Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam

Divination Skill is a branch of magic, as the ward of the God of Trickery, the Divine Spirit granted the Divination Masters the ability to glimpse into the future. Today, the president of the Astrology Association who inherits the name ’Erudite Scholar’ is a powerful Tier Four Divination Master. There are many fascinating anecdotes about Madame Erudite among the people.

Since the establishment of the Empire, every Erudite Scholar has been a confidant of the King. Their prophecies often help the Empire foresee upcoming dangers and prepare in advance.

Ethan sat in front of the Divination Master, feeling a prickling chill at his back.

At this moment, Captain Hagrid was still flustered in the wind. All his enthusiasm for the future was shattered by the cold number "twenty years."

Hagrid was already 35 years old, which meant he would continue his bachelor life until he was 55.

Worse still, in this era, the average lifespan of ordinary people was around 60 years.

So knowing the future is not necessarily a good thing.

Ethan swore that he just saw Hagrid being so eager, it was out of goodwill, definitely not on purpose!

The Divination Master remained calm as if she hadn’t realized she just took away a middle-aged man’s hope, she placed her hands on the crystal ball, squinted, and asked, "Which part of the future do you want to know?"

Spectators craned their necks; every lucky person selected to receive such a question often gave answers related to wealth, family, marriage, health, but not everyone could receive a positive reply.

They speculated on Ethan’s thoughts, believing that although Ethan held the title of "Mysticism Expert" in the town, a young man of his age would likely want to explore the secrets of love.

However, the next moment, Ethan gave an answer that surprised everyone, "Adventure."

Adventure?

What kind of question is that?

The crowd buzzed with discussion, some even started resenting him for wasting the opportunity.

"I want to know what interesting events will happen in the future."

The Divination Master did not respond to Ethan but slightly raised the corners of her mouth. The light and shadow in the crystal ball shifted endlessly. Ethan watched the changing spectacle intently for a good while, ultimately unable to figure it out, but once again, he caught a glimpse of the trajectory of magic power, somewhat akin to when activating teleportation magic nodes.

Her magic trajectory was pale green.

The whole process lasted about a minute; both the pale green trail and the light and shadow in the crystal ball were withdrawn. The Divination Master looked at Ethan with pitch-black pupils and said, "You will have an unexpected reunion with an old friend."

That’s it?

The onlooking residents couldn’t wrap their heads around it. In their eyes, Ethan and the Divination Master seemed like two riddlers, speaking things they completely couldn’t understand. They couldn’t figure out why reuniting with an old friend could count as an adventure.

Perhaps this is what being a Mysticism Expert is like.

The good news was that Ethan didn’t use too much time.

Having received his answer, Ethan stood up to express his thanks, but he was puzzled. He had been in Ximu Town for two years without leaving, and although he maintained good relations with the townsfolk, none were particularly close friends, mostly just acquaintances who would nod at each other in passing.

However, his thoughts were quickly interrupted by an unexpected situation.

As Ethan walked out of the crowd, a figure as strong as a small mountain appeared behind him, clamping his shoulder with arms like steel.

Captain Hagrid came to his senses and launched an attack on him!

"Brother Ethan, by now you should know what to do, right?"

Hagrid’s eyes seemed filled with tears; he had always been an emotional person and a warm-hearted Guard Captain in the town. If anyone had difficulties, they would go to Hagrid for help, and as long as he could help, he’d be the first to jump in.

Despite failing the Kingdom Army Knight Camp test, Hagrid still regarded himself as a knight.

Hagrid shouted, "Don’t think of escaping; today you must drink happily with me! Just think, how long has it been since you last went out drinking with me?"

"You can’t blame me, the Reception Bureau has rules!"

Ethan blurted out, though he had been spending almost every night in Fireplace Bay lately, he naturally had no time for drinking binges with Hagrid, "Besides, I came out today for business reasons!"

"Business?"

"I’m here to buy a cauldron."

"Doesn’t matter; after you buy the cauldron, I’ll carry it to the tavern for you! What kind of rules say we can’t enjoy a drink after work?"

Ethan couldn’t refuse anymore; facing this elder brother who had always looked after him, he found it hard not to sympathize—especially knowing now that Hagrid might be destined to be alone in the future.

Ethan responded to the call, "Let’s go, drink!"

That night, deeply affected, Hagrid drank particularly boisterously. Shortly after the drinking party began, he was already somewhat drunk and, unsurprisingly, like in the past, raised his glass high and started recounting stories Ethan had heard dozens of times, though the tavern, originally not very crowded, became much livelier thanks to Hagrid’s racket.

With bleary eyes and slurred speech, Hagrid exclaimed, "Brother Ethan, tell me, I’m not that bad of a person, am I?"

"Mm."

"The position of the Baron’s Guard Captain isn’t too shabby, is it?"

"Mm."

"Then why am I so unfortunate?"

Facing a setback in his romantic life, Hagrid pulled at Ethan’s sleeve, finally recounting a story Ethan hadn’t heard before, "Remember last time we drank, you encouraged me to confess to the head maid of the Baron’s house? I went!"

"Then what happened?"

"Then, then!" Unbearable past experiences nearly brought Hagrid to tears, "She said she has always seen me as a brother!"

This might be the root of the problem.

Hagrid had good relations in the town, but the girls seemed to all treat him as a reliable big brother.

But, Ethan, aside from being a listener, could do nothing else.

After all, not even the most outstanding Elemental Shaper could solve personal emotional issues, not even the famous Heisenberg.

Hagrid was merely venting while drunk; he wasn’t expecting any answers. He continued drinking until he passed out several rounds, and until late into the night, Hagrid suddenly had a brief moment of clarity, climbing up from the table, shouting with eyes closed, "It’s time; you don’t have the strength, come, big brother here will help you carry the cauldron back!"

Thus unfolded an utterly bizarre scene.

Hagrid, carrying the cauldron, staggered forward with eyes tightly shut, like a zombie infected by a cursed object walking aimlessly.

Walking beside him, Ethan looked like an evil Necromancer.

As the apartment’s outline appeared in the depths of the night, Hagrid, this "puppet," finally succumbed, collapsing to the ground with the cauldron and sleeping there on the spot.

Ethan rubbed his temples.

He could only let Hagrid stay at his place for the night, fortunate that he had moved into a larger house with spare space in the living room.

He planned to return to the apartment to call Miss Keroy out to help when a rustling sound from nearby immediately caught his attention.

A mystical premonition quickly spread.

Driven by the premonition, Ethan walked toward the wall overcast by shadows, a corner even the moonlight could not reach.

Deep in the shadows, it seemed something was slowly approaching him, gradually coming into sight.

A stuffed animal cat with white plush fur, possessing a pair of distinctive red eyes.

The stuffed cat’s thin body shivered in the cold wind, its back half timidly hiding in the shadows.

It looked up at Ethan.

"Meow~"

The cat said.