As a giant lake straddling two major borders, it single-handedly extends the front line between Kazimierz and Leithanien.
Its interior boasts a diverse ecosystem of species, attracting countless anglers to fish here.
No one knows how many people have caught huge fish here, and even if someone did, they might be suspected.
But how could a fisherman tolerate the humiliation of being identified as a member of the "air force" (a derogatory term for someone who sells goods)?
For example, the mace at this moment is upholding its dignity.
"Believe it or not, I fished her out of the lake."
Jian Yingqi's brows furrowed; heaven knows how she managed to read an expression from that faceless head.
Gregor wanted to tell her he believed her, but looking at the girl in Pelo eating while holding a cooking pot, he just couldn't reconcile fishing with her.
It's not some emergency food item, how could it possibly be fished up?
"Okay, I believe you."
That being said, Gregor did not intend to refute it.
"Which direction did she come from? Let's take her back."
Even though Gregor didn't deny it, Mace's fist inexplicably hardened.
"I don't know." Jian turned his head away.
"This child can't even speak clearly, acts more like a wild beast than a human, and..."
Turning to look at the girl, Jian shook his head.
"She is Infected; she was probably abandoned by her parents."
"..."
Although he had expected it, Gregor still felt a pang of sadness when he actually heard that it was yet another tragedy.
Reaching the campfire, Gregor slowly crouched down under the girl's wary gaze.
"May I have your name?"
"Hmm!"
The girl, Pelo, instinctively wanted to bare her teeth, and at the same time, Reshiram was just a background character, sneezed.
Curled up in fear, Pelo girl hugged the cooking pot and moved away.
"... Am I that scary?"
Gregor looked at the mace, who scoffed and picked up a piece of cooked meat to tempt him.
Gregor watched as the girl, Pelo, went from being wary to relaxed, and finally, while she was gnawing on her steak, his chin was being stroked by Mace.
"Communicating with this child in a more animalistic way is more effective."
With this example in mind, Gregor also tried using food to lure him.
The pieces of meat disappeared quickly, and the girl seemed quite speechless in the face of their questions.
"Hiccup~"
The girl, finally full, let out a burp, looked at the two of them, and suddenly her expression turned troubled.
"What's wrong? Is your stomach upset?"
Gregor instinctively felt concerned, which is understandable; anyone would worry if they saw a girl eating food bigger than themselves.
"Um... the request... I don't have a weapon, sorry."
The girl spoke for the first time, her words were hesitant and unclear.
"Kazimierz language? Are you a citizen of Kazimierz?"
Gregor asked a question, and the girl tilted her head in confusion.
Such communication was too difficult, so Gregor simply called in a retired translator with Ten Percent Off discount.
[Sorry, the food was delicious. I'm out of weapons and can't help you anymore. I'm so sorry...]
After hearing the brief translation, the two were still completely confused, so Gregor simply asked Vane:
[Gregor: Image JPG]
[Gregor: Vane, I picked up a girl, do you know her?]
[Vane: Hmm? What a silly dog!]
[Gorth: Boss picked up another kid?]
[Vera: She doesn't look like a child, but her eyes... are so clear.]
[Vane: You might as well just say I'm stupid.]
[Gregor:... A character from the story?]
[Vane: Ceobe, due to long-term wandering in the wilderness and far from civilization, has developed a childlike way of thinking. Communicating with her through food is more effective.]
[Vane: Boss, you're so lucky! By the way, how did you manage to pick her up?]
[Gregor: Fished it from the lake.]
[Vane:?]
Looking at Ceobe sitting on the ground, glancing around aimlessly, Gregor tentatively called out:
"Ceobe?"
The two animal ears perked up warily, and the girl turned her head, muttering as she repeated herself.
[Gregor: She doesn't seem to recognize his name. Is she using the wrong language?]
[Vane: Oh, that name was given later. Boss, check if she has an axe on her. Ceobe traveled across Terra to find the writing on the axe.]
(Fun fact: Ceobe started from Bolivar, his destination was Minos, but he went the wrong way and was not pointed out until he reached the Higashi, having almost crossed the entire Daichi.)
Ax?
Gregor looked around but couldn't find his target, so he asked Mace a question.
"Weapons? All this kid was wearing when he was fished up was that tattered cloak."
Jian sat on a nearby rock, watching the two interact with great interest.
Unbeknownst to Gregor, Ceobe had been staring at his weapon ever since he finished eating, muttering something from time to time.
Unable to get an answer from him, Gregor simply repeated the 90% translation to Vane.
With the help of his intelligence network, Vane quickly offered his guess.
[Vane: Hmm... I think I understand what she means.]
[Vane: Besides foraging for wild fruits in the wilderness to stave off hunger, Ceobe occasionally accepts commissions from caravans or mercenaries, sometimes in exchange for food, sometimes for weapons.]
[Vane: But even though he's a silly dog, Ceobe is top-tier in both Originium Arts and physical abilities.]
[Vane: Slave traders and the like can't beat her; most of the time, they just rob her of weapons and food and then passively accept her commissions.]
[Gregor: So that means?]
[Vane: After finishing your meal, I wanted to help, but I lost my weapon; it looks like it's probably in the lake.]
"You left your weapon in the lake?"
Ceobe abruptly raised his head, his pupils dilating in shock.
What an amazing person! I clearly didn't tell him that this kind of person... is the boss!
Remembering the "bosses" in those caravans who could easily guess what he was thinking, Ceobe frantically.
In the past, at this time, the "bosses" would provide weapons and then ask for their help.
As long as I have weapons, the fish in the water can't beat me!
Ceobe looked expectantly at Gregor's waist; she had never seen such a beautiful weapon, and it seemed to have more to say than any of the other weapons.
(Fun fact 2: The Ceobe can talk to weapons.)
Ceobe held out his hands, and Gregor hesitated for two seconds before handing him a steak.
He swallowed it instinctively, Ceobe realized something was wrong.
Shouldn't we be given weapons? Hmm... but the meat is so delicious... weapons... the meat is so good!
While the silly dog was having a brain-brain battle, Gregor patted Zekrom on the back.
"Please, could you please retrieve the weapons from the lake?"
Zekrom lifted his eyelids, yawning as he stretched his body.
A strong wind arose, and the dark shadow fell into the lake like a torpedo.
Ceobe was startled by the sudden hurricane and hurriedly covered her mouth to prevent food from falling out.
Without keeping everyone waiting long, the lake surface churned violently as Zekrom flew out carrying his war convoy.
The massive object fell.
A tattered leather bag, seemingly haphazardly pieced together from some animal hide, was hanging from the giant fish's dorsal fin, and was filled with all sorts of weapons.
The giant fish had been gutted and was thrashing about on the ground, convulsing.
With a single swipe of its claws, it stunned the giant fish. Facing the gleaming eyes of Ceobe, Zekrom raised its dragon head and gracefully stepped off the corpse.
Jian, standing to the side, looked at the giant fish thoughtfully, his gaze constantly shifting between Zekrom and the giant fish.
Feeling a sudden chill, Zekrom plunged back into the lake. As more and more "weapons" were brought out, Gregor quickly tried to stop him.
"That's enough, no need to look anymore."
Before them, beside the giant fish, lay a considerable amount of scrap.
Besides some rusted weapons, there were fishing rods, wrecked ships, and even quite a few corpses that had turned to bones.
Ceobe looked at Gregor and the others, and seeing that they didn't move, he happily pounced on the junk.
After taking his own briefcase, Ceobe excitedly began searching for weapons.
Since no one else wants them, they're all mine!
Ceobe's tail wagged happily as she finished collecting the weapons, then she carried the towering pile of weapons on her back and ran toward Gregor.
"Lots of weapons! Great boss! I'll help you fight the bad guys!"
"No need for help, have you found your weapon?"
Gregor's refusal Ceobe. Unable to figure it out, she simply took out her axe.
"A very cold axe!"
Gregor saw the words on it and instinctively reached out to take it, wanting to read it carefully.
"No!"
The axe was taken back, Ceobe looked at Gregor warily.
"Mine!"
Seeing that the little thing still dared to breathe, Reshiram was annoyed and wanted to teach her a lesson.
The dragon rose, its enormous shadow blocking out the sunlight, Ceobe froze in fear.
Her body was trembling violently, but even so, she still held the axe tightly to her chest.
Don't scare her.
Gregor waved his hand, Reshiram slumped back down dejectedly.
Ceobe slumped to the ground, emitting low whimpers.
Gregor offered another piece of steak as a gesture of comfort, and whispered:
"Can I take a look? Maybe we can read the characters on it."
With his ears perked up, Ceobe quickly handed over the axe, forgetting even the food in front of him.
Gregor pretended to look at it, while asking Vane a question. After looking at it for a while, he said thoughtfully:
"It looks like Minos script, but it's different from the script used today."
"It is [Cerberus]."
Jian looked at Gregor with suspicion.
"Aren't you illiterate?"
"This is Minos, which I happen to know a little of."
Taking advantage of his faceless nature, Gregor readily admitted it without batting an eye.
"In Minos, weapons that bear names are usually of great significance; this name... must belong to her race."
"Race? Isn't that Pelo?"
"No, they should be descendants of the Gods' People."
Jian looked at Ceobe and couldn't believe that this simple-minded child was a legendary Gods' People.
"Um, um!"
Ceobe at the two of them.
What is "(Ce... O... Be)..."?
The girl, who began her wanderings as soon as she gained consciousness, was accompanied by this axe, which she used to traverse almost the entire Daichi, all in pursuit of understanding the meaning of the words written above.
"Hmm... you can use it as your name."
Gregor crouched down and Ceobe's hair.
"Ceobe... Ceobe..."
She repeated the word haltingly, and as it became clearer, the girl's eyes grew brighter.
"If you find that hard to pronounce, just Ceobe."
"Ceobe! Name!"
"Yes, your name."
Watching the silly dog wag its tail rapidly, Gregor resisted the urge to pet it.
Now that you know the names listed above, what are your plans next?
"Hmm?"
Ceobe tilted his head, his not-so-bright brain beginning to think.
We've deciphered the inscription on the axe, so what's next?
Thinking of his past life, Ceobe raised his head.
"Eat delicious food, find weapons, and fight the bad guys!"
"Have you thought about where to go?"
Ceobe froze, his little face scrunched up.
"Um... I don't know."
"Would you like to come with us?"
Ceobe instinctively looked up, and a hand pressed down on the top of her head.
Ceobe should have resisted this feeling.
Having lived in the wilderness for a long time, the head, being such a vital part, has always been a key area that should be protected.
Even when faced with caravans that occasionally fed him, the glowing creatures on their heads, Ceobe refused to let them get close.
But feeling the touch coming from its head, Ceobe unconsciously squinted and wagged its tail.
"Gurgle~~"
Seeing this, Reshiram felt inexplicably agitated and snorted, his breath tinged with anger.
Ceobe awoke and immediately broke free.
Reluctantly letting go, Gregor asked another question.
"So? Want to come with us?"
"Hmm~ Let's hunt together?"
Ceobe couldn't understand it and subconsciously mistook it for Beast Herd hunting cooperatively in the wilderness.
"Hmm... you could say that."
Ceobe tilted his head and suddenly said:
"Do you want to be Ceobe's boss?"
It's no wonder the silly dog thought that way; most Beast Herd in the wilderness have leaders, and the Ceobe often fights with its rivals while vying for food.
To be honest, Ceobe didn't like being called "boss".
She had observed how Beast Herd hunted; each time, the "leader" didn't exert much effort, but afterwards, the other animal would eat the most, and would even occasionally steal food from its underlings.
The thought that Gregor might steal their food Ceobe's eyes immediately wary.
"Ceobe is very strong! Ceobe is the boss!"
Jian raised an eyebrow and looked at Gregor with great interest.
The latter paused for a moment, then waved to Reshiram.
The enormous dragon head approached in confusion, and Gregor gently touched it with his fist.
"Fall down..."
After a two-second silence, Reshiram lazily rolled over, landing on his back with his legs in the air.
In Ceobe's eyes, Gregor knocked down the terrifying monster with a single punch.
"Hmm... you're better than Ceobe Ke, Ceobe will acknowledge you as his boss."
Its ears drooped, and its tail no longer wagged happily.
"That's right, that's right... Boss, can you please stop stealing food?"
"... We won't steal it, and we won't let you go hungry."
Gregor pulled out another steak, and just as he raised his hand, the silly dog was already hanging on it.
Reluctantly putting it down, and seeing that Gregor hadn't bitten him, Ceobe felt relieved, regretting his impulsive actions.
The "boss" steals the younger brother's food; the "boss" is wicked.
The new boss is feeding the Ceobe meat. Hello, new boss!
"Boss!"
"Yoshi yoshi yoshi..."
Watching the two who had been wary just moments before quickly turn into playful idiots, Jian rolled his eyes and began packing up the camp's belongings.
"It's about time we left; once we cross this lake, we'll reach Leithanien."
"Hmm, would you be interested in visiting your hometown?"
"If it's on my way."
Jian did not refuse, and the two tacitly packed their belongings. Ceobe nearby, uttered a startling remark:
"Boss, do you have any Ceobe keworts?"
"Nest?"
Gregor paused for a moment, then realized what he meant and said:
"There will be, but we need to get going now. What kind of bed... nest does Ceobe want?"
"Hmm... no hard rocks, no black cages, anything else is fine!"
The two who were packing their luggage stopped what they were doing, Gregor slowly turned around.
"A cage? Has anyone ever made a nest like that for Ceobe?"
"Hmm! Someone gave Ceobe delicious honey cakes, but after eating them I feel sleepy and can't leave my new nest."
Ceobe licked his lips, as if savoring the memory.
"When Ceobe woke up, it was very hungry and had damaged its nest. It didn't have the strength to fight back, so it swam into the water."
"What do they look like? Where are they?"
Despite Gregor's voice remaining gentle, Ceobe felt a strange sense of fear.
"Hmm... he looks a lot like the second eldest brother. I don't know where Ceobe is, I only know he's by the water."
The man known as the Second Boss frowned and shook his head in response to Gregor's gaze.
"I should be referring to Caprinae, who, like me, holds a position... probably in Leithanien's slave-catching team."
"..."
Gregor crouched down and offered another steak.
"Which direction did Ceobe come from?"
"Hmm... the direction from which the fireball rose!"
East side, lake shore--
"[Leithanien curses!] You just let her get away like that?"
Looking at his subordinates bowing their heads and being scolded, the slave-catching captain wished he could cut off their horns.
"That's a top-tier talent capable of using multiple Originium Arts! I've already reported it; how am I supposed to explain this?!"
(Fun fact 3: Ceobe's Originium Arts are very unique, as they can manifest different forms depending on the weapon, including fire, ice, rock, and lightning.)
"We really did our best, boss!"
The subordinate, his face swollen, looked up.
"The sleeping pills meant for 10 people only put her to sleep for a short while, and she even tore through the reinforced iron bars with brute force. We really can't beat her."
"Idiot! A 10-person serving won't work, why don't you use a 20-person or 30-person serving?"
The subordinate lowered his head in grievance. Who would have thought that Pelo would have such high physical endurance?
After scolding his subordinate, the team leader calmed down a bit. He knew that he didn't really blame the other party.
But with the pressure from above, finding a wild Infected with powerful Originium Arts isn't so easy.
(Fun fact 4: The treatment of Infected in Leithanien is extremely polarized. Those with powerful Originium Arts are treated with great courtesy even by nobles, while the weak are relegated to experimental materials.)
"Increase the search effort! Unless she transforms into Aegir, she can't stay in the water forever!"
The others quickly agreed, and just then, one of the team members noticed the unusual color of the sky.
"Boss, something seems off in the sky."
The captain instinctively looked up at the sky, and the gathering of clouds made his expression change drastically.
"A minor Catastrophe? At a time like this?"
Without even bothering to find a target, the captain quickly instructed everyone to build a shelter.
Fortunately, it was just a minor Catastrophe, and it lasted a short time. We just need to get through it.
The group used magic to raise and reinforce the soil, but before the Catastrophe could strike, an unusual rumbling sound rang out.
Before the sound arrived, the blazing firelight engulfed the accumulated clouds of Catastrophe, which were suddenly swallowed by the expanding sea of flames.
Shortly after the firelight illuminated the crowd, the explosive air pressure pressed everyone down, pinning them to the spot.
The captain cast a spell to protect his body and looked up in alarm.
High in the sky, a blurry figure plummeted vertically.
Like a divinely Spear of Heavenly Retribution of retribution, Gregor used his skill the instant he landed, the impact of which sent waves of earth surging up from the Daichi.
Following closely behind, a powerful storm and earthquake descended with the dragon.
Stunned by the series of unexpected events, the slave-catching team watched as Gregor waved his hand, and the dragon lowered its claws, revealing the girl they had been searching for.
Gregor turned his head away.
Is it them?
Ceobe tilted his head, looked at the slave-catching team whose faces had changed drastically, and pointed.
"Boss, it's them!"