Several months later.
The Holy Kingdom of Millis, Adventurers' Guild.
Beside the darkest table in the corner, a middle-aged man was drinking alone, the strong stench of alcohol making passersby want to avoid him.
The man reeked of alcohol, had dark circles under his eyes, sunken cheeks, and stubble on his chin that he hadn't shaved in a long time; even his hair was a messy tangled mess.
He was none other than Paul, the knight of Buena Village in the Fittoa Territory. Now, his face was haggard, and he was completely different from the knight he used to be.
It has been almost a year since the Great Transfer of Fittoa.
Paul led a search and rescue team that saved many people affected by the disaster in the Holy Kingdom of Millis.
Many people, after being thrown into this unfamiliar land, were either lucky enough to struggle for survival, or unlucky enough to be captured and enslaved.
The search and rescue operation was not going very well. Every rescue was extremely difficult, and sometimes it even involved confronting slave owners with swords.
If it weren't for the financial assistance provided by Zenith's maternal family, the noble family of Latorrea in Millis, and the support of their family connections, she would have been completely different.
The search and rescue team's efforts in this unfamiliar land will only exacerbate the already difficult situation.
"Hateful..."
He tilted his head back and took another gulp of wine, mumbling curses in his throat, "It's been almost a year... Why? Why hasn't there been a single word?"
He slammed his fist on the table, causing the wine jug to jump and make a clanging sound.
The surrounding adventurers glanced at him, but after seeing his dejected appearance, they all looked away.
" Zenith..."
" Lilia..."
" Aisha..."
" Rudeus..."
With each name he uttered, Paul couldn't help but feel a surge of nostalgia.
He missed his family terribly. If this terrible thing hadn't happened, they would probably still be living happily in the Buena Village.
"Hateful..."
"Are you still alive...?"
Accompanied by painful curses against God's injustice.
He could only numb himself with alcohol; only when he drank could Paul briefly forget his pain.
His daughter, Norn, was not with him.
Not long ago, he sent his daughter to Zenith's La Torreia family, Norn's maternal grandmother to take care of her.
Zenith's mother.
Paul had met Claire Latorrea a few times; she was a very stubborn and obstinate old woman.
She agreed to fund the search and rescue team on the condition that Norn be left behind.
In the past, Paul would never have agreed to give his daughter away so easily.
But now he can't even take care of himself, he's drunk all the time, how can he possibly take care of his daughter Norn?
To provide his daughter with a better environment to grow up in, he gritted his teeth and left Norn with the Latorrea family, all for the sake of her having a better life.
I don't know how much time passed, but dusk fell.
A soft, sweet voice suddenly came from the direction of the door.
"Dad!"
Paul looked up.
It was Norn. The little girl was dressed in clean clothes, and her brown hair was neatly combed, showing that she was well taken care of.
She toddled in through the door, ran all the way to Paul, and looked up at him with her little face.
Every time I see my daughter, Norn.
This was one of the few times Paul showed a smile.
Norn was always there to comfort him during his most difficult times.
He reached out and stroked Norn's little head, his voice hoarse. " Norn, have you been listening to your grandma lately?"
Upon hearing the word "Grandma, "Norn's face immediately fell, and his lips pouted. "No! Norn doesn't want to leave Daddy! Daddy, please don't leave me alone, okay? Grandma is so awful; she calls Daddy a useless good-for-nothing."
"Ugh! Norn hates... Grandma!"
Paul was well aware of Claire's attitude towards him.
He married Zenith without saying a word; such behavior would be disapproved of not only by noble families but also by ordinary families.
Claire always had a cold face when she saw him, and her words were barbed.
Even if people ridicule you.
But Paul doesn't care, because apart from his family, Paul cares about nothing else now.
It has been almost a full year since the Great Transfer Event.
Now... Norn has not only grown up a bit, but he's also become a bit more sensible.
She had a vague idea of what had happened, so although she missed her mother, she didn't keep asking her father for her.
Even though she was clumsy and couldn't do anything right, she still secretly ran away from her grandmother's house every day to go to the Adventurers' Guild to find her father and help the search and rescue team find people.
Although all she could do was hand out water and run errands, she had already become the youngest member of the search and rescue team.
Everyone is working hard.
They're working very hard.
But is this effort really useful?
Paul hated his own incompetence.
He could save many people, and each time he rescued someone from the slave owner, the grateful faces made him feel a little better.
But that little bit of comfort will soon dissipate.
The only ones you can't bring back are your own family members.
Apart from Norn, he seemed to have lost everything without even realizing it.
Just as Paul felt injustice and even despair at his fate, the door of the Adventurers' Guild was suddenly pushed open.
A scantily clad young girl rushed in, her face brimming with barely concealed excitement.
It's Vera.
"Commander!"
Paul looked up at her, his eyes blurry with drunkenness. "... Vera, what happened?"
Vera, catching her breath against the doorframe, shouted, "Commander, a carriage has arrived, and the people who got out claim to be your family!"
"What?"
Paul was completely stunned.
He opened his mouth, a look of disbelief on his face, then scratched his head hard, trying to clear his head.
"Family?"
"Vera, what did you say? Say it again? My family?"
"Hmm... Commander! The person who came did claim to be your family member. If you want to know, why don't you go out and meet them?"
Paul felt a jolt, as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water.
He suddenly stood up, and the chair tipped over backward on the ground with a loud thud.
He scooped up Norn beside him and dashed towards the door with almost superhuman speed, bumping into several adventurers along the way without even bothering to apologize.
He rushed out of the Adventurers' Guild's gates, the sunlight outside making him squint.
Sure enough, a carriage was parked in the open space in front of the guild, its wheels still covered in mud from the long journey.
Two people were standing beside the car.
The moment Paul's gaze fell upon them, he was struck dumb, frozen in place as if by lightning.
One of them had long, reddish-brown hair, wore small glasses on her nose, and dressed in a simple maid outfit.
The other one looked to be only three or four years old. Although he was also dressed in a maid outfit, his daughter Aisha.
Paul would never mistake Lilia and her daughter for each other.
" Lilia?"
" Aisha..."
Paul called out tentatively, as if to confirm whether he was drunk and hallucinating.
Hearing the shouts, the two people beside the carriage turned around at the same time.
They saw the middle-aged man standing at the entrance of the Adventurers' Guild.
He reeked of alcohol and was a completely different person from the spirited Paul he had been before.
Lilia and Aisha recognized her immediately.
He is Paul.
"Master!"
"Dad!"
Lilia, carrying Aisha, rushed forward without hesitation.
" Lilia... Aisha..."
Paul also stumbled forward and pulled the mother and daughter into his arms.
He held them tightly, as if afraid they would disappear if he let go.
He kept repeating their names to himself, his voice choked with sobs, and tears finally streamed down his face, landing on Lilia's shoulder.
Lilia and Aisha also cried their eyes out.
The family hugged each other and cried for a long time in front of the Adventurers' Guild.
A crowd of onlookers gathered around, but no one went to disturb them.
Finally, Paul's emotions gradually calmed down.
He let go, wiped his face haphazardly with the back of his hand, then suddenly remembered something and looked at Lilia curiously. "Um... Lilia... Aisha, how did you find this place?"
"Master!"
Lilia pushed up her glasses, her eyes behind the lenses still red-rimmed, but a smile played on her lips, "It's like this... It was the young master, it was the young master who saved me and Aisha."
"Huh?"
Paul paused for a moment, then sighed with admiration, "So it was Rudeus. That kid didn't disappoint me. I knew it... a genius like him can do things I can't."
As he spoke, a complex expression appeared on his face, a mixture of pride and bitterness.
Rudeus was a bright child from a young age; he could use magic at two or three years old, and by five he was a water -Saint Rank magician.
Now that so much time has passed, he must have grown a lot by now, right?
If he's a genius like him, it doesn't seem impossible that he could save Lilia and Aisha while being transferred.
However.
Just as Lilia was about to explain after hearing this, Aisha, who was standing to the side, couldn't wait any longer.
"Dad!"
Aisha tilted her little face up, her amber eyes sparkling with a mischievous glint. "You've got it wrong. It's not Brother Rudeus, it's one of your other sons."
"..."
Paul was completely stunned.
"Where would I get another one...? The other one already is..."
His voice grew softer and softer, and the expression on his face changed from confusion to shock, and then from shock to disbelief.
"What?"
" Aisha, what did you say?!"
Paul seemed to suddenly realize something, and his heart began to race.
"Etc!"
He grabbed Aisha's shoulders suddenly, his voice trembling, " Aisha, what did you say? Could it be? Could it be?"
Soon, a bold guess came to mind.
If there was another son besides Rudeus, then there's only one possibility left.
Without a doubt.
It's Luo Ge.
But didn't that child already die in the Red Dragon Mountains?
Five years ago, that child died in the Red Dragon Mountains, and it was Ghislaine who brought back the news himself.
At the time... the whole family thought he was no longer alive.
Not only is Luo Ge dead.
Moreover, the grass on the grave mounds had grown very tall, and during that great evacuation disaster, even the graves were moved and disappeared without a trace.
When Aisha spoke, and Lilia nodded emphatically at him with a face full of certainty.
Could it be...?
" Luo Ge... is he really... alive?" At this moment, Paul stared at Lilia and her daughter Aisha with an almost incredulous look.
He's waiting...
Lilia and Aisha need to give me a satisfactory answer: Is Luo Ge still alive?
P. S.: The next chapter is the one you've all been waiting for! What will happen between the father and son? Stay tuned!
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