48.

It wasn't long before Eldric was standing at the center of the city of Aetheria.

Around him, the place was bustling with life and laughter. As far as his eyes could see, there were numerous shops and buildings with a constant flow of people. Even though it was still dark, it didn't seem to affect the mood here.

Eldric didn't rush to any shop but slowly began to roam. He wad here, looking for something like a contact lens, to hide the green glow of his eyes. He didn't want to go to work with glowing eyes and let everyone know of his advancement.

Eldric gazed at the distant portal leading to other cities, an irresistible urge to try it welling up inside him. If he could teleport to another city, he could leave behind the worries of Garric and the City Lord.

As this enticing thought took hold, his desire to act intensified. Yet, rather than rushing impulsively, Eldric chose to stand aside, quietly observing the scene.

He could see a steady stream of people entering and exiting through a queue.

There was a small counter just before the queue where people needed to pay the fee and at the desk of the counter wad a small rectangular-shaped object upon which one was needed to put their hand.

Looking at the object that would glow blue every time someone touched it, Eldric narrowed his eyes. After thinking for a moment, he then reached out to the nearest person beside him.

"Can you tell me what that rectangular object is?" Eldric asked, pointing to the device that everyone touched after paying the fee and before joining the queue.

"What the...?" The burly man, annoyed by someone shorter than himself stopping him in the middle of the road, almost flew into a rage, ready to teach the blind bastard a lesson.

But the moment he turned and saw Eldric's masked face, his breathing almost stopped and his heart almost jumped out of his throat.

"Gulp..." Swallowing with difficulty, he forced a smile that looked uglier than crying and nodded in response.

His reaction wasn't due to the mask's scariness but was caused by Eldric's glowing green eyes, which held an intense, almost hypnotic allure.

As a veteran, he knew perfectly well what those eyes represented. So, swallowing the rude words he was about to speak, the man began to explain honestly.

"That thing checks if someone is a criminal."

Receiving no response from Eldric, the man continued, "Anyone marked by the city lord or law enforcers can't use the teleportation. If they touch that thing, it emits a red light instead of blue, alerting the law enforcers."

"Damn it..." Eldric muttered. Though Garric had told him he couldn't escape, he'd held onto a glimmer of hope. And after advancing his Gardener's profession, he was somewhat sure of running away.

But realizing the limitations placed on him, he clenched his teeth and turned away. Perhaps that thing might turn red or perhaps it might not. But whatever the case might be, it wasn't enough for him to take a risk. Especially after being threatened by Garric. One day he would make Garric and the city lord's lives miserable. Until then, he had no choice but to bide his time.

Wandering around, Eldric kept on looking for anything that he could use. But even after searching for a long time, he didn't find what he was looking for.

And just when he was feeling frustrated, he saw a scene from the corner of his eyes that made him stop.

Three young boys roughly his age were walking out of a luxurious building that was decorated with numerous paper lanterns.

Those boys had an excited smile on their faces as they would laugh from time to time. The people outside could only look at them in envy and hate, while the boys made their way towards the biggest restaurant in the city.

"Interesting... Where is the other one?" The three of them were the same with whom he was working at the City Lord's castle. Balor was acting as the leader of the group followed by Thorne and Darius. But Lucius didn't seem to be with them.

Eldric didn't need to guess why their faces were so rosy and their legs were shaking after coming out of that particular building. Instead, he focused on the things that needed to be found.

It wasn't until almost an hour passed that he finally found a shop selling what he needed.

"These things... They can change the color of the eyes?" Pointing at the contact lens placed inside a small wooden box, Eldric asked in a hoarse voice. If this thing works exactly as it says, then he wouldn't have to worry about anything.

"Yes, sir." The middle-aged man with oily sticky hair nodded with his bent waist.

He was filled with awe the moment Eldric entered the shop. And after knowing what he needed, he brought out that pair of lenses. Throughout that time, he didn't speak a word unless he was asked something.

"Good." Picking up the lenses, Eldric looked around and after seeing the empty and dark place behind the shelf, walked there.

The middle-aged man didn't say a word and just stood in his position. He could guess why the esteemed customer went there.

And sure enough, after a few moments, the figure of Eldric returned wearing the same black robe and the mask. The only difference this time was that the striking green glow of his eyes was now gone.

After paying the middle-aged man despite his protest, Eldric roamed for a bit before packing breakfast and lunch for both himself and Aria.

After taking one last look at the teleportation portals with eyes filled with unwillingness, Eldric turned around and rushed back toward his home.

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One hour after Eldric reached home, there was a knock on the door. Opening the door, he saw the familiar face of the driver standing there expressionless.

Both of them nodded to each other in greeting before beading toward the City Lord's castle. Throughout the journey, none of the two spoke, filling the carriage with an uncomforting silence.

After reaching the City Lord's castle, Eldric only saw the figure of Lucius standing there quietly. Jumping out of his carriage, Eldric stood beside Lucius, waiting for the old butler to show up. And sure enough, after five minutes, the doors to the castle opened.

"..." Looking at only Eldric and Lucius standing there, the old butler didn't ask them anything but signaled them to follow him. Going through the same path, he took them to the room and left.

"Sigh..." Gazing at the mountains of rocks that needed to be arranged, Eldric let out a helpless sight. Right now he was like a slave without any say for himself.

"You don't seem that happy." Just when Eldric picked the first rock, Lucius spoke first.

"Let's just say this isn't the work I wanted to do." Since there was nothing else to do other than this mind-numbing work and the other party started a conversation, Eldric couldn't help but give a reply.

"Heh... I can understand that. I too thought we would be working as law enforcers or beast hunters in the outskirts. Didn't think we were going to do this."

Picking up the rock, he threw it to the side. Just from his voice and expressions, Eldric could feel the utter disappointment he had. But he didn't say anything to comfort him. What was he supposed to say to him when his own situation was worse than his?

"But I am happy here. At least I don't have to worry about going hungry. Here, I have the chance to make a name for myself."

"Umm... Good luck." This was the only response Eldric could give him.

Both of them went silent for a while but this silence didn't last long this time too.

"You didn't go to the brothel?" Still grouping the stones, Lucius asked the question.

"Err... No." Eldric just shook his head. It would be a lie to say that he wasn't interested in taking a look there. But he didn't have the luxury to. There were still many things that he needed to take care of.

"What about you?" This time Eldric asked.

"Not interested." With a brief pause, Lucius spoke further, "I would rather read a book than waste my precious time there."

"Oh!" Eldric didn't know what he was expecting, but he certainly wasn't expecting such an answer. Till now, he thought that this guy would be like others too. But to his surprise, he seemed rather mature for his age. If he had to describe Lucius using one word, then that would be, 'Nerd'.

"Do you know what these stones are?" Since they were already having a conversation, Eldric finally began to ask more questions. Perhaps Lucius could tell him about these stones and the red wisp that would enter their body from time to time.

But to Eldric's surprise, Lucius shook his head. "I don't know. I even took this stone to market and auction, but no one knows what this thing is."

"Umm..." Since the other party didn't know anything, Eldric could only shake his head in disappointment.

Both of them went silent gain for a while before Lucius looked around and slowly moved closer towards Eldric.

Eldric who was arranging stones absent-mindedly was stunned by this sudden action of his, and before he could say anything, Lucius whispered beside him.

"Don't you find it strange?"

As soon as he said it, Eldric swallowed what he was about to say and replied in the same whispering voice.

"What is?"

There was a brief pause before Lucius replied, "This thing seems way too precious for us to be working with.

Why would they put us in charge of something so secretive? Something that no one seems to know about."

"....." As soon as Lucius finished speaking, Eldric couldn't help but narrow his eyes. Yesterday was full of twists and turns for him. From the arrival of Garric to working here and finally upgrading his Gardener's skills. Everything happened so fast that he never paid attention to the matter of this stone and the red wisps of energy entering his body.

But now that Lucius mentioned it, he couldn't help but think about it.

Just like Lucius said, things seemed way too off. Not only were they brought here in luxurious carriages and were provided free food and women, but they were also promised a hefty salary each month.

And all this for just arranging stones.....? Something that even a child could do.

The more Eldric thought about it, the more it didn't make any sense.

And just when the two of them were thinking about it, the doors to the room opened, and from there, three bloodied figures, groaning in pain entered the room.