Chapter 69

"Child, are you leaving already?"

The old man looked at the white-haired girl with some reluctance, and took her hand.

Skadi nodded, then spoke in broken Flame Kingdom.

"I've been bothering you for a long time. I need to go find my companions."

"Grandpa, thank you... for taking me in."

"Really? Really... Well, judging from your expression, you probably have something important to attend to."

The old man's expression darkened, and then he shook his head and said.

"You said you're going to the coast, so the next place you'll be going is either Victoria or Iberia, right?"

"The distance between those two places isn't exactly short..."

He said with some concern.

"It's okay, I can walk there."

Skadi shook her head, then raised her hand and said.

"I'm very powerful; I can knock the robber flying."

"Sigh, child, it's not a matter of how powerful you are... Sigh, never mind, never mind—wait a moment, you wait here for a while."

The old man forcibly dragged Skadi into the house again.

This time, she found herself pulled into an unfamiliar room, which seemed to lack any sense of life compared to the guest rooms she had stayed in before.

There were no sheets or pillows on the bed, and everything on the desk was neatly arranged, some even covered in dust.

Skadi stepped forward and looked at the group photo hanging above the bed.

That's a typical day for a family of three.

The man in the photo was probably in his forties and looked very robust. She turned her head and found that the old man and the middle-aged man in the photo had a striking resemblance.

The middle-aged woman on one side looked remarkably like the old man's wife, except that between them was a young girl dressed in the Flame Kingdom military uniform.

The girl in the picture looks to be only in her early twenties, and has a very pretty smile.

"Old woman, go find some clothes for our little girl and change her! I'll go find something else!"

The old man called out, then hurriedly walked out again.

"They're here, they're here."

As he called out, an old woman hurried over from the side, pulling Skadi aside and saying something to her.

Because he spoke so fast and used so many words, Skadi couldn't understand a lot of what he was saying.

But I could roughly hear something like... "Keep warm, don't get cold..."

"Oh dear, look at you! You didn't even tell me you were leaving. And look at this outfit you're wearing, how long have you been wearing it? I was thinking of washing it for you first."

As the woman spoke, she opened a long-dusty wardrobe and took out several pieces of women's clothing in a distinctly Flame Kingdom style, placing them on the bed.

Then she pulled Skadi along and started changing her clothes.

While changing, she said, "Oh dear, look at you, a girl like you, how come you don't even have a few changes of clothes when you go out? It's a good thing I had a daughter before, these clothes are no longer needed, so you can take them with you—look, perfect."

Throughout the entire conversation, it was the woman who did all the talking; Skadi couldn't get a word in edgewise.

Then, seeing that her original clothes had been taken off, folded, and stuffed into a bag, before she could even react, she was already dressed in a brand new outfit.

Then, the woman pressed her in front of the dressing mirror and took out a hair tie to tie Skadi's long hair into a high ponytail.

"Alright, as expected, people need to tidy themselves up properly. Look at how travel-worn you were before; people would gossip about you if you went out like that."

The woman looked at Skadi, then folded the other clothes and stuffed them into her bag.

"Here, take this, and bring this bag with you too."

"And also, bring these water bottles, and the dry rations too—"

As the woman spoke, she went outside, then brought in a pile of small items and stuffed them all into her bag.

If their bags were full, they would put the items in Skadi's pockets.

Soon, the latter was completely covered in hanging ornaments.

Throughout the entire process, Skadi couldn't even get a word in edgewise.

After doing all that, the old woman looked at Skadi, and a strange emotion seemed to flash in her eyes, but it was quickly concealed by the woman.

She pulled Skadi into the yard, continuing to give her instructions on various trivial matters as they walked.

It's like a mother about to send her child away.

Skadi walked outside and saw that the old man had been waiting there for quite some time.

The latter turned his head, then seemed to freeze in place.

After a moment, he stepped forward, straightened Skadi's collar, and then spoke.

"It looks just like it, so much like it!"

"Grandpa, I'm leaving now."

"Wait, bring this along too."

After he finished speaking, he placed a longsword that looked like a standard-issue weapon in Skadi's hand.

"Weapons... I have them."

Skadi was puzzled, not understanding why the other party would give her an extra weapon.

The old man glanced at Skadi, then turned and pulled the old woman beside him into the house, before speaking.

"Take it, consider it doing this old man a favor... If you leave it here, it'll just be collecting dust every day."

"Alright, aren't you in a hurry? Hurry up and go, or you won't be able to get much further."

After he finished speaking, he waved, signaling Skadi to leave.

Upon hearing this, the latter bowed to the elderly again and then said.

"Thanks."

She turned around and embarked on another journey to find her companions.

Only...

On the way, she still couldn't understand why the old man had given her a long sword...

Skadi took out the sword and looked at the inscription that seemed to be engraved on the scabbard.

"Is it a surname... Chu... Chu?"

She struggled to decipher the characters, vaguely feeling as if she had seen them somewhere before.

In a daze, I found myself walking out of that small village and then into a path in the fields.

Then, she looked at a stone tablet standing not far away.

Skadi suddenly realized why the character Flame Kingdom) sounded so familiar.

She had seen it before, on that monument.

I stepped forward and looked at the stone tablet covered with writing.

The exact same characters.

Is that a surname?

Over the course of a few days, she learned quite a few Flame Kingdom characters from the old man and could vaguely understand a few of them.

"The fallen soldiers... Chu... killed... years?"

There are still some parts I don't understand.

But... shouldn't this be a tombstone?

Skadi looked at the fallen leaves piled up in front of the tombstone, then raised her hand and swept them away.

"Next... we're going to Victoria."

Skadi stood up, carrying her bags, and decided on her next destination.

As for that longsword...

She fastened it to her waist along with her greatsword.

It's time to continue on the road.

The central area of Kazdel's Core City.

It is located in a secret underground chamber.

The pink-haired Sarkaz stood silently in front of the cold glass chamber. He raised his hand and looked at the Sarkaz woman behind the glass, who appeared to be asleep.

The other person had the same pink hair as me, but it was more white, as if it had been bathed in a holy glow.

"Are you reminiscing about something again? Or regretting something? Regent... oh no, perhaps you prefer the title of Chairman now, Theresis."

In the shadows, a white-haired man in fine clothes revealed himself, a mocking smile playing on his lips as he looked at Theresis, who was staring intently at the corpse behind the glass enclosure.

"Oh, but speaking of which, you've just integrated the Royal Court and the Sarkaz, so you didn't call me here just to hear me mock you, did you? Of course, if you really have that kind of hobby, I wouldn't mind—"

"Duhkare".

Theresis turned her head and then looked at the man behind her.

Duhkare, or rather...

Bloodfiend Great Lord.

"The dukes of Victoria seem to be somewhat hesitant, or rather, haven't made up their minds yet."

He spoke, but his eyes remained fixed on the corpse that appeared to be asleep.

"So?"

"What can you prove, Duhkare, your methods, or your schemes?"

"I need you to offer our future allies a deal they can't refuse."

Duhkare observed Theresis's expression, then gave a confident smile.

"If this is the Regent's request, I am certainly happy to accept it. After all, so far, your plan has been so... perfect."

When the Bloodfiend Great Lord uttered the last four words, he deliberately glanced at the glass chamber behind Theresis, making no attempt to conceal his sarcastic tone.

However, the latter maintained his indifferent demeanor. He turned his head and spoke.

.

"Just remember not to make too much of a fuss. We can't let the other dukes of Victoria find out before the plan is implemented."

"Yes, of course I understand. After all, the Regent has always been known for his caution and ruthlessness, hasn't he?"

"If there are no other issues, you should leave now."

Theresis said without even turning her head.

"Of course, actually, I'm already on my way."

"Well then, before I leave, I wish Your Excellency Chairman another pleasant day."

Duhkare laughed, and then his figure turned into a cloud of blood mist and disappeared from the spot.

(Victoria, what a wonderful place. jpg)

Chapter Thirty, The Journey of Three

The next day in the wilderness...

The darkness and cold were gradually replaced by the light and heat of the sunlight. Laurentina leaned against the side of the lander and rubbed her eyes.

I think I fell asleep again last night.