Author: 冬瓜茶仙人 / Winter Melon Tea Immortal
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 103
Witch sightings had emerged in Fortuna City.
After three victims appeared in succession, the city hall could no longer cover it up. Suspicion and anger spread like a plague at an astonishing speed, stirring discussions in every street and alley.
The security force increased patrols and vigilance. To ordinary citizens, witches, though terrifying, seemed more like a myth, only flying on brooms over the wilderness at midnight or secretly brewing potions in marshes and dense forests, surrounded by goblins and undead.
It was rare for anyone to mention witches appearing in crowded markets, and even when they did show themselves in Fortuna City, the victims were mostly people who were alone at night. The working people, who rose at sunrise and rested at sunset, discussed it heatedly but didn’t actually panic much. Fortuna City had a Mage Association, and the sheriffs were diligent, so only a few were affected by this incident.
The White Bridge auction always marked the peak of underground trade in Fortuna City. As various items that couldn’t be traded openly were smuggled to White Bridge, some lower-quality or smaller-scale goods would trickle into the local market. Most people without sufficient funds made do with these underground deals, hoping for good luck and a big find.
These transactions, likely coming from illegal channels and thus untaxed, required utmost discretion, including obscure locations and timing mostly after midnight. Considering that black magic creations made up a significant portion of these goods, no one could guarantee that a witch wouldn’t take an interest in their merchandise and suddenly appear at the market, or confront them on their way home, turning them into the next day’s newspaper headline.
These concerns quieted the usually bustling night in Fortuna City, even reducing the number of vagrants and drunks wandering around the lower blocks, somewhat easing the pressure on the security team.
However, a unilateral impact always triggered a reaction. Within two days of the first victim’s case, the bounty for Witch Elena increased significantly in the black market. Even the merchant ships at the docks saw some tough-looking individuals come aboard, though they seemed less like professional mercenaries and more like bounty hunters temporarily bound together by a high reward.
“No matter how you put it, hunting a witch alone isn’t feasible.” Shiloh leaned on the ship’s rail, watching another ship slowly enter the port. “Elena has been famous for a long time. Even with many people, there should be plenty to go around after splitting the bounty.”
The rabbit-headed shopkeeper watched with him. “The news spread faster than I expected.”
This was somewhat illogical. Because of her bad reputation, showing herself carelessly could easily trigger witch hunts. No witch, no matter how powerful, could withstand a carpet search and prolonged battles. Elena, although paranoid, wasn’t stupid—Charlie didn’t think so. Including the encounter at dawn with the cosmetician possessed by puppet magic, Elena hadn’t appeared herself. She was only controlling the magic from a distance.
The sheriff hadn’t recognized that it was Elena’s magic. Something must have happened in the city in these few days since then, drawing the attention of those in power to Elena’s presence and deciding to expel or eliminate her.
The rabbit-headed shopkeeper, who had stayed on the ship these days, didn’t know what had happened, but the Duke did.
Aside from the directionally challenged Shiloh, even Amber had been allowed to wander near the port. This indicated that, although he hadn’t disembarked, the Duke’s attention hadn’t strayed from inside Fortuna City.
Part of the reason was that Priscilla was in the city, and another part…
Charlie was reluctant to admit it.
He and Dwight had entered into a strange and awkward situation again, unlike the previous cold war. On the surface, nothing seemed different from before, but privately, they began avoiding each other’s moves.
For example, Charlie would discuss matters related to Louis with some knights, bypassing Dwight—though there was no difference. Ultimately, Hasting or Hall would report every word he said to the Duke.
And although he knew that during the brief docking period, Dwight would surely make contact with Priscilla in the city and monitor the situation (especially after the direct encounter with witch magic), and keep a grip on the situation, he didn’t breathe a word to Charlie.
Though Dwight surely knew Charlie could guess what he was doing.
Dwight had seen through his weak spots.
Realizing this made Charlie very uncomfortable. He wasn’t used to this.
Humans were a contradictory species, finding long-term loneliness difficult but being worn down by time to depend on solitude.
In this regard, he and Amber were no different, though Amber was a bit stronger.
The rabbit-headed shopkeeper turned his head just as Amber moved to a new spot, chasing the last rays of the sunset, learning to read. The child took everything seriously, treating the Duke’s casual command to ‘take care of Emerald’ as a mission, studying all the books about the Pluto Owl that he could find, and practicing reading and writing whenever he had a moment.
Seeing the child so dedicated, the rabbit-headed shopkeeper suddenly felt melancholic: Am I getting old?
He could hardly remember the last time he was this motivated… He subconsciously reached for his pipe, touched the slightly cold surface, and then calmed down: It’s not about age. He seemed never to have been this driven about serious matters before.
So why did he feel old?
He looked down at his pipe in contemplation.
Perhaps… because he realized there was someone nearly ten years his junior standing in front of him, ready to protect him.
That person was only eighteen, disliked excessive contact with others, was impatient with half-hearted probes, young enough not to realize that his words and actions were typically used for ambiguous flirting in the adult world, yet mature enough to know when to stop.
He no longer tried to inquire about his background or origins, not knowing when the Duke, who liked to unravel mysteries, reduced his questions about him to just one.
What are you afraid of?
Charlie never gave him an answer.
So the Duke reached out, not to hold him but to cover his ears and eyes.
If you’re afraid, don’t listen.
If you’re afraid, don’t look.
It’s okay not to think.
Realizing he was being treated like a frightened child, embarrassed the rabbit-headed shopkeeper, who had always prided himself on having thick skin. He was more accustomed to being the protector than the protected. This reversal of roles was so awkward that he hardly dared to ponder it deeply, fearing he might impulsively jump off the ship and dive into the water, never to surface again…
Shiloh jumped on the spot.
Charlie, absorbed in his own world, was startled by Shiloh’s sudden leap. His reflexes were faster than his thoughts, and he grabbed Shiloh, who was moving so vigorously that he nearly made them both jump. Even then, Shiloh wouldn’t settle down, wriggling in Charlie’s grasp like an overly excited puppy.
“What’s the matter?” The rabbit-headed shopkeeper pulled him back. “Did you see a bone?”
Shiloh’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “Captain!”
Following his gaze, Charlie indeed saw that the recently docked ship was disembarking passengers. There were two men carrying luggage still in line—they were wrapped in turbans and had grown beards, making them hard to recognize from this distance. Heaven knows how Shiloh spotted them.
Even Hasting came out, speaking quietly with two mercenaries on deck, probably arranging to let Shivers and Eugene board the ship later.
The rabbit-headed shopkeeper was amazed. Could these knights smell their captain from so far away? Even Hasting, from inside the cabin, managed to meet them precisely?
The humanoid of bones, Shivers, didn’t realize he was already being watched. He and Eugene, traveling light, had rushed to make it to Fortuna City within the scheduled time. Since fleeing the manor, they hadn’t had a moment’s peace, and even someone as robust as Shivers was feeling the strain, though Eugene seemed to adapt well to the hustle.
The rabbit-headed shopkeeper’s color-changing potion had a time limit. Although it hadn’t been washed off, Shivers’s hair color was gradually returning to normal. To blend in, both wore turbans and robes in the Lababata style and had grown beards, making them less noticeable in the second-class cabin.
There were others more conspicuous than them on this ship—a somber-looking man who clearly had blood on his hands, surrounded by a few simple-minded but physically imposing henchmen, their voices loud. To avoid complications, people generally steered clear of them.
If it hadn’t been for the mention of Witch Elena, Shivers and Eugene had planned to keep their distance from them too.
But one of the entourage was both loose-lipped and vain, constantly blabbing loudly about how they planned to hunt the witch, garnering fearful and admiring looks from others.
Thanks to him, nearly everyone on the ship knew about Witch Elena’s sightings in the city, and it seemed she had crossed paths with someone. The bounty reached an enticingly high figure, drawing the attention of nearby hunters, including this group.
Regardless of the truth of the witch’s affairs, these belligerent folks flooding into Fortuna City would surely cause chaos for a while, and some, alarmed by the rumors, even bought tickets directly to the next city without disembarking.
Others might not know, but Shivers and Eugene were well aware that the feud between Charlie and Elena was significant. Regardless of the veracity of the memoirs describing him as “handsome, dashing, and elegant, who Elena pursued and hated when her love was unrequited,” the rabbit head that the shopkeeper was still wearing was quite real.
If the witch was indeed in the city, the chances of her running into the rabbit-headed shopkeeper were high. And with Miss Priscilla also in town, it was truly headache-inducing.
The noisy group of bounty hunters disembarked the ship before them. Eugene gave Shivers a look and hurried forward, slipping through the crowd like a fish into a stream, quickly vanishing into the street.
The bounty hunters weren’t their target. Eugene intended to use them to dig into the reasons behind the bounty, as both he and Shivers felt the amount was unusually high this time.
However, this time, Eugene would have to act alone. The Duke was here, and Shivers had to return to his position quickly.
He avoided the larger streams of people, walking along the dock, squinting as he tried to identify the many different styles of ships and their markings painted on the hulls. Before he spotted the target ship, he caught sight of a lively red-haired figure jumping and waving from a distance, unmistakable in the evening glow.
Who else but Shiloh?
When Shiloh saw Shivers had noticed him, he grabbed the curious Amber coming closer and pointed out. “See? That’s our boss. I’m under his command, and soon you will be too.”
Amber only saw a man in a drab turban, looking back at Hasting with some confusion.
Since Hasting had shot an arrow last time, Amber had developed a great admiration for him, not to say Shiloh wasn’t strong—Shiloh had easily overpowered him at their first meeting—but in the young boy’s mind, a real man was like Hasting, tough and laconic.
He had always thought that aside from that ‘Lord’, Hasting was the boss.
Noticing Amber’s gaze, Hasting, knowing what the boy might be thinking, allowed a rare smile to appear.
Shiloh was immediately taken aback. “Hasting, you’re actually smiling?”
The young knight immediately stopped smiling, saying seriously, “Because my boss is back.”
The rabbit-headed shopkeeper laughed heartily. “We’re all very happy—Hasting, did you tell him?”
Hasting glanced back at the cabin and nodded.
“I’ve been waiting,” he said softly.
The author has something to say:
Although I have never been good at writing romance, I will always love domineering CEOs.
Regarding Elena and Rabbit Head:
Elena once cursed Charlie to become a rabbit, but it wasn’t a very complex curse, and Charlie has the ability to break it.
She knew Charlie was a flirt, but she didn’t expect him to live with a rabbit head for several years, so she subconsciously mistook Louis for Charlie.
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