The tall, thin man before Lynn looked to be of considerable age. His eyes were a sharp inverted-triangle shape, and at the mont, they were fixed on him with a shadowy, hostile expression.
Lynn considered for a mont, then said in a low, steady voice,
“I’m afraid this isn’t my responsibility, sir.”
“If it’s not your responsibility, then are you saying it’s mine?”
The man’s retort was rciless and openly hostile.
Lynn’s heart sank slightly. This wasn’t going to be resolved so easily.
As he studied the tall man more closely, he noticed additional details.
Pinned to the man’s wizard robe was a red badge, its design a twisted blood-red pattern.
Lynn recognized it instantly; it was the insignia of the Bloodmark Society.
Golden Shadow, Bloodmark, and Serpentcoil were the three largest factions in Eraldshadow City.
Judging from the style of the badge, this tall, thin man was also a third-rank wizard apprentice.
Trouble…
Just as the two of them stood locked in a silent standoff, a nearby waiter from the Greenvine Restaurant had noticed the tension and hurried off to fetch a more senior female attendant.
“Lord Lynn, allow to handle this.”
The woman arrived at Lynn’s side. When he turned, the first thing he saw was her heterochromatic eyes, one golden, one blue, like a cat’s. A familiar face.
It was the sa hostess who had received him on his very first visit to the restaurant, if he recalled correctly, her na was… Adeline.
Lynn gave her a slight nod and stepped aside so she could take the lead.
Adeline looked at the tall man, her face adorned with a flawless professional smile.
“Sir, the Greenvine Restaurant is aware of what has happened. We deeply regret the incident and fully understand how you must feel.
“So, as an expression of our apology, the restaurant is willing to compensate you for the damage to your robe and waive the cost of your al today. Would that be acceptable?”
She didn’t argue about who was right or wrong, but only offered apologies and compensation.
In most cases, such an approach worked.
Unfortunately, not this ti.
The tall man listened, half-narrowing his eyes. Rather than calming down, he seed provoked. With a flick of his hand
Whoosh!
A palm-sized fireball burst forth, aid directly at Adeline.
The cat-eyed hostess had no experience with this sort of situation; caught off guard, she froze in place.
Fortunately, Lynn had been on his guard. His sword was already halfway drawn, and in that split second, he struck the fireball down.
Crackling embers scattered in all directions. The few early-morning patrons in the restaurant imdiately stood and backed away.
At that mont, the restaurant’s array system detected the magical assault. Countless vines uncoiled and began snaking toward the two n.
anwhile, Lynn had already cast the Small Wind Shield, and an intense vortex of air sprang up between him and the tall man.
But the man, after throwing the fireball, made no move to follow up. There was a faint trace of regret on his face, as if his attack had been a mont’s impulse.
He simply stood there, quietly watching the swirling air of the wind shield and eyeing the sword in Lynn’s hand, lost in thought.
Monts later, a second-tier mber of the Golden Shadow Society stationed at the Greenvine Restaurant arrived on the scene.
After a brief inquiry into the situation, he gestured for the two n to take seats aside.
“Leave the rest to .”
“Thank you, Lord Orlando.”
Lynn thanked him and walked off with Adeline.
As they made their way away from the scene, Adeline was still visibly shaken, her body trembling, her legs unsteady, nearly stumbling more than once.
It was no wonder that Lynn hadn’t intervened; she would likely have died on the spot.
“Ancott, what do you an by attacking our mbers in a Golden Shadow Society property? Don’t tell the Bloodmark Society intends to start an all-out war with us?”
Elsewhere, Lord Orlando confronted the tall man sharply.
Ancott… Lynn repeated the na in his mind.
Lynn quietly committed the tall, thin man’s na to mory.
In front of a second-rank wizard apprentice, Ancott’s bluster noticeably deflated.
“Lord Orlando,” he said by way of explanation, “I acted on impulse.
“And besides, I didn’t lay hands on a mber of the Golden Shadow Society, I only attacked an ordinary waitress.”
“An ordinary waitress? Funny, because I heard you attacked one of our third-tier mbers, Lynn Kent.”
“I did have a dispute with him,” Ancott admitted, “but I’m not so reckless as to attack him here. If you doubt , Lord Orlando, you can ask the people nearby.”
With that, Ancott gritted his teeth, pulled out ten primary-grade magic stones, and offered them reluctantly.
“I’ll take responsibility for my impulsiveness. This is compensation for the waitress, and I’ll also cover the Greenvine Restaurant’s losses.”
He produced another five magic stones.
His decisively conciliatory posture made Orlando pause for a mont.
The second-tier mber frowned in thought, realizing there was little more he could press for.
If Ancott had attacked Lynn, the matter would certainly not have ended so simply.
But the truth was that Ancott had attacked a waitress, not a Society mber.
And now, with his volunteering compensation, this was already the best possible outco. What more could they demand? Would a third-rank Bloodmark apprentice pay with his life over a waitress?
Even if Adeline had died, it would be hard to force such a price.
Still, Orlando rubbed his chin, feeling vaguely dissatisfied. He spoke in a low voice:
“Apologize. I want you to apologize to the Greenvine Restaurant.”
“Of course,” Ancott said with a nod. He glanced at Lynn, then added suddenly,
“I can apologize to the Greenvine and the Golden Shadow Society, but that Lynn fellow should also apologize to .
“After all, if he hadn’t been standing in the middle of the way for no reason, none of this farce would have happened.”
Lynn frowned, but Orlando chuckled lightly.
“Oh? That’s odd, because the way I heard it, you spilled the greenvine juice yourself and then blad soone else.”
Lynn blinked. Orlando didn’t know the full details, yet spoke without hesitation.
Perhaps… this is the benefit of having a faction at your back.
If he had been a lone hedge wizard with no connections, the outco might well have been reversed.
The gaunt Ancott’s face darkened at the words. He set the magic stones down, shot Lynn a final cold look, and left the Greenvine without another word.
Orlando didn’t try to stop him. He simply handed the stones to Adeline and turned to Lynn.
“Be careful over the next while.
“That Ancott is a regular here, and he’s particularly petty.
“The Bloodmark Society he belongs to doesn’t get along too well with our Golden Shadow Society. With the Autumn Hunt approaching, tensions are running even higher, so so friction is inevitable.
“My guess is that’s why Ancott deliberately went looking for trouble with you.”
“Autumn Hunt?”
Lynn caught the unfamiliar yet oddly familiar phrase and asked it aloud without thinking.
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/AetherTL
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