16. IT'S NOT JUST A BIRD. IT'S MY BIRD.

Five minutes later, Ajax, the mage knight, and Luz stood in front of the stall where everything started.

"Are you sure that you want that bird? I could buy you a new one for a future favor," commented Ajax with a wink.

In front of them, in a cage, sat a depressed bird whose once colorful plumage had faded due to malnutrition.

Luz shook his head before answering with a frank, "No." And as he picked up the cage, he added with a chuckle, "The deal was about that bird, and even if that vendor bastard didn't comply, that doesn't mean I won't, hehehe. In the end, I'm just taking what is rightfully mine."

"You got my respect, brat, but anyway. Let's bring you back home as quickly as possible so that I can enjoy the rest of my vacation," the knight replied before pushing Luz forward.

Fifteen minutes later, Luz knocked on the giant door of Liv's workplace. Liv was the clumsy female magician who introduced herself as "the sister." Well, she was also the one who told Luz to explore the city on his own.

Upon opening the door, Liv's rosy cheek turned pale while her eyes widened. Shocked by what had happened to Luz, she immediately dragged him inside, cursing quietly: "WHAT THE HELL HAS HAPPENED!?"

Scratching his head, Luz replied with a smile, "Welllllllll… I fought with the locals because they didn't honor their part of the deal. But as you see, I won in the end, ehe."

Baffled by his words, she shifted her gaze towards the cage Luz had been carrying, and upon seeing the sorry state of the bird, Liv got so furious that her hair even began to tremble slightly. "YOU ARE TELLING ME THAT EVERYTHING HAPPENED BECAUSE YOU WANTED THAT SORRY ASS BIRD!!!!!!??????"

"NOOOOOOO. IT'S NOT JUST A BIRD. IT'S MY BIRD. ALSO, THAT OLD GRANNY BITCH IS TO BLAME FOR EVERYTHING," shouted Luz back in embarrassment, and the two began quarreling.

Their quarrel went on for a few minutes, and in the end, they came to the realization that Luz was a goddamn prideful man who got furious for everyone else not honoring the deal.

In the end, Liv fell onto a chair, and two magic hands immediately whipped away some sweat as she groaned. "So you are telling me that instead of just giving them the money or showing them the goddamn thing I gave you, you chose to utilize a high impact magic spell AND DAMAGED YOURSELF EVEN FURTHER!?"

The only answer she got from Luz was a nod.

In her fury and despair for being responsible for everything that happened to Luz since she suggested to him that he should explore the city by himself, Liv immediately stood up.

The first thing she did was grab Luz by his ear before dragging him to a backdoor. As she did that, Liv cursed loudly at her stupidity and how she should have never let him out of her gaze. "If Brian finds out that you damaged your mana core further, you… no, I'm DEFINITELY FUCKED."

As Luz got dragged outside, he saw beautiful birds bathing in a fountain while children younger than him casually chatted and cleaned the garden there.

"Liv, please let go of my ear. You are embarrassing me," pleaded Luz as Liv continued dragging him. "WELL, see it as your goddamn punishment."

The two walked along a cobblestone path that led them to the outskirt of the estate, and after following it for around five minutes, the duo reached their destination. And there it stood, a rundown mage tower near the brink of collapse. Was that supposed to be their destination?

Upon spotting the building, Luz grew uneasy. "Sis, are you sure this is the right place? The building looks like it's going to collapse at any moment."

Liv nodded before sighing loudly. "Yeah, you are right. That bastard is too stingy to care about basic maintenance…"

Upon realizing that Luz was waiting for her to take the first step, Liv commented in amusement, "So, Luz. For what are you waiting? Just knock on the door, or are you scared?"

Shaking his head, Luz replied: " I'm definitely not scared…"

"So why aren't you knocking then?" threw Liv back, not letting him finish his sentence.

Luz merely gritted his teeth before answering her question as nicely as possible instead of telling her what was really going through his head.

"WELL, you see… I don't even know the person. Shouldn't you knock and introduce him to me?"

Their bickering continued for a few minutes, and it came to no conclusion. Their quarrel was so loud that the annoyed owner of the house rushed down personally from his laboratory to take care of the noise.

An irritated 25-year-old man ripped open the squeaking door while cursing loudly, "LISTEN HERE, YOU LIL SHIT. EITHER YOU KNOCK ON THE DOOR OR GET THE FUCK OUT OF…"

Before he could continue, Liv cut him short by shouting, "WELL, THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR NOT BOTHERING INSTALLING ANY NOICE REDUCTING MEASURES."

The man didn't even bother glancing at Luz, and his stare remained on Liv before he slowly moved his hand towards her face.

"Wait!? What are you going to do, uncle Simon!?" stammered Liv, breaking the intense eye contact she had with the man seconds ago.

However, the latter had a grin going from one ear to the other as he grabbed the rosy cheeks of the whimpering elf before cursing, "You are just getting the treatment you deserve for still being so lenient on your studies as a goddamn 23-year-old brat."

Liv whimpered, "Please…Let me down. I didn't mean it like that. I swear."

However, Simon merely shook his head, before replying in amusement, "And what if I don't let you down?"

"Then you will regret it," replied Liv, before shouting loudly: "SEXUAL HARRASSMENT."

Furious and embarrassed at the same time by her action, the man immediately threw the girl into his tower before kicking the door closed.

"Have these two lunatics already forgotten that I exist?" grumbled Luz, flabbergasted, slamming both fists together.

Fortunately for him, the gods answered his prayers, and the magician immediately opened the door before dragging him inside as well.

The owner of the mage tower carried two younger mages, each with one hand, the stairs up, and Luz felt like a child as he couldn't escape the grip of that monster. That man climbed the stairs while dragging the duo, and after reaching the reception hall, did he release his iron grip on them.

The two young magicians fell with a thump, and the man merely commented in a cold tone while glaring down at the two, "Tell me, greenhorn, what's so important that you didn't want to discuss it outside? And who the hell is the other greenhorn?"

A grin formed on Liv's face before she remarked, "I knew that you wouldn't be that stupid. Anyway, I need your help, my dear uncle Simon.~"

"No. I don't want to help you. Just ask Master Brian to take care of it." replied Simon without batting an eye. Master Simon knew from the moment he saw her smile that her request would not be a simple one. Participating in her bidding wouldn't do him any good.

"WAIT, AT LEAST HEAR ME OUT," shouted Liv in desperation on her knees as she mustered a puppy look on her face in hopes of changing Simon's mind.