Diary of a Dead Wizard

Chapter 96: A Very Harmonious Little Town

“Don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong?”

Saul leaned in. “Ada, is something going on in your town?”

“…You’ll find out later.” Ada didn’t explain and kept his head down, hurrying along.

Seeing that Ada didn’t want to talk, Saul could only follow quietly for now.

As they got closer, Saul noticed that one section of the town wall facing the main road had two gates.

One large gate, reinforced with thick wooden stakes, stood half a meter taller than the wall itself.

And a smaller gate, just over two meters tall, was narrow and cramped.

By now, the sky had grown even darker. The large gate was tightly shut, while the small one was left open.

At the small gate stood a cloth-armored soldier, lazily leaning against the wall, cradling an iron-tipped wooden spear and yawning listlessly.

“Ada, your town has so few guards? Isn’t the border just nearby? Is this really safe?”

Ada lowered his voice. “Our duchy’s been at war with the Kenas Duchy up north for years. One of the town’s mages and most of the guards have been sent to the front lines.”

“Huh?” Saul’s face twisted with worry. “Then who’s in charge of keeping the town safe?”

His voice seemed a little too loud, drawing a glance from the drowsy soldier.

Ada quickly pulled Saul aside and gave the soldier a polite smile.

The soldier didn’t pay them much mind. He didn’t even ask for the entrance toll Saul had expected and simply let them pass into the town.

After walking a good distance, Ada finally led Saul to a quiet spot along the empty street and stopped.

He frowned and looked at Saul. “There are people working under the wizard in town. Be careful what you say from now on. Don’t draw their attention.”

“Sorry,” Saul apologized earnestly. “I’ve been through a lot out there. I just want to settle down in a safe place. I’m afraid that after all this, even this town won’t be a place I can call home.”

He hung his head, looking dejected.

Ada looked at Saul’s downcast expression and couldn’t bring himself to scold him any further.

Wiping sweat from his short hair, he sighed. “If you want to know anything, just ask me when we get back. Don’t go asking around in the streets.”

“Okay, okay,” Saul nodded quickly.

But Saul had already made up his mind: he would start gathering information first thing tomorrow morning.

After all, local rumors were a vital source of intel.

Still, for the sake of this honest and kind Ada, he would try to be discreet and choose the right people to ask.

From then on, Saul kept very quiet and behaved himself.

Ada glanced back at him a few times, clearly pleased to see that he wasn’t wandering off or poking around.

Even though night was falling, the town streets were still bustling.

The wealthier households had already lit their lamps. The poorer ones hurried to finish their work before nightfall.

The adults, weary from a long day, began preparing for rest.

The children, meanwhile, did everything they could to delay going home.

Ada remained silent the whole way. When people greeted him, he simply nodded—quite different from the outgoing man outside town who had happily chatted with an old friend he hadn’t seen in years.

Only when they turned into a narrow alley did Ada finally relax his tense shoulders.

The path here was rough and uneven, far worse than the town’s main roads. Full of pits and bumps, it was hard to walk on. It must’ve rained recently—low-lying areas had collected puddles of water, and they had to step on stones to avoid soaking their shoes.

Saul followed Ada’s lead, stepping carefully on the stones. But he landed a bit too heavily—his rock was unsteady, and water splashed up, nearly hitting a passerby.

The passerby dodged the splash, scolding, “Watch it!”—then, recognizing Ada ahead, broke into a smile.

“Oh! Ada, you’re back?”

“Auntie Jenny,” Ada greeted her with his signature honest smile.

Auntie Jenny had a basket in her arms. She reached in and pulled out a bunch of bright red chili peppers.

“These just finished drying. Take them home and eat them with your flatbread.” She stuffed them into Ada’s wooden bucket despite his protests. “They’re not too spicy—Penny can handle it. She needs to train her taste buds anyway.”

She laughed heartily.

Ada, too honest to argue, accepted the gift with a shy smile.

Then Auntie Jenny turned her eyes to Saul, giving him a once-over with a curious grin. “Here visiting family?”

Saul gave a toothy grin but didn’t respond.

Ada quickly stepped in, “He’s from my hometown. Couldn’t make it out there anymore, so he came to stay with me.”

Auntie Jenny’s gaze became even bolder.

“New to town, huh…? Nice-looking lad, just a bit skinny. Make sure you do plenty of work—work makes you strong.”

“Yep, yep,” Ada answered for him, then hurriedly dragged Saul along.

They continued down the path and soon ran into a burly man with a thick beard, dragging along a skinny old man.

Though it was early spring and still chilly, the burly man was barely dressed.

His shirt was open at the collar, revealing broad chest muscles. A curved blade hung at his waist, swinging and slapping against his thigh with every step.

“Captain Jeff!” This time, Ada greeted him warmly. “Bringing the old lunatic back again?”

The towering Captain Jeff handed the old man over.

Ada quickly passed his hoe and bucket to Saul and stepped up to help the old man.

“That old loon went to the mayor again, ranting about his tragic past. If I hadn’t stopped him, he’d have been beaten up today.”

Jeff shook out his wrist, clearly sore from carrying the man.

As if on cue, the old man suddenly shouted:

“Cursed Barbarians!”

Everyone was used to his sudden outbursts.

Only Saul turned to glance at him, sensing that though the old man’s eyes were hollow, they weren’t chaotic.

He didn’t look insane—just like a man who’d lost all hope in life.

“I’ll take him back,” Ada offered. “Captain Jeff, want to come in for a drink?”

Jeff waved him off and turned to leave. “No need. I’ve still got patrol duty.”

Ada smiled warmly, watching Jeff’s back disappear down the path.

Then the old man wailed again, “Don’t trade with the barbarians!”

His voice was haunting.

Saul noticed that Jeff paused mid-step. His right hand instinctively moved to the curved blade at his waist.

But he didn’t look back, didn’t say a word—just kept walking, hand still resting on the hilt.

Ada, preoccupied with calming the shouting old man, didn’t notice Jeff’s reaction at all.

“Forget it, Saul, put the stuff down and give me a hand.”

The frail old man was too much for Ada to handle alone, so he asked the “scrawny” Saul for help.

Saul dropped his stick, shifted the hoe and bucket to his right hand, and reached under the old man’s arm with his left. With a quick lift, he hoisted him back up before he could fall.

“Uh…” Ada noticed the weight on his arm lighten significantly. He looked at Saul with surprise. “You’re pretty strong.”

Saul replied casually, “Just muscle I earned from scraping by.”

“Now I really believe you walked all the way here on your own.”

Together, Ada and Saul helped the old man into a small courtyard.

Ada’s house was tucked away in a narrow yard.

Surrounded by other homes, the courtyard was crisscrossed with strings of hemp rope, from which hung underwear, clothes, shoes, blankets, wild greens, and all kinds of strange things.

Through the scattered hanging items, they saw a man with his butt stuck out, leaning against a wooden window and peeking inside one of the rooms.

Ada’s face instantly twisted in rage.

“Jayce! You bastard, stay away from my sister!”

(End of Chapter)