"Teacher, please help me."
"Why... why didn't you come to save me? We promised to go to the Sword Sanctum together, but you left me all alone and abandoned me."
"Waaaaah, teacher! I'm so miserable!!!"
"Please help me..."
It was a boy covered in blood, with only half his body remaining, waving goodbye to Roxy. His pale face was filled with fear and confusion.
Every word that came out of his lips, as they opened and closed, pierced her heart like a needle.
Roxy suddenly woke up from her nightmare, her forehead covered in cold sweat.
She gasped for breath, propped herself up in her sleeping bag, and her long blue hair clung to her cheeks with sweat.
It was still dark outside the tent, with only the embers of the campfire flickering faintly in the night.
It's been more than five years.
This nightmare still occasionally haunts her.
In my dream.
Her disciple Luo Ge, would often send her distress signals.
She reached out again and again, but could never reach the child, and could only watch helplessly as he disappeared in a pool of blood.
Every time she woke up, the feeling of helplessness and guilt would overwhelm her and make it hard to breathe.
As a teacher, she always felt that it was her responsibility.
We had agreed to go on an adventure together.
But she was the one who left Buena Village first, leaving Luo Ge alone on that carriage.
What if she hadn't left and had stayed by his side?
Perhaps the events that followed wouldn't have happened, and the ending would have been completely different?
"... Roxy, you had another nightmare?" A lazy yet concerned voice came from beside her.
The speaker was a Long-Ear Race elven female warrior with dazzling long, light golden curly hair, thick spirals that cascaded down to her waist.
A wisp of hair sticks up on top of its head, looking rather playful.
Long, pointed elf ears peeked out from her golden hair, giving her a mature and glamorous aura.
A pair of amber-colored red eyes could be clearly seen even in the dim light.
Her name is Elinalise, an S-rank adventurer, and also Paul's former teammate from the Black Wolf's Fang days.
Beside him was a dwarf man, his thick arms full of strong muscles, and a thick beard on his chin, dozing against a tent post.
His name is Talhand, also Paul's old teammate, an earth magic warrior.
"It's fine."
"Miss Elinalise, please don't worry too much about me... I'll be fine soon."
Roxy wiped the cold sweat from her face, her tone weary and tired.
Although she didn't say much, her deep blue eyes were still filled with worry.
After hearing about the Great Migration Disaster in the Fittoa Territory in the Shirone Kingdom, Roxy immediately rushed back to the Buena Village in the Fittoa Territory.
Then.
What she saw was ruins.
The entire Fittoa Territory was shattered by the disaster brought about by that great migration; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it was razed to the ground.
That peaceful little village, the place where she lived for two years, the place where Paul and Zenith treated her like family—everything is gone.
As a seasoned A-rank adventurer.
Roxy was experienced and did not wander around aimlessly like a headless fly, but had a clear purpose.
She first went to the adventurer bulletin board that had been temporarily set up in City of Roa, and unexpectedly bumped into two other adventurers who were also looking for Paul's family next to the message Paul had posted.
Elinalise and Talhand.
After learning that they were all old acquaintances of Paul, the three of them hit it off immediately.
Therefore, it was decided to form a temporary search and rescue team and work together.
Originally, Roxy suggested that they go directly to Paul's search and rescue team to join forces.
But for some reason, when Elinalise, the Long-Ear Race elf warrior, heard that she was going to see Paul,...
His expression instantly became extremely subtle, as if he had mentioned something dirty, showing extreme resistance.
Despite their dislike for Paul, she and Talhand, Paul former teammates, were still willing to help Paul find his missing family.
As seasoned adventurers, one A-rank and two S-rank, the three, after careful analysis, concluded that the Demon Continent was very likely the hardest-hit area of the Great Transfer.
Because the Demon Continent is remote, many refugees who are abandoned there find it difficult to return to the Central Continent on their own, so it is the place that needs the most manpower to search for them.
The three decided to set off for the Demon Continent.
The next day, they left the Fittoa Territory and headed straight for a nearby port.
If you want to travel from the Central Continent to the Demon Continent, the Lingus Sea is an unavoidable topic.
During the Second Human-Demon War.
The Battle God and Laplace fought fiercely, and the immense power shattered the entire central landmass. The earth collapsed, and seawater poured in, forming this vast ocean.
The landmass, which was originally a single continuous body of land, was split into five continents after the war: the Central Continent, the Demon Continent, the Millis Continent, the Begaritt Continent, and the Heaven Continent.
The fastest route from the Central Continent to the Demon Continent was originally the one via the Lingus Sea.
However, the three did not choose to cross the Lingus Sea directly, because that area was too dangerous.
The seabed is inhabited by sea creatures and sea peoples, who possess their own civilization and speak the Sea God Language.
Those who cross the sea without permission will be regarded as intruders by the sea creatures, who will attack their ships directly.
Fortunately, four hundred years ago, the seven heroes negotiated with the sea tribes and opened up the right to cross the sea, with only a few ports allowing the issuance of sea crossing permits.
The three of them, including Roxy, chose a safer route: they took a ship from the port of the Central Continent, crossed a small area of sea, and arrived at the western port of the Millis Continent as a transit point for their journey.
Then, departing from Zant Port on the Millis Continent, they eventually head to Wenn Port on the Demon Continent.
Although this route is a bit longer and involves circling the Millis Continent for nothing, it's much safer.
Roxy sat in the tent, hugging her knees, staring blankly at the campfire.
Elinalise said something comforting, but she didn't listen.
Only one thought kept replaying in my mind.
Paul and his family still alive?
Miss Zenith, Lilia, and Rudeus, another disciple—are they all alright?
She didn't know the answer.
But she had to go find it.
Even if it's just to make myself feel a little better.
Meanwhile, on the other side...
On the border road of the Dragon King Kingdom, a carriage was traveling smoothly and slowly.
Luo Ge has almost finished his work in the Shirone Kingdom.
After finding Lilia and Aisha, he did not choose to stay in the country for long.
Although the Fittoa Territory, there were also many victims in the Shirone Kingdom.
If we stay.
With his status as the Sword King, Luo Ge can certainly do more for more people and save more people in need.
But Luo Ge did not choose to do so.
It might be a bit selfish to explain the reason.
But to put it bluntly, he hasn't even found his own family members, so how could he have the time to act like a saint and worry about so many things?
He would rather be selfish than have his family suffer an accident because of his lateness.
Regardless, Luo Ge always prioritized his family above all else.
certainly.
As far as he could, Luo Ge verbally asked the King of the Shirone Kingdom to keep an eye out for refugees migrating from the Fittoa Territory and to help with the search and rescue.
As for whether they are willing to contribute, and how much they will contribute, that is not something Luo Ge should concern himself with.
He is not a perfect saint after all, and it is impossible for him to be perfect in every aspect.
Luo Ge had just come out of the Shirone Palace and had a friendly discussion with the King about the disaster in the Fittoa Territory.
After hearing that the other party was willing to actively help with the search and rescue operation, Luo Ge expressed his gratitude and promised that he would owe the Shirone Kingdom a favor.
If anything happens to the Shirone Kingdom in the future, I, the Sword King, will never sit idly by.
This delighted King Shirone, who completely forgot about the death of his son, Pax.
After leaving the palace, Luo Ge rode in the luxurious carriage personally prepared by the king the following day.
Sitting opposite each other in the carriage were Nanahoshi and Lilia, plus Aisha, whom Luo Ge was holding, making a total of four people.
"Next... I plan to return to the Fittoa Territory. What do you think?" Luo Ge asked, leaning against the window.
Although Luo Ge was the core of the team and the one with the most say, Luo Ge still consulted the opinions of others out of consideration.
Nanahoshi indicated that he had no objection.
Lilia offered her unconditional support, her eyes filled with earnestness. " Lilia... it's all up to you, young master."
Only Aisha suddenly raised her little hand, revealing her cute little fangs. "Big brother, Aisha wants to offer a different opinion, is that alright? Big brother..."
"Huh?!!"
Immediately, everyone turned to look at Aisha had just made such a startling statement.
Aisha analyzed, "Brother, before we set off, Aisha believes the first step should be to gather intelligence to avoid information gaps."
Luo Ge turned his head to look at her.
A three-and-a-half-year-old girl can use terms like intelligence work and information gap, and she can also explain her logic so clearly.
He couldn't help but mutter to himself again.
Is this a three-year-old?
That's a bit too clever for its own good.
However, Luo Ge did take her advice to heart. If the intelligence work hadn't been done well, Paul might have already left the Fittoa Territory.
Although the probability of such a thing is small, it's not impossible.
After thinking it over, Luo Ge decided that, just to be on the safe side, he would personally drive the carriage to the Adventurers' Guild in the city to gather information. It would only be a waste of a little time, and even if he got no results, there wouldn't be any loss, right?
They searched through the guild's message board and, as Aisha had predicted, they had indeed found the request Paul had left behind.
The time was about a month ago, and the content was very brief: the great migration of the Fittoa Territory, the survivors have formed a search and rescue team and headed south to seek assistance from the Holy Saint Millis.
If you have any news of Rudeus, please tell his father that he is looking for him.
Luo Ge stared at the lines of text and remained silent for a moment.
Paul had already led the search and rescue team to Millis, and after circling the conflict zone, he actually took the lead.
"Big brother, Aisha amazing?"
Back in the carriage, Aisha clung to Luo Ge's arm, eager to claim credit and reward.
" Aisha, you mustn't say that."
Lilia immediately straightened her face, "What you can think of, how could Young Master Luo Ge not think of? This might just be Young Master Luo Ge testing you."
"Mmm!"
Aisha shrank back after being scolded by her mother, looking pitifully at her older brother, Luo Ge.
Luo Ge reached out and ruffled her hair, saying to Lilia, "Alright, Aisha is only three years old. Miss Lilia, there's no need to be so strict."
After saying that, Luo Ge looked at Aisha and smiled slightly, "You're so cute! Aisha, is there any reward you'd like?"
"Award?"
"Um, could you give me some money, big brother?"
"Money, Aisha, what do you need this for?"
I want to buy myself a new dress.
"Sure."
"When we get to the next city, your brother will personally help you choose one and fulfill your little wish."
"Mmm! Big brother is so good to Aisha, big brother... Aisha big brother the most, the most, the most, the most, the most." Aisha happily snuggled into Luo Ge's arms, just like a kitten trying to please its owner.
"Young Master, you're just spoiling her. You'll only spoil Aisha badly eventually."
Lilia sighed helplessly, but the corners of her mouth still curved into a smile.
The carriage set off again, but this time the destination had changed; it was no longer heading north towards the Fittoa Territory.
Instead, they headed in the opposite direction, further south towards the Dragon Kingdom.
However, the Kingdom of Wanglong was not their final destination; their real destination was the Millis Continent.
The scenery outside the window gradually changed from bustling city streets to open fields, and then to rolling hills.
As Luo Ge leaned against the carriage wall, he was amazed by the intelligence of his three-year-old sister, but at the same time, he couldn't help but think of that blue figure deep in his mind.
"... Teacher Roxy."
"I wonder where she is now. I really want to see her again, teacher."
As Luo Ge gazed at the passing shadows of the trees outside the window, he suddenly recalled the way his teacher, Ms. Roxy, earnestly taught him magic, and a smile unconsciously curved his lips.
Once things are settled here and he's found his family, he should also inquire about his teacher's whereabouts.