Shut up, brave man! I don't want to atone for my sins to you!

"Do you know the whereabouts of those two investigators? Can you tell me in detail?"

While saying this, she forced herself to ignore the existence of the hero beside her, no matter whether the hero was questioning, surprised, or fell silent and did not respond.

She has a guilty conscience, but perhaps if she just covers her eyes, she can declare that the guilty conscience does not exist.

Like an ostrich with its head buried in the sand.

Lacie, who had just been sleeping on the hero's chest, opened her eyes and refused to recognize him. The overall situation was more important, and love affairs had to be put aside. The most important thing now was to find out the whereabouts of the two missing investigators.

Therefore, Laciel asked again in a very official and serious tone:

"Since you know the whereabouts of the two investigators, you must also know that they, like us, are from the White Tower..."

She tried to make the man in front of her understand the seriousness of the matter, or in other words, to tell the man why the two investigators came to Diesel.

To the human nations, the White Tower is just a neutral, pure academic institution that is dedicated to training outstanding wizards who are brave enough to pursue the truth. It is also willing to help the human nations solve crises that are difficult for them to solve due to special spells or magical mutations.

However, before she could organize her words, Crazy John gave her a strange smile.

With a bit of nostalgia, as if recalling some particularly beautiful past, the man's eyes drifted to the badge hanging on Rachel's cloak.

"Of course I know they are from the White Tower," Crazy John pouted at the badge engraved with the image of the White Tower, "After all, they all have this badge on their bodies..."

At this point, his expression became complicated, his gray eyes slowly lost focus, and he said absentmindedly:

"Of course I recognize that badge. After all, I've been to the White Tower before and studied there for a while..."

"——And that was probably the most carefree and happiest period of my life."

Crazy John finished speaking softly, and then muttered something with a hint of regret, but his voice was so soft that Lacie couldn't hear it at all.

But what attracted her attention now was not Mad John's muttering, but Mad John's statement that he had gone to the White Tower to study.

Almost every wizard who went to the White Tower to study would be proud of having been a member of the White Tower, with few exceptions. So, this slightly down-and-out guy in front of him was, in a sense, one of their own?

Since he is one of us, things will be much easier.

However, Lacie still kept in mind the adage "When fellow villagers meet, shoot them twice" and did not completely let down her guard.

"That's great," she said with a perfectly surprised expression, "I didn't expect you were once a student of the White Tower..."

She planned to use this relationship to get close to Crazy John and get information.

What she didn't expect was that Crazy John shook his head and interrupted her:

"No, Miss Mage, you are mistaken. I am not a student of the White Tower. At best, I am just a companion."

"…Reading companion?"

"Yes," Crazy John said with an ambiguous expression, "I was just a servant at that time - of course, I also served as a guard sometimes - but in short, I did study in the White Tower for a period of time, but not as a student."

He smiled, lowered his head, dropped his eyes, and gently shook the remaining wine in the glass. His expression was dazed, as if he was still trapped in a dream from which it was difficult to wake up.

Then he drank the remaining wine in one gulp, put down the glass with a clang, and said to Rachel:

"But this is not important, right? Let's continue talking about where the two investigators went."

Without even waiting for Lacielle to express her opinion or view, he whispered the information he knew:

"In fact, I only met one of the two investigators."

"He is an elderly gentleman, very polite and methodical in his speech and actions. He wears the standard robe of the White Tower and carries a cane. The cane seems to be specially made. It can not only be used as a magic wand, but also has a short sword installed inside for close combat..."

Hearing this, Lacey frowned.

She was a little confused - why did Crazy John know so well that the investigator's cane had these functions? Did he try it out?

But she didn't ask any questions, because Crazy John was still telling her the information:

"I met him near the wishing well in the square next to it. Probably because I had stayed in the White Tower for some time. The old man was very kind to me. He even told me that he came to Diesel to investigate some anomaly in Diesel."

"When I heard him say that, I just felt strange. After all, I have lived in Diesel for so many years, but I have never heard of the so-called 'abnormal'."

Crazy John paused, then showed his signature, playful smile to the witch and the hero:

"Although my hometown, my motherland, this tiny country called Diesel is a bit backward and isolated, it has always been peaceful and tranquil. It has been at least several decades. My compatriots and I have lived and worked in peace and contentment here, and our great emperor has always protected us with kindness and majesty."

"So it's ridiculous, isn't it? The old man from the White Tower told me with absolute certainty and conviction that there is something wrong with Diesel."

"I couldn't believe him, so I asked him if he had any evidence that could prove that 'something abnormal exists in Diesel'."

“Then he told me that he had.”

Crazy John poured himself another glass of wine, then took the glass in his hand, squinted his eyes, and tried to recall the scene at that time:

The gentle, refined and polite old gentleman looked at him and said seriously:

"About thirty years ago, the White Tower's newly completed and quickly put into use large-scale magic detection array detected a violent "magic shock" in Diesel. The intensity was very high, but the duration was very short, so short that the investigators at the time mistook it for some kind of malfunction."

"When new equipment is first put into use, such failures often occur. After all, our civilization is built on countless errors and the progress that follows..."

The old man said, shaking his head slowly:

"Originally, thirty years ago, I also thought that the abnormal data was just caused by a minor malfunction when the detection array was first running, but now, the detection array has been running for almost thirty years."

"Over the past thirty years, that old thing has always faithfully and accurately reported and recorded all abnormal magical fluctuations in almost the entire Pangaea. It rarely makes mistakes, let alone big mistakes like the one we made back then."

"To me, it may be considered an old friend. I know every micro-magic prototype inside it better than anyone else. I know its structure and operating principles, and I understand its temper and personality—"

"If...it has these things."

The old man suddenly smiled softly, and the wrinkles on his face tightened, showing a strange expression that he couldn't explain.

Then the old man continued:

"Can you understand? It's like you and an old friend of yours suddenly talk about the past one day. He tells you that you misunderstood him in the past, although he never complained about it.

"When you two have finished talking and return home, when it's time to go to bed at night, you lie in bed, but for some reason you can't sleep because you keep thinking about the expression on your old friend's face when he said this."

"You will gradually begin to doubt whether you did something wrong back then. After all, your old friend has been loyal to you all these years... Then slowly, an idea will linger in your mind, and you will start to feel guilty and lose your appetite..."

"Ultimately, you will make a decision, just like I did."

As the old gentleman spoke, he turned his head and looked into the distance in the direction of the White Tower - as expected, due to the long distance, he could not see his old friend.

But the old man smiled.

"I made a bet with my old friend," he muttered to himself, "I want to find out whether I misunderstood it back then."

Then, he looked back at Crazy John and told him:

“So, I came to Diesel.”

- In order to keep the appointment; in order to fulfill the investigator's duty, he could not let go of even the slightest abnormality; and more importantly, in order to clear up the undue injustice that his old friend had to bear for many years.

Even Crazy John was touched by this pure and noble friendship.

So he did his best to assist the old gentleman in his investigation in Diesel.

But as he said, although Diesel is backward and isolated, this tiny country has been peaceful and quiet for many years, and even he, a local, has never noticed anything unusual.

Naturally, the old man didn't find out anything about Diesel.

Everything was so normal, so normal that it seemed as if the "magic shock" that year was really just a malfunction of the detection array.

In the end, the old man almost gave up.

At this time, Crazy John suggested that the old man make a wish into the wishing well.

"That wishing well can make any wish come true. Maybe if you make a wish to it, you can find out what's wrong with Diesel."

Perhaps he could not think of any other solution, so the old man really followed Crazy John's advice and made a wish to the wishing well.

"And then he disappeared," said Crazy John.

This well-known answer did not satisfy Lacie, so Lacie subconsciously asked:

"But didn't you say you knew the whereabouts of the missing investigator?"

After she finished smelling it, Crazy John suddenly looked at her straight and gave her a creepy, weird smile.

"You remember that I mentioned that the old gentleman carried a cane that could serve as both a weapon and a magic wand?"

he asks.

"……Remember."

"That would be perfect."

He clapped his hands gently and said:

"I really don't know where the old man went, but his cane may know where he went, so why don't we ask the cane?"

[To be continued]

-

26. Who are you jealous of?

Crazy John promised the witch and the hero that he would give them the cane left by the old investigator tomorrow.

And before that...

"It's late now. Even if you want to find out the whereabouts of the old man, there's no need to rush. Why not wait until tomorrow? I'll bring the cane here at the same time tomorrow."

Crazy John said this with a smile.

Perhaps he noticed that Lacier was a little anxious, so he added:

"Believe me, it won't take a day."

The man looked extremely sincere.

Perhaps he did think so, but both the old investigator who made a bet with his friend and Rachel believed that even a mere day in the world should not be wasted.

That's why the old investigator came to Diesel immediately after discovering the abnormality, and that's why Rachel and Charles appeared in this tavern waiting for Crazy John.

But if Crazy John insisted, Rachel couldn't force him to take out the cane.

This is not in line with Baita's usual style.

Therefore, Laciel had no choice but to take Charles with her and leave first.

The two left the Wheatear Tavern.

The air outside was still chilly, causing Lacie to subconsciously shrink her neck as she hurriedly left the warm room. She also shook her sleeves and put her slender fingers into them.

But she suddenly remembered that her dress was supposed to be sleeveless.

Normally she only wore sleeveless dresses—she had sworn when she first arrived at Pangaea that even if she became a beautiful girl, she would never wear clothes that were too feminine, such as skirts, stockings, and tops with wide necklines—but later she actually became shamefully fragrant.

At first it was Lao Deng who instigated her.

"You are so pretty and cute. It's a waste to wear that black and old-fashioned outfit every day. Why don't you try this skirt in my hand? It's just a try. It won't be a big deal. If you feel it doesn't fit, you can just take it off. Then change into the clothes you usually wear."

When he said this, Lao Deng smiled with a kind look, and there was no sign of any bad intentions at all.

Rachel initially refused.

She thought to herself, "If you tell me to wear it, I'll wear it. Wouldn't that make me lose face?" Besides, isn't a shirt, trousers, and a small suit jacket good? Hehe, this is the aesthetic of the natives of the Pangaea. People who don't understand this set of clothes have low taste and quality, and can only live a relatively failed life!

But as Lao Deng said, there is nothing to lose by trying it, and whether in the past life or this life, the girls' clothes are very beautiful in both worlds.

There are many styles and patterns. There are many branches under the category of skirts alone——

Fishtail skirt, cake skirt, one-step skirt, dress, suspender skirt...

Compared to men's monotonous clothes, girls' clothes are so much more sophisticated in terms of color and design.

Even Lacier, who considers himself a macho man, sometimes can't help but sigh like this, and even wants to try it on.

It’s a pity that Lacey was a macho man at that time, so he wouldn’t look good even if he wore a skirt.

After arriving in Pangaea...

She has become a beautiful girl and an ace pilot who can perfectly control those fluttery little skirts!

An ace pilot without a body might be incomplete, so after a brief hesitation, for some unknown reason, Lacie actually agreed to let Lao Deng try on the skirt.