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Leonrick invited Angor to a seat.

“Can you help my daughter, Mister Mask?!” Cyndia immediately spoke, fearing that Angor would disappear all of a sudden.

Angor looked at this royal madame who had taken on a completely different look after a mere five days. She looked tired, and her once healthy cheeks had shrunk. Her skin had earned a pale yellow hue instead of her usual white.

A mother always suffered for her child’s misfortune.

Angor looked down and thought about his own mother, who devoted her love toward him and Leon until the last second of her life.

When Angor remained silent, Cyndia quietly sobbed on her seat.

“Doctor Caroline, can you bring Cyndia to her room?” Leonrick tried to remain strong. As the family’s last line of defense, he couldn’t afford to break down now.

Caroline nodded. “Alright. The lady needs her rest too.”

“Baal told me you found something?” Angor asked after Caroline and Cyndia had left.

Leonrick hesitated a little. “I’m... not sure. I saw a city legend in the central library...”

Leonrick spoke faster and faster until he finally lost his calm. “It doesn’t seem related to the small shadow, but... but I don’t have anything else! Margot is awake, but she—”

“Stay on topic,” Angor interrupted. “Tell me about that rumor.”

Leonrick thought what he found was completely useless, but since the wizard in front of him seemed interested, he immediately explained in a more serious manner.

“They said that, one thousand years ago, in a place called Hippocratee, a race named ‘Krakok’ lived together with humans. They loved to stay in people’s homes. The locals of Hippocratee called them ‘little households’ or ‘Fairies of the Attic’.

“They were tiny, kind-natured, adept at dancing, and they loved music. They could craft beautiful charms and decorations for houses. Anyone with Krakoks around them would find their lives getting better by the day. For this, people really loved their company. They would often offer their spare rooms to the creatures. However, Krakoks usually didn’t wish to cause trouble, so they often found their residence in the attics or under the floor, thus their name.

“At first, Krakoks shared a fine companionship with mankind. People in Hippocratee believed that a family with Krakoks would enjoy eternal fortune. And, for the same reason, the Krakoks witnessed a terrible fate.

“One day, a war descended upon Hippocratee, forcing everyone to leave. The war raged on for ten years. When the new dominion was determined, the once lively and prosperous city of Hippocratee had become tattered ruins, which welcomed its former residents who still thought about returning.

“The strange thing was, those houses occupied by Krakoks were all fine. People found the Krakoks who were still living in the same places as they waited for their human friends to return.”

Leonrick sighed and continued, “The Krakoks were innocent creatures. They believed that the good old people had come back to them. However... after spending 10 years drifting away from warfare, people changed. They learned many things, and at the same time, lost many things.

“They learned about greed, depriving, and strife. They had lost the way of goodness, innocence, and wellbeing. These ‘new people’ of Hippocratee brought devastating disasters to Krakoks. Many Krakoks were captured, sold, or tortured; all just to satisfy the selfishness of men.

“Next, Krakoks vanished, and they could no longer be found in the course of history.”

Leonrick finished his story with a sad comment, “The war did not break their homes because Krakoks had been protecting them while waiting for their masters. Yet...”

“... The Krakoks only welcomed a group of demons in the end,” Angor added his own ending to the comment.

Leonrick nodded. “Krakoks made both the right and the wrong decision to fully trust mankind. They had no idea that the human was the most... inconstant creature in this world.”

Angor pondered over the story. It sounded like something to enlighten kids, to tell them that people should remain kind, and to refuse war and suffering.

But what if it was real?

A thousand years ago. War. Hippocratee... Something flashed through his mind.

“Is Hippocratee actually Water Grasse?” Angor looked up.

“Yes... the city in the story was the history of Water Grasse.”

“So the war a thousand years ago was the one that established Zeal Dominion?” Angor remembered that part of history. According to what Baal told him before, Zeal Dominion had existed for roughly a thousand years.

Leonrick nodded. “It should be. The old king changed the nation’s name to Water Grasse.”

Leonrick shook his head, and he continued, “Forty years ago, when I was 16, I became the leader of Water Grasse. Back then, our people were just like those described in the story. Barren lands and unwholesome environment that gave birth to ill-natured thugs. I spent half of my life improving the city, building better homes, and teaching virtue. And now... we almost succeeded.

“Now, it should be time for me to enjoy the fruit, but my only daughter, she, she—” Leonrick began to cry again. “If it is a Krakok who stole my daughter’s shadow, does this mean it’s finally time for us to pay for the sinful deeds of our ancestors?”

Angor waited for Leonrick to settle down a little. “That’s not it.”

“Then... why is this happening?”

“It doesn’t explain why they only aim for blond hair and blue eyes,” Angor said while he put a hand on his own hair.

“Sir, is it really a Krakok then?”

“I don’t know yet.” Angor thought about how Magician mentioned Shadow’s special taste toward the particular hair and eye color. “But I’m almost certain it is.”

“What should we do? Where can I find this Krakok?” Leonrick quickly asked when he saw a possible solution.

Angor only stood up and bade goodbye to the old man.

“Thank you for your information. I’ll take my leave for today.”

Leonrick could only watch the young wizard walked away helplessly. Was there no hope for his daughter?

When Angor had completely left his sight, Leonrick covered his face and sobbed quietly.

Next, he suddenly heard a familiar voice speaking to him.

“Come find me, if you’re prepared to face a furious wizard who’s capable of burning down the entire Water Grasse.”

...

Instead of leaving for real, Angor was hiding somewhere nearby under Infinite Reticence. He wanted to see how his first Voice Transmission worked out.

And Leonrick’s expression suggested that he had succeeded.

“Which wizard? Is it Magician, that Baal told us about?” Leonrick asked loudly.

After making sure his cantrip worked fine, Angor slowly left the count’s manor.

...

A strange sight in the yard greeted Angor when he returned to Bay District.

Baal and Dodoro sat together while Trusan sat opposite them with a serious look on her face. Dodoro still looked innocent and carefree, while Baal had his head lowered in complete silence.

“What, you want to study with Dodoro too, Baal?” Angor asked as he entered the yard.

Baal quickly stumbled to Angor and knelt down. “Please! Take me out, sir! I can’t take it!”

With a running nose, Baal explained his painful experience in the morning.

Every time he tried to leave, the illusions of his victims would come haunting him again. He had to go inside the mansion to escape them, and he could only stay inside while he waited for Angor to return.

Trusan managed to hear his random ramblings when he was troubled by the illusions, which were about how he slaughtered countless people in his “career”. When Trusan came to scold him, Baal simply tried to threaten her into giving up by his usual violent means. However, the old lady didn’t back down at all. Instead, Trusan began to assault Baal with really harsh lectures.

And Baal couldn’t really harm Trusan because he knew that Angor hired this woman to come here. In the end, Baal’s only choice was to accept the lectures like a good kid.

Angor chuckled. “Come on. Granny Trusan only wanted you to amend your ways.”

But I don’t want to! Baal complained in his mind.

“Heh, I see. Baal, from today, you’ll be staying with Trusan. You have to ensure the safety of Trusan and Dodoro. At the same time, maybe you can also learn about how to act like a good man. I’ll allow you to travel in and out of the house.”

Baal shook his head madly. He didn’t want to imagine what those days would be like. Yet he dared not protest for real when he looked at Angor’s devilish grin.

“Welp, since Baal’s your bodyguard now, you can resume your original plan, Granny Trusan,” Angor said.

With that settled, Angor asked Baal to come into the mansion with him.