Sorcerer’s Handbook

Ashe brushed off her hand, his expression seemingly uncomfortable.

“But if you don’t date and have no family, doesn’t that mean you’re always alone?”

“We’ve always been… Oh, that’s right!”

Freya suddenly remembered something, pulled out her homework essay, and began to write feverishly: “Another benefit of the Socialized Rearing system… fostering independence from a young age… accustomed to solo combat… having an advantage in Exploration in Virtual Realm… ‘Every citizen of the Blood Moon is a qualified Sorcerer reserve’… Okay, the Professor has to give me full marks this time, or it wouldn’t make sense!”

Ashe watched her write the essay and continued to ask, “Don’t you want to experience a perfect union with a lover, don’t you want to share your joys and vent your pressures with family, don’t you want someone to care about you?”

“Why do you ask so many strange questions… You’re not trying to become my lover and live with me, are you?!”

“I’ve said I’ll only stay here for seven days before I leave.”

Freya shrugged in response: “I don’t need to find a lover; I just need to spend some money at the Mud Café for a perfect union; if I want to share my joy, I can boast about my grades behind the Curtain with my classmates, and if I want to express my stress, I should see a Psychotherapist. As for care, isn’t that just another way of saying ‘investment’? If someone cares about me, it means they want to reap greater benefits from me.”

“If I am of great use, everyone will care about me; if I’m worthless, no one will pay attention to me, and even a lover would leave me. It’s a simple truth of human nature.”

Ashe said softly, “But human nature isn’t just about weighing benefits; there’s also truth, goodness, and beauty.”

“But why should I place my hopes on others instead of investing all my resources in myself?” Freya said with a smile: “When I’m hungry, I can go to a restaurant; when in need, I can visit Mud Café; if my room is dirty, I can find a housekeeper; if I’m stressed, I can see a Psychotherapist—one of my future occupation options. It’s the 17th century, for any need, money can provide a solution. Why should I gamble on human nature?”

“Even my gambling friend Adra wouldn’t dare to play in a game where the power is completely in someone else’s hands. The risk of entering an intimate relationship is just too great.”

“But don’t you ever feel lonely?”

Freya put the final period on her paper, slid it into her backpack, and turned to look at Ashe.

“We are all the same,” she said.

Then she reached out to hug Little String, affectionately rubbing her face against his, but Little String pushed her away in disdain. “And I have Little String, how could I be lonely?”

Facing Bewitcher’s pure and joyful eyes, Ashe suddenly realized that the Ogre mayor, Fernand Snow, had actually failed to touch the core of the Blood Moon Kingdom.

Because he too was an orphan, he had no family, nor did he know how to love.

Just as Freya didn’t notice the sour smell on her clothes, most people living in the Blood Moon Kingdom also didn’t realize that they had lost the ability to love.

How could someone who has never seen the sun know the warmth of sunlight? How could someone who has never felt family care believe in selfless affection?

Perhaps they believe in the existence of selfless love in this world, they long for it, but they are more convinced that such love will not befall them.

Just as Fernand Snow believed that the Blood Moon Kingdom didn’t deserve a savior, they also thought they were not worthy of embracing love.

Ogres thought that the Blood Moon isolated people by sowing seeds of suspicion and building walls of discrimination. However, in reality, the Blood Moon was eradicating the seeds of love from everyone’s hearts through education, causing a natural resistance to intimate relationships. Discrimination and suspicion were just the stench of a loveless soil rotting and eroding away.

Ashe suddenly thought of Langna—was this Werewolf considered a traitor to Moonshadow because his capacity for love was too strong?

Seeing Ashe silent for a long time, Freya couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong?”

Ashe snapped back to reality, smiling, “Nothing, I was just thinking about where I could earn some money.”

“If you’re willing to show up, I suggest you try part-time at Mud Café. With your looks, while not top-tier, you’d rank as a decent Mud Worker and would likely attract quite a few customers. Want me to recommend a Mud Café to you? Even if you don’t want to do it long-term, you can try it out for experience. Many men with decent looks work as Mud Workers for a night to gauge their market value.”

“Thanks, but I’m not skilled enough to earn that money.”

“Being a beginner is actually a selling point, too. A lot of wealthy women have a particular fondness for virgins, and if you want to practice, I can help you…”

“Don’t you have a class at 2 PM? It’s already 1:50.”

Freya glanced at the time and hastily grabbed her backpack, “Oh no, I almost forgot the time. These dishes…”

“I’ll wash them,” Ashe offered, “Will you come back for dinner tonight?”

There it was again.

Freya felt that strange emotion creeping up once more.

Unrelated to lust or greed, it made her both despise and like Ashe; it made her want to stay away from him yet also drawn to him.

Could this be a curse from the Four Pillars Cult? Or the unintended pollution aura of a Demon Saint?

While her mind pondered these questions, she simply answered: “Hmm.”

“Any particular dish you want to eat?”

“Redflame Lala Fatty roe over rice, is that okay?”

“No problem,” Ashe waved his hand. “Be careful on your way.”

The weird emotion inside Freya grew stronger as she nodded hastily, put down Little String, and hurriedly left the house.

Ashe decisively turned off the shop exploration video and opened “Anyone Can Do It: Annihilating Creatures in the Virtual Realm – Slaying Fish-Dragon Edition.” After watching the video, he dressed up, put on a mask, and summoned his Substitute.

“Wash the dishes, clean up, and if there’s extra time, play with the cat. In case of an emergency, just dissolve the Substitute. Got it?”

The Substitute nodded.

Ashe opened a spreadsheet titled “4.29 All-School Schedule” on the Knowledge Screen, a document that could only be downloaded within the Curtain of Kaimon Comprehensive College. Luckily, Freya was also a student there.

His stay was not a random choice; he had come prepared.

His gaze settled on a line in the schedule.

“16:00~18:00, ‘Ancient Ritual Factions,’ Sylin Dole, Classroom 108.”

With the target confirmed, Ashe prepared to leave but then noticed Little String sitting on the floor like a lethargic homebody, lacking energy.

Moved by a sudden impulse, Ashe directed a Sympathy Spirit towards Little String and immediately felt waves of pain feedback.

Although it hurt and was uncomfortable, it did not seem unhappy, its mood as calm as if it had grown accustomed to living with pain. Looking at the Sympathy Spirit in Ashe’s hand, Little String cocked its head, seemingly curious.

“Congenital chondrodystrophy, huh…” Ashe gently stroked Little String’s head. “Selected from birth, only those lucky enough to be considered aesthetically valuable are allowed to live, then kept in cages for neutering, and once out, treated as goods to be exploited for their value…”

“Because Little String has been accompanied by pain since childhood, it doesn’t see that as misfortune, but rather as an inevitable destiny; and because everyone around it is the same, it doesn’t recognize the pain as suffering, thus it has no worries.”

He reached out to scratch the folded-ear cat’s chin, and Little String revealed a contented, silly smile.

“Being an Observer is really tough.”

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