The black sun hangs high

Chapter 18 The Chill of the Streets
Upon hearing Hugh's seemingly joking question, the three-tailed rat summoned by magic paused for a moment before darting towards a corner of the hallway, its long tail trailing behind it. With a quick turn, it disappeared behind the cabinet.

Hugh quickly chased after it and, upon closer inspection, discovered that there seemed to be a small crack in the wall behind the cabinet, and the rat appeared to have scurried into this crack.

Although Hugh can't see the magical creature he summoned for the time being, the magical connection is still maintained. He can sense that the magical creature is moving actively in the space behind the wall, and finally, it stops somewhere.

"What does this mean? Is it trying to tell me that my actions can be very secretive?"

Just as Hugh was somewhat confused, his expression suddenly changed.

He felt his magic power draining away at an alarming rate. Hugh could clearly sense that his magic power was being rapidly consumed by the summoned three-tailed rat.

Out of curiosity, Hugh did not stop the process. He quickly estimated his magic capacity and then released the restriction on magic, allowing his summoned creatures to continue to draw on magic.

This action quickly received feedback.

Hugh first heard some faint sounds coming from all directions, from the ceiling, walls, floor, and behind all sorts of old furniture.

That was the sound made by some creatures crawling. Their numbers seemed to be enormous. As they gathered together, they inevitably squeezed and trampled each other, thus producing a dense "squeaking" sound.

Hugh's expression gradually changed.

He finally understood what his magic had been used for.

"So... there must be rats all over my feet?"

The idea popped into Hugh's mind, and as if in response, the entire Ernst mansion trembled slightly the instant the idea appeared. The rats that had been summoned and gathered there seemed to have started a carnival, running through the pipes underground and the gaps in the walls. The terrifying sound instantly formed a wave that was suffocating.

Hugh understood that the three-tailed rat he had summoned seemed to have the innate ability to summon and command a swarm of rats with magic. Although he did not yet know the limits of this ability, Hugh did not intend to continue experimenting with it. He did not want to make a mess of the place.

As Hugh cut off the supply of magic, the sharp cries of three-tailed rats immediately came from within the walls. Then, the ordinary rats that had been summoned scattered in all directions. In just a few breaths, Ernst's old house returned to tranquility, and the swarming rats left no trace.

The three-tailed rat obeyed Hugh's command and crawled out of the wall, standing quietly in front of him. Due to the interruption of its magic supply, its body began to gradually lose control, and soon, its body began to "melt" under Hugh's gaze.

Like the magical tentacles that had broken free from Hugh's grasp, the summoned magical creature eventually vanished completely before Hugh's eyes, leaving only a barely noticeable puddle of water where it had stood.

Hugh sat on the stairs, staring at the puddle of water, carefully reviewing what he had seen and learned in his mind.

"Now, I have successfully inscribed two spells. Tentacle magic has been proven to be usable in actual combat, while this newly acquired summoning magic can be used in a wider range of scenarios."

As Hugh gazed into his mental world, he pondered: "A magical creature that can appear and disappear at will and flexibly carry out my commands... its role is bound to be enormous, not to mention its ability to summon swarms of rats. Although using this ability will consume a lot of my magic power, it is enough to serve as a trump card for survival."

As he thought of this, a face suddenly popped into Hugh's mind.

That's Verain Ernst.

Hugh couldn't help but smile wryly, because the female mage who was trying to get him out of the city of Seren had given him very serious instructions before leaving the old house.

Verain Ernst believes that Hugh is now an absolute novice in magic. Regardless of whether he has completed the magical inscription, it would be extremely risky for him to misuse and experiment with magic without proper guidance.

"If you don't want to be dried up by your own magic, or explode into pieces because of uncontrolled magic, you'd better behave yourself... If you want to learn magic, you can wait until we solve the current problem. At that time, I might be able to be your introducer. What the Legal Committee needs most right now is qualified new blood."

Recalling the words the other person had left behind, Hugh slowly shook his head.

As a lake-level mage, what Verin said was naturally correct. Her sense of urgency and vigilance regarding the city of Seren was perhaps far beyond that of ordinary people, but she still did not understand what all of this meant.

Hugh knew this, but he couldn't say it; even if he did, no one would believe him.

He didn't want to be dragged into a small room by the Legal Committee to undergo the kind of magical ritual that would turn people into idiots on the spot.

"The growth of magical power is necessary. Perhaps everything in my spiritual world can now open a new gap in the current predicament... but it's not enough."

Hugh moved his palms slightly, and with a slight mobilization of his magic, two extremely lethal magical tentacles immediately burst forth from his palms. They flashed through the air like black swords, leaving only two terrifying whistles.

Hugh noticed that the tentacles he had summoned had a touch of dark green, and when this color touched the fence next to him, he heard a sizzling sound of corrosion.

Clearly, the color emanating from the dark green crystal at the center of the magic disc added some new characteristics to his magic.

"First the tentacles, then the rats, then the alchemical bombs and the deadly poison..."

Hugh shook his hand, dispelling his magic: "Why are they all these kinds of elements? I'm not even a villain."

……

In the afternoon, after familiarizing himself with and practicing his magic once, Hugh left the old house with the draft he had made up earlier.

According to his plan, he also needs to go to the Peace Newspaper Office today.

Hugh planned to use the submission of the manuscript as an excuse to try to find something more from Editor-in-Chief Philip's office. With the help of the three-tailed rat, he believed he should be able to find more details and evidence that he had missed before.

“If necessary, I might consider using violence… but considering that I have become the focus of the Legal Committee’s attention, I’d better exercise restraint.” Hugh thought to himself, but his gaze couldn’t help but sweep over the manuscript in his hand and the small town in front of him, which was still relatively peaceful. His hatred for Editor-in-Chief Philip had unconsciously risen to another level.

Whether it was a psychological illusion or not, Hugh felt that as the armistice celebration approached, a strange and volatile mood was indeed brewing in the beautiful and unique town of Seren.

"Sir Writer, do you still need a newspaper today?"

The familiar little girl suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Her clothes were no different from usual, but the smile on her face was nowhere to be seen. Her timid appearance made people feel uncomfortable.

She carefully took out a newspaper from a small bag she carried with her: "You don't seem to have gone out all day, so I left you an extra copy."

The Peace Newspaper always started distributing its newspapers very early, so this particular newspaper had actually been in the girl's bag for half a day. Now, it was wrinkled and even had two drops of oil on it, making it look quite disheveled.

Hugh didn't seem to mind. He took the newspaper and, as usual, put the change into the girl's palm.

The girl nodded her thanks very seriously, but a smile never appeared on her face.

Looking at the pale little face in front of him, Hugh shook his head helplessly.

He reached out and grabbed the little girl who was about to turn away, stuffing the other two coins into her hand. Then he naturally bent down and tried to keep his voice as soft as possible.

"Hey, what happened?"

At times like these, Hugh's rather frail appearance becomes an advantage, as the children are less likely to harbor hostility or suspicion towards a young man with such an appearance.

The girl stared at Hugh for a moment, then glanced at the change in her palm, before replying softly, "Earlier... there was a conflict between the Tricolor Brotherhood and the members of the Seren Aid Group."

"The Tricolor Brotherhood and the Seren Aid Group?"

Hugh narrowed his eyes slightly.

These are the names of two organizations that are quite familiar to anyone who has lived in Serenity for a long time. No joke, they appear in the public eye as frequently as the Legal Affairs Commission.

The Tricolor Brotherhood is based on a large number of lower-class youths in Seren, with professional stealth stalkers and street thieves as its main force. These young people believe that only by using strength and swords can they truly bring benefits to the lower classes. Such a view may be somewhat extreme, but for young people who are easily swept away by passion, such goals and ideals are always very tempting.

If Hughes remembered correctly, his good friend Putrin was a member of the Tricolor Brotherhood, and according to Putrin, he had now become an important candidate for a junior position in the Brotherhood.

Compared to the Tricolor Brotherhood, which was founded on a foundation of young blood, the history of the Seren Mutual Aid Society is much longer. Its establishment can even be traced back to the war years more than two hundred years ago. The native residents of Seren established this mutual aid organization in order to better survive. Although with the passage of time, there are very few true native residents left in this area, this tradition has been passed down for a long time.

Hugh had a good impression of the Mutual Aid Organization. Although people often said that the Mutual Aid Organization had long since become a "white glove" for those high-ranking officials and nobles, Hugh observed that the organization was still helping the city's residents in an orderly manner, especially the children who had lost their families and parents for various reasons, who were the primary beneficiaries of the Mutual Aid Organization.

however……

There has never been any conflict of interest between these two organizations, so why has such a conflict suddenly erupted today?

“Mr. Writer, you should know that our cheap newspapers are actually obtained by the Communist Aid Group.”

The girl scratched her hair in distress, then explained, "But today... today the Mutual Aid Group told everyone that there have been a lot of bad articles in the Peace Newspaper recently, so the Mutual Aid Group hopes that we will stop selling newspapers in the city... To compensate everyone, they also helped us find some temporary jobs as compensation."

"That sounds good."

The girl whispered, "But the Tricolor Brotherhood... they don't think that way."

Hughes frowned. "What did the Brotherhood say?"

The girl thought about it carefully for a moment, and then she said somewhat haltingly, "They said...they said that the articles in the newspapers were actually fine. They only revealed part of the facts about Seren. The Brotherhood believed that these truths should be known even to the youngest people, instead of deceiving everyone like the Mutual Aid Group did."

"Uncle Roy, who was originally responsible for bringing us newspapers, thought the fraternity members were talking nonsense. He wanted to go up and argue with them, but he was beaten up after only saying two words. His face was covered in blood, and he was later carried away..."

At this point, the girl glanced at Hughes cautiously: "It was your friend who made the call."

"Putrin?"

"Yes, it is."

Hugh wanted to ask more questions, but the girl was clearly unwilling to continue the discussion. She seized the opportunity to break free from Hugh's grasp, pocketed the two extra coins she had earned, and turned to run towards the other end of the street.

Hugh slowly stood up. The originally warm and bright afternoon sunlight was inexplicably tinged with a bit of coldness at this moment. A gust of wind blew by, making him shiver involuntarily.

The magic of growth sharpened his senses, and Hughes accurately spotted two pairs of eyes looking from the side of the street. He followed those eyes and saw two young men wearing black short-sleeved shirts and hoodies staring in his direction.

Their eyes met briefly before the two hooded youths, belonging to the Three Colors Brotherhood, separated and walked off to opposite ends of the street.

Winter has not yet arrived, but Hugh has already felt the chill in the air.

(End of this chapter)