Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam-Chapter 833 - 157: Forever Young

This was very much in line with Ethan's understanding of the Silver Radiance Empire.

That unknown black market informant could indeed leave Gear City without a worry after receiving a large payout, heading to a place where no one knew him, to live a wealthy second half of life. Just as he was about to "retire," years of students finally brought him a fortune.

Later, if Solan could smoothly bypass all of the empire's outposts and safely reach the Imperial Capital, it was most likely due to the Bloodthorn Clan paving the way.

However, a mere little girl from the Rebel Army was not worth such trouble for the nobles of the Imperial Capital.

"It must be that hero boy."

Other Shore said while munching on hard bread with relish.

In her view, the demon king and the hero were no different than naive fools who just left their village, the kind who would help someone save money even if sold out by them.

Other Shore quickly understood why the Bloodthorn Clan would bypass the Imperial Army and commission a man in a black cloak to seek her help — they wanted to take full credit for capturing the hero alive.

Since the hero appeared in Gear City, all sorts of rumors surfaced among the populace, with more and more people outside the Imperial Capital beginning to suspect a connection between the hero and Rebel Army leader Lance, as well as the reason for his appearance at this moment in time. Adding on the death of the Great Summoner Haitia, conspiracy theories were rampant in the empire's peripheral cities.

Perhaps only in the Imperial Capital, under the watchful eyes of the Royal Family and the Imperial Army, could the illusion of peace be maintained.

At this point, according to the usual discourse of the Silver Radiance Empire, they urgently needed the hero to make public appearances, to raise his arms and call out to the crowd, shouting "Everything will get better."

As long as Solan did this, all the rumors would collapse on their own, and the Imperial people would once again choose to believe unconditionally.

Because Other Shore found that most people in this country were like ostriches, as long as they buried their heads in the ground, combined with some self-brainwashing, they would still believe the empire was savable the next day, and their lives would get better and better.

"Technically, I shouldn't interfere with the internal affairs of another country."

After finishing her hard bread, Other Shore licked her fingers, then carefully licked clean the sauce on her lips.

Recently, she had been repeating this sentence to herself almost every day.

Even those arrogant nobles in the Imperial Capital, as long as they didn't provoke her, she chose to turn a blind eye. After all, her status was sensitive; being the Knight Commander of the Nasrrell Holy Hall Round Table Knight, her every action would attract much interpretation, representing the empire's stance on certain issues in the eyes of many.

Her relationship with Ave was no secret in the empire.

In some people's eyes, Ave-Margaret and her friends formed a power community far exceeding Julius, backed by the Royal Family, maintaining close relations with the Imperial Knight Commander. Even the leaders of the Academy and the Astrology Guild had become privately friendly with her, with critics pointing out multiple times that this was a rather dangerous signal.

For this reason, Other Shore had restrained her style considerably.

Furthermore, as the empire entered a period of peaceful development, she felt her claws were being worn down, playing the role of a mascot in many situations.

"But, Senzi."

She turned her face to look at Ethan, "Staying in this damned place for too long, I'm becoming like an ostrich too."

"If Solan falls into the hands of the Royal Family, they will undoubtedly attempt to use brainwashing magic to force him to speak publicly." Ethan analyzed, "If his will is strong enough to refuse cooperation, they will kill him and then announce to everyone that the 'Hero's Return' was a rumor."

Perhaps to prove the rumor was debunked, those who claimed they saw Solan in Gear City would also face punishment.

"But with you here, I'm relieved."

Ethan stood up, "As for the Bloodthorn Clan's hidden secrets, I'll leave that to you. I'll treat you to dinner later."

"I'm tired of the high-end restaurants in the Imperial Capital. I've heard that Lindong's cooking skills have improved by leaps and bounds recently. What do you think?"

"Let's split up; you stay here, and I'll go persuade her."

"Deal!"

While the two were talking, Solan and Qina also started to split up.

They considered today might be their lucky day; just as they were worrying about how to infiltrate the Bloodthorn Clan, they happened to discover a recruitment notice for help in the Bloodthorn Clan. Both the Guard Team and the maids in the manor were understaffed, and they easily passed the housekeeper's assessment.

Solan believed his disguise mask worked wonders, preventing the Guard Captain from recognizing him, while Qina was taken by the head maid to another building for some training.

In the vast manor, with its complex wrong turns, Solan decided to make use of the daylight hours, planning to patrol and stroll around the manor under the guise of duty.

Meanwhile, Other Shore, after entering the manor, smoothly followed behind the head maid, trailing a few people to the separate building to observe the Bloodthorn Clan's pre-employment training session. Having witnessed the manners of the Imperial Capital nobles, she initially assumed she would encounter some unsightly scenes. Even Qina's deep breath before entering and her determined eyes indicated she was prepared.

But the training process was strange.

The head maid brought some tools unfamiliar to Other Shore, including syringes, blood storage containers, and some spellcasting materials.