World Evolution: Starting With The Wind Monarch

”I am from Sky Pearl City.”

When Evan and the others heard the name of the city, all three of them showed surprised expressions.

It was because Sky Pearl City was one of the famous Dungeon Cities.

A dungeon existed within the city, making it an important destination for Evolvers.

Evan also knew about Sky Pearl City because it was one of the major cities near the capital. Since he would be going to the capital soon to join the academy, he had already memorized the locations of the major cities in the surrounding area.

However, they now had another problem.

Even with a mana-powered carriage, it would take around three days to travel from Rivo City to Sky Pearl City.

Moreover, they didn’t know when the guards would be able to send Lia back, so it might take even longer than three days.

Although the guards would take care of her until they found an opportunity to send her back, Evan didn’t think Lia would be able to stay with them for that long.

Evan looked toward Anna and William and noticed that they were also looking at him, seemingly realizing the same problem.

Evan frowned slightly as he looked at the little girl.

Although he would eventually travel toward the capital, he didn’t know how long it would take him to reach Rank One and begin his journey there.

He thought for a moment before speaking carefully.

”Lia, it will take some time for the guards to send you back home. Why don’t you stay at my house until then? If you stay with the guards, they will probably make you drink that bitter soup every day until they can send you back.”

Lia stopped eating and looked at him in confusion.

”Why will it take time to send me back? Can’t they send me back like those two children?”

”They both live here in Rivo City, but Sky Pearl City is much farther away. So, it will take some time before they can send you back.”

After hearing Evan’s explanation, Lia didn’t say anything, and a nervous expression once again appeared on her face.

It was understandable.

She was only around nine or ten years old. She had already endured so many frightening experiences, and now that she had finally hoped to see her parents again, she was being told that she would have to wait even longer before returning home.

Seeing the nervous expression on Lia’s face, Evan didn’t know what to do.

Anna and William also remained silent, seemingly trying to think of a solution.

After a moment of silence, Lia suddenly asked something none of them expected.

”The guards won’t sell me to the kidnappers again, right?”

Evan frowned, and a cold gleam flashed in his eyes.

Although he already had an idea about what Lia was talking about, he still asked her,

”What do you mean by that?”

Lia hesitated for a moment before speaking quietly.

”It was a city guard from Sky Pearl City who sold me to those slave traders. He approached me when I went out to buy candy. He told me that my father had been injured by a magical beast, so I went with him.”

She lowered her head slightly as she recalled what had happened.

”But while we were walking, he suddenly placed a cloth over my face, and I lost consciousness. When I woke up later, I found myself with those kidnappers.”

When Evan, Anna, and William heard this, their expressions became grim.

They had already expected that John wouldn’t be the only person helping the slave traders.

However, now that Lia had confirmed it, they still couldn’t help but feel angry.

’There really are scums everywhere in this world...’ Evan cursed inwardly as he took a deep breath.

He looked at Lia, who was staring at them nervously, and gently patted her head.

”Lia, I will be going to Sky Pearl City after some time. If you can wait until then, I will bring you back to Sky Pearl City myself. You don’t need to go with the guards.”

He paused before adding.

”But I am not sure how long it will take. You might have to wait for just a few days, or it might take as long as half a month.”

”I will go with you.”

Lia quickly spoke as if she were afraid Evan would go back on his words.

Evan was taken aback by her quick response, but seeing the genuine fear in her eyes whenever the guards were mentioned, he sighed inwardly before nodding.

”I need to finish some business first. You can stay with my grandparents for some time. They are really good people...”

He pointed at the food she was eating and smiled.

”This food was also made by my grandmother. If you stay with her, you will get to eat this every day.”

Lia’s eyes lit up slightly when she heard Evan’s words, and she gulped.

’This girl seems to be a foodie...’ Evan shook his head, remembering that she had been kidnapped while going out to buy candy.

”Why are you going to Sky Pearl City? Do you also live there?” Anna asked curiously after hearing their conversation.

”I will be going to the capital to enter the academy. Since Sky Pearl City is on the way to the capital, I can take her with me without any trouble.”

”You are also going to the academy?” Anna’s voice was filled with surprise.

Evan raised an eyebrow at her surprised expression.

”From the way you’re speaking, it seems you two are also going to the academy?”

Anna and William nodded at the same time.

Seeing them nod, Evan was surprised but still smiled.

”Then I guess we’ll be seeing each other again after we enter the academy.”

The three of them continued talking for a while.

Just then, the door to the room opened, and Charles entered with another man.

The man accompanying Charles was quite tall, and Evan couldn’t even sense his level.

Since Evan couldn’t estimate the man’s level at all, he guessed that the man might be a Rank Two or even a Rank Three Evolver.

”He is our commander, Max,” Charles introduced the tall man to Evan and the others.

Max was around 195 centimeters tall and had a muscular build resembling that of a wrestler.

He had bronze-colored skin, and his black hair was somewhat messy.

”I heard about what you all did,” Max said sincerely. ”I really appreciate your help in catching the slave traders and exposing John. If you need any help in the future, you can always come to us, and we will try our best to help you.”

Evan was a little surprised by Max’s sincerity as judging from his appearance, he didn’t look like someone who would speak so politely to a group of young people.

”We just have a few questions to ask as a formality. After that, you can leave.”

Evan and the others nodded and answered his questions.

Most of them were simple questions, such as how they had discovered the slave traders, how they had encountered Mike, and how they had managed to stop them.

After answering all his questions, Evan and the others were about to leave when Max suddenly stopped them and pointed toward Lia.

”Is she also with you?”

”Well, no, she isn’t with us,” Evan replied. ”But I will be going to Sky Pearl City soon, and since she also lives there, I will take her with me. You don’t have to worry about her.”

”But you don’t need to trouble yourself with this,” Max said. ”We can send her back ourselves.”

Evan could hear the sincerity in Max’s voice, but he shook his head.

”It’s not a bother. I will gain a companion on my journey, so everything is fine.”

Max looked at Lia and seeing her hiding behind Evan, he thought for a moment before nodding.

”Well, if you say so.”

Evan and the others left the guard office.

After leaving the building, Evan bid farewell to Anna and William and promised to meet them again at the academy.

Then, with Lia accompanying him, he headed toward his grandparents’ home.