Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 442 - 10 Old Friends in the Magic District_1

Chapter 442: Chapter 10 Old Friends in the Magic District_1

"Tweet, tweet, tweet." The morning sun shines through the thin clouds over the City of Knowledge. Unnamed birds weave between houses, leaving waves of noisy calls. On the street, hurried passersby gather into a flowing stream, the sounds of wheels and hoofs composing a busy symphony.

In contrast to the bustling street, it’s tranquility inside No. 6, Fox Street. In the lush green courtyard, not a soul can be seen. Even the maid sisters who clean up every morning have disappeared. Only a few sparrows chirp high in the oak tree, signaling the arrival of a new day. And if you carefully step outside the courtyard, pass the mansion and reach the backyard, you can see something unimaginable.

The mansion’s backyard is vast and separated into different areas. The area closest to the back door is a lawn, similar to the front yard. Fine rods form a loose structure in the sky above this area, where a plethora of climbing plants grow over it, forming a canopy woven from vines. On summer afternoons or evenings, the young ladies always sit under this vine rack to enjoy the cool breeze. They’d stand barefoot on the grass carpet, cluster into groups of three, with a cup of tea and a book, whiling away some blissful time.

However, it’s much livelier under the vine rack now. A few long tables are put together to form a giant table with lots of used cups and plates containing leftover food and drinks strewn about. Empty bottles of alcohol are scattered everywhere, far outnumbering what Nicole and Rachel have brought. On one side of the table, there is a round grill; the charcoal has long been used up, turning from black to ash gray. Grilling on the rack are half-burnt chunks of meat; the creamy fat solidifies on the grill, sticking the meat tightly onto it.

Girls are everywhere on the ground around the table. Lovers of the City of Knowledge could never have imagined it; Michelle and Ansha, the twin sisters who are new stars of the Holy City, who conquered half the city’s youngsters with their singing and dancing on New Year’s Eve and became the desires of countless boys, are now sleeping shoulder to shoulder on the grass, drooling, hugging empty alcohol cups, and licking the rims. Two mini undead in puppet dresses are sprawling together on the ground; it’s fun to see a little bear and a little bunny cuddling together. They haven’t drunk alcohol, but the time they sleep is always far greater than that when they are awake. For them, getting into sleep is as easy as pie. So, they sleep soundly; even when the sunrays directly reach their bodies, they just roll over unhappily. Another pair of twin sisters, dressed as maids, are huddled in a corner, reeking of alcohol and sleeping far away from everyone. Even in their sleep, their postures are wary, like two rabbits ready to escape at any moment.

On the ground, across the long table, there’s this mountain of flesh. Freya’s plump body lies on the ground, taking up as much space as three people. Vivian has a blushing face, resting on Freya’s round stomach, while Lena, with her silver hair spread out, laying on Freya’s other side. Catherine, not far away from them, has a tilted cup containing half a glass of beer in her hand. She slumps against a few vines, her head slanted to one side, her eyes tightly closed, a gleaming silvery thread hanging from her mouth.

The outdoor barbecue party went smoothly. Before midnight, Rachel and Nicole took their leave. Soon after, the three visitors from the Sea Country went back to their inn, leaving only a close-knit group of people. So, the girls began to frolic like crazy, completely dropping their restraint and grace, singing loudly, dancing freely, and drinking quite a bit of alcohol. Eventually, it all transformed into the current unfortunate state.

"Whew, you certainly can drink." Pannis climbed onto the vine rack, allowed the sturdy vines to support her own body, and leaned against the thick wooden poles at the four corners. She poured the last cup of beer into her mouth, exhaled a dull breath laced with the smell of alcohol, and while looking at the clouds in the sky, she said, "I didn’t think you could keep up with my drinking until now. Even if you don’t get drunk, don’t you feel sleepy?"

"I’m used to it." Passion’s eyes were bright but a bit bewildered as he watched the distant sky. Indulgence had already gotten drunk; she was snoozing in Passion’s arms. Habitually, Passion pushed aside Indulgence’s scattered bangs and sighed, saying "For many years, we could only dream about dropping our guard and drinking ourselves into oblivion, like we do now. I wonder if this is good or bad."

"Who knows, as long as we’re happy, it’s fine." Pannis laughed, jumped off the vine rack, put her cup aside, dusted off the dirt on her clothes, and said, "I’ll leave this place in your hands; I am going out for a bit to meet an old friend."

"Pannis, you’re going out?" Catherine groaned and staggered to her feet, pressing her hand against her forehead and looking pained. She walked wobblingly for a few steps, then said to Pannis, "Do you want me to accompany you?"

"No need, you rest a little more." Pannis shook her head and said, "I’m not sure when those two clients will show up. You wait and greet them. I won’t be gone for long, and if they arrive before I get back, you don’t have to wait for me. You can take them directly to the guild to go through the formalities."

"Then be careful on your way." Catherine, dizzily walking to the side of the table and plopped languidly into a chair, lamented in despair, "Oh, my head hurts. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have drunk so much. Damn you, Pannis, it’s all your fault for insisting on pouring me drinks."

"Haha, I’m off." Pannis smirked slyly, chuckling as she escaped Catherine’s disgruntled gaze.

As soon as he left the metallic gate of the courtyard, Pannis quickly retracted his smile, gazed at the sky in contemplation for a moment, and sighed. He flagged down a public horse-drawn carriage designated for individual passengers: "To the Magic District, Krof Street."

"Alrighty." The cheery black-clothed coachman snapped his whip in the air, producing a sharp crack. "Hold tight. I promise we’ll get there within the hour."

At the sound of the whip, the disgruntled horse pulling the carriage began to trot and soon disappeared down the street.

Like the Guild District, the Mage District is part of the City of Knowledge’s core area. However, it is considerably quieter than the noisy, jumbled Guild District. The streets aren’t crowded; only a few elegantly walking pedestrians, dressed as mages, can be seen. On both sides of the road, buildings with the style of the Tower Mages of the Kingdom of Mages and the underground Mage style of the Neville Federation alternatively stand. Occasionally, there are wooden tree houses reflecting the natural Mage style of the Elven Forest. These three disparate architectural styles blend together, creating harmony in chaos without any sense of incongruity.

The wheels of the carriage churned on, moving along with the sound of horse hooves. The cheerful coachman hummed an unrecognizable tune, repeatedly waving his whip in the air to maintain the carriage’s speed. The carriage moved swiftly, helped by the fact that the morning rush hour was over. It quickly passed through the Starshine Tower area in the center of the Magic District, took several turns, and eventually stopped in a secluded street on the southern side. Unlike the central Magic District with its workshops, labs, and stores, the buildings here were mostly residential – a home for mages without personal mage towers.

Pannis jumped down from the carriage before it even came to a stop. He tossed the coachman a few silver coins as a tip and proceeded along Krof Street. He marched into an inconspicuous alley, where he paused briefly at the entrance before decisively pushing open one of the doors.

In contrast to the beautiful courtyard and mansion at No. 6 Fox Street, what lay beyond the door was a small flower garden. The flowers and plants were well-tended, their vibrant colors in full bloom adding a splash of color to the courtyard.

Several small houses could be seen behind the garden, their construction unique and flat-roofed. Knowledgeable visitors could identify this style as reminiscent of the once-popular architecture of the Goblin Empire from tens of thousands of years ago – an unexpected find in this location.

At the door of one house, an old man lay on a lounge chair, a huge fan in one hand, his eyes half-closed. He was motionless save for the occasional wave of his fan. If not for this movement, passersby might mistake him for dead. His skin was green, tinged with heavy dullness. The exhausted man sat silently, appearing to be deep in sleep rather than merely daydreaming.

Pannis stood quietly at the entrance, observing the old goblin on the chair. His face was marked by wrinkles, his skin dark green, his pointed ears drooping. His formerly active and vigorous body now trembled even while lying down. Pannis couldn’t help but reminisce about their past battles alongside Christo. The drastic contrast brought a wave of emotions, leaving him with a deep sigh – a sigh lamenting the relentless passage of time.

After standing for a while, a smile suddenly crossed Pannis’s face as if he had thought of a new prank. He nodded with satisfaction.

"Little Kera, you lazy bug, time to wake up." Pannis opened his mouth and out came a voice similar to that of a pair of winged siblings. "Dummy, did you wet the bed and that’s why you’re too embarrassed to get up? It’s okay, even if you did wet the bed, we won’t laugh at you, don’t worry."

"You two brats." The voice, seemingly etched into his soul, caused Christo to leap up in his chair just like old times, wildly gesticulating and cursing loudly.