"Your Majesty," a pale-faced man dressed in black gradually emerged from the shadows. He bowed to Wild, then stood upright and began to recount.
"Today, thirteen women died again in the East District of Chaniuka City... Unlike the previous days, this time the victims were not all prostitutes. Six of them were ordinary farmers."
Wild propped his chin and furrowed his brows deeply.
Such incidents had been occurring for half a month.
At first, it was thought to be a common homicide case, until the guards could not find the slightest clue and several Great Knights were lost, then it was realized that something was amiss.
Thus, the matter was reported up layer by layer until it reached him.
"What do Ivan and Anthony say?" Wild asked.
Ivan and Anthony were the two Wizards who served the Yili Kingdom.
Upon hearing this, Hayden hesitated momentarily before saying,
"Ivan and Anthony said they are busy with experiments and will come to investigate after the day after tomorrow when they are free."
A flicker of anger crossed the depths of Wild's eyes.
Those two Sacrificial Wizards, having already lost the potential to advance, had come to this barren land of the Yili Kingdom just to enjoy the remainder of their lives.
Most of the time, what they did the most was ask him for money and women... What experiments?
Obviously, these were excuses!
Although angry in his heart, Wild's face betrayed no emotion, and he continued to ask Hayden:
"Is it the same today in the southwest and north districts?"
"Yes, the same, thirteen women died," Hayden answered without hesitation.
Wild was silent for a moment, then slowly said,
"I understand. You may go now."
"Yes," Hayden responded, but he did not leave immediately. Instead, he hesitated.
"What is it?" Wild glanced at him and asked.
"Your Majesty," Hayden hesitated before asking, "What should we do for the next two days?"
"... Increase the daily vigilance, advise women to stay at home temporarily and not to go out," Wild said.
"Yes." Hayden left quietly.
After he left, King Wild leaned back against the soft back of his chair, raised his hand to his temple, and sighed deeply.
In his mind, he still saw the silent departure of Hayden.
Perhaps it was an illusion, but he always felt that the back of the kingdom's strongest knight… seemed somewhat hunched.
A sense of helplessness surged in his heart.
Faced with these bizarre events... mortals are ultimately just mortals.
They could only rely on Wizards.
Ivan and Anthony, though they were the kingdom's Sacrificial Wizards, were very difficult for him to command.
In fact, if not for the Supreme Council of the Wizard Alliance, which stipulates that Wizards may not interfere in mortal kingdoms... and can only serve as Sacrificials, dealing with strange matters that mortals cannot solve.
Otherwise... it might not have been his turn to be king.
Wild leaned back in his chair, the more he pondered, the more frustrated he felt.
After a long while, he sighed again and shook his head.
"Overthinking is pointless."
He quickly adjusted his mindset, stood up, and walked towards the bedroom to prepare to rest.
...
The next morning.
Connie came to the king's residence early in the morning.
Wild had just gotten up.
He looked at Connie, who had come to pay her respects, with a smile on his face.
Especially when he saw the wicker food basket she was carrying, which contained breakfast, his smile was even more radiant.
Speaking of which... it had been a long time since he had had breakfast with Connie.
"Good morning, Connie," he greeted his daughter with a smile, reaching out to take the wicker food basket.
But Connie waved her hand, placing the basket to the side, and spoke.
Wild was taken aback.
"Wait—father," Connie said with a smile, "how did the favor I asked of you yesterday turn out?"
'The favor asked...'
Wild's expression subtly changed.
Last night, feeling distressed, he had gone straight to sleep.
As for the favor his daughter Connie had asked... he had completely forgotten!
But he still did not show his emotions, and while taking the food basket, he continued to smile and said,
"Of course, I didn't forget." Glancing around, he called to a tall figure not far away,
"Hayden, do you remember the task I ordered you to do last night? The one about getting a vehicle for Connie's new wizard friend."
Hayden silently glanced at Wild and said,
"I remember, Your Majesty."
"That's good," Wild nodded, then suddenly asked, "How is it going?"
After a moment of silence, Hayden spoke up,
"We are preparing to go to the Royal Horse Farm with Her Highness and her friend shortly to pick a suitable horse."
"Very good," Wild praised.
Hayden's adaptability had never disappointed him.
Thinking of something, he summoned Hayden, stepped away from Connie, and whispered a few words.
"Don't show them any Demon Beasts of First Class or higher. Connie doesn't understand horses, just pick any will do."
"Understood," Hayden responded softly, fully aware.
After all, the royal wealth wasn't blown in by the wind—if every friend that Connie brought back were given too expensive gifts... the royal treasury would probably be bankrupt!
"Father, what are you talking about? Why are you avoiding me?"
"Some case matters... some are quite horrific, do you want to hear them?"
"I don't want to..."
"Ha ha ha..."
Around eleven in the morning.
"Mr. Colin, how is the selection going?"
In the stable of the Royal Horse Farm, Connie asked Colin, who was beside her.
"Almost there," Colin nodded.
The horses in this world were generally larger and in better physical condition than those in the previous world.
There were even some of them mixed with the blood of demon beasts, their speed could rival that of a steam locomotive.
Unfortunately, he hadn't seen any here.
However, the two horses he had chosen were also excellent, large in build and muscular all over; they presumably had a faint demon beast bloodline.
They were certainly much better than the horses used for pulling carts on Blackstone Island.
And such horses were mostly held by nobles and the royal family; it was very hard to buy them on the market...
Thanks to Connie, not only had he effortlessly obtained fine horses,
but now, only on his second day in Chaniuka City, his transportation had been arranged.
This not only saved him a lot of effort but also a great deal of time.
Stroking the mane of the black horse in front of him, Colin pondered in silence.
Yet, once he truly advanced to become an Official Wizard, unless the distance was really far, he could simply fly there.
By then, it would no longer be such a hassle.
Just then,
a noisy commotion suddenly erupted from the entrance of the stable.
Then, a figure in a wizard robe, embracing a glamorous woman, walked in.
"Baby, take a look, choose whichever horse you like," said Anthony, pointing to the horses in the stable bto the glamorous woman.
He had long hair and a handsome face, but the murky, sinister eyes undermined his overall demeanor.
At first glance, the impression he gave was not good.
"Lord Anthony," Hayden greeted him with a faint and calm voice as he walked in embracing the woman.
But if one observed closely, a hint of anger could be seen in his eyes.
Connie forced a smile and greeted him as well,
"Lord Anthony."
"Knight Hayden, Princess Connie," Anthony responded.
The woman in his arms, seeing Connie, instinctively tried to curtsy but was tightly held by Anthony.
Therefore, she could only greet Connie and Hayden in a soft voice.
"Who is... this wizard?"
After the greetings, Anthony, looking at Colin, asked with a cautious and gentle expression.
"Colin," Colin answered succinctly.
"So, you are Mr. Colin, I am Anthony," Anthony said with a smile, then casually asked,
"Mr. Colin, have you come from Miracle City?"
"No," Colin shook his head, replying briefly.
He then turned to Connie and said,
"Princess Connie, it's already getting late, the horses have been chosen... after loading some fodder, I'm ready to leave."
"So soon?" Connie said with reluctance.
The stories Colin had told about the island seemed to have made her reluctant to part.
She glanced at her watch and added,
"It's almost noon, why not have lunch before you go?"
"I learned some new information about the Holy Flame Kingdom yesterday, you might find it useful."
"...That's possible."
Before she finished speaking, Colin, sensing something, took a slight step forward, shielding Renee from view.
Then he frowned and stared at Anthony from a distance.
Since he had answered that he wasn't from Miracle City,
Anthony had been unabashedly scrutinizing Renee.
The atmosphere in the stable suddenly grew tense.
Then, Connie suddenly forced a smile and spoke,
"Mr. Colin, let's go have lunch now. What would you like to eat?"
Having said that, she led the way forward.
"...I'm fine with anything," Colin gave Anthony a glance, and followed Connie, relaxing his brows.
"Hold on, Mr. Colin," Anthony called out to him.
Colin turned back with a frown.
Anthony, smiling, continued to gaze at Colin and said,
"I would like to make a deal with you, if that's possible?"
"Don't be too quick to refuse... I presume, Mr. Colin, that you come from a background as a Wild Wizard. I am from a school, and I can offer knowledge as payment,"
"And all you have to give is..."
He didn't finish his sentence but redirected his gaze to Renee again, waiting for Colin to respond.
But he didn't get the answer he was expecting.
"Not interested."
Colin looked at him, then suddenly smiled.
Turning around, he continued to walk forward, waving his hand and adding,
"I don't want, nor am I interested in any deal with you."