After listening to Tom’s words, Angel immediately used the authority of the Gate of Dreams to sense the situation.
Old Porter was indeed still in the Wilderness of Dreams and hadn’t left. However, he was no longer beside Ironclad Granny but was wandering New City alone.
It seems that Angel underestimated the allure of the Wilderness of Dreams to an apprentice like Old Porter who has been away from home for many years.
"I understand." Angel nodded to Lady Melo: "Old Porter is indeed asleep, let him sleep for a while."
Lady Melo frowned slightly: "But..."
Angel: "It’s alright, Old Porter has completed most of what he can do. Seeing him or not, actually doesn’t matter."
Old Porter’s biggest role was gathering the various pieces of information he saw and heard in Princess Town and bringing them to Lord Reine, a task he has clearly completed. As for the events at Princess Castle, Angel planned to find time to personally report them to Lord Reine or Ironclad Granny.
Seeing Lady Melo still a bit puzzled, Angel reassured her: "Many issues will become clear when you return to Barbarian Cave. Meanwhile, if you’re not busy, you can take Little Tom for a talent test."
Lady Melo hesitated for a moment but still nodded and said "alright", then prepared to take Little Tom to the quiet room.
Before leaving, Lady Melo didn’t forget to pull Abulei away, citing the need for her assistance in setting up the talent test equipment. In reality, she was worried that if Abulei stayed here, she might be ridiculed by Dox.
After they left, only then did Dox raise his head and ask in a curious tone: "What do you mean by, once she returns to Barbarian Cave, she’ll naturally understand?"
Dox listened to the entire conversation and still felt that Angel’s sudden remark was quite pointless. As a wizard with strong inspiration, Dox believed his intuition suggested there might be something more to it.
Angel replied indifferently: "That’s naturally Barbarian Cave’s matter. As an independent wizard, if you’re asking after this, are you thinking of settling down and looking to affiliate with a Wizard Organization?"
Dox scoffed: "As if I don’t know the ropes inside Wizard Organizations."
Angel: "You only know the ropes of other Wizard Organizations. Barbarian Cave is different."
Dox squinted: "What’s different?"
Angel was silent for a moment, then slowly said: "Barbarian Cave has me."
Dox: "..." Are you telling a joke?
Looking at Dox’s astonished and speechless expression, Angel knew he definitely didn’t take this answer seriously. Angel didn’t mind because he deliberately said it that way—if Dox did take it seriously, that would truly be strange.
Angel: "Don’t look at me like that, wasn’t what I said actually the answer?"
Dox took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to retort: "Of course it’s true, naturally, no other Wizard Organization has you. If there were, you’d be their spy."
"I’m just a bit incredulous that you’d suddenly give this kind of answer. It seems, as ’friends’, I need a deeper understanding of your personality."
Angel merely glanced at him: "So what answer are you expecting? If Barbarian Cave does have some scheme that makes it different from other Wizard Organizations, do you think I can reveal it?"
Upon hearing this, even though Angel’s words were roundabout, they were sensible.
Moreover, through this rhetorical question, Angel also indirectly addressed Dox’s inner doubts.
"In that case, you really did mean something secret when speaking to Lady Melo," Dox concluded confidently, because by Angel’s logic, if it truly were a secret, he definitely couldn’t divulge it. And now, Angel indeed hadn’t said anything.
Angel smiled without speaking.
Dox continued analyzing: "However, this secret shouldn’t be a highly confidential one, since you don’t mind it being known. Otherwise, you wouldn’t say it in front of me and Lady Melo."
"Thinking about it, your actions are quite peculiar. Are you deliberately saying that to secretly tempt and encourage me to inquire about this secret?"
"That doesn’t seem right either. If you were really tempting me, even if not disclosing the answer, you’d at least throw out a bait. But you said nothing."
Dox occasionally answered himself and then contradicted himself, while Angel, sitting opposite, remained silent.
From Angel’s perspective, Dox’s judgments were actually correct. The so-called secret was the existence of the Wilderness of Dreams. It’s not a highly confidential secret because once the witches’ tea party is held in a while, those who should know, will naturally know.
Nevertheless, Angel wasn’t deliberately revealing it to allure Dox, purely because the secret itself isn’t classified. So even if others overheard and grew curious, he didn’t mind.
If curiosity arises, and you can guess it, then good for you. If you can’t, then carry that curiosity for a few days until the answer is naturally revealed.
But, clearly, Dox couldn’t guess it unless he went to catch Old Porter now.
Angel sat there casually, listening to Dox’s various analyses, occasionally nodding along to support.
Ultimately, Dox couldn’t analyze further; he got stuck on his analysis while Angel was cheerfully chiming in, making it impossible to proceed.
Although the itch from curiosity hadn’t subsided, Dox didn’t wish to continue probing, deciding to treat Angel’s earlier remark "Barbarian Cave has me," as a way to alleviate it.
After all, this statement, no matter how you look at it, isn’t incorrect.
Dox stopped analyzing, and Angel felt a bit of the fun was gone. But soon, the fun returned. However, this time it wasn’t related to Dox, but rather came from a fair-skinned youth who quietly approached him.
"Golos, are you looking for me for something?"
The one who approached was Golos, who had already changed out of his previous odd attire, now wearing a tavern waiter’s shirt and suspenders. This outfit, paired with his fresh and handsome face, looked rather sunny. However, Golos’s expression was not as bright as the sunshine, as he kept his head down with a few hints of worry and distress.
Upon hearing Angel’s voice, Golos finally raised his head.
"I, I... Sir, I..." Golos stammered for a while before managing to say: "Bruiser is alright now. Among the service staff, there’s someone who knows medicine and has bandaged him."
Angel said nothing, while across him, Dox laughed mischievously: "Where did they bandage?"
Golos was instantly stunned, unsure how to respond.
Angel: "You don’t need to answer his question. Did you come to tell me about this? These trivial matters don’t need to be reported to me. When Lady Melo returns, you can vent to her. However, I think she might not be interested in listening to mundane things."
After Angel finished speaking, he didn’t look away but instead continued staring at Golos.
Golos could tell that this gentleman was implying that these matters were trivial. Yet, despite this, the gentleman hadn’t looked away, which indicated he had noticed there was still something Golos hadn’t said.
And this unspoken matter was the true reason Golos had come over.