Chương 169: What are your hands doing?

sizzle.

Steaming hot grilled steaks were served.

The aroma of black pepper sauce mixed with a faint scent of grass wafted into Duncan's nose.

"This is the taste."

He picked up his knife and fork, elegantly and skillfully cut off a piece, and put it into his mouth.

The steak was tender and juicy.

The rich aroma assaulted his taste buds, making him recall the last time he visited this shop, when he didn't yet have a beard.

Most importantly, at that time, someone ate with him.

【Laketilie】 Duncan chewed on the name.

A gentle, smiling face involuntarily appears before my eyes.

He was born in the countryside of the northern plateau.

Her parents worked for the Gluck family, the lords of the fortified city of Viize, while Lectilie was the lord's daughter, a country bumpkin and a rich young lady.

This is the most clichéd template for a love story, according to bards.

But Duncan and Lake Tilly were genuine childhood sweethearts.

Eating, reading, drinking tea, playing with cats, fishing, daydreaming—they're inseparable, and everything is fun when they do it together.

later---- Even though Lectilly wasn't by his side anymore.

Doing these things again, or thinking about them, still makes him feel happy.

He still remembers meeting the naive noble young master, Lylene, when he first became a [Court Magician].

Back then, he would think of Lectilly no matter what he saw, and he couldn't stop talking about Lectilly.

It annoyed Lylein to no end.

I even avoided him for a while because of that.

Of course, the result was that he failed to dodge.

jingle.

The door to the barbecue restaurant was pushed open.

An old man wearing a white cloak, with a thin build and shoulder-length short hair, walked into the shop.

He glanced around before his gaze settled on Duncan.

They walked slowly.

Duncan did not look towards the door.

But his [Magic Detection] had already recognized the other party.

"Waiter, another steak, please. And please replace the black pepper sauce with ketchup, thank you."

The waiter responded and left.

at this time.

The person who came just happened to walk up to Duncan's table.

Duncan didn't get up. He smiled and pointed to the stool next to him, inviting the other person to sit down.

"Laierne, it's been a long time."

【Lyrne】 glanced at Duncan, then at the plate of steak in front of him, and said expressionlessly, "As you get older, you shouldn't eat things that are hard to digest."

Duncan was stunned.

Then he let out a hearty laugh.

"That's true, things aren't like they were when we were younger."

"However, I think—your Continental Magic Association must have some familiar monks. Whether it's diarrhea or constipation, they'll definitely be able to handle it."

Duncan made a joke.

Lylene sat down opposite Duncan.

Pick up the menu.

"Don't bother the monks with such trivial matters."

Just then, the waiter brought over a steak and placed it in front of Duncan.

Duncan raised his hand and pushed it to Lylene.

Lylene remained silent.

Duncan joked with a laugh, "Don't worry, it's tomato flavored, not spicy at all."

Lyle put down the menu and sighed helplessly.

"This isn't a matter of taste—Elu will be angry."

Thinking of her granddaughter's expectations of her, Lylene couldn't help but shake her head.

Ever since meeting [Shane], Ailu has been restricting his eating habits.

During their exploration of Rivendell, Ailu learned many health tips from Shane. The little girl even asked Shane what kind of care was needed for the elderly.

"There are many things that need to be taken care of. For example, you can't eat bread every day. Your daily staple food should be combined with whole grains. You should eat less meat, and focus on easily digestible meats such as eggs, pork, fish, and shrimp. You should also eat vegetables, making sure it's two portions of vegetables to one portion of meat."

Back then, Xia En could talk endlessly about health and wellness.

Many of its theories even amazed the monk Zanyin.

Both the elven mage Frilian and the two talented young men had unwavering faith in Shane's theoretical knowledge.

Elu, who has always been a good student, would never tolerate falling behind.

She wrote down this story page after page in her little notebook that she always carried with her.

It made Lylene's scalp tingle.

But miraculously, ever since he was forced to start living according to Shane's advice, some of the "minor problems" that had bothered him for years have actually been resolved.

"Alright, I know you have a wonderful granddaughter, you don't need to keep bringing her up to tempt me."

Duncan made a somewhat sarcastic remark.

Lyleen snapped out of her thoughts and looked at her old friend in front of her.

The two hadn't seen each other for over a decade, but there was no sense of distance between them when they met again, as if those years had passed in the blink of an eye.

Are you still all alone?

Duncan paused for a moment, then said, "I haven't had your luck, Lylene."

Lyle looked at Duncan and sighed.

"So many years have passed, you should—"

"Speaking of which," Duncan interrupted before Lylene could finish speaking, "you now need to be a Level 1 Mage to go to the Northern Plateau. Is the situation in the north bad?"

Seeing that Duncan didn't want to talk, Lyle sighed helplessly.

"This is bad. The Demon King's army is showing signs of regrouping. We don't know who is commanding them yet, but we do know that some demons have started heading south."

"Won't the Northern Plateau descend into chaos again?!"

"Yes, in recent months, we've received several times more requests for help than in previous years."

"The situation is really dire. Hopefully, those guys in the [Imperial Territory] can unite this time and stop fighting amongst themselves."

.

Duncan muttered a complaint, then looked down and continued cutting his steak.

Lyle observed Duncan's emotions, and his originally melancholy eyes became even more profound.

"Don't you want to ask about your hometown?"

Upon hearing this, Duncan paused, his knife and fork still.

However, after a short while, they resumed their actions.

"【Viyze】has been sealed off by a barrier. For the demons, there is no need to invade there at all. My hometown is nearby, so I suppose it will be less troublesome for me."

Lylene sighed.

He took a file from his waist.

He placed the file on the table and pushed it toward Duncan.

Duncan glanced at Lylene with a puzzled look, picked up the white handkerchief on the table, wiped his hands, and reached for it.

This is a file sealed with magic. If it weren't for Lyleen's permission, even if someone else got their hands on it, it would just be a blank notebook.

Duncan looked up and glanced at Lylene again.

The file that made him take it so seriously — He turned to a page.

One glance was enough to leave him stunned.

This is actually a record from the Continental Magic Association regarding the "goldenening" of the Viez region— Fifty years ago, on the northern plateau, Mahat, known as the strongest of the Seven Sages of Collapse, for reasons unknown, turned the entire fortified city of Viize into gold.

At that time, the Continental Magic Association had just been established, and its leader, Archmage Celia, felt threatened by Mahat and led six disciples to subdue him. These disciples were among the first batch of First-Class Mages.

During their battle, Mahat was defeated and trapped by the barrier. Celia wanted to take the opportunity to eliminate Mahat to prevent future trouble, but this was opposed by her disciples, led by Lylene. Ultimately, the attitude towards Mahat changed from suppression to sealing him away.

The Continental Magic Association erected a large barrier throughout the entire Viize region, sealing both Mahat and Viize within it. However, even sealed within the barrier, Mahat's golden magic continued to spread, affecting forests, farmland, and...

Townships — The prime location is getting bigger and bigger —

"In the early years after the barrier was established, the gold-ification phenomenon expanded outwards at a rate of tens of meters per day —"

"Five years after the barrier was established, the rate of gold transformation remains unchanged—engulfing the first village—"

"The barrier has been in place for ten years, its speed unchanged, and it has already swallowed up two villages—"

"The barrier, established thirty years ago, has swallowed up one town and three villages—"

"The barrier, established fifty years ago, has swallowed up three villages—" Duncan's gaze froze.

He looked at the latest record, and the name of one of the villages made him feel momentarily disoriented.

"sorry."

Lylene's voice was somewhat hoarse.

"My initial opposition to killing [Mahat] and my desire to seal him away was so that [one day] we could find a way to break the spell and free [Viize] from his golden form —"

"But I didn't expect that the expansion of goldfields would not slow down for decades, and now, even your hometown has been swallowed up."

Lylene's already melancholy face looked even more weathered.

Over the past few decades, he has never slackened in his efforts to crack the "Goldenification" problem.

For this reason, he traveled throughout the northern countries.

Ailu thought her grandfather enjoyed exploring ancient ruins, but in reality, he just hoped to find a way to break the [Goldenification] curse from those ruins.

pity.

They gained nothing.

Now, he no longer knows how to view his past choices.

"It's not your fault, Lylene."

"You haven't had a moment's rest these past few decades, have you? I don't even know how long it's been since I've seen you smile."

"No one can break Mahat's magic, otherwise he wouldn't be the strongest of the Seven Sages. But—I didn't expect it to happen so quickly."

Duncan's gaze lingered on the file, looking at that familiar yet unfamiliar place name.

After a long silence, she slowly spoke: "I haven't been back to my hometown since [Lexire] passed away."

"I'll go back and visit in a while."

"I'll go back and visit once I'm done with this."

"I keep making excuses for myself, but I know in my heart that I don't want to go back."

"If I were to return to my hometown and see that the places where we once had beautiful memories have become unrecognizable, it would be an unbearable pain for me."

"Those days that could have been returned to have disappeared day by day in this kind of procrastination."

Duncan put down the file, took off his monocle, and wiped it with a cloth.

He's such a heartless person.

He talks about how much he loves his wife, but he can't even visit her grave every year.

Duncan turned his gaze to the window.

Oisasque has a vibrant nightlife.

Bards' street performances, magicians' trick shows, and various food stalls—young men and women stroll hand in hand, each with an enviable smile of happiness on their face.

"Until I realized that my duties and position no longer allowed me to leave at will, the matter of 'returning to my hometown to sweep the tombs' became something I would only say 'someday in the future' —" Lylene sighed.

It takes a lot of courage for a person to face what they have already lost.

"But Duncan, we're both over 70 years old. Can we really wait until 'someday'?"

A glint flashed across Duncan's monocle.

Yes.

Is it really possible to wait any longer?

After a long while, his deep but steady voice rang out, "Rylene, help me register for the Level One Mage exam."

.

"it is good."

"I also need information about [Mahat], the more detailed the better."

"it is good."

"I also hope you can have a bite of steak."'

Lylene's melancholy expression cracked slightly.

This emotional shift was completely unexpected.

Even after all these years, he is still amazed by this old friend.

Duncan strongly urged, "This is really good."

"It's all cold now."

Lylene remained unmoved.

"It's alright, it's about room temperature."

"Elu will be angry."

"Our decades-long friendship—" Duncan played the emotional card.

Lylene gave in, "I'll eat it."

In the hot spring bath of the inn.

The air was thick with moisture.

Philon crossed his arms, tightly protecting his chest, his face filled with panic.

"What are you doing with your hands!"

Yubel stood behind her, grinning from ear to ear.

"I'm helping you take off your clothes."

No—no need—

"We're good friends, it's only right that we help each other."

"Need not----" Philon pulled a towel over himself and wrapped it up completely.

"I'll just soak in the bar like this."

Yubel grinned mischievously, "Who bathes in a hot spring with everything covered?"

"Being with you means I have to be wrapped up in a bubble."

"Oh dear, I didn't do anything, but you're so wary of me. I'm so sad.""

"7 Philon hugged the bath towel tightly, puffing out his cheeks.

She wouldn't listen to Yubel's sweet talk.

From the moment she started undressing, Yubel's eyes never left herself. She wasn't stupid; she would never expose herself to a dangerous person.

Unfortunately, Philon didn't know that her rejection was incredibly endearing to Yubel, instantly igniting his desire to conquer her.

The more you forbid it, the more you forbid it; the more you forbid it, the more you watch.

While the two were struggling on the shore, Frillie had already sunk herself into the water.

"ah" The elven girl let out a satisfied sigh.

The warm hot spring water soaked my whole body, soothing every sore muscle. It felt so good.

She closed her eyes and enjoyed it.

Gradually, the soup soaked over her shoulders.

After a while, it soaked her chin.

A moment later, plop plop—the elf girl sank into the water.

Philen finally managed to escape Yubel's enthusiasm, but in the blink of an eye, she saw that there was no one on the water. Then she looked up and saw a string of small bubbles on the surface of the water, which terrified her.

"Lord Frilian!"