Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 410 Become an Evil God

Ethan never expected that he would meet his former companion Zoffy before Lance did.

In Lance's description, Zoffy is a legendary assassin who is in charge of intelligence gathering. His intelligence has helped the team gain the upper hand in their battles against the Demon King on many occasions. Zoffy himself is as taciturn as the stereotypical image of an assassin master, and always presents a cool and handsome image in daily life.

Ethan now finds it hard to reconcile the "pet" groveling before the Empire's third princess with the master assassin Lance depicted.

Zoffy was also the reason why Lance wanted to pretend to faint and infiltrate the Esh family as an undercover agent. He believed that Ilya and the nobles of the empire would not kill Zoffy easily. After capturing him, they would most likely use Zoffy's miserable state to provoke him. At that time, he would suddenly rise up and rescue his good brother.

"Surprised? In the capital, this is quite normal."

Ilya smiled and explained to Ethan, "Even the strongest will is nothing in the face of drugs and contract spells. The Third Princess is an expert at training pets, and Zoffy is just a small challenge for her."

While speaking, Ilya was also silently observing Ethan's expression.

After listening to the Imperial Army's report, unlike those fools with their minds full of citizenry, she did not trust this young nobleman who appeared out of nowhere, nor did she believe that he had "coincidentally" taken advantage of the situation and brought the unconscious Lance to the Imperial Army's camp when Lance and Archduke Simpler's assassins were fighting to the point of exhaustion.

There are just too many suspicious points here.

The most bizarre thing about the missing assassins is that the Imperial Army couldn't capture a single member of the resistance army except for Lance. However, according to the testimonies of the nobles who encountered the airship crash, the resistance army had deployed a large number of people. They were well-trained and all carried firearms. This group would have been a threat in any city.

According to Ethan's account to the Imperial Army, the assassins sent by Grand Duke Ash killed many of the rebels, and the rest fled into the depths of the forest and disappeared without a trace. Interestingly, she had specifically contacted the Gear City police station before attending the banquet, but they hadn't heard a single sound. The rebels didn't seem to have suddenly lost their leader and were in complete disarray.

Ilya knows Lance.

A true swordsman with a strong sense of justice.

That is why he will do everything in his power to protect the safety of those refugees.

Ilya tried to put herself in Lance's shoes and think about the problem in his way, and the answer became obvious—he would use himself as bait to attract the attention of the Imperial Army, thus providing enough opportunity for the refugees to evacuate.

In this way, all the doubts can be explained.

The Simpler family, blinded by the death of their illegitimate son, and the Kingdom's army, obsessed with fame and eager to bring Lance back to the capital for their reward, would not pay attention to the movements of the refugees at this critical juncture.

After all, compared to Lance, the great swordsman of the Hero Squad and leader of the resistance, who is known as "the strongest man in the empire", the others are insignificant.

However, Lance still needs someone to carry out his plan.

Ilya's gaze fell on Ethan. She couldn't be sure of the relationship between Ethan and Lance at the moment. After all, the nobles of Gear City all knew Ethan, and he didn't seem to know Lance beforehand. Moreover, Ilya was quite certain that they had never seen this young man during their journey to defeat the Demon King.

After all, he has a decent appearance and would be favored by many noblewomen in the capital. If he were to meet her, he would definitely leave a deep impression.

Was this a premeditated scheme by Lance and Ethan, or was Ethan simply being used by Lance after being kidnapped...?

However, such doubts are destined not to last long.

The police station in Gear City brought good news: late tonight, a crew member from an airship escaped back to Gear City. He claimed that he was at the rebel camp and witnessed many things. He needs the protection of the detectives to escort him to the capital so he can personally report to His Majesty Henry on the rebels' movements.

The crew member is now on his way to the capital, and it won't be long before the true identity of this "young nobleman" is revealed.

Ilya deliberately made contact with Ethan. She had been silently observing Ethan since the banquet began. This "young nobleman" gave her a very special feeling. Therefore, she deliberately brought Ethan to this party, and Ethan's reaction to this pet party further confirmed her guess.

As a nobleman, Ethan was far too "ascetic".

In fact, Grand Duke Ash treated him well, specially granting him a place to attend. It should be noted that the nobles qualified to attend this gathering were all prominent figures in the Silver Glow Empire. Being on the list of any one of them would be enough to change the trajectory of his future life. Any noble who knew how to get along with others would have been shameless enough to go around talking to people and trying his best to promote himself, even at the risk of being looked down upon.

With a little embellishment, he could claim credit for "capturing the empire's strongest man alive."

But Ethan didn't do that. Before Ilya came up to talk to him, Ethan sat in the corner playing with his cat. Did this young man expect those important figures to come and talk to him?

The same is true now.

Aside from a brief moment of shock, Ilya saw no desire in Ethan's face to fit in with these young people.

This is where the problem lies.

She couldn't see any desire in Ethan, any yearning to continue climbing the ranks as an imperial nobleman.

Are all the people in this club pet lovers?

No, of course not.

Keeping pets is a troublesome matter. First, they have to spend a lot of money at auctions to buy those special breeds. Then they have to work hard to train them to be extremely obedient. Often, the more special the breed, the stronger their rebellious spirit. Only true "pet" lovers can enjoy the sense of conquest that comes from taming pets.

Many more people in the club joined because they heard about Fabius and the Third Princess of the Empire's hobbies. They kept pets simply to have more topics to talk about, which is part of the social life of the imperial aristocracy.

Those who have nothing in common with each other are destined to be excluded from the circle.

In aristocratic social interactions, what truly matters is not what you like, but rather the hobbies of those you need to curry favor with.

Ethan, however, did not share this view. He seemed uninterested in the pet party and had even considered leaving.

"Mr. Ethan, don't you think their pets are more interesting?"

Ilya asked this deliberately, "They are more satisfying to tame and better reflect the owner's status, while your cats... although they may seem well-behaved, cats are destined to be just cats, they will never become human."

"Is that so? Perhaps that's true."

Ethan noticed that Little Dark's gaze towards Ilya was a little strange, as if it were sending a signal to replenish its energy. Even Winter, who had little interest in the banquet, opened her eyes and glanced at Ilya.

The Imperial Sorcerer, completely oblivious to her dangerous remarks, continued, "If you're interested, I can take you to the Imperial Capital's auction. Perhaps you'll find a pet there that suits your taste even better."

She paused for a moment, then said, "You might even see Lance there. Zoffy set a new record for the highest price ever paid at an auction, and I think Lance will definitely be able to break that record."

"Lady Ilya, I think you may have misunderstood. They are not my pets."

Ethan corrected, "To me, they are like partners and family."

Upon hearing this, the two cats' eyes softened.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the monster-loving group Ethan had imagined. He didn't understand the quirks of the Silver Empire's nobles, but he respected them. However, now that he knew Zoffy's whereabouts, he would have to find a way to tell Lance this bad news tonight after everyone had fallen asleep.

The nobles in the room were all in high spirits, and he had no way of knowing yet whether the transformation in Zoffy was reversible.

This situation is not optimistic.

Even if they could eliminate the effects of the drugs and the contract, the experience of being a "pet" would very likely remain a shadow in Zoffy's heart, accompanying him for the rest of his life. "Family?"

Ilya raised an eyebrow; she was becoming increasingly certain of her guess.

These words didn't sound like something a nobleman would say; instead, they revealed the poverty and sordidness of a commoner. In the Silver Glow Empire, only the lowly would consider animals as friends and family.

"Mr. Ethan, please forgive my intrusion, but what are your plans after the banquet?"

She couldn't find out Ethan's identity. She had previously thought that Ethan might be the illegitimate son of a noble family in the capital, just like Baron Flint, only he was hiding it better. She thought that after the banquet, he would definitely go to his family.

"They should probably find a hotel to stay in."

"hostel?"

Another unexpected answer, but Ilya thought again and realized that Ethan couldn't lie about this.

The noble families in the capital all know each other very well. Whether or not someone named Ethan exists in their family can be found out simply by asking each other.

A smile appeared on Ilya's face; she felt she was very close to the truth.

"Could you tell me what you did when you were in Gear City?"

She knew her questions were becoming increasingly presumptuous, but if Ethan wasn't the illegitimate son of some great nobleman, she naturally had no need to maintain proper aristocratic manners in front of him.

In the Silver Glow Empire, isn't it only natural for commoners to cooperate with nobles in investigating cases?

For ordinary people, being able to meet a holy mage and answer her questions is a blessing in itself.

"I used to run a shop."

"A shop? What kind of shop?"

"Our magic scroll shop sells some high-purity magic scrolls, which are very popular with our customers."

Old Sen's Magic Technology Shop is renowned throughout the Empire. The Lofik Consortium has repeatedly expressed its desire to invest in and open a branch, but it has declined each time because Ethan has no expansion plans at the moment.

He didn't find it shameful at all. Compared to the many aristocratic young masters and ladies in the capital who were born with a silver spoon in their mouths, he was a self-made millionaire.

merchant?

It's also a shop specializing in mysticism.

Ilya was stunned for a long time. However, she hadn't been to Gear City for a while and couldn't immediately tell if Ethan was lying. But from Ethan's confident tone and his emphasis on the "high purity" of the magic scroll, she couldn't help but believe him a little.

It seems that the nobles of Gear City were mistaken; Ethan was not born into a noble family, but rather into the wealthy merchant class.

Although their status in the empire was not as high as that of the nobles, it was still much better than that of the common people.

"So, you're a mage? Which mage academy did you graduate from? Maybe we're even alumni."

"I did the research myself."

Ethan said, "Just a little bit of knowledge in this area is enough for selling magic scrolls."

A wild way?
Ilya was confused again.

Although there are many wandering superhumans in the Empire, the Archmage class is quite special. It requires systematic education, and only wealthy families can afford to send their children to Archmage Academy.

Before this, she had never heard of anyone becoming a mage through self-study.

There were just too many suspicious things about Ethan, so she didn't dare to draw a conclusion right away.

Ethan stuck to his own way, never speaking to the "pet" enthusiasts in the annex. The only minor incident was when the Simpler family's old butler "kindly" invited him to stay in a guest room at the manor after the banquet, just like when he stepped off the airship, seemingly not intending to leave him with the option to refuse.

Considering that Lance was also being held captive somewhere in the manor, Ethan accepted the invitation.

After the guests left, Grand Duke Ash, unable to hold his liquor, went to rest. The young nobles, led by the Third Princess of the Empire and Fabius, had some extra activities, but Ethan didn't care about any of that. After a long day of travel, he let Winter lie on his lap and enjoyed the rare tranquility.

He basked in the moonlight, admiring the manor's paths, which had been carefully maintained and arranged by the servants.

"This place reminds me of the former empire."

With no one around, the cat finally became more talkative. "But it's not exactly the same. It sounds like someone heard about the empire back then and added their own imagination."

An even darker, more hopeless empire.

A place untouched by evil gods, thus completely severing the rebels' means of support.

"I've figured out what I need here."

Those beautiful red eyes shone brightly in the bright moonlight. Only in front of Ethan would Winter reveal another side of herself.

She shared the result of her thinking all day, and she believed that somewhere in Ethan's heart, he already had the same answer.

"what do you need?"

"An evil god."

She heard footsteps approaching from afar, a large group of people, accompanied by the laughter and conversation of noble sons.

They were walking their "pets" by holding their leashes with collars, engaging in a "dog and cat walk" activity.

Winter's lips curled up slightly.

With a "bang," the white ragdoll cat in Ethan's arms disappeared, replaced by a beautiful girl with long white hair, her arms wrapped around Ethan's neck.

This scene was presented to the nobles at the most opportune moment, and the heated discussion immediately vanished. Everyone stopped in their tracks and witnessed Ethan and Winter in the depths of the alley.

"Become a god of evil, Ethan."

The girl leaned close to Ethan's ear and spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear.

Then, under everyone's gaze, she pressed her lips to Ethan's.

(End of this chapter)