Parish snapped his fingers at the man and the wolf. "Let's make a reasonable assumption. First, Night Eagle, the old wolf you mentioned, talked about a legend regarding Elikrom, the Giant Wolf God, who had his tooth broken at the end of the Fall of the Gods, and after that, he fell. Then, Arthur here suddenly mentioned Elikrom's name, not even the Giant Wolf God, specifically."
"Then, Arthur mentioned something about Albert giving him something when he was a child. Let's assume all of this is correct for now. Wouldn't it be possible that the wizard who defeated Elikrom is the Wizard King, Rhein Hebrew? And that the Hebrew family may have obtained Elikrom's tooth after the fall, and what Albert gave Arthur as a child was, in fact, Elikrom's tooth? The reason for this is probably related to the powers of this divine relic, which might not just be the nightmares Night Eagle spoke of."
"Are divine relics really that hard to obtain?" Arthur asked, remembering the one divine relic he had encountered before—the Earth Goddess Gaia's blessing.
"Are you some kind of primitive?" Night Eagle reacted exaggeratedly. "Most people live their entire lives without even hearing of such things. 'Hard to obtain'? It's more like it's practically impossible! How do you even know about divine relics?"
"A certain purple-skinned elven girl," Arthur muttered. He had unintentionally learned so much that ordinary people would never know. He wasn't sure whether he should thank or blame his teacher Livlan.
"Night Eagle, I'm officially inviting you to help me and this Hebrew descendant to the Rose Manor ruins."
Arthur nodded. Suddenly, it hit him that he was the only Hebrew descendant here. Why would he need to join them?
"Well, in that case, I'll go with you guys. Staying in this basement is rusting me away. Just pick a time," Night Eagle said, his tail wagging in excitement.
Arthur didn't even have a say in the matter. He felt powerless in this situation, but he didn't entirely dislike the idea. Going back to the place where his grandparents, butlers, and servants had died—the Rose Manor. If what Parish hypothesized was true, then perhaps the purpose of the Black Robes was related to divine relics too. But if that were the case, why would they burn down the manor? What was their real goal?
Too many thoughts made Arthur hungry. He didn't even hear Night Eagle calling him until a punch landed on the back of his head. "Ouch! What was that for?"
"You weren't responding, so I hit you," Night Eagle said, jabbing Arthur's head with a paw. "We'll set the time for this week's new moon day. When the time comes, come to my place, and I'll take you there."
Arthur instinctively wanted to protest, but again, he had no say. Seeing Night Eagle and Arthur fist-bumping, Parish smiled without saying a word. As for the potential dangers, Parish wasn't about to inform Arthur. The Hebrew descendant had no special role for Parish to protect. The only reason for him to stay around was in case there were places requiring the Hebrew family bloodline to unlock certain things—something easily created by modern-day wizards, not to mention the ingenuity of the Dwarves.
Eleven years ago, when Parish and Night Eagle arrived in Brighton City, they were a month later than expected. Seeing the completely locked-down North District, Parish knew the Hebrew family had been destroyed. He then embarked on his own path. If it hadn't been for the Wizard War eleven years ago, the Hebrew family might not have been wiped out. But who could have predicted that war?
...
When they left the basement, the city was drizzling lightly. As they stood in the rain, there was no further conversation between them. Arthur, much shorter, noticed that the rainwater avoided Parish's head, a clear indication of a water-wielding wizard's ability. Arthur, without an umbrella, simply started walking back toward his home.
Thunder rumbled, signaling that the rain would soon intensify. Just as Arthur was about to break into a run, he heard Parish's voice behind him. A lightning strike lit up the entire Tappler Street.
"What did you say?" Arthur turned around, about to ask. The thunder had obscured his hearing, but when he turned, he saw only an empty street. Parish, the water wizard, had disappeared into the rain-soaked city.
At home, Mrs. Lily was making hot soup, while Katerina and Lizzy were playing the popular game of checkers in the hall. Arthur took off his soaked undershirt and grabbed the towel Mrs. Lily had laid out earlier to dry his hair.
Was what he said true? Sitting at the table, sipping hot soup with one hand and breaking off pieces of buckwheat bread with the other, Arthur recalled a question Parish had asked him as he left the underground fighting arena, a question he couldn't refuse: "Do you want to become a wizard?"
A wizard... that was exactly the way Arthur had dreamed of gaining strength—perhaps even easier than joining the army. But was it really that simple? As he had pondered earlier in the fighting room, if gods were truly omniscient and omnipotent, higher than all the other races in the world, how were they defeated by wizards? And if he became a wizard, would that indirectly place him in conflict with human law enforcers and arbitration organizations? Perhaps his family had been destroyed because they were discovered to be a family of wizards, and the news was suppressed by the Human Alliance.
Arthur hesitated. When power was so easily within reach, was there a price? Would he be shouldered with responsibilities he could not bear? He thought about it so much that he couldn't eat his bread. After helping Mrs. Lily clean up the table, he returned to his room. From the top floor, the sound of the rain hitting the roof was obvious, along with the occasional rumble of thunder. Arthur had always been afraid of nature's power, as George Cavendish had once told him at the Charity House—he revered the power of gods, and that's why he had faith in them.
So, was it really possible to become a wizard without concern?
Another lightning strike broke through the night sky.
The Rose Manor... and the unknown Elikrom's tooth, which may or may not exist.
Looks like there will be a lot to do before heading to the front lines.
Arthur stretched his left fist toward the skylight, slowly clenching it.