Chapter 154 Changes Back Home

Kevin certainly left, as there was nothing much worth lingering for over there. Humans never quite felt at home living among the elves, and his mother wasn't here either. Hanging out with those mischievous kids meant constantly stirring up trouble, or else the little rascals would get bored and unhappy. Pulling off one last prank before leaving could be considered a fitting farewell to his former friends and a proper tribute to his own childhood.

This matter could be big or small, though it probably wouldn't have any substantive impact on the priest. At worst, he'd endure a few days of awkwardness and still manage to preach with a thick skin. As for wanting to put a bounty on Kevin, that was out of the question. Even if Kevin truly were a heretic, unless he started unleashing necromantic spells, the Church of Light lacked both the authority and the capacity to issue a continent-wide bounty. The most they could do was rule their own roost.

However, Kevin couldn't just wander around aimlessly right then. Originally, Kevin’s identity was merely that of a bard, so he faced practically no movement restrictions across human lands. But now, Kevin had acquired an additional title as an active-duty regular army officer, which changed everything. They worried he might desert and not return, and they also worried he might die in a foreign land and cause a major diplomatic incident. Aside from the elven realm and a few friendly allied nations, he couldn't go anywhere.

Yet, the moment he retired, no one would bother him anymore, and he would return to being a pure bard. The crux of the issue was his active-duty status. Having no other choice, Kevin had no option but to head back home. Although there were a few other countries he could have visited, the distances were simply too far.

The journey from the borders of the Kingdom of Roboller to the capital of the Light Elves took a full week, meaning a round trip would consume two weeks. Having a total of forty days of leave, losing fourteen of them just on the road was heartbreaking. Anyway, the Kingdom of Roboller was vast, and there were plenty of places he hadn't explored yet.

After a week on the road without a bath, he immediately checked into an inn upon returning to his homeland, washed away the dust of travel, and spent a few comfortable days there. Sometimes he would pause in the bustling streets, other times he would tour famous historical sites, and in the evenings he would listen to tall tales in the taverns while sipping a little wine—it was quite pleasant.

By this time, Kevin no longer needed to desperately churn out dirty jokes to make a living, nor did he feel the urge to bitterly rant against formulaic poets. If the performance became truly unbearable, Kevin would simply stand up and leave. He had ranted so much in the past that even his critiques had fallen into a formulaic routine, and unless it was strictly necessary, Kevin didn't want to waste his breath.

As he frequently changed taverns, Kevin occasionally ran into unorthodox bards. After the tavern crowds dispersed, Kevin would go over and make friends with them. But bards were destined to wander, so even friends would at most exchange a nod or gather once a year, unless a group of bards intended to tour together—in which case they would all starve to death.

About twenty days later, the patrol parrot accurately located Kevin, reminded him that he had twenty days of leave remaining, warned him not to wander too far off, and instructed him to report his ideological standing. Helpless, Kevin could only reply that his ideology was upright, that he constantly kept the nation and the army in mind, and that he always remembered the teachings of the general, along with other standard clichés. Only then did the parrot depart with a look of satisfaction.

Although these remarks sounded entirely insincere, they were nonetheless mandatory. A prolonged period of leisure and play could easily lead to idleness and slackness, both of which were negative traits for a soldier. Spouting slogans every now and then, even if one didn't believe a word of it at the moment, would still have some subtle influence if repeated often enough.

Ten days later, Kevin took a trip to Mossia. This city of mercenaries didn't seem to have changed much, but the numbers of regular army guards patrolling the streets had clearly multiplied. Casually asking around, Kevin learned that the city was now jointly managed by the regular army and city patrols, with nearly all troops from the surrounding garrisons having been deployed. Conflicts between mercenaries were increasingly restricted to individual fistfights, and large-scale armed brawls hadn't occurred for over a month. The previous feud between the Purple Gold and Reaching Dream mercenary groups also seemed to have temporarily subsided.

Kevin even wanted to look for that female dwarf named Locke Locke, who had guided him on his very first mission as a recruit. However, he was told she had already quit the mercenary group and vanished to parts unknown, so he had to drop the idea.

From these surface-level changes, it was evident that the state was beginning to crack down heavily on mercenaries. With bandits mostly wiped out, the next source of chaos was naturally the mercenaries. In the past, it was common for mercenaries to disguise themselves as bandits and rob their own clients, but nowadays those tricks would be exposed. Without bandits, the demand for bodyguards became virtually obsolete, significantly impacting contracts for mercenaries. Stationing heavy troops here clearly showed great foresight.

As for how mercenaries should be specifically regulated, that wasn't something Kevin needed to worry about.

Leaving Mossia, he traveled next to the coastal city of Heles, which housed the Start Library. But Kevin barely recognized this city anymore.

The entire city was swarming with workers and bricks; roads were being repaved, houses extensively rebuilt, and even the city walls had been completely torn down. Extremely shocked, Kevin hurried over to ask what was going on. The workers replied, "We are expanding the main city."

The workers excitedly pointed out to him, "Look, that over there is our chief engineer. See him? A Archmage Engineer!"

Following their gaze, Kevin spotted an elderly man dressed in wizard robes, yet wearing a standard soldier's helmet on his head. With one hand holding blueprints and the other grasping a staff, the old man flicked his wrist. A massive boulder instantly levitated into the air, floated precisely above another giant rock, and gently descended into place with absolute perfection. A burst of cheers erupted from the workers.

Kevin could not help but turn pale with shock. As far as he knew, most powerhouses of this caliber would rather watch dozens of workers struggle to lift a stone than lift a finger themselves, even if it was effortless for them. To them, status was clearly paramount, and dirtying their hands diminished their prestige. Having traveled widely, he had met quite a few archmages, but he had never witnessed such a remarkably down-to-earth archmage. Could this be the legendary infrastructure-obsessed maniac?

Kevin wanted to go over and exchange a few words, but seeing that he was surrounded by several apprentice-like figures, he didn't dare to interrupt.

Walking a few more days ahead, he saw an eighth-tier warrior chopping timber. With a sweep of sword aura, trees instantly shed their branches and bark, turning into uniform, perfectly rounded cylindrical logs. Indeed, his swordsmanship was god-like. To his surprise, alongside the infrastructure-obsessed archmage, there was also an infrastructure-obsessed warrior.

When Kevin wandered outside the city, he noticed several newly constructed magic towers dotting the landscape. Nearby guards explained that each magic tower was primarily operated by a single mage whose mental energy could expand across a one-kilometer radius through the array at the top of the tower, enabling comprehensive surveillance of the surrounding area. During wartime, the tower could also gather ambient elemental energy to amplify spell power.

Such magic towers could, to a certain extent, directly replace city walls, and the guards firmly declared, "As long as we live, the towers stand."

As evening approached, Kevin headed to a nearby tavern for a drink as usual. Outside the tavern, people still bustled back and forth amidst a constant symphony of clanging noises, which would reportedly continue late into the night before anyone rested.

Meanwhile, the local bards were harshly criticizing the ongoing projects: "These public works are just the king showing off his vanity; they're completely useless. Look at all this noise—can anyone get a good night's sleep? It's a complete nuisance to the citizens, and they've even torn down the city walls! Tell me, just think about it—can you really tear down city walls? Once they're gone, what do we do when the enemy attacks? Are we all just supposed to wait around and die?..."

Kevin frowned, but rather than wasting his breath, he simply walked out and switched to another tavern. To his surprise, the bard in this tavern was singing the exact same tune: "These public works are just the king showing off his vanity, they're completely..."

Kevin paused, sensing a somewhat coordinated narrative. Shrugging it off, he tried yet another tavern, and this time he finally heard something extraordinary.

"Do you all know a fellow named Kevin Inquestring?" the bard inside the tavern asked the crowd.

Kevin froze, instinctively finding a seat and looking up to listen to the tale.

"Let me tell you, this guy called Inquestring is an absolute good-for-nothing! He knows nothing at all—just the lowest-tier battle aura, the lowest-tier magic, and clumsy peasant punches and missile spells. He's led troops into battle several times and suffered utter defeat every single time. And yet, a good-for-nothing like this managed to jump two ranks in a single year? From lieutenant to captain in less than a year. Ha!" The bard scoffed mockingly, "An army like this really makes you think! If things keep going this way, the Kingdom of Roboller is bound to lose!"

Kevin: "..." (To be continued.)