Magic Life in the Empire-Chapter 106: Unwilling to Talk

"What kind of place is this?" Cyril curiously asked. This clearly wasn't a normal room for staff in a bar.

No small drinking spot needed so many employees.

"We are... a mercenary group in a way," said Jack with a merchant-like smile.

"Don't mind the small details." He waved his hand. "Let's get to business."

At this moment Cedric walked up as well, greeting everyone with a wave of his hand. Jack didn't mind the new people; he only nodded to return the greeting.

"I bet he won't keep that relaxed expression for long..." With anticipation, said Rhamn.

Cyril half-turned around to look at the entrance. "Go in already."

Emily could be heard taking a deep breath, then she entered the room.

Jack's face was first curious to see another person, but that soon changed to shock.

His whole body froze, and the two siblings stared at each other in total silence.

...

Some of the people playing cards now looked at him with intrigue and a bit of surprise.

"Well, how have you been, Emily?" In the end, Jack said in a casual tone.

He slowly started walking towards the group of students with his hands spread out in a hug.

In a smooth motion he lightly pushed Emily and the others out of the door. "Let's find a comfortable place to share some stories!"

Soon they left the lounge, and Jack went towards the empty wall not far down the corridor.

He pushed a few places, and soon the wall 'opened' up as a normal door would. Behind it was a small room with seemingly only a few chairs inside.

Jack quickly came in and sat down. "Please close the door behind you," he said with a forced smile.

Cedric obliged with this request, and soon everyone had taken a seat.

Emily was facing Jack directly, while Cyril and Cedric were to the sides, acting as spectators.

"What a surprise it is to see you!" Jack exclaimed while taking a sneaky glance at Cyril.

There was some blame in that stare, but Cyril ignored it with no issue. So far this event has proved entertaining.

Even Morpho and Tigris were interested.

"...Yeah." Emily weakly replied.

It seems her earlier passion was left outside this bar. Now that she met him directly, it was even somewhat awkward.

Her brother's current situation was completely unlike anything she expected.

Jack didn't seem sad or defeated. His smile didn't appear forced when he was in that room, playing cards with possible other criminals.

"Why did you disappear?" She said in a low, pleading voice.

Jack's smile slowly went away, and he scratched his cheek with wandering eyes.

"...You were old enough; I can't be sheltering you forever... It was just time for me to leave." He casually replied.

"I left you enough money anyway..." Jack quietly added.

"What do you mean, enough money?!" Emily suddenly sprang to her feet with anger.

"That was always the only thing you cared about. Money, money, money! Couldn't you think of how I would feel?" She almost yelled.

"I believed until the end that something must've happened, but no! You only left because these guys offered you more money, right!?"

Jack, with a frown, listened to her rant until the end and made a weak smile in rebuttal.

"Well... That's just how I am. This is a life I want. You didn't agree with my idea of an honest living, so what else could I do?" He shrugged.

At this moment Cedric approached Cyril from the side and lightly pushed him on the shoulder.

"Come on, we should leave them some privacy..." He guiltily whispered.

Observing a private family moment like this wasn't something he thought they should be doing.

Ah.

Cyril thought that made sense, so he reluctantly got up from his chair.

"Just when things were getting interesting..."

However, just as they took a few steps, a spell went off behind them.

Cyril vigilantly turned around, only to discover bright, colorless smoke rising up from where Jack was sitting.

"Sorry for this, but I don't know another way to calm her down," Jack said with an apologetic smile. Though his eyes seemed eager to do that.

Emily, who was sitting closest to him, immediately dropped to the floor.

Cedric urgently tried to pull the wall-door open, but it wouldn't budge. Soon he too was affected by the spell and dropped on the ground with a loud bang.

Cyril, on reflex, immediately cast a barrier spell around Tigris and Morpho.

Unfortunately, a barrier spell let the air pass through, so the tiger soon lost consciousness.

"He is fine!"

Tigris was hanging from Cyril's shoulder, breathing steadily. It seems he was only put to sleep.

Morpho, however, was completely fine.

With this, Cyril breathed a sigh of relief and sent Jack a glare.

"I know you are more resistant to poison, so I made this one extra potent. Don't worry about your pet; it will leave no aftereffects. It's completely safe." Jack gave a thumbs-up.

Cyril held Tigris in his hands, letting him rest comfortably, and continued standing vigilantly.

For a moment Jack had the impression that this student simply gave up struggling, but as time passed, this changed.

Cyril continued standing within the smoke like nothing was wrong.

After a few seconds he even stepped over the body of Cedric and sat back down on the chair.

"Did you do that because I led Emily here?" Cyril asked with half-hostility.

He guessed this was a small revenge by Jack.

Jack, however, didn't answer his question immediately, instead staring at him with some disbelief. "How are you unaffected?"

Cyril casually replied, "You aren't affected either."

"That's because it's my spell!" Jack exclaimed, flabbergasted.

"Once breathed in, this smoke infuses into the bloodstream via the lungs. Then it transfers to the brain, where it forces the body to shut down," Rhamn explained with a palm on her chin.

"Morpho wasn't affected, because her insect biology is too different from a mammal's. This spell wasn't designed for her!" She smiled with relief. "Though being here still makes her uncomfortable..."

"Good thing I am here. Your heart will never let you get harmed, Cyril." She playfully winked, her actions infused with pride.

Thanks to Rhamn, Cyril practically has nothing to fear from poisons. Anything within his body can be fully controlled by his heart.

So Cyril calmly sat in the chair, crossed his arms, and gave Jack the same explanation he gave Bonzo. "Your poisons aren't that great, Jack."

The man's eye twitched a few times. Then he sighed and waved his hand in the air.

Suddenly the smoke started going away, clearing the room.

"I guess you must've been prepared for this happening and cast a counter-spell beforehand... What kind of life have you been living?" Jack half-jokingly asked.

It seems there was a slight misunderstanding. Not like Cyril was going to fix it.