Wizard Earl

Chapter 351 The man in gray robe

"Auntie, how much is this cake?" At Auntie Sophia's Cake Shop on Kwame Commercial Street in the North District of Run, a middle-aged man with graying temples, wearing a gray trench coat and a top hat pulled low, pointed to the largest and most exquisite cake on the counter and asked:

The plump Mrs. Sofia, the bakery owner, still wore her signature kind smile as she politely said, "Sir, this cake will only cost one shilling and five pence!"

The middle-aged man in the gray robe nodded, not bothering to waste time haggling with the woman over a penny or two. He simply took out his wallet, pulled out two one-penny bills, placed them on the counter, and said to the woman, "Please wrap up the cake for me!"

"Don't worry, sir, I'll make sure you're well-packaged in the finest cake box!" Seeing that the middle-aged man was so generous and didn't try to haggle, allowing her to earn an extra three pence, Aunt Sophia's smile widened even more, and she said with a smile:

"Two shillings minus one penny and five shillings equals... seven pence!" Aunt Sofia took the cake from the counter, placed it in the cake box, and handed it to the middle-aged man in the gray robe. She carefully felt the two one-shilling notes to confirm they were genuine before putting them in the box, muttering to herself. When she finished calculating the seven pence and turned to give change to the somewhat melancholy-looking middle-aged man in the gray robe, she discovered that the man and the cake he had bought had already vanished from her cake shop.

Walking along the wide streets of the residential area, the man in the gray robe noticed the children playing happily. They all stopped playing and secretly stared at the beautifully packaged cake box in his hand, which exuded a rich aroma of cream, with longing eyes!

Seeing more and more children peeking at the cake box in his hand on the street, the middle-aged man in the gray robe stopped in his tracks. He knew that the street he was on was an ordinary residential area in the northern district of Rune. Although it was not a complete slum like the southern district, the people living here were basically workers in Rune's factories or sailors who made their living by the sea. The children in front of him, dressed simply and with patches on their clothes, were undoubtedly the children of these people.

With the meager wages of three or four shillings a month for workers and sailors, it was undoubtedly a luxury to spend one shilling and five pence to buy a cake in a city like Loen, where prices were extremely high.

"Want some cake? Here you go!"

Muttering to himself, the running man took the cake out of the box, and with a slight tremor of his hand, the large cake covered with cream, fruit, and dried fruit was instantly divided into more than ten pieces, which flew out towards the eager children.

As soon as the cake came towards them, the little ones' eyes lit up. They immediately put down their toys, caught the cake, and began to wolf down the large chunks.

The gray-robed man glanced at the little ones who were happy about the delicious food, wondering how long they would stay happy. He shook his head slightly and continued on his way. He bought the cake only because he wanted the box, not the contents. Giving it away would have no benefit whatsoever.

Walking into a deserted alley, the gray-robed man squinted and scanned his surroundings. After confirming that no one was around, he gently touched the ancient ring on his finger, and four black pills appeared in his hand. Holding the four black pills in his hand, the gray-robed man gently tapped each black pill with his other hand. With his movement, each black pill emitted a speck of blue light, which then disappeared, returning to its original state.

Seeing that he had successfully activated all four black pills, the gray-robed man nodded and carefully placed them into the empty cake box. After doing this, he straightened his gray trench coat and walked out of the alley toward the Bruges tavern on the other side of the street.

"Hello sir, are you alone?" As soon as the man entered the tavern, a warm and energetic waitress greeted him.

He waved his hand, refusing the waiter's offer, and walked straight toward the tavern's private rooms. When he stopped at room number seventeen and was about to go in, he heard a gloomy voice in his ear.

"Room number 17 is booked long-term; please do not disturb us!"

Upon hearing the song, the gray-robed man stopped pushing open the door and looked towards the source of the sound. He saw a tall, beautiful woman in a white court dress standing two meters to his left, exuding a cold aura. The woman was coldly staring at him.

After exchanging a few glances with the cold woman, the gray-robed man shrugged, placed the cake box he was holding on the ground, and pointed to it, saying, "This is what he wanted. Time is a bit tight, so it's somewhat unstable. If you have something with particularly strong energy in your ring, I suggest you don't put this in your spatial ring; otherwise, you'll have to see how lucky you are!"

After saying this, the gray-robed man turned and left the tavern without any hesitation.

"Mr. Connor, I never expected that we would meet under such circumstances. I even changed into this damn dress just to see you!" Just as the gray-robed man was about to leave the tavern, he heard the cold woman's voice again, but this time it was the wizard's telepathic message.

Upon hearing the unfamiliar woman address him as Mr. Connor, the man in the gray robe immediately stopped in his tracks at the doorway. At that moment, he heard the white-clad woman's voice again:

"It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Martina Conti. I didn't expect you to be so knowledgeable about disguise; I didn't even recognize you..."

Just as the woman who called herself Martina was about to say something more, the man in the gray robe started walking again, ignoring Martina and leaving the tavern without looking back.

Reaching a secluded grove of trees several streets away, the gray-robed man glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then removed his gossamer-thin mask and put away his gray robe…

(End of this chapter)