Morell Demon Hunting Academy

Chapter 4: Damn Bernard

Night wind swept through the forest, carrying the scents of pine needles and moist earth.

On the forest path, a slender figure was slowly advancing.

Silver-white hair fluttered in the night breeze, pale green eyes appearing profound and beautiful in the moonlight.

However, the next second, this beauty was completely shattered by a stream of angry muttering.

"Damn Bernard!"

Evette complained indignantly as she walked, completely oblivious to her image management.

"Sending me to find some Grandpa William's good granddaughter, but not giving me a single decent clue! What do you mean 'somewhere around this area'? When I got to this area, I discovered there were over a dozen villages and towns!"

She stopped walking and pulled an old silver pocket watch from her chest.

The watch face was engraved with exquisite patterns, but the edges were somewhat worn.

The pocket watch trembled slightly in her hand, emanating faint magical fluctuations.

"And this damn broken watch." Evette held up the pocket watch to examine it in the moonlight. "Blood lineage tracking with a range of fifty miles—I came here to find someone, not to work like a pack mule on the road!"

The watch's vibration frequency varied between strong and weak, like an inaccurate compass.

Evette tried turning in a different direction, and the vibrations became slightly stronger, but still frustratingly vague.

"This damn man really is..." She continued forward through gritted teeth. "I've lived for two hundred years—what storms haven't I weathered? Yet I'm being made this miserable by a person-finding task!"

Suddenly, faint sounds came from the distance.

Something had collapsed, accompanied by human shouts.

Evette immediately stopped complaining and perked up her ears to listen carefully.

The pocket watch's vibrations became much stronger.

"Finally, some progress!"

She quickened her pace toward the source of the sounds while continuing her complaints.

"William's granddaughter, you'd better still be alive, or all my suffering these past few days will have been for nothing!"

Evette would never forget that afternoon a week ago.

At the time, she had been in the academy's library organizing magical texts, preparing lesson plans for next month's advanced spellcasting courses.

The afternoon sunlight slanted through the windows, illuminating the thick scrolls spread across the table.

Just then, the headmaster's haggard face appeared at the library entrance.

"Evette, I need you to do me a favor."

Bernard's voice sounded somewhat weary.

Evette didn't look up, continuing to flip through the heavy spellbook in her hands: "What do you want me to do? Substitute teach or patch holes in the castle? Don't tell me this month's ledger is in the red again and you want me to go to the Mage Academy with my tail between my legs begging for money?"

The academy had indeed been plagued with problems lately.

Last month it was an explosion in the alchemy laboratory, the month before that was another section of the training ground wall collapsing, and before that countless other "minor issues" that required her magical repairs.

"None of that... well, though we do need to patch up the hole on the north side, but that's not the most important thing."

Bernard entered the library and sat down in the chair across from her.

He looked more somber than usual, which made Evette put down her book involuntarily.

"Then what is it?"

She looked up, a flash of concern in her green eyes.

Though she always complained, she did care about this man who was constantly working hard for the academy.

"I need you to find someone."

"Find someone?" Evette raised an eyebrow. "Bernard, you do realize I'm a magic professor, not a detective, right? Besides, the academy's been so busy lately—where would I find time to run around looking for people? Aren't substitute teaching and commissions enough?"

"It's William Grey's granddaughter." Bernard's voice became gentle, carrying a rare warmth. "About sixteen years old, should be somewhere around the Greenfield region..."

"William Grey?" Evette put down the book in her hands. "Who?"

Bernard took the pocket watch from his chest and gently placed it on the table.

"This is what he left behind. You should be able to cast a spell to establish blood lineage sensing."

Evette picked up the pocket watch and examined it carefully.

The craftsmanship was exquisite, but the surface wear revealed its age.

She could sense the residual magical traces in the watch—this could indeed be used to cast blood lineage tracking spells.

"That's it?" She looked up at Bernard. "Are you sure you're not still drunk and pulling my leg? A pocket watch, a rough age estimate, and a vague 'somewhere in that area' location?"

"There's also this." Bernard pulled a small piece of paper from his pocket. "These are the physical characteristics I can remember about her. Black hair, might have inherited some of William's traits..."

Evette took the note and glanced at it, unable to suppress an eye roll.

"Black hair? Bernard, do you know how many sixteen-year-old girls with black hair there are in this world? This clue is worse than useless!"

"Please, this is very important to me."

Bernard's tone carried a rare pleading quality that made Evette stop her complaints.

She reexamined the man before her.

Though Bernard often seemed unreliable, he never joked about truly important matters.

And he rarely spoke in such a pleading tone.

"Important?" Evette leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. "Important enough that you won't give me a single decent clue? Bernard, who exactly is William Grey? Why is finding his granddaughter so important to you?"

Bernard fell silent for a moment, his gaze becoming profound, as if lost in distant memories.

"William... was my savior." His voice was soft. "Without him, there would be no Morell Demon Hunting Academy today, and no me."

Evette rested her chin on her interlocked hands, indicating for him to continue.

"That was fourteen years ago." Bernard's voice carried the warmth of reminiscence. "I was only twenty-two then, had just started as a demon hunter not long before. Young and hot-headed, always thinking I could handle anything on my own."

Evette listened quietly without interrupting.

She knew Bernard wasn't someone who liked telling stories. If he was willing to talk about the past, there must be a special reason.

"A border village was hit by a large-scale monster attack, with several villagers killed and wounded. The commission fee wasn't high, but I wanted to prove my abilities at the time, so I took on the task alone." Bernard smiled bitterly. "Looking back now, I was really too arrogant then."

"What happened?"

Evette asked, though she could roughly guess the outcome.

"The number of monsters far exceeded my expectations. Not a dozen or so, but dozens, and they coordinated like an organized force."

Bernard unconsciously touched his left arm, where there was a deep scar.

"Though I fought desperately, I was eventually outnumbered. My last memory was collapsing in a pool of blood, thinking I was going to die in that wilderness."

"Then this William saved you?"

"Yes." Bernard nodded, gratitude appearing on his face. "The villagers thought I was dead and hired William to clear out the remaining monsters. William found me barely alive among the monster corpses in the wilderness and brought me back to his home."

Evette began to picture the scene in her mind.

A young Bernard lying in a stranger's bed, being carefully tended to by an experienced old demon hunter.

"What method did William use to save you?"

She asked, wanting to understand the specific treatment method.

"Traditional healing methods and herbs. William's daughter-in-law Mary was a local folk healer, and her medicinal concoctions saved my life. William himself, with his rich experience, successfully eliminated the remaining monster threat. They not only saved my life but also completely resolved that monster crisis."

"How long did you stay at his house?"

"Nearly a month." Bernard's face showed a warm smile. "That was my first experience of true family warmth. William and Mary treated me like family, and his son Thomas would often chat with me when he returned from outside, and there was also..."

He paused, his smile becoming even gentler.

"There was also William's two-year-old granddaughter, Aria. That little one had just learned to walk and was always toddling around everywhere. Black hair, bright sparkling eyes—she wasn't afraid of me, this strange uncle, at all. She would often climb up to my bedside and reach out her hands, wanting me to play with her."

Evette listened quietly, feeling a touch of warmth at this cozy scene.

She rarely saw Bernard show such a gentle expression.

"During my recovery, William and I talked a lot about the duties and ideals of demon hunters. When I told him about my dream of establishing a demon hunting academy, he was very supportive." Bernard's gaze became determined. "He said the lone wolf approach had too many limitations. If there could be a place to train young demon hunters, where they could learn from and protect each other, the world would become a better place."

"So you promised to take care of his family?"

Evette keenly grasped the key point.

"Yes." Bernard nodded. "I specifically promised that if the academy was successfully established, William's family, especially little Aria, would definitely benefit from it. I wanted to give that lovely child a safe future."

Evette looked at Bernard's serious expression, and her resistance began to waver.

She understood this man—though he was hopelessly dense when it came to emotions, he never backed down from promises and responsibilities.

"But now..." Bernard's voice became heavy. "William has passed away, in a battle protecting villagers... His son Thomas and daughter-in-law Mary also sacrificed their lives in a conflict a few years ago. Only Aria is left alone, and I don't even know where she is now or how she's doing."

"How do you know she's still alive?"

"I've been quietly gathering information. Recently someone spotted a black-haired girl of the right age in the Greenfield region, and the timeline matches up." Bernard gripped the pocket watch tightly. "Evette, I must find her. This isn't just about fulfilling a promise—it's because... I owe William my life."

Evette remained silent for a long time.

She looked at the determination and guilt in Bernard's eyes, her heart torn between conflicting feelings.

On one hand, this was indeed a thankless task.

Vague clues, unclear target, low success rate.

But on the other hand...

"If it weren't for Adrianna's sake..." she muttered quietly, then sighed. "Fine, fine! But let's be clear—if I can't find her, you owe me a month's worth of good wine!"

"Deal!" Bernard's face immediately broke into a brilliant smile. "Evette, I knew you wouldn't refuse!"

"Don't celebrate too early!" Evette stood up and began organizing the books on the table. "I haven't guaranteed I'll definitely find her. And if this errand makes me miss any important academy business, you can expect me to nag you for the rest of your life!"