"So, in a way, you actually turned misfortune into a blessing?" Dox stared at Vay in disbelief.
Vay nodded, a faint blush creeping onto his face.
"I literally thought you were about to die just now," Dox’s face was full of exasperation. "Totally wasted my tears."
He paused, then suddenly slapped his own forehead, looking enlightened: "Ah, I almost forgot, the one crying wasn’t me. I didn’t cry at all. After all, you dying would be a kind of relief for me too—at least no one would come to my tavern to freeload drinks anymore."
Vay eyed Dox suspiciously: "That’s not what you said just now. You were going on about the Road to Truth..."
Dox stroked his chin and said with a straight face, "What I said back then is still true. This road is long and endless; walking it alone is indeed boring. Having a companion I can have some fun with can at least relieve the boredom a bit."
Vay: "..."
Dox: "Of course, all of that is on the premise that you’re alive. If you die, then..."
Vay: "Then what?"
Dox’s gaze slid over to Angel at the side. He leaned in, slung an arm over Angel’s shoulder, and said, "Then I’d have no choice but to find your idol for entertainment instead."
Facing the utterly shameless Dox, Vay forced himself not to roll his eyes: "You can only brag like that for now. Give it a little time—maybe within ten years, you won’t even be able to catch a glimpse of my lord’s back, let alone dream of using him for entertainment. You think you’re worthy?"
Dox wanted to refute him, but after thinking it over, he really couldn’t find the right words to argue back.
Angel has been a Wizard for less than a handful of years and has already come into contact with the threshold of True Knowledge. What’s more, Angel has background, resources, and connections. Barring accidents, what Vay said has a high chance of coming true.
While Dox was silent, Vay added, "Also, my lord said earlier that he doesn’t think you have a chance to set foot on that road... I—I believe in my lord’s judgment!"
After speaking, Vay looked toward the Black Earl floating in midair and cautiously asked, "Right, my lord?"
The Black Earl snorted coldly: "You’re not believing in my judgment. You’re trying to ask me, roundabout, why I made that judgment, aren’t you?"
Dox and Vay may quarrel all the time, but when it comes to issues that cut to the core, they actually care a lot about each other.
Dox himself hadn’t taken that earlier remark from the Black Earl to heart. But Vay, of all people, not only remembered it, he’s now twisting around to ask his lord about the reason. What’s ’love-hate relationship’? This is a love-hate relationship.
Dox gave Vay a long, deep look; Vay’s gaze drifted everywhere, refusing to meet his eyes.
The Black Earl sneered: "Why do I think Dox has no chance to step onto the road of pursuing truth? The reason is very simple... Isn’t he pursuing freedom?"
Vay frowned: "Is pursuing freedom wrong?"
The Black Earl: "It’s not wrong. But truth isn’t something you can obtain just by relying on freedom."
Dox didn’t say anything; his expression also showed complete indifference. They had already clashed on the topic of ’freedom’ before. No matter what outsiders say, Dox will carry through with the freedom he pursues.
The Black Earl: "The Road to Truth depends heavily on Talent, but it also needs a foundation of accumulated depth. Dox has no background. Where is he supposed to seek that foundation? Rely solely on his own research? The detours he’d have to take would be enough to burn through his entire lifespan."
"Rely on the Cross Headquarters? The Cross Headquarters does have some stuff, but that place is in essence also a giant sieve. It’s labeled as the headquarters of Wandering Wizards, but in reality it’s a testing ground infiltrated by all the major Witcher Organizations. There is accumulation there, sure, but compared to a true large Organization, it’s still lacking. Even if the Cross Headquarters opened all of its accumulation to him, let him see everything, it still doesn’t mean he could use that to step onto the Road to Truth."
Vay: "...So in the end, it still comes down to him being a Wandering Wizard?"
The Black Earl: "Yes. At least in the Southern Domain, that’s the case."
He paused and then continued: "If it were in the Origin World, there might still be a sliver of possibility. But if you want to chase so-called freedom in the Southern Domain, then you might as well forget it and simply give up the pursuit of truth altogether."
Dox, who had remained silent ever since the topic shifted to freedom, finally couldn’t hold back: "Why do you say there’s still a chance in the Origin World?"
The Black Earl: "There are Wandering Wizards in the Origin World too. However, Wandering Wizards there can join certain factions, or work for certain factions. And as payment for those jobs, as long as your ability is sufficient, it’s not impossible to obtain the inheritance of accumulated depth. That’s why I said Wandering Wizards in the Origin World still have a chance."
Dox furrowed his brows tightly: "Join a faction? Work for a faction, risk your neck for them? And that still counts as a Wandering Wizard?"
The Black Earl: "Why wouldn’t it? What those factions do is actually no different from the Cross Headquarters that you revere: take on missions, gain benefits. But the factions in the Origin World are much more ’pure’ than the Cross Headquarters."
As for why the factions in the Origin World are purer than the Cross Headquarters, the reason is actually quite simple.
Their very nature is different.
Among the factions in the Origin World that Wandering Wizards can join, the mainstream roughly falls into two categories. One type is established upon a shared concept—the ’Unions’. For example: the Orderly Guild, the Greenwald Institute of Magical Research, the Trudy Bloodline Research Institute, the Dreyer Alchemy Guild... and so on.
These are factions that unite because their philosophies are similar. Most of these factions allow you to come and go freely. They won’t forbid you from joining other factions; it’s even fine if you hold titles in several factions at once.
The other type is the ’Central City–style’ factions established on the basis of their own tremendous strength. They are like the City of Truth: the central city as the core, with satellite cities built by their followers forming their sphere of influence. The most representative among them are: the Illusion Tower, Forest Night City, and Kokoroa’s Milk Fountain Village.
This type also lets Wandering Wizards take on missions and grants rewards, but they impose certain hard requirements. For instance, Milk Fountain Village has a strict rule: all Wandering Wizards who are registered under Milk Fountain Village must not provide any direct or indirect assistance to the Dark Gourmets. If they violate this, they will definitely suffer the backlash of their oath.
Whether it’s the ’Unions’ or the ’Central Cities’, they all actually have powerful Wizards sitting in town, and there might even be a Miracle Wizard standing behind the scenes. Under such circumstances, they are only responsible for their own faction and will absolutely not allow other factions to interfere. That’s why they’re purer.
The Cross Headquarters is a sieve riddled with loopholes. You and I meet and both claim to be Wandering Wizards, but the real Wandering Wizards may only be a small minority; the majority are stationed there by various Witcher Organizations. Their infiltration into the Cross Headquarters is largely to grab a share of the Wandering Wizards’ dividends, that’s all. You call that pure?
After finishing his explanation, the Black Earl let out a cold, mocking laugh: "Even in the Origin World, there is no such thing as the absolute freedom you pursue. I don’t know who set you on this pursuit of absolute freedom, but whoever taught you certainly never told you that absolute freedom means absolute chaos. Is that the kind of freedom you seek?"
"There was a period when Wandering Wizards liked to prattle on about ’pursuing freedom’, but in truth, it was nothing more than a fig leaf to cover up what they couldn’t obtain."
He paused again, then said, "Vay is a Noah descendant, so he’s not a suitable comparison. Why don’t you ask this little guy next to you what he thinks about the freedom you’re chasing?"
The Black Earl pointed at Kaier.
Kaier was also a Wandering Apprentice. How would he view the freedom that Dox spoke of?
Dox turned his head to look at Kaier. Kaier kept silent for a moment, then scratched his head: "I-I don’t really have much of an opinion... just... I respect it, I guess."
The Black Earl didn’t comment on Kaier’s answer, but anyone could hear that Kaier’s response was already very tactful.
The notion that all Wandering Apprentices are in pursuit of freedom is, in itself, wrong.
Seeing that Dox’s expression looked a bit off, Vay quickly coughed twice, cutting through the somewhat awkward atmosphere: "Weren’t we talking about truth? How did it turn into a discussion about freedom?"
The Black Earl let out a derisive laugh. "You don’t even meet the basic conditions, how are you going to talk about truth?"