Wizard: I brought the wrong system...

Chapter 28 Companions

Yaro waved goodbye to his mother in the shadows, then, holding the black cat, pushed open the wooden door and entered the inn.

The flames burning in the fireplace dispelled the slight chill of dusk, and the inn's living room was bustling with activity. Upon hearing the sound of the wooden door, some people instinctively turned their heads and noticed the handsome boy wearing a strange gray-black robe and holding a large black cat.

Shh!

Several whistles rang out, and a ragged mercenary, his face flushed, staggered to his feet, looked around, and loudly mocked, "What do I see? Another poor kid brainwashed by childish books. He seems quite obsessed, with his strange clothes, his mismatched longsword, and look at what's in his arms."

"What's that? A black cat?"

The hall erupted in laughter, making the atmosphere even more lively.

Even in a world where information flows very quickly, many "exceptionally intelligent geniuses" will still interpret certain truths in reverse in order to demonstrate their intellectual superiority, let alone in this closed world.

Because many things need to be kept secret from ordinary people, most of the wizards living in the world will arrange for them to have the identity of an ordinary person. For example, Barrow's grandfather had a title, but for his grandfather, that title was just for propaganda purposes. Even his grandfather himself did not remember what the title was.

Wizards who are detached from worldly affairs have no need to, and are too lazy to, communicate with ordinary people, in addition to all sorts of ignorant and audacious swindlers.

This has led to the image of wizards in the eyes of many ordinary people being that of eccentric, reclusive madmen.

Even if a few people have actually witnessed the wizard's abilities and spontaneously spread the word, they will be scorned and ostracized by others. Furthermore, some people who know the truth will deliberately conceal it.

It's important to understand that while the academy recruits students every year, it's impossible for them to recruit everyone, not to mention the issues of talent and human reproduction.

Taking the theory of "ignorance is absence" as an example, if there are too many new students, each student may encounter danger, and the existing mentors will not be able to protect them all. The mentors are also unwilling to act as babysitters day and night.

Therefore, among the limited number of students admitted, those with good aptitude will receive more resources, those with average aptitude will also be able to enter the academy, and even those with poor aptitude will have a chance to become wizard apprentices as long as they are willing to pay a price.

Just like in Aro's previous life, there were also many people who promoted the idea that "reading" was useless. After the number of people scrambling for resources decreased, those who knew the correct information already possessed some kind of benefit.

For those who choose to conceal the truth, these are all real benefits!

Ignoring the ridicule of ignorant people is the best option!

Otherwise, if we were to really argue with them, and we lost, we would still be ridiculed; but if we won, it would be these fools who would benefit the most.

Yaro walked calmly toward the wine cabinet, ignoring the cold words around him.

"Quiet down, all of you! This isn't the place for your drunken antics!"

The middle-aged bartender gave a stern rebuke, then turned around, placed his hands on the liquor cabinet, and asked with a smile, "Future wizard, how can I help you?"

He had been here for a long time because ships transporting "Knight Breakthrough Potions" often passed by. In the past, he had seen powerful knights treat wizards with respect. Although he did not know why, he was willing to give way to them.

This wasn't because he knew the wizards were powerful, but simply because it was a middle-aged man's awe of the world.

"My mother has booked a room here. Could you take me there?"

After Yaro finished speaking, he took out a wooden plaque that his mother had given him.

The middle-aged bartender glanced at it and exclaimed softly, "The top-floor luxury seaside view villa—that's the best room! Your mother really treats you well!"

I don't know why, but these hotel and restaurant owners like to give their rooms such long names. Does it make the rooms better?

Do not!

This will only make the rooms more expensive!

After confirming that the strangely dressed blond boy in front of him was his big customer, the middle-aged bartender became even more enthusiastic. "It's so late, would you like something to eat? It's fate that we've met for the first time, this meal is on the house."

Yaro had actually seen it long ago; the wooden sign read "Three meals a day free," but he pretended not to notice and politely nodded, "Thank you so much."

"You can have your meal over there," the middle-aged bartender leaned over and whispered. "I overheard a few words of their conversation; perhaps you two could become friends."

Oh?

Following the bartender's gaze, Yaro noticed two men and a woman sitting in the corner—three young people his own age.

Unlike Yaro, the three of them weren't dressed in gray-black apprentice clothes, but a little deduction would make it clear that young people of this age who had spoken with wizards at this time were most likely the ones going to take the wizard test tomorrow.

Thinking of his mother's request that he mingle with the other boys and go to the port the next day, Yaro thought for a moment and made a decision.

After glancing at the menu and ordering a few dishes, Yaro, carrying the food in one hand and the black cat in the other, turned and walked over there.

"Good evening, gentlemen and ladies. I apologize for disturbing you. My name is Yarrow Garner, and it's a pleasure to meet you all here and now."

Yaro smiled slightly, his golden hair shimmering faintly in the firelight, his gray-black apprentice robe draped over his strong body, making him look both neat and mysterious.

"May I sit here? I think we might have some common topics to talk about."

Yaro said this, but he had already put down the plate, hugged the black cat, and plopped down in the empty seat.

Across from Yaro, a boy dressed in luxurious clothes with a powdered face muttered indignantly, "Judging from your manners, you must be a nobleman too. How can you be so rude? Don't you know you can't sit next to a lady?"

In any place with inconvenient transportation, there is a possibility of different accents every ten miles. Therefore, even if everyone speaks the "Fien language", there will be subtle differences in the pronunciation of ordinary people in different places.

Only nobles possess the most authentic "Fien Voice," and coupled with some unique pronunciations of the language, Yaro was immediately recognized as a noble.

The girl sitting next to Yaro was also dressed exquisitely, with fair skin, big eyes, and a few cute freckles on her face. When she turned around and noticed Yaro's face, a hint of amazement flashed in her eyes, and she quickly said, "It's alright. After all, this isn't a formal restaurant, everyone is just sitting wherever they like. Um... my name is Emily Harlin, you can just call me Emily."

"Thanks."

Sensing the boy's tension and resentment, and the girl's admiration and anticipation, Yaro couldn't help but chuckle.

What a precocious world!

After handing a grilled fish to his mentor, Yaro looked up and smiled, "How shall we address you, gentlemen?"

The boy in hemp clothing mumbled, "Mengli."

The nobleman boy glared at Yaro with displeasure: "You haven't answered my question yet!"

After a moment's thought, Yaro remembered what the noble boy had just said, and smiled and shook his head, saying, "Look at my clothes, I'm not a nobleman at all."

The nobleman boy sneered, "So you think you're a wizard? Do you really think that dressing like this will make the wizard look at you favorably and thus pass the test?"

Yaro smiled without saying a word and lowered his head to eat his food.

There are indeed other wizard apprentices guarding various places on this 'island', but it is unlikely that other wizard apprentices would happen to have children around ten years old who need to go there for further studies at this time.

Yaro wouldn't explain that his attire was indeed something that would make the wizards look at him with more respect, and that the boys' current opportunity was, to some extent, due to him. If it weren't for the notification from the wizard apprentice family guarding the island, the Jungle House wouldn't have sent a ship to this "island" to recruit students.

This is a benefit for those wizard apprentices who are willing to stay here for a long time.

Of course, the benefits offered by the Jungle House only include sending wizards on board. Whether they ultimately meet the requirements and can actually enter the academy depends on their individual aptitude and strength.

Sensing the somewhat somber atmosphere, the girl Emily quickly changed the subject, saying, "His name is Joseph Whiteke. Joseph, we are all destined to become wizards, there's no need to delve into our past identities."

Are they all destined to become wizards?

Yaro glanced at the girl.

You have such a big heart!

However, he was clever enough to steer clear of the issue of Yaro's clothes with a simple sentence, which also served as a subtle response to the noble boy's question.

There wasn't much food on the tray, but Yaro, who was well-trained and always had a good appetite, finished it all in just a few bites without losing his elegance.

"Thanks."

After thanking the bartender who came to take his tray and brought him a glass of water, Yaro tidied himself up a bit before turning to the girl beside him with a smile and asking, "Can you tell me what you two were talking about?"

"Of course," the girl said, her eyes glazed over, unable to resist Yaro's smile. "We were just talking about Monri. As you know, even among us nobles, only a few know of the existence of wizards. We never expected that a commoner would appear here alone."

That's true. Although wizarding academies don't care about noble status, unless the wizards themselves recruit students, these children who gather here will definitely be led by nobles.

After all, how could an ordinary person's child afford to travel such a long distance?

Yaro looked at the boy in hemp clothing curiously and asked, "Why?"

Mengli explained in a low voice, "When I was a child, I fell into a well and entered a mysterious place. After I inexplicably came out, I told my parents about it."

"My parents didn't believe it at first, but it got around in conversation. Later, our baron heard about it and let me into his castle. Just yesterday, he sent someone to bring me here."

……

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Thank you to Silent Night Wanderer and Legendary Lich Lavok of Netheril for the recommendation votes again.

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(End of this chapter)