Blue Water City.
A very strange city.
It seemed wealthy—some of the buildings in the city could even rival those in the capital of the Kema Duchy.
Yet it also seemed poor—most of the luxurious villas stood empty, uninhabited. S~eaʀᴄh the NovelZone.fun website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
Meanwhile, just across a single street, the slums were packed to the brim with people.
Judging purely by its economic income, it wouldn’t even be a stretch to downgrade it to a town.
But as a port city with once-brilliant historical and cultural heritage, its city lord would rather maintain the current tax level for a full-fledged city than give up the social standing that came with the title.
And it wasn’t just the city lord—there remained a group of once-wealthy individuals who, despite having the means to move elsewhere, still stubbornly clung to this place.
Yet those living in three-story houses with large gardens might have emptier pockets than the poor folk in thatched huts.
That friend, while called a "wizard," was in fact only a Second Rank apprentice. He knew only a few spells—so few, in fact, that one might suspect he’d been expelled from some wizarding organization.
The Second Rank apprentice’s name was Karon. He was already over forty and lived each day nervously and cautiously. Even City Lord Maken found it difficult to persuade him to come out.
But since he had come out today, it was a rare opportunity to strengthen their bond. After all, Karon was the last wizard willing to reside in Blue Water City for the long term.
Maken picked up his white porcelain teacup and took a sip, looking both content and slightly ingratiating as he turned to Karon.
“You’ve locked yourself in your room for half a month already. The shallowwater roses are blooming—if you don’t come out soon, you’ll miss their flowering season.”
Karon said nothing. He picked up his empty teacup and poured in a solution he’d brought with him. “I’ll be going out soon.”
Maken was stunned and immediately asked, “Where are you going? And for how long?”
Karon muttered, “I ran out of a critical material for my experiment. I need to go to the coast to gather more. By the way, how’s the harvesting of the blackwater snails coming along? I need a thousand of them.”
Maken’s mouth twitched. The blackwater snail was one of the few products they still made any money on, and yet here was Wizard Karon asking for a thousand right off the bat.
But there was no helping it—if they wanted him to stay, they had to offer something of value.
“I’ll have the steward count them up right away.”
Karon nodded. “Then make it quick. I’m heading out tomorrow.”
Karon usually went out once or twice a year. Sometimes he’d return in three days, sometimes it took half a month.
But each time he left, Lord Maken would get nervous, afraid the man might leave and never come back.
Having a wizard in the city—even just a Second Rank apprentice—meant a lot. He could solve problems no ordinary person could. And without a wizard, what difference was there between a city and a village?
While Lord Maken was considering whether to buy something to strengthen Karon’s attachment to Blue Water City, the steward came hurrying in and gave a deep bow from a distance—a sign of urgent news.
Karon, seated across from Maken, also noticed and, with practiced ease, picked up his porcelain cup, took a gentle sip of his unknown liquid, and stood up. “I’ll leave you to it. I’m heading back.”
Lord Maken was disappointed—their conversation had been too short, but he knew the steward wouldn’t dare interrupt unless it was truly important.
“What’s the matter?” Maken asked before Karon had even exited the garden, signaling his trust in the man.
“The gate guards sent a message. A wizard has entered Blue Water City.”
“Oh?” The city lord immediately stood up.
Even Karon, who had been walking away, paused mid-step.
“The guard tried to charge him an entry tax.”
City Lord Maken nearly jumped out of his skin. “He what?”
The steward quickly explained, “As soon as he saw that the coachman had a white mushroom moving on his head, he returned the money right away.”
Even the coachman had something that bizarre going on—whoever was inside the carriage must surely be a wizard.
“What kind of mushroom was it?” Karon returned to the garden.
“They say it looked like a very ordinary white-cap mushroom, with a slightly gray tint to the umbrella,” the steward quickly replied, bowing again.
“A white-cap mushroom?” Karon murmured, deep in thought.
“Where is that wizard headed? Do we know why he came?”
“He asked the guards for an address. Seems like he headed there directly.” Before either the city lord or Wizard Karon could ask, the steward supplied it, “It was 16 Sea Shrimp Street. That area is mostly home to poor locals and out-of-towners. I’ve already sent someone to investigate who lives there now.”
The city lord nodded, tension visible in his face. “Have them follow discreetly. Don’t let him feel disrespected.”
Then he looked at Karon. “Wizard, should we invite him for tea?”
Karon thought for a moment and asked the steward, “Did that carriage have any distinguishing marks?”
But before the steward could answer, he waved it off himself. “Forget it. What would you lot even notice? Go extend a respectful invitation to the wizard. But if he refuses, don’t press him. He’s at least a Third Rank apprentice.”
“Hiss—” the steward sucked in a cold breath.
City Lord Maken wanted to react the same way, but he held it in.
…
At that moment, Saul—the one being discussed by Blue Water City’s lord and resident wizard—had already arrived at 16 Sea Shrimp Street by carriage.
He had, of course, noticed the people trailing his carriage at a distance. But he paid them no mind.
When the carriage stopped out front, the passing pedestrians all craned their necks to look. A double-decker carriage like that could only be owned by someone quite wealthy.
But when they saw the mushroom wriggling atop the coachman’s head, their expressions turned to horror, and they quickly fled the alley.
Agu jumped off the carriage and walked up to knock on the door.
Before he could knock a third time, there came the sound of hurried footsteps from inside.
A few breaths later, the door flew open, revealing a familiar face.
“Y-You… who are you looking for?” Sander looked both nervous and excited. When he saw Agu, his expression turned to shock.
Just then, Saul stepped down from the carriage and said sideways to Sander, “Let’s talk inside.”
Sander’s face lit up with joy the moment he saw Saul. “My lord, you’re here? Please come in!”
Saul nodded and stepped through the doorway.
Number 16 Sea Shrimp Street had a small courtyard. It looked like it had been partitioned off from another property with a wall.
Saul’s carriage couldn’t fit in the courtyard, so it remained outside. The coachman stayed with it, while Agu followed Saul into the yard.
They passed through the narrow courtyard and entered a modest two-room house made of wood and stone.
Once inside, Sander closed the door, and the room plunged into darkness.
He fumbled around, about to light an oil lamp, when a gentle glow lit up the ceiling, illuminating the entire space.
Agu stepped forward, holding a water sphere the size of a human head in both hands.
Strangely, Sander hadn’t noticed Agu carrying anything until just now.
Inside the translucent, slightly shimmering sphere swam a terrifying little fish with a human face.
“Yikes!” Sander jumped at the sight, especially when the little fish seemed to notice him too and popped out half of its face from the sphere with a plop.
Although the fish quickly retreated, Sander was so startled he nearly fell over.
Agu tilted his chin. “What’s wrong? Don’t recognize it?”
He then casually tossed the water sphere into Sander’s arms.
It hit his chest and rolled down along his clothes. Sander instinctively reached out and caught it.
His clothes were only slightly dampened, but the sphere felt icy cold in his hands.
The human-faced fish emerged again, this time spitting a stream of clear water at Sander.
Sander stared closely at it, the fear on his face slowly giving way to astonishment.
“M-Mido?!”
(End of Chapter)