When it came to Richard as a person, Link's impression honestly wasn't good.
This wasn't only because of Richard himself or the strange déjà vu the tower gave Link, but also because Richard's identity as a magical creature synthesis and breeding scholar would naturally make Link associate it with some unpleasant things.
For example, that somewhere inside this tower, there were secret laboratories, full of horrific, inhumane scenes, and that the Land of Miracles Richard had created was just a cover to raise vagrants to use them for human experimentation.
Link believed his suspicions were not completely unfounded.
Because from a practical standpoint, Richard completely had both the capability and the motivation to do these things.
So, under the situation where Richard still couldn't be completely cleared of such suspicions, continuing to observe was the best choice.
Thinking this, Link cast a not-so-kind glance at Richard, then tilted his head and said, "How about this? Since we still have enough time, let's not rush to report or leave. Let's just continue investigating for a while longer."
Though phrased as a suggestion, Link's tone was assertive.
After hearing this, both Newt and Kettleburn, although still fuming, reluctantly accepted Link's proposal.
After all, given the current situation, letting things sit for a while and cooling down wasn't a bad idea.
"Then it's settled! Richard, you should have guest rooms, right? Arrange a few for us." Kettleburn glared at Newt, then said this to Richard with an entirely justified tone.
"Alright, Professor Kettleburn!" Richard rubbed his hands together and said with a face full of smiles,
"Please follow me. If there's one thing I've got plenty of, it's empty rooms. That's one upside of moving out to the countryside, haha!"
Richard's self-deprecating joke was completely lost on everyone except Link, which made him awkward when no one reacted the way he expected.
But that was a small matter. Richard quickly adjusted his emotions and led Link and the others to the guest rooms.
After confirming each person's room, everyone started moving around freely.
Professor Kettleburn immediately pulled Richard up to the top floor of the tower to chat, this pair of teacher and student hadn't seen each other in years and had a lot to catch up on.
Newt, relying on his outrageous social skills, directly headed into the Land of Miracles, quickly mingling with the Inuit vagrants.
This was standard behavior for Newt in his younger adventuring days.
To him, the Land of Miracles and the Inuit people were like an entirely unknown, primitive continent, and understanding their culture and customs was a deeply fascinating task.
Link, on the other hand, brought Rolf and Emily and continued wandering inside the tower.
Of course, since they had spent so much time on the road, their free activity time was short-lived, it was soon dinner time.
———
At dinner, Richard played host and gathered everyone for a meal together.
During dinner, Newt and Kettleburn still didn't get along, and the two of them kept sniping at each other, leaving Richard to awkwardly keep trying to mediate between them.
But that had nothing to do with Link and Emily, the two had never forgotten they were on vacation. So their attention was fully on the food.
The dinner was brought up by the local Inuits.
Honestly, though the Inuit cooking skills weren't high, and seasonings were basically nonexistent, the food still counted as lavish, thanks to the freshness and rarity of the ingredients.
Especially the pan-fried oyster omelet, beneath its plain golden skin were plump, juicy oysters.
With one bite, the savory flavor exploded in the mouth.
There was also fresh salmon sashimi.
Though Link wasn't a fan of raw food, he couldn't deny that this salmon had an amazing texture, meaty, melting in the mouth, and Link even tasted a faint sweetness in it.
Of course, it was definitely greasy, the tower didn't have wasabi, and Link gave up after eating two slices.
———
Once the meal ended, the group finally dispersed.
Watching the backs of Link and the others as they walked away, Richard's expression twisted, his face contorted hideously, and his fists clenched tightly.
Among this whole group Link came with, aside from Professor Kettleburn, Richard didn't know anyone.
But that didn't stop him from accurately judging who had the most power in the group.
In his view, although the apparent leaders of the group were Kettleburn and Newt, the real core was actually Link and Emily.
Because he had noticed, Link and Emily were both wizards from pure-blood noble families, and not just that, they were the extremely high-ranking kind.
It wasn't hard to spot this.
Many ancient, noble pure-blood families still retained customs similar to medieval Muggle nobility, and they often left signs in their clothing and appearance to show their identity, like wearing rings engraved with their family crest, just like Link and Emily did.
These were like coded language or slang in certain professions, those from the same circle or class could spot these signs at a glance and instantly understand someone's status or background, saving lots of unnecessary effort.
Only ordinary people would fail to notice such details, and only after learning someone's background would they express surprise at how "low-key" nobles were.
'But in truth, low-key, my ass!'
Although Richard himself was just an ordinary person, his curiosity about pure-blood nobility had led him to study their customs for a while.
So even though he couldn't identify exactly which families Link and Emily belonged to, he could still tell from their complex crests that their status was extremely high.
With that understood, everything became clear.
This was indeed a team sent by the Ministry of Magic, but the real decision-makers were not Kettleburn or Newt, but rather Link and Emily, that arrogant young couple who seemed to treat this as just a casual vacation.
So whether Kettleburn wanted to protect him, or Newt insisted on arresting him, it didn't matter.
Because the one who could truly decide his fate, was Link and Emily, those two bored pure-blood nobles treating this as a leisure trip.
Link had shown a bit of hostility toward him, and as someone who had lived among both wizard and Muggle societies, Richard could clearly feel it.
By normal reasoning, he should now swallow his pride and go grovel to Link, hoping Link would let him off the hook.
After all, he was hiding a secret here that must never be discovered.
But...
He had left the wizarding world, and come back to live in hiding in his homeland, exactly to avoid being enslaved and humiliated by those rotten, detestable, filthy nobles!
And now, after taking such a big detour, did he still have to trade his dignity for survival?
This thought filled Richard with deep resentment. But in the end, his clenched fists slowly relaxed.
His whole body seemed to collapse, like his spine had been pulled out, and he slumped into his chair.
"Darling, we're in trouble."
In the dimly lit dining hall, Richard said with a bitter smile.
And behind him, a chilly mist slowly drifted onto his shoulders, no one knew where it came from. As if trying to comfort him.
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