Countless bright firelights flickered on top of the torches, and the flowing light and shadow sprinkled throughout the square, expelling the heavy night, as if it had come to artificial daylight.

This is the central square of the Hogel business district and the largest open space in the city, where the celebrations on the eve of the Snow Festival take place, and on such days, both commoners and nobles will come together to enjoy the festive atmosphere.

At this moment, in a richly decorated restaurant near the square, Sean was sitting by the window on the third floor, eating and quietly looking at the lively scene in the square in the distance.

He saw Satuk talking with several nobles with a smile on his face, Count Georgia Herbert, who had provided him with the raw materials for alchemy, watching the show with his maid in his arms, and many people who were not weak in their breath gathered together to discuss something—these people were no strangers to him.

Even though he rarely goes out, after showing his strong strength and profound alchemy attainments several times, he unknowingly integrated into the upper circle of Hogel City, and his status is increasing day by day.

"Master, aren't we going down for a walk?"

Celia put her arm around him and snuggled gently beside Sean, her voice pleading softly, apparently noticing that her master was in a pretty good mood at the moment.

"Hmm...... Let's go back when there are fewer people, and eat something for now. ”

Sean thought for a moment, nodded slightly, raised his hand and used his mana to cut the meat chop that had just been served into small pieces, and then slowly took a fork and slowly put it into his mouth.

He was still in Teresa City at this time last year, when one of his experimental projects was at a critical juncture, so he didn't find time to attend the Snow Festival.

Therefore, for Celia, it was the first time she had seen such a grand holiday party, and although she didn't like this kind of crowded environment, it would mean a completely different thing if she could hang out with her host.

Hearing that her master had agreed to her proposal, Celia's heart suddenly rejoiced, and she glanced at Estelle, who was sitting opposite, before standing up and pouring Sean a glass of wine.

As a high-end slave who has been strictly cultivated since birth, Celia's skills in serving people have left Estelle a few streets away, although it stands to reason that slaves should not be jealous or compete with others for favor, but every time this happens, there is a faint sense of joy in her heart.

"Good behave, as a reward, I'll feed you today."

Sean rubbed Celia's head and said with a smile.

Moderate praise and rewards can bring a lot of positive feedback to the slave, and if you don't want to turn the slave into a mere tool, this way can better domesticate the slave's heart.

"Uh......h Host, is this really possible......"

Celia was stunned for a moment, her voice trembling slightly.

Being able to dine at the same table with her master is already a great gift for her, not to mention having her master feed it by hand, it is like a dream......

"I said yes, don't stand there stupidly, come here."

Sean pulled Celia into his arms very strongly, and then delivered the food to her mouth little by little like a pet, although there was no superfluous movement, but it made Celia feel an inexplicable shame.

Estelle, who was sitting opposite, saw the two interacting like this, and her heart suddenly became sour, she fiddled with the dishes in front of her, and then ate absentmindedly.

……

……

By the time the three of them walked out of the lavish door of the restaurant, there were far fewer civilians around the square, and Sean took Celia and Steele to wander around the neighborhood boredly, looking for something interesting.

"Master, what kind of monsters are they, why do they look like ordinary dogs, but they can speak the lingua franca."

At a stage, Celia looks curiously at the performers and the "dogs" on stage.

She had followed Sean for so long, and she had learned a lot about monsters, but she had never heard of this strange creature in front of her.

"Huh? That's not a monster, it's a human......"

Sean's expression gradually became strange, and he also noticed the special features of those "dogs", so after sweeping it with his mental power, he quickly got the answer.

It wasn't some humanoid, it wasn't a special effect of supernatural power, the dogs on the stage were clearly tools for amusement transformed and domesticated from living human children, miserable people who had long been numb.

The dog's skin was so tightly attached to their skin that it was evident from the signs of injury that it had been forcibly pasted with boiling water, and the scalded flesh fused with the dog's skin as it grew, eventually creating such a monster.

Sean knew that most of these children were cheap slaves that no one wanted, because they were young and not good-looking, so the black-hearted slave traders could always find ways to squeeze out their surplus value in order to earn blood-stained gold coins.

With this in mind, he described the process of its birth to Celia and Estelle in detail, and the cruel method instantly made them lose interest in watching and look away.

"Let's go, it's just an ordinary show, nothing to see, let's go to those stores outside later, maybe we can buy some good things."

Sean shrugged his shoulders and didn't bother with the stage, he walked away slowly with the staff of reincarnation in hand, occasionally glancing at the items on the nearby stalls along the way, hoping to find some interesting knick-knacks.

There are so many evils in this world that they can't be contained in secret, and they are even blatantly displayed on the surface.

But what does this have to do with Sean?

He can't change anything, and he doesn't want to change anything, he is a vested interest in the rules of this world, and as long as he continues to be strong, he will never be polluted by these filth.

He does not aversion to the darkness, as long as it does not stand in his way.

……

……

On the periphery of the plaza are rows of shops that are still open even though it's the eve of the Snow Festival.

After all, this is the most crowded place in the whole city, and as long as you are willing to open a business, you can always earn a lot of gold coins.

"Huh? Are these two rings inlaid with wind crystals? It's a waste of such a rare material to only be used to power an apprentice-level light body technique. ”

Passing by the door of a shop, Sean's spiritual power suddenly felt a faint fluctuation of the wind element, and he curiously glanced over to see it, and immediately found these two beautifully made rings.

"My lord has a good eye, this pair of rings is a treasure that our Chamber of Commerce got not long ago, and the materials used are quite rare, but it may be due to the poor level of the maker, so it has not fully realized its potential."

"Although we have also thought about finding someone to refine, it is too difficult to modify the fixed runes and energy circuits, so unless there is a trainee-level alchemist to do it personally, it is easy to cause damage to the materials if we do it rashly."

"If you know a trustworthy alchemist, you can buy these two rings back and rebuild them, as long as nothing goes wrong, I believe that the final product will not disappoint you."

"Even if you don't make any further changes, its sophisticated appearance and luxurious materials alone can make it a great collector's item."

The waiter in the store saw that Sean seemed to be interested in these two rings, so he immediately stepped forward to explain, although it was a new face that was not very familiar, but judging from the faint soul fluctuations, this should also be a trainee-level patron.

"Well, it's not bad, it's just that the price of a thousand gold coins is a little expensive, how about giving me a 50% discount."

"Although the Wind Whisper Crystal is not common, it actually has a very narrow range of applications, and it will take a lot of expensive auxiliary materials to refine this ring, and these two pieces alone are not worth so many gold coins."

Sean pondered for a moment, trying to cut the price.

"Uh...... My lord, I may not be able to be the master of this, the things in our store are clearly marked and refuse to bargain, and they ......"

The waiter smiled awkwardly, but before he could finish, an old voice from the depths of the shop suddenly interrupted him.

"Five hundred gold coins? No, this gadget was the work of a friend of mine when he was younger, and if Sir Sean likes it, then take it. ”

Sean turned around in shock, only to find that there was a rather high-level ritual magic arranged in the depths of the store, and the main effect of this ritual magic was concealment, and it was difficult to find it in the first place if it was not carefully detected with spiritual power.

Soon after, an old man in a black robe slowly walked out of it, his body was rickety, his face was full of layers of wrinkles, and at first glance it gave people the feeling that time was running out, and he did not look like a powerful professional at all.

But Sean didn't take it lightly, he stared solemnly at the staff in the old man's hand, which was made of green plants and white bones, and all kinds of speculations in his heart went wildly.

"Aha, that's familiar, right? Let me introduce myself, my name is Ainos Riddle, well, that is the Ainos you have in mind. ”

"If I'm not mistaken, you should know a mage named Lauren, who might be your mentor based on your age?"

Ainos laughed a few times, reached out and rubbed the crystal ball on the head of the staff slightly, the quality of this crystal is not low, although it is not as good as the secondary fusion crystal that Sean once obtained, but it is also worth tens of thousands of gold coins.

"Yes, the person who introduced me to the path of a professional is indeed Mentor Lauren, may I ask you?"

After discovering that the person in front of him was as high as 19 professional level, Sean's attitude suddenly became cautious, but for the sake of the other party's previous release of kindness, he still admitted his identity.

The Staff of Reincarnation, the full name of the Staff of Life and Death of Ainos, is one of the important intellectual legacies that Sean inherited from Laurenna.

Although Lauren did not mention its origin, judging from the name, it must have something to do with the old mage named Ainos in front of him.

"Hehe, it seems that the old guy didn't mention my deeds to you."

"To put it simply, when we were very young, we were friends who entered the Gorx Academy on the same float in the same year, because we both liked the alchemy department, so our relationship has always been very good."

"It's a pity that although we have worked hard, we are not talented, and after more than 100 years in the academy, Lauren and I have long lost our initial self-confidence, and we finally chose to give up in the face of the moat before the official level."

"After paying off the arrears of the academy and fulfilling our obligations, Lauren and I left the Gorx Academy one after another, and since then we have parted ways to enjoy the rest of our lives."

"The combination potion recipe you have in your hand was also taught to you by Lauren, right? We explored an ancient ruin, and gained a lot of good things from it, the most valuable of which was how the staff was made and the recipe for the combination potion. ”

"Of course, due to the natural damage to the recorder, both of them became incomplete, and it took us a lot of work to fix them......"

Enos Riddle's old face showed a look of reminiscence, as if he was nostalgic for the old days.

"Oh, by the way, where is that old guy now, he must have a few years to live like me, right? Over the years, I have traveled to distant places, and now that we are reunited, I must catch up with him. ”

Suddenly, Enos seemed to remember something, he looked up at Sean's face, and asked expectantly.

Mentor Lauren...... He passed away a few years ago after failing to break through the formal rank......"

Sean replied in a low voice, not saying anything else.

"What?"

Enos froze for a moment, he was silent for a moment, and finally let out a long sigh.

"Forget it...... This guy still chose this path......"

"It's a pity, it's not so easy at the official level, it's just a waste of life......"

Ainos seemed to have lost all of his desire to talk, waved his hand happily, and sat down slowly on the chaise longue beside him.

"You go, I'll visit you in a few days when I have time."

"Oh, by the way, the staff is very well made, at least a lot stronger than mine, it's really terrifying......"

……

Walking out of Ainos's shop, Sean had some mixed feelings, but he didn't expect that he came over to buy something on a whim, but met Lauren's former friend.

Although the old mage looked weak, the powerful soul power made Sean frightened, although the other party may not live for a few years, but it still made him have to pay attention to it.

"No wonder he didn't show up when Satuk spent a lot of money looking for an alchemist before, it turned out that he wasn't bad for money at all......"

Looking at the two beautiful rings in his hand, Sean couldn't help but mutter, this old guy is really generous, and the things with a price tag of 1,000 gold coins will be given away.

"Come on, it's a gift for you, you can wear it first, and I'll rebuild them when I get back."

After thinking about it, Sean turned around and shook the ring in his hand at Celia and Istelle, he had originally planned to buy them as a gift, and now it would be better to save some gold coins.

However, although he owes this favor, he does not have to pay it back.

After all, as long as he is thick-skinned and strong enough, even if the old guy really asks him to do something, he can directly refuse.

With a few laughs in his heart, Sean touched Celia and Estelle's heads, and then put the ring on them himself in their happy and excited eyes.

"Thank you, host!"

A happy smile appeared on Celia's face, and she quickly threw herself into Sean's arms, hugging Sean to death.

It was a gift from her owner, and the ring was both a reflection of her affection and a testament to her absolute loyalty to her.

In her future years, this scene will become a memory that will never fade and will remain in her heart forever.

Seeing this, Estelle on the side was not to be outdone, she put her arms around Sean's waist behind her back, and her delicate little face was attached to Sean's shoulder......

"Don't move, you're still outside, and we'll see how I teach you when I get home."

"It's a long time tonight."

Sean didn't want to do a live broadcast in public, so he reluctantly used his mana to push the two away, and then led them home.

Well, it really can't be too gentle, so let's play something special today......