘Chosen One,’ and win the case.”
“I told him: ‘You need solid evidence, a social status far surpassing that noble, financial backing to counter the breeding farm, and power sufficient to rival the Chosen One.'”
“After hearing that, Lance was silent for a long time, then left dejectedly. And last time, when Lance said goodbye to me, he finally said: ‘This trip might be a gamble; I might not come back. Teacher Antina, here is the key to my room. Please leave it for a destined successor.'”
Antina took a sip of the juice. It was apple juice, sweet with a hint of sourness, much like the taste in her heart at that moment.
“I’ve tried to subtly inquire about Lance’s past. His hometown was suffocated by noble oppression. The noble’s private armed forces made everyone in the entire village bow their heads. That noble stirred up trouble locally, doing whatever he pleased.”
“Although Lance didn’t explicitly say it in the letter, I can roughly guess… Did he go this time to fight against the nobility?” Antina’s gaze fell on Renith, her eyes eager to uncover the truth.
Since Antina had guessed this much, whether Renith hid it or not made little difference. Renith nodded gently.
“Did he succeed?” Antina’s voice held a trace of tension.
Renith nodded again.
“The letter said you helped him. Was it you who defeated the ‘Chosen One’ surrounding the noble?” A look of admiration appeared in Antina’s eyes.
Renith nodded once more.
“I guessed correctly! It was because of your power that Lance’s ambition was set on the right track!”
Antina seemed somewhat envious of Lance, but more than that, she was happy for him.
“To be honest, I also want to borrow your power!”
“What do you want me to do?” Renith looked at Antina and took another sip of juice.
“This morning, I attended a meeting. Someone there told me that the ‘Chosen Ones’ are coming to Mobis City on behalf of the imperial capital, to take control of Mobis City.”
Antina held nothing back, recounting everything the man in the suit had told her to Renith verbatim.
“I see… The ‘Chosen Ones’ are using the empire’s power to extend their reach into Mobis City. And you want to use my power to drive them all out, and then… do something similar to what Lance did.”
