Exploring Technology in a Wizard World
Chapter 498 - 497 Alubak Village

Chapter 498: Chapter 497 Alubak Village

Returning to her room, Heidi looked at the furnishings in disarray, feeling unsure of what to pack. Her mind was a mess—she had been hoping that Richard would come to see her here, and now that she was leaving abruptly, Richard would be unable to find her if he did come.

What should she do?

Heidi bit her lip so hard she nearly drew blood, then, with a sudden blink, she had an idea.

The very next moment, Heidi quickly found an envelope, paper, quill, and ink, laying them out on the tabletop. She dipped the quill in the ink and started to write on the paper.

She was so nervous that her writing was rapid and sloppy, and by the time she finished, she was trembling all over.

But there was no time to calm her nerves. She hastily dried the ink, slipped the letter into the envelope, and then walked to a spot on the wall. With some difficulty, she pulled out a half brick to reveal a hidden compartment, where she placed the envelope.

This hidden compartment was something she had created out of boredom without knowing what she might use it for, but now it served a purpose.

Though she felt the chances of Richard coming were slim, and the chances of him finding this letter even slimmer, there was still a glimmer of hope.

A glimmer of hope was enough for her; she could not afford to expect any more.

After completing these preparations, Heidi heard approaching footsteps from outside; she guessed it was Old Servant Eugene getting ready to hurry her along.

To avoid suspicion about what she had done, she quickly put away the ink and quill.

By then, the footsteps were very close.

Heidi leaped onto the bed, grabbed the black cat from under the covers, and rushed to the door, calling out to Eugene who appeared at the threshold, "Eugene, I’m all packed."

"Hmm?" Eugene looked Heidi up and down with a skeptical tone, "Miss Heidi, are you truly ready? You don’t seem to be taking any luggage with you."

"I need only to bring Mi Qi!" she declared, struggling to pull out a section of the black cat’s tail from her embrace and giving it a shake, "Mi Qi is my most important luggage."

Eugene’s eyes flickered before he replied, "Very well then, Miss Heidi. Lady Mary is waiting for you outside the castle. Let’s go."

"Yes." Heidi, holding the black cat tightly, ran swiftly down the stairs.

Old Eugene surveyed the room once more, ensuring there was no issue, then extinguished all the candles with a wave of his hand before turning to go downstairs as well.

Outside the castle, a carriage stood still with Lady Mary seated above, waiting. Soon enough Heidi ran out to board the carriage, which then quickly set off into the distance.

Behind the carriage, the lights of the entire castle were extinguished one after the other, its massive silhouette blending into the vast night.

...

Daytime.

The castle, first floor, the main hall.

Bathed in the light streaming in from outside, Richard read the contents of the letter.

It was brief and scrawled hurriedly as if written in a moment of urgency, but decipherable: "Mr. Richard, if you find this letter, then please don’t worry about me, I am fine. However, Aunt Mary is taking me away from here immediately, and I don’t know where we’re going, so if you’ve come looking for me, you might not find me."

Here, I must first thank you for really being able to come, even if we are unable to meet.

Additionally, if you want to find me, please remember the following symbol—I don’t know what this symbol is for, but Aunt Mary has used it many times. If you can find the source of this mark, maybe you’ll be able to find me where I stay with Aunt Mary.

Goodbye!"

At the end of the letter, there was a slightly odd symbol.

The symbol consisted of two parts, firstly an outer black triangle "△" and inside a black circle, there was a swastika "卐".

This was somewhat different from the three parts of the Black Spirit Empire symbol—△,○,｜—yet there were similarities.

After seeing it, Richard’s eyebrows slightly raised, uncertain whether this symbol had any relationship with that of the Black Spirit Empire, but he took note of it nonetheless.

"So to say, she’s already left, and where she’s gone is unknown. Well... searching based solely on a symbol is indeed a bit difficult. The best approach would be to find a place to settle down, and take it slowly." Richard muttered to himself and, folding up the letter, strode towards the outside of the castle; Pandora followed.

Soon after exiting the castle, Richard looked around, considering where to go, when his eyes suddenly flickered.

He saw an old man bent over with age standing in a field not far outside the castle, appearing to be working. When the man saw him walk out from the castle, a surprised expression appeared on his face and his eyes widened, resembling a scaredy-cat. The next moment, without saying much, the old man turned and ran.

Just like that, an old man well into his seventies or eighties, with a hunched back, was madly running across the field—it was really hard on him.

"Hm?" Richard watched and called out with slight puzzlement, "Old sir, why are you running? I have a question I’d like to ask you, I don’t know if..."

While Richard was still speaking, the old man had already sprinted a good ten meters or so, showing no sign of wanting to stop.

Richard’s eyes narrowed, sensing there was a reason for this, and in the next moment, his foot pressed down and his whole body surged forward, chasing after the old man. Pandora, at Richard’s side, paused, then with a shout of "Richard, wait for me," quickly caught up.

...

In the blink of an eye, some fifteen minutes later.

In Alubak Village, inside a thatched cottage.

Richard and Pandora sat at a three-legged table with several wooden cups on it.

On the side, a stove was burning, as the crooked old man who had run away earlier kept adding small pieces of wood to the fire. A pitch-black copper kettle was placed on the stove and before long, the water within the kettle started to boil, sending plumes of white steam into the air.

Using a damp, torn cloth to cover the handle, the old man grasped the kettle and placed it on the table in front of Richard and Pandora, smiling at them amicably as he began pouring water into their cups.

A few grains of wheat were at the bottom of each cup, and as the hot water was poured in, they quickly surfaced, spinning wildly in the water, only after a while to slowly sink back down.

With a "thud," the old man set the kettle aside and made a polite gesture of invitation towards Richard and Pandora: "Please have some tea, please have some tea!"

"Thank you," Richard said, picking up the teacup and briefly holding it to his lips, then putting it back down on the table without drinking a drop. The reason was simple—science has proven that boiling water is not suitable for drinking because—it’s too hot.

Pandora, on the other hand, didn’t care so much. Offered free tea, she saw no reason not to drink. Obediently picking up the cup, she poured the water into her mouth quickly, "gulp, gulp," swallowing it in a few gulps and finally, "crunch, crunch," chewing the few grains of wheat, frowning slightly and whispering softly, "Isn’t it sweet? I thought it was sweet..."

The old man: "..." Staring in astonishment!