On the country road, a blue sedan was driving slowly.
The cars of this era had a fairly simple structure, making them easy to repair. Wayne took a wrench and pretended to tap a few times. Before finding any issues, the car successfully started and continued its journey.
Beginner's luck!
Without the curse bothering him, Wayne didn't need to eat a lot to alleviate hunger. He ignored the compressed biscuits and instead chewed on a piece of chocolate, making loud noises as he ate.
In the passenger seat, Lily looked at him enviously. As a girl again, she couldn't indulge in chocolate as freely as before.
Wayne might have done it on purpose. Swallowing a piece of chocolate, he sprayed a sweet scent towards Lily. "Lily, I thought you loved chocolate the most. Why aren't you eating?"
Lily was furious. She tore open the package... and just licked it.
That was her share for the day, which made her even more frustrated!
Veronica: Well done!
And, could you please keep your damn mouth shut?!
Wayne wasn't trying to annoy Veronica. He was repaying Lily for the disgust she caused him earlier when she pretended to be a gay man. After thirty years of waiting, he naturally wanted to get some revenge when the opportunity arose.
"Lily, have you heard of the Free Mage Alliance?"
"The Free Mage Alliance?!"
Lily tilted her head. "Why are you asking about that? They are a bunch of loose and unfaithful people. They're not good..."
"Where did you hear about it from?"
"The Nelson family's handbook."
"That draft? I advise you to read it critically. It's full of nonsense, childish and one-sided, with baseless self-indulgence..."
"It's good for reading as a novel."
Wayne shrugged, not wanting to argue with Lily. To believers, the book was too naive, but for someone like him, it was just right.
When Wayne took out the spoils, Veronica and the others glanced at them briefly. They weren't interested and quickly returned them to Wayne, so they didn't see the part about the Free Mage Alliance in the book.
"The Free Mage Alliance, also known as the Atheist Alliance, was formed by extremist members of the Mage Guild. Due to lack of faith, these people are only interested in profit, and their morals are low. Their reputation in the mage circle is extremely poor..."
In the back seat, Sister Chris answered Wayne's question. As a follower of the Moon Goddess, she had no good feelings towards the Free Mage Alliance. The entire passage was negative, without a single good word.
"Does this organization still exist? Has it been eradicated?" Wayne asked curiously.
..."x3
No one answered, indicating that there were plenty of mages without faith.
Sister Chris coughed lightly and explained, "The reason the Free Mage Alliance exists is not because of its core values, but because it has value in existing. Mages need to broaden their horizons and share the knowledge and experience they have learned with each other. The guilds cannot organize large-scale exchanges. In this case, mages have to find a way themselves, and the Free Mage Alliance is a good choice."
"Chaotic, no rules, no principles, and therefore, breeding a lot of darkness, almost every wanted criminal..."
"The Free Mage Alliance gathers all the scum in the mage circle, advocating faithlessness is just deceiving people. Mages without faith cannot go far. A slight carelessness can lead to the wrong path, and Mike is the best example."
In order to bring Wayne into the embrace of the Moon Goddess, Sister Chris had been very careful, fearing that this potential talent would go astray.
Wayne nodded as he listened, becoming more interested in the Free Mage Alliance. He had many doubts and wanted to ask them all at once, but Veronica and the others were not suitable to ask. He casually brushed over the topic due to lack of interest from the three of them.
Wayne thought that Mike's evaluation was quite apt. The three college girls were typical academic types who hadn't experienced the harsh realities of society, so they were very devout in their faith.
When they matured and experienced society, they would understand the Free Mage Alliance and join them just like the old mages. Wayne felt deeply worried for them as their friend. If it weren't for his weak strength preventing him from teaching them, he would definitely have intervened and guided them to maturity as quickly as possible.
After driving for a while, Wayne suddenly sensed something and stopped the car. He crossed the road several times, feeling something familiar.
"It's here..."
Wayne narrowed his eyes. He had driven this road before and it looked very familiar. Suddenly, the clear sky was covered with dark clouds, followed by lightning, rain, and the appearance of A-Piao.
At that time, he felt a sense of crisis, was blinded by lightning, and startled by A-Piao crawling out from under the car. He didn't have time to think about it carefully.
Now, looking back, the dividing line under his feet was the range covered by the cursed space.
"Wayne, what are you doing?"
"Nothing, just need to pee. I'll be back in a moment."
..."x3
The blue sedan continued on its journey and encountered a checkpoint set up by the Lundan police before entering the city.
In recent years, first the Great Depression and then the shadow of war had cast a cloud over the entire continent, leading to an influx of spies into the Windsor Kingdom.
As the capital of the Windsor Kingdom, the city of Lundan was almost overrun with spies, so the Cabinet urgently issued an ID card system, requiring citizens over the age of 16 to carry ID cards with them for police inspections.
Wayne had an ID card, and Veronica and the others did too. The police officers who stopped Wayne with three beautiful girls were envious. Their words contained a hint of admiration.
Dude, what's with that look? Do I look like a scumbag who's playing three girls? Can my body handle that?
Wayne was speechless. Even a discerning person could see that he wasn't a scumbag, and the three beautiful girls weren't his girlfriends.
Because the answer was obvious, explanations became a cover-up, and there was even suspicion of mocking the intelligence of the police officers. Wayne simply didn't explain, and faced the envy of the other party, he slightly raised the corners of his mouth, nodded lightly, and left.
After the car left, the police officer shook his head repeatedly, avoided his colleagues, entered the duty room, and made a call.
"Mr. Lande, do you know Veronica Lande?"
"No, she hasn't done anything wrong. She just talked about a boyfriend."
"The suspect's name is Wayne, he's a detective... you know, a social idler in his twenties without a job. Either he claims to be a writer, painter, or detective."
"Not good. They left the city for a day and night, saying they were going back to the countryside for a wedding..."
"Oh, by the way, there are two beautiful women in the car. According to the suspect's confession, they are all his girlfriends. If I'm not mistaken, they've all been deceived."
"I'm very sure. You have no idea how smug he looked when he laughed. I can still vividly remember that self-satisfied expression!"
"No trouble at all, it's what I should do. Without you, the London officers wouldn't have their current treatment."
"Okay, I'll go to the police station tomorrow to pick up the money. Thank you for your generosity."