We evil gods must hide.

Chapter 49 Ella's Tears

Ella's rented room is in a slum on the edge of town.

It was a small attic with a sloping roof, containing only a narrow wooden bed, a wooden table with peeling paint, a pile of her well-worn magic books and half-used rune paper in the corner, and a small tin stove where she usually cooked and dried the rune paper.

The house was dilapidated, and the roof leaked. She always used a wooden basin to catch the rain in the corner. The raindrops fell into the basin and made a dripping sound.

The little girl always happily said that this voice was very effective at hypnotizing people.

Downstairs lived her landlady, a mean old woman who always found fault with the rent, complaining that she used too much water or that the noise she made while drawing runes at night disturbed others. The rent kept increasing, from the initial five silver coins a month to the current eight silver coins.

Ella didn't think it was a big deal, since anywhere in town was more expensive than her attic.

This little hardship is nothing compared to saving money.

New magic requires money, and she also needs help from her parents. Now that her team is very powerful and her income is stable, Ella is full of confidence.

You will definitely become a formal monk!

Ella placed the little black cat on the bed, carefully covered half of its body with a velvet cloth, whispered several instructions, and then laboriously pulled out and opened the wooden box under the bed.

All her savings were in the box.

Most of them are shiny silver coins, and there are five gold coins, which I collected this year while doing boosting tasks with the team.

She counted them: five gold coins and eighty-seven silver coins.

This amount of money wouldn't even buy a beginner-level elemental magic book at the Royal Magic Academy in the main city, but here, it was all her confidence.

It has been almost two years since I dropped out of magic school.

Two years ago, she was the most talented child in the village to become a sorcerer, and the pride of the entire village.

However, her father was in poor health, and her mother had to help with farm work and take care of her two young siblings. The family could no longer afford the expensive tuition fees, so she dropped out of the academy. The naive new mage heard that she was doing a mission in Silverleaf Town, and she endured countless hardships on her way to reach this border town.

Unfortunately, at such a young age, as an apprentice mage from out of town, he was penniless and couldn't get any missions. The people who tried to talk to him were all ill-intentioned. If it weren't for Old John and Old Cole, he probably would have starved to death long ago.

Ella took out two crumpled letters from the bottom of the wooden box.

It was sent last month by my younger siblings in the village. The handwriting is crooked and messy; it was written by my younger brother who just started school.

The first letter read: "Sister Ella, Dad's illness is much better. He used the money you sent back to get medicine from the doctor in town, so you don't need to worry too much. I've started school again, and my teacher says my handwriting is very nice. I miss you so much. When are you coming back?"

The little brat didn't know how to use interjections, and Ella's eyes curved into crescents.

The second letter, sent six months ago, was much more illegible, with tear stains on the pages: "Sister, Dad's illness has worsened again, and he needs a lot of money. Sister, are you alright?"

Ella's fingers traced the words on the letter, and her eyes slowly reddened.

Her home is far from Silverleaf Town, and many postmen charge by the word count for mail, so her family would try to write as little as possible.

My parents are illiterate, so my younger sister used to write for them.

She clutched the letter, no longer feeling as upset as when she first received it.

This is why she followed the team and did it without hesitation, even though she knew it was illegal.

The requirements for legitimate adventurer quests are too high, requiring guild rating and team guarantee, which is impossible for a dropout apprentice mage like her.

Only gray-market proxy services offer quick money, require no qualification verification, allow her to send money home, enable her father to afford medicine, and allow her younger siblings to continue their education in school.

She carefully folded the letter, put it back in the wooden box and locked it. Then she counted out three gold coins, wrapped them in a clean coarse cloth, and stuffed them into her bosom, preparing to go to the town's post station early the next morning to mail them home.

The remaining money needs to be used to pay next month's rent, buy parchment for drawing runes, and buy fresh animal milk for the little black cat.

After locking the wooden box, Ella smiled and fell asleep while holding the little black cat.

...

Silent all night.

Early the next morning, Ella dressed herself up, picked up the gold coins she had prepared to send back, and planned to go to the town's post office before meeting up with the others.

Just as we were about to set off.

Downstairs came the landlord's somewhat ingratiating voice, along with the chaotic sounds of several people going upstairs and armor clashing.

"Sir, this is it! She lives upstairs!"

"That's her! She's always hanging out with those adventurers of dubious origin, acting all sneaky. She must be the one you're looking for!"

Ella looked somewhat bewildered and instinctively gripped the staff in her hand.

The attic door was kicked open.

Three men dressed in Adventurers' Guild attire barged in. The one in the lead was carrying a pair of anti-magic shackles, and his cold gaze fell on her.

Like a knife.

"Are you the adventurer Ella?"

Before Ella could nod, the serious-looking man continued.

"We have received a report with your real name that you have been involved in gray-area account boosting for a long time, violating the guild rules. Come with us."

Ella's heart leaped into her throat, and she instinctively took a step back, clutching the cloth bag in her arms, her fingertips icy cold.

The magic-suppressing shackles snapped shut on her wrists.

The icy touch spread from her skin to her heart, and she trembled all over. The familiar fire element particles in her body were completely sealed, and she couldn't even use a trace of magic.

The cloth bag in his arms fell to the ground, and three gold coins rolled out, landing on the dusty floor, covering him with mud.

Ella stared blankly at the three mud-covered gold coins.

Until the view was blocked by the closed door.

She also caught a glimpse of the landlady's ugly face. The landlady courteously saw them off, closed the door, patted her chest, and muttered to herself, "Annoying and stingy stranger."

Her eyes were filled with greed as she looked at the attic where Ella lived.

Meanwhile, Ella was being led through the streets of the slums, and the surrounding neighbors gathered around to watch the spectacle, pointing and gossiping about her.

The little girl instinctively lowered her head and buried her face in her collar.

She dared not look into anyone's eyes, feeling icy cold all over, as if it were her first time spending the winter in Silverleaf Town, unable to afford a stove, and could only shiver and cover herself completely with a thin blanket.

It seems even colder than last time.

Ella's tears fell.

...

Meanwhile, Lynch was holding the goblin's ear, which the team was hunting.

He carried a whole bag, containing over a hundred pairs, and went alone to Old John's shady brokerage shop.

Neil is said to be about to break through in mental strength, so Old Cole took him to buy mental potions. This guy is usually useless, but he really comes in handy at crucial moments, even the little black cat is full of praise for him.

If Neil could reach Tier 1, he would probably dazzle all the monsters.

At that point, even Ella and Cole won't need to lift a finger.

As Lin Qi pondered this, he suddenly sensed something was amiss.

At this time of day, Old John would usually sit on the wooden chair in front of the shop, pipe in mouth, squinting as he waited for them to come and hand in their tasks.

But today, the shop entrance was crowded with people, making a lot of noise.

Lin Qi looked past the crowd and peered inside.

The shop's wooden door was smashed to pieces, with the Adventurers' Guild's scarlet seals pasted across it. Broken pipes, scattered account books, and a few drops of dried dark red blood were scattered on the ground.

Several people dressed in silver-gray uniforms with gold trim stood at the shop entrance, with the Adventurers' Guild's standard longswords at their waists. Their demeanor was completely different from the town's guards, exuding the arrogance and coldness of a great city-state.

He is an inspector of the Adventurers' Guild.

Lynch narrowed his eyes; he had overheard Lina mentioning it once.

However, these guys basically don't do any real work; most of them are just holding nominal positions.

What happened?

A question arose in Lin Qi's mind.

Two of the inspectors were escorting a man, none other than old John.

His hair was a mess, stuck to his forehead, his face was covered in bruises, and blood was seeping from the corner of his mouth. His usual smooth and lively smile was gone, leaving only exhaustion and confusion on his face.

His hands were bound behind his back with thick hemp rope, and he staggered.

"Let's go, take him to the guild square and announce it in public."