Chapter 4: The Town’s Gloom and a Peculiar Request

Dong~~! Dong~~! Dong~~!

The clock tower at the town entrance tolled, ushering in the morning light.

This hour should have been when the town burst into vibrant life. Yet, Votila noticed that the number of pedestrians in the mornings had significantly decreased over the past few days.

“Morning, Mulee Hua.”

“Good morning, Uncle Jason!”

Pedestrians on the street exchanged greetings, but many still wore expressions of worry. At Uncle Jason’s bakery, fresh bread and cakes had just emerged from the oven.

However, the storefront, usually bustling with customers, now saw only a sparse few. The entire street’s atmosphere felt considerably heavier than usual.

Early in the morning, Mulee Hua stepped onto the street with her black cat. The passersby showed no surprise at the kitten perched on Mulee Hua’s shoulder.

Indeed, ever since Mulee Hua began caring for the black cat, this particular kitten, with its fondness for lounging on her head or shoulder, had become a familiar sight to everyone in the village.

Everyone in town knew that Mulee Hua owned an eccentric black cat.

The black cat was tiny, no larger than an adult’s palm. It was remarkably different from ordinary cats, active during the day and sleeping at night, never hunting, and possessing a distinctly lazy temperament.

Its greatest joy was eating, yet it never touched raw food. Even cooked meals, if not to its exact liking, would be completely ignored, its palate more discerning than that of a gourmet.

“Miss Mulee Hua, out walking your cat so early?”

“Haha, not really. I’m delivering a custom order to a customer.”

Votila, perched on Mulee Hua’s shoulder, let out a soft grunt.

The person who ordered the crystal scroll was Agnes Field, a new Archmage in the Dorami Militia. She possessed a cold demeanor, always wore a black hood, and rarely revealed her true face.

Votila didn’t particularly care for this individual. The first time she visited the shop, she had actually tried to buy Votila.

She claimed that black cats made excellent magical offerings. Whether human magic required sacrifices, Votila didn’t know.

However, Votila believed that any magic necessitating sacrifices was inherently malevolent, a concept deeply rooted in how dragons understood the essence of magic.

Therefore, Votila sensed danger from this person and couldn’t allow Mulee Hua to deliver the goods alone. If anything happened to Mulee Hua, who would cook for him?

It was for this reason that he had accompanied Mulee Hua.

The Dorami Militia was a military-political unit funded by the town and directly subordinate to the Town Chief. It was responsible for the entire town’s security and defense, currently comprising over fifty members.

The militia’s office was located on the west side of town, not far from Mulee Hua’s home. Although it was still early, many people had already gathered inside the office, creating a boisterous and chaotic atmosphere.

Despite being called an office, it resembled a small tavern more than anything.

As Mulee Hua approached the office, she heard curses emanating from within.

“How many people have been hurt this month?! Are you militiamen all good-for-nothings?! Is all the funding the town gives you annually just being fed to pigs, huh?!”

Votila heard a roar loud enough to shatter glass. The voice, it seemed, belonged to the town’s chief.

“How long has it been?! You still haven’t figured out the details of those little wolf pups. The militia has been deployed so many times, and you haven’t even caught a single wolf hair?!”

“I don’t care what methods you use! Get rid of those wolf pups… No, forget it! I don’t expect you to eliminate them. Just drive them far away! Don’t let them get close to the town anymore!”

“This afternoon, I’m going to Lockchester City to request support from the Archmage Corps. Let the Archmages from Lockchester City deal with these wolf pups!”

Mulee Hua was still hesitating whether to open the door and enter when it creaked open. The old Town Chief, with his large belly and stern face, walked out. He spotted Mulee Hua.

“Town Chief,” Mulee Hua greeted him with a forced smile.

“Mulee Hua?” The old Town Chief’s expression softened slightly. “I recall you also studied at the Lockchester Magic Academy for a period, didn’t you?”

“Ah… yes.”

“I don’t know what happened to you in Lockchester, but things have been quite unstable outside the town lately. If you have the ability, please lend a hand with the militia’s affairs.”

Having said this, the stout Town Chief seemed to recall something, shook his head with a self-deprecating sigh, and walked past Mulee Hua.

‘The Town Chief has been under a lot of stress lately due to town matters.’ Although the stout Town Chief appeared fierce, his heart wasn’t bad at all. However, helping out the militia was quite a difficult request.

Mulee Hua watched the stout Town Chief depart before finally pushing open the door and entering the office. Upon stepping inside, she was met with a scene of pervasive gloom.

Every face was etched with solemnity. Seeing that everyone’s mood was low, Mulee Hua felt awkward striking up a casual conversation.

Militia Captain Odur was discussing something very seriously with several members. Mulee Hua vaguely overheard talk about guard assignments.

Mulee Hua had recently heard about the troubles the militia was facing.

A month ago, a small pack of demon wolves suddenly appeared in the forest outside the town, repeatedly attacking hunters who ventured there.

Dorami was far from the Monster Forest, and demon beasts rarely appeared in its vicinity. Even if one or two occasionally strayed from the Monster Forest, they would quickly be dealt with by the militia.

However, this time the demon wolves were not only high-level but also numerous. The militia had organized several encirclement campaigns, all of which failed, leaving many injured to varying degrees in the battles.

Recently, the demon wolves’ activity range had even shown a tendency to approach the town. Many townsfolk who pastured their livestock around the town had been attacked.

The residents living in the town center were still relatively safe, but the villagers residing in the surrounding areas were gripped by fear. If this continued, it would inevitably lead to widespread panic throughout the town.

Speaking of which, Mulee Hua felt somewhat fortunate. The little black cat on her shoulder was one she had found on the edge of the forest outside town over a month ago. She was grateful that she hadn’t encountered that pack of demon wolves at the time.

With a meow filled with distaste, Mulee Hua and the black cat approached a young woman wearing a black cloak and hood. Along the brim of the hood, one could vaguely discern the girl’s silver-gray hair and exquisite, pretty face.

The young woman was half-bent over a table, using a pen to calculate something on a piece of scratch paper. Her focused demeanor was so intense that the noisy environment of the office seemed utterly incapable of disturbing her.

Votila, lying down, glanced over. The scratch paper contained a rather rudimentary acceleration spell formula. Such things, Votila had seen many times at Mulee Hua’s home, so he could understand it.

Seeing no reaction from the young woman, Mulee Hua gently tapped the table beside her. “Miss Agnes?”

“Hmm?! Shopkeeper.” The hooded young woman’s face showed a flicker of surprise, but she quickly composed herself, adopting a cold expression, and pointed to a nearby chair. “Sit.”

Mulee Hua sat as instructed and handed the young woman a small pouch. “Here, the crystal scroll you ordered yesterday.”

Agnes took the pouch without opening it, her gaze drifting from the kitten on Mulee Hua’s shoulder, an unspoken thought lingering. “Hmm…”

Votila felt a shiver run down his spine, and the sharp claws between his paw pads twitched with an urge to extend. ‘This human! Should I give her a swipe?’

Mulee Hua instinctively raised a hand to shield the kitten, stating righteously, “This cat is not for sale.”

“No…” Agnes looked flustered, trying to say something but struggling to articulate it. She pointed to the scratch paper on the table, speaking in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz: “Help… help me.”

“Hmm? What? Miss Agnes?” The office was quite noisy, and Agnes’s voice was too soft. Not having heard clearly, Mulee Hua asked again.

“Hmm…” Agnes, her face flushed, pushed the scratch paper in front of Mulee Hua and raised her voice. “This is a new swiftness spell I’m preparing for the corps, but the formula seems to have some issues. Could you help me take a look?”

“…” Mulee Hua took the scratch paper from Agnes and examined it carefully. “Oh? This algorithm?!”

“It’s a bit… illogical.” Agnes looked somewhat dejected. “I’ve spent three days… but I still haven’t perfected it.”

“This program, specifically the algorithm for the inspiration part, is something I’m seeing for the first time. It’s a very novel algorithm.” Mulee Hua looked up at Agnes. The young woman appeared to be only fifteen or sixteen years old. “Did you write this algorithm yourself?”

“Yes… but the entire program is unstable… prone to crashing.”

“That’s because there’s a small problem with the program’s construction part,” Mulee Hua said, pointing at the scratch paper as she addressed Agnes.

“Right here, this algorithm in the structural component is from an older generation.

Its compatibility isn’t strong, and when compared to the algorithm you wrote yourself, these two algorithms have some hard conflicts in certain areas, making the entire program unstable.

To solve this, you need to rewrite this framework algorithm to be compatible with the inspiration algorithm at the start of the spell, and then…”

…Votila didn’t know if Agnes understood, but Votila himself was already feeling lightheaded from listening.

“Oh!”

Mulee Hua, realizing Agnes had been silent, turned her head to find Agnes staring at her with burning eyes, little stars practically sparkling in them, as if she had discovered a new continent.

“What’s wrong, Miss Agnes?” Mulee Hua asked.

“Just call me Annie!”

“Uh… alright, Miss Annie?”

“Call me Annie! Not Miss!” Agnes quickly corrected her.

“Annie…”

“Yes!” Agnes responded, a smile blooming on her face. “Shopkeeper, you’re amazing! Annie spent three days trying to understand this, and the Shopkeeper saw it at a glance.”

“I’ve just read a lot of books, so I understand these algorithms a little better,” Mulee Hua replied with a smile.

“Hmm, Shopkeeper…”

“What is it?”

“That…” Agnes looked a bit shy. “Th-that…”

“…??”

Agnes lowered her head profoundly, speaking in an extremely soft voice. “Can I… call you big sister?”

“Huh?” Mulee Hua looked utterly bewildered, and Votila nearly tumbled off her shoulder.

Agnes’s face instantly flushed to her earlobes, but fortunately, she was wearing a hood, so others couldn’t see her expression. She thought Mulee Hua hadn’t heard and mustered her courage to repeat loudly, “Can I call you big sister?!”

“But I…” Mulee Hua’s face was etched with frustration. “I’m only 15… I should be… a little younger than you…”

Although Mulee Hua didn’t know Agnes’s true age, she knew that one of the conditions for the militia to recruit members was that they only accepted adults. In human kingdoms, the standard for adulthood was 16 years old. Therefore, Agnes had to be at least 16.

“The Shopkeeper isn’t an adult yet?!” Agnes felt a little dazed. “H-h-how is that possible?! But clearly!”

Agnes meticulously scrutinized Mulee Hua. Honestly, from a human perspective, Mulee Hua was truly a very lovely and beautiful young woman: silky, smooth golden hair, flawless, delicate skin, and a perfectly fitted cinched dress.

Anyone who saw her would likely exclaim, ‘This must be a goddess’s blessed beauty.’

Especially… Agnes’s gaze lingered intently on a certain prominent part of Mulee Hua’s physique.

“Ara, Annie, your gaze is a little unsettling,” Mulee Hua said, a harmonious smile gracing her lips.

“S-s-sorry!”

Votila, perched on Mulee Hua’s shoulder, couldn’t quite understand. ‘What’s happening? Is this person dissatisfied with where I usually sharpen my claws?’ Votila was utterly perplexed.