A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 219 Andrei's Family

"Shall we go look for it now?" Luo Xia realized the seriousness of the situation after hearing this; something must have happened.

They first went back to the nearest alchemy department to investigate, but Snow told them that Andrei was not there today.

Snow shook his head: "I wanted to ask you that too."

"Is there any way to locate Andrei?" This is the Alchemy Department; what if we could find him directly?

"It's a pity. If he had taken any documents or things from the Alchemy Department home, we could have easily identified him, but your good student is of high moral character and has clean hands."

After failing to reach an agreement, Rorschach decided to go to Andrei's house.

Pascal, who managed the night school, knew the students' addresses and had already found someone to lead the way: "Let's borrow horses, it'll be faster." Compared to carriages, the advantage of riding horses was that there were no speed limits, although there was a risk of being bothered by the security team.

Now that it was dark, the two rode through the night, with a ball of light floating in front of them. Passersby and vehicles knew that the two were spellcasters and gave way to them.

Pascal led Rorschach across most of the city to Andrei's new home. His father had a respectable job, though illiterate, working as a printer at a small newspaper.

After the enactment of the Truth in the Press Law, tabloids that habitually fabricated sensational stories to attract attention became much less prevalent, which also meant a sharp drop in sales, and unsurprisingly, Andrei's father was dismissed.

As a result of the family's income decline, they moved to a house near the eastern suburbs, where both the living conditions and the security were much worse. When Luo Xia arrived, he encountered two members of the security team at the door.

"My son went missing the night before last. He said he went to school by himself and then never came back." The haggard woman was probably Andrei's mother, and she was now hoping that the security team could help her search.

"Evening? Night school?" The security guard, who had initially only intended to brush it off, exchanged a glance with her, grasping the key words: "Madam, you must tell me which night school it is? Are there other young people involved?"

Andrei's mother hadn't realized why the security guards were so interested in the school at night: "I don't know. He just said it was next to a textile factory."

"Okay, textile factory. Didn't you hear your child mention anything else related? Think about it again; the more details you provide, the better it will help him get back to you."

"Madam, please ask the officers from the security team to leave," Rorschach interrupted the conversation, preventing the woman from revealing any more information.

"Who are you?" Hearing the young voice interrupt the question, the security guards thought a job offer had come their way. Perhaps it was a friend or accomplice of that unstable element, or maybe a petty thug. In any case, they decided to take him away first.

However, he and the people behind him were all dressed in mage robes, and there were bright orbs of light floating beside them, practically making it clear that they were spellcasters.

"Gentlemen, we are mages from the Tower of Stars. Since my assistant has gone missing, please allow us to handle this case ourselves."

"Would the magic tower's assistant live here?" The sheriff was skeptical, but since the mage had said so, they were already planning to retreat. Besides, they hadn't intended to look for that young man named Andrew anyway.

This is right next to the eastern suburbs! In Valuana, especially outside the upscale residential areas, no one knows how many people go missing or die every day, just as no one knows how many people are born here or come to the city with dreams in their hearts.

"We won't be staying here anytime soon." Rorschach and Pascal went inside and slammed the dilapidated door shut. The two sheriffs stood outside, shrugged, and left.

"Madam, if I may be so bold, I suggest you move to a better place. I think Andrei's salary should be able to support a better living environment. If the rent is a burden, I can offer him a higher salary."

This was an old apartment building, mainly constructed of wood with no regard for natural light. The cramped hallways were filled with the smells of mildew and sweat. Their footsteps creaked on the floor, and their attire attracted wary, xenophobic glances from behind other doors.

"Generous sir, you are right, but now Andrei has disappeared."

"And that's exactly why we've come."

"Yes, yes, darling, it's me." The lady knocked on the door, and a bearded man opened it. He glanced at Rorschach and Pascal, hesitated for a moment, and then opened it fully.

"You didn't say."

"The two esteemed mages have come in person to help us find Andrei." Rorschach and Pascal entered the small dining room/living room, where a huge wooden tub was filled with rinsing clothes.

The house was dimly lit by candles and oil lamps, but the magical light shone in and illuminated all the unsightly places: the unwashed plates, the leftover bean soup, and a string of dirty little handprints on the wall.

"Mommy!" "Mommy!" The two small children wanted to hug each other, and then they saw the ball of light and wanted to touch it out of curiosity, but they didn't dare to go forward when they saw the two strangers.

"Go, go." Andrei's father shooed the child into the small room and locked himself in as well.

"I'm sorry, we are believers in the Lord. Recently, Andrei and his husband had a big fight." The father couldn't understand how his son would go from a church school all the way to becoming a monk. Despite his son bringing home a large sum of money, the stubborn "head of the family" still insisted that Andrei "return to the right path."

Running away from home? But there's no reason he wouldn't come to the Alchemy Department. Rorschach had Pascal continue questioning him, and apart from the strained father-son relationship, there was nothing unusual.

Andrei has always hoped to move back to a wealthier, safer neighborhood, where he doesn't even dare to send his younger siblings to church school.

His mother works part-time as a cleaning lady, and his father does odd jobs that require physical labor. In addition, Andrei is currently working part-time and studying and has no time to pick up and drop off his younger siblings, so their safety cannot be guaranteed.

"I never imagined he would disappear on his own. Andrei is such a good boy," the woman said, her words flowing like a dam breaking, her eyes welling up with tears. Pascal tried to comfort her, but Rorschach remained silent.

This only wastes time, and the anxious mother didn't reveal much useful information.

"Could you give me some of the clothes Andrei wore, or some of his everyday belongings?"

"Of course." Andrei had a small wooden table in the house, with messy scraps of paper and a few textbooks on the shelf and tabletop, and his odds and ends in the drawer.

Rorschach took a coat and his used charcoal pencil, which was quite short, but its owner couldn't bear to throw it away. The two said goodbye and left Andrei's residence.

"Return to the Tower of Stars."

"You have a way? [Prophecy]?" This is a fifth-circle divination spell. Divination spells are always very difficult to cast, and very few people in the Tower of Stars have mastered it. Perhaps some archmages can guarantee a successful casting.

"I don't know how myself, but I've thought of a similar method." Luo Xia was somewhat annoyed. Things happened so suddenly, and he had rushed out with his senior brother to look for the person, forgetting a method that could very likely lead to their discovery.

After returning to the Tower of Stars, Rorschach asked Pascal to go to the cafeteria to get some food while he retrieved the small wooden box containing the Pearl of Balan from his dormitory.

"I need to find someone, can you help me?" Balan has the title of prophet, and Chulimo has the divine authority of being the protector of commerce and travelers. This glass marble should be able to find Andrei.

(End of this chapter)