Wizard's Journey

Old Ham ultimately didn't live to see Green get married and have children; he passed away before that.

It was early spring, and the biting cold wind had begun to soften. After finishing a day's work, Old Ham and Green bought a small barrel of ale from town, cut a few pounds of meat, and prepared to start their house renovation plan the next day. Finding a wife for Green was also on the agenda.

Unfortunately, the next morning, old Ham was unable to wake Green up to do chores.

Old Ham left with a smile on his face. Whether it was because of the good food and wine he had enjoyed the night before or because all his wishes had come true in his dream, he was still smiling and as carefree as ever, even as Green hired some farmers to bury him.

Green buried the pipe that old Ham cherished most.

Old Ham's sudden departure left Green feeling lost for a while, but life went on as usual.

Green became the owner of the two cottages, along with an old horse, two gold coins, and seventeen silver coins. This was all the savings Old Ham had accumulated in his life, and now it all belonged to Green, which was all of Green's current property.

Of course, Green secretly hid the witchcraft book "Nose Modification and Scent Atlas" in the place where he kept his gold coins, and would read it once or twice every night without consuming too much lamp oil.

This is Grimm peering through a crack in the gates to the wizarding world.

Summer has gradually arrived.

It was just another ordinary day. After a busy morning, Green dumped the large amount of garbage left over from the viscount's noble lords' revelry last night outside the city. Then he went to the viscount's territory and took the supplies prepared for the viscount for the day from the servants.

Green sat in the carriage, gazing contentedly at the azure sky and drifting white clouds.

Beside the carriage, a country girl named Mary was deftly loading goods, more capable than most boys.

Mary wore a linen apron, had many freckles on her face, and had a head of golden hair. Her heart was pounding, and she kept stealing glances at Green, who was sitting comfortably in the carriage.

Mary was smitten with this handsome man, and she smelled his unique scent, which was like the fragrance of sage.

Green ignored Mary.

A year ago, by chance, Green learned that this girl liked him. Old Ham secretly told Green about it, and Old Ham's plan was for Green to marry this girl.

However, though he didn't say it aloud, he had to admit in his heart that he didn't really have any feelings for this diligent and shy girl; at most, she was just the little sister next door.

So after Old Ham left, Green never contacted the girl again, only seeing her once a day when he was loading cargo.

Seeing that Green was silent, the girl worked while secretly observing him. As the goods were about to be loaded onto the carriage, Green would drive away as usual. Finally, the girl bit her lip and couldn't help but speak.

"Green, this morning, a wizard passed by and asked for directions to Bisserl City. Everyone here was extremely surprised. It was the first time I had ever seen a legendary wizard."

The girl pretended to be full of surprise, secretly observing Green.

  

Grimm, who had been bored in the carriage, suddenly perked up when he heard the word "wizard" and asked incredulously, "Wizard? Are you sure?"

"I'm absolutely sure, many people here saw it."

Mary responded happily when Green spoke to her.

"What does that wizard look like?" Green asked excitedly.

Green had never seen a wizard before, and pressed for an answer.

"Hmm... the wizard was wearing a loose gray robe and a top hat, so his face was obscured, as if shrouded in mist. He was also holding a red-eyed frog. Oh, and he was talking to Imma at the village entrance."

Seeing Green's excited expression, Mary told him everything she knew.

"Thanks, that's great!"

Green was very excited. This was the first time he had received a clue about a real wizard since he obtained the book of witchcraft six months ago.

They ran quickly towards Imma's house at the edge of the village.

Ima was a young woman in her mid-twenties, but her figure had already begun to become bloated and obese. She wore a white apron around her barrel-like waist and was already a mother of two.

The male owner was a hunter named Sogala. He was strong and had a very forthright personality. He had a scar on his left cheek from being scratched by a porcupine tusk.

Sogala was quite surprised to see Green arrive. "Oh, Green's here! Haha, were you attracted by the aroma? Come, come, this is some wild game we caught yesterday in the mountains to the east..."

Imma came out of the kitchen, and two children looked at Green with curiosity.

After half an hour.

Green excitedly left Emma's house, muttering excitedly, "Bissel City, we really went to Bissel City!"

In a flurry of activity, Green drove the carriage toward the city, the old horse trotting along as if afraid it would die prematurely and be buried with old Ham.

At the entrance of the Viscount's mansion, four tall and burly knights stood behind the arrogant old butler, blocking the doorway.

The old steward, his eyes filled with malice, roared at the dozen or so farmers gathered at the viscount's mansion gate, "Your land was bestowed upon you by the viscount, and he can tax you however he pleases. Are you trying to rebel? Let me tell you..."

Green waited anxiously in the distance.

Basically every year around this time, a large number of farmers would block the gate of the Viscount's mansion and cause trouble. After being dealt with by these tall and strong knights, the farmers would disperse, although the time it took varied.

"You lowly commoner! You lowly commoner! How dare you talk back!"

The old butler roared, "Get you all out of here!"

In just a short while, the four tall and strong knights drove away all the dozen or so farmers with a flurry of punches and kicks.

The old butler was furious, blowing his beard and glaring.

Green dared not delay and discreetly drove the carriage into the Viscount's mansion. The old butler roared, "Halt!"

The old butler glanced at Green, casually rummaged through the goods on Green's carriage, and scolded, "Why so slow? Don't you want to keep your job?"

Green grinned, his heart already brimming with anger.

This old fellow has already taken two silver coins as a kickback this month. You can only earn four silver coins a month working at the Viscount's mansion. Although the wages are high, you still can't withstand this old fellow's exploitation.

"Steward, I arrived earlier, but those farmers were blocking the way, so I couldn't go in."

Green is young and hot-blooded, unlike old Ham, who has a good temper.

Immediately, the old butler seemed to have stirred up a hornet's nest; his hair almost stood on end, his old face turned bright red, and he pointed at Green's nose and roared.

"You bastard! You lowly commoner dare to talk back? It seems the Viscount has been feeding you for nothing! Fine! Fine... don't bother coming tomorrow, get out!"

After saying that, the old steward stormed into the courtyard and shouted at the knight beside him, "If this lowly commoner comes again tomorrow, break his legs, or none of you need to come at all."

Green stood beside the carriage, furious, cursing the old man in his heart that he would be going to see Old Ham tomorrow.

Suddenly, Green thought of something, grunted, parked the carriage under a large tree not far away, and ran towards a blacksmith shop in the small town.

"Hey, Sixth Brother."

Green called out to a blacksmith apprentice.

Back when Green was begging in Bissell, there were always nine beggars begging together, and Green was the eighth.

After that, they each had their own opportunities. Green was taken away by Old Ham, the sixth brother became an apprentice in the blacksmith shop, the second brother supposedly went to the countryside to become a servant, and as for the others, they all disappeared without a trace.

"Eighth Brother!"

The blacksmith apprentice's eyes lit up when he saw Green, and he strode over, patting Green on the shoulder: "What brings you here?"

Standing over 1.8 meters tall, he exuded a strong, sweaty odor and masculine aura. Now, Lao Liu was much stronger than Green, with a thick beard and cheeks red from years of exposure to the fire. His rough hands hurt when he patted Green.

"Sixth Brother, I want to ask you something. I heard a wizard has come to the city?"

Green asked in a low voice, and Lao Liu's expression changed.

"How did you know? A wizard did come, supposedly to take on students with wizarding aptitude, but the fee for assessing whether someone has the qualifications to become a wizarding apprentice is a full gold coin."

As he spoke, the sixth brother quietly gestured behind him, pointing at the old blacksmith, and said, "The old man also took his son Ayi with him. He doesn't have the aptitude to be a wizard, and he's still feeling the pinch over that one gold coin."

Green was overjoyed: "Where is that wizard?"

The sixth man's expression changed, and he looked at Green in shock: "You don't actually want to go, do you? A gold coin is no small expense, and we don't have that much money to waste."

Green hesitated for a moment.

If he really lost a gold coin, it would indeed be a significant blow to Green, who only had a little over two gold coins.

However, if we miss this opportunity, we may never have another chance like it...

Finally, Green nodded firmly.

After being shocked for a long time, the sixth brother said, "It's in the city lord's mansion. It's said that the city lord's precious daughter has been identified as having the aptitude to be a wizard. Of course, she is also the only one in Bisser City."

"Thanks, Sixth Brother."

Green was extremely excited, even forgetting the unpleasant incident with the old butler at the Viscount's mansion, his mind filled with thoughts of wizards.

Green ran frantically toward his two small huts and dragged out a chest from the most secluded spot, which contained a large amount of silver and copper coins.

"I must become a wizard! I absolutely must!"

After counting out one hundred silver coins, Green thought for a moment, then took the magic book "Hunter's Nose Modification and Scent Atlas" with him, hid it in the box, and ran back to Bisel City.

Since it was already summer, the days were long and the nights were short, but fortunately it wasn't dark yet.

The city lord is the most noble nobleman in Bisser, and is said to be the only marquis in this region.

Unless you go to other cities or regions, in the Bisser region, the city lord is the most powerful noble, and even the viscount has to obey him.

Green had only seen the City Lord's Mansion from a distance a few times. In the past, it was heavily guarded, with seven or eight knights on guard. But now, there were quite a few people coming and going from the City Lord's Mansion.

Green glanced around and saw that most of the people coming and going were shop owners or nobles from the city, accompanied by their descendants, and they all wore expressions of disappointment.

Knowing that the wizard was inside, Green rushed in without thinking.

"Halt. Pay a fee of one gold coin."

At that moment, a boy about the same age as Green shouted at him.

With a heavy heart, Green handed over a small bag of silver coins to the other man. The man glanced at Green disdainfully, then threw the bag of coins into the box behind him without even counting them.

Green was taken aback. Judging from the other person's demeanor and appearance, he looked like a farmer's son. He probably had some incredible luck. He wondered where that arrogance came from.

Glancing at the man with the same disdain, Green followed the crowd into the city lord's mansion.