"You're welcome."
Ian maintained his politeness.
"Young man." The mayor looked up at Ian, his tone steady, "We all saw that battle just now. You not only defeated the Evil Dragon but also saved our homeland."
His voice was loud.
The tone was also full of gratitude.
"I was just doing what I could easily do."
Ian smiled slightly.
After all, he had settled in this small town, and of course, he would help when he encountered matters he could assist with. The atmosphere of this town was indeed very comfortable for him.
"No." The old mayor shook his head and said firmly, "You are a hero who helped our entire town, the hero who defeated that powerful Evil Dragon."
The mayor spoke with such passion that a cheer erupted from the crowd. Men and women, young and old, applauded and shouted, expressing their gratitude.
"Where do you come from?"
The mayor suddenly asked.
He seemed very curious about Ian's origins. He didn't seem to view Ian as a Legendary Fantastic Beast like others might, perhaps because he understood more about this world than most.
Otherwise, how could he be the mayor?
"My home?"
Ian paused for a moment.
"A very distant place, I'm looking for the way back home."
His voice was somewhat wistful.
The home he referred to was, of course, the era in which Hogwarts existed.
However.
The old mayor clearly misunderstood this.
"I know, I've guessed." The old mayor squinted his eyes, "Your aura is different from the people here. You're from beyond the storm, aren't you?"
He did seem to know a lot that other small town residents didn't.
To this.
Ian was also somewhat surprised.
"Beyond the storm?"
Ian raised an eyebrow slightly.
"You know about the outside?"
This was the first time in this small town that he met someone who knew there was a world beyond the storm.
"Of course."
The old mayor nodded with a smile, "Our ancestors once ventured beyond the storm to the outside world. It's said to be vast, but also more dangerous than here."
"My ancestor's notes described powerful humans like you outside, and Fantastic Beasts and dinosaurs rampaging, even Giants capable of tearing the world apart."
Clearly.
He wasn't making things up.
His ancestors really ventured beyond the storm — though Ian wondered if this was related to the Titan residing here, as he always felt this group of people was protected by the storm as the children of the Titan.
"Yes, I come from beyond the storm."
Ian nodded thoughtfully.
"The storm is a terrifying barrier, shielding us from external dangers," the mayor chuckled, "For you to arrive here is itself a miracle."
He obviously also knew the storm might be a form of protection for them.
The other town residents had no objections to this.
"You're right, I ended up here by accident," Ian sighed, referring not to the storm but the much more formidable force of the Bronze Gate.
Just a mere storm.
In his Animagus form, it meant nothing. Ian thought of the Titan, wanting to ask more questions, but the mayor suddenly raised the Scepter.
"Don't worry, child, you'll find your way home, but now——" the mayor suddenly raised his voice, "We must celebrate once again defeating evil!"
"As a hero, you must be treated with the best hospitality!" The mayor's loud cry had no opposition, and everyone gathered around Ian, starting to applaud.
"Celebrate?"
As the focal person, Ian was somewhat stunned.
"When to celebrate?"
He truly didn't understand why, after a disaster, people would want to celebrate, and it seemed the entire small town wanted to celebrate the defeat of the Evil Dragon rather than mourn the victims.
Uh.
Oh right.
There seemed to be no victims.
Ian looked around, somewhat stunned.
"Of course, the celebration should start immediately, otherwise, how is it a celebration?" The mayor laughed heartily at Ian's inquiry and gave an answer.
His words made sense, and Ian found himself unable to refute.
"But the houses over there are still smoking." He raised a hand to point at the wreckage of the houses burnt by the Evil Dragon not far away, with collapsed beams, debris everywhere, and the air still filled with the smell of burning.
"Ha!" The mayor laughed heartily, "We can rebuild the houses, and use this debris for bonfires to celebrate, saving us the time to gather wood, right?"
Ian was speechless for a moment, thinking that although the logic was strange, it actually made some sense.
"It's decided then!" The mayor clapped his hands, "Tonight, the entire village will join the celebration, offering our hero the most sumptuous food, the finest wine, and the most enthusiastic applause!"
And so, warmly surrounded by the people, Ian found himself pulled into this sudden celebration. As night fell, bonfires were lit, the entire town was brightly lit, and aromas of roasted meat and herbs filled the air. Artisans directed a group of Steel Fantastic Beasts to turn the dragon's ashes into festival decorations.
Water Elves extinguished the dangerous fires while creating fountain-like water performances. People sat around the square; children chased and played in the firelight, while the elderly drank and embellished the battle's details, vividly depicting Ian's solo victory over the Evil Dragon, like an epic Legend.
Xiao Ya and Odin sat together, covering their mouths, laughing at the exaggerated versions. The town regained its long-lost calm, save for the bonfire dancing in the central square.
Illuminating faces that were exhausted yet calm.
Meanwhile, a few Healers were busily caring for injured residents and Fantastic Beasts. A flying creature named "Fog Feather Beast" with injured wings was receiving treatment; an elderly man with a burn from the dragon's flames had his arm smeared with a pale green ointment called "Healing Ointment."
The wounds healed rapidly.
"This medicine is too potent." Ian watched in disbelief from the side, "These are just herbal concoctions, yet they work just as well as Advanced Potion."
He was genuinely amazed from the bottom of his heart.
"How exactly are your medicines made?"
Ian approached a Pharmacist.
"Oh, it's the hero boy." The Pharmacist looked up, revealing a wrinkled yet kind face, "It's simple, just crush a few plants and blend with spring water."
"Just as I observed, it's really that simple?"
The reason Ian asked was because he couldn't accept the strength of this medicine's effect.
"Yes," the Pharmacist laughed, "But our plants are different, each one grows on land rich in Magic Power. As long as the method is correct, the effect won't be weak."
Ian nodded, yet his heart was even more shocked.
The method of making these people's medicines might not be complex, nor did it involve magic, but each solution bore impressive effects. The pale green "Healing Ointment" on a wound saw flesh and blood regenerate within minutes; the purple "Morning Dew Juice" dropped into an injured person's mouth awakened them from a coma instantly.
With mere herbal remedies.
Comparable to magic potions?
"Such a waste of precious resources, with these death-defying potions, my uncle and I could attempt some research." Ian squatted, watching a silver-white wolf-shaped creature called "Frost Shadow Beast" licking its newly healed paw, as if the battle earlier was just an illusion.
However.
The truly shocking thing for Ian was something else — those receiving treatment all having been swept by the dragon's tail, why were human injuries lighter than those of the Fantastic Beasts?
Ian silently observed those receiving treatment: both residents and Fantastic Beasts. He noticed a detail, wherever the dragon's tail directly struck, whether trees, houses, or the ground, it left deep scars, yet where it landed on humans, it often resulted in no significant bone or muscle damage.
Humans seemingly stronger than the Fantastic Beasts' bodies.
Isn't this a little too much like that game?
Or rather.
Is this really the precursor to the Aesir?