The days that followed were very hectic. Count Hannes, Emory, and Karl continued to patrol the city along with the city guards. However, this time the three first-year students of the Clover Academy also aided them.
Since it was more or less confirmed that the culprit they were looking for was an undead creature, their investigations were only limited to nighttime. However, as to what undead creature they were looking for? They did not know yet.
But even after turning the entire city upside down, the culprit had still not been found. This was very demotivating for the Magi, however, they couldn't just quit now. Especially, Emory. He was still desperately holding on to the thread of hope that his son was still alive.
On this day, the three kids were walking down the coast as they made their way to the Hannes Lighthouse. It was one of the famous landmarks in the City of Sails.
Situated at the end of a long arm of narrow, rocky land that separated Hannes Harbor from the Misty Sea, the Hannes Lighthouse served as a beacon of hope for sailors and a monument of identity for the residents of the city.
As the three carefully navigated the rocky patch of land, Adam suddenly stopped and raised his head to look at the towering lighthouse.
"Whoa! That sure is a tall one. Should be close to a hundred meters, huh?"
Lisa who was behind him looked at the lighthouse and replied while nudging her round glasses, "85 meters to be precise."
Edward approached them from behind, gasping for air. "Damn it! Why did we have to come to this place again? We should have just stayed by the harbor and begun patrolling when night had fallen."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})"Tsk, you fatty!" Adam clicked his tongue and shook his head in disappointment. "We've come so far away from the academy, we should at least do a little bit of sightseeing, no?"
The two roommates continued to argue with one another as they soon reached the lighthouse. Upon arriving, Lisa gave the lighthouse guard a document signed by the Count. This document allowed them to enter the tower.
It took about a few minutes for the trio to climb the lighthouse, and finally, they arrived at the gallery deck. A gust of wind blew across their faces as they stood on the deck and breathed in the refreshing and salty smell of the sea.
The gallery deck gave them a 360-degree view that was simply breathtaking. On one side was the boundless sea, and on the other side was the City of Sails.
Seeing such a magnificent view, the three kids quieted down and just silently took in everything.
Adam nimbly jumped over the railing and sat on it, his legs lazily dangling in the air. Then, he took out a cloth-wrapped box from his satchel. Inside, there were three hot apple pies that he'd bought from a local vendor on the way here.
"Here." He gave one to Edward and Lisa and then enjoyed the fantastic view of the city while munching on his pie.
Lisa and Edward followed suit and sat down on the railing beside Adam. None of them said a word. They simply enjoyed the pie and the view.
Suddenly, Lisa turned to look at Adam and softly asked, "Adam… what did you do before joining the academy?"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})She was always curious about Adam's background. Unlike the vast majority of students who came from well-to-do families, Adam was a commoner.
So she wanted to know how exactly her trustworthy and dependable teammate happened to embark on the path of a Magus.
Edward's ears also perked up. Even though he was Adam's roommate, he barely knew anything about him. To him, Adam was an enigma. Now that this question was brought up by Lisa, he was also naturally curious.
Adam faintly smiled as he thought back to his childhood. "I was sort of a jack of all trades back when I was young."
"What do you mean?" Lisa asked.
"Any work I could get my hands on, I would do it," replied Adam as he munched on the pie. "It was all labor work, though. Cleaning horse stables for nobles, washing dishes at an inn, waiting tables at a tavern, you name it."
Lisa and Edward were stunned. They knew that Adam was a commoner but they didn't think he had to do such handy jobs to make ends meet. For a while, they didn't know what to say.
Adam looked at their expressions and chuckled, "Shocking, isn't it? Well, it is what it is. I'm not ashamed of it. I did what I had to to survive."
Lisa sighed. "You're right. At least, it is better than thieving and murdering for a living."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Adam's lips twitched as he thought, I did pickpocket a couple of times when I was too desperate though… But he wisely didn't disclose this secret, lest he incur the wrath of Lisa.
Edward suddenly asked, "What about your parents?"
Adam spoke with a bitter smile, "For as long as I can remember, I've been an orphan. I vaguely recall the time I spent with my parents when I was very young. But that's about it… I don't remember their faces."
A melancholic atmosphere surrounded the three of them as none of them spoke. Adam's words deeply saddened Lisa and Edward.
Edward mumbled with slightly reddened eyes. "I'm sorry, Adam. I shouldn't have asked."
But Adam looked at him and smiled brightly. "Don't worry about it! If my parents were alive today, they'd surely be very happy that I was able to become a Magus!"
Lisa looked at Adam's smile and thought inwardly, I wonder if my father would also be happy if he knew that I too became a Magus…
Edward suddenly thought of something and asked, "Wait, but how did you even come to become a Magus? I mean, how did you know that you had the talent for spell-casting in the first place?"
Adam had a reminiscent look in his eyes, and his lips involuntarily curled up into a warm smile. "It was perhaps my life's greatest fortune to have met that wandering Magus back in my hometown. If it wasn't for her, I'd probably still be rotting somewhere in the slums."
"Who is this person?" Lisa curiously asked.
Adam replied, "Her name… is Anna."
