"Am I right? But it seems like you're not close to them."

"I've only seen my mother once, and I've never seen my father at all," Richard replied with an expression that showed he didn't care much about them.

The time he saw Rebecca as a newborn baby naturally didn't count, so he had indeed only seen her once in person.

Sophia nodded slightly at his answer, then said, "I'm curious—you're still alive, and your talent is extraordinary, but why did your mother claim you were dead?"

As she said that, Sophia looked at Richard with a curious expression, as if she wanted to know whether he knew the reason.

"You should ask her yourself," Richard replied.

"It must be a painful reason..." Sophia immediately made her own guess.

"But your mother really is a selfish and arrogant woman. If she weren't beautiful and talented, people would've hated her," she said.

"It sounds like you hate her?" Richard responded.

He thought so not only because of Sophia's words, but also because her expression faintly showed a trace of resentment.

"Many people hate her," Sophia replied with a chuckle.

"How about you come in and watch the show? For you, there's no entrance fee." She then changed the topic.

However, Richard shook his head.

"I just want to look around the island, not watch a show," he said, politely refusing.

"It seems your only interest is in matters of strength..." Sophia chuckled at his response.

"By the way, there's someone on this island who owns a treasure," she added.

"A treasure? What kind of treasure?" Richard couldn't help but be surprised, since she suddenly brought that up.

"A very special treasure—it's an Eye that can see through walls. Though using it consumes a large amount of energy, and it must be fueled by Spirit Essence, it's still impressive."

"Who owns it?" Richard immediately asked upon hearing that, not expecting such an item to exist.

Of course, Magi could easily see through walls using their Sixth Sense, but a magic formation could block that.

That was also something that blanketed an area, making it detectable by other Magi.

However, if it was a literal eye that could see through walls, the result would naturally be different. It could bypass detection entirely.

"His name is Bear—no, that's just his title. I don't know his real name. He's one of the biggest brothel bosses on this island. His strength isn't that great, just a lower level World Realm Magus, but his background isn't small."

"What's his background?" Richard asked.

"He's the older brother of the Red Star Empress. The woman named Layla from the auction last night is also his younger sister. Even Layla alone is troublesome to deal with. They're one of the most influential Ducal Families in the capital."

"Ohh..."

Richard, who had initially been filled with greed and ready to rob the man, suddenly became hesitant.

Layla aside, the Red Star Empress—even without her status—was still a formidable figure in the kingdom.

"Ohh, there he is," Sophia suddenly said while looking past Richard.

Richard quickly turned around and saw a group of middle-aged men in luxurious robes, each exuding the air of wealthy mafiosos—many of them had tattoos or cold expressions that suggested they were not people to be offended.

He saw the bearded man he'd noticed at the auction last night—Henry—chatting with a red-haired, slightly fat man whose belly protruded a little.

Henry addressed the fat man as Sir Bear, while the latter called him General.

They seemed cheerful, laughing heartily, and then turned their eyes toward Sophia, smiling brightly as they quickened their pace.

They were slightly surprised to see her with a young boy, but they quickly dismissed Richard, clearly deeming him unimportant.

Compared to him, they spent more time eyeing his horse.

"Ohh, Sophia, I've missed your theater performances so much. I just want to know if Love Lady will perform today," said the fat man.

"She will..." Sophia nodded in response.

"Sir Bear, General Henry, please, go right in..." She gestured politely toward the theater entrance.

It seemed she was too lazy for small talk, though they clearly wanted to engage in it.

"No need to rush, no need to rush. People are still coming," Henry said with a laugh.

Sophia fell silent at that.

"But this horse looks amazing—what Tier is it? I think this would make a perfect mount for my son," Bear suddenly said, this time eyeing Athena, though he looked at Sophia as if assuming the horse was hers.

"It's not mine..." Sophia shook her head before glancing at Richard.

"Ohhh..." Bear finally looked at Richard again.

"Boy, is this your horse?" he asked in a commanding tone.

Toward Richard, he didn't bother pretending to sound polite. His tone was that of someone used to barking orders.

"Yeah..." Richard nodded.

"Are you selling it? How much do you want? How about I give you 5,000 Spirit Essence?"

Richard: "..."

"Sir, why don't we just fight for it, and the winner gets to rob the loser?" Richard replied.

Cough! Sophia coughed instinctively after hearing Richard's words.

Even she reacted—so did everyone else.

No one expected a boy to challenge Bear to a duel with such a ridiculous condition.

Bear and Henry froze for a moment, both rubbing their ears.

"He's Richard..."

When everyone looked at him, someone recognized him. If that was his name, then everyone in the capital had practically heard it.

"So that's him—the so-called prodigy of the kingdom."

"He really is a prodigy. I saw him fight myself. Even in the fairy tales I write, there's no boy that powerful."

"I heard he's already advanced to the Life Aether Realm and become even stronger."

"Isn't it still too much for him to challenge Bear? The man might not be that talented, but he's reached the World Realm."

"He's just a kid. What do you expect from his mind?"

"..."

"Hahaha..." Bear suddenly burst into loud laughter, as if he were genuinely excited.

"Are you sure about that, boy?" he said.

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