Chapter 22: Pato City

Night always falls a little later in Pato City than in the surrounding regions. This is because the city is teeming with vibrant, energetic young people, and no one could ever convince them to scurry back to their homes or dorms the moment the sun sets, saving that surplus vitality for the next sunrise. That would simply be too cruel, and not even the strictest parents or instructors would be so unreasonable.

Moreover, after a long day of work, people enjoy seeing those young men and women wandering the streets in noisy, cheerful groups, discussing the knowledge they have gained, the beauties they have encountered, the handsome youths they have bumped into, or their stern teachers. They might head to the Temple of the Holy Union to pray for their families and secret crushes, or sneak into taverns that always turn a blind eye to their presence to order a mug of ale.

All of this is thanks to the Pading Knight Academy. Built seventy years ago by Valentine Crowe—a high-ranking Paladin and native of this very land—after he successfully persuaded the Holy Union to fund it, the academy has always been the pride of the locals. It is the fundamental reason why Pato City, once a backwater town in the middle of nowhere, has become so full of life. Countless families from within a hundred-mile radius and even further abroad dream of sending their children here to study, embarking on a path to the pinnacle of life… or, to put it more accurately, a path that changes the course of their predetermined fates.

By the way, as long as the children of local Pato City residents reach the age of sixteen, they can directly enroll in the Knight Academy. So, in any era, owning a home in a school district is quite…

Well, I shall restrain myself.

In short, Pato City is a peaceful and bustling little town, at least under normal circumstances.

Yet, beneath this facade of tranquility, a few undercurrents are surging. At least, those with keen instincts have caught a whiff of something different.

The Warm Sun Squad, a second-year team from the Pading Knight Academy, was attacked while returning from their final assessment, resulting in the near-total annihilation of the unit. Dave, a light knight and the squad leader, was the sole survivor. By the time he returned to the city, he was nearly dead, not a single part of him unscathed; it was a miracle he was saved before his final breath slipped away.

The incident has already spread.

They were attacked by two Red-Spined Beasts, creatures that should never have appeared in the vicinity of Pato City. Although monsters of this caliber pose no threat to a city guarded by the Pading Academy, it still causes unease.

Where did they come from? Why did they appear here? Why attack innocent students? Will they come for us next?

The source of fear is always the unknown. Just as some tough guys can be fearless in the face of most venomous insects and beasts—even, god help them, slicing off their heads to eat the rest and extract a wealth of protein—they might tremble when confronted by zombies, vampires, or vengeful spirits, creatures that may not even have the lethality of the former, and then scramble away with a photographer who is just as much of a "tough guy" as they are.

In truth, we all like to scare ourselves, and in most cases, reality is not as ridiculous as we imagine (it is simply cruel).

However, this time, things are truly not so simple.

And a certain uninvited guest who has already arrived in this small town will make the already complicated situation even more complex, turning big trouble into even bigger trouble.

"Sigh, what a place that fails to stir any spirit at all." Mo Tan was currently standing in a rarely visited alley, looking at the slightly rowdy street in the distance. He let out a languid sigh, but then the corners of his mouth curled into a smile as he muttered, "Still, I will do my best to make this place lively. Please, don't thank me too much..."

He had already shed the somewhat gloomy ceremonial robes and changed into his original linen outfit, keeping his appearance as low-key and ordinary as possible. He left the alley, grabbed a seemingly honest-looking middle-aged man nearby to ask for directions under the guise of a traveler, and wandered into a tailor shop two streets away.

Although there were no longer many customers, it was not yet time to close. Mo Tan successfully purchased (with money looted from Medea) a white tunic and a pair of long leather boots. Though the quality was average, it was enough to make him look decent and not too out of place.

Afterward, he asked the owner about the cheapest lodging in Pato City. After confirming the directions multiple times (he had no sense of direction), he hurried away.

A short while later, Mo Tan appeared before the "Rye" Inn at the southern edge of the city and pushed the door open, walking in with a casual air.

"What do you want?" A middle-aged man with a bird's nest of hair, sitting on a rocking chair by the door, glanced at him and straightened up, asking impatiently, "Food or a room? I don't have any other entertainment here."

Before Mo Tan could answer, a man completely covered in a cloak rushed down from the second floor. He waved at the man who appeared to be the owner and said rapidly, "This is my friend, the one I mentioned before."

"Got it, go on up." The owner shrugged and lay back down. "Don't stand by the door if there's no business; you're blocking my trade."

"Do you even have any business?" Cole, the apprentice thief, pulled back his hood slightly and pursed his lips at him, then smiled apologetically at Mo Tan. "Let's go up and talk."

Mo Tan nodded noncommittally and followed Cole to the second floor of the dilapidated inn, entering the innermost small room.

"Let me confirm one thing first," Mo Tan said, leaning casually against the wall after entering, asking softly to the respectful and anxious Cole, "Does anyone else know that Cole Shulen has returned to Pato City?"

The young thief apprentice hung his head in slight panic. "No one else, sir. I am terribly sorry. I should have followed your instructions not to let anyone know, but..."

"But the 'cheapest inn' I told you to stay at is owned by someone you know." Mo Tan smiled and shook his head. "You must have been worried that I wouldn't be able to find you, so you didn't change locations. It's fine; it was my oversight. I won't blame you for something like this."

"Thank you, sir." Cole nodded, then looked up with eyes full of concern. "I don't know if Rona is..."

"That elven girl's soul is still intact." Mo Tan raised a hand to interrupt him. "I am not unreasonable, but what you need right now is to be calm. Only by being calm can you avoid making mistakes. Do you understand what I mean?"

Cole realized his emotions had been a bit too stirred. He didn't answer immediately but clenched his fists tightly. After a long while, he looked Mo Tan in the eye and nodded. "I am fine, sir."

This action earned him a bit more of Mo Tan's favor. After all, it is extremely difficult for someone to be "truly" calm in such a situation, let alone in such a short time.

In Cole's gaze, Mo Tan could no longer see the anxiety, longing, and suffering mixed with a trace of fear. Or rather, those emotions had been hidden in a deeper corner, one that could no longer influence his reason and judgment.

"You are excellent," Mo Tan nodded slightly. "Next, I will tell you two things. During this process, I hope you can maintain your composure and remain rational. Can you do that?"

Cole replied without hesitation, "Yes, sir."

"Call me 'Mister'; don't be so serious. I don't like people who are overly serious." Mo Tan smiled. He knew he wasn't the kind of person who could just strike a pose and have countless heroes crying and begging to kneel before him as their big brother. It was simply because he held the soul that this young thief cared about most, and through a bit of misdirection, he had managed to make the other party blindly trust him for the time being. Precisely because of this, he didn't want Cole to treat him too rigidly, as that would undoubtedly create a subtle rift between them. Even if it were very convenient in the short term, over time, that rift would only widen.

Mo Tan, who had positioned himself as a chess player, could not accept the hidden danger of potentially growing less knowledgeable about the "chess piece" in his hand.

Cole didn't show much emotion, simply replying in a low voice, "Understood, Mister."

"First, you should have heard by now that Dave was the only one in your squad to return alive." Mo Tan said to Cole, "You should know what that means, right?"

Cole nodded heavily. The result was obvious: besides himself and Dave, the other two had also lost their lives, just like Rona.

"But in fact, only one male student who used a heavy sword died. If I remember correctly, his name should be Lada Dona." Mo Tan narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "The person who killed him was Dave Sager."

What!?

Even though he was prepared to accept the bad news, Cole never imagined that his companions had not died under the fangs and claws of the Red-Spined Beasts, but were harmed by one of their own.

"That's not..." Cole shook his head, his eyes unfocused, wanting to say something, but was coldly interrupted by the man in front of him.

"It is the truth." Mo Tan shrugged, spreading his hands. "By the time I arrived, Dave had already left. Your classmate named Lada had been pierced directly through the chest by a lance and died on the spot. The other priestess girl was severely wounded; I saved her and managed to extract the entire process of Dave's sudden outburst of violence from her. She is currently in hiding somewhere in Pato City, just like you. If you don't believe me, you can sneak out and find her later to confirm it."

Cole stood pale and stunned for a long time, eventually shaking his head in defeat. "No, I believe you. Please, continue..."

"Good." Mo Tan walked to Cole's side and whispered into his ear, "Everything you experienced was designed by Dave. Whether it was those two abnormal Red-Spined Beasts or the Warm Sun Squad ending with only one survivor, it was all part of his plan. Clearly, you and your companions became the sacrificial victims of this plan... So now, if you don't mind, can you tell me your thoughts?"

Cole was silent, but his clenched teeth were already bleeding slightly...

"Your answer, Cole." Mo Tan smiled calmly.

"Kill him!" Cole said, trembling. His face, twisted in rage, was beginning to contort. "If all of this is true, I want to tear him to pieces with my own hands, bit by bit!"

Mo Tan clapped his hands. "Excellent~ especially with that prerequisite of 'if everything is true.' Don't look at me like that, Cole. Vigilance and suspicion are good qualities. After all, compared to Dave, whom you have known much longer, I am an unknown, and therefore much harder to trust..."

Cole seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he lowered his head and remained silent. This "Mister" was right. Perhaps deep down, he was even more suspicious of him. After all, compared to Dave, this mysterious person felt more like a conspirator.

He did not want to believe that Dave had betrayed him and the three other companions he had spent over a year with. If that were the case, the deaths of the departed would be too tragic.

But Cole also did not want to believe that Mo Tan was lying to him. If that were the case, the already slim hope of Rona's resurrection would be reduced to zero!

So...

"Go and verify the truth." Mo Tan smiled at Cole, who was about to speak. "The little priestess named Ai Fanye should be in a place called 'Lin Ju' right now. I don't know the specifics, but you can go find her in a little while."

Cole was stunned for a moment, then gave Mo Tan a bitter, forced smile. "Thank you for saving her."

"A trivial matter." Mo Tan shrugged nonchalantly, then patted him on the shoulder. "But now, you need to tell me a few things..."

...

Seven o'clock in the morning.

In a spacious, warm-toned bedroom, two game pods opened almost simultaneously.

"Good morning, Xiaodao!" Ji Xiaoge, wearing cute goose-yellow pajamas, greeted her twin sister, who had just sat up. She giggled and reached out to ruffle her sister's hair. "I've never seen you play a game so intently before."

Ji Xiaodao was somewhat dazed and didn't react to her sister's prank, only responding absentmindedly, "Mm... good morning, sister."

Noticing that her sister didn't swat her away as she usually did, Ji Xiaoge was stunned for a moment. Then she pursed her lips, suddenly lunged forward, and tackled her sister onto the soft carpet, vigorously rubbing Ji Xiaodao's soft cheeks. "So cute, so cute! You're too adorable, sister! Let your big sister kiss... uh..."

"How boring!" Ji Xiaodao pressed her face against her sister's, ignoring the hands flailing about as she tried to hug her again. She bit her lip slightly and whispered to Ji Xiaoge, who still couldn't settle down, "Um... sister... I might not be able to find you for a while."

"Ha?! Aren't we together right now?"

"I'm talking about the game, you idiot!"

"Oh, why is that?"

"Because... there is someone I can't quite feel at ease about..."

"A boy?"

"Mm."

"..."

"Where are you going, sister?"

"To find Dad. When we were little, he said that whoever tries to steal his daughter, he'll chop them up."

"HEY!!!!"

Chapter Twenty-Two: End