The Strange Eagle Cape Village

"I'm back!"

Hai Na pushed open the door of her shop and shouted loudly.

Of course she didn't have her keys. But in a small village like theirs, keys weren't even necessary.

On ordinary days, the doors of every house are always open. Not to mention, many families here run their own small businesses... For example, Hai Na's father is the best blacksmith in the village.

Perhaps Hai Na inherited her superhuman strength from this. It was also because of this that her family was considered one of the wealthier families in the village. That's why her family was able to support her going to school in Bagpipe Town, instead of staying in the village and getting married early.

Nowadays, it's only because it's cold in winter that the doors are closed at noon.

Hai Na remembers that when she was doing her homework, the Hunter grandpa next door would often suddenly walk in without saying a word and take her father away to go fishing.

"Elder sister!"

A childish and excited voice came from inside the house. "Mom, my sister is back!"

It was a boy who looked about twelve or thirteen years old.

"Jack!"

Hai Na was very happy. She put her luggage on the ground and squatted down to hug the boy.

She released her embrace and affectionately patted her younger brother's head. "You've grown so much..."

In Hai Na's memory, Jack was still that little brat who would run around following her everywhere with a snotty nose. Now, he could be considered a "teenager."

His brown curly hair was thick and fluffy, and his dark yellow pupils were as warm as amber. His appearance was about 70-80% similar to Hai Na's. Even though life in the village had made his skin rough and his nose and cheeks a little red, he could still be described as handsome.

"You're all grown up now... do you have someone you like?"

Seeing Jack suddenly become shy, Hai Na jokingly asked, "Is he a classmate?"

I stopped going to school a long time ago.

Jack just scratched his head and said somewhat embarrassedly, "I really can't remember those things... so I stopped studying after finishing elementary school."

"However, Dad is already teaching me how to craft! Dad says I'm already halfway there... Once I've mastered it completely, I'll craft you a great suit of armor and weapons!"

Jack said excitedly.

Hai Na simply smiled, offering no comment.

—Because she now knew that not all observers could be equipped with armor. And the armor possessed by the knights was all bestowed by Her Majesty the Queen. The same applied to weapons—the weapons she could use were all equipment provided by her superiors.

Only such "officially authorized equipment" can maximize the power of Path of Authority. It's not so much about the weapon itself, but rather the special significance it carries.

Where's Dad?

Looking at the cold stove, which had been out of the fire for who knows how long, Hai Na asked with some confusion, "Did you go fishing?"

"I drank too much last night and I'm lying down."

Jack rolled his eyes and casually said, "Anyway, I can do ordinary jobs too."

Hai Na shook her head helplessly. "You old geezer..."

As she spoke, she handed the sword at her waist to her younger brother. "Help me take care of it, Jack?"

The elven short sword she received when she first met Iver has been with her for several months now. Of course, there have been experiences of direct confrontations with criminals, sword-to-sword clashes, or swords shattering spells.

Even with her careful care, they still suffered some minor damage. Although the Bureau of Supervision offered free equipment maintenance, Hai Na planned to take them home and have her father take care of them.

This stems partly from trust in her father's craftsmanship.

On the other hand, it was also to preserve as much "evidence of her hard work" as possible—she deliberately intended to leave it behind to imply to her family that "I'm very capable now, I have many combat missions, and many people outside rely on me."

When she was little, she always ran around the village. The adults said she was too restless and would never amount to anything.

At that time, she thought that if she could become a great person in the future, she would come back and show it to everyone.

Bringing back a brand-new weapon is hardly an honor for a warrior or a swordsman, because it means he hasn't participated in any fierce battles.

Scars are proof of honor. But Hai Na is still a girl, and she cares about her image—although she doesn't usually use cosmetics smuggled from Star Antimony, she wouldn't intentionally leave scars.

Although part of the reason she couldn't afford it... even if she couldn't afford it, she could still borrow it. Her roommates were quite friendly to her.

The real reason Hai Na didn't use it was because she didn't trust those random alchemical products.

This girl from a small village was always wary of things she couldn't understand.

How can boiling together a random mix of things like toads, tree bark, beer, sesame seeds, and charcoal turn them into a medicinal ointment?

Hai Na was completely baffled. Therefore, she always felt a sense of awe.

Jack drew Hai Na's short sword and examined it against the light.

He glanced at Hai Na with some disdain. "Sis, do you not take care of yourself?"

"Nonsense."

Hai Na lightly slapped the back of his head. "I've been taking good care of myself—it's just that I'm very busy."

Jack thought for a moment, his lips moved, but he ultimately swallowed his words.

"Hai Na?"

Just then, a woman's surprised voice came from inside the house.

"Mom!" Hai Na immediately went to greet her and hugged her mother tightly.

She nestled in her mother's arms with her eyes closed, like a kitten, greedily inhaling the familiar warmth.

After a long while, she finally raised her head.

Looking at her mother, Hai Na couldn't help but exclaim, "Mom, you haven't aged at all..."

Rural life is truly nourishing! "Because the air and water are good here."

Hai Na's mother chuckled and casually asked, "Are you leaving again this time?"

She looked at Hai Na with some anticipation.

For a moment, Hai Na felt a slight wavering in her heart.

But after a moment of silence, she smiled and said, "We still have to go."

"And there might not be as many holidays after that... It might be difficult to come back in the next few years."

As she finished speaking, her dull yellow pupils turned back to Deep Blue.

However, Hai Na's mother and brother seemed completely unaware of anything amiss, and even Hai Na herself didn't notice anything wrong.

"I see..."

Hai Na's mother sighed.

Just then, Hai Na suddenly remembered something. "Oh right, Mom—do you remember Grandpa Jacob?"

"What's wrong?"

"I've found Grandpa Jacob's grandson. He was my junior from school, and he's now being raised by the Founding Family ..."

"And the famous detective Sherlock Holmes! They're coming to Eagle Cape Village too!" Hai Na exclaimed excitedly.

"So good!"

Jack immediately became excited. "Is it Mr. Sherlock, who's always in the newspapers?!"

Although Eagle Cape Village is very remote, the "《Cow and Harbor》" newspaper is still delivered regularly—the only problem is that these newspapers are usually not fresh when they arrive.

Sometimes the delivery times are even reversed—for example, the later newspapers are delivered first, then newspapers from a few days earlier are delivered, and then a few days later, newspapers from even earlier and later are delivered at the same time.

Without looking at the dates on the newspapers, it's impossible to determine their order.

"That's him!"

"And the junior who came with us is none other than the famous Iver Moriarty!" Hai Na boasted.

"Oh! I've read his newspaper too—he and his sister defeated the powerful Black Wizard!"

"It's not Black Wizard, that's called Demon Scholar! And that's old news, the more recent one is..."

Hai Na smiled and sighed, then carefully explained Jack's common-sense mistake to him.

Just then, Hai Na's mother frowned and asked with some concern, "Why didn't you come back with them? When will they arrive?"

"Before tonight?"

Hai Na wasn't quite sure.

She waved her hand dismissively and said, "They came riding griffins, you know. They're not the same type as me, who has to take an overnight train."

She deliberately concealed the fact that she herself was about to acquire the griffin.

On the one hand, she was unsure if she could get the griffin and worried that she would be ridiculed if she said it but didn't actually get it; on the other hand, she wanted to give her acquaintances a surprise.

"Then you have to go pick them up."

"Otherwise they'll get lost," Hai Na's mother said in an almost commanding tone.

Hai Na, however, was a little lazy and reluctant. "Huh? No need... The village is so easy to find... I've already told them that we just need to go south from Bagpipe Town... We'll see it after we cross one mountain."

"Listen to me, you have to go pick them up—"

Her mother said even more forcefully, "What if the guests arrive late and are attacked by ghosts at night?"

"Hey, they're all really strong."

Hai Na scoffed, "There are some very powerful priests among the guests. Even if a ghost really comes, we can have them exorcise it for us..."

She thought of the photo of Iver defeating the demon with the holy sword.

Although she did not witness it herself, she still heard about the miracle that day.

With that kind of power, any kind of ghost could be easily defeated.

"You should wait outside until you pick them up and then come back."

Despite Hai Na's meticulous and detailed explanations and excuses for every claim her mother made, her mother ultimately chose to refuse to communicate and simply threw a dumbfounded Hai Na out.

"Huh? Mom?! It's so cold! At least give me a coat!"

Hai Na's mournful cry echoed in the cold winds of late December.

Update complete!