Chapter 17 - The Blackwell Tavern

Theodore did not know Nathan's inner thoughts. He carefully listened to his teacher's explanation about the consciousness space.

Since Nathan only described the introductory knowledge, most of what he said was similar to what Theodore knew from his previous life.

He was more worried about the residual of the four elements in his consciousness space.

Although it benefited him, such a situation was unprecedented. He was unsure if there would be any unwanted effects when he cultivated beyond the 4th-rank mana user.

Theodore opened his mouth, but the words stuck in his throat.

Although he doubted the existence of the four elements, he did not know how to justify it to Nathan. He still did not trust his teacher enough to tell him about his secret of having his future memory.

He believed he did not have anyone he trusted enough to reveal such a secret yet.

When Nathan finished explaining, there was an odd silence between them.

Except for knowledge, Nathan did not know what to continue talking about. He was not good at communication and would rather spend his time on his cultivation.

After accepting Theodore as his disciple, he had already talked much more. He thought it was because his student still did not know many things, so he needed to teach more.

On Theodore's side, it was not much better. He realized he was stupored in front of his teacher, so he felt embarrassed.

He did not know what went wrong with him. In front of his teacher, he had lost his composure multiple times already. He was usually not like this!

When both of them were feeling awkward, Theodore's stomach growled and made a loud noise. This sound directly interrupted the uncomfortable situation between them.

Nathan let off a light chuckle. With a faint smile, he said, "Let go dining outside; consider it a celebration for your successful tests."

Theodore nodded in response as his face turned slightly red. Before he moved a step, he paused as if forgetting something; he then looked at his condition.

His state was terrible again. His sweat wetted his clothes, giving off a weird smell, and his hair was messy.

Theodore was so ashamed of his current condition.

"Teacher, please wait a moment." He hurriedly said before he returned to his room to clean himself up again at the fastest speed possible.

Before exiting his room, he thought of something and hesitated. He turned back, took one precious and expensive-looking small silver ornament he had brought out from the Hale mansion into his pocket, and returned to his teacher's side.

...

Theodore requested Nathan to dine at the Blackwell's tavern again.

Nathan did not object. He did not need to eat, and the dinner aimed to celebrate Theodore.

When they reached the place, it was almost dark. There were still few people in the tavern, similar to the previous visit.

This finding made him feel abnormal and further affirmed his previous uncertain speculation.

The food made by old Blackwell was so good; how could there be so few customers?

Moreover, he found that some people in the tavern were a little familiar. However, from their dresses, they were mercenaries and seemed to lack money.

Theodore only thought briefly before Jasmine Blackwell welcomed him again.

"Welcome to our tavern, young master Theodore," Jasmine said politely.

"Can we sit there?" Theodore nodded and added his request to sit at the place with the least people as he looked toward the table beside the window at a corner.

"Of course, young master." She respectfully replied and took Theodore and Nathan to that table at the corner.

Theodore ordered a large steak set for this dinner as he felt hungry and was exhausted from the tests. Nathan, in contrast, chose to eat a light beef soup.

The foods on the menu mainly consisted of meat and fish. It was because the Colond was neighboring the Deepwood forest, separated by only a river.

In the Deepwood forest, there were many monsters. In the outer legion, the beast was not dangerous. However, as a person went in deeper, not only was there more danger, there was a chance of meeting monsters that could use mana.

The term 'beast' was for ferocious animals that could not use mana and did not yet open their intelligence.

In contrast, the word 'monster' referred to the terrifying beast that could absorb and use mana. The monsters also have intelligence; although their mind was inferior to humans at first, their intelligence would increase over time as they improved their mana cultivation.

One source of income for the people of Colond city was to hunt beasts and monsters from the Deepwood forest. The others were from fishing; however, getting water-based monsters from the river was rare as they were difficult to catch.

As they waited for the food, Nathan was silent, looking out of the windows, and Theodore was in deep thought as if he was considering something.

In Nathan's case, he could communicate if required, but he was more used to meditating quietly.

On Theodore's side, he was previously a silent young master locked in his room; most servants did not dare to speak with him. His future self was even worse; he went through a lot and had a significant trust issue.

When Nathan and Theodore first met, they talked to each other a lot. However, as they got used to one another, they spoke less but were more accustomed to each other's existence.

Nathan and Theodore did not wait long before someone came to serve their dinner.

This time, it was John who came. After gently serving the dish, he said, "Welcome again to our tavern, young master. I'm glad you like this place."

"Your food is always excellent," Theodore tenderly replied. Although everything seemed normal, he could faintly feel the ambiguous look John had sent him.

When John left, Nathan and Theodore started eating their dinner.

Halfway through their dinner, a tough-looking middle-aged man with brown hair wearing old, broken armor entered the tavern. He glanced around, pausing his ble eye briefly at Theodore's figure. When he heard someone from a table call him "captain," he stopped his gaze.

Theodore sensed someone staring at him, so he looked over.

Theodore quickly recognized the middle-aged man the moment he saw him. That person was William Willowwolf, the previous Hale's family guard captain and one of his father's close subordinates.

When his father, Farrell Hale, departed for the Darkswamp forest, he only brought some subordinates; he still left many people behind. One such person was William.

However, after his uncle, Dante Hale, took over the acting patriarch position, he dismissed his father's people.

Seeing William Willowwolf, Theodore was more confirm of his guess. The Blackwell Tavern should be the gathering place of his father's old subordinates.

That was also why he found many people a little familiar from both the previous and the current visit. With his speculation confirmed, Theodore also achieved the purpose of his trip.

Theodore and Nathan both soon finished their dish.

Before departing, Theodore secretly left behind the silver ornament he brought over under his plate.

Nathan saw everything Theodore had done since they arrived at this inn, and he had some guesses. He did not say anything or intend to stop his disciple, but he also did not plan to get involved.

Theodore might still be young, but he was much more mature than a typical child. Nathan believed that his student had his judgment.

'A teacher's role is to guide and impart knowledge to the student, not control their life.' Nathan believed that Theodore had his path to take.

If Theodore asked for help, he might help, depending on the situation. However, he wanted Theodore to grow up and learn to take responsibility for his action.

'Perhaps, this is the feeling of being a teacher.' Nathan thought as he walked with Theodore.

...

Nathan and Theodore soon reached the house. They each returned to their rooms, respectively.

Theodore turned on the room light when he entered his room before lying sprawled out on his bed with one hand reaching out and grabbing his yellow duck plushie.

He recalled what he did at the Blackwell tavern as he hugged the plushie.

'I did what I could; I hope it can help them.' Theodore thought.

He gave the silver ornament to relieve his father's old subordinates from the money pressure. They were someone he was once familiar with.

Moreover, if he wanted to change his future, he required more than just relying on his strength. He wanted to see if his father's people were trustable; they might assist him in the future.

'Let's wait and see how it goes in the future.' Theodore contemplated.

Other than the treasure he brought over from the Hale mansion, he still knew about some sources of resources that someone would discover in the future.

Thinking of something, he got up from his bed. He went to rummage his belonging and searched for a neat wooden package.

He opened it and found a pendant shaped like his family crest, a white owl with purple eyes spreading its wings to fly.

He touched it, and he was in deep thought.

...

At the same time, at Blackwell Tavern.

Jasmine Blackwell cleaned the table where Theodore and Nathan once seated and found the silver ornament left behind, so she brought it to her father.

"What do you think of young master Theodore?" Holding the given silver ornament, John said to the armored man behind him, William Willowwolf.

"I don't know about his other aspect, but at least he had a heart and was much more affectionate than his father," William replied to John.

A figure also walked over; the darkness made it hard to see his figure. He said, "The Hale family was in decline; let's see if he was worth following and making us take risks."

The three looked at each other and nodded as if agreeing.