The church was in the center of town, not far from Guangyue Tavern.
Within a few minutes, Owen arrived with the Old Priest.
Upon seeing the Old Priest, Harry immediately pulled out 1 silver coin from his pocket and asked him for treatment.
Just then, Brook walked out of the tavern with two women.
"I've thoroughly investigated the matter!"
Brook said to Harry with a gloomy face, "The cause was your attempt to act inappropriately towards these two ladies, and you also damaged the tavern's facilities. You now need to compensate the tavern 5 silver coins and apologize to the two ladies!"
"As for Mr. Adrian , he is judged to have acted in self-defense in this incident. Therefore, Mr. Adrian is not responsible for the injuries of Harry and his group. Furthermore, Harry must pay for Mr. Adrian 's medical expenses!"
"What? You want me to compensate the tavern, apologize to these two women, and also pay for that brat's medical expenses?" Harry had just had his right hand treated when he heard Brook's declaration, and his eyes nearly popped out.
Brook chuckled, "Alternatively, you can choose to spend some time in jail!"
Upon hearing this, Harry's narrow eyes stared at Brook for a moment, then he clenched his fists and said, "Fine! Fine! I'll remember you; you just wait for me!"
He poured out 6 silver coins from his money pouch, gave one to the Old Priest, and tossed the rest to Lunn.
Then he turned to Lia and the other woman, reluctantly mumbling, "Sorry."
Without waiting to see if Lia and the other woman would forgive him, Harry left with his men.
"I'm quite honored to be remembered by 'Sir' Harry. But as a Guard of Viscount Renault, I have an obligation to maintain order within the territory. I hope you'll restrain yourself in the future!"
Brook was somewhat puzzled to see Harry being so compliant, and he issued another warning to the retreating figures.
To his surprise, Harry suddenly stopped, turned around, and walked back, pointing at Adrian and saying, "Guard, I want to report something! This person isn't wearing a Professional's emblem, which violates kingdom regulations! I hope you'll enforce the law fairly and lock this person up!"
"What?" Brook frowned and walked over to Adrian to examine him.
"Please show me your Professional's emblem!"
Adrian looked confused; he had no idea what a Professional's emblem was.
He glanced at the gloating Harry and answered truthfully, "I'm sorry, I don't have a Professional's emblem!"
"Impossible!" Harry immediately shouted, "My hand was injured by your magic; everyone saw the injury just now. If you don't have a Professional's emblem, where did you learn magic?!"
Brook's expression changed, and he extended his right hand to Adrian , stating solemnly, "Kingdom regulations stipulate that all Professionals must wear their Professional's emblem when going out.
In the event of an emergency, all Professionals are obligated to assist the Guards in handling the situation. Failure to do so will be considered evasion of Professional duties and will be heavily penalized!
Mr. Adrian , please show me your Professional's emblem."
Adrian noticed Brook's tone becoming increasingly unfriendly and realized that the Professional's emblem issue might be very significant.
For example, a Professional's emblem is similar to an ID card in his previous life; every Professional has one!
Brook was now preparing to check Adrian 's 'ID card'.
The problem was, Adrian didn't have an 'ID card'!
"I really don't have a Professional's emblem!"
Adrian explained, "I've only been in this town for a few days. Although I've always wanted to go to Valkam to choose a profession, I haven't had the chance!"
"Are you trying to tell us that you learned a magic spell and became an apprentice mage without learning from any mentor?"
Harry laughed so hard he bent over, as if he had heard a joke.
Burton stepped forward, pointed at Adrian , and said, "Guard, I suspect he's a spy sent by another country! Quick, seize him!"
"A spy?" Brook looked at Adrian with suspicion.
Black hair and black eyes, indeed different from the people living in the kingdom.
Moreover, anyone becoming a Professional must be taught by a mentor, who imparts skills and then issues a state-manufactured Professional's emblem.
Isn't this common knowledge?
Brook had also seen Harry's injury earlier.
It was clearly caused by magic!
Now, Adrian claiming he had no emblem naturally made Brook suspicious of Adrian 's identity.
However, Brook didn't act because one thing puzzled him.
All mages need to use a staff to connect with natural elements to cast spells.
But he didn't see Adrian equipped with a magic staff; instead, he saw a short sword!
Adrian saw Brook's hand go to the hilt of his sword at his waist, and his expression gradually became serious.
His understanding of this world was still too limited, which put him in a very awkward position now.
If he couldn't explain himself clearly, he might very well end up in a jail cell as a spy.
"Sir Guard, we are not spies!"
Lia suddenly stepped forward to clear Adrian 's name, "We're just poor people attacked by Goblins, who barely managed to escape to this town!"
As she spoke, Lia pointed towards the forest outside the town, which was where she, the other woman, and Adrian had woken up.
"The story gets more and more ridiculous, attacked by Goblins!" Burton jumped in to retort, "Goblins are pack monsters. If you encountered Goblins, how could you still be alive?"
"Exactly!" Tommy also chimed in, "These two women and that spy all have black hair and black eyes; they must be working together, all spies!"
"No! We really aren't spies!" Lia didn't know how to defend herself and could only look at Adrian .
Adrian frowned in thought for a moment, then looked at Brook and asked, "How can I prove that I truly haven't held the emblem you're talking about?"
"You're still being stubborn..."
"You said Adrian used magic just now? Then why didn't I see a magic staff in his hand?" The Old Priest, who had been watching from the side, suddenly spoke up, raising the most crucial question.
The young Guard, Owen, circled Adrian once, then asked in confusion, "I'm curious too. Didn't they say he used magic? Why did I only see a short sword!"
Adrian 's heart trembled; it seemed he had once again broken some concept of this world.
The magic he used was all learned from Slimes; once learned, he could use it directly, without needing a magic staff at all.
But mages in this world apparently had to use a magic staff to cast spells!
"Oh, right!" Tommy suddenly exclaimed, "How did this guy use magic just now without a magic staff to guide it?"
Burton, Barke, and Ford exchanged glances and said in unison, "I didn't see it either!"
"A very few top-tier magic geniuses can use themselves as a medium to communicate with the elements of nature and release magic.
Other than that, mages must use a magic staff.
Adrian 's magical fluctuations are only slightly more than an ordinary person's, not even reaching the apprentice magic level of any profession, completely insufficient to communicate with the elements of nature.
Which means he cannot release magic without a magic staff."
Saying that, the Old Priest took the short sword from Adrian 's hand, drew it, observed it for a moment, and continued, "This is just an ordinary steel short sword, not a magic sword. Therefore, I highly doubt your claim that Adrian released magic!"
Brook was stunned, thinking to himself how foolish he had been.
Could he trust Harry and his group's words?
Just because they said the injuries on their hands were caused by Adrian 's magic, did that make it true?
He hadn't seen it with his own eyes; it was all Harry and his group's one-sided story.
Harry was also stunned.
Something was off, but he couldn't seem to refute it.