《Female Warrior》 Volume 1, Prologue: In a Flash

Volume 1, Prologue: In a sh

Trantor: dahlys If you could return to the day you met, what would the two of you do? ¡°Ah! Fate is unfathomable like that. Never would anyone be able to guess that such an ordinary encounter could lead to such an extraordinary future. Although our encounter that day contributed to a resplendent future, I sometimes find myself reminiscing about ordinary days. If time could be rewound, would I choose to step foot into that tavern where we met¡­ Ah, no! Even if that tavern had not existed, we would definitely have met anyway, because our encounter was indispensable fate!¡± ¨CBard ¡°With my de, I¡¯ll cut the tavern, destiny, and this bastard in half all at the same time.¡± ¨CRed Cloak Dear Holy King¡­ May your radiance always shine upon the Kingdom of Holy Light. Do you remember? In this world where both light and darkness exist, The one defending your back, What was her name again? When they first met¡­ The knight smiled a dazzling smile, The swordsman bravely swung her dual des, The cleric gently healed all pains and wounds, And the bard sang about their adventures. When all yourpanions had gathered by your side, Do you remember? That de that slew your enemies, What was her name again? Ah! Destiny¡­ The knight walked the path of a king; A road filled with blood and danger. When their eyes met, there was no need for speech. Without any need for oath or pledge, Thepanions fought countless battles. Do you remember? She who always followed you faithfully, What was her name again? Please marry me¡­ As time passed the knight became king, And thepanions scattered apart. Even then, that woman never changed. On the throne, the Holy King and Queen. On the red carpet, she who knelt loyally. Do you remember? After that three word request was asked of her, She was named the Warrior Queen! Dear Holy King¡­ May your radiance always shine upon the Kingdom of Holy Light. The person wearing a red cloak sat quietly at the bar counter of the tavern, a seat specially meant for lonely people who had no acquaintances. Behind him, a wandering bard was singing the story of the Holy King. His voice was rather good, his tone clear and prating. His singing skills were also very good, so good that even Red Cloak, a person who had traveled all over the world, didn¡¯t dare to say that he had heard a voice more beautiful than this bard¡¯s. However, it was obvious that the travelers in the tavern did not appreciate his singing. It was just one song, so it was fine even if it garnered no apuse, but it actually attracted many shushing sounds and res instead. ¡°Looks like you chose the wrong song¡­¡± muttered Red Cloak in a low and somewhat hoarse voice, making it quite impossible to tell whether the voice belonged to a man or woman. ¡°Is that so? But this is my favorite song, ¡®Bad of the Warrior Queen¡¯!¡± Red Cloak didn¡¯t seem the least bit surprised to hear that clear and prating voice from behind him. Under his hood, the corners of Red Cloak¡¯s mouth merely turned up a little and he inly said, ¡°To my knowledge, the ¡®Bad of the Warrior Queen¡¯ is not sung like this.¡± As if it were only natural, the bard said after sitting down next to Red Cloak, ¡°The one that I sang is the real ¡®Bad of the Warrior Queen,¡¯ definitely!¡± Smiling, Red Cloak shook his head and softly sang. The Warrior Queen, that is her title. With one graceful movement, she nced at the knight And was forever entranced by his greatness and blond hair. Following the man she loved, she fought an uphill battle. For the man she loved, she brandished her weapon. For the beautiful cleric, her good sister, she smiled As she watched the cleric and the knight¡¯s lovely union. When the Holy King and Queen exchanged their vows, The Warrior Queen raised her weapons and protected the couple, Until thest of their enemies had retreated. Together, the Holy King and Queen ruled their peaceful kingdom. The Warrior Queen gazed far into the distance, saying ¡°My mission has been aplished. It is time for me to return to God¡¯s side.¡± Thus a beautiful silhouette turned into a shooting star, And flew into the horizon. After singing in a low voice, Red Cloak smiled and said, ¡°This is the ¡®Bad of the Warrior Queen¡¯ that everyone knows, right?¡± Unexpectedly, the bardughed and said, ¡°Ha! She is indeed a good woman. One can send her to war, and then marry another beautiful wife, and she doesn¡¯t even feel jealous. After one has no more use for her, one can just tell her to scram back to heaven. What a perfect woman indeed!¡± Red Cloak was stunned for a moment. He had only intended to make a randomment, so he had not even had a good look at the bard¡¯s face. However, he was now extremely curious about this bard who had dared to say something so outrageous, so he could not help but turn to look at him. Seeing Red Cloak turn to look at him, the bard also turned and smiled charismatically at Red Cloak. Red Cloak smiled faintly back at him. The young man in front of Red Cloak looked just like a typical wandering bard. On his back, he carried a lute, the mostmon instrument for a bard. A fairly pretty bronze bell hung at his waist. The bard himself had a head of beautiful blond hair, which was carelessly draped over his shoulder, and his bright eyes were as blue as the azure sky. Judging by his youthful face, he was at most only slightly over twenty years of age. Also, he gave off the feeling that he was somewhere between a boy and a man. When he smiled, he seemed like a boy who had yet to mature, but if he became serious, even he would probably give off the feeling of a grown man then. ¡°You are so weird! Aren¡¯t cloaks usually green or brown, so that you can use it to cover your tracks?¡± The blond bard looked at Red Cloak curiously. Although the cloak was not bright red but rather a darker shade of red, it would still stand out like a sore thumb in both forests and on grasnds. ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s because I have no need to cover my tracks,¡± said Red Cloak inly, without much exnation. ¡°Weirdo.¡± The bard wasn¡¯t really bothered by this, and he simply grinned like a little boy. After Red Cloak had finished admiring that innocent little boy smile, he did not speak any further. He just lowered his head and began to eat the food on his te. ¡°How about treating me to a drink?¡± said the bard suddenly, although he did not really expect to get what he wanted. After all, every time he sang the ¡°Bad of the Warrior Queen,¡± the visitors in the tavern never appreciated it. Never mind throwing him some bronze ducats, if they didn¡¯t chase him out of the tavern, it would already be considered an above average day. This was because the Holy King and Queen¡¯s excellent reputation was known far and wide, and many loved them. This ¡°Bad of the Warrior Queen,¡± with its defamatory nature, was not a song that could be arbitrarily sung. Thus, he only dared to sing it in small taverns located in remote areas. If he actually sang this song in the capital, it wouldn¡¯t be strange even if he were killed, right? Red Cloak raised his head slightly and asked, ¡°Is ale and a bowl of minced meat noodles okay?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind an extra bowl of minced meat noodles.¡± The bard beamed. Today is my lucky day! ¡°With your voice, if you sang some normal bads, getting enough food to eat wouldn¡¯t be a problem,¡± said Red Cloak simply. Although the content of this statement seemed like advice, Red Cloak¡¯s tone made it sound like a simple statement of fact. ¡°I do sing normal bads.¡± The bard blinked, swallowed the minced meat noodles in his mouth, and said resolutely, ¡°However, it is my self-imposed rule to sing the ¡®Bad of the Warrior Queen¡¯ for three days after arriving at a city. Only then can I sing normal bads.¡± ¡°If that is the case, then why is getting food to eat a problem?¡± Red Cloak was extremely puzzled about this. Although he was also curious as to why the bard must first sing the ¡°Bad of the Warrior Queen¡± for three days, he did not want to get too close to the bard, so he simply avoided asking about that. A little embarrassed, the bard twirled a lock of his blond hair around a finger and said, ¡°Well, I haven¡¯t entered arge city in a long time, and it just so happened that I ran out of my favorite rose fragrance hair oil, so I decided to buy a little more of that. I spent all my money buying the hair oil, forgetting that I still had to sing the ¡®Bad of the Warrior Queen¡¯ for three days¡­¡± ¡°After starving for three days, I bet that you would even drink hair oil,¡± replied Red Cloak in an annoyed tone after hearing the bard give such an exnation. ¡°How about this, if you let me stay with you in your room for three days, and buy me a tankard of ale and a bowl of minced meat noodles a day, I will sing the ¡®Bad of the Warrior Queen¡¯ for you every single day, okay?¡± asked the bard, having made the decision to ¡°freeload off this person for three days even if he got scolded for being shameless.¡± After all, being called shameless is much better than being hungry enough to drink hair oil! ¡°Just who wants to listen to the ¡®Bad of the Warrior Queen¡¯?¡± Red Cloak secretly rolled his eyes. ¡°You!¡± As if the answer were obvious, the bard said, ¡°If you didn¡¯t like listening to the ¡®Bad of the Warrior Queen,¡¯ would you have treated me to minced meat noodles?¡± On hearing this, Red Cloak fell silent. ¡°How about this then, I¡¯ll sing whatever song you want to hear! Don¡¯t you like listening to my voice?¡± The bard really didn¡¯t know what he had said wrong, to have caused Red Cloak to be so quiet. Afraid that he would have to drink hair oil for the next three days, the bard had no choice but to change his offer as ast resort. ¡°Just when have I said that I liked listening to your voice, huh?¡± Red Cloak secretly rolled his eyes again. This bard seems to have a hobby of ¡°guessing other people¡¯s thoughts.¡± Feeling extremely wounded, the bard said, ¡°But not too long ago, you said, ¡®With your voice, if you sang some normal bads, getting enough food to eat wouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡¯ Doesn¡¯t that mean that you like listening to my voice?¡± Annoyed, Red Cloak said, ¡°No.¡± After speaking, and not wanting to get himself further involved with the bard, Red Cloak left enough money to pay for two people¡¯s food and beverages and turned to leave¡­ when a corner of his cloak was grabbed. A little angry, Red Cloak turned and was about to make the bard let go, but instead saw him pathetically tugging on his cloak, hisrge, watery, blue eyes looking like they were about to burst into tears. The bard begged softly, ¡°Please! You really can¡¯t bear to see me be hungry enough to drink hair oil, right? Just take care of me for three days! Pretty please?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Volume 1, 1: Light and Shadow Part 1

Volume 1, Chapter 1: Light and Shadow Part 1

Trantor: Doza ¡°You really are a good person!¡± The wandering bard happily surveyed his room. That¡¯s right! It was a room for him alone. He had not expected that the entric Red Cloak would not only take him in, but even help him book another room. Initially, he had felt that even sleeping on the floor would be good enough! Sure enough, his luck today was pretty good. ¡°¡­ Ramble on any more and I¡¯ll ughter you with my de.¡± The bard eximed in surprise, ¡°Eh? You use des? Normally everyone wants to use a ¡®sword¡¯ to chop me up!¡± Looks like this fellow has frequently angered other people. Red Cloak didn¡¯t know whether tough or cry. ¡°Since you have treated me so well, I will sing the Bad of the Warrior Queen to you once more as a luby before you go to sleep!¡± ¡°No need¡­¡± However, the bard had already opened his mouth and started softly singing the Bad of the Warrior Queen which had an extremely mellow melody. ¡°The Warrior Queen, is what she¡¯s called¡­¡± Since he had already started singing, Red Cloak also stopped protesting. He simply sat on the bedside, quietly listening to that song that was as tranquil as still water. Hee! I knew this person likes the Bad of the Warrior Queen. Looks like I may have all three meals provided for me for the next three days! The bard sighed delightedly in his heart. Ah! Sure enough, fate is in my favor at the moment. There was evidence to confirm that Red Cloak was, as expected, a generous host. Not only did he provide three meals, he didn¡¯t mind even when the bard additionally ordered some expensive wine along with his meal. He seemingly did not have much of a notion about money. A silver ducat for a ss of wine. Even some of the lesser nobility could not afford to drink at these prices. However, when the bard asked if he could add on an order of one ss of wine, Red Cloak merely replied, ¡°Do as you wish.¡± He is definitely super rich! And thus the bard decided totch on to this person till death. ¡°You really take a mile when given an inch!¡± Red Cloak nced at the wine in the bard¡¯s hand, but as usual used an unconcerned tone to say, ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯ll still want dessert after this?¡± ¡°Ah!¡± The bard sighed over the good wine, and replied very politely, ¡°Actually there¡¯s no need for that. I¡¯m not interested in dessert.¡± Red Cloak reclined against the back of the chair and said in a calm tone, ¡°That¡¯s quite strange, I had thought you would like dessert a lot.¡± ¡°Why would you think so?¡± The bard asked curiously. ¡°Because the impression you give is like a slice of cake.¡± The bard smiled sweetly. ¡°Oh, are you saying I¡¯m as sweet and beautiful as a cake?¡± Red Cloak let out a quick ¡°Haha¡± and replied, ¡°You are just like a cake, all show and no substance. Eating an apple is more filling.¡± ¡°This is a total misunderstanding. I am indeed showy, but also very dependable.¡± The bard strongly protested. Without a trace of politeness, Red Cloak reprimanded, ¡°A guy who spends all his money on hair oil to the point where he has no money for food has absolutely nothing to do with the word ¡®dependable¡¯!¡± ¡°That¡­¡± The bard¡¯s face turned pained, the merciless example rendering him absolutely speechless. With nothing to say in response, all he could do was rub his nose. In any case he couldn¡¯t do anything to Red Cloak. The two of them silently bowed their heads and ate the food on their tes. When Red Cloak had almost finished eating, he looked up to ask, ¡°Are you still going to the tavern to sing the Bad of the Warrior Queen? Is today the second day?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± The bard nodded his head, and could not help asking out of curiosity, ¡°How about you? What are you going to do?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to see if there are any missions I can ept!¡± Red Cloak shrugged, saying, ¡°If not, then we might have to starve.¡± ¡°¡­ Aren¡¯t you very rich?¡± The bard froze. How could it be different from what he had assumed? Red Cloak casually took out a wallet, turning it upside down and producing just a single clink of ducats. ¡°One gold ducat and one silver ducat?¡± The bard counted again and again. The amount was so straightforward that counting wrongly would really require some talent¡­ Goodness! They hadn¡¯t paid for their food yet, and just now he had even ordered a ss of wine worth a silver ducat! Furthermore, they had eaten two tes of minced meat noodles, two bowls of thick soup, two rolls of white bread and a te of beef. None of these dishese cheap, and they probably add up to almost another silver ducat? If that¡¯s the case¡­ ¡°We are left with only nine silver ducats?¡± The bard cried out in rm. ¡°It is ¡®I¡¯ who am left with only nine silver ducats,¡± Red Cloak emphasized clearly. ¡°The r-room¡­¡± The bard was panicking so much that he stuttered. ¡°Rx, I paid for a week of the room¡¯s fee in advance,¡± Red Cloak replied very understandingly. The bard heaved a sigh of relief, pleased with the additional wealth as he patted his chest. ¡°Then having nine silver ducats is enough. I¡¯ll sing the Bad of the Warrior Queen for two more days, and then I can start earning money.¡± He shot a nce at Red Cloak and could not resistmenting, ¡°But then again, you are also too careless about money. Since you only have one gold and one silver ducat left, why did you still let me order that ss of expensive wine? Ahhh! Don¡¯t tell me you booked two rooms for the entire week?¡± After receiving Red Cloak¡¯s nod of confirmation, the bard tossed both hands in the air with a sage-like expression ofmentation on his face. Then he bowed his head and continued mumbling to himself, ¡°There was absolutely no need to book an extra room. It would have been fine for two people to cram together a bit, right? It¡¯s really such an excessive waste of money. Now I don¡¯t know whether the innkeeper is even willing to give us a refund. Probably not¡­ Did you know, a gold ducat is actually enough for a family tofortably live for more than half a year? If it is a thrifty family, it could be enough tost even eight or nine months. How can you spend it all just like that? If you were very rich, then it wouldn¡¯t matter, but you already have no money, so how can you still be so extravagant?! Even though it is hard to live frugally after being ustomed to luxury, since you¡¯re already out of funds, you still have to learn to be thrifty¡­¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you order another ss of wine?¡± Red Cloak calmly asked. ¡°No way, how can I still drink wine? We¡¯re going to run out of money soon!¡± The bard was very anxious. There was only a gold ducat and silver ducat left on the table¡­ No, it was actually nine silver ducats! ¡°Don¡¯t say that. We got acquainted for better or for worse, so it¡¯s a must to give a ss of farewell wine.¡± ¡°Farewell?¡± Stunned, the bard asked nkly, ¡°Ah, but I¡¯m not leaving? Don¡¯t tell me that you are leaving?¡± ¡°I know you are not leaving, and I am also not leaving.¡± Red Cloak finished speaking collectedly, then suddenly grabbed the bard¡¯s cor, and fiercely growled, ¡°But if you startining again, then I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll be unable to resist hacking you to death with one strike of my de, sending you to theherworld!¡± The bard obediently closed his mouth. ¡°I won¡¯tin anymore, so let¡¯s eat!¡± Red Cloak didn¡¯t respond at all. ¡°Will youe to listen to the song?¡± The bard still couldn¡¯t resist asking another question. Having a person who liked to listen to the Bad of the Warrior Queen sitting in the audience was always better than having the whole ce filled with booing, though as a rather cold fellow, Red Cloak probably wouldn¡¯t apud. ¡°I¡¯ll see if I can goter.¡± Red Cloak looked outside the door, saying, ¡°Besides going to the guild, I still have some other business to take care of.¡± The bard didn¡¯t dare ask Red Cloak what he was going to do, because when Red Cloak had spoken, his voice had dropped several pitches. He thought it definitely couldn¡¯t be anything that would make the listener happy. ¡°Since you aren¡¯t leaving, I¡¯m going to go first.¡± As Red Cloak spoke, he seemed to have shot a nce at the bard¡¯s wine. The wine ss was still one-third full, but he had no intention of waiting for the bard to slowly finish it. He pushed away the te in front of him, left his seat, and headed for the door of the inn. ¡°See youter!¡± After loudly bidding Red Cloak goodbye, the bard continued to drink his wine, but when he looked down he saw two shiny ducats on the table. He hastily stood up and yelled, ¡°Wait, you didn¡¯t take your money!¡± Red Cloak didn¡¯t even look back and just replied nonchntly, ¡°Keep it for your lunch money!¡± ¡°Then what¡­ about you?¡± The bard¡¯s voice grew softer and softer as he spoke, as Red Cloak had already walked out. Even if he were to call out again, Red Cloak wouldn¡¯t be able to hear him. Why is he being so nice to me? Is it really just for a performance of the Bad of the Warrior Queen? The bard pondered over Red Cloak¡¯s every action, but still could not reach a verdict. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s not so much that he¡¯s being nice to me than the fact that his character is simply rather casual?¡± Believing that he had already figured it out, the bard beckoned a waitress over to finish settling the bill and then inquired about taverns in the vicinity where he could perform the Bad of the Warrior Queen. The night was dark, and the moon had risen up high. Red Cloak returned quitete and went to his own room unapanied, having no intention of greeting the bard in the neighboring room. While removing his cloak, boots and other things, he looked at the list of missions in his hand. The more he looked the more his head started to ache¡­ It was not contemting how toplete the missions that made his head ache, but merely thinking about how to reach his destinations. At first, he had also used the sun, the moon and the stars to guide him in his journeys, butter on there were always people by his side. Since they were always better than him at navigating, this essential adventuring skill was shelved. He had never thought that many yearster there would be no one by his side. Not being able to get his bearings had suddenly be the biggest obstacle in his adventuring life! Not long after, there were a few knocks on the door. ¡°Who is it?¡± Red Cloak didn¡¯t even lift his head to ask. ¡°It¡¯s me¡­¡± Upon saying this, the person outside the door suddenly realized that he himself was apparently not so familiar with the person beyond the door as to be able to use ¡°me¡± as a substitute, so he quickly rified, ¡°The bard who sings the Bad of the Warrior Queen.¡± Red Cloak looked at his cloak, unsure of whether or not to put it on once more, though he felt that it was unnecessary since he didn¡¯t have any particr intention of hiding his appearance. He felt rather annoyed as he asked after much thought, ¡°Is something up?¡± The other party stammered a bit and inquired, ¡°Do y-you have any medicine to treat wounds?¡± ¡°Medicine to treat wounds?¡± Red Cloakughed. It couldn¡¯t actually be that because he sang the Bad of the Warrior Queen, the supporters of the Holy King and Queen beat him up, right? Red Cloak pondered for a moment, but still grabbed the cloak and draped it on. While rummaging through his luggage for wound medicine, he shouted, ¡°I have some,e in.¡± Red Cloak had found the wound medicine right when he heard the sound of the door opening, so he turned around to look¡­ ¡°What happened to your face?¡± He blurted out, astonished. The bard had a bloody nose and a swollen face. Compared to hisely appearance in the morning, he almost seemed like apletely different person. If it wasn¡¯t for that head of blond hair and the fact that he was dressed in the same clothes, Red Cloak truly would not have recognized him. His face already looks this bad. Who knows how severe the injuries hidden beneath his clothes are? But then again, no matter how one looked at the bard, he didn¡¯t seem like the sort to sh with others. This was apparent from everything ranging from his personality and profession all the way to his equipment that was entirely ill-suited for fighting. There wasn¡¯t much of a difference between allowing the bard to fight and letting him die. How could a bard, that practically has no fighting strength to speak of, end up with a bloody nose and a swollen face, looking as if he went through a desperate battle? Even singing the Bad of the Warrior Queen shouldn¡¯t have caused people to go as far as to beat him into this state, right? ¡°Could you help me apply the medicine?¡± The bard walked in, saw the wound medicine in Red Cloak¡¯s hands and pleaded, ¡°There are also wounds on my back, so I¡¯m unable to apply the medicine myself.¡± Hearing this, Red Cloak frowned and bluntly shouted, ¡°Come here, take off your shirt and pants and then sit on the bed.¡± The bard obediently did so. After taking off his shirt, the wounds originally hidden beneath his clothes became apparent. As expected, they were not much different from the wounds on his face, ck and blue all over. Red Cloak felt up the bard¡¯s body all over until thetter felt an unnerving sensation from head to toe and retreated several steps to withdraw into the corner of the bed, both his hands crossed over his chest. He asked with a shaky voice, ¡°W-what are you doing¡­ Don¡¯t tell me that you have some strange fetish?¡± Red Cloak rolled his eyes and grumpily said, ¡°I was just ascertaining whether or not your bones are broken, so don¡¯t give me that strange look. Furthermore, you don¡¯t look much different from a te of minced meat noodles right now. No one would have any interest in you! Also, what kind of man tries to cover up his chest? If you want to cover something, then shouldn¡¯t you be covering down there?¡± The bard instantly lowered his hands and switched to covering hisher regions. Seeing this, Red Cloak almost threw a punch. However, the bard¡¯s face simply did not have any uninjured areas for him to punch, and he was not cruel enough to add injuries to already existing wounds. He could only clench his fists tightly and growl sternly, ¡°Get over here so I can apply the medicine!¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± The bard nced at the other party¡¯s tightly clenched fists. Although Red Cloak¡¯s hands were notrge, and could even be considered small for a man, his finger joints were thick and rough, proof of his extensive training day in and day out. It was hard to say whether he could beat up a strong man, but at least it was no problem for him to beat up a bard. So the bard meekly shifted back to Red Cloak¡¯s side, and allowed thetter to apply the medicine on him. Red Cloak did his best to apply the medicine gently, but it was impossible to make it painless for this sort of wound. However, going beyond his expectations, the bard actually didn¡¯t yell out in pain¡­ Although there were tears hovering at the edges of his eyes the entire time. ¡°What happened?¡± Red Cloak asked as he applied the medicine. ¡°Got beaten up.¡± The bard answered obediently. ¡°I¡¯m not blind, I can see that!¡± Red Cloak red at him furiously even though the cloak was in the way, and the bard couldn¡¯t see his expression either. He coldly asked, ¡°Why did you get beaten up?¡± ¡°I sang the Bad of the Warrior Queen, and was seen by the city patrol¡­¡± ¡°So just because you sang the Bad of the Warrior Queen, the patrol beat you up until you became like this?¡± Red Cloak frowned. This was different from what he had thought. Could it be that the patrol just happened to be fanatic worshippers of the Holy King? ¡°No, they said that within this city, one must pay money to earn money. They even said that because I insulted the Holy King, I had to pay double the amount. But as you know already, I am unable to hand over any money at all, so they beat me up.¡± Generally speaking, patrols naturally didn¡¯t have any authority to extort money at all. It was just that every city¡¯s patrol more or less had these sorts of corrupt practices, making up strange rules in order to take money from weak-looking foreigners. These sorts of happenings were not umon at all. Under the rule of the Holy King, these happenings had been eradicated from the vicinity of the capital city. However, this ce wasn¡¯t near the capital, so unfortunately no matter how wise and capable the Holy King may be, at the end of it all he only had one pair of eyes. Thus, there was no way he could oversee ces like this. ¡°What about the money I gave you?¡± Red Cloak quietly asked, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you give it to them?¡± The bard fiercely retorted, ¡°How can I give it away? Had I given it to them, we wouldn¡¯t have any food to eat today and tomorrow. It doesn¡¯t matter if I don¡¯t have any food to eat, but how can I be responsible for you not having anything to eat as well?! It is your money, after all!¡± ¡°I still have a lot of rations.¡± Red Cloak replied mildly, his tone already bing much softer. He was now applying medicine onto a palm. This palm was too appalling to look at, swollen to the likeness of five sausages. This also pained the bard so much that he inhaled sharply. Red Cloak frowned deeply, criticizing, ¡°They have gone too far, dealing blows as heavy as these just because you were unable to pay any money.¡± However, the bard spoke up on behalf of the patrol, ¡°It wasn¡¯t like that! I wasn¡¯t beaten up this badly at first.¡± ¡°Then what exactly happened? Can¡¯t you say it all at once?¡± Red Cloak was finally starting to fume a little. In his whole lifetime he had never before seen a man that was as wishy-washy as this! Feeling a bit indignant, the bard said, ¡°It¡¯s because they demanded all my money from me, and thenid their dirty paws on ady dancer¡­ I couldn¡¯t just stand by idly and watch! So I went up and helped shield her for a bit, shouting at her to quickly leave. After that I was beaten up until I became like this.¡± Upon hearing this, Red Cloak grinned with a trace of ridicule. He already knew the answer, yet he still asked, ¡°Did that dancer escape?¡± The bard fell silent for a while, then spoke, ¡°No.¡± Red Cloak mildly chided, ¡°You¡¯re really foolish. Is this a world where a woman can walk alone? Most likely thatdy dancer came out to sell herself. There would certainly have been men following her, ensuring that money could be collected afterwards. She also has to continue earning money in this city, so she cannot afford to offend the patrol. It looks like she probably went off with the patrol, paying them with her body.¡± The bard turned silent, and Red Cloak also stopped his interrogation. He knew very clearly that the situation had unfolded just like this. There was no mistake about it. He wordlessly finished applying the medicine and then patted the bard¡¯s shoulder, saying, ¡°Done.¡± The bard stumbled from the pat, but more than that, a burning pain passed through his shoulder. Heined, ¡°Can¡¯t you be a bit gentler? I¡¯m wounded¡­¡± Red Cloak replied coldly, ¡°Since you know that it¡¯s painful, then don¡¯t do this sort of stupid thing again! Now return to your room, sleep well for several days, and don¡¯t go out at all for a while. If you bump into the patrol, you would get more than your share of pain!¡± The bard let out an ¡°Oh.¡± He stood up, gathered his shirt, and then walked towards the door. However, he suddenly stopped in his tracks halfway, hesitated for a while, and finally turned his head to ask, ¡°Do I really look a lot like minced meat noodles at the moment?¡± As he spoke, he touched his own face. It stung very painfully, which made him even more worried. What would happen if he ruined his face? He was a bard whose livelihood depended on his singing voice and good looks. ¡°It¡¯s slightly better than that.¡± Considering that the bard was beaten up because he wanted to do a good deed, Red Cloak didn¡¯t want to continue berating him, although in the end he was still a fool. ¡°Really? I¡¯m still quite handsome, right?¡± Upon hearing this, the bard beamed with delight. ¡°Mmhm.¡± ¡°How handsome?¡± Red Cloak nced at his face and tly said, ¡°As handsome as rainbow-colored bread.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Volume 1, 2: Light and Shadow Part 2

Volume 1, Chapter 2: Light and Shadow Part 2

Trantor: raylight The next morning, Red Cloak unhurriedly walked down the flight of stairs. Downstairs, it wasn¡¯t very crowded or noisy. The price range of the inn was considered above average, so ordinary adventurers would not stay there. Rather, those staying at this inn were mostly merchants. Compared to adventurers who liked to shout in loud voices, merchants were usually more low-key and wouldn¡¯t voluntarily cause trouble. Moreover, they were less likely to pay special attention to someone who liked to wear a red cloak, and they wouldn¡¯t stubbornly want to lift that person¡¯s cloak to see what was underneath it. This was precisely the main reason why Red Cloak, although an adventurer, had chosen to stay at this inn. He sat down in front of an empty table, and as he ate the rations that he had brought downstairs, he pondered over what he should do first. He had already used up what money he had, so it was high time he did some missions to earn money. Otherwise, if he were to travel far in the future, he wouldn¡¯t have enough money to buy rations and basic equipment. On the other hand¡­ He suddenly stopped contemting and eating, instead concentrating on listening to what the people sitting at the table beside him were saying. Three merchants sat there, and they were talking among themselves in hushed tones. Their expressions were extremely simr, as they appeared worried and were all frowning. They soon started exchanging information. ¡°Isn¡¯t the tax for entering this city a bit too high? Last year, we only needed to pay twenty silver ducats to enter the city with a cart of cargo, right? Now, the cost has actually increased to one gold ducat! E-even the tax for entering the capital isn¡¯t this expensive. If it were cheaper merchandise, the entire cart of goods could be bought with one gold ducat.¡± ¡°I think that I won¡¯t being to this city again. I would rather hasten my journey a little more, and then rest at the next city.¡± ¡°Quit dreaming. I just came over from the next city, and the tax there has also just increased. For one cart of goods, you need to pay eighty silver ducats.¡± ¡°What?¡± All of the merchants¡¯ faces fell, and they exchanged nces. One of them couldn¡¯t help but grumble in a low voice, ¡°Looks like the lords of the cities around this area are actually pretty united!¡± Another merchant, seemingly the oldest in the group, quickly whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t talk about it anymore. Compared to before, at least we can now live our daysfortably. Praise be to the Holy King!¡± The other two immediately followed with the chant, ¡°Praise be to the Holy King.¡± However, after saying that, the three merchants continued furrowing their brows. Having lost the mood to continue chatting, they finished eating in a hurry and then left to go about their own business. At this moment, Red Cloak started eating his rations once more; he was no longer pondering over what he ought to do first, but rather over this whole country ¨C the Kingdom of Holy Light. The Holy King¡­ His true name was in fact Lancel Ornister. Logically speaking, he ought to have been called King Lancel or King Ornister. However, in order to express their reverence toward him, the citizens usually addressed him as the Holy King. King Lancel officially established the country in the first year of his reign during the first year of the Sacred Calendar. However, it was only in the third year of the Sacred Calendar that he finally managed to unify the entire continent. Now, the twelfth year of the Sacred Calendar was not even over, yet there were already corrupt city lords appearing? Or perhaps it was Red Cloak who was asking for too much? This ce was really very far from the capital. The short nine years of governance may not have been enough to let King Lancel control everything within the country. Not to mention, within those nine years, there had been an invasion from another country, and they fought a war thatsted for one year and eight months. After ending a long era of chaos, he has only been in power for nine years and even fought a two-year war within that timeframe. Despite all that, he was still able to let the citizens livefortably. No matter how you said it, this is a truly incredible feat, and as such the citizens hold the Holy King in high esteem. ¡°You¡­ The one wearing the red cloak!¡± Hearing that, Red Cloak turned his head. As expected, he saw the bard, who was the only acquaintance of his who was around. The bard was walking down the stairs. Eh? Red Cloak sized up the bard. Yesterday, the bard¡¯s face was so swollen that it resembled a piece of bread, but the swelling had gone down by more than half today. What was left was only arge swelling on his forehead and a few bruises here and there. ¡°Your wounds sure recovered quickly.¡± He was a little astonished. Hearing these words, the bard proudly said, ¡°Well? I don¡¯t look like a piece of bread anymore, right?¡± ¡°That is true.¡± Red Cloak said indifferently. ¡°Do you know why I can recover this quickly? You don¡¯t know, right?¡± The bard started smiling foolishly, as though having a secret that Red Cloak knew nothing about was an unprecedented victory. However, Red Cloak gave no reply. He only silently chewed on his own rations. He indeed found it strange, but he had no intention of asking about it. Every adventurer had his own secret, and knowing fewer of others¡¯ secrets meant that he would be in less danger when adventuring. This wasmon knowledge that every experienced adventurer knew. Though the bard looked conflicted, he continued chattering non-stop, ¡°Want me to tell you? This is a secret, but since you treat me so well, not telling you would make me seem like I was being ungrateful to my benefactor¡­ If you really want to know, then I can tell you! Do you want to know? You want to, right?¡± This guy, would not talking kill him?! A little vexed, Red Cloak growled at him, ¡°If you want to say it, then say it! Continue spouting rubbish and I¡¯ll help you revert back to the way you looked yesterday!¡± Despite hearing that, not only was the bard undaunted, he even revealed an extremely satisfied expression. Touched, he said, ¡°I just knew that you really wanted to know this secret!¡± This guy is beyond hope! Red Cloak used his hand to support his forehead, feeling a migraineing on. He deeply regretted ever bothering about this fellow. He should have let him live on hair oil, giving himself peace and quiet. The bard smiled mysteriously and said, ¡°If I say that this is a blessing from God, would you believe it?¡± ¡°God?¡± Red Cloak¡¯s tone showed that he found it extremely strange. Rather than saying that he was surprised because he had heard the word ¡°God¡± it was more that he was unable to cope with the bard making a random statement like that without giving an exnation. A little impatient, he asked, ¡°When you say God, what exactly do you mean?¡± The bard said with absolute certainty, ¡°God is of course that kind of soft and squishy small thing that can be kneaded into different shapes and bounces around everywhere.¡± Red Cloak fell silent for a while before he indifferently said, ¡°Sounds more like a sort of mushy creature called a slime that crawls around in the forest. Not God.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± The bard seemed at a loss and said, ¡°Now that you say that, they really are simr! However, slimes are green, but God is golden colored! Who knows¡­ He might be the God of slimes?¡± Saying it like this, don¡¯t tell me you are a slime! ¡°Even if your injuries have healed, don¡¯t run around aimlessly. If you get seen by the patrols, things will not turn out well for you.¡± Red Cloak tried his best to suppress the urge to send this idiotic bard flying with a punch, and diverted the topic away from the slime god¡­ If they were to continue talking about it, he really would violently beat the bard to a pulp, even if he didn¡¯t like roughing up those without any fighting ability. Instead, the bard revealed a troubled expression. Sobbing, he said, ¡°Err¡­ Nheless, I cannot do as you say! I still have to sing the Bad of the Warrior Queen for one more day, so I must go out.¡± Red Cloak furrowed his brows, remembering the strange rule that the bard had previously mentioned, that he had to sing the Bad of the Warrior Queen for three days every time he arrived at a new ce. He didn¡¯t ask for the reason, but only asked indifferently, ¡°You can¡¯t even miss one day?¡± The bard could only helplessly say, ¡°I don¡¯t have a choice. My teacher said that if I wanted him to ept me as his disciple, I had to agree to one condition. That is, once I became a proper bard, every time I visit a new ce, I would have to sing the Bad of the Warrior Queen for three days. This rule is very strict, but my teacher he¡­ really is a superb bard!¡± Seems like even if I don¡¯t ask him the reason, he will still reveal it on his own¡­ Seeing the bard¡¯s eager eyes filled with anticipation and the ¡°even if you don¡¯t say anything, I will still talk about it¡± look on his face, Red Cloak felt another headacheing on. He could only do as the bard wished and ask him, ¡°Who is your teacher?¡± Hearing that, the bard¡¯s anticipation-filled eyes immediately vanished. He put on an act of coughing loudly a few times, and then lifted his chin. In an extremely proud manner, he announced the answer, ¡°Lorenzo Louis.¡± ¡°The bard nicknamed LL?¡± Hearing this name, Red Cloak was truly a little surprised. Heughed, and then with a hint of disbelief, said, ¡°LL is the imperial bard employed by the Holy King.¡± ¡°Used to be. However, when the Warrior Queen married the Holy King, he left the Holy City,¡± added the bard immediately, just to rify. There seemed to be a shadow of a smile on Red Cloak¡¯s face as he said, ¡°The imperial bard¡¯s student has been reduced to a state where he would be beaten up by the city patrol until he looks like a pig head? Do you think that I would believe you?¡± The bard quietly pulled an insignia from his shirt pocket. The insignia was made from interwoven gold and white threads, and was shaped like a white rose. In the golden portion at the center of the rose, there was a lute. The lute was even specially arranged into an L-shape. As everyone knew, the white rose was the emblem of the Holy King. All the people who had a white rose insignia were direct subordinates of the Holy King. Also, just looking at the object that was crafted into the center of the rose, one could deduce what the subordinate¡¯s profession was. ¡°Teacher said that he didn¡¯t want this object anyway, so he gave it to me. If I was reallycking money during my journey, he said that I could sell it. I had tried to sell it in the past, but once the buyer saw that it was a white rose insignia, they refused to buy it.¡± Of course they wouldn¡¯t buy it. It¡¯s the white rose insignia personally issued by the Holy King. All those who have them are renowned individuals. Who would dare to buy and keep such an insignia? However, even though he had this insignia, Red Cloak was not swayed. He said, ¡°This doesn¡¯t prove much. He always loses his things.¡± The bard sat stunned for a moment. Doubtful, he then asked, ¡°What did you say?¡± Red Cloak was silent for a while before he said nonchntly, ¡°I said, people are always losing things, so maybe you just picked it up.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true that my teacher gave it to me!¡± The bard was extremely anxious, but he himself also didn¡¯t know how to convince Red Cloak¡­ His teacher was indeed very good at losing his things. If anyone holding onto his teacher¡¯s items came and told him that he was also LL¡¯s student, even the bard himself would suspect that the item had been picked up. ¡°If you say it¡¯s so, then so be it.¡± Red Cloak neither voiced whether he believed him nor whether he recognized him as LL¡¯s student. He only made an offhanded remark and then returned to the main topic. ¡°Under this kind of situation, your teacher would forgive you for not singing for one day. I believe that he also wouldn¡¯t want to see you get beaten to death.¡± ¡°No, he wouldn¡¯t forgive me.¡± The bard was unexpectedly calm as he said, ¡°He would only scold me, ¡®To think that at that time, outside the gate of the Valley of the Crimson des and with just five thousand men, the Warrior Queen actually managed to defend the invasion from the demon army of fifty thousand soldiers. She even held them off for no less than three months. You, on the other hand, can¡¯t even manage to merely sing the Bad of the Warrior Queen for three days. Why don¡¯t you just simply go hit your head and die under the statue of the Warrior Queen?¡¯¡± ¡°Your teacher is wrong.¡± Red Cloak said coolly, ¡°Comparing you to the Warrior Queen is like hitting a rock with a loaf of bread. From the start, it wouldn¡¯t be a fair battle.¡± The bard looked like he was about to cry as he said in grief, ¡°You¡¯re even more ruthless than my teacher¡­¡± At this point in time, Red Cloak swallowed thest of his rations. With a swish from his cloak, he stood up and simply said, ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°To where?¡± The bard lifted his head to look at him, puzzled. Red Cloak said to him nonchntly, ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to sing? Coincidentally, I also want to listen to a song, so let¡¯s go together.¡± Hearing that, the bard¡¯s azure eyes instantly lit up in hope. Red Cloak must be really strong! This was not intuition, but an inference. A person who wore an eye-catching red cloak everywhere was either a reckless novice at adventuring, or a strong person who could settle any kind of trouble! Judging from Red Cloak¡¯s actions up until now, he was definitely not new to adventuring. Even before the bard could spit out half a word, Red Cloak immediately cut in, coldly saying, ¡°If you say anything that I feel contains redundant words, I will use a more direct method to make you unable to go out today¡ª I¡¯ll beat you up so badly that you can only lie in bed and then you wouldn¡¯t need to sing anymore.¡± ¡°Redundant words?¡± The bard immediately gave a shout of astonishment. ¡°How is it possible for me to speak redundant words? I have never said any unnecessary words before. On this, you can rx, for I am a bard! Being excessively particr about wording is my forte. I can guarantee that my every line is as elegant as singing birds and as clear as running water in a brook¡­¡± Hearing this, Red Cloak seized the bard¡¯s cor with one fist and then lifted him off the ground, forcibly dragging him from a sitting position to being suspended in mid-air. The bard shut his mouth and blinked innocently. He didn¡¯t dare move a single muscle and waspletely in the dark as to why Red Cloak was angry again¡­ But then again, his strength is really impressive. As expected, he¡¯s a strong person! With Red Cloak here, he would definitely not be beaten into a piece of bread by the patrol¡­ The prerequisite being that Red Cloak could control his rage and leave him alive to go and sing. Red Cloak held him there for quite a while. It was unclear whether he was trying to suppress his anger, or was considering which part he should start beating up first. Itsted until several of the inn¡¯s waiters walked over. Without waiting for them to speak, Red Cloak had already put down the bard and turned around to tell them, ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Turning around, Red Cloak lowered his head. The bard saw his pair of ck pupils that radiated killing intent and severity from under the hood of his cloak. Red Cloak growled at the bard word-by-word, ¡°Other than ¡®yes¡¯ and ¡®no,¡¯ all others are redundant words!¡± After roaring at the bard, Red Cloak walked out of the inn without even looking back. Seeing Red Cloak¡¯s shadow, the stunned bard mumbled, ¡°Just like burning ebony mes.¡± Afterward, he immediately got to his feet and chased after Red Cloak. After catching up with Red Cloak, he slowed down to walk beside Red Cloak. Though they were still quite far from the tavern, he had already started to hum softly. Seasons change, time flows on Gazing into the distance The wandering minstrel reminisces about the past¡­ Oh minstrel! The corners of your lips are always pulled into a brilliant smile. Oh minstrel! Your deep and distant eyes gaze beyond the people in front of you Oh minstrel! You who are so far out of reach What exactly are you looking at? Softly, the minstrel sings Regardless of the distance My eyes remain fixed upon that woman of legend Oh Warrior Queen! Have the Holy King and Queen destroyed your capacity for love? Oh Warrior Queen! Can the ebony mes in your eyes be lit only by battle? Oh Warrior Queen! With your cold and indifferent eyes, What exactly are you looking at? Volume 1, 3: Light and Shadow Part 3

Volume 1, Chapter 3: Light and Shadow Part 3

Trantor: Azakura Red Cloak stared nkly. The Bad of the Warrior Queen that he had just heard was not the same as the one he had heard before. The bard¡¯s attitude was also very strange. Although he had kept his head bowed the whole time and hadn¡¯t looked at Red Cloak at all, the constant questions raised by the song seemed almost as if they were being asked of him. Red Cloak darted a nce at the bard and passed judgment. ¡°This song sounds awful. If you choose to sing this piece today, don¡¯t me me when you get hit by someone.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± The bard rubbed his nose and spoke rather innocently, ¡°But LL told me that I have to ask such questions every time I arrive somewhere new! If the Warrior Queen happens to hear me by some stroke of luck and is willing to give me an answer, LL said that he would exchange the harp that he always carries with him for that answer and also relieve me of his decree that I must always sing the Bad of the Warrior Queen for at least three days every time I arrive at a new location.¡± When he finished speaking, the bard looked towards Red Cloak and asked, ¡°What do you think? Why did the Warrior Queen want to leave? Is it because the Holy King did not love her, so staying with a lover that did not even love her was far too painful to bear? Or did the Holy King force her to leave? Or maybe it¡¯s because the Holy Queen deliberately made things difficult¡­¡± Red Cloak interrupted the bard¡¯s endless delusions and said in a displeased manner, ¡°Traveling bards! You people are simply over-thinking the matter. For all you might know, the Warrior Queen could have just felt that the days passing by were too boring and left of her own ord.¡± He hadn¡¯t expected that Red Cloak would actually answer his questions. The bard mustered his courage and pressed further. ¡°If the reason why she left was really as you said, that it was because her life was too boring, then what exactly was she looking at then?¡± Red Cloak coldly replied, ¡°How should I know?¡± The bard gave an ¡°oh¡± and felt quite disappointed, but he dared not ask Red Cloak another question. The two travelers walked in silence for a while. Suddenly, Red Cloak began to speak. ¡°It may be possible that she was looking at the warrior and cleric, her formerpanions, but her mind was recalling the memories of the pain and suffering from the war. And then she realized that the happy ending she had envisioned actually turned out to be quite boring.¡± As the bard listened to Red Cloak¡¯s opinion, he was initially surprised, but as he carefully thought over what Red Cloak had said, he could not help but proim: ¡°Some people are born suited for never-ending fights! The happiness of which you speak is not obtained at the end of the war, but from the process of every single battle fought.¡± Upon hearing this, Red Cloak looked the bard in the eye and remained silent. The bard stopped in his tracks and began to chuckle. Red Cloak also stopped and questioned him coldly, ¡°What are youughing at?¡± The bard let out a huge smile and said, ¡°I guess I don¡¯t need to sing the Bad of the Warrior Queen anymore. Are you willing to go with me to see him?¡± ¡°Who?¡± The bard said in a matter-of-fact tone, ¡°Of course, that would be Lorenzo Louis. He¡¯s my teacher and also the person that you nicknamed ¡®LL¡¯¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s you again! To think you would dare remain in this town. Hadn¡¯t I told you to get lost yesterday?!¡± The bard was stunned. He turned around to see the same patrol team from the day before. The captain of the patrol, who was more than a head taller than the average person, was staring fiercely at the bard. He had also brought along five of his team members, and they were walking straight towards the bard. As they came closer, the patrol captain got a much clearer picture of the bard¡¯s face. He abruptly realized that the injury on the bard¡¯s face was already close to beingpletely healed. Were we not ruthless enough yesterday? He felt a bit doubtful. Just my luck¡­ I can¡¯t believe we bumped into the patrol before we even reached a tavern. The bard came to a better understanding of just how terrible his luck could be. Now, however, is not the same asst time! Red Cloak is with me. Nobody would darey a single hand on me! Yeah¡­ If I look at it this way, I guess my luck isn¡¯t that terrible after all! Following that thought, the bard once again faced his life with brimming optimism. ¡°Tch.¡± The patrol captain paused for a moment and then turned to shout at his team. ¡°Seize this delusional bastard and bring him in. We¡¯re on our way back to report our mission anyway.¡± After receiving the order, two members from the team immediately surged forward and effortlessly grabbed a hold of the bard. In reality, the bard, who did not even have the strength to truss up a raw chicken, did not resist at all. He looked at Red Cloak with wide eyes, eagerly anticipating what kind of attack thetter would use first. A fist to send two people flying simultaneously? Or will it be cooler to give them a kick? As it was too difficult to overlook the fervent gaze of the bard, the patrol captain finally took notice of Red Cloak¡¯s presence. He coldly asked, ¡°Are you hispanion?¡± ¡°Nope, I don¡¯t know him,¡± Red Cloak replied indifferently. Or maybe it¡¯ll be a direct strike with her de to hack them in two! LL said before that her temper has always been rather short¡­ Hold on! What did Red Cloak just say?! The look the bard had on his face changed instantly. ¡°A sensible guy, aren¡¯t you! Take this man away.¡± The patrol captainid out his orders, and the two patrol members immediately dragged the bard away. While being dragged away, the bard frantically turned back to shout, ¡°Hold on a second! Red Cloak! Why aren¡¯t you rescuing me?¡± But he only managed to catch a short glimpse of a red-colored cloak as his head was forcefully wrenched back in ce by the two who were restraining his movements. That almost sprained his neck and hurt so badly that every part of his face scrunched up in agony. At this point, the patrol captain was filled with suspicion. He looked up and down at Red Cloak and bluntlymanded, ¡°Remove your hood at once!¡± Upon hearing this, a spark of hope was reignited in the bard. If it really is her, she definitely wouldn¡¯t simply abide by what others tell her to do¡­ However, in the next second, the patrol captain mockingly spat, ¡°Hmph! So you really are a guy. To think I thought you were female, with your tiny figure and red-colored cloak¡­ How boring. Let¡¯s go!¡± A man? The bard froze. How¡¯s that possible? Red Cloak isn¡¯t her? Red Cloak isn¡¯t¡­ The Warrior Queen? He desperately tried to turn around for a look as if his life depended on it, but the two patrol members vehemently kept his head stuck in ce, preventing him from looking around by his own will. Just one look would be enough. Just let me have one look¡­ Red Cloak! Are you the Warrior Queen or not? Wields a de, fond of wearing the unbridled color red, small in size, has a voice so low that it resembles that of a man, fiery ck pupils¡­ Every single detail fits exactly with the traits stated by Teacher Louis. Red Cloak is also clearly interested in both the Bad of the Warrior Queen and the nickname LL. And to top it off, what Red Cloak just said earlier¡­ It should be fair to conclude that Red Cloak is indeed the Warrior Queen! No matter how the bard thought about it, Red Cloak simply had to be the Warrior Queen. But why on earth did the patrol captain say that she is a man? ¡°Pardon me but I have a question!¡± The bard turned to ask the two patrol members who were holding him down. Considering the awkward position he was in, with his feet lifted off the ground, his posture and manner of speech were incredibly polite. He asked, ¡°The Warrior Queen is female, right?¡± The two patrol members were stunned. They sounded extremely confused when they replied, ¡°What the heck are you talking about?¡± The bard hurriedly said, ¡°That is, the Warrior Queen who is the second wife of the Holy King andmander of the army! She should indeed be female, right? Or would there be some chance that she is male instead?¡± The two were so stunned theirplexions changed. They snarled, ¡°Y-you dare nder the Holy King?!¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t ndered him!¡± The bard was greatly rmed. He quickly added, ¡°I was only inquiring about the Warrior Queen. I did not speak any ill of the Holy King!¡± ¡°You¡­¡± One of the patrol members was so shocked that he could not even speak. The other patrol member responded differently. He directly yelled, ¡°Nonsense! Of course the Warrior Queen is female! Do you honestly think the Holy King would take a man for his wife? What sphemy!¡± Oh! That makes sense as well. The bard nodded in realization. ¡°I understand now. Thank you for your exnation. Come to think of it, if the Warrior Queen was male, Teacher would definitely have rified that with me.¡± Upon hearing this, one of the patrol members raised his fist. He slugged the bard as he continued scolding, ¡°You still dare to speak! You¡¯re just asking for a damned beating! You dare to say that the Holy King¡¯s wife is a man!¡± The other patrol member rushed to stop his partner¡¯s actions. He painstakingly urged, ¡°Take it easy! This guy most probably has a few loose screws in his head. What¡¯s more, bearing in mind what¡¯s in store for himter, there¡¯s no need to go over the top, right?¡± Sure enough, the other lowered his fist in response to his partner¡¯s words. ¡°Heh heh, I suppose you¡¯re right. Can¡¯t damage this face after all. A damaged face is no good to sell on the market.¡± No good to sell? The bard was lost in thought. So my face is actually something worth selling? If I¡¯d known that earlier, I would have sold it off whenever my stomach was empty and I had no money. I wonder how much it¡¯d be worth¡­ While he was still lost in thought, the two patrol members suddenly threw him forward with a hard push. Fortunately, the bard had gotten used to being thrown around by others long ago. Without further ado, he reflexively spun into the posture that was least likely to receive injuries. After groaning for a while, he promptly got up off the floor, looked around, and was shocked to realize that this ce was a jail cell. The cell contained quite a few people already. These people all had ghastlyplexions and held their heads low. Despite themotion when he was thrown in the cell, none of them had reacted. The bard found this incredibly strange. He examined the people around him. To his surprise, every single one of them had a brand on their right arm. That-that¡¯s the¡­ brand of a ve! At this moment, the two patrol members shut the door to the jail cell and then locked it tightly. The bard hurriedly rushed over to the iron bars and shouted. ¡°Wait up! Why did you guys bring me here? I didn¡¯t choose to sell my body! I¡¯m not a ve!¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be one from now on!¡± The patrol guard took joy in the bard¡¯s misfortune while speaking, ¡°Rx! With a face like yours, you¡¯ll definitely catch the attention of many rich housewives. After that, who knows, maybe your face will be even prettier than it is now!¡± ¡°Congrattions! Ha ha ha!¡± The two of them simply ignored the protests of the bard and left the jail while roaring withughter. ¡°How could it turn out like this?¡± The bard was left in a daze. Although he was indeed bullied a lot during his journey, no one had ever gone as far as kidnapping him to sell him off. Long since the establishment of the country, the Holy King had set strict regtions. very was only allowed if that was the will of the person being sold off. Even parents did not have the right to sell their children. Also, regardless of the price the ve was sold at, all contracts would expire in twenty years. After twenty years, the ve could request that he be set free, unless he was willing to sell himself off once again. ¡°Let me out! I¡¯m not willing to sell my body!¡± The bard frantically yelled, ¡°You¡¯ve got it all wrong! I don¡¯t want to sell my body!¡± Volume 1, 4: Light and Shadow Part 4

Volume 1, Chapter 4: Light and Shadow Part 4

Trantor: Azakura ¡°Save your breath. They¡¯ll be back againter to force you into signing a ve contract.¡± The bard turned to look. The one who had spoken was one of the ves. He was covered in so much filth and had a thin and weak body that if it weren¡¯t because his voice was indeed that of a man¡¯s when he had spoken just now, it would have been impossible to tell his gender from appearance alone. ¡°But how can that be?¡± The bard stated heavily, ¡°ves are only permitted to sign the ve contract on the ¡®ve Contract Signing Day¡¯ that happens once a year! There must also be someone whose status is at least as high as a city lord present as witness!¡± ¡°So where do you think you are right now?¡± The ve said in a mocking tone, ¡°Aren¡¯t you in the city lord¡¯s prison?¡± Hearing this, the bard stared in a daze for a while before he realized what was going on. He stuttered, ¡°The city lord is v-viting thews set by the Holy King, privately letting ves sign their lives away? H-how could he dare to do such a thing?¡± The ve spoke unenthusiastically, ¡°If there were no money in this business, people wouldn¡¯t do it. However, even if the business was killing others, people would flock to do it so long as there¡¯s money involved. Nowadays, even ten gold ducats are not necessarily enough to buy a ve through legal means. But if someone were to kidnap ves to sell, he would earn ten gold ducats just like that. Could there be any business easier to do than this?¡± Hearing this, the bard became very curious about this ve. His tone andnguage were hardly like those of a ve. He could not help but ask, ¡°Were you also kidnapped and brought here?¡± The ve fell silent for a while. He replied indifferently, ¡°You could say that. One of the ves escaped yesterday, so you were probably captured as his recement. After all, the day of the auction is almost here. They probably didn¡¯t have enough time to go look for him.¡± The bard froze. He questioned curiously, ¡°An auction?¡± ¡°Yeah, the underground ve auction.¡± The ve continued on unenthusiastically, ¡°It¡¯s probably the biggest selling event of the city. There are still two days until the auction. You¡¯d best hurry and make yourself appear dirtier.¡± ¡°Why?¡± The bard¡¯s eyes widened. He was one who loved being clean to the extreme! The ve said in a tone much more mocking than before, ¡°Dirty ves are sent to do manualbor. ves that are too beautiful are sent to do work in bed. But I suppose if you would rather lie on a bed, then do preserve your pretty appearance!¡± Hearing this, the bard¡¯s face flushed red. He quickly scooped up some soil from the ground and spread it over his face. However, the moment he applied it he almost threw up. The soil in this ce was really too smelly. It did not only smell of soil but also had the stench of excrement and rotting food mixed into it. The bard was so disgusted by this smell that a number of tears had already fallen from his eyes, yet he could not rub the soil off of his face either. He wailed as if he were at a funeral, ¡°Why on earth is such a thing happening? Isn¡¯t this supposed to be a time of peace and prosperity? The Holy King definitely does not permit such a thing¡­¡± The ve snorted coldly. ¡°Hmph! Holy King? To lowly people like us, whichever king it is makes no difference. We¡¯re not in a position where we¡¯re entitled to receive his grace, and he likewise doesn¡¯t bother with ces like this one.¡± The bard wanted to rebuke those words, as he had seen plenty of peaceful cities under the rule of the Holy King on his journey, and this was the first time he had ever witnessed such a situation! But instead, he abruptly closed his mouth and appeared to be deep in thought. The ve looked quite oddly at the bard and held some curiosity as he asked, ¡°What? You¡¯ve fallen into despair that quickly?¡± The bard shook his head from side to side then said in a rather confused manner, ¡°No. I just suddenly thought of one of my friends. He just abandoned me a moment ago and didn¡¯t care for the fact that I was kidnapped.¡± ¡°And you still call him your friend?¡± The ve rolled his eyes from under his disheveled hair. The bard paid no attention to what the ve was saying. Instead, he started talking to himself, ¡°Ooh! On the contrary, having considered all that you said earlier, I feel as if it would be far from a coincidence if she were to appear here. Maybe it was all in wait for the illegal auction. If that¡¯s so, I guess I have no need to be troubled anymore¡­¡± But then again, just now, the patrol leader had said that Red Cloak is a man, but the Warrior Queen is a woman. So if Red Cloak really is a man, then he¡¯s definitely not the Warrior Queen¡­ Aaah! To think that I went back to square one! ¡°Sob, sob¡­ Never in my entire life have I wanted to see a woman so badly.¡± The bard wanted to cry but had no tears. If Red Cloak really was a man,then not only had he failed to find the Warrior Queen, he might even henceforth be a ve¡­ Have mercy on me! ¡°You¡¯re stuck in jail, yet you¡¯re still thinking of women?¡± The ve¡¯s face twitched. He really wanted to inflict pain on the idiot spouting reckless words in front of him. The bard rebutted, ¡°Of course I have to think of a woman! If I don¡¯t, then who woulde to save us?¡± ¡°What?¡± The ve froze. However, he then thought about how clean and fair the man before him originally was. Perhaps he was even the gigolo of some woman, so naturally, he would wish that this same woman woulde to his rescue. ¡°But I don¡¯t know if Red Cloak really is a woman or not¡­ Sob. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn¡¯t have left God in the forest because otherwise, He would probably be able toe to my rescue? After all, He¡¯s God! Even if He¡¯s the God of Slimes, God is still God!¡± ¡°¡­ So you¡¯re actually just a mad man?¡± ¡°Hey! Wake up! How on earth do you manage to sleep like a pig in a ce like this!?¡± The bard rubbed his eyes and asked in bewilderment, ¡°Oh¡­ Is the sun up already?¡± ¡°You can wait for sunrise if that¡¯s what you want, but I¡¯m going to go off first!¡± ¡°You¡¯re going off?¡± The bard stared nkly as he asked, ¡°Where to?¡± ¡°Obviously to escape from this ce!¡± The ve rolled his eyes. He snapped, ¡°You¡¯re still sleeping? Well, I¡¯m not going to wait for you. Bye!¡± The bard remained stunned for a moment. He blinked his eyes hard, and then he was finally genuinely awake. The ves were all crowded at a corner, but the number of people there was gradually reducing one by one¡­ Only when there were about three or four people left did the bard realize that they had dug a hole and left through that! He stayed stunned for several seconds. It was only when almost everyone had already made their way out that the bard came to his senses. He breathed a soft whisper, ¡°Wait for me!¡± and proceeded to squeeze through the hole after them. When he reached the other side, he took a deep breath of stench-free, fresh air and then proceeded to gaze at the star-filled sky. The bard suddenly understood how precious freedom was. Being able to escape from that destitution truly filled his whole heart with feelings of bliss. He turned back to look at the hole. Although it was not veryrge, its size was just enough for a grown man to climb out of it. It seemed nothing like what could be dug with one¡¯s bare hands. ¡°Hey. Hey. Um¡­ You! How did you manage to dig this hole?¡± The ve rolled his eyes and said, ¡°Hey? I have a name you know. It¡¯s Cale! I was having a meal at the time I was captured, so I hid my soup spoon on me right on the spot. We used that soup spoon to dig.¡± ¡°Oh, Cale. Nice to meet you. My name is Silvester.¡± ¡°Such a long and stuffy name¡­ Are you a nobleman? This way.¡± After speaking, perhaps because the bard had also given his name, Cale helpfully tugged the bard to prevent him from being separated from the rest in the dark of night. ¡°I¡¯m no nobleman. This name was given to me by my teacher.¡± Silvester stifled augh and shook his head to express his denial. However, he was not entirely sure either. After all, Lorenzo Louis, as the imperial bard, was not only a nobleman but also held one of the highest ranks possible. And since Silvester was Lorenzo¡¯s only student and sessor, even if he failed to inherit everything from Lorenzo, it was true that he would still be of some status. ¡°Everyone, stop. Let¡¯s hide here for the time being!¡± Silvester widened his eyes. This ce is only roughly two streets away from the city lord¡¯s residence! And I thought we¡¯d be pulling an all-nighter to escape. I was even scared that I¡¯d be left behind by everyone since I¡¯m so physically weak! ¡°Cale, are we not leaving the city?¡± The other ves also appeared to be worried. Cale shook his head and said, ¡°The city gates are not open at night, so we won¡¯t be able to leave the city tonight. However, no need to fret, everyone. The city lord would not dare to create too big a ruckus searching for us within the city. After all, privately selling ves is illegal.¡± Everyone walked into a house. Cale immediately squatted down and felt the floor with his hand. In the end, he pulled up a secret door. ¡°Go on. There is a basement below.¡± The ves jumped down one at a time. The basement was not all that small, and there were even numerous pickled foodsid out on the surrounding shelves. Despite the fact that the jars were covered in dust, to these prisoners who had not had a proper meal in a long time, they would even eat bread that had been stepped on off the floor, let alone something from a jar covered in dust. Cale threw over a jar to Silvester. Thetter was unable to react right away and scrambled around for a good while before managing to find his bnce. ¡°Eat. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve eaten this before. I admit the taste has gone a little bad, but you won¡¯t die from eating it.¡± Silvester frowned as he looked at the exceedingly dirty jar. Nevertheless, he could only wipe the jar on his pants, and then he proceeded to eat the food inside with noints. Although Silvester loved gourmet foods and was considerably picky about what he ate, after following his teacher around the wilderness for many years, he had since eaten a hideously messy array of food. Not to mention that at the time when he had just met his teacher and had yet to be good at cooking, being able to eat dried rations was the equivalent of fine dining. And if they finished all the dried rations and still could not locate any town whatsoever, then he would have to mentally prepare himself to taste all kinds of things, be it half-cooked, burnt frog meat boiled in weeds or a banquet of slimes. While eating the pickled food that had gone slightly bad, Silvester began considering his situation. I can¡¯t help but feel that this escape was too easy. I feel like I¡¯m forgetting something¡­ Ah! That¡¯s right. The guards did not try to prevent our escape at all! He eximed, ¡°We¡¯re so lucky it so happened that the guards were away for some reason!¡± ¡°Lucky?¡± Caleughed coldly and then said, ¡°I observed them for several days. Those guards are incrediblyzy. When they change shift, the earlier shift would leave early and theter shift wouldete. The interval where no one is around is half an hour long at the very least.¡± Half an hour? The bard was aghast as he realized, There¡¯s no more than twelve hours during daylight¡­ These guards are really cking off to an unbelievable extent! Cale gave orders to everyone like a general. ¡°You¡¯re free to do whatever you want after you¡¯ve finished eating, but make sure to keep the noise down. Try not to talk at all if you can, lest you want the search party to notice us.¡± What? No one intends to go off by themselves? Silvester looked in astonishment at the people around him. There were about twenty or so people around, and practically everyone wore an uneasy look. Perhaps no one dared to leave alone and would all rather stay with the group. At the very least, Cale seemed like a guy who knew what he was doing, and he had already seeded in getting everyone out of jail. Silvester was also afraid to leave. He had already shed with the guards twice. If he were to even set foot on the streets, he would definitely be caught right away. After eating, no one dared to speak a word. Most simply lowered their heads and slept. Silvester originally intended to have a chat with Cale, but he was red at instead and was even reprimanded, ¡°Keep it down.¡± He had nothing to do and was also not feeling particrly sleepy, but he still tried to sleep. Bit by bit, he drifted into slumber. At first, he could not sleep at all, but when he was half-asleep, he suddenly felt someone push him. Immediately, he jolted awake, and the color red shed before his eyes¡­ ¡°Red¡­¡± Cloak? Volume 1, 5: Light and Shadow Part 5

Volume 1, Chapter 5: Light and Shadow Part 5

Trantor: Azakura The moment he spoke, Red Cloak covered his mouth and leaned close to his ear to whisper, ¡°Don¡¯t speak. Just nod in reply. Do you trust me?¡± Silvester blinked a few times. When he heard Red Cloak¡¯s question, he immediately nodded, resembling the action of pounding garlic. But after nodding, he realized that he had absolutely no basis for trusting Red Cloak in the first ce. He did not know the other party¡¯s real name and had also never even seen their face¡­ Not to mention he wasn¡¯t even sure about Red Cloak¡¯s gender. ¡°Follow me.¡± Red Cloak let go of Silvester, then turned around to climb out of the basement. Silvester hurriedly followed but looked back to scan the rest of the group before he left. Everyone was sleeping like the dead. Even Cale, who was supposed to be on night-watch, had fallen asleep as well. Silvester could not tell if it was because he was actually exhausted or if it was Red Cloak¡¯s doing. If Red Cloak really is the Warrior Queen, I¡¯ll definitely beg her toe back and help you guys. Silvester vowed to himself. Loud booms sounded one after another. Cale had immediately woken up at the first st of sound, but his reaction was still not quick enough. The basement door had been kicked directly to the floor by someone. Cale raised his head only to catch a glimpse of the ck uniform that the patrol team wore. His heart sank as he understood that their escape this time was now a failure. Yet there were still parts he did notprehend. How did the patrol team manage to find this ce, and how on earth did they aplish it in such a short period of time? While the city isn¡¯t exactlyrge, it is still of considerable size. Besides, they can¡¯t tantly conduct the search in public, so how could they have discovered a secret door concealed among the floor boards with such ease and speed? He hardly believed that the patrol team, who were sozy that they left the ce unguarded for half an hour while changing shifts, could be experts at searching. ¡°Get out here, all of you! Any bastard whogs behind will get whipped! Damn you bunch of assholes! You made me get reprimanded by the city lord!¡± The color of the ves¡¯ faces was ashen. Some had expressions so defeated it was as if they were facing certain death. They climbed out of the basement one by one, and as they had expected, received a round of beating. The patrol captain spoke with a foul-mouth. ¡°Damn it, if it wasn¡¯t for tomorrow being the day of the auction and the city lord ordering us not to rough you up, I would have beaten all of you to death!¡± Despite the city lord¡¯s order, the patrol team still raised their hands at the ves from time to time. Either way, seeing as the ves already had a fair amount of injuries, as long as they did not cripple the ves, they could still satisfy their lord. ¡°Silvester?¡± Cale was shocked to see a face he knew mixed among the guards. He realized right away why the guards had managed to find them so easily¡­ Silvester had betrayed them! Cale roared, ¡°I¡¯ll kill you,¡± then immediately pounced in Silvester¡¯s direction with an expression akin to a mad man¡¯s. However, he was soon wrestled to the ground by quite a few guards. Terrified, Silvester retreated a number of steps. He had an easygoing attitude and usually never provoked any deep animosities; hence, this was the first time he had ever seen a person direct such vicious hatred toward him. ¡°Captain, we¡¯re done restraining!¡± a guard reported in a loud voice. The patrol captainughed maliciously as he reproached his subordinates. ¡°You¡¯re done? Nonsense! Don¡¯t you know how to get things done? See that gigolo still out here? Tie him up with the rest!¡± The patrol teamughed in unison and proceeded toward the gigolo their leader spoke of. Silvester stared at them in shock. He frantically spoke, ¡°Hold on! Didn¡¯t you say that you¡¯d let me go if I told you where the others were hiding?¡± The patrol captainughed coldly. ¡°When did I say that? You¡¯d better not speak such rubbish around here!¡± A patrol member twisted Silvester¡¯s hands behind his back and tied a rope around them. Silvester did not dare protest. He simply cried out wistfully with unshed tears, ¡°You clearly did say so! How could you go back on your word?¡± Cale sneered, ¡°So he went back on his word. What can you do about it? You actually believed him. I guess your head was full of s*** to begin with!¡± Silvester withdrew his head. While he felt deeply wronged, he did not dare refute a single line of it. ¡°Lock this guy up in a separate jail cell to spare him from getting torn apart by the other inmates. If even one of them dies, the city lord would definitely not let us off!¡± The patrol captainughed maliciously, ¡°But don¡¯t lock him up too far away. We don¡¯t want this gigolo to feel too lonely. Let¡¯s lock them up in adjacent cells so that they can chat.¡± Waaaa! Red Cloak, you¡¯re really gonna get me killed at this rate! Silvester shrank into the furthest corner of the adjacent cell. He felt so wronged that he was ready to cry bitterly until he lost his voice. The curses and condemnations from the neighboring jail cell came without pause. Thankfully, the ones they were cursing were his parents, grandparents, and so forth, whom he had never seen before. No one cursed his teacher, so he had no need to refute them to defend his teacher¡¯s reputation. Cale was the only one among them who did not waste his breath screaming and cursing. He simply stared coldly at Silvester with eyes brimming with deep-seated hatred¡­ If the bars separating the two jail cells were to suddenly vanish, while the rest of the ves would probably charge over and beat me to a pulp, wouldn¡¯t Cale most definitely kill me? Whenever he noticed the hatred in Cale¡¯s eyes, Silvester felt a number of cold shivers run down his back. In the end, he could not even bear to look at him and shrank into himself, desperately trying to hypnotize himself into falling asleep quickly. But with the cursing from twenty people in the adjacent cell no more than three meters away, no matter how thick-skinned a person might be, it would be impossible to fall asleep! However, the cursing suddenly stoppedpletely. Silvester felt it strange so he lifted his head to see. The ves who had originally crowded the side nearest to him were now dispersing to let someone through. Cale walked out from behind. He stopped right before the bars and stared straight at Silvester. After staring for a long time, Cale finally opened his mouth to speak. ¡°Why did you betray us? I thought about it over and over and it still doesn¡¯t make sense. You aren¡¯t the type of person who would betray someone¡­ because you don¡¯t have the brains to do so! Someone who had betrayal in mind wouldn¡¯t have given his name, would he?¡± Can¡¯t you say that it¡¯s because I¡¯m actually a good person? Silvester felt more wronged than ever. He snuck a nce at the patrol members outside. They are sitting quite far away, maybe because the cursing was overly noisy? Only now did Silvester dare to speak. Quickly and softly, he said, ¡°I didn¡¯t betray any of you! I really didn¡¯t!¡± Cale snorted in disdain. It looked like he didn¡¯t believe Silvester at all. Silvester wanted to exin himself, but after thinking of a certain person¡¯s warning, he could no longer risk speaking. No matter how frightening Cale is, he¡¯s definitely not as scary as THAT person! Well¡­ that person has never attacked me¡­ but I imagine they would definitely be frightening if they did! Having thought thus far, he tilted his head slightly downward to avoid Cale¡¯s gaze and did not venture to speak a single word of protest. ¡°Silvester, no matter what n you¡¯ve devised, you¡¯d better remember that I¡¯ll definitely get revenge on you for selling us out!¡± Hearing this, Silvester raised his head, more rmed than before. He nearly blurted out an entire lengthy exnation. But after considering it might not be too long until the misunderstandings would be cleared up, he restrained himself. Both sides fell silent. Even the ves who were endlessly screaming curses stopped, as if Cale had already helped them reach a verdict. In the midst of this uneasy form of tranquility, the sun rose higher and higher in the sky, and it was finally noon. Although it was ¡°finally¡± noon, in actuality, when they were brought back to jail, it was already nearly daybreak. They had only been in jail for roughly three hours. Perhaps it was just the fact that he was being stared at with eyes filled with such animosity that Silvester finally understood how it felt to have a day crawl by like a year. By the time the patrol members rudely dragged him out of his cell, Silvester fought the impulse to thank them. However, the next second, he immediately buried his words of gratitude, as the other ves were also being escorted out of the neighboring cell. They stood only a few feet away from him. He dreaded that if the patrol team were to loosen their grip, they would charge over to beat him to a pulp. Thankfully, the current patrol team had a much more serious attitudepared to the previous night¡¯s. They seemed to have no intention of lollygagging along the way and so watched over the ves very firmly throughout the journey. After they stuffed everybody onto two horse-pulled carts as if they weremodities, they started off, the carts swaying and shaking. Only after quite a long period of time did they finally stop. Everyone was rushed off the carts and made to stand at attention in front of a vacant building that looked close to being in ruins. However, once they entered the building, the interior was neat and tidy, and there were already several people who were either standing or sitting. These people were dressed in rather exquisite clothing, especially the ones sitting down. The clothes that they were wearing demonstrated that they were definitely of noble background. Silvester was especially curious and looked around everywhere. He noticed that everyone at the event wore masks, almost as if they were attending a masquerade ball. One of the masked men walked up to a small podium. His clothes looked pretty luxurious, but even the most magnificent of clothes would not be of any help in improving his figure. His big belly was practically going to make his clothes burst. The fat man spoke cheerily. ¡°Everyone here¡¯s a long-time customer, so exining the rules yet again would be unnecessary, right?¡± His words provoked a burst of softughter. ¡°There are around twenty ves in total today. The starting price will be five gold.¡± Displeasure erupted from the floor. ¡°Why are there so few this time around?¡± ¡°About that¡­ conditions haven¡¯t been favorable recently, so we can¡¯t conduct our business brazenly. Please make do, everyone!¡± The fat man spoke with a smile, not only because the people before him were the ones holding gold soon to be his, but there was also a number of aristocrats in the audience that he could not afford to offend. Hence, he hurriedly continued, ¡°However, the quality of the ves we¡¯ve obtained this time is truly superb. Have a look, everyone! They are all sturdy-bodied. I guarantee they will be useful!¡± Discontented grumbles stoppeding from the floor. The fat man furtively wiped the sweat on his face and promptly dered the start of the auction. The first ve to go up had a normal build and was not ¡°sturdy¡± as the fat man had described. Despite that, the price still climbed smoothly, with people from the floor bidding fifty more silvers each time they raised their wooden paddles. It was not long before the price broke ten gold. This shocked Silvester in his heart. He had never used anything like a ve before, so he never fathomed that they were worth such a substantial amount of money. No wonder the city lord took such a desperate risk! In the end, the first ve was sold at twenty five gold. The fat man couldn¡¯t even control the smile on his face. The price reached in this auction was even greater than that of the previous one¡­ probably due to the stock shortage this time around. The ves were sold one after the other. The price was always at least twenty gold, and a tall and strong ve would even break thirty. When it was finally Cale¡¯s turn, he haughtily raised his chin. His face, which gave off the impression that he was just impossible to tame was obviously not well-received, plus he had a slight and skinny build. The price he was auctioned off at only reached eighteen gold, bing the lowest price of the day. Silvester, who was immediately after Cale, went up to the auctioning stage. While he did not have a solid build, he was still taller than a hundred and eighty centimeters, and his facial features were not bad either. He also had a shy expression on his face. In the eyes of thepeting aristocrats, this ve was tall and handsome and looked like he would be incredibly obedient. He naturally became the most valued item of the auction. The fat man on stage clearly knew who was going to be the most valuable ve of the day beforehand, so he made use of the other ves to hype up the atmosphere earlier. Then only under a situation where hardly any ves were left and there was an enthusiastic atmosphere would he bring out Silvester to auction. This was all nned in order to fetch a higher price at the auctions. But contrary to expectations, Silvester¡¯s auction price was not escting particrly quickly, although there were a select few who persistently kept bidding. Upon witnessing the situation, the fat man was not in the least worried and even felt secretly happy. He knew very well how people wouldpete for a target that they really wanted to get their hands on. The audience would not rush to put out a price but would patiently hold out until the veryst minute before raising their hand. While the price was rising very slowly, it still gradually rose to over thirty gold. Nheless, this was nowhere near the price it would finish at. The situation now took a turn as people became much more active than before. Silvester found this inconceivable. He had never known that he was worth so much money. Each time a person raised their paddle, he could not resist sneaking a peek at that person¡¯s appearance. Although he could not see their faces since they were masked, he coulde up with some rough indications about the person from their manner of dress and their figures. The people who were targeting Silvester were mostly those who were standing. Since they were standing, they were clearly not of nobility and instead held the status of servants or housekeepers, but the clothes they wore were not at all inferior to the seated aristocrats¡¯. It was most likely that the noble families they worked for were even more illustrious than those present. After all, truly prominent noble families would not visit such a ce in person. Compared to theid back pace earlier, once the price exceeded thirty gold, the bidding increased in a blink of an eye. A man on the left who looked like a housekeeper bid thirty five gold in one go while ady on the right went as far as to raise it to forty. I never knew I was worth so much money¡­ Silvester extremely regretted not having sold himself off earlier. At that very moment, a cold voice boomed from the back of the room. ¡°One hundred gold!¡± Volume 1, 6: Light and Shadow Part 6

Volume 1, Chapter 6: Light and Shadow Part 6

Trantor: Azakura One hundred gold? Everyone in the room waspletely shocked. One by one, they turned to face the one who had shouted. Silvester was no exception. He stared straight at that person and was pleasantly surprised as he shouted, ¡°Red Cloak!¡± An extremely bold red cloak appeared at the door. The overly dramatic entrance made everyone in the room momentarily confused about what had happened. Only the host of the auction, the fatty, was slightly rmed by the situation because he was well acquainted with any and all people who woulde to purchase ves from him. Yet he did not know the fellow wearing the red cloak. The fatty swept through the room in a circle. There were indeed a few noble families who were absent from the scene, some of them being families that he definitely could not afford to offend. What if he was someone employed by one of those families? He did not dare to provoke the other party even in the slightest, so he continued to speak in a fairly respectful tone. ¡°Might I ask if you have your invitation, sir?¡± Red Cloak stretched out his hand and pulled open the ribbon holding his cloak closed, allowing his cloak to slip off and fall to the floor. His true colors were thus revealed. He had a tall and slender figure with long legs and a thin waist. His bodily proportions, contrary to what one would expect, resembled those of a woman except that there were no particrly distinct curves around the chest area, so it very well could have been either a t-chested woman or a man with some pectoral muscles. However, because of his oval face and features that were smaller and more delicate than those of an average male, an overwhelming majority would probably guess that the person before them was a woman¡­ if not for that pair of eyes. His pair of ck eyes which was burning with a fearful murderous spirit did not resemble the eyes of a woman in the least. On the contrary, they were more akin to those of a veteran army general who had murdered countless men. Once one had met those eyes; size, body proportions, oval face, and delicate facial features were entirely forgotten. That pair of ck eyes was sufficient to make people think that he was male. ¡°Breaking thew by selling ves in private and even forcefully arresting some of themon folk to sell off, have you no conscience, city lord?¡± When he was done speaking in an icy cold tone, the color of everyone¡¯s faces had changed, and the fatty¡­ no, he should be addressed as the city lord now. His face was as white as a sheet. He tried to defend himself as vigorously as he could, ¡°W-Who are you? Don¡¯t try to influence others with your venomous nder! We¡¯re only gathered here to exchange the ves we already own amongst each other!¡± The ves immediately caused amotion, one after another refuting the city lord¡¯s words. ¡°Of course not!¡± ¡°We were kidnapped and brought here!¡± ¡°We are not ves!¡± The city lord promptly eximed, ¡°There are many aristocrats present in this room, and I am even the lord of this city. Are you going to believe what we say, or would you actually go so far as to listen to the words of those lowly peons?¡± Red Cloak simply paid no attention to him. He pointed towards Silvester and said, ¡°You, tell us what has happened thus far.¡± Upon witnessing this situation, astonishment shed through Cale¡¯s mind. He had a rough idea of what was going on so his eyes no longer held any animosity when he looked at Silvester. Instead, there was a trace of amusement in his expression¡­ An undercover agent this useless is truly very rarely seen. Silvester spoke, brimming with confidence, ¡°They captured people who were not willing to be sold off as ves for this auction!¡± The look on the city lord¡¯s face was so bad that it could not possibly be any worse. However, he still tried hard to squeeze out a smile as he said, ¡°That ve is actually very disobedient which is why his owner wanted to bring him here to exchange for a slightly more obedient one¡ª¡± ¡°He is one of mine,¡± Red Cloak coldly interrupted him mid-sentence, ¡°But he was captured by the likes of you, making me search for him for two whole days!¡± The city lord was shocked. He growled, ¡°So this was all just a tant attempt to take a ve home for free!¡± Red Cloak ignored the usation and instead turned to face Silvester. He said in amanding tone, ¡°Take out your insignia for them to see!¡± Insignia? Silvester stared nkly, but since he only had a single insignia on him, he fished it out from an inner pocket in his clothes at once, and that was the imperial bard¡¯s white rose insignia! Everyone was dumbstruck and could only stare at that rose insignia. For a moment, nobody dared to believe that the Holy King¡¯s white rose insignia would actually appear in a ce like this. The city lord was standing right beside Silvester, so he could see it the clearest. The engravings on the rose insignia were so exquisite and graceful that it looked nothing like a fake. Come to think of it, when I was captured earlier, I would have been able to free myself if I had just taken out this insignia, right? As he watched the emotions in the room turn from astonishment to dread, Silvester suddenly felt that he might be a little stupid. At this point, the city lord feared that it was impossible to plead his innocence any longer. With shifty eyes, he saw the crowd on the floor looking around in all directions, trying to find an exit, as if they wanted to run away. After all, if any of them managed to escape, no one would be in power to convict them of any crimes. In the end, only the city lord himself had nowhere to run! The city lord turned to face the city patrol captain and shouted, ¡°If the Holy King hears of this, we are all dead! He¡¯s only one person, so killing him off will solve the problem! Patrol team, attack!¡± If the man was killed, everyone present would have no choice but to help conceal the crime. The city lord thought he had the perfect n¡ª if they were to survive, they would survive together. If they were going down, they were going to go down together. Purchasing ves was one thing. Watching without acting when one of the Holy King¡¯s men was killed was another thing altogether. As long as the two people involved with the insignia died, no one in the room would be free of guilt! The patrol captain had his mouth agape and was at his wit¡¯s end. Helping capture people and passing them off as ves to sell did give him a goodmission, so he was more than happy to do that. However, he definitely did not have the guts to actually kill the holder of a white rose insignia. ¡°I said attack!¡± The city lord¡¯s mouth distorted from his rage. He furiously berated the patrol captain, ¡°If they get away from here, we won¡¯t be able to live any longer! A death sentence for all!¡± Death sentence¡­ Upon hearing those two words, the patrol captain immediately mustered up his courage. If I kill him, I will probably die. If I don¡¯t kill him, I also have to die¡­ Might as well risk my life! The patrol captain turned to bellow at his subordinates, ¡°Hear that?! Aren¡¯t you going to attack? If each personnds a strike, no one would be able to escape!¡± At this point, Cale promptly rushed towards Silvester and knocked him off the stage. He then shouted to the ves, ¡°Quickly, protect the two of them! If they are to die, we will definitely be silenced as well!¡± Evidently, the ves were very obedient towards Cale. Once they heard him speak, every one of them gathered around desperately to obstruct Silvester from view. However, as Red Cloak was farther away and the city patrol had long since charged over toward him, everyone could only helplessly watch as sword after sword struck in Red Cloak¡¯s direction. Cale was so worried that he had nearly stopped breathing, but when he turned to look, he noticed Silvester was unexpectedly not worried in the least bit and was wearing an excited expression on his face instead, as if he was looking forward to something that was about to happen¡­ While Cale¡¯s entire mind was racing, he could still understand one thing; the man who was wearing a red cloak was perhaps not that easy to do away with. Hurry up! Hurry up and charge over! Red Cloak will beat you all into a painful pulp without a doubt! Silvester was so happy that the city patrol guards were about to be faced with misfortune that he nearly opened his mouth to cheer! A sword was about to cut the top of Red Cloak¡¯s head. However, he did not even spare it a nce and extended his hand to grab the guard¡¯s sword hand. He then proceeded to use his other hand to punch the guard¡¯s stomach. It was so fast that the punch was practically invisible, and the other party had already flown back before anyone noticed. Although there were tens of opponents who were each armed with a sword, Red Cloak looked as if he did not mind it at all. If someone charged at him, he delivered a fist right back and sent them flying away battered, as if doing so was as rxing as drinking a sip of water. As Cale watched this, he felt as if his eyeballs were about to pop out. What kind of strength is this? ¡°What¡­¡± Cale nced sideways toward Silvester. He more or less understood what Silvester was going to say. What tremendous skill, what a miraculous move, what an unimaginable amount of strength, or something along these lines, right? ¡°What a boring fighting style!¡± Silvester said in an extremely disappointed manner. He thought that he would be able to see Red Cloak¡¯s giant strength and godly powers. With his de quick as lightning, each sh making ¡®shua shua shua¡¯ sounds and sending people flying, and finally an explosion of battle aura so strong that it would shake the room and copse the entire building¡­ But in the end, Red Cloak did not care for the pride of the guards and settled the fight with his fists, and there was not even any trick to it. He simply grabbed the sword hand and then sent his enemy flying with a punch. It was boring to the extreme. ¡°Boring?¡± Cale found it hard to believe as he said, ¡°Have you got it wrong? His fighting style is simple and effective. It¡¯s basically a killing technique!¡± ¡°Killing technique?¡± Silvester asked curiously. Cale nodded and said, ¡°If there were weapons in his hands, and he struck with a weapon instead of his fists, every strike by that weapon would be a life lost! That person has to be part of the military, right?¡± Of course! And he also holds the highest rank in the entire military! Red Cloak is the Warrior Queen who led an army to defeat the demon race after all! Being the only one who knew Red Cloak¡¯s true identity, Silvester felt an endless amount of pride in his heart. He had long forgotten that Red Cloak never even admitted to being the Warrior Queen. By the time Red Cloak sent the fifth or sixth guard flying¡ª and this was only over a span of a few seconds¡ª the other guards no longer dared to charge forward. Even the guards attacking the ves had stopped, as they feared that an assault on any of the ves would provoke the terrifying guy who had settled each guard with a single punch. While everyone was silently staring at Red Cloak, and no one dared budge an inch, Red Cloak shouted a line that no one expected. ¡°Bard, let¡¯s go!¡± Silvester stared nkly at him. We¡¯re going now? But how can that be so? I was still looking forward to¡­ Red Cloak looked furious when he charged over to face the city lord directly and shouted, ¡°I am the Warrior Queen! How audacious of you, actually daring to try andy a finger on me?¡± Upon hearing this, the city lord was so scared that he fell to his knees and cried out, ¡°You¡­ No, Mdy, you¡¯re the Warrior Queen? The brilliantly famed Warrior Queen who warded off the demon race?¡± Red Cloak¡­ No, she should be addressed as the Warrior Queen. Sheughed coldly and said, ¡°That¡¯s me!¡± The city lord shrieked, ¡°I went so far as tounch an attack on the Warrior Queen¡­ My crime can only be paid with ten thousand deaths!¡± He then fainted and fell to the floor. The Warrior Queen disdained watching the city lord, so she subsequently turned to face Silvester. The expression on her face was much gentler now, and she even changed to a warm tone when speaking. ¡°Silvester, it¡¯s all thanks to you risking your life to return as an undercover spy that we are able to arrest him on the spot. Otherwise, the city lord may have very well escaped.¡± ¡°It was no big deal!¡± Silvester smiled humbly and said in an elegant manner unmatched by anyone else, ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, it¡¯s such a small matter. If it¡¯s a request from the Warrior Queen, I¡¯d brave through the burning mes and rushing currents. I, Silvester, will absolutely never decline any¡­ ¡°Aaaaaah! Ouch ouch ouuchhh!¡± When Silvester hade back to his senses, Red Cloak retracted her two fingers. From her expression and stance, she looked as if she had done nothing at all, as if she hadn¡¯t just pinched someone¡¯s cheek. ¡°Why did you pinch me?¡± Silvester felt so extremely aggrieved that two tears fell from his eyes, and his cheek felt as if it would drop off. ¡°It¡¯s time to go. Someone wille to clear up this messter.¡± Of course, Red Cloak would not speak of the actual reason, that his expression made her want to hit him. She simply shot a nce at him and said, ¡°You can stay here if you want to.¡± ¡°N-no! I¡¯ming with you!¡± Silvester spoke hurriedly. He was truly afraid that Red Cloak would abandon him and leave. He really did not know how many years it would take to find her again. Oh yeah! Silvester turned his head to face Cale. No matter how much he thought, he could not figure out what to say to the other party. In the end, he simply said, ¡°Goodbye Cale, see you around!¡± Cale stared at Silvester. He then abruptly turned around and ran, slipping away faster than Red Cloak and Silvester. At this moment, something that sounded like uniform footsteps came from the outside. It did not resemble the footsteps of a bunch ofmon folk at all. Red Cloak fished Silvester up in one swoop and then jumped out the window to escape in a sh. At this point, the remaining people in the room regained their senses and wanted to run away as well, but it was toote for them. The front door was kicked down and¡­ ¡°Thew enforcement division is here to handle this case. No one is allowed to move, and anyone who dares to run away will be killed without question!¡± Volume 1, 7: Intertwined—translated by CesiumBlack

Volume 1, Chapter 7: Intertwined¡ªtranted by Cesiumck

The two sprinted for quite a long period of time. It was only upon seeing that Silvester was gasping for breath as if he was on his deathbed that Red Cloak slowed her steps to a walk. Silvester let out a sigh of relief. After walking for a section of road and recovering his breath, he immediately blurted out, ¡°Warrior Queen,e with me to find my teacher!¡± ¡°No!¡± Red Cloak growled. Silvester was startled but did not intend to give up just like that. After going through all that trouble to find the Warrior Queen, he could not give up no matter what! ¡°It¡¯s not too far from here, only two days¡¯ travel¡­¡± Red Cloak stopped walking, her ck pupils boring into Silvester¡¯s face. She said indifferently, ¡°I¡¯m not going with you to see LL. You should give up!¡± Hearing this, Silvester hung his head and said slightly sadly, ¡°Even if it is a grave, you are still not willing to go?¡± Red Cloak was shocked. She looked toward Silvester, using her eyes to wordlessly ask for confirmation. Herpanion nodded his head slightly. It was only after a lengthy pause that Red Cloak forced out a short sentence. ¡°How did he die?¡± ¡°Illness,¡± Silvester honestly replied. ¡°Two years ago, Teacher came down with a serious cold and passed away after a month of lying in bed. His body was not well in the first ce, and he¡¯d often burst out coughing uncontrobly for some reason¡­¡± ¡°It was internal injuries.¡± Red Cloak calmly exined, ¡°He had previously suffered from extremely serious internal injuries.¡± Silvester goggled. He had not known of this, always assuming that his teacher had always been sickly. In addition to that, his teacher had never exined this matter to him. ¡°Before he died, Teacher wanted me to seek you out. He would only let me inherit his harp and be freed from the duty of singing ¡¯The Bad of the Warrior Queen¡¯ for three days if I found you and received an answer.¡± Silvester used a pleading tone of voice to beseech her, ¡°Regardless of whether you¡¯ll give me an answer or not, please at leaste with me to visit my teacher!¡± Red Cloak was unable to refuse this request for her to pay respects to a departedrade. While the two were walking through a forest, Red Cloak was originally content to just stay silent and follow Silvester, but the more they walked the more she thought that something was not quite right. She had initially thought that this forest was just a midway point to their destination, but the two of them had already been walking in this vicinity for quite some time. Don¡¯t tell me this is the destination? ¡°You didn¡¯t bury LL in a forest, did you?¡± Red Cloak angrily grabbed Silvester¡¯s cor, growling, ¡°If you buried him here, he¡¯ll be dug up and devoured by wild animals! If LL¡¯s grave is dug up, I¡¯ll put you in a grave as well!¡± Silvester hurriedly denied, ¡°No, no, I buried Teacher in a very pretty ce overlooking the ocean! It¡¯s only that I need to find God first, before I go find Teacher! I remember that I put Him on a tree in this forest, but why can¡¯t I find that tree¡­¡± Red Cloak¡¯s face was expressionless. Seeing her nk face, Silvester felt that the situation had taken a turn for the worse, so he quickly yelled, ¡°God! Where are You?! I forgot where I left You! Come out quickly!¡± ¡°Even if there really was a gold slime, you really think it would wait for you in a tree for this long?¡± ¡°He will!¡± Silvester confidently nodded his head, saying, ¡°Without me, God won¡¯t even move one bit!¡± Damn it, I want to beat you up until you¡¯re the one who can¡¯t even move one bit! Red Cloak was on the verge of losing her temper. She honestly did not know where LL had gotten such a ridiculous student from. ¡°Ouch!¡± Silvester¡¯s entire body suddenly ended up on the ground. He let out a few grunts of pain, until he heard Red Cloak say, ¡°Still not up yet? Do you need me to give you a kick or two?¡± Normally, shouldn¡¯t one ask if he needed some help getting up? Feeling aggrieved, Silvester got to his feet. However, he discovered his head now felt rather strange. ¡°Oh no, my head feels really heavy! I think I might have a concussion!¡± After he had finished yelling worriedly, he noticed that Red Cloak¡¯s stare was somewhat off. In fact, it seemed that her gaze was not directed at him but rather just above his head¡­ He cried out in surprise and delight, ¡°Ah! God, You came back?¡± Red Cloak frowned and looked at the thing on top of Silvester¡¯s head. It looked to be about the same as a regr slime¡ª a translucent, gtinous glob that somewhat resembled a fruit jelly. It was merely that its color was not a slime¡¯s usual green but a golden color instead. She didn¡¯t expect that there really would be a golden slime¡­ Wait, does it have eyes? Even though they were very small, like two sesame seeds suspended in the body of a fruit jelly, they really did look like eyes. However, slimes should not have eyes. In addition to that, this lump of a thing even had a brightly colored design in its middle, which at first nce looked to be a decorative motif. Regardless of what it was, there was no way that it could be a god, even if Silvester was hugging it and repeating over and over: ¡°God, good thing You didn¡¯t get lost!¡±, ¡°God, how have you been these past few days?¡±, ¡°Hahaha, stop wiggling, it tickles!¡± If this is a god, then every household would have a god¡ªkept in the doghouse outside! ¡°God, this is a new friend! Let¡¯s say hi!¡± Silvester introduced Red Cloak. ¡°God¡± wanted to show friendliness, initially looking as if he wanted to jump onto her. However, upon seeing Red Cloak¡¯s eyes fill with a warning of, ¡°If you dare get closer I¡¯ll make mincemeat out of you,¡± ¡°God¡± immediately shrank back into Silvester¡¯s embrace, even using a tail he had just pulled out to tightlytch onto his arm, refusing to greet the other party even on pain of death. ¡°Hehe, God¡¯s just very shy!¡± Silvester saidughingly. ¡°You call him God?¡± Red Cloak said insipidly, ¡°I¡¯ll give it a new name. From here on let¡¯s change its name to Ohmygod!¡± ¡°Ohmygod?¡± Silvester nodded his head and said, ¡°This name is pretty good. God is my little God, after all!¡± It¡¯s ¡°Ohmygod¡± from oh my god what on earth is that! Red Cloak did not exin further, as the only reason she gave Ohmygod a name was to prevent Silvester from repeatedly calling a mutant slime ¡°God¡± in the middle of a city, so as to avoid the trouble that would bring. Red Cloak tly reminded, ¡°It¡¯s gettingte. We should hurry up.¡± ¡°Right!¡± ¡°We¡¯re here, we¡¯re here!¡± The two reached their destination around evening the next day, much faster than the two days that Silvester had said it would take. This, of course, was due to the two¡¯s traveling styles being vastly different. Silvester usually stopped frequently to look at the flowers or the grass, but Red Cloak, who had just gotten the news of arade¡¯s death, did not have the inclination or patience to do such a thing. After being kicked a few times, Silvester no longer had the inclination to stop frequently either. They were at a patch of grass close to the edge of a cliff. The view was superb, allowing one to survey the ocean. Even though Silvester had said it was at this spot, there was no tombstone. Red Cloak fixed an extremely unfriendly stare onto Silvester. Silvester immediately pointed out arge stone that was not too far into the distance, saying, ¡°Teacher is buried beside thatrge stone because he didn¡¯t want me to set up a tombstone for him. He also wanted to be directly buried in the dirt, not even wanting to use a coffin. He said that once we die we have to return to the earth, and even if we¡¯re put into a coffin and get a gravestone, won¡¯t we rot just the same? So there¡¯s no point at all.¡± Red Cloak looked at the stone that was practically half a man¡¯s height, while the sounds of Silvester¡¯s exnation drifted to her ears. ¡°I was afraid that I wouldn¡¯t be able to find his resting ce again, so I buried him beside thisrge stone.¡± Red Cloak nodded her head, as being interred directly into the earth truly sounded like something LL would prefer. She walked towards therge rock¡­ ¡°You¡¯re already stepping on Teacher,¡± Silvester pointed out. Red Cloak expressionlessly took two steps back and lowered her head, staring at the ground. ¡°Um, I think you¡¯re still stepping on his feet,¡± Silvester affirmed a bit unwillingly. ¡°Then let him be stepped on!¡± Red Cloak suddenly yelled angrily, ¡°He deserves it anyways! Not even telling me that he was dying, that bastard!¡± Silvester did not dare make a single sound. After yelling, Red Cloak quieted down and for a long time did not speak a word. So long, in fact, that Silvester was beginning to feel drowsy. He had truly pushed himself too much during their journey yesterday evening and today and was so tired that he could sit on the ground and fall asleep straightaway¡­ ¡°Lorenzo, you were wrong.¡± The muttered sentence jolted Silvester awake. In fact, it was rather amazing how alert he was now, anxiously staring at Red Cloak¡¯s back. ¡°When you asked me whether I still loved Lancel, I didn¡¯t answer. Maybe I still loved him, but when holding off the onught of the demons, certainly the majority of the time I only prayed that the mountain pass would not be breached, that the soldiers beside me would live to see another day. Never mind receiving news of Lancel¡¯s marriage, even if it had been news of his death, I¡¯m afraid that I¡¯d still have only been able to worry about the rear lines not having enough people to provide support or about how to best protect a mountain pass. ¡°Honestly, I am not suited to talking about love.¡± Even though the root of all of this was in fact love, in the end, this initial reason was no longer important¡­ Thinking this, Red Cloak let out a self-deprecatingugh. ¡°Then, what are you looking at, after all of this?¡± Silvester asked quietly, deeply afraid of angering Red Cloak who was currently talking with an old friend. Red Cloak became silent then opened her mouth, ¡°What I am looking at is the sky, freedom; they are my original dreams that I¡¯ve forgotten for too long ¡ªthe desire to explore every inch of this world.¡± Finished speaking, she silently gazed at therge stone, her eyes filled with grief. She could not help but regret that she did not make her intentions clear at that time, causing a misunderstanding that still had not been cleared up. However, they had already been separated by death¡­ Silvester knelt on the ground and was digging as if he wanted to dig LL up. This forced Red Cloak to have no choice but to set aside her worries, gritting her teeth while asking, ¡°What are you doing?¡± Silvester replied in a happy tone of voice, ¡°Digging up the harp! I finally got an answer after a lot of difficulty, so I can finally inherit Teacher¡¯s harp.¡± Harp? Red Cloak did not continue to speak, only watching silently as he dug up a wooden box. When he opened it to look inside, there was indeed a harp, the arc of the musical instrument decorated with gold siding and green jewels. Red Cloak was very familiar with this harp, as this had been Lorenzo¡¯s treasure. It was evident that it had now be someone else¡¯s treasure. Silvester gazed upon it like he would gaze upon a lover, and there was so much awe in his eyes that it looked like it was about to overflow. Even when that ¡°God¡± reached out a golden gtinous arm to touch, it received a pat from Silvester, not letting Him mess with it. ¡°Since you like this harp so much, why didn¡¯t you take it with you right after LL died?¡± Silvester naturally replied, ¡°Of course I could not! I had already promised Teacher that I would only take the harp after I¡¯d gotten an answer to the question!¡± Red Cloaked smiled and calmly said, ¡°Your teacher was an idiot, but you are an even bigger idiot!¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± Silvester happily said, ¡°My teacher even told me that if I hadn¡¯t been idiotic enough, he would never have taken me as a student. He also said that what the Warrior Queen hates the most are clever people! She once told those clever people, ¡®You can continue to use your cleverness in unimportant things; I won¡¯t listen to even a word of your nonsense anyway! Follow mymand or experience my de firsthand, make your own choice!¡¯¡± ¡°I¡¯m not the Warrior Queen.¡± Red Cloak unenthusiastically said, ¡°Not anymore.¡± Hearing the first sentence, Silvester was shocked for a moment but after hearing thetter one¡­ Not anymore? Since she isn¡¯t anymore, then that means that she used to be, right? Silvester started smiling, seizing that chance to ask, ¡°Then if you aren¡¯t the Warrior Queen, what should I call you?¡± Red Cloak became unresponsive for a moment, but still replied, ¡°I have a lot of names. Dancingde Dragon was the one I used the most, in the past, but I don¡¯t want to use it right now. Hmmm¡­you can just call me Carol.¡± ¡°Dancing? A dancing de, like in a dance? And your family name is Dragon? That¡¯s a very unusual surname.¡± Silvester was in fact very curious about the name Dancingde. Carol shot him a quick look of hidden surprise, saying, ¡°You¡¯re actually the first person to get that right, as Dancingde is in fact a name that the elves gave me. However, everyone upon hearing it would always assume it refers to a de wielded for battle, soter on I directly used Warriorde instead.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen elves?¡± Silvester was envious to the point that his eyes were nearly bugging out of his head. Those elves, beautiful yet existing only in legend, were assuredly the race that all wandering bards most wanted to see. ¡°A long time ago.¡± Carol¡¯s brief answer made it clear that she did not want to exin. ¡°Can you¡­¡± Tell me, who was it that gave you the name of Carol? ¡°No.¡± Carol cut him off with a single word. ¡°I didn¡¯t even say anything yet!¡± Silvester immediately protested. ¡°I said no.¡± ¡°Not even a single thing?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then, can I stop following you?¡± ¡°No.¡± After Carol had reflexively answered, she stared nkly for a while and then frowned at the bard. Silvester let out a smile that was so sickeningly sweet that it was as cavity-inducing as a piece of cake, saying, ¡°So I can¡¯t stop following you? Then I have no choice but to follow you! Please give me your guidance, Carol. I am called Silvester Uriah Nate, and I want to be the world¡¯s greatest wandering bard!¡± After hearing that tongue-twisting name, Carol calmly said, ¡°Oh, so it¡¯s Sun (S.U.N.)? Not bad, this name is very easy to remember.¡± ¡°¡­You can call me Silvester.¡± ¡°Sun, it¡¯s gettingte. We should go now.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s not short enough, you can call me Silvie¡­ Wait! What did you say? We should go now? You mean I can really follow you? Carol, don¡¯t walk that fast, wait for me!¡± Volume 2, 1: Number, 1, Prologue

Volume 2, Chapter 1: Number, 1, Prologue

Trantor: Doza Previously: Due to his teacher Lorenzo Luis¡¯s final wish, Silvester began searching for his teacher¡¯s oldpanion, one of the Holy King¡¯s two wives¡ªthe Warrior Queen. With great difficulty, he finally managed to find the Warrior Queen, who now goes by the name of Carol and travels all around the world. After much pestering and the use of his teacher¡¯s name, Silvester managed to make Carol agree to be hispanion, and now they travel the continent together¡­ ¡°Silvester!¡± A roar prated the forest, startling countless birds into the sky and even scaring ferocious beasts into running off one after another. The originally tranquil forest was suddenly in turmoil. Silvester, usually shortened to ¡°Silvie,¡± was presently feeling wronged as he crouched on the ground, looking up from below and giving off a bright-eyed, pitiable expression. This trick was very effective on the female gender. Whenever he was hungry, as long as he made this sort of bright-eyed expression, he would usually be able to find a female who would give him a free meal. Unfortunately, the female in front of him had the most masculinity out of anyone in the entire world. (Formerlymanding five thousand troops to oppose fifty thousand demons, the Warrior Queen¡ªalso known as Carol¡ªwho had journeyed under countless skies with her pair of dual des, was currently Silvie¡¯spanion.) However, this word panion¡± was in itself only Silvie¡¯s own acknowledgment¡­ ording to Carol¡¯s words, if he had not been her deceasedpanion¡¯s only student, he would have been abandoned by the roadside long ago, and would even have a ¡°Stupid creature. Please do not pick up¡± sign stuck onto him. ¡°Tell me!¡± Carol roared. ¡°How many times has it been that you¡¯ve endangered yourself now?¡± Silvie blinked and said, ¡°The th-thir¡­¡± At first he thought of casually saying the third time, but faced with Carol¡¯s eyes burning with ck mes, he truly didn¡¯t have the courage to lie without blinking. He truthfully replied, ¡°Maybe the thirty-fifth time.¡± ¡°You¡¯re sure?¡± ¡°¡­ If you include slipping and almost falling down a mountain wall, stepping on the tail of a cobra, and stealing honey and ending up being chased by a swarm of bees, then it would be the thirty-eighth time.¡± Carol said coldly, ¡°Then tell me, how long have we been adventuring together?¡± ¡°I know, I know!¡± Silvie smiled very sweetly. ¡°Just two more days and it will be a full month! Are we going to celebrate a bit? How about going to the tavern and ordering a banquet? That¡¯s a bit extravagant but it is a rare asion,memorating a month since we¡¯ve met. What do you think we should order? A slice of cake is a must, and then, and then¡­¡± No! If Silvie had not been her deceasedpanion¡¯s only student, she would have already killed him a hundred times over! Carol¡¯s face twitched, her hand on the hilt of one of the dual des on her back, but upon further thought, killing this guy would tarnish her own de! She then lowered her hand, clenched her fist, and growled, ¡°Shut up or die!¡± Silvie cleverly chose to shut up immediately, even crossing two fingers in front of his mouth to make an ¡®X.¡¯ Carol breathed deeply with all her might. Calm down! Calm down! However much this guy is stupid, talkative, and useless, he is also LL¡¯s only student. On behalf of LL¡­ LL you old bastard! What kind of student did you ept? Was it because of your old age that your sympathy overflowed, and so you were determined to take care of a piece of rubbish? ¡°Go!¡± Carol had exhausted all of her strength before she managed to calm down. After saying that one word she immediately continued forward, not caring the least bit whether the person behind would be able to keep up¡­ It would be even better if he can¡¯t keep up! It was a pity that while the person behind her was not good at anything, his skill at following people was actually decent. Although Carol wasn¡¯t running, her pace was not slow either, yet Silvie always managed to easily trail behind. So having long legs gives such an advantage! Carol nced behind her, confirming that Silvie was indeed following two steps away and, judging by his rxed expression, was not finding it hard to follow her. After walking for a while, Silvie finally could not help but open his mouth to ask, ¡°Carol, how are we going to celebrate the daymemorating our month-longpanionship¡­?¡± Carol, who was walking in front immediately lifted her right hand; five fingers starting from the little finger began to curl one by one, until atst it became a fist bursting with blue veins. Seeing this, Silvie could only close his mouth in grief and switch to mumbling in his heart. But there is only one chance tomemorate our month-longpanionship! How can we not pleasantly celebrate this very important day? But seeing that Carol appears very angry, maybe I should just give up? Ah! Oh right, it¡¯ll be okay if I wait until our two month anniversary and then celebrate both anniversaries together¡­ ¡°Ahh!¡± Here we go again¡­ Upon hearing this cry of rm, Carol stopped walking, sure that she would have to save him again though her heart only bore the wish to kill him. She turned around. There were no traces of Silvie in front of her. Looking down, she could see him clinging to the edge of a giant pit, obviously a trap set by a hunter. But there was inly arge pile of leaves and branches spread atop it. So long as a person had eyes, he would not fall in¡­ However, this guy in front of her seemed to have thrown his sight out the window and fallen in, and even looked miserably at her with his pair ofrge, watery, blue eyes. Those eyes are so huge yet they don¡¯t have a single bit of usefulness! She crouched down, faced that big pair of big blue eyes, and asked suspiciously, ¡°How could you have managed to survive on your own up until now?¡± At this moment, a ball of yellow jelly poked its head out from the area of Silvie¡¯s chest. A knowledgeable person would know with a nce that this was a slime, only a slime was normally green. This one was gold, with a strange decoration on its head, and even possessed two tiny eyes! Its name was Ohmygod, with reference to God but with the meaning of ¡°Oh my god, what is that?¡± At this moment, Ohmygod¡¯s eyes were half-opened, half-closed, clearly having just been startled awake. ¡°Ohmygod, hurry and pull me up,¡± Silvie shouted. Ohmygod¡¯s tiny eyes fully opened in an instant. It leapt from Silvie¡¯s chest to the ground, wrapped its tail around Silvie¡¯s hand, and then forcefully lifted Silvie up. Carol watched as Ohmygod, who was no bigger than a person¡¯s head, used its tail to lift Silvie out¡­ Maybe she had been making a mistake all along about who was the master and who was the pet? Silvie finally climbed out. His whole body was covered in mud and he looked exhausted, but he lifted his head and smiled at Carol. ¡°I¡¯ve crawled out already! I¡¯m fine! I didn¡¯t get hurt!¡± Silvie¡¯s smile was of the kind between a boy¡¯s smile and a man¡¯s smile. When she had first seen it, Carol had admired this smile quite a lot; it carried a bit of a child¡¯s sincerity yet was not without a man¡¯s charm. But now, as she looked at that smile, she only felt an iparable headache. This guy is not a man at all; he is definitely a boy who has yet to grow up! Silvie brushed the dust off his body and subsequently took out ab and ran it through that head of long, golden hair. After neatening up his appearance, he raised his head and faced Carol with a smile, saying, ¡°I¡¯m done! Let¡¯s go! Carol, if we don¡¯t continue onwards the sky will turn dark soon.¡± Under the light of the setting sun, Silvie¡¯s smile was even more matchless in its brilliance. So there are still advantages for a person to be handsome. At the very least, her tolerance of Silvie had increased a bit because of it, and she would probably be able to resist killing him for a few more days. Probably. ¡°Mm, let¡¯s go.¡± Volume 2, 2: Number, 2, Divergence

Volume 2, Chapter 2: Number, 2, Divergence

Trantor: raylight When asking for rooms at the inn, Carol had originally wanted to get two rooms. However, she hadn¡¯t expected that upon opening her wallet, she would find that they probably wouldn¡¯t have money for dinner if she really booked two. Carol hesitated for a moment, but that was not because she had apprehensions regarding people of opposite genders sharing a room. They had basically slept in the same tent for the past month. It was just that Silvie was simply too noisy. Sleeping in separate rooms at night would be the only way to avoid hearing his voice. ¡°One room is enough.¡± In the end, she reluctantly asked for a single room. In the end, tonight¡¯s rest won¡¯t be a very quiet one. She turned around and walked back to their table, but upon seeing Silvie look around excitedly, his mouth already open in preparation to start talking, Carol had only one feeling. It is high time to start doing missions to earn money. ¡°Carol! We haven¡¯te into a city for almost a month! Why did you suddenly want to enter one?¡± Silvie asked excitedly, ¡°Are we going to look for evil-doers, capture them, and make them forsake evil and return to the right path? Just like thest time with the city lord!?¡± Forsake evil and return to the right path? Carol shot a nce at Silvie, and then said indifferently, ¡°I¡¯m not looking for evil-doers or whatever intentionally. It was just that countless soldiers had used their lives to protect this country, thus at that time when I saw that this country had areas of corruption, I just wanted to take action and excise that corruption. Also, it is ¡®excising evil,¡¯ not forsaking evil or whatever and returning them to the right path!¡± Silvie received a shock when he heard her. ¡°Excising them? You mean to say¡­ Killing them? B-but some people perhaps aren¡¯t that evil, and as long as you talk to them properly, they might change for the better!¡± Carol gave a coldugh and replied, ¡°Just like the city lord before who was selling ves in private? Once the operation fell through and was exposed, he was even prepared to murder someone who carried a white rose insignia to prevent the secret from being divulged. Don¡¯t tell me that you seriously believed that he would change for the better?¡± ¡°He might have!¡± Unexpectedly, Silvie said this as though it was a matter of fact. ¡°He thought that he would be sentenced to death! For the sake of living, that¡¯s why he would do such a thing!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not ¡®thought,¡¯ it¡¯s a fact. Once the fact that he was selling ves in private was exposed, he would certainly die, no doubt about it.¡± ¡°What?¡± Silvie¡¯s eyes widened, and he eximed, ¡°He would be sentenced to death?¡± ¡°Sentenced to hang, that¡¯s the kind of penalty it would be,¡± was Carol¡¯s clear-cut reply. Silvie¡¯s eyes opened even wider, and he trembled as he said, ¡°Why must he be killed? Perhaps he might change for the better¡­ If he is killed, he would never be able to amend his ways.¡± ¡°For the sake of this ¡®perhaps,¡¯ how many more deaths would ur?¡± Carol coldly said, ¡°Without a harsh enough penalty, how would we stop the rest of the popce from selling ves in private as well? If the crime of selling ves in private were to spread, how many people do you think would suffer from it? You were also once a victim of it, weren¡¯t you? If it weren¡¯t for me, you would already have the mark of a ve branded on your body!¡± Silvie muttered in a small voice, ¡°But even if one was sold as a ve, at least they are still alive. Is this not so? As long as one still lives, hope exists.¡± Carol frowned, but did not say anything more. She unconcernedly said, ¡°Order some dishes! There isn¡¯t much money left, so you¡¯re not allowed to order wine.¡± Hearing about this prohibition, Silvie just could not ept it and beganining, ¡°I¡¯m not a drunkard! I rarely drink!¡± Carol did not quite believe him. ¡°Last time, didn¡¯t you very happily drink wine worth one silver ducat?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because I hadn¡¯t been drinking in a long time!¡± Silvie hurriedly exined, ¡°Thest time I had gone drinking was after I had buried teacher LL!¡± After he finished speaking, he saw Carol¡¯s face darken, and immediately realized that he had made a mistake with his speech. LL¡¯s full name was Lorenzo Louis, and he had possessed the white rose insignia that was personally bestowed upon him by the Holy King. As the imperial bard, he was a pastpanion of Carol¡¯s and was also Silvie¡¯s teacher. However, he had died of illness two years ago. Carol had only learned of this a month ago and hadn¡¯t even managed to meet him onest time. Because of that, Carol had always been brooding about it. Especially since when the two of them had parted ways, LL had had a few misunderstandings about Carol, leaving the two of them with an unpleasant feeling in their hearts, an unpleasantness that she would now never be able to resolve. At this moment, a waiter walked over and briskly asked, ¡°What would you like to order?¡± ¡°Two tes of beef, a te of bread, two bowls of soup, and two bottles of grape wine!¡± Carol ordered without any hesitation. ¡°And a cup of milk!¡± Silvie added in a hurry, and then he registered what Carol had ordered. He blinked, not understanding her actions as he asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that we are not allowed to order wine?¡± Carol coldly said, ¡°I said that you are not allowed to order wine. Did I say that I couldn¡¯t order it myself?¡± Silvie was speechless. Though half of their money was earned through his singing, he still did not dare retort even once. Who had asked him to say something so imprudent just now anyways? The dishes arrived rather quickly. The aroma of beef made Ohmygod instantly squirm out of Silvie¡¯s embrace. Silvie cut up a piece of beef into several small pieces, and then put them into a small saucer together with the milk, so that Ohmygod could use his little mouth to swallow the food. Raising a carnivorous slime was a very expensive proposition. Thankfully, Ohmygod¡¯s food intake was notrge, as a piece of beef and a cup of milk was enough for it to stay sated for two to three days. Carol, on the other hand, grabbed a bottle of wine with one hand and started pouring it into a cup. Originally, Silvie thought that Carol was going to drink it all herself, and would not leave even a single drop for him. He didn¡¯t imagine that she would push the first cup of wine she finished pouring to him, saying, ¡°Drink!¡± Silvie received the wine cup, smiling as he said, ¡°There¡¯s also a portion for me?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no point in drinking alone.¡± Carol also poured herself a cup of wine, which she drank in one go. Compared to Carol¡¯s boldness, Silvie drank in small sips. A cup of wine that was hardly considered big took him five to six mouthfuls to finish. Carol shot a nce at Silvie. Though thetter¡¯s face had turned red, he seemed to have neither reacted peculiarly, nor have the mannerisms of a drunken person. She immediately poured another cup for him. Silvie¡¯s eyes widened, and he quickly ate some food to fill his stomach before he dared continue drinking. Who knew that once he had finished his second cup, Carol would serve him a third cup¡­ However, at this point, she herself had already drunk an entire bottle of wine. ¡°This won¡¯t do!¡± Silvie waved his hands repeatedly, declining the offer. ¡°I can only drink two cups, and absolutely cannot drink a third one!¡± ¡°Drink only two cups?¡± Carol seemed to be a bit impatient as she said, ¡°What kind of a stupid rule is that? Did LL set something like that for you again? Now that he has passed away early, don¡¯t be so troublesome. Drink up!¡± Holding the third cup of wine with both hands, Silvie pulled a long face. However, seeing that Carol¡¯s face had already darkened, he did not dare say that he refused to drink. After a moment of hesitation, he clenched his teeth, and then raised his head and drank it all. ¡°That¡¯s refreshing to see, much more bing of a man!¡± Carol poured herself yet another cup of wine, then raised her head and gulped it down. After she finished her drink, she saw Silvie with his head still raised, not moving. Seeing the situation, she raised an eyebrow¡­ With a ¡°Bang!¡± sound, Silvie copsed on the table. His forehead had even struck the tabletop directly, making a loud sound. Carol was stunned for a moment, and seeing that the other was not moving even an inch, she asked, ¡°Silvie?¡± Silvie did not stir at all. ¡°¡­¡± Carol seemed to have a smile that was not quite a smile on her face as she talked to herself, ¡°So he really could only drink two cups. He grasped his capacity for liquor far too precisely.¡± After finishing the meat on the table, Carol carried a man slung over one shoulder, held their luggage and two loaves of bread with her other hand, and returned to the inn¡¯s room. Afterward, she threw one person and one pet ¡ªor perhaps both of them were pets, one couldn¡¯t say for sure¡ª onto the bed. After that, she grabbed her dark red cloak and draped it on, even making the hood hang low over her face, and subsequently walked out of the room heading towards the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. In truth, she did not actually have a habit of concealing her true identity. However, there were too many idiotic individuals in the world, and there were always people who wanted to stir up trouble. For example, calling her a sissy, insinuating that she was actually a female¡­ Yup, that¡¯s right, that is, insinuating that ¡°she¡± was actually a female. Did she look that much like a guy? She was only wearing pants, coupled with being a little t-chested! Wearing a skirt might perhaps improve this kind of situation. However, regarding the thing called a skirt, she had already cut her ties with it for nearly ten years. Wearing a skirt and moving around was simply too difficult, not to mention she would probably be treated as a transvestite and invite trouble. From being suspected that I am actually a female to being suspected that I am actually a guy, both will invite trouble! Neither male nor female attire seem to fit. Carol was a little depressed upon thinking that. Once she arrived at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild, she immediately walked to the wall that waspletely covered with mission requests. For the past month, since she had received news of LL¡¯s death, she truly had not been in the mood to do any missions, and hadpletely stopped undertaking them. The money that she originally had left was already not a lot, and the expenses of an additional person werealso of a considerable amount. Thankfully, Silvie could always rely on his singing to earn at least a bit of money, so they did not have to go so far as to cut themselves off from cooked meals. However, she could not keep relying on Silvie to earn money! Carol looked to-and-fro for a suitable mission on the mission board. However, probably because of this city¡¯s remote location, there weren¡¯t many missions avable. If the reward money was too low, the mission was hardly worth doing. The majority of the rest of the missions were bodyguard missions. She certainly had no interest in protecting anyone. Having one Silvie is enough! After a tough time, she managed to pick a mission for gathering herbs, and the reward money was rtively high. ¡°So much money for gathering herbs?¡± Carol frowned, but after looking at the location where the herbs were approximately distributed, she understood why. It was in the utmost depths of a forest, and it was also very close to a certain xenophobic race¡¯s territory. Carol thought about it for a while, and then tore down that mission request. Turning around, three burly thugs stood in front of her, blocking her way. Just looking at their expressions, she knew that they did not just happen to be standing in her way. There really are too many idiotic individuals in this world! However, this time, Carol was not filled with impatience. That was because she just so happened to be in a pretty bad mood. Her fists clenched. Volume 2, 3: Number, 3, The Third One

Volume 2, Chapter 3: Number, 3, The Third One

Trantor: Doza Carol returned to her room in the inn, closed the door, and turned around just in time to see Silvie hurriedly covering something on the bed with a nket¡­ With such a huge lump on the bed, just who does he think he can conceal it from? Suddenly, Carol really wanted to crack open Silvie¡¯s head and check what the heck was inside. It wasn¡¯t impossible that she might find another slime inside. Flustered, Silvie said, ¡°C-Carol! Why are you back so early?¡± Early? She got in arge fight, took a mission, and in order to purchase the map required for the mission, had had to haggle at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. She had been upied from the afternoon until quitete at night and had only just returned. Would this still be considered early? ¡°What¡¯s underneath the nket?¡± Carol couldn¡¯t be bothered to answer Silvie. ¡°Luggage!¡± Carol raised an eyebrow, lifted her fist, and assumed the stance of someone about to throw some punches towards the nket. Silvie was so terrified that his face turned pale, and he hastily confessed, ¡°Don¡¯t hit him, it¡¯s not luggage, this was picked up by me¡­¡± Thest few words were so soft she couldn¡¯t hear them clearly at all. He picked up another stray animal? Carol grumpily said, ¡°Isn¡¯t one Ohmygod enough already?¡± She walked over, pushed Silvie aside in a single sweep, and lifted up the nket, saying, ¡°Something sorge, could it be a dog? Since you hid a dog on the bed, how will you sleep at night¡­?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a dog!¡± Silvie said hurriedly. ¡­ Indeed it is not a dog. Carol wordlessly looked at the thing on the bed. Silvie said apprehensively, ¡°Th-this is Cale¡­¡± He already chose a name? Carol continued to be silent. The thing on the bed was a badly wounded, skinny, unconscious¡­ and naked man. Silvie said anxiously, ¡°Cale¡¯s clothes were torn and covered in blood, so I removed them to wipe him down and apply some medicine to him. However, you just happened to enter the room, so I could only use the nket to cover him to prevent you from seeing a man¡¯s naked body.¡± So, the reason he hid the man was not to prevent me from discovering him. Wait, then he didn¡¯t have to lie that it was luggage earlier¡­ Even so, none of that is the main issue! Carol spun around and growled, ¡°Where did hee from?¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Silvie worriedly said, ¡°I don¡¯t know where hees from either?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not asking about where he was born; it¡¯s where you picked this thing up!¡± ¡°A small alley by the road!¡± Silvie said as if it were obvious, ¡°When I woke up, you were already gone. I thought that it seemed like we only had a little bit of money left, so I took my harp to go find a tavern where I could sing and earn money. Halfway there, I heard strange noisesing from an alley, so I walked over to see, and then I saw Cale lying on the ground! It was really exhausting for me to bring him back!¡± ¡°Who allowed you to bring him back?¡± Carol was agitated and angry. ¡°What do you think we are? A shelter for stray animals?¡± Nervous, Silvie said, ¡°B-but Cale was wounded very seriously and was even unconscious!¡± ¡°You brought an unfamiliar stranger¡­¡± As Carol roared these words, she suddenly felt that something didn¡¯t quite fit. Frowning, she asked, ¡°He was unconscious? Then how could you know his name?¡± It can¡¯t possibly be that Silvie had actually picked the name himself, intending to keep ¡®Cale¡¯ and Ohmygod together as pets? If so, she would beat him to a pulp! ¡°Previously, when I had been captured, I got acquainted with him during the auction where I nearly became a ve! At that time, Cale had also been captured, and it was he who led us out to escape!¡± Carol was stunned and wrinkled her brow. Silvie said nervously, ¡°Carol, can I apply medicine to him now?¡± Carol waved her hand, letting him do whatever he wanted, while she sat on the edge of the table, frowning as she watched the person on the bed. ¡°Carol!¡± Silvie said sternly and prudishly, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you at least look away? He is naked!¡± ¡°¡­¡± She shifted position to have her back facing the person on the bed, on the one hand listening to the intermittent sounds behind her, on the other hand thinking about how to take care of the person on the bed. But however much she pondered, there were only three steps. Treat his wounds, help him recover, and abandon when healed. ¡°Phew! I¡¯ve finally finished applying the medicine. Cale is pretty severely injured indeed.¡± Silvie walked over to Carol and sat down beside her, deeply worried as he said, ¡°And many of his wounds are past injuries. Furthermore, they don¡¯t look like wounds caused by idents!¡± Carol frowned as she looked at Silvie, asking, ¡°You¡¯ve studied a lot about wounds?¡± Silvieughed, ¡°It¡¯s because I often get hurt!¡± That is true. Carol stood up and walked to the bedside. The other person was already wearing shorts and a shirt, and although the exposed arms and legs were swathed in bandages, she could still faintly see some old scars. Barely giving the wounds a second nce, she indifferently gave a verdict, ¡°Majority of the scars are from whipping and clubbing, he was formerly tortured or mistreated by someone, and the duration was at least several months.¡± Silvie¡¯s eyes widened. Cale groaned and rather unwillingly opened his eyes. During his escape, he finally could not hang on any longer and passed out, so he was now most likely in the dungeons right? Listening, he seemed to already be able to hear the bellowing frequently heard in dungeons¡­ ¡°No keeping!¡± ¡°B-but he¡¯s so pitiful!¡± ¡°There are numerous pitiful people in the world; don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to pick up every one of them and look after them?¡± ¡°Of course I won¡¯t! I¡¯ll only pick up those that I know!¡± ¡°¡­What¡¯s your definition of people that you know?¡± ¡°That is¡­ people I¡¯ve met, talked to, and whose names I know!¡± ¡°After picking someone up, how would you not have met, talked to them, and know their names?¡± ¡°Eh? When you put it that way, that¡¯s also true!¡± ¡­ This sounded very different from conversations that would normally be going on in a prison cell. Cale forcefully opened his eyes, twisted his head to look, and realized that these people were not strangers. Astonished, he blurted out, ¡°Silvester?¡± Startled, Silvie turned to look at him, even walking to the bed, and asked concernedly, ¡°You¡¯re awake! Are you hurting anywhere? I was very worried that you might have broken bones!¡± Carol walked to the bedside, reaching out a hand to touch the person on the bed. Cale froze, but he recognized the other¡¯s face. He had previously seen Carol using only two fists to dispose of several dozen dagger and sword wielding guards, so he did not have the slightest intention to resist that person at all, not even if Carol wanted to snap all the bones in his entire body from head to toe. Silvie hastily said, ¡°Rx, rx, Carol is helping me check if you have any broken bones and isn¡¯t sexually harassing you!¡± ¡­ He had not even thought of this point. Cale did not consider his looks to be good enough to cause a man to think of sexually harassing him. Makes more sense if Silvester was the one who was sexually harassed! When Carol touched a rib, Cale was in so much pain that he wheezed out a deep breath. Calmly, she said, ¡°It¡¯s not broken, but it could be a fracture.¡± Silvie started panicking, ¡°Th-then what should we do?¡± ¡°Stay put and don¡¯t move.¡± It will heal just by not moving? Only then did Silvie calm down. Since Carol said that Cale would heal if he did not move, then it was definitely not that serious. He had a lot of trust in her conclusions about the conditions of injuries¡­ Every time he was injured, Carol just had to casually touch it to determine whether the bone was broken or not! ¡°No way! There are people chasing me. I have to leave this city as soon as possible!¡± Cale struggled to get up and admonished, ¡°If it¡¯s discovered that you sheltered me, there won¡¯t be a good end for the both of you too! So hurry up and let me go¡­ oomph!¡° Cale groaned,y back on the bed, and slipped into unconsciousness again, while Carol slowly withdrew her fist. Silvie cried out in a small voice and eximed in rm, ¡°How could you hit Cale! He¡¯s suffering from wounds!¡± ¡°The wounded need to recuperate, and sleep is the best for recuperation.¡± ¡°Oh, I see!¡± Silvie rxed, smiling as he said, ¡°I knew that Carol is a good person!¡± Bang¡ª! Singlehandedly, Carol threw the considerably injured man onto the ground. Silvie was so rmed he hurried forward to support Cale, then raised his head and threw a puzzled look at Carol. Carol looked down at Silvie and coldly said, ¡°This bed is mine. Do you have any objections?¡± ¡°No¡­¡± Volume 2, 4: Number, 4, Cale

Volume 2, Chapter 4: Number, 4, Cale

Trantor: Doza Cale opened his eyes and momentarily thought that he needed to hurry in making his escape¡­ Then he remembered that he had apparently met up with two strange fellows. He struggled to crawl upright and initially anticipated receiving an acute pain from his stomach wound. However, he didn¡¯t expect feeling merely a faint sting. This puzzled him a little, but the next thing he saw fully diverted his attention¡­ Other than trees around him, there was also ake. If he remembered correctly, thest time he had fainted he seemed to have been in an inn. Fortunately, he also saw a person¡¯s back, and that person¡¯s radiant golden hair allowed him to instantly know, without looking at his face, who this person was ©¤ Silvester. ¡°Silvester, where is this?¡± That person turned his head back, and as expected, he was Silvie who was smiling from ear to ear. He happily said, ¡°You¡¯re awake? We¡¯re in a forest.¡± Cale could notprehend the situation at all. ¡°Why am I in a forest? Wasn¡¯t I in the city? Did you guys leave the city that same night?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t the same night! A day has already passed. Since we needed to do a mission and had to leave town, we had to bring you as well. Fortunately, you only woke up once along the way.¡± One full day has already passed? Puzzled, Cale said, ¡°But I don¡¯t have any recollection of waking up earlier.¡± ¡°Because Carol just happened to be beside you¡­¡± So he sent me another punch? Cale felt somewhat morose. ¡°Where is that guy?¡± Cale looked left and right but didn¡¯t see the other person. ¡°That guy?¡± Upon seeing Cale¡¯s nervous expression, Silvie understood. ¡°Do you mean Carol? Carol went hunting because we don¡¯t have enough money to buy a lot of food rations. Oh, right! You¡¯re hungry, aren¡¯t you? Here, I used bread and dried meat to boil a pot of soup. Use this to fill your stomach first. When Carol returns, there will be meat to eat.¡± Cale epted the bowl that Silvie passed over. There was bread and shredded meat in the bowl, and it seemed like something simr to milk or cheese had been added. It smelled very savory and was simply a delicacy in his opinion. He immediately held up the bowl with both hands and started to eat heartily. In rapid session, he ate two bowls. Although he felt like having another bowl, he felt too embarrassed to request it. However, Silvie smiled delightedly. After taking the bowl, he refilled it with soup again and gave it to Cale. After his third bowl of soup, Cale saw that there was only half a pot of soup left. He truly felt a little embarrassed. After he passed the bowl back, even the tone of his words softened considerably. ¡°Did you carry me here? Thanks a lot.¡± He really didn¡¯t think that Carol would have carried him here. Silvie quickly shook his head, saying, ¡°It wasn¡¯t me, it was Ohmygod.¡± ¡°Oh, my god?¡± Cale blinked. ¡°You have yet anotherpanion?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± When he finished replying, Silvie patted his chest saying, ¡°Ohmygod,e out to greet him.¡± Just as Cale was about to ask out of confusion, he saw something odd¡­ A thing like a ball of thick fluid crawled out of Silvie¡¯s cor, bounced twice, and then turned from a t-shape to an object that was oval-shaped, like bread, yet looked extremely flexible¡­ Is this a slime? Cale was rather bewildered. But aren¡¯t all slimes green in color? I¡¯ve never heard of a gold colored slime before! ¡°What the heck is this?¡± ¡°Ohmygod.¡± Silvie pinched Ohmygod¡¯s cheek, then fished up a bit of shredded meat to feed it. ¡°God as in ¡®deity¡¯?¡± Cale asked, feeling extremely doubtful. ¡°No, Carol chose this name and said it means ¡®oh my god what is that,¡¯ ¡± Silvieined, ¡°I also felt that it should have been god as in deity!¡± ¡®Ohmygod¡¯ from ¡®oh my god what is that¡¯ is truly very suitable. Cale silently agreed with Carol in his heart. ¡°Are you saying it carried me here? That¡¯s impossible!¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s possible!¡± Silvie said in a matter-of-fact tone, ¡°Ohmygod can carry me and an additional pile of luggage! Of course it¡¯s possible to carry you here.¡± Is that so? So, slimes are actually demon beasts with a lot of strength? Cale was half doubtful. ¡°Cale, you should go bathe!¡± Silvie gestured to theke as he said, ¡°Last time, when your whole body was covered in blood, I only helped give you a simple sponge bath. The smell of blood on your body is still very strong. Go take a bath!¡± Cale sniffed at his body. Sure enough, he did not smell nice in any way whatsoever. It was actually nice of Silvie to only say that the smell of blood was strong, when in fact it was more along the line of various stenches like rotting blood and sweat mixed together. He wordlessly walked to thekeside, even though he knew that when the wounds on his body touched water, it would definitely hurt like hell. ¡°Remember to remove your bandages!¡± Silvie shouted, ¡°Later, I will help you re-apply the medicine and wrap on new bandages.¡± Cale turned his head and yelled ¡°okay!¡± When he took off his clothes and untied the bandages, he had initially expected to see himself in a terrible condition. Instead, he was amazed to discover that the wounds on his body had already formed scabs. Were the wounds on my body always this light? Cale pondered yet he could not think it through. As the wounds had already scabbed over, after getting into the water it was not painful in the slightest bit. Instead, the cool temperature of the water felt quite soothing. Although there were already scabs, he felt he still should not soak his body for too long. Cale quickly washed himself then went ashore, returning to the camp. Silvie first passed him a towel, allowing him to cover himself up, then took out a wooden box about the size of his palm from his luggage, and waved at him while saying, ¡°Sit down here, I¡¯ll help you apply medicine.¡± ¡°What sort of medicine is this?¡± Cale wrapped the towel around his waist, walked over to sit down, and said hopefully, ¡°Can you give a bit of it to me?¡± ¡°Of course I can! I made it using herbs. It¡¯s very effective! I can let you apply it, but Teacher said that it¡¯s especially effective when it¡¯s personally applied by me! So it¡¯s still better to allow me to apply the medicine for you!¡± Initially, Cale wanted to retort ¡°what difference is there in whoever applies the medicine!¡± but upon considering how the wounds on his body had formed scabs at an astonishingly fast rate, he closed his mouth again and did not dare object. While applying the medicine, Silvie asked cautiously, ¡°How did you receive so many injuries?¡± Cale said expressionlessly, ¡°Since when does escapee without injuries?¡± ¡°Why were you running away?¡± Cale fell silent before exining vaguely, ¡°With someone hunting me down, I had to run away.¡± Upon hearing this, Silvie did not dare to ask any further because Cale obviously seemed like he did not want to talk about it, and he simply was not good at pressing someone to say what he did not want to say. He could only concentrate on applying medicine, but when he was about to apply medicine on the left arm, he found a strange mark. It was a brand, a ve¡¯s brand, except there were numerous messy cuts on top of it, as if someone had frantically tried to scratch it off. Silvie felt his eyes warm, and he could not resist reaching out to touch that tragic scar. Cale felt goose bumps rising up all over his body, and he turned his head to scold, ¡°What are you¡­¡± He only spoke up till this point as he saw Silvie crying while applying the medicine¡­ So many goose bumps are rising that they could carpet the ground! What is wrong with this fellow? Why is a grown man weeping like this? ¡°Carol!¡± At that moment, Silvie suddenly shouted, ¡°You¡¯re back! Have you caught any prey?¡± ¡°Mm.¡± Cale followed Silvie¡¯s line of sight and saw Carol walking over out of the thicket, right hand dragging an adult deer, making it look as easy as dragging along a small dog. When she had dragged it to the middle of the camp, she took out a falchion from behind her waist and with a few sounds of ¡°swoosh swoosh swoosh,¡± chopped off one of the deer¡¯s hind legs, even cleanly shaving off all the deer hide on the surface. Lastly, she threw it in front of Silvie, saying, ¡°I couldn¡¯t hit a small one. You can roast this leg. I will turn the other parts into jerky to bring along on the road.¡± Although she saw that Silvie¡¯s eyes were red, she did not care too much about it. Compared to Cale, she understood Silvie much better. Even upon seeing prey that would be killed and eaten, this fellow would cry and beg her not to kill it, so she always ughtered the prey before bringing it back to the camp to avoid Silvie crying a considerable amount of tears and mucus and making her wish badly to punch him dead. ¡°Okay, no problem.¡± Regarding already dead prey, Silvie conversely did not have any apprehensions about eating it. In a short while, he strung the hind leg on a wooden stick and propped it up on the barbecue rack to roast. Cale watched Silvie. Thetter had already propped the hind leg up on the barbecue rack, whichpleted most of the work. It looked like it only had to be turned asionally, and it seemed like there was nothing else he could help out with. So, Cale looked towards Carol, thinking of helping section the deer into pieces to make jerky¡­ At this moment, Carol had already dragged the deer to the side of theke. She waved her falchion ceaselessly, and the deer turned from one piece to two halves and again to four pieces, eight pieces¡­ It seemed like there was nothing he could do to help with this side either¡­ Cale knew for a fact that he was not capable of splitting a deer in half with a single cut. He was left only with the option of walking back to the camp to nkly watch Silvie roast the meat. When Carol walked back from thekeside, sat down, and began to wipe her hands clean, Silvie happily said, ¡°We can eat now!¡± After Silvie filled a bowl with soup and handed it to Carol, he busied himself with tearing the meat into strips to eat more conveniently, then filled a bowl with meat and gave it to Cale. ¡°I don¡¯t need it,¡± Cale said politely, ¡°I just ate three bowls of soup so I¡¯m not really hungry¡­¡± Carol coldly said, ¡°Eat!¡± Cale immediately took the bowl, lowered his head, and started to eat the meat, not daring to utter even a single word. ¡°Tasty?¡± Silvie asked in a hopeful tone. ¡°Delicious! It¡¯s really good!¡± Cale nodded vigorously. This was not a mere act of courtesy. Although it was only roasted meat, under Silvie¡¯s careful watch, the meat had been roasted until the skin was crunchy and the flesh tender, cooked to perfection, causing him to nearly swallow his own tongue. Silvie showed a happy smile, saying, ¡°Really? It¡¯s great that you like it!¡± When he said this, Silvie stole a nce at Carol aggrievedly. ¡°Carol never says anything no matter what we¡¯re eating¡­¡± However, Carol still did not speak. Silvie already does things slow enough. He would simmer a pot of soup for two hours, roast a piece of meat for an hour¡­ If I were topliment his cooking, next time he would cook with even more care¡­ and also be even slower with it. After the three of them had eaten and drunk to their hearts¡¯ content, Carol halfid on the ground and held Ohmygod in her hand, gently caressing and stroking it. Is Ohmygod trembling? Cale silently watched as rings repeatedly rippled across the surface of the golden slime. He suddenly felt that the deer which had been turned into jerky was not too pitiful. At least it had died a quick death. Hoping to get an answer, Silvie asked, ¡°Cale, how did the wounds on your bodye about?¡± Cale froze and gave a roundabout answer. ¡°Wounds are always caused by another¡¯s attack. If not, how else could they havee about?¡± ¡°Cale, then who was chasing you down to kill you?¡± Silvie tried hard to persuade him, ¡°Tell us the details of the situation. Maybe we can help you!¡± No one would be able to help me at all! Cale lowered his head andughed sharply, but upon looking up again, he saw Carol¡¯s pair of cold ck pupils staring at him. He immediately froze once again. At that moment, Silvie persisted in saying, ¡°Really! We can help you.¡± Cale stiffly nodded his head. Even though he was as scared of Carol as a mouse would be of a cat, for some unfathomable reason, he had a feeling that he would not be a burden to someone like Carol¡­ He even felt¡­ Maybe my pursuers will be facing an imminent catastrophe? Volume 2, 5: Number, 5, Good Guy? Bad Guy?

Volume 2, Chapter 5: Number, 5, Good Guy? Bad Guy?

Trantor: raylight Carol had never intentionally gone looking for evil people that Silvie had spoken of, but for some unknown reason, she would always end up running in to these evil-doers. One really could not be sure whether she was fated to lead a life ofbor or whether the evil-doers in the Kingdom of Holy Light were simply too unlucky. Not to mention that this fellow Silvie also seemed to lead a life of bumping in to evil people by ident. Last time, he had been captured by a patrol squad and, in the end, was treated as a ve and taken away. This time, he picked up someone in an alley, and this fellow also happened to have suffered a shocking injustice¡­ Why did she not feel the least bit surprised? Since there had been an injustice done, then there was definitely an evil person involved. Cale started to exin. ¡°I am an illegitimate child. My father died not too long ago, and the person who is after my life is his wife.¡± ¡°Why is she after your life? Are you inheriting the family fortune?¡± Silvie asked in confusion. ¡°How is that possible?!¡± Cale gave a sarcasticugh. ¡°It¡¯s because I know too much. My father didn¡¯t die from illness but was poisoned by his wife who coborated with her adulterer. My little brother, who was thought to have the same father but a different mother than me, is actually not my father¡¯s child, but that adulterer¡¯s child. And that adulterer is¡­¡± ¡°Your father¡¯s younger brother,¡± Carol continued on coldly. Cale received arge shock and eximed, ¡°How did you know that?¡± How? That¡¯s because this plot was simply so ssic that it left her at a loss for words. Almost every city would have something like this! ¡°That¡¯s really too much!¡± Silvie was so angry that he jumped to his feet, shouting, ¡°How could they do something like that? Not only did they kill your father, they even want to kill you!¡± ¡°These are all just empty words.¡± Carol indifferently said, ¡°Previously, you were sold to be a ve, right? Since they first sold you off as a ve and had not killed you instantly, it should be because you don¡¯t have any evidence to prove that they poisoned your father to death. Since that is the case, they shouldn¡¯t have any need to go after your life. What did you do?¡± Cale stiffened and stared at Carol with disbelief. He opened his mouth, but he was unable to say a single word to defend himself. In the end, he was dejected as he honestly admitted, ¡°I went back to try and kill them personally, but I failed.¡± Silvie¡¯s eyes turned wide, and he eximed, ¡°Y-You want to kill your kin?¡± ¡°They are no kin of mine!¡± Cale roared in rage. ¡°They killed my father!¡± Silvie opened his mouth, but he felt that what Cale had said was in the right too. If those people were really kinsmen, then how could they be so cruel as to poison their own husband and brother? However, he was also worried that Cale would really go kill them to take his revenge. Carol stood up and coldly said, ¡°You don¡¯t have any evidence. This world would not sentence someone just based on your words.¡± Cale was shocked for a moment, before overflowing rage appeared on his face. He even forgot about the fear he felt toward Carol and stood up, wanting to charge head-on. Silvie hurriedly hugged him tight, not letting go of him, and urgently said, ¡°Cale! Don¡¯t be like this.¡± Carol only shot an indifferent nce at Cale, not showing even the slightest bit of fear toward Cale¡¯s terrifying expression with his eyes bulging in anger. She off-handedly threw Ohmygod back onto Silvie¡¯s head and instructed, ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep. Before you go to sleep, remember to check if the fire that we used to roast the meat has been extinguished.¡± At the moment, Silvie was still clutching on to Cale as if for dear life. When he heard the instruction, he nodded his head, agreeing, ¡°Okay, I will go check the fireter.¡± Carol lifted the tent p and walked in. When he was no longer able to see Carol, Cale finally calmed down. He was even a little thankful to Silvie, for he simply did not think that he could beat Carol in a fight. If he had really charged over just now, he might have gotten beaten up to a pulp¡­ No! He would probably be murdered? Seeing that Cale was no longer agitated, Silvie finally let go of him andforted him, ¡°Carol is a good person and will think of a way to help you!¡± ¡°A good person?¡± Cale turned around to growl, ¡°That fellow looks like a cold-blooded person who has killed countless numbers of people, and you actually im that that fellow is a good person?¡± ¡°Carol is really a good person!¡± Silvie was unable to deny that she had killed countless numbers of people. After all, she was the Warrior Queen who had led the army throughout the campaign against the demons, so how could it be possible that she hadn¡¯t killed anyone? Even if those she killedter on were of the demon race, before fighting the demon race, she was also involved in a campaign across the continent, for the sake of unifying the entire continent for the Holy King. ¡°Carol is a good person!¡± Silvie repeated resolutely once more. Silvie desperately tugged the corner of Cale¡¯s sleeve, not letting go, as though he was afraid that the other person would vanish into the woods in the blink of an eye. Seeing the coy manner in which Silvie was tugging his sleeve, Cale was simply speechless. If it was not for the fact that Silvie was very tall and was obviously a man, he would really suspect that he was actually a woman¡­ No, a girl. On the contrary, Carol who had a fierce look on his face and did not allow anyone to get close had a short and slight figure. If it weren¡¯t for his expression, he would even think that he was a woman. Both Carol¡¯s and Silvie¡¯s personalities and looks were simply extremely mismatched; it would have been much better if the two of them exchanged them. Cale felt a little like sighing in sorrow, but thinking about it again, there probably wasn¡¯t anything more suitable for Carol than ck hair and ck eyes, and Silvie was indeed a golden haired and blue-eyed radiant fellow¡­ ¡°Cale, you absolutely must not leave us!¡± Silvie said seriously. ¡°You¡¯re being chased for your life! However, as long as you follow us, nothing will happen to you for sure! Carol is immensely strong, after all!¡± Cale had never doubted that. He was only extremely dubious as to how it was possible for Carol to let a stranger who was being pursued follow him. However, the other person had not stopped him from following him and, instead, had even left Silvie to stay by his side, while Carol was in front leading the way. ¡°Cale, let me tell you! Carol is really very powerful! Except for having a bit of a temper¡­¡± ¡°Ohmygod has been my ymate since I was young. He has helped me a lot and has saved me multiple times since my youth¡­¡± ¡°My teacher was a very great bard. My resolve is to be a bard that is like my teacher, but I still have a long, long way to go¡­¡± ¡­ Perhaps Carol only wanted to find someone to listen to Silvie talk? Cale had a feeling that he would rather walk beside Carol and be frightened half to death than to walk beside Silvie and be talked to death! Cale took a peek at Ohmygod who was on Silvie¡¯s head. Its two little eyes had alreadypletely shut, and it looked like it was sleeping soundly. He started to feel a bit of admiration toward this little thing. With the constant noise of Silvie talking non-stop paired with footsteps that were a little flighty due to high spirits, it was truly no easy feat for it to still sleep so soundly despite being on his head! At the very least, he wanted to snatch back his sleeve, so that his right hand wouldn¡¯t be jerked around. How irritating! Suddenly, the hand on his sleeve tightened, and without being able to grasp the situation, Cale was dragged downwards¡­ Then he realized that his view had suddenly be a wide panorama. This was not a good thing, since it was because he was sliding down a cliff. Silvie had only slid for a short while before he was caught by Ohmygod who was on his head. Ohmygod had been pulled in to a long length, tail wrapped tightly around Silvie¡¯s chest with the rest of its body coiled around a tree branch. Though Ohmygod had caught Silvie, it had not attended to Cale. Seeing how he was about to say goodbye to this world, Cale frantically tried to grab onto something. However, the cliff-face was simply too smooth, and he waspletely unable to grab onto anything¡­ All of a sudden, he abruptly stopped falling and was suspended in mid-air just like that. At this point, Cale felt as though his heart was about to jump out of his chest. When he nkly looked up, what he saw was a blur of red and ck¡­ Carol was grabbing onto his right hand. He was a little stunned, until Carol hauled his entire body up. He then regained his senses, and withplicated feelings, he said, ¡°T-Thank you¡­¡± Carol only gave him an indifferent ¡°Hm¡± and then turned around with a furious face. She loudly reprimanded Silvie, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that not only are you going to endanger yourself, but you are also going to drag down people beside you?¡± She seized Silvie¡¯s cor and roared at him, ¡°When someone is walking beside you, you better spend more time looking at the road! Don¡¯t just talk and talk without stopping! It¡¯s one thing that you normally endanger yourself, but do you even want to endanger other people too?¡± Silvie shook his head violently and then apologized frantically to Cale, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Cale, I¡¯m really sorry!¡± Cale didn¡¯t know how to answer him. That he had fallen off a cliff just by walking really made him want to give Silvie a big scolding, but Carol¡¯s rage just now was so scary that he felt that Silvie was a little pitiful. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Carol gave a growl. ¡°Y-Yes!¡± Silvie hurriedly tugged at Cale¡¯s sleeve and then chased after Carol. For the rest of the journey after that, Carol did not lead the way like before but rather walked together with the two of them. Even though he had almost fallen to his death a moment ago, Silvie was still talking non-stop and was obviously not paying attention to the road. ¡°You should pay some attention to the road, right?¡± Cale reminded him with a whisper. Silvie was surprised for a moment and then replied as though it was an incontrovertible truth, ¡°Carol is walking beside me! I don¡¯t have to pay attention now!¡± ¡­ Perhaps, Carol really is a good person, Cale thought in his heart. Volume 2, 6: Number, 6, … The Fourth One?

Volume 2, Chapter 6: Number, 6, ¡­ The Fourth One?

Trantor: Doza The three of them walked for an entire day and only slowed their steps when it was close to evening. Cale was very surprised that Silvie hadn¡¯t cried out in agony, as he felt that thetter seemed like a person who couldn¡¯t bear hardships. If not, how could he have such fair skin from head to toe, and appear as if bells were jingling from his clothes when he walked? Basically, he did not appear like someone who would venture outdoors. Carol¡¯s appearance, on the other hand ¨C trousers plus a cloak ¨C is what makes up a normal traveler¡¯s outfit, right? However, the color of that cloak was dark red and simply not a color that a normal traveler would wear, as red was not a very effective color for blending in with the surroundings. In fact, it was pretty effective in making Carol stand out. Carol walked to arge stone by the side and sat down, then took a roll of sheepskin out from a cloth bundle. She frowned as she looked at the map, then raised her head and yelled, ¡°Silvie,e here.¡± Silvie walked over, and Carol thrust the map at him, asking, ¡°Where are we?¡± Silvie looked at the map and even had to turn the map up, down, left and right before he finally found the correct orientation. Frowning, he said, ¡°This map is very crude. What kind of map is this?¡± Carol said tly, ¡°A map of the forest where the elves live. The herbs we need to pick are distributed very closely to the ce where the elves live. We need to be careful to avoid them, so as to prevent angering the elves.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you acquainted with the elves?¡± Carol red at Silvie. This fellow always used every possible excuse to hear about the rtionship between her and the elves. ¡°Being acquainted doesn¡¯t mean I want to get in contact with them, and the elves I¡¯m familiar with do not live here. Now, have you understood the map yet or not?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand it,¡± Silvie said honestly. ¡°The map is too simple. Also, I¡¯m not familiar with this area.¡± At that moment, Cale moved up closer to them, took a few nces at the map, then used his finger to point at a spot, saying, ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± Carol looked at the map and thought deeply for a moment. ¡°We should be able to see the herbs after another half day of walking tomorrow. Silvie, there is a river here. Take Cale over there to light a fire and set up the tents in advance. Leave Ohmygod with me, and I¡¯ll see if there is anything nearby that I can hunt to add to our food supply. Then, I¡¯ll meet up with you guys again.¡± ¡°Also!¡± Carol spoke in a warning tone, ¡°You better pay attention to the road. Even if you want to die, you shouldn¡¯t drag others to die with you!¡± Silvie immediately nodded frantically. Carol grabbed Ohmygod from Silvie¡¯s head, roughly stuffed it into her cloak, then turned around and left. Silvie and Cale stood motionless in their original positions, as if respectfully seeing off their immediate superior. Before the superior departs, how could the subordinates dare to turn around and leave first? The two of them waited until Carol had disappeared into the middle of the thicket before they started to head towards their destination. Without Carol and Ohmygod, Silvie was at longst serious about truly paying attention to the road conditions. It was rare for Silvie not to open his mouth and talk incessantly. On the contrary, it was Cale who opened his mouth first to ask, ¡°Why take Ohmygod away?¡± ¡°Without Ohmygod to lead the way, Carol will have to spend a long time finding the road.¡± Cale cried out in astonishment, ¡°That guy has no sense of direction?¡± How can this be? It would be more reasonable to say that Silvie has no sense of direction! ¡°Oh, I wouldn¡¯t really consider itcking a sense of direction, just not that good at finding the way! Carol always has to spend twice the amount of time before arriving at the destination.¡± That means no sense of direction! ¡°Ahhhh!¡± Cale helplessly watched as Silvie tripped again. Without Ohmygod, he fell down quite hard this time and eveny on the ground groaning and panting when he could not get back on his feet. After much difficulty, he crawled up and, with a single nce, the two of them saw that the culprit who had caused Silvie to fall down this time was¡­ ¡°Eh?¡± Carol walked back to the camp, still holding Ohmygod in her hand. Ohmygod¡¯s body was wrapped around several spherical objects, bird eggs she intended to use as an additional dish. With Ohmygod¡¯s help, Carol did not have to waste any effort to find the location of the camp. It always knew Silvie¡¯s exact position, and though this was not particrly normal, Carol did not want to think too deeply about it. In many aspects, Ohmygod was indeed very useful. It could be used to find their bearings, it could turn into a rope, and it could even wrap things as a cloth. It was much more useful than Silvie and did not cause trouble! It was even very quiet! If not for the fact that Ohmygod would never leave Silvie, she should keep Ohmygod and then throw Silvie away. The moment she walked into the campsite, Carol noticed something wrong with both their expressions. Silvie¡¯s expression was always easy to read. Every time he did something he wanted to hide, he would deliberately pretend to be busy and not look at her. Right now, he was looking down as he made soup and did not even call out a greeting when she entered the camp. He was obviously concealing something. On the contrary, Cale¡¯s worries were all over his face. He was not even hiding them. Carol threw Ohmygod, along with the bird eggs, to Silvie. As Silvie was not looking at her, there was a moment of flustered movement before he managed to catch them. However, he did not even utter a single word ofint, and instead busied himself with taking the bird eggs out from Ohmygod¡¯s body. As expected, he was hiding something from her. Carol pondered for a moment. Nevertheless, she would wait until mealtime to interrogate them. She walked towards the tent, intending to set down her luggage and cloak first. When she lifted up the tent p¡­ ¡°Silvester Uriah Nate!¡± Silvie covered his ears tightly, as if doing so meant he could treat the bellowing as something that was not actually happening. Carol furiously rushed over, growling, ¡°What is that thing in the tent?!¡± Nervous, Silvie replied, ¡°I-I¡¯m also not sure what his race is¡­ He looks a lot like an elf?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not asking about his race! Where did hee from?¡± ¡°We picked him up from the undergrowth!¡± Carol¡¯s furious expression was so terrifying that Silvie was close to tears. He hurriedly hung his head and pretended to be remorseful as he said, ¡°He had fainted in the undergrowth, and I tripped over his leg and fell down. It was so painful¡­¡± Carol angrily roared, ¡°Who cares if you fall down ten times a day! Who allowed you to bring him back here? Is an Ohmygod and a Cale still not enough?¡± So it turns out that I¡¯m on the same level as Ohmygod? Cale silently thought. Deeply afraid that Carol would throw out the elf-like person, Silvie anxiously said, ¡°But he¡¯s hurt! How could I have ignored his plight and left him?¡± Carol really wanted to blurt out the words ¡°Go throw him away,¡± but then she thought about the rtionship between her and the elves. She truly could not allow Silvie to throw him away. She immediately suffered an incessant headache. Shouldn¡¯t these sorts of creatures, like elves, be hiding deep in the forest, so that even if you searched you could not find them? How could Silvie have picked one up simply by falling down? ¡°Carol, is h-he really an elf?¡± Silvie asked cautiously. ¡°No.¡± Carol carefully recalled the shape of that person¡¯s ears and decided, ¡°He should be a half-elf.¡± ¡°A half-elf?¡± Cale eximed, ¡°Are you saying that he has mixed blood and is born from a human and an elf? Do those sorts of people with mixed blood truly exist?¡± ¡°Yes, but very few, even fewer than pure elves.¡± Carol walked back to the tent, lifted up the tent p, and looked at the delicate and pretty half-elf lying inside. His green hair was shoulder-length, and his body was slim and slender. Based on her estimation, he should not be too old¡­ in terms of an elf¡¯s lifespan. Elves below a hundred years were all considered children. Half elves within sixty to seventy years old would also be considered children. This made her even more puzzled. Although elves are unwilling toe into contact with other races, they should ept half elves. Why is this young half-elf running around any old how in the wilderness by himself? Carol walked back to the side of the campfire, sat down, and said, ¡°Silvie, cook a separate pot of stew with egg, bread, and cheese. Elves don¡¯t like the stench of meat.¡± Silvie blinked, then happily said, ¡°Oh, oh! Alright!¡± As long as Carol did not throw away the half elf, he would not mind even if he had to cook ten different pots of soup! Volume 2, 7: Number, 7, Halfleaf

Volume 2, Chapter 7: Number, 7, Halfleaf

Trantor: Raylight The half-elf slowly opened his eyes. He was slightly at a loss as to where he was at the moment, but he could smell an extremely savory aroma that made him feel a pang of hunger. When he got up, he realized that he was inside a tent, and the wounds on his body had already been bandaged properly. He first lifted open the tent p slightly, surveying the situation outside. About five steps away, there was a campfire, and there were three people sitting beside it. Judging from their appearances, they didn¡¯t seem to be the ones that had been trying to capture him. At this moment, one of the people there seemed to notice that something was odd and turned around to look in his direction. The half-elf shrunk back for a moment and then put the tent p back in ce. However, he knew that he couldn¡¯t possibly continue to hide and, with gritted teeth, he opened the tent and walked out. ¡°Oh my!¡± One of them gave a smile as he shouted, ¡°You¡¯re awake? We can eat now! Hurry ande over!¡± The half-elf looked at them silently, refusing to say a word. His eyes were full of caution. He was currently pondering whether he should make a dash into the forest, for once he entered, there were few who could catch up with him¡­ At this moment, Carol suddenly spoke in the Elvennguage, saying, ¡°I am Dancingde. Have you heard of this name?¡± The half-elf froze for a moment and stared at Carol with disbelief. At first, he was shocked as to how that person could actually speak in the Elven tongue, and then, when he realized what Carol had said, he was even more shocked to hear this name. At one side, Cale¡¯s eyes widened while Silvie was instead beside himself with excitement. Ever since he had learned that Carol had some ties with the elves, he had desired to ask about the matter. However, Carol was never willing to speak of anything rted to elves. ¡°Dancingde? I have heard of your name! But I don¡¯t know much. The elves from the north call you their friend,¡± the half-elf eximed in surprise. His voice was soft and light, and even when he was speaking excitedly it was not shrill in the least. ¡°It¡¯s good that you know me.¡± Carol was clear-cut as she said, ¡°Come over and sit down.¡± The half-elf hesitated for a moment, but he was unable to refuse the invitation of a friend of the elves. Thus, he went over to sit down by the campfire. Once he sat down, a bowl of savory, hot, steaming soup was shoved in to his hands. Only at this point did he realize that he was indeed very hungry. Not caring about being cautious, he started to drink the soup sip by sip. The soup cooked with bread, eggs, and cheese, together with hunger, made the half-elf drink three whole bowls of it in a row, despite him not having a big appetite. Only after the half-elf put down his bowl did Carol start to ask, ¡°What are you doing here instead of obediently staying in the elves¡¯ territory?¡± This time, she was using the humannguage. Though elves do not make contact with other races, the passing of time over many long years had made them all into masters ofnguage. Their main objective was actually studying the poems and songs of every race. The reputation of Dancingde let the half-elf lower most of his guard, and he exined miserably, ¡°I came to attend my mother¡¯s funeral, but I was captured by my other rtives. T-They¡­¡± ¡°Wanted to capture you to sell you,¡± Carol continued coldly. Just as expected, the half-elf nodded his head. She growled, ¡°Leaving the Elven Forest was an action of extreme foolishness on your part!¡± The half-elf was so frightened by this growl that his whole body went rigid. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid!¡± Silvie immediatelyforted him, saying, ¡°Carol has a loud voice but wouldn¡¯t hurt you.¡± Seeing Silvie¡¯s radiant smile, the half-elf finally managed to calm down a little. He was unused to someone showing intense negative emotions like anger and so on, for the elves rarely showed any negative emotions at all. ¡°Tomorrow, I¡¯ll bring you back to the elven territory,¡± Carol straightforwardly said. The half-elf eximed, ¡°No! No way! My little brother, he is still in the hands of the Ardiniz family. If I don¡¯t go back, it¡¯s very likely that they will hurt him!¡± ¡°The Ardiniz family?¡± Cale eximed and then asked in doubt, ¡°It can¡¯t be that your mother was Leisha?¡± The half-elf seemed dazed for a moment, and then he nodded. Silvie asked in curiosity, ¡°Cale, are you acquainted with his mother?¡± Being somewhat at a loss as to what to do, Cale answered, ¡°Leisha was my paternal grandfather¡¯s little sister. The fact that she had a rtionship with an elf before is still rather famous¡­¡± Silvie looked at Cale and then looked back at the half-elf and said happily, ¡°So the two of you are rtives!¡± The two rtives that didn¡¯t know each other butnded into trouble at the same time and were moreover picked up by the same person, looked at one another at a loss. ¡°Then, all things considered, you are Cale¡¯s senior!¡± Silvie added on without much tact. Senior¡­ Looking at the half-elf who looked to be around the same age as him, Cale couldn¡¯t treat him as a senior no matter how he tried, even though ording to the time stated in the rumors, this half-elf was about thirty-something years old. The half-elf looked at Cale with curiosity and said, ¡°My rtive? Nice to meet you, I am Halfleaf, Halfleaf Ardiniz. May I inquire as to what your name is?¡± ¡°Cale. I don¡¯t usually use my family name. I¡¯m an illegitimate child.¡± After Cale said it so indifferently, he abruptly remembered something. Isn¡¯t this elf in front of me also an illegitimate child? ¡°Carol, you must help them!¡± Since the previous night, after learning how pitiful their plights were, with Halfleaf having a younger maternal half-brother who was still in the hands of evildoers, and with the ve contract Cale was forced to sign still being in the hands of his wicked mother, Silvie had kept bugging Carol nonstop to exact justice for them. He was so noisy that Carol had even started to ponder seriously, Perhaps, the student that LL taught was actually Ohmygod, and Silvie was the apanying pet? Being LL¡¯s formerpanion, how did she not know that LL had the kind of patience needed to teach a student like Silvie? ¡°Let me think it over!¡± After Carol roared, she frowned as she continued, ¡°First, we¡¯ll go pick the medicinal herbs, then we¡¯ll talk.¡± If they didn¡¯tplete their mission soon, she really would not have a single penny on her. ¡°You want to pick herbs?¡± Halfleaf started to ask, ¡°What kind of herbs are you picking?¡± Carol said the name of the herb, and Halfleaf nodded his head, stating, ¡°I know where these herbs are. I¡¯ll bring you guys over to pick them.¡± Halfleaf led the way in front. His manner of advancing was extremely unique. He jumped back and forth on the trees, and he even grabbed tree branches and made use of them to swing himself forward. He rarelynded on the ground, but his speed was still way faster than any of the others. From time to time, he would even vanish for a moment, and then appear again. At these times, his hand would frequently be grabbing a handful of mushrooms or some unknown herbs. After walking for an entire afternoon, Halfleaf suddenly jumped off from a tree and then turned around to wait for the others toe over. He told them, ¡°This ce is the main harvesting ground of that species of medicinal herbs. You should be able to find several of them under the shade of most trees.¡± ¡°This ce is also rather close to the elves¡¯ territory.¡± Carol looked at Halfleaf, asking, ¡°Are you sure that you¡¯re really not going back?¡± Halfleaf said with absolute resolution, ¡°I would definitely not be so uncaring as to leave my little brother there alone!¡± Carol raised an eyebrow. Silvie wanted to open his mouth to beg Carol to help Halfleaf and Cale, but he was afraid that she would get angry, so he was beside himself with anxiety. Halfleaf thanked the three of them, ¡°Thank you all for saving me and even helping me bandage my wounds and providing food for me. Compared to your generosity, leading the way is truly a negligible amount of reciprocation. However, I really ought to be going. I hope that in the future, I will have the chance to repay everyone.¡± ¡°Where are you going?¡± Silvie instantly yelled, ¡°You¡¯re injured and being pursued by people. Following us would be safer. Carol is very strong!¡± Cale shot a nce at Silvie. These words seem to sound very familiar? Halfleaf looked at Silvie with astonishment, saying, ¡°How could I do that? By following you, I will also put you all in danger. Moreover, I must save my little brother right now.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll go save your little brother too!¡± yelled Silvie as he immediately made a decision that he wasn¡¯t in any position to make. After that, he then added on, shouting, ¡°And also take back Cale¡¯s ve contract!¡± Although he was a little consoled that Silvie still remembered his situation, Cale didn¡¯t think that Silvie could make the decisions around here. His eyes darted towards Carol¡­ Silvie also knew this, and he hurriedly shouted, ¡°Carol! You must help them!¡± Carol¡¯s eyebrows furrowed even deeper. However, seeing how she didn¡¯t refuse immediately, Silvie knew that there was hope. He quickly looked at Carol with eyes full of expectation. Right now, he didn¡¯t dare open his mouth to press her, afraid that he¡¯d shoot himself in the foot by bugging her so much that she¡¯d turn her head and leave. Carol nced at Halfleaf before her gaze shifted back to Cale. Then, she frowned lightly. ¡°You can ignore me.¡± Cale¡¯s heart sunk, and he said expressionlessly, ¡°You have ties with the elves, but you have nothing to do with me and have no obligation to help me. I can leave right now.¡± Silvie immediately grabbed Cale¡¯s sleeve, not letting go. This action made thetter roll his eyes and once again suspect that Silvie was actually a very tall girl. Carol opened her mouth to inquire, ¡°After leaving, where do you intend to go?¡± Hearing this question, Silvie¡¯s eyes turned wide. He had never really thought that Carol would abandon Cale. She wasn¡¯t that kind of person was she? However, Silvie abruptly realized that, in truth, he himself didn¡¯t quite understand Carol all that much either. He merely looked to the ¡°Warrior Queen,¡± which made him think that the Warrior Queen would naturally go and take care of evildoers. Of course, she wouldn¡¯t abandon those in need either. However, he had selectively forgotten that other than the characteristics of having great strength and being loyal, there were also rumors about the Warrior Queen being cruel and cold-blooded and ruthless and such¡­ No! Carol is a good person! Silvie firmly believed. Cale fell silent for a moment and then viciously replied, ¡°Go back and ughter the enemies that killed my father!¡± Silvie¡¯s and Halfleaf¡¯s eyes turned wide. The former didn¡¯t dare believe that Cale was really going to kill someone, and thetter was afraid of looking at Cale¡¯s face that was full of hatred. Carol indifferently said, ¡°If that is the case, then there is nothing much which I can help you with. You can go.¡± Silvie gaped, his eyes wide. He simply didn¡¯t dare believe his own ears¡­ Is Carol really going to abandon Cale and watch on as he kills someone? As to this, Cale was not in the least bit surprised. He had already known, since a long time ago, that no one but himself would be able to help him. Volume 2, 8: Number, 8, Stalemate

Volume 2, Chapter 8: Number, 8, Stalemate

Trantor: Doza Four people and a pet walked back along the path they had just taken. The first thing one would see would definitely be a translucent, giant yellow entity ¨C Ohmygod had swelled to five times its regr size as herbs had been fully packed into its body, and the person now carrying Ohmygod was not Silvie, but Halfleaf. As they still had to save Halfleaf¡¯s younger brother, Silvie and the three of them had to return to that small town. Under Silvie¡¯s insistence, Cale finally agreed to go back with them, though he walked on the outermost edge of the group, the furthest from Carol. If Silvie had not continuously pulled on his sleeve, he would probably have disappeared while they were walking. However, because Silvie was busy holding onto Cale, the task of carrying Ohmygod had been passed to Halfleaf. Faced with the responsibility for the giant golden slime, perhaps to repay the kindness of having been saved, Halfleaf didn¡¯t say a single word and took the strange creature that would normally cause people to strategically retreat. Naturally after epting Ohmygod, who was five times its normal size, he could not continue to leap around in the treetops and had toe down and obediently walk with the others. When it was nearly evening, Carol stopped and asked the others, ¡°Hurry on through the night or rest?¡± ¡°I wish to bathe.¡± Everyone stared at Halfleaf. Mystified, thetter asked, ¡°May I ask, what the matter is?¡± In disbelief, Cale asked, ¡°Aren¡¯t you in a hurry to save your younger brother? Yet you still wish to bathe?¡± ¡°Even if in a hurry, one must still bathe. Bathing is something that must be done every day. How can you skip it?¡± Halfleaf couldn¡¯t understand. ¡°And my younger brother is waiting for me to save him; he wouldn¡¯t run off.¡± Is that so? The corner of Cale¡¯s mouth twitched slightly. Isn¡¯t he afraid that his younger brother will be ruthlessly killed or lose a leg? Carolughed lightly. ¡°The elves¡¯ definition of ¡®hurry¡¯ is different from humans¡¯. About five times slower.¡± Upon hearing Carol¡¯s voice, Cale¡¯s expression immediately fell. At that moment, Silvie hastily said, ¡°Alright alright! Bathing is also good. Then, let¡¯s all bathe together!¡± The hurrying people, bewildered, stopped to set up camp for the sake of bathing. To travelers who readily wouldn¡¯t bathe for several days, it was truly a very strange reason to stop. However, as this reason was given by Halfleaf, who was in the most hurry to get back, no one seemed to feel the need to refuse. After lighting the campfire, Carol sat by it to watch the soup and salted meat, then randomly pinched Ohmygod who was in her hand. The other three walked to the side of theke and removed their clothes, preparing to bathe. In actuality, Cale had to be pulled over by Silvie, as he had just bathed two days ago! Afterward when he saw Carol sitting by the campfire, he decided to simply follow Silvie and Halfleaf. In a few moments, the three of them were naked, jumping into theke, and scrubbing and washing themselves. Silvie and Halfleaf scrubbed themselves very seriously, but Cale was extremelyzy. He casually sshed himself with water and considered the task done. It was only due to Carol sitting by the campfire that he didn¡¯t want to head back right away, so he simply soaked in theke. ¡°Why is Carol sitting by the campfire?¡± Halfleaf frowned. ¡°Isn¡¯t Carol bathing with us? It¡¯s too grimy to not bathe. And after hurrying and sweating so much, not bathing would make you stink!¡± Silvieughed. ¡°How can Carol bathe together with us?!¡± Cale snorted coldly, ¡°That¡¯s right! How can a person like that be willing to stand stark naked in front of others? Even while sleeping, someone like that probably doesn¡¯t even take off the falchion behind his back!¡± Silvie was stunned and hurried to defend her. ¡°Carol actually does remove all weapons while sleeping! In fact, until now, I¡¯ve never seen Carol use the falchion to hack at anyone. It¡¯s only used to cut meat! Since we¡¯ve met, Carol has always used fists to hit people and has never even touched a weapon yet, even though I actually really want to see the falchion in action!¡± Cale was suddenly a bit curious and asked, ¡°¡­How long have you been traveling together?¡± Silvie counted. ¡°A month, more or less.¡± ¡°How did the two of you end up traveling together?¡± Cale simply didn¡¯t think that Carol needed Silvie as apanion. ¡°Carol was my teacher¡¯s pastpanion and wasn¡¯t easy for me to find. We visited Teacher, and subsequently we adventured together.¡± So that¡¯s how it is, he is helping to look after his pastpanion¡¯s student? It certainly looks like that sort of rtionship between Carol and Silvie. Cale¡¯s puzzlement was finally solved. At that moment, Halfleaf asked suspiciously, ¡°Why is Carol staring at us?¡± ¡°Maybe lost in thought?¡± As Silvie spoke, he sank down into the water, with only his head exposed above the water¡¯s surface. He had abruptly remembered that Carol was female. And she¡¯s a-also the Warrior Queen! Being naked like this before her, doesn¡¯t it seem a little inappropriate? Strictly speaking, isn¡¯t the Warrior Queen also considered an empress?! To be naked in front of an empress¡­ doesn¡¯t it seem like the sort of action that one would immediately be hanged for? But it¡¯s toote to think about that now¡­ Silvie felt very sinful as he looked towards Carol. He saw Carol smiling faintly as she nced at him, and then she continued to enjoy the other two exhibiting their unconcealed nakedness. Thank goodness, she doesn¡¯t appear to be angry. And it even looks like she is in a good mood! As long as Carol was not angry, Silvie¡¯s heart was partially rxed. However¡­ ¡°Um¡­¡± Silvie was a bit hesitant about whether to warn the other two. But after pondering, if Carol became addicted to looking at Cale, perhaps she would be willing to help him? If we can help him take vengeance, then even if he was peeped at, it wouldn¡¯t matter, right? Silvie looked at Cale. Thetter had already stopped scrubbing a while ago. With most of his body soaking in the water, at best only his chest could be seen¡­ Well, earlier on Carol had already seen him naked, so it shouldn¡¯t make too much of a difference. On the other hand, Halfleaf was still scrubbing and washing himself, with most of his body exposed and out of the water. ¡°¡­¡± Halfleaf noticed his gaze and asked in puzzlement, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Silvie didn¡¯t have the heart to tell him that his naked body was currently being enjoyed by someone. ¡°Nothing¡­ hurry up with your washing! The soup should almost be done!¡± Halfleaf nodded, sshed water on himself onest time, then openly walked ashore. Along the way, when he met Carol¡¯s eyes, he even smiled at her. Are all elves so open about being naked in front of the opposite gender? Silvie admired him. Cale also followed him ashore. Taking advantage of Carol¡¯s gaze being focused on the other two¡¯s bodies, Silvie rapidly climbed up the bank. He used his clothes to cover up the lower half of his body, and then while covering himself, he pulled on his clothes. Cale looked at him oddly and scolded loudly, ¡°What are you being so shy for? Are you a man or not? Why are you acting like a girl and covering yourself? You think we would want to look at your naked body?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡­¡± But it seems like Carol is very happy to look. Silvie once more admired Cale¡¯s and Halfleaf¡¯s boldness. They didn¡¯t cover themselves up at all. They were even putting on their clothes at normal speed and were clearly andpletely seen by Carol¡­ However, despite his admiration, he could never be so rxed while naked in front of the female gender. Even if Carol didn¡¯t seem like a woman in any way, he still couldn¡¯t do it! So he continued to put his clothes on shyly. When they walked back to the camp, Silvie didn¡¯t dare look at Carol. Inparison, thetter seemed very rxed and evenmented, ¡°The flexibility of the muscles on Cale¡¯s whole body is very ttering. He¡¯ll be good as an investigative soldier. Halfleaf¡¯s bicep muscles are not bad. He¡¯ll be an expert in archery. Silvie, your entire body is too thin; you are indeed wandering bard material.¡± Silvie happily said, ¡°Really? Thank you for yourpliment!¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯m not praising you.¡± ¡°Eh? You¡¯re not?¡± Silvie asked nkly. ¡°Pffff¡­¡± Halfleaf and Cale both couldn¡¯t resist. They startedughing loudly. Volume 2, 9: Number, 9, Younger Brother

Volume 2, Chapter 9: Number, 9, Younger Brother

Trantor: Doza The four of them hurried back to the small town, but after entering the town, there was conflict over where everyone should go. ¡°Isn¡¯t Halfleaf¡¯s younger brother your rtive too?¡± Silvie said insistently, ¡°How can you not help him when your rtive¡¯s life is in danger? You shoulde with us to save his brother!¡± Cale was dumbstruck. Even though he was a rtive, he had never seen the other party before. Also, Halfleaf hadn¡¯t asked for his help. Instead, it was Silvie who had spoken. Just whose brother is he? He shot a nce at Carol and said, ¡°In any case, Carol is going with you to save him. You don¡¯t need me!¡± ¡°That¡¯s wrong!¡± Silvie whispered in Cale¡¯s ear. ¡°You must help me hold onto Carol and not let her kill people!¡± ¡­So that¡¯s what you mean. But Silvie, with how loud your words were, there probably isn¡¯t anyone who didn¡¯t hear you, right? Cale deeply felt that right now, Silvie shouldn¡¯t be worrying about Carol killing others but about getting murdered himself. As expected, Halfleaf, looking terrified, eximed, ¡°Kill people? Why do you want to kill people? Who are you going to kill?¡± ¡°Your enemy,¡± Cale replied. ¡°M-My enemy?¡± Upon hearing the word ¡°enemy,¡± Halfleaf actually swayed and looked like he was about to faint. Silvie was so scared that he hurriedly came forward to support him. Confused, Halfleaf asked, ¡°Why do I have an enemy? Who is it?¡± ¡°¡­The guys who want to capture you and sell you and are using your brother as a hostage right now!¡± Facing Cale¡¯s incredulous roar, Halfleaf was so frightened that he clutched Silvie tightly and said while trembling, ¡°T-They are my rtives, not my enemies.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Cale suddenly felt that he was just like a chicken talking to a duck. Carol said lightly, ¡°He¡¯s an elf. Don¡¯t try to understand them through a human¡¯s way of thinking. Also, he¡¯s not suited to living in the world of humans and should have returned to the Elven Woods long ago.¡± ¡°Then, after saving his brother, you guys can take him back to the forest! I¡¯m going to take care of my own affairs!¡± When he finished speaking, Cale turned around and left. ¡°Ah! Wait a minute!¡± Silvie promptly ran up and caught hold of Cale¡¯s sleeve. However, this time Cale didn¡¯t let him hold it and forcefully shook his sleeve, throwing him off instantly. After all, Silvie was a wandering bard who could only manage to hold a harp. He was totally unable to prevent Cale from leaving. Silvie hastily chased after him, but after taking two steps, he realized that neither Carol nor Halfleaf had followed him. He turned back and yelled hesitantly, ¡°Carol¡­¡± But Carol didn¡¯t intend to move at all, merely ncing at him and saying calmly, ¡°Remind him that the best time to kill people is at night.¡± Upon hearing the two words ¡°kill people,¡± Halfleaf had another spell of dizziness. Cale, who was five, six steps away, paused. Obviously, he didn¡¯t need Carol¡¯s message to be passed on to hear it. A little upset, Silvie also said, ¡°Carol! How could you encourage Cale to kill people! I¡¯m not going to speak to you anymore! I¡¯m going to follow Cale!¡± Carol nced at him and said indifferently, ¡°Go on then.¡± Silvie was stunned, but when he turned and saw that Cale had already walked away, he didn¡¯t have time to utter even a single word before he quickly ran after him. Carol merely watched them as they departed, not saying anything to detain them. Halfleaf said anxiously, ¡°Are they really going to kill people?¡± ¡°It has nothing to do with you, right?¡± Halfleaf blinked, and then nodded as he said, ¡°Yes, what you said is correct.¡± Carol looked at Halfleaf. Although he was only a half-elf, his character wasn¡¯t any different from an elf¡¯s. Both couldn¡¯t ept negative emotions and wouldn¡¯t stop others from doing what they wanted, no matter how much they did not approve of it. ¡°Come, let¡¯s find your brother.¡± Halfleaf said in bewilderment ¡°You don¡¯t have to pay me any attention. Even though you are a friend of the elves, you don¡¯t have to help me.¡± Carol snorted coldly, ¡°Stop talking nonsense and don¡¯t waste time! Let¡¯s go!¡± Halfleaf jumped in shock and almost wanted to walk in Silvie and Cale¡¯s direction, but he was unable to and could only quietlyfort himself. Dancingde is a friend of the elves and definitely would not do anything to harm an elf. The two of them arrived in front of a huge house somewhere in the middle of the city. Just when Carol was examining the wall to find where they should climb to enter, Halfleaf led her through a secret tunnel instead, so they didn¡¯t climb the wall. ¡°Did you make this secret tunnel?¡± Carol raised her eyebrows. Clearly, she didn¡¯t believe that elves would do something like making a secret path. Halfleaf shook his head and exined, ¡°No, my mother made it. She requested for me to enter through the secret tunnel every time Ie home, then head straight to her or my brother¡¯s room without disturbing others.¡± No wonder this incident about others wanting to capture and sell him only urred after his mother had passed away. Even knowing that the deceased were to be respected, and the one in front of them was the deceased¡¯s son, it was still too hard to resist the allure of elves! Nowadays, the high price for elves was not just any old price. After exiting the secret path, a simple andrge room appeared. Although it was clearly a wealthy person¡¯s room, the decorations were very sparse and there were a lot of in wooden carvings that didn¡¯t look high-grade at all. ¡°Eh?¡± Halfleaf said, puzzled. ¡°Brother isn¡¯t in his room! This is terrible! He told me that when Ie home, I am not allowed to leave his room!¡± Can a captured person still remain in his room? This room doesn¡¯t look like a ce that can confine someone. Carol didn¡¯t know if this house had a prison. If there was, he would most likely be locked away in there. If there wasn¡¯t, then she would have to spend time finding him. ¡°I¡¯ll go out to search. You return to the secret tunnel and wait inside.¡± Hearing this, Halfleaf wavered but still nodded his head in agreement. Just as Carol turned around and was about to leave the room, a servant opened the door and walked in. She lunged forward, grabbed him, and covered his mouth tightly. The servant widened his eyes, and only now recovered from the shock. He struggled frantically but was obviously unable to escape from Carol¡¯s clutches. When he heard the scuffle, Halfleaf, who was about to enter the secret tunnel, turned back to look. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Little Chi. Where is my brother?¡± he asked. Carol nced at the servant¡¯s expression. The moment the servant noticed Halfleaf, he immediately stopped struggling and didn¡¯t look antagonistic. She let go of his mouth. Little Chi quickly whispered, ¡°Eldest young master, the young master has already escaped.¡± ¡­Who the heck said that his brother would wait for him to rescue him and wouldn¡¯t just run off? Carol grudgingly released the servant. ¡°Eldest young master, do not worry. When the young master left, he took arge sum of money with him! He even had mee and clean his room every day, but actually it was to wait for you. If I were to see you return to ¡®rescue him,¡¯ I was to request for you to return to the Elven Woods.¡± At that point, Little Chi said in a helpless tone, ¡°However, the young master also said that you probably would not be willing to go back. Therefore, I have to ask you to remember to wear a cloak when traveling and to travel via the forest. You absolutely must note into any contact with humans. Then, go to ¡®the northeastern city of Jageria¡¯ and leave a message for him at the Adventurers Guild there. He¡¯ll show himself when he sees the message.¡± Halfleaf nodded, saying, ¡°I understand. I will go and find him. Many thanks to you for passing on the message.¡± ¡°¡­ Actually, the young master wishes more for you to return to the Elven Woods,¡± Little Chi said, embarrassed. After speaking, he took out a map and a small bag from his bosom, and then crawled under the bed to fish out a cloth-wrapped bundle. As he passed everything to Halfleaf, he said, ¡°The young master has even prepared a map, travel fare, and provisions for you.¡± Halfleaf epted the items, nodded his head, and said, ¡°Thank you. I will search for my brother now.¡± Saying this, he promptly turned around and walked towards the entrance of the secret tunnel. ¡°Eldest young master, be careful.¡± Little Chi¡¯s face was full of worries. ¡°Stop!¡± Carol said coldly. Halfleaf halted, turned around, and asked in bewilderment, ¡°May I ask what is the matter?¡± ¡°Do you really think you can reach that city?¡± Carol said frigidly. ¡°Go back to the forest!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± Halfleaf said as he shook his head. ¡°No matter what, I have to find my brother, verify his safety, and then watch him get married.¡± ¡°Get married?¡± Carol frowned. Why has marriage suddenly popped up? Halfleaf nodded his head as he said, ¡°Yes, in a letter that my mother left for me, she instructed for me to attend my brother¡¯s wedding. Also, I must have my brother attend my wedding¡­ If he is still alive at that time.¡± Carol looked furious as she said, ¡°That means she wants you to remember to attend your brother¡¯s wedding, not that you have to watch over him until he gets married!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Little Chi hurriedly interrupted. ¡°That was what madam must have meant.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Halfleaf froze and said with realization, ¡°So that¡¯s what she meant? But I¡¯ve already promised my mother in my heart that I would take care of my brother until he gets married. I cannot go back on my word.¡± You mean being taken care of by your brother, right? From the present situation, it was evident that the younger brother had always looked after Halfleaf. Carol felt her head aching, but she was quite clear about the stubbornness of elves. Even though it was a promise to himself,pared to humans writing ck words on white paper, for him it was even more impossible to back out of such a promise. Halfleaf hesitated, but still said, ¡°I can search for my brother myself. Carol, you should go find Silvie and Cale! I¡¯m a bit worried for them.¡± Worried for them? Carol did not quite smile. These words from Halfleaf were rather unlike an elf¡¯s words. Even though elves are kind-hearted, they are also very indifferent and hardly take any notice of another¡¯s affairs. Don¡¯t even mention about getting worried! It seems that half-elves still have some areas that are different from elves. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you want to help them kill people?¡± Kill people? The moment Halfleaf thought of these two words, he felt dazed. He hurriedly shook his head. Suddenly, Carol said, ¡°It¡¯s about time. We should begin preparations.¡± ¡­Preparations? Volume 2, 10: Number, 10, Revenge

Volume 2, Chapter 10: Number, 10, Revenge

Trantor: Doza ¡°Cale, wait for meee!¡± Silvie yelled as he chased after him. ¡°Wait for me! Don¡¯t walk so fast!¡± When he started to see numerous bystanders ncing curiously at them, Cale stopped, turned around, and sternly reprimanded him. ¡°Are you crazy? Why the heck are you following me?¡± Silvie ran several steps to Cale¡¯s side and said between gasps for breath, ¡°Let me go with you!¡± ¡°You want to go with me to kill people?¡± Cale raised an eyebrow, not believing this turn of events at all. Upon hearing the two words ¡°kill people,¡± Silvie¡¯s face twitched, but he didn¡¯t refute Cale¡¯s words. Instead, after much consideration, he said, ¡°Carol said it¡¯s better to act at night¡­ So we don¡¯t have to be in such a hurry, right?¡± Cale was also fully aware that it was best to take action at night. He didn¡¯t have the kind of strength Carol had, to be able to openly kill people in broad daylight, so right now he was only going over there to hide first. ¡°If you want to follow me, then from this moment on you are not allowed to talk!¡± Silvie had only just begun to say ¡°okay¡± when he hastily shut his mouth. He even crossed his two forefingers over his lips. Then, he followed quietly behind Cale. Seeing this, Cale stopped walking as briskly as before and started using a normal pace to walk back to his house. ¡°Whoa, your house is really huge! There¡¯s even a garden!¡± Silvie eximed. Cale red at him fiercely and scolded, ¡°Shut up.¡± Silvie was so frightened he quickly made another cross over his mouth. Compared to Carol and Halfleaf who could take a secret tunnel, the two of them were not as lucky. Only when the opportunity arose and no one was around could they climb over the wall. This was, after all, his home. As an illegitimate son, Cale often hid in secret ces. Nothing was easier than finding a hiding ce. While hiding in their temporary spot, Cale was initially anxious that Silvie would start talking randomly. However, he didn¡¯t utter a single word and, after looking left and right with wide eyes for a while, fell asleep. He really doesn¡¯t feel the least bit of vignce nor nervousness. Cale was at a loss for words. He even mocked himself while thinking thatpared to Silvie, he was a lot more useless! He looked down at his right hand, which was tightly clutching a dagger. The dagger¡¯s de was bright and dazzling. After looking closely, he realized why it wouldn¡¯t stop shining; the dagger was trembling incessantly. After much difficulty, he waited until evening. By then, Silvie was already awake. Silvie took out salted meat from breast pocket to eat and pushed some towards Cale, silently asking if he wanted to eat. Cale really admired this fellow for not being rmed no matter how much his surroundings changed¡­ Or was it purely that he was too stupid? He waited until Silvie had finished eating his meat. Cale estimated that is was nearly midnight. There were already no lights on in the house. ¡°Silvie, you wait here.¡± Silvie immediately shook his head firmly, saying, ¡°You leave me here, and I will immediately scream that there is an assassin!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Cale said in a low, helpless voice, ¡°Alright then, you can follow me. But don¡¯t make any noise!¡± Once Silvie nodded his head in agreement, the two of them moved away from their hiding ce, heading towards their destination: the master bedroom. Even though Silvie looked so weak that a gust of wind might knock him over (in fact¡­ he was so weak that a gust of wind could knock him over), he had excellent footwork. He was silent, quite light, and graceful. Cale nced curiously at Silvie and abruptly thought that his skip-like way of walking felt a bit familiar. Thinking carefully, he realized that it was akin to a dancer¡¯s footsteps. He is indeed a wandering bard. Cale was again speechless. The two of them moved stealthily towards the master bedroom. Not a single person appeared in the corridors, allowing them to arrive outside the master bedroom without any trouble. Cale inhaled deeply. When he was about to push open the door, someone grabbed onto him. He jumped in shock, but then realized it was only Silvie. He was so angry that he almost wanted to yell at him. ¡°Cale, this feels very strange. Why isn¡¯t anyone here?¡± Silvie felt that the situation was far from good. ording to his various life experiences, the more smoothly things went, the more likely one would suffer a mega-huge fall at the end¡­ This was not an analogy. It was an incident that had actually urred before. That fall had even caused him a lot of pain! ¡°What¡¯s strange?¡± Cale said quietly. ¡°They¡¯ve all gone out to hunt for me already. How can there still be people around!¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Silvie still felt something was amiss. Would someone who had just had a previous assassination attempt on them not leave a guard behind? However, Cale didn¡¯t pay any more attention to Silvie. He was already so close to his goal. He couldn¡¯t calm down at all. Gently nudging the door (the door wasn¡¯t locked), he cautiously pushed it open a crack and peeped inside. All he saw was a bulge in the quilt on the bed. It was obvious someone was sleeping there. He fully pushed open the door and walked in. As he stood beside the bed, his feelings were ratherplicated. Even though he knew that the other side had poisoned his father, and that he had to avenge him, he had never killed a person before, and his first target was actually someone whom he had associated with from morning to night for twenty years. This burdened feeling could not be considered light¡­ But as a result, he detested those three people even more! Even he, who didn¡¯t have much in the way of feelings for them, felt himself unable to do the deed. How could anyone set about murdering their husband, father, and older brother whom they had been with every day? Cale raised the dagger in his hand. Just as he was about to bring it down, Silvie suddenly hugged him tightly. Cale struggled for several moments but couldn¡¯t break free. He could only grit his teeth and whisper. ¡°Let go!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t!¡± Using one hand as a crutch, Cale used his elbow to jab Silvie in the stomach. Thetter groaned but was still unwilling to release him. Cale struck backwards again. Only then was Silvie knocked aside and fell to the ground. Cale didn¡¯t even look back. Raising his dagger¡­ ¡°Cale, be careful!¡± Silvie yelled. Be careful? Cale¡¯s dagger paused. He turned back to look and saw Silvie caught by two people. More than ten people stood at the doorway. Human shadows even flickered outside the only window. All of them held various weapons. They were none other than the servants of the house, as well as the three he had wanted to kill: the woman, her son, and her adulterous partner, who was also his father¡¯s younger brother! The person he had to call Uncle! This is a trap¡­ Cale gripped his dagger, growling, ¡°Release him! This matter has nothing to do with him! Juste straight at me!¡± The woman shrieked loudly. ¡°I originally intended to let you off. After all, that man only had you for a son. Who could have imagined that you wouldn¡¯t know what was good for you. You actually dared toe here to kill me!¡± ¡°You killed my father! And then sold me off as a ve!¡± Cale bellowed, ¡°You thought that I would let all of you off just like that? You murdered my father!¡± The woman roared furiously. ¡°I hadn¡¯t originally nned to kill him. I thought it would be fine waiting for him to die of illness. Who knew that despite being sick for so many years, he wouldn¡¯t die! If I hadn¡¯t poisoned him, I don¡¯t know how long I would have had to wait before inheriting his assets!¡± All because of that bit of money?! Cale felt a burning rage in his chest, but the only manifestation of it was a feverish heat behind his eyes. He felt like crying. Maybe he couldn¡¯t avenge him. Sorry, Father¡­ ¡°To avoid any more long, sleepless nights, the both of you should just die together!¡± Upon hearing this, Cale clutched his dagger even tighter. Even if he died, he would make sure to take at least a few people with him! When he heard he was going to die, Silvie immediately screamed, ¡°Carol, help!¡± Hearing Silvie¡¯s scream, Cale felt helpless to the extreme. He couldn¡¯t believe that this fellow would still yell for Carol at this sort of time. Could it be that he really thought Carol woulde and save him? Despite this, Cale¡¯s feelings leaned more towards guilt. He was afraid that Silvie would actually be dragged down with him and die. He still wanted to be on the lookout for a way of letting Silvie escape! But just when this idea arose, he saw his ¡°younger brother¡± stabbing towards Silvie¡¯s stomach with a de. As Silvie was held down by others, he had no way of dodging at all, and merely watched with widened eyes as the knife got closer to his stomach¡­ ¡°Stop!¡± Cale rushed forward, but no matter how fast he was he couldn¡¯t beat the speed of the knife, and several people also rushed forward to block him. ¡°Silvie!¡± Volume 2, 11: Number 11, Judgement

Volume 2, Chapter 11: Number 11, Judgement

Trantor: Doza Silvie stared at the de that was being thrust towards him, with eyes still as wide as before. It wasn¡¯t that he was unafraid, just that his life was threatened nearly every day. For example, he had fallen down a cliff, been chased by arge swarm of bees, nearly been bitten by a viper, and so on. He had long since formed a habit of not shutting his eyes no matter how dangerous it was, so that he could react in time¡­ and give Ohmygod time to save him. The only difference right now was that Ohmygod wasn¡¯t on his person. Why hasn¡¯t Carol arrived yet? He was really going to die¡­ The de reached his chest, and Silvie¡¯sst thought was of whether he would be able to meet Teacher L.L. He finally closed his eyes. ¡°Thump!¡± ¡­Why doesn¡¯t it hurt? The sound also seems odd, and my chest feels a bit heavier? Silvie opened his eyes and saw a golden colored, transparent object stuck on his chest. Its tail was tightly wrapped around the de, not letting it move another half-inch closer. ¡°Ohmygod!¡± Ohmygod has arrived, that means¡­ Carol has also arrived! Silvie immediately turned his head and nced around as he yelled, ¡°Carol, Carol!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard you, and I¡¯m going deaf from all your shouting!¡± Silvie¡¯s shouts instantly stopped, while Cale was startled. At that moment, the wall with a window suddenly made a cracking noise, and cracks started appearing. They ran from the upper right corner down to the bottom left corner, and ran from the upper left corner to the bottom right corner. A giant X had actually formed on the face of the wall¡­ ¡°Bang!¡± The entire wall flew apart from the center, creating a giant hole. Through the thick cloud of dust and smoke, he faintly saw a person¡¯s shadow¡­ But when the smoke and dust cleared, there were many more people outside the hole. The foremost person was Carol, and behind her was Halfleaf looking stunned. There were also some people by the side that Silvie and Cale did not recognize at all, and their expressions were even more dumbfounded than Halfleaf¡¯s. Carol was wielding two gigantic des. She usually only held a de in her right hand, but this time even her left hand was holding a de, and it was even bigger than the one in her right hand. The contrast was even more obvious seeing them held in her slim hands. It was simply unbelievable that she could actually wield those weapons! ¡°Wh-Who are you?¡± The woman finally returned to her senses and shrieked. ¡°Who I am is not important.¡± Carol said coldly, ¡°But the ones behind me are the city lord¡¯s subordinates. They¡¯ve already heard what you guys just said.¡± What we just said¡­ When the woman recalled what she had previously said, her entire face instantly turned pale. ¡°It was her, it was all her doing!¡± The man by her side suddenly shouted, ¡°She murdered my brother with poison!¡± The woman turned back and stared at the man beside her incredulously. She stuttered, ¡°You, you¡­ I didn¡¯t do it! He put the poison in the soup. I merely passed it on to my husband to drink!¡± The two of them pushed the me back and forth. One moment he said she had bought the poison, the next moment she said he hade up with the scheme. Unknowingly, the two of them had given a full ount of what had happened. Cale was furious when he heard it and couldn¡¯t restrain himself from charging forward. However, Carol was faster and with a single leap, she dashed between Cale and the other three people. Even though her back was facing Cale, which was a disadvantageous position not suitable for offense, Cale knew that he definitely could not break through this wall. He halted his steps, not knowing how to release the rage in his heart. ¡°Compared to killing them,¡± Carol shot a nce back at Cale as she spoke, ¡°It should be even more agonizing for them to let everyone know about their terrible act and let them be locked up in the city lord¡¯s dungeons to await judgment. This way of payback is also more right and proper, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Did, Didn¡¯t you not want to help me?¡± Confused, Cale asked, ¡°At the start, when Silvie wanted you to help Halfleaf and me, you briefly looked at Halfleaf, but you frowned at me¡­¡± ¡°Did I? I frowned?¡± Carol said tly, ¡°I only felt that your problem was harder to handle. Halfleaf wanted to save his brother. Saving people isn¡¯t difficult. However, without any proof or evidence for your case, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to convict somebody of a crime.¡± Oh I see¡­ Cale raised his head and looked at Carol. He suddenly felt his eyes warm and hastily bowed his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I misunderstood you.¡± Carol didn¡¯t answer him. Instead, she turned her head, yelling, ¡°Silvie!¡± Silvie jumped in shock from having his name called suddenly, and promptly asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°We should go.¡± Carol sheathed her des, turned around, and left. When she passed the city lord¡¯s subordinates, she coldly snapped out amand, ¡°Don¡¯t let me hear of any unreasonable sentence, got it?¡± Instantly, those subordinates replied nervously, ¡°Yes!¡± Seeing that Carol was leaving, Silvie quickly grabbed Cale with his left hand, gripped Halfleaf with his right hand, and then chased after her. ¡°Carol, wait for us!¡± They walked straight out of the city. Even though the city gates were closed in the middle of the night, the moment Carol took out an insignia and shed it, the guardsmen at the city gates obediently opened the gates. It was just like previously when the city lord had seen this insignia and obediently dispatched his subordinates to follow Carol and eavesdrop. But in fact, this insignia didn¡¯t belong to Carol. It was the white rose insignia that Silvie had inherited from his teacher, the insignia that the Holy King had personally issued to L.L., to bestow upon him the title as the king¡¯s wandering bard. After walking a short distance outside the city, Carol found a clean and open space to sit down. In amanding tone, she said, ¡°Silvie, cook some food! Don¡¯t do it slowly; cook a bit faster. I¡¯m starving.¡± Although there were provisions in Halfleaf¡¯s cloth-wrapped bundle, after getting used to eating Silvie¡¯s hand-cooked food, she naturally wouldn¡¯t eat those dry provisions if she could avoid it. ¡°Oh, okay!¡± Silvie started to get busy. He chopped up food in preparation for boiling soup, requested Halfleaf to gather dry twigs for a fire, and then handed the job of roasting meat to Cale. As people were helping him, his speed naturally increased a lot, and before long, they could begin eating. Carol was rarely satisfied with Silvie¡¯s speed of cooking, although credit should also be given to Halfleaf and Cale for helping. She epted the soup and started eating immediately. While everyone was eating, Cale could not resist asking Carol, ¡°How did you know where my house was?¡± Carol had not even opened her mouth when Silvie cut in, ¡°It¡¯s because I left Ohmygod with Carol. If not, Carol wouldn¡¯t have been able to find us! Every time we enter a city, Ohmygod would stay with Carol to aid in finding me.¡± ¡°Then how were you able to call on the city lord¡¯s subordinates? And you actually had a way to exit through the city gates during the night?¡± Cale inquired while strongly suppressing his astonishment. ¡°Those guards actually agreed to open up the gates? What the heck did you do?¡± ¡°Because Carol is the Warrior Queen. No one would dare to obstruct her!¡± Cale and Halfleaf stared nkly at Silvie. On the other hand, Carol red fiercely at Silvie for a moment. She hadn¡¯t mentioned that she was the Warrior Queen at all. She had merely showed L.L.¡¯s white rose insignia. Silvie flinched, but he didn¡¯t feel like he had said anything of concern. In any case, Cale and Halfleaf were already theirpanions! ¡°Wh-Which Warrior Queen are you talking about?¡± An extremely baffled expression appeared on Cale¡¯s face. Even though he knew who the Warrior Queen that Silvie had mentioned was¡­ As a matter of fact, it was impossible for anyone in the Kingdom of Holy Light not to know about the Warrior Queen, but as Silvie¡¯s words were simply too astonishing, he subconsciously felt that it was impossible. Silvie matter-of-factly said, ¡°Of course it¡¯s the Warrior Queen who led armies to defend the Crimson des Pass!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Cale and Halfleaf were dumbstruck as they stared at Silvie, then they turned their heads to gaze dazedly at Carol. Thetter ignored them as she ate her own food. ¡°Hold on a moment!¡± Cale shrieked, ¡°How can Carol be the Warrior Queen? The Warrior Queen is female!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Not understanding the situation, Silvie asked back, ¡°Isn¡¯t Carol also female? It matches up, right?¡± ¡°¡­Carol is female?¡± This time, it was Halfleaf who shrieked. Cale and Halfleaf stared at Carol, recalling that previous¡­ bath! Unexpectedly, Cale shrugged and was fine with it. However, Halfleaf practically transformed into a stone statue. At that moment, they heard Silvie¡¯s words drift over, ¡°That¡¯s right! Of course Carol is female. Otherwise, did you think she was male?¡± ¡­We were precisely under the impression that she was male! ¡°I¡¯ve never admitted who I am!¡± Carol said grumpily, ¡°Silvie, you¡¯re not allowed to broadcast it everywhere! If I hear you say that I am the Warrior Queen one more time, I will smash that mouth of yours thoroughly!¡± Upon hearing this, Silvie nervously covered his mouth. However he immediately uncovered it and said, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, right? They¡¯re ourpanions!¡± ¡°Who said they¡¯re ourpanions?¡± Carol said coldly, ¡°One should be getting lost now, and when we find his brother, the other one must also get lost!¡± When he heard this, Silvie started getting anxious and yelled, ¡°How can you do this? Are you going to forsake them after having dallied with them?¡± Da-Da¡­ Dallied what? Carol blinked, and then roared, ¡°Who is abandoning them after dallying with them? Stop talking nonsense!¡± However, Silvie shouted in an even louder voice, ¡°You¡¯ve already seen Halfleaf and Cale¡¯s buttockspletely naked, yet you still want to chase them away. If this isn¡¯t abandoning them after using them, then what is it?¡± Crash! Silvie turned his head to look and gasped ¡°ah.¡± As he gestured at Halfleaf who had fainted on the ground, he med Carol, ¡°You see, Halfleaf knew that he was going to be forsaken, so he was so worried that he fainted!¡± He was obviously so agitated by your words that he fainted! Carol didn¡¯t know how to release her rage as she faced this man who was criticizing her for using them. Especially after having admired their buttocks, not only was it hard to retort back, she even felt a bit guilty¡­ All right then! If I can¡¯t abandon Halfleaf then I won¡¯t abandon him. In any case, he is quite useful. He is good at gathering and can also be in charge of listening to Silvie talk. Out of the corner of her eye, Carol looked at the other guy, which was Cale. She nced over. Silvie promptly murmured close to Cale¡¯s ear, making Carol feel that something was extremely not right. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Cale ced his hands on his hips and spoke boldly, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you haven¡¯t seen my buttocks already? Previously when you lifted up the nket to look at me, I was lying there naked and was even facing upwards! You should have seen even my little XX very clearly right? Yet you still want to throw me away?¡± After hearing this, and taking another look at Cale¡¯s smug face, Carol was livid and growled, ¡°In the days when I led the armies, if I hadn¡¯t seen a hundred thousand men¡¯s buttocks, then I saw at least eighty thousand! Don¡¯t tell me that I have to bear responsibility for each and every one of them?¡± When she finished speaking, she was so furious that she stood up and walked off. Even if she wouldn¡¯t be criminally charged with forsaking men after having dallied with them¡­ Then it should at least be considered cruelly abandoning pets? Carol angrily denied this criminal charge of dallying then abandoning them. Silvie hastily shook Halfleaf awake and pulled at Cale. The three of them hurriedly chased after her. ¡°Following her like this, she won¡¯t simply turn around and singlehandedly get rid of all of us with one strike, right?¡± Cale was a bit worried about this. After all, she was the Warrior Queen who treated even the demon race as radishes and chopped them up! ¡°She wouldn¡¯t, she wouldn¡¯t!¡± Silvie said immediately, but after he said that, he was still a little bit uncertain. After thinking for a while and feeling that he hade up with a good n, he happily suggested, ¡°Or how about this, when we catch up to herter on, we will immediately strip off our clothes, expose our buttocks and bathe¡­ Ahhh! Halfleaf, don¡¯t faint!¡± ¡°If exposing buttocks could let us live, that would actually be very easy!¡± Cale thought for a moment. It is a lot simplerpared to when I was by myself and had easily nearly died multiple times. Then he promptly ran after her. He definitely wouldn¡¯t allow himself to be forsaken after being dallied with. ¡°Cale,e and help me carry Halfleaf!¡± Silvie wanted to cry but no tears were shed. Luckily at that moment, Ohmygod jumped out from his bosom, wrapped its tail around Halfleaf, and then the two people and a slime hurriedly tried to catch up. ¡°Carol, wait for me¡­ Wait for us!¡± Volume 2, 12: Number, 12, Twelve (End)

Volume 2, Chapter 12: Number, 12, Twelve (End)

Trantor: Doza Thinking back now, it seemed that ever since that point in time, she had made a blunder¡­ No! From the moment she met Silvie, it was already a grave mistake! While dragging a deer, Carol returned from her recollections and regained her senses. Only then did she realize that she had unconsciously walked back to the camp. Her speed was much faster than before. It looked like the past few years of adventures had indeed made a difference; her survival skills in the wilderness had improved substantially. ¡°Carol!¡± Carol lifted her head. It turned out to be Silvie who was calling her. His smile remained brilliant to the point that she really wanted to beat him to death. However, other than him, there were also another ten people by his side, each of them using a different expression to wee her back¡­ Truly, the moment she picked up this thing called trouble, the amount of it would constantly increase by itself. Dragging a deer, Carol slowly walked toward the group of people. In the past, they couldn¡¯t finish eating a deer and had to turn it into bacon which they could eat for several weeks. Now, a deer wasn¡¯t even sufficient for a single meal! Luckily, Halfleaf and his brother were in charge of gathering mushrooms and vegetables. There was also someone who could catch fish, someone who could brew wine, someone who could make bread and noodles, someone who could make jam, someone who could make pickles, and even someone who could make various kinds of desserts! The table of food prepared was always as rich as a banquet. They didn¡¯t seem like a group of travelers at all. When Carol reached the camp, someone immediately took the deer from her hands. Being extremely bored, she wanted to make things difficult for Silvie, so she said in amanding tone, ¡°Today I want to eat deer in three different ways: roasted, fried, and boiled.¡± Yet Silvie showed an even more glowing expression and loudly replied, ¡°Yes.¡± Carol sat down and watched the eleven people in front of her rushing and bustling around. The aroma of various foods assailed her nostrils, and the corner of her mouth faintly lifted up into a smile. This¡­ doesn¡¯t seem so bad either. -END- Afterword I believe that while everyone was reading this series, they would have clearly realized that Female Warrior is in fact rted to The Legend of Sun Knight. Female Warrior actually details the story behind the establishment of the first generation Twelve Holy Knights, even though up until the current volume it still has not yet started to be established. The writing of that will be left for the main series. I¡¯ve wanted to write about the first generation Twelve Holy Knights for a very long time. After the eighth volume of The Legend of Sun Knight is finished, I n to follow up with the Female Warrior series (It would be handed directly to the publishers for publishing). However, my hands were itching too badly, so I wrote a short volume to satisfy myself first and, then in passing, began to press the artist Wu Ling into action. Even though only four people have actually appeared in the current volumes, the artist drew twelve people! (Didn¡¯t you ask for that?) Cough! This is so that when writing the main series, I can disy the art book by the side! It would feel really wonderful to flip through the art book as I write the manuscript! Other than the twelve character designs, there are also twelve weapon designs and even twelve badge designs! These are all the results of my hard work in pressuring the artist! (I mustn¡¯t feel proud over this ahhhhhh!) For everything introduced, twelve had to be designed. I am really grateful that up till today, Wu Ling has not yet killed me. (Bows down gratefully) Other than the designs of twelve various things, I even squeezed out a rge poster of everyone walking together¡± from Wu Ling. Doesn¡¯t it have a very united feeling! Even though it was so long that it had to be folded, I requested the artist to allocate the characters¡¯ positions well when drawing, so the characters probably wouldn¡¯t be folded. Wu Ling took a super long time to draw thisrge poster. I¡¯m really thankful to you forpleting my dream picture! As for the other pictures, I didn¡¯t press her for them. She was the one who bled herself dry¡­ It¡¯s true! In fact, after reading the first finished chapter, she even drew an extra picture of Silvie begging for food with wide, sparkling eyes! If it wasn¡¯t for theck of time, maybe after reading twelve chapters, twelve extra pictures would have appeared? (Thispletely did not happen.) Apart from the official profile pictures and therge poster, my favorite poster is the one of Silvie running into a sunflower. It¡¯s simply too cute! Carol, you did really well! I¡¯ll just mention it in passing, the little chick on Earth¡¯s head is really very cute too! There¡¯s antern on the little chick¡¯s head because it is a creature from another world, so it should still be okay to say that it is an (otherworldly) chick. Speaking of the little chick on Earth¡¯s head, actually after everyone has finished looking through the art book, they should be able to guess who Halfleaf¡¯s younger brother is. So in fact, five people have appeared in this volume! (I seem to hear Wu Ling shouting by the side that she drew twelve people, twelve people, twelve people ah¡«¡«¡«¡«) This is also the first time I¡¯m using stic wrapping on these documents. I felt that it would seem to be very good to use, so I tried it out to see how it would turn out. I hope everyone will like it; there¡¯s also a handsome guy printed on top of it! (Carol: Hold on, aren¡¯t I the printed character?) That¡¯s right! Handsome guy! By Yu Wo July, 2010 Volume 2, Artbook

Volume 2, Artbook

Trantor: lucathia and Raylight (Below is a trantion of the artbooks included with these two volumes of Female Warrior. Yu Wo has already named all of the first generation of the Twelve Holy Knights even though not all have appeared in the Prologue. As they have not appeared in the storyline yet, PR! has not settled on a tranted name for many characters. We reserve the right to change our mind about the names but will strive to keep close to names and spellings given by Yu Wo, unless they don¡¯t make sense in English, or we might just prefer some other moremon spelling. Not every single picture from the artbooks has been included here, as not all require trantion, and we don¡¯t want to take away from people who bought the novels and artbook. We hope this is enough for you to get a feel for all of the characters.) Ah, Carol, what do you feel is the best number? One? But one is so lonely. It definitely has to be an even number! It has to be even in order not to be lonely! But even numbers are also numerous¡­ Oh right, how about twelve? It feels so numerous and lively! Twelve, twelve¡­ It sounds so nice! Artbook 1 Profile Silvester Uriah Nate Characteristics: Blond hair, blue eyes Profession: Bard Weapon: Harp Names: Silvie, Sun Famous quotes: ¨C ¡°Why¡­¡± ¨C ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t do it on purpose!¡± ¨C ¡°Carol, don¡¯t hit me¡­¡± Artbook 2 Profile ¡°Sun¡± Name Given by Yu Wo: Silvester Uriah Nate Tranted Name by PR!: Silvester Uriah Nate Names: Silvie, S.U.N. Weapon: Divine Sun Sword Likes: ¨C Singing ¨C Dancing ¨C Smiling ¨C Making Carol mad ¨C ying with Ohmygod ¨C Getting teased by hispanions Famous quotes: ¨C ¡°I didn¡¯t do it on purpose¡­¡± ¨C ¡°Carol, don¡¯t get mad!¡± ¨C ¡°Ohmygod, save me!¡± ¨C ¡°Let¡¯s celebrate! How about it? Can we?¡± ¨C ¡°I love gatherings!¡± Life Motto: As long as you are willing to repent, the benevolent God of Light will definitely forgive you! ¡°Storm¡± Name Given by Yu Wo: Shahot te Tranted Name by PR!(tentative): Shahot nte Names: Shahaha Weapon: Storm Leg Armor Likes: ¨C Admiring beautiful things ¨C Flirting with beautiful girls ¨C One night stands ¨C Protecting women Famous quotes: ¨C ¡°Are you joking with me? A ce without women is unsuitable for men!¡± ¨C ¡°It¡¯s a babe!¡± ¨C ¡°Sun, have you ever considered finding a woman to lose your virginity?¡± Life motto: Life is just a game. There¡¯s not much you need to be serious for! ¡°Leaf¡± Name Given by Yu Wo: Half of Leaf Tranted Name by PR!: Halfleaf Names: Leaf, Little Leaf, Elf Weapon: Divine Leaf Bow Likes: ¨C Singing and dancing ¨C Going into a daze, so much so that he forgets to eat and sleep ¨C Asking Silvie to sing for him ¨C Shooting his arrows Famous quotes: ¨C ¡°I¡¯m a guy. Really, I am! Sorry that I caused your misunderstanding.¡± ¨C ¡°That¡¯s not it, I only inherited half of the bloodline of elves.¡± ¨C ¡°Erm, I apologize, I went into a daze again.¡± ¨C ¡°Silvie, shall we sing together?¡± Life Motto: Why not sing a song and forget about life¡¯s troubles? ¡°ze¡± Name Given by Yu Wo: Car Ben Tranted Name by PR!: UNDECIDED (WHAT KIND OF NAME IS CAR) Names: Loudmouth, Stuben Weapon: ze (the second half of the name has not been provided) Likes: ¨C Laughing heartily ¨C Battling ¨C Laughing at Silvie and Halfleaf for their girliness ¨C Being absent-minded ¨C Indulging in wine and meat Famous quotes: ¨C ¡°Man, you sure you have anything in your pants?¡± ¨C ¡°Sun! Not that I want to say this, but can¡¯t you be more like a man?¡± ¨C ¡°Really? I said that? I forgot.¡± Life Motto: Cut the crap and let our weapons speak for themselves! ¡°Earth¡± Name Given by Yu Wo: Cash nte Tranted Name by PR! (tentative): Cash nte Names: The chick¡¯s mom, Baby-face, the little fellow Weapon: The Shield of Earth Likes: ¨C Taking care of his older brother ¨C Raising little animals, mostly little chicks ¨C Saying sorry ¨C Discussing the beauty of mankind with Silvie ¨C Getting teased together with Silvie by everyone else Famous quotes: ¨C ¡°Sorry, sorry, sorry¡­¡± ¨C ¡°Little chicks are cute¡­¡± ¨C ¡°Don¡¯t eat my chicken!¡± ¨C ¡°I¡¯m only baby-faced.¡± ¨C ¡°Brother, you must stay close to me!¡± Life Motto: People should take care of each other! ¡°Cloud¡± Name Given by Yu Wo: Idane Qwun Tranted Name by PR!: Idane (Undecidedst name) Names: Disappeared Weapon: Cloud Rapier Likes: ¨C Reading ¨C Sleeping in the shade of a tree ¨C Drinking wine ¨C Collecting various odd trinkets ¨C Disappearing Famous quotes: ¨C ¡°¡­¡± ¨C ¡°There¡¯s no such matter.¡± ¨C ¡°I don¡¯t want to waste time.¡± ¨C ¡°Give me a reason.¡± Life Motto: To live in this world, you must learn to take care of everything by yourself. Artbook 1 Profile Carol Characteristics: ck hair, ck eyes Profession: Warrior Weapon: Dual des Names: Dancingde, Warriorde, Warrior Queen, Dragon Famous quotes: ¨C ¡°Why don¡¯t you go die?¡± (used specifically with Silvie) ¨C ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± (used specifically with Silvie) ¨C ¡°Shut up and let me slice you up!¡± Artbook 2 Profile ¡°Judgment¡± Name Given by Yu Wo: Carol Tranted Name by PR!: Carol Names: Warrior Queen, Bloodde Weapon: Dual des Likes: ¨C Battling ¨C Leading troops ¨C Training herrades ¨C Getting super angry at herrades ¨C Dealing out punishment to enemies who sin orrades who are simply asking for it Famous quotes: ¨C ¡°Silvie!!!¡± ¨C ¡°Go on and resist if you don¡¯t want to live anymore!¡± ¨C ¡°My de or talking, you choose!¡± ¨C ¡°It¡¯s useless even if you strip this time!¡± ¨C ¡°Silvester!!!¡± Life Motto: Every world is the same. Without power, there is no justice! ¡°Metal¡± Name Given by Yu Wo: Cale Tranted Name by PR!: Cale Names: Thief, Miser Weapon: Twin daggers Likes: ¨C Teasing hispanions ¨C Causing mischief ¨C Making money ¨C Taking advantage of a crisis for personal gain ¨C Exhibitionist Famous quotes: ¨C ¡°If merely showing my butt can save my life, that¡¯s super easy!¡± ¨C ¡°As long as you have money, things are easy!¡± ¨C ¡°Silvie, lend me some money!¡± ¨C ¡°Boss, your call.¡± Life Motto: Money can¡¯t buy everything, but without money, you can¡¯t do anything! ¡°Moon¡± Name Given by Yu Wo: Sasha Tranted Name by PR!: Sasha Names: Prince, Your Highness Weapon: Whip Likes: ¨C Dressing himself and hispanions up ¨C Fixing clothes ¨C Admiring jewelry and essories ¨C Designing clothes ¨C Gracefully going about his days Famous quotes: ¨C ¡°Appearances make a person!¡± ¨C ¡°Only beggars are allowed to look like that!¡± ¨C ¡°Evenpanions are a type of essory. You¡¯re not allowed to wear something that ugly!¡± ¨C ¡°Taste determines everything.¡± ¨C ¡°Hmph, what do you think you are?¡± Life Motto: Only when you dress beautifully will your feelings be beautiful as well. ¡°Ice¡± Name Given by Yu Wo: Shu Noah Tranted Name by PR! (tentative): Shu Noah Names: So Cold, Killer Weapon: Divine Ice Sword Likes: ¨C Settling things with one strike ¨C Not beating around the bush ¨C Not speaking ¨C Following Carol¡¯s orders Famous quotes: ¨C ¡°¡­¡± ¨C ¡°¡­¡­¡± ¨C ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡± ¨C ¡°Yes.¡± Life Motto: Silence is golden. ¡°Stone¡± Name Given by Yu Wo: Fxe Anderite Tranted Name by PR! (tentative): Felix Anderite Names: Commander Weapon: Stone Broadsword Likes: ¨C Givingmands ¨C Stubbornly following Carol¡¯s orders ¨C Obeying rules ¨C Always being on time and never going back on his word ¨C Protecting hisrades Famous quotes: ¨C ¡°Yes!¡± ¨C ¡°Duck behind me!¡± ¨C ¡°I rather die than go back on my word!¡± ¨C ¡°Don¡¯t bete!¡± Life Motto: One must be responsible for one¡¯s words and actions. If you err, you must take responsibility! ¡°Hell¡± Name Given by Yu Wo: Yu (Yu sounds like the second half of ¡°Hell¡± in Chinese) Tranted Name by PR! (tentative): Ell Names: That Fellow Weapon: Long shortswords Likes: ¨C Coming and going without a trace ¨C Not talking ¨C Listening to Silvie¡¯s orders Famous quotes: ¨C ¡°¡­¡± ¨C ¡°No, I don¡¯t understand.¡± ¨C ¡°?¡± ¨C ¡°Tell Silvie.¡± Life Motto: What is a human? Is a human different from other creatures? Artbook 1 Profile Name Given by Yu Wo: Lancero Ornister Tranted Name by PR!: Lancel Ornister Characteristics: Blond hair, golden eyes Profession: Knight Names: Holy King Famous quotes: ¨C ¡°I was born for the world.¡± Artbook 1 Profile Name Given by Yu Wo: Lorenzo Louis Tranted Name by PR!: Lorenzo Louis Characteristics: Frivolous Profession: Bard Names: LL Famous quotes: ¨C ¡°Life is but a game.¡± ¨C ¡°Sing a song to pass the days.¡± Artbook 1 Profile Name Given by Yu Wo: God, Little What Tranted Name by PR!: Ohmygod Characteristics: Golden jelly Profession: Pet¡­no! God! Weapon: Entire body Names: ¨C ¡°God¡± (used by Silvie) ¨C ¡°Ohmygod¡± (used by Silvie) ¨C ¡°Come over, you lump.¡± (used by Carol) Hello! I¡¯m Wu Ling. My blog is located at http://blog.yam/user/ku5050.html. In order to draw Female Warrior, my blog is now full of weeds¡­ Once this is published, I should have finished weeding my blog and uploading some misceneous Female Warrior drawings that weren¡¯t included here. And then! It¡¯s once again time to write my award thanks here (wrong). First, I have to thank Yu Wan. While being super busy, she helped me design the font for ¡°Female Warrior.¡± I¡¯m very sorry that it wasn¡¯t used, but your designs were still national level~ Next, I have to thank Dr. ck. Thanks again for helping me draw so many 4 panelics and Q versions in this book. Even though I thought of all the ideas, but because of time, I had to summon you to draw it. XD Finally, I have to thank Yu Wo. When I was stuck with the drawing and teaching at Lian Cheng (I¡¯m teaching a Painter drawing course at Lian Cheng. Best regards if you see me!) and wanted to discard the poster more than once, ssmate Yu extended the deadline. What a good person~ Dr. ck¡¯s blog: http://blog.yam/Drck Yu Wan¡¯s blog: http://blog.yam/user/tangyuann3.html The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!