Chapter 245: Prophecy
Inside the tavern.
"Boss, another cup!"
"Wait, is it morning already?"
"Who cares? Keep drinking!"
For drunkards, there was no real difference between day and night. In the desert, even water was hard to come by. Now that they had found a small town with alcohol, those passing through would naturally drink their fill.
The place was noisy and thick with the smell of liquor. On the notice board nearby, the newest wanted posters had been pinned up, with Caelum’s placed in the most conspicuous spot.
That poster had come from Blackwood City. The tavern owner had tamed a flying Danger Beast, which he used to send purchase orders to the caravans in Blackwood City. Sometimes, the creature brought back intelligence and wanted posters as well.
Caelum had become the most talked about name lately. Of course he had earned a place on the board.
A bounty hunter toyed with a dagger in his hand, then flicked it out. The blade sank neatly into Caelum’s wanted poster. His gaze settled on the bounty of 2 million gold coins, and greed nearly spilled from his eyes.
"2 million gold coins."
A drunkard beside him burst into laughter.
"If someone takes that kid down, he will never have to worry about money again. I have never seen a bounty that high in my life."
"Take him down? Keep dreaming. A bounty this high means that kid has to be strong beyond belief."
"Tch."
Someone scoffed.
"We are all human, are we not? How strong can he be? Can he split the sky apart or something? As long as he is still a man, one shot is enough."
"There is no point talking to a frog at the bottom of a well."
"What did you say?"
"What, want to fight?"
"Fight! Fight!"
The tavern erupted with jeers. Two drunkards had just rolled up their sleeves when a heavy crash came from outside, shaking the entire building.
Everyone froze.
"What was that?"
"What happened?"
Then the door opened.
"Boss, give me a cup of water!"
Caelum walked in openly, pulled off his headscarf, took the cup of water the owner handed him, and drank it all in one go.
The tavern quieted.
The bounty hunter glanced at the wanted poster on the notice board, then at Caelum’s face. Once. Twice.
After confirming there was no mistake, wild joy surged through him.
A walking 2 million.
The drunkards, who had still been muddled a moment ago, sobered instantly. As if by agreement, they drew flintlock pistols from their waists and pulled the triggers without another word.
Gunshots exploded through the tavern.
Then came silence.
A short while later, Caelum pushed the tavern door open after drinking his fill of water. Behind him, bodies lay scattered across the floor.
When he stepped outside, the pale dragon was already gone. It had seized the time while Caelum was drinking and fled without hesitation.
Caelum did not care. After walking around the town for a while, he found the target of this trip.
A shabby little wooden house.
A sign hanging on the door read Fortune Telling House.
The moment Caelum pushed the door open, his head tilted slightly. A gunshot cracked from inside, and the bullet brushed past his ear.
Caelum stated his position.
"I mean no harm."
Inside the house, a girl with two pigtails lowered the flintlock pistol in her hand and spoke with an old fashioned air.
"Tch. I thought you were a sand bandit. Come in."
The girl looked about ten years old, yet she carried herself like a little adult. When dealing with people, she seemed unusually composed, with no trace of timidity.
Caelum glanced around.
"I came for a fortune telling."
"I know."
The girl studied his face several times, then spoke with certainty.
"You are that wanted criminal everyone has been talking about lately, right? If I am not wrong, you came looking for Divine Relics."
Caelum immediately looked at her in a new light.
For her to guess his purpose at once, this little girl clearly had some ability.
"Correct."
The girl planted her hands on her waist and introduced herself with great pride.
"My name is Remi, the best prophet of this generation among the Wind Whisperer tribe. You want information on the Divine Relics, right? Pay up."
Caelum watched her in silence.
The doubt in his eyes made Remi very unhappy. Her brows drew together at once.
"What is that look? You do not believe in my ability?"
"But I heard the fortune teller here was an old woman."
"Grandma was taken away by the Empire. Now I am the fortune teller of this place. Do you want the information or not? If you do, hurry up and pay."
"I hope it is worth the price."
Caelum tossed over a diamond.
Remi’s eyes lit up on the spot. She hurriedly caught it, and the annoyance on her face turned into the greedy smile of someone who had seen treasure.
"You definitely will not be disappointed."
Then Remi told Caelum an extremely important piece of information.
One of the seven Divine Relics was sleeping in a place called Dusk Island.
As for where that island was, she did not know for the moment. It might be overseas, or it might be an inland island within the Empire. The latter was more likely.
According to legend, the main territory of the ancient kingdom had been within what was now the Empire’s lands. The chance that a Divine Relic had drifted overseas was not high.
Remi even drew the outline of Dusk Island by hand and gave it to Caelum.
"Although I cannot predict the exact location of Dusk Island, this is already a very detailed clue."
Caelum accepted the drawing.
To be honest, the gains from this trip had far exceeded his expectations. He had not thought the clue would come so easily.
He said with genuine admiration, "You really do have some skill."
"Of course."
The moment Remi heard the praise, she lifted her chin and puffed out her chest.
"My prophecy ability is much stronger than Grandma’s. It is just that Grandma always said if I casually prophesied for people, I would bring disaster to the world. She never let me make prophecies for others. Otherwise, my name would definitely be even greater than hers."
"Oh, is that so?"
Caelum smiled kindly, his interest in Remi’s prophecy ability growing stronger.
"Since I was so generous, how about telling me a few more things?"
"Uh... fine."
Remi looked at the diamond in her hand. With that, and after Caelum’s praise, she became rather carried away and opened up without restraint.
"The Empire will be destroyed by your hands."
Caelum paused.
That sudden prophecy was not something he had expected.
Her ability did seem rather powerful.
Remi said with resentment, "I hate the Empire. If the Empire is destroyed, this world will definitely become better. It is because I know the Empire will be destroyed by your hands that I was willing to make a prophecy for you and help you search for the Divine Relics."
"So that is how it is."
Caelum suddenly understood.
He had wondered why information on the Divine Relics had come so easily.
However, this little girl’s prophecy was clearly not accurate enough.
She had not realized the seriousness of the problem.
Caelum was not searching for the Divine Relics merely to destroy the Empire.
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