That damn Tower of Magic-! What, you think they're actually better than us? Huh?! You oughta' watch your mouth, or the elves from the Highland will lynch you and impale you onto a tree! Can't you use your common sense? We established the foundation of magic, and developed it into what it is today. What the Tower does isn't innovation-it's just a bunch of asshats sitting in a building and making useless trinkets while renouncing our millennia-long traditions! Elway's Royal Family was the weakest one among us; that's why they left. Just like those damn dwarves when they ran off and made their own kingdom. But here we are, still one of the most powerful nations on the continent! Spells? Rune lettering? Enchantments? Even now, they're still far below us. There's no soul, no essence in what they create. Ours is borne from centuries of adaptation without undermining the contributions of our ancestors. How could they hope to catch up when their foundation is so lacking?

Remember this; Welton's Furnace and Elway are poor imitations of the Highlands. We are the original, and we will not be disgraced like this.

~ A statement made by a Highland mage, date unknown

It had been a few days since anything of note happened. Chester remained in the area, deciding to take it easy while he finished molding the children into perfect little minio-ahem, high-caliber marauders that were capable of running their own heists and operations.

Despite having inhuman physical ability, the illusionist knew how to break down his methods and skills into something even a child could understand. It was an interesting and unique experience, as he had never fully explained them in such detail or even bothered to break them down for the sake of another person. But he had been doing it since his childhood and perfected his methods through trial and error, so he was bound to have a wealth of experience to rely on when teaching.

He imparted them with knowledge that would prove valuable during the years to come; blackmail, intimidation, escape methods from various forms of binding, a simple way of devising and applying break-in methods, and much more. Perfect for an impressionable, developing young child. But it would take some time until they fully absorbed his teachings and he knew it.

'They're bright kids. Well, it would've been tough for them to survive without having a proper head on their shoulders. But they pick things up rather quickly.'

The illusionist didn't know if it was them specifically or the weird magic interfering with the natural order of things, but the children in Aetheria were much smarter than on Earth. He didn't have the brightest opinion of children to begin with; slow, snot-nosed, drool dripping from their lips, and hopelessly naive.

But it all changed when he arrived here. Damien, who was only seventeen years old, was a perfect example. A musclebound freak of nature that could fight against elite soldiers twice his age. The orphans were like sponges, taking in whatever he taught them and growing at a rapid pace.

'Maybe I'm just that great of a teacher? My talent knows no bounds. I'm so awesome.'

Damien sighed loudly as he rested his chin on the table. Across him, the curly-haired illusionist mimicked his action and looked at the glum boy curiously.

"What's got you so down? You've been sighing like a scorned wife for the past day."

The boy answered the man's question with a fatigued voice. "How could I not? All this searching and not even a single clue leading us to where my brother is. I just want some sort of progress, you know?"

"I get what you mean. I feel the same way." Chester raised his head slightly to make eye contact with him, making the vampire raise his brow slightly.

"Really? I thought you were just bored or something."

"Yeah, I've been overwhelmed by this urge to visit the succubus brothels at the East Star Club that Bentham told me about." The illusionist sighed dramatically.

"How is that at all anywhere close to what I'm feeling?" Damien deadpanned, unsure of the correlation between their statements.

"So you're saying you don't want to visit a brothel?"

"No?! When the hell did I say that?"

"Brothel, brother. Eh, what's the difference?"

"I don't know how you're such a dimwit with all that points in intelligence..."

"Says the one with lower intelligence! How's it feel to be below me, numbnuts?"

Only a few children were present at home, either sleeping or keeping themselves busy with other tasks. The others were off exploring or looking for loot. In less than a week, they raised enough funds to buy more furniture and food than before. The once-empty shelves were stocked with salted meat, dried goods, and even some fruits and vegetables.

The vein on Damien's forehead popped and Chester wondered if he'd have to call for Sheila again. The girl always acted as the mediator whenever the vampire boy tried to beat him to death, which was getting increasingly frequent as the days went by. The illusionist couldn't help but poke fun at him, it was far too easy to rile Damien up.

'Besides, he always holds back just enough to prove a point. It's not like he's going to hit me. Or at least hit me hard. Sometimes.'

But instead of walloping the man upside the head, Damien seemed to deflate and put his hood on. He gathered his equipment and proceeded to the door.

"I'll be going out again. Don't wait on me, I'll probably be back...tomorrow morning."

Chested waved him off. "Yeah, yeah. Have fun!"

Damien gave him one parting nod before closing the door. The illusionist narrowed his eyes. He knew that the vampire was up to something. His curiosity was reaching its peak, and although he feigned disinterest, Chester wondered just what the boy could be doing to be out so frequently.

'Chasing leads takes a while, yes, but he's out pretty frequently. I wonder what he could be doing. I mean, even when I go do some digging it rarely lasts that long. The last time it did was when I slept with Polkin-'

The illusionist froze. Standing there dumbfounded, he ran into a room further into the house where Sheila was doing self-study. The girl was diligent and utilized Damien's teachings to educate herself with math and writing, gravitating more to academia than the rest of the orphans.

"I'm going to be gone for a day or so. If anyone asks, tell them I went to the neutral zone. To confirm if someone has finally become a true man."

The girl turned her eyes and gave him a nod, although she tilted her head upon hearing the last bit. She bade him farewell while locking the door shut as soon as he left. It was standard protocol when living in such a dangerous neighborhood.

Chester wandered through the streets of Strofil South, hoping Damien hadn't gone too far. After asking a few people around the area, he quickly followed the boy's trail before it went cold.

The illusionist tried to use his mana-sensing abilities as best he could, but he hadn't been practicing as often as he should've and it was still not up to par. In fact, he hadn't done much training at all. Chester took the time to hone the important skill.

'Well, it's just in case I don't see him with my own two eyes. I got a pretty good hold of what Dame's energy feels like.'

The interesting part about sensing mana was that Chester could only differentiate in terms of quantity at first. But as he became more experienced, he could tell when someone was intentionally hiding it and could sense the minor details that made an individual's mana unique.

In Damien's case, the illusionist could feel a slightly colder essence that was much more compact and dense than an average person's. Extremely stable, like a large boulder. It was impossible to ignore for someone with a modicum of mana-sensing abilities, but not enough to be physically tangible like Elric's or other monsters of similar power like Delont and Natalia.

After several minutes of walking, he eventually found the boy making his way up the street market not too far from their base. It was an area that the children seldom went to despite its popularity, due to the fact that the Twilight Bandits patrolled the market constantly. Chester watched the boy move about, although his steps indicated he wasn't there to shop. Damien stayed clear of the street vendors and headed straight for a back alley situated further away from the bustling streets.

The illusionist decided to be careful and tail him from a further distance. Although the vampire wasn't hyper-vigilant, he would definitely be able to sense Chester if he stayed too close. It would've been more difficult had he summoned Maxwell, but the canine was thankfully absent from his master's side.

Creeping closer, he made sure to transform using Alter Self. He donned a disguise similar to a celebrity from his home world, Tom Hiddleston. Chester enjoyed the fact he had a wealth of people to transform into and made his way to the corner where Damien ran off.

Poking his head out ever so slightly, the man saw three others standing at the dead-end—large, physically-intimidating thugs with the insignia of the Twilight Bandits on their clothing. But contrary to their appearance, their demeanor was shy and meek, similar to how a timid child would react to a strict teacher lambasting them. Their heads were down and their shoulders bent inwards to make themselves look smaller in front of Damien.

Pushing his senses to the limit, Chester eavesdropped on their conversation.

"-but no sign of vampires in our district. Even when we reached out to the others." A bald man at the front said, looking cautiously at the pale-faced teen in front of him.

Damien frowned. His voice seemed a bit rougher than usual. "You've all got some nerve to come here without any information. I'll give you that."

The entire group flinched violently upon seeing the Shadow Knight crack his neck. The bald man at the front placed his hands in a placating manner. "But-! Our bosses would probably know a thing or two. Even though they're a bit distracted at times, they've got the most know-how 'bout everythin'! Even in other districts! We just couldn't ask them ourselves."

"So that's it? You're telling me to do the work I gave you?!" Damien's boy rose to a pitch and the men were physically trembling. "I'll make what I did to you last time heavenly in comparison!"

'What the hell? When did Dame turn into such a bastard?!'

Chester watched in dismay as a teenager hoisted a grown man by the hem of his shirt and waved his fist around threateningly. It was too much of a sudden change. Were there times when Damien possessed a colder side? Of course. As a battle-hardened warrior, it would be hard not to. But his expression and demeanor turned a complete 180 from anything Chester had seen before. But he stopped and thought about it for a brief moment.

"Twenty silver! Where is it! For every single coin you owe me by the end of today, I'm breaking a digit!"

The group of thugs all paled. "T-twenty silver? We can't even collect that much in a week from protection fees!"

"That doesn't sound like my problem. Unless you want it to be?" Damien tilted his head in an ominous manner. The bandit who spoke up shook his head so fast one would've thought it would come off.

'Extortion too? And that voice. It's so...Slimy. He's so unreasonable. Could it be?' The illusionist no longer cared about his theory of Damien entering manhood.

"He's becoming like me..!" Chester whispered under his breath.

He put his hand to his mouth and almost shed a tear.

The illusionist was so proud. Even compared to what he felt bestowing the orphans with his knowledge, the fact that the upstanding young child who had such a strong moral compass stooped to his level touched his heart.

'Turning a thief into a skilled one is one thing. But a goody-two-shoes like him into an extortionist?'

Chester looked on as the vampire forced three grown men into quaking in their boots.

Corrupting a blank canvas was much more satisfying than he thought.

The man had a few concerns about Damien's method of collecting information, but he believed in the boy's ability to keep things in control. Chester didn't want to interfere when his junior was developing so nicely.

Although few could bring themselves to call it a positive development.

'I'll leave it to you, my future sidekick!'

He turned away, deciding to leave it in the boy's hands. They were partners. And most importantly, it was Damien's own mission that was at stake. The most Chester could do was advise him and help when he could.

Whistling a tune, the man decided to explore the rest of Garbrandt. He had no desire to tail Damien the whole day upon realizing what he was up to and wanted to stretch his legs without the burden of babysitting children.

'Well, I might as well do what I said I was going to; check out the neutral zone and see if there's anything worthwhile.'