The black sun hangs high

Chapter 196 Night
Hugh's return was warmly welcomed by all the children.

Seeing those dirty, innocent faces, the heavy burden weighing on Hugh's heart seemed to lighten a little.

Hugh laid out the huge pile of things he had brought back, including weapons and spoils seized from the Brotherhood of Three Colors, which filled an entire table. This left Felix speechless; he was quite envious of the survival skills a spellcaster displayed in such a terrible environment.

Inside the room, Hugh sorted and arranged the bullets suitable for different crystal guns, then pushed two of the guns, along with their bullets, in front of Felix.

“I’ll keep just a handful of this. You can arrange the rest. You can consider giving a handful to Malena… When they go out, they also need to find ways to protect themselves.”

Having gotten to know each other better, Felix has now lowered his guard against Hugh.

Even if this former writer from Ernst's Old House is indeed shrouded in many complex mysteries, both his and Malena's lives were saved by Hughes, so he had no reason or need to continue to be wary of Hughes.

Moreover, he didn't have the ability to guard against a mage.

"Hey... put the dagger down, or you'll cut yourself!"

When Felix saw a child picking up and fiddling with the Demon-Slaying Silver Dagger, he quickly stopped them.

The various weapons and equipment on the table had already broadened Felix's horizons, and the large bag of food, medicine and other supplies that Hugh had collected in between hunting the Dark Abyss offspring was now a priceless treasure in Seren City. Among them were even a few cans of cured meat. Malena solemnly placed these cans of meat on the highest point in the room—along with the cans of fruit, to prevent any gluttons from being tempted to steal them.

Felix couldn't help but sigh, "If only I could use magic too."

"Why so many 'what ifs'?"

Hugh shook his head and laughed, "Instead of wasting time lamenting, you should think about what's next. Besides... Felix, you've already done enough."

Hugh's praise left Felix somewhat helpless. He nodded, then sat down at the table and began to pack up the dangerous alchemical bombs.

He casually asked, "I kept hearing magical explosions before, were you casting a spell?"

"Yeah, I ran into some members of the Brotherhood of Three Colors. They were very welcoming. They not only told me some important things, but also gave us these weapons. Isn't that great?"

"..."

Felix was an honest man, and he didn't quite understand Hugh's bizarre humor, so he grinned and chuckled twice before asking, "So, you had a conflict with them?"

"Yes, those guys are no ordinary people. They were trying to hunt down mages, but they ended up running into me instead."

Amidst the children's admiring gazes, Hugh inspected the revolver crystal gun and casually remarked, "Unfortunately, most of their weapons are substandard products from Iris Street; these are the only truly usable ones among them."

At this point, Hugh asked, "By the way, Felix, those Tricolor Brotherhood members mentioned that General Boots of Iris Street is trying to recruit survivors from within the city. Did you know about this beforehand?"

"of course I know."

"You're not interested? I don't think the people of Iris Street would refuse someone like you joining them."

Hearing this, Felix smiled wryly: "I already know that joining Iris Street means I have to live in Iris Street like those soldiers. That would be very safe, of course, but... General Boots isn't friendly to children. He believes that in such special times, it's necessary to streamline manpower and resources as much as possible."

He lowered his voice at this point: "General Boots believed that children who couldn't work and still wanted food were only a burden to him..."

"But there are still some other children left in the city. How did he deal with them?"

“The slightly older ones can at least help with the work, such as moving supplies, repairing walls and houses, building fortifications, etc. There’s always something they can do.”

Felix said in a low voice, "But if it's any smaller... that wouldn't be good."

"Just tell me."

"The number of mages in Iris Street is limited, and they are trying to expand their sphere of influence. Therefore, General Butts is under great pressure to clear out those monsters. In order to improve efficiency, they force young children to go out into the streets at night to lure out the monsters in the neighborhood and kill them, or to lead them to other places."

To Hugh's surprise, Felix remained remarkably calm and composed as he recounted these events. Despite his extreme circumstances, he seemed to show no anger toward General Boots and Iris Street's actions.

Felix sensed Hugh's questioning gaze and gave a somewhat strained smile: "If General Boots really wants to establish a relatively safe area in and around Iris Street, then he must find a way to eliminate all potential threats... For them, this method is indeed feasible, and the establishment of order in Iris Street proves that their decision has some merit."

Felix carefully placed the sorted alchemical bombs on the table: "I don't agree with their actions, and I feel sorry for the old people and children, but I can't do anything more, nor do I have the ability or time to blame them. Instead of getting angry about these things, I should think about where I can find something useful next."

"makes sense."

Hugh nodded in agreement. He realized that his thoughts and thinking had just gone astray. In such an extreme and harsh environment, even the kindest person must become rational. Only in this way could Felix ensure the survival of the children he cared for and protected.

As darkness gradually fell outside the window, a peculiar sound emanated from every corner of Seren.

"Tap tap tap, tap tap tap..."

That was the sound of people closing and reinforcing doors and windows.

Malena and two other older children also got to work. They brought very thick planks wrapped in thick sheets and began to fix them to the windows. After each window was closed, Malena had to do a careful check to make sure that the planks were properly sealed and that the gaps between them and the window frame could be filled with the thick sheets.

Soon, the entire room was enveloped in deep darkness.

The crystal lamp lit up, though the light was dim, serving as an important source of light in the darkness. Felix then used his tattered clothes to seal the gaps in the door. After that, the children quieted down, even the youngest one, who just huddled in Malena's arms, biting his fingers and remaining silent.

The dry rations and canned food for dinner were distributed to everyone, including Hugh. Hugh received a can of fruit containing "Crown Apples," a specialty of the capital city of Delan. These apples were quite popular among noble ladies on the highlands. Hugh had eaten them twice and quite liked the subtle magic they possessed.

Dinner ended unnoticed amidst the soft sounds of chewing and swallowing.

Then, at Felix's instruction, Malena led the other children into the bedroom, where there was a huge mattress that, when laid on the floor, was barely enough for everyone to sleep on.

Malena was very clever; she realized that Felix and the sorcerer "Alfred" had something to talk about, so she obediently closed the bedroom door and didn't disturb them any longer.

“Mr. Hugh…”

At this moment, Felix couldn't help but use honorifics when addressing Hugh. By the light of the magical streetlights, he looked at Hugh and then asked, "Have you really been in Seren City all this time?"

"If I'm not in Seren, where else could I be?"

Hughes smiled. "And why did you ask that?"

"Uh... no, okay, it's just a gut feeling."

Felix smiled sheepishly: "You know, I used to be in charge of the Mutual Aid Society, and I know Seren City and its people very well, so I can always see or judge certain things, like those things between the Tricolor Brotherhood and the Peace Newspaper back then..."

He licked his dry lips and said, "It's a bit like fishing. After a while and a lot of times, I can tell whether the fishing rod is shaking normally and whether the fish has really taken the bait. Do you understand what I mean?"

"of course can."

Before nightfall, Hugh's swarm of magical rats had already spread out. He was certain there were no noticeable threats in the vicinity, so he relaxed and began to talk to Felix: "What you're trying to say is that you have a very good understanding of 'normal situations,' so you can immediately detect any unusual signs?"

"Yes, that's it!"

Felix nodded vigorously: "You truly are a writer. I thought I'd have to explain for ages."

Hughes chuckled and leaned back in his chair: "So you think there's something wrong with me?"

Seeing that Hughes was not averse to the topic, Felix relaxed and said, “You… don’t seem like someone who lives in Seren, at least not someone who has been trapped here all this time. Sir, you are too composed. In your eyes, monsters and thugs seem to be objects that can be easily dealt with.”

Hughes did not refute Felix's point of view, but calmly replied, "Is it possible that my performance stems from my magic?"

"maybe?"

Felix said uncertainly, "But I've also seen some mages trapped in Seren City before. They also wield magic, but... after going through so much, they've become just like everyone else. It's a completely different feeling from what you've experienced."

"Anything else?"

"Also, Mr. Hugh, you are very knowledgeable about the causes of the disaster in Seren City and those monsters, and you seem to be really thinking about how to solve the problems in Seren City... I'm sorry, these are actually just my intuition, and I can't provide any more 'evidence'."

After listening to Felix's account, Hughes nodded: "Although I think attributing all of this to intuition is a bit far-fetched, I must say your judgment is quite accurate."

He met Felix's gaze and said calmly, "As you might have guessed, I did come from outside the city, and I do indeed want to resolve the predicament here."

Despite having mentally prepared himself, Felix couldn't help but gape.

Countless thoughts raced through his mind, and he tried to stop them, but to no avail.

After a long while, Felix finally came to his senses and asked in a slightly trembling voice, "Then... Mr. Hugh, I want to know, how do the people outside, the outside world... view the city of Seren? Are you an envoy sent by the Legal Council or the two great kingdoms?"

"They have forgotten about Seren."

Hughes whispered this extremely cruel answer: "Perhaps a few people still remember, but even those who remember Seren can't change anything."

"How is this possible! This is... an entire city! And there are so many people in the city!"

At this moment, the leader of the Common Aid Society, who had been struggling in the city of Seren, finally began to break down.

He could accept that the city of Seren was temporarily shut down due to the war, he could accept the magical blockade imposed by the Legal Committee to isolate the terrible monsters, and he could even tolerate the cruel measures taken by Iris Street to consolidate order.

But Felix could not accept this calm and detached forgetting.

He couldn't understand why the city of Seren and all its inhabitants, as the spark and starting point of a terrible war, would receive such treatment.
Felix's expression shifted constantly across his scarred, gaunt face; he seemed to want to cry, or perhaps he wanted to shout something, but in the end, all of this returned to silence.

Hughes saw that Felix's sunken eyes seemed to be glowing, as if they were on fire.

"So, Mr. Hugh, you've come here to..."

Because of his emotional turmoil, Felix's voice became hoarse, and the words were forced out of his throat, seemingly carrying Felix's last shred of luck and hope.

"I must admit that my return to Seren was entirely due to an accident."

Hugh and Felix looked at each other, and under the fluctuating gaze of the other, Hugh answered honestly, "But since the accident has already happened, I naturally have to find a way to deal with and resolve it... Since the Legal Committee and the countries are unwilling to get involved in the affairs of Seren City, then we can only rely on ourselves."

He raised his hand and patted Felix on the shoulder: "Keep fighting spirit and confidence. I've said it before, I can't solve this problem by myself. Mr. Felix, you have to be my guide and introducer."

(End of this chapter)