Chương 43: The Old Man and the Little Girl

Let's rewind to a month ago.

Near the city of Gostan, in a certain mountain forest.

Solitaire sat on a fallen tree trunk, leisurely swinging her little feet.

She was waiting for someone.

No, I mean, we're waiting for a great demon.

Hey.

Hey.

Hey.

Not long after, a series of muffled footsteps echoed through the woods.

Livale's tall and imposing figure slowly appeared. He saw Solitaire sitting on the tree trunk and happily raised a hand to greet her: "Hello, little Solitaire."

Hearing Livale's voice, Solitaire smiled happily, her tone light: "Ah, you've come. [Glaosam] and I have been waiting for you for a long time."

No sooner had she finished speaking than a hidden gray figure suddenly appeared from the shadows of the bushes beside her.

The gray figure wore a hood and was completely wrapped in a long robe, making it impossible to see its appearance.

Livale glanced at the figure, then casually found a large rock and sat down.

He let out a sigh of relief and said to Solitaire and the gray figure, "You two little brats, always ordering this old man around. Tell me, where do you need me to charge into battle this time?"

Although he complained like this, there was no reluctance in his tone; on the contrary, he seemed somewhat excited.

Upon hearing this, Solitaire glanced at the gray figure.

The figure made no sound, but simply nodded slightly.

Solitaire then explained to Livale on his behalf: "[Glaosam] said that [The All-Knowing] Shurahat foresaw several crucial future events before his death, one of which is now."

"Shurahat believes that someone will obtain something very valuable here, something that will cause the demons to suffer a bitter battle in the future, and he hopes that we can come here to intercept them."

Upon hearing this, Livale became interested, his lips parted to reveal sharp teeth, and he licked his fangs with a hint of excitement.

"So, there's going to be a great battle here. That's wonderful."

"Who is that person? Is it Aize, humanity's strongest warrior?"

He had long admired this legendary strongest human warrior. In his hazy memories, he even wondered if he had fought him before. Otherwise, why would his blood boil and he feel an involuntary excitement that made him tremble whenever he thought of that name?

He hasn't encountered a worthy opponent in far too long.

Even the renowned "Village of Warriors" is nothing but a name without substance.

The battle that had just ended still seemed rather boring to him, even now.

Seeing the madness in Livale's eyes, Solitaire knew perfectly well what this bloodthirsty war god was thinking.

"The future is uncertain, and we cannot be certain of the other party's true identity."

"Oh? Interesting... So how should we stop the enemy?"

Upon hearing this, Solitaire jumped down from the tree trunk, put her hands behind her back, and slowly took a few steps.

"Regarding this, [Glaosam] and I have already done some research beforehand. There are two rather interesting ruins in this area: one is inside [Grostan City], which is an unexplored labyrinth, and the other is in the eastern part of [Neck Mountains], which may be related to the dwarves."

"I think there's a very high probability that something valuable will appear in these two places."

As she spoke, she glanced at the gray figure in the shade of the tree. The figure did not speak, but nodded in agreement.

So she continued, "Then all we need to do is get the [precious thing] before that mysterious person does, right?"

Upon hearing this, Livale's initially excited expression turned slightly disappointed.

His expectation was to shed sweat on the battlefield; if he only came to collect some "precious thing," it would be too boring.

"Well, you young people always like to plan these complicated things."

"It's much simpler for an old man like me. I just want a good, satisfying battle."

After saying that, he stood up and walked into the depths of the forest.

Solitaire reminded him from behind that each person should be responsible for one side, and they should come back here to meet when they were done. He didn't respond, but just raised one hand and waved it casually.

…………

After Livale left, Solitaire walked up to the gray figure, put her hands behind her back, leaned forward slightly, and carefully examined the person in the shadows.

However, the other person was wrapped up so tightly that she couldn't see anything.

He could only shake his head helplessly.

"I clearly remember we just met not long ago, how come I suddenly can't remember where it was? Did you take away parts of my memories again?"

The gray figure remained silent in the face of Solitaire's question.

Solitaire smiled, her tone light and slightly mischievous:

"By changing your appearance and body shape, disappearing from human sight time and time again, you can always escape safely and live a peaceful life in any situation."

"What form will you take this time? Is such mystery necessary?"

Ignoring her teasing, the gray figure vanished in a flash.

Solitaire shrugged, put her hands behind her back, and walked lightly out of the woods.

She arrived at the edge of a cliff, overlooking the magnificent city of Gostan, and a fun plan formed in her mind.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

One month later.

Current time.

【Neck Mountains】Eastern part, within the mountains and forests.

Livale chose a group of merchants to prepare breakfast for him.

The group of eight people, with a mix of lean and fat, and a balanced diet, was his preferred choice.

Then, he went through a very thorough pre-meal ritual and thoroughly enjoyed himself.

Of course, cleaning up the dishes after meals was his least favorite thing, so he casually abandoned those annoying carriages and began his work for the day— Continue searching for the legendary ruins, following the map given by Solitaire.

"Is it related to dwarves?"

It was somewhat interesting amidst the boredom.

Although we couldn't have a real battle, being able to witness the "steel civilization" that once dominated the human world was enough to make the trip worthwhile.

As he was walking, he suddenly sensed a [magical detection] coming from behind him.

Oh?

A powerful mage has appeared nearby.

Thinking this, he flexed his wrists, grinned, and smiled silently. This was getting interesting, wasn't it?

Hmm, there's one more warrior... so weak.

Wait, how come it's gotten stronger again?

Ok?

It's gotten weaker again...

Interesting, interesting.

Thinking of this, he glanced back and, confirming that the other party was also heading in his direction, he flew directly behind some distant rocks, concealing his presence completely.

He didn't want to scare away this "opponent" he had finally managed to run into.

I need to spend some quality time with them...