New Era of Xin - Year 21 Before
Northern Countries · Count Granat Territory
The dim evening sunlight spilled down, bathing this populous city at the southernmost edge of the Northern Countries in gold.
At an open-air café beside an inn in the city, the master and disciple, having just set down their luggage, sat across from each other at a round table and enjoyed the desserts brought by the waiter.
Two days had passed since their stay at the mountain cabin in the Tick Region.
After spending a night camping in the open, the master and disciple had finally arrived at Count Granat Territory, a human settlement, this evening.
If Serie had not tempted her disciple with richly creamy ice cream and desserts, Guter would certainly have slept in the inn's comfortable bed until tomorrow morning.
At the table, Guter scooped up a piece of cake with his spoon and put it into his mouth. The sweet, rich cream and fluffy sponge perfectly displayed the appeal of dessert;
The creamy ice cream beside it was no less impressive, its chilly texture concealing an intensely rich milky flavor.
"Hmm-hmm."
Across the round table, Serie could not help humming proudly when she saw her disciple's satisfied expression.
She had visited this dessert shop beside the inn once thirty years ago, and its outstanding flavors had already left a deep impression on Serie back then.
Gently scooping up a piece of the ice cream ball before her, which had pistachio kernels in its center, Serie placed it in her mouth.
At once, the same delicious flavor from her memories lingered on her tongue. The fragrance of milk filled her mouth, and with a light chew, she could taste the rich oils unique to nuts.
As she enjoyed the food, Serie glanced toward the shop owner.
A kind old grandmother was smiling as she chatted with customers. After confirming their requests, she skillfully scooped ice cream from the container with a hemispherical spoon. In the next moment, a smooth ice cream ball was served into a cup and handed to the customer.
Her movements and manner of speaking could still vaguely be matched with the image of the "big sister" in Serie's memories.
Only...
The next time she came here, she probably would not be able to taste this flavor anymore.
What a pity.
Thinking of this, Serie lightly waved to the waiter, signaling him to come over.
"Hello, ma'am. Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Please bring me one of every ice cream flavor in your shop."
"Ah?"
The young waiter froze for a moment. "Are you sure? The ice cream in our shop melts rather quickly."
"You're right." Serie smiled self-deprecatingly. "Then please bring me one serving at a time, with some time between each one. Is that alright?"
"No problem, miss."
The waiter nodded lightly. After recording the customer's order and request in his notebook, he handed it to the old grandmother in the shop.
"Teacher, do you really like ice cream that much?"
Seeing Serie order so many ice cream balls at once, Guter marveled at an elf's sturdy stomach before asking curiously.
"Not particularly."
Serie explained, "No one would dislike desserts. I do not especially love them. I simply happened to be in the mood."
"Was it really just a sudden whim?"
Watching his teacher continuously eat the pistachio-filled ice cream, one bite after another, Guter could not help smiling.
By now, he had more or less come to understand Serie's particular brand of saying one thing and meaning another.
What a dishonest elf.
Still, since his teacher had chosen to answer in a tsundere manner, Guter did not intend to press further on the matter. Instead, he raised another question.
"Teacher, on our way to the Count's Territory, we did not encounter a single Demon attack."
"I know that could be explained by us being lucky, or by the Demons sensing the terrifying magic power on you in advance and fleeing."
"But when we were still some distance from the town, I fully unleashed my magic power in the wilderness and used magic detection extensively, yet I did not find even the slightest trace of any Demon having been there."
Interest flickered in Serie's eyes.
"So that was why you used magic detection in the wilderness."
"Interesting. Tell me your conjecture."
Guter rested his hand against his chin and spoke after a brief analysis.
"After the Demon King was defeated, the Demons' morale did indeed plummet."
"But outside human cities, especially in the Northern Countries closest to the Demon King's Castle, there are still many Demons active in the outskirts."
"They either harass merchants traveling along the roads, disrupting the exchange of supplies between different human cities; or they raid and slaughter villages in the outskirts, creating panic and limiting the expansion of towns into the surrounding lands."
"Even an entity as powerful among humanity as the Empire was still forcibly isolated from the human sphere by the Demons using this method around fifty years ago."
"If the Empire had not possessed deep foundations, if its people had not been united, and if the Hero's party had not successfully defeated the Demon King and crushed the Demons' morale, it would still be uncertain whether the Empire could have broken through the encirclement."
"This Demon strategy has proven effective. There is no reason for them to simply abandon it."
"Furthermore, the Seven Demon Generals stationed here is Guillotine Aura. She has the ability to turn defeated enemies into her own army."
"Logically, after the Hero's party wiped out all her forces, she should now be eager to quickly replenish her troops by attacking humans. Why would she lie low so peacefully?"
"The silence outside Count Granat Territory is far too strange."
"I suspect the Demons are planning something major."
Clatter.
After Guter finished speaking, before Teacher Serie sitting across from him could say anything, a white-haired uncle at the neighboring table had already been so absorbed in thought that he failed to hold his knife and fork properly, sending them crashing to the ground.
The commotion immediately drew the attention of those dining nearby. After apologizing to everyone one by one, the white-haired uncle picked up his knife and fork again. However, rather than returning to his own table, he dragged his chair over to Guter's.
"Sir, miss, please forgive my intrusion."
"I will cover the entire bill for this table. May I join your conversation?"
Guter frowned slightly and was about to refuse.
He was not short on money. There was no need to disrupt a conversation between master and disciple just to get a free meal.
However, just as Guter was about to refuse, he saw Teacher Serie staring at the white-haired uncle's chest.
Was there something there?
Guter followed her gaze and discovered a familiar emblem on the left breast of the white-haired uncle's clothes.
That emblem looked so familiar. He had definitely seen it somewhere before.
Right! Several of Junior Disciple's outfits also bore that mark.
Just as Guter realized this, Serie asked her question at the same time.
"What is your relationship with Gumi?"
"!!!"
The white-haired uncle abruptly raised his head, his eyes wide with shock and confusion. He looked at Serie, hesitated for a moment, then asked,
"You know our young lady?"
"I am her teacher."
Serie answered calmly.
"The young lady's... teacher?"
"Wait, could you be that legendary Archmage?!"
Having realized it, the white-haired uncle cried out, then hurriedly covered his mouth before he could shout.
Since this white-haired uncle was connected to his Junior Disciple, Guter could no longer drive him away. He simply shifted his chair and made some room for him.
The white-haired uncle gave Guter a grateful look, then lowered his voice and introduced himself.
"Honored mages, my name is Miles. I am the young lady's butler and currently the acting manager of the merchant guild."
"Miles?" "The young lady's butler?"
Guter's eye twitched. Those two terms sounded rather familiar. Although he knew the question might be somewhat presumptuous, Guter could not suppress his curiosity and asked,
"May I ask, is your merchant guild called the Rose Thorn Society?"
"Hmm?"
The white-haired uncle looked surprised and denied it. "How could the merchant guild be called that? It sounds far too bandit-like, like some criminal organization."
"We are a legitimate merchant guild. Our name is the Dallamonus Merchant Guild."
"Alright." Guter shrugged. "Then it seems you do not need to be wary of seawater, uncle."
"Um..."
Thinking to himself that this young mage's words were truly difficult to understand, the white-haired uncle gave a light cough and indicated that he wished to return to their earlier discussion about the Demons, especially their analysis of Guillotine Aura.
"Uncle, you seem particularly concerned about Aura, one of the Seven Demon Generals. Is there some special reason?"
After hearing the question, Miles lowered his head slightly, and sorrow appeared on his face.
Seeing his reaction, Guter immediately realized that he had said something wrong. He hurriedly said they could skip the question and that the uncle did not need to answer.
"No."
After a moment of silence, Miles shook his head.
"I should still tell you. The direction of your analysis may very well be correct, and this past event can serve as intelligence to supplement it."
"Since neither of you heard of this from the young lady, I suppose that child still has not emerged from the shadow of that disaster."
"The story took place in the xx year of the Imperial Calendar."
Meanwhile.
Northern Countries · Huyvia Mountain Range
After resting for an entire day in the city of Arutido, the young noble Milo sent a letter home to reassure his family, then resolutely prepared his supplies and set out on the road across the Huyvia Mountain Range toward the Volpen Basin in the Central Countries, where the secret realm was located.
After retrieving his repaired longsword from the blacksmith shop in the city, Milo once again set off alone.
As for why he did not hire several mercenaries to travel with him—
It was not because Milo stubbornly refused to do so. He simply had no money left.
Since it was his first time running away from home and traveling far, Milo had no experience. He had grabbed a pouch of money and run off.
Who could have expected it to be spent so quickly?
As for teaming up with adventurers in the city and forming an expedition party?
It was not as though Milo had not tried. The reliable adventurers in the tavern did not trust him, while the adventurers who approached him on their own seemed unreliable to him.
With no time to wait around, Milo gritted his teeth and continued his journey alone.
Within the forests of the Huyvia Mountain Range.
Milo took a deep breath. Since it had rained heavily in the mountains not long ago, the air in the woods smelled rather pleasant.
"Eh, that fruit up in the tree looks quite plump."
After walking some distance along the mountain path, the thirsty Milo's eyes lit up.
Though the fruit tree stood between the cliffs, it should not be a problem as long as he was careful.
After estimating the distance, Milo rose onto his toes and reached for the fruit on the branch.
However, just before Milo's hand touched the fruit, a long snake that had been lying on the branch, its color identical to the branch itself, opened its mouth and shot toward him.
Milo instantly shuddered, and cold sweat broke out across his back.
Instinctively, his body recalled the counterattack movements he had mastered after being beaten countless times by his father.
With a tap of his toes, he pulled away to the side. His other hand seized the sword hilt and spun, instantly slicing the long snake that was about to bite him into two.
"I did it!"
A surge of joy rose within Milo's heart, but the next moment, he suddenly realized something very serious.
After that beautiful sword dance, both his feet seemed to have left the ground, and he was standing in midair?
In an instant, Milo's body plummeted toward the bottom of the cliff. He wanted to stab his longsword into the cliff face to slow his descent, but even with his arm fully extended, he could not reach it.
"It's over."
Overwhelmed by the intense sensation of weightlessness, Milo closed his eyes and resigned himself to death.
"Young man, are you giving up already?"
Suddenly, a somewhat gentle male voice sounded beside Milo's ear.
The next moment, his falling body abruptly stopped. A powerful hand firmly caught him by the back.
In a daze, Milo opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw was a sword firmly embedded in the cliffside.
The Hero's Sword.
And a blue-haired uncle whose hair was already thinning.
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