Chapter 69: Cleaning the sewers

By the time the replacement carriage reached the Academy registration plaza, morning was already close to noon.

Aldric got out first. His clothes had been completely replaced, his hair had been washed three times, and another layer of purification magic had been cast over him. In theory, there should have been absolutely nothing left on his body from that horrible pit.

But Aldric could still smell it.

All he had to do was take a slightly deeper breath, and the memory of his head bursting out of the waste before he opened his mouth and inhaled hard would immediately return, making his stomach contract.

Aldric gritted his teeth and forcibly stopped himself from thinking about it.

He had not come here because of that cesspit.

The plaza ahead was packed with young people preparing to participate in the entrance examination. Nobles, commoners, mercenaries, and even several Beastkin were lining up in front of the registration counters set up along both sides, forcing Aldric to spend some time before he finally found his target among the crowd.

His gaze quickly stopped.

Lathel.

He was sitting beneath the shade of a large tree with a basic magic book in his hands. Beside him was Elias, the brownish-blond-haired young man biting into a piece of bread while talking cheerfully about something.

Lathel could not answer aloud, so from time to time, he only wrote a few words on his board. But from the way the two of them sat together, they were clearly far more familiar with each other than Aldric had expected.

His gaze immediately turned cold.

Kiyome’s female subordinate standing behind him also noticed the scene and took out her small notebook.

The moment Aldric heard the sound of paper, he turned around.

"What are you writing now?"

"You have found Lathel."

"Something that obvious doesn’t need to be recorded."

"Yes."

She answered obediently.

Then continued writing anyway.

Aldric stared at her for several seconds before deciding not to waste any more time arguing and walked directly toward Lathel.

Elias was the first to notice someone approaching.

He was still chewing his bread and only casually looked up before continuing to eat, showing no particular reaction. After all, he had no idea who Aldric was.

But when the distance between them shrank to only a few meters, Elias’s chewing suddenly slowed.

He frowned slightly.

His nose twitched once.

Then again.

He turned his head to the left and looked around, but found nothing.

Then to the right.

Still nothing.

Finally, his gaze slowly returned to Aldric.

Aldric immediately noticed.

His expression darkened.

Elias took another very light sniff, then instinctively leaned backward.

Aldric: "..."

Elias looked at him, then turned toward Lathel and asked in a low voice.

The problem was that he had absolutely no intention of hiding it, so every word entered Aldric’s ears clearly.

"Does this guy... clean sewers for a living?"

Lathel paused.

The female subordinate behind Aldric also raised her head from her notebook.

Aldric slowly turned toward Elias.

"What did you say?"

Elias looked slightly surprised that he had heard him and immediately replied, "Ah, sorry."

He thought for a moment before sincerely correcting himself.

"I just thought you had come up from a sewer."

Aldric: "..."

Pandora immediately burst out laughing inside Lathel’s soul.

"This is hopeless... Is this guy seriously trying to kill people with his mouth?"

Lathel lowered his head, his shoulders beginning to tremble slightly.

Elias still had no idea he had just said something dangerous.

He even examined Aldric from head to toe before asking with genuine concern,

"Did you fall into something?"

Aldric gritted his teeth. "That has nothing to do with you."

"Mm."

Elias obediently nodded.

But only a few seconds later, he tilted his head again.

"Then where is this smell coming from?"

A vein immediately twitched on Aldric’s temple.

At that moment, Kiyome’s female subordinate calmly spoke.

"Sir Elias, you misunderstood."

Elias turned toward her. "Oh?"

The woman explained seriously, "Sir Aldric does not clean sewers for a living."

Hearing that, Aldric’s expression finally relaxed slightly.

At least this woman knew how to...

"On the way here, his carriage simply collapsed into a waste pit."

Aldric immediately froze.

Elias’s eyes widened.

"Oh."

The female subordinate continued in the same emotionless reporting tone.

"After falling in, Sir Aldric also bravely surfaced and opened his mouth to take a very deep breath."

Aldric slowly turned his head toward her.

"You..."

But she did not stop.

"After that, a certain amount of waste entered his mouth."

Elias looked at Aldric.

His gaze unconsciously shifted toward Aldric’s mouth, and his expression immediately changed.

He even took one step back.

Aldric: "..."

Elias slowly said, "So you really ate some."

"I DIDN’T EAT IT!"

Aldric immediately roared.

Elias flinched. "But she just said..."

"IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!"

"Oh."

Elias immediately nodded.

He thought for a few seconds before sincerely comforting him.

"It’s fine. I won’t tell anyone else."

Aldric looked at him.

The anger in his eyes finally eased slightly.

Until Elias turned toward Lathel and added,

"You shouldn’t tell anyone either."

Lathel: "..."

Pandora was almost laughing herself breathless.

Aldric tightened his grip around his wand.

"You people..."

At that moment, Elias caught another trace of the lingering smell.

Whether it was only in his imagination or something truly remained, no one knew.

But by instinct, he raised a hand and covered his nose.

The movement was extremely natural, with absolutely no intention of insulting anyone.

Which somehow made it hurt even more.

"But you should probably bathe one more time."

Aldric stared at him without blinking.

Elias even kindly explained,

"It’s not that I dislike it."

He paused.

Then honestly corrected himself.

"...Actually, maybe a little."

Lathel immediately turned his face away.

This time, not only were his shoulders shaking, but the corners of his lips had genuinely curved into a smile.

Aldric saw it.

Everything that had happened on the way here, from the cesspit to the three rounds of purification to the female subordinate’s words, seemed to be pushed aside in an instant.

At that moment, all he could see was Lathel laughing.

This mute was laughing at him.

Aldric’s expression immediately turned cold.

"Lathel."

He stepped forward, making Lathel raise his head.

"We need to talk."

Elias looked left, then right, before pointing at himself.

"Do I need to move away?"

Aldric replied coldly, "Yes."

"All right."

Elias cooperated immediately and stepped aside.

Aldric had not even had time to feel satisfied before he realized that Elias had moved exactly two steps and then stopped, calmly continuing to finish his bread.

Aldric stared at him.

"Farther."

Elias took one more step.

"Is this enough?"

Aldric: "..."

An intense exhaustion suddenly rose inside him.

He was beginning to wonder which was more irritating, the bad luck clinging to him or the idiot standing in front of him.

...

In the end, Aldric still led Lathel toward a less crowded area beside the plaza.

At least, that had been his original intention.

The problem was that Elias followed them too.

Under a large tree, Aldric stopped.

Lathel stood opposite him, while Elias naturally remained right beside Lathel.

Aldric turned and looked at him.

"I want to speak privately."

Elias nodded.

"I understand."

Then he stepped back two paces.

Aldric stared at him.

Elias stood still.

"Farther."

"Oh."

He stepped back one more pace.

"Enough?"

Aldric clenched his hand.

"Farther."

Elias took another two steps back.

Finally, there were about three meters between him and Lathel.

Aldric stared for a while before deciding to give up.

At least the idiot was no longer standing directly beside them.

He turned back toward Lathel.

"You seem to be living quite comfortably lately."

Lathel looked at Aldric for several seconds before taking out his board and writing:

[Compared to when I lived with your family, yes.]

The smile on Aldric’s face immediately froze.

Elias, standing behind them, had also read it.

"Your family?"

Aldric turned his head. "This has nothing to do with you."

Elias looked at Lathel.

"Are you two brothers?"

Before Lathel could even write, Aldric coldly answered,

"No."

Elias nodded.

"Oh."

Three seconds later, he asked again,

"Then did you treat him badly?"

Aldric: "..."

"Can you stay quiet?"

"Yes."

Elias immediately closed his mouth.

Aldric turned back toward Lathel and continued, "Lathel, about what happened recently..."

"Why?"

Aldric slowly turned his head.

Elias was still standing in the same place.

"What?"

"You said you aren’t brothers."

"Correct."

"Then why did he live with your family?"

Aldric gritted his teeth. "You just said you would stay quiet."

Elias looked slightly embarrassed.

"I forgot."

Lathel lowered his head.

The corner of his lips curved again.

Aldric saw it.

The anger he had just forced down instantly flared up again.

In the past, this mute could only endure silently whenever he stood before him.

Yet now, not only had Lathel left the family, but Catrina, Kiyome, and even that idiot Elias had started appearing beside him one after another.

More importantly,

he was laughing at him.

That thought alone made Aldric want to see Lathel embarrass himself.

He could not openly start a fight in the registration area.

But a tiny amount of mana would be enough.

Aldric secretly circulated mana through his finger, forming a very small force.

His target was the back of Lathel’s knee.

As long as it hit, Lathel would lose his balance and fall.

It would not cause any serious injury, and no one would be able to detect where it came from.

Aldric lightly curled his finger.

Whoosh.

The mana shot out.

At that exact moment,