"Reporting to Tike! A town has been discovered ahead, containing a large number of life signs!"
Alice fluttered her mechanical wings and flew down lightly from the sky to Tike's side, a hint of joy and excitement in her mechanically textured voice.
Tike patted Alice's mechanical head and turned to beckon Erza, Kagura, and Yukino beside him, gesturing for them to continue moving forward.
The group quickened their pace, and before long, they arrived in front of the small town Alice had mentioned.
Two wizard guards were inspecting passersby here. Seeing that Tike's group were just children, they didn't give them a hard time. After asking a few simple questions, they let them in.
Tike could smell that this place had also been attacked, but the scent of blood in the air wasn't strong, suggesting there shouldn't have been many casualties.
He looked up. Shops lined both sides of the street, filled with a dazzling array of goods. The sounds of vendors hawking their wares, people bargaining and chatting, and children playing carefreely intertwined, creating a vivid picture full of life.
This was the first time in their month-long journey that they had encountered a human settlement of this scale.
"I'll go ask for directions to Mom Ur's place."
After Yukino and Kagura recovered, they also agreed to go with Tike to find Ur.
For these children who had lost their homes and families, seeking refuge with a powerful wizard was undoubtedly a good choice.
The problem was, although Tike clearly remembered the name of the town he lived in before, he knew nothing about its specific location, which was no different from not knowing at all.
Even the oldest, Erza, had absolutely no idea where the town Tike mentioned was located.
Therefore, they decided to enter this small town and ask a local for directions, ideally finding a detailed map.
Before officially starting, Tike pointed to a woman picking fruit by the street and lowered his voice, imparting his "exclusive experience" to Erza and the others.
"Women like that who already have children are more likely to feel compassion for kids like us."
"Children? Her?"
Erza looked at the woman who was alone, somewhat confused.
Tike stepped forward, switching his expression to a pitiful one, his big eyes glistening with crystalline tears.
"Boo hoo... Auntie, I got separated from my mom. Can you tell me which way to Brago?"
Tike's performance worked. The woman's gaze, originally focused on choosing vegetables, was instantly drawn to him, her eyes filled with pity and tenderness for this poor little boy.
She squatted down and comforted him softly, "You poor child... I'm sorry, little one, I don't know where the 'Brago' you're talking about is. You can go ask at the Wizards' Guild in town—'Heart of Blazing Flame.' They are well-traveled and might know. Thanks to Heart of Blazing Flame protecting our town, otherwise my children and I wouldn't know what to do."
As the woman spoke, she pointed out the direction of Heart of Blazing Flame for Tike and even took a bright red apple from the basket beside her.
"Here, child, take this and eat. Don't be sad."
"Thank you, Auntie!"
After thanking her sweetly, Tike nibbled on the apple and hopped back to Erza and the others, leading them toward "Heart of Blazing Flame."
Walking on the road, Erza finally couldn't suppress her curiosity: "Tike, how did you know that auntie had children? I saw she was clearly alone."
Tike took a bite of the apple and said indistinctly, "Mmm... smelled it with my nose." He pointed to his nose. "Those with children smell different; it's easy to tell."
"You can smell that too? Is this actually magic as well?"
Erza felt this ability was beyond the scope of ordinary people and very likely a special kind of magic.
But Tike didn't think so.
"Not really. I know a big brother with a nose similar to mine, and he doesn't know any magic."
The two chatted back and forth. The two little lolis, Kagura and Yukino, following behind, didn't participate in their topic at all, giggling at the jokes from Alice's database.
Just like that, the group arrived at the entrance of the "Heart of Blazing Flame" guild.
The guild's gate was wide open, with no guards at the door. From the outside, one could see a busy and slightly chaotic scene inside.
Simple wooden beds lined the walls, occupied by many wounded people with pained expressions. Some had their eyes closed tight, while others groaned in low voices. Several people wearing white clothes, looking like medical personnel, were shuttling between the wounded, busily treating injuries.
Among the crowd, a burly uncle with short red hair was particularly conspicuous. Although he himself was wrapped in bandages of various sizes, he wasn't lying down like the other wounded but was helping take care of the patients.
One of the people in white stepped forward and began to persuade him, "Guild Master Chill, you are injured too. Just leave this to us."
"It's just a small injury, nothing serious."
The red-haired uncle called Guild Master Chill waved his hand unconcernedly and continued to bend down, changing the towel on the forehead of the wounded person in front of him.
Only after finishing this did he straighten up, look at Tike and the others standing at the door, and reveal a kind smile.
"Little ones, are you here for food?"
Recently, due to attacks by the black magic cult, there were many poor children in town who had lost their parents. They often came to beg at the guild entrance, and Heart of Blazing Flame would provide them with some food and help within their ability.
Tike nodded subconsciously.
"Wait a moment, I'll go get you some food right now."
Seeing Tike nod, Guild Master Chill was about to turn back inside the guild to get food.
"Wait!" Seeing this, Erza quickly spoke up to stop him. She took a quick step forward, blocking Guild Master Chill's path, and said seriously, "Uncle, we didn't come here for food!"
Tike also quickly wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and added, "Ah, right! We came to ask for directions! Uncle, do you know how to get to Brago Town?"
"Brago...?" Guild Master Chill stopped in his tracks, his thick eyebrows knitting slightly as he looked at Tike and the others in confusion. "I recall that's a town near the northern continent. It's very far from here. Even taking the fastest magic train, it would take several days. What are you kids doing going to such a faraway place at such a young age?"
"To find Mom Ur," Tike answered honestly without hiding anything.
"Ur...? Do you mean the Ice-Make wizard, Ur Milkovich?"
"Mm-hm! That's Mom Ur!" Tike nodded excitedly, his blue eyes sparkling. "Uncle, do you know Mom Ur?"
If he could find out more news about Mom Ur here, that would be fantastic!
Guild Master Chill nodded, a look of admiration appearing on his face.
"Of course I know her. I had the honor of meeting Lady Ur once at a regular guild meeting a year ago. Her magical attainments are far above mine; she is a very powerful wizard."
"Mm!"
Since this uncle knew Mom Ur and respected her so much, he must know how to get to her!
Thinking of this, Tike looked at the uncle expectantly again and asked urgently, "Uncle! Then please tell me quickly how to get to Brago! We want to go find Mom Ur!"
However, hearing Tike's words, an even stranger expression appeared on Guild Master Chill's face.
"Why go to Brago if you're looking for her? She isn't there right now."