"Miss Norn!"
The cat-eared maid, breathless from running, bent over and clutching her knees, catching her breath for a while before finally recovering. "Why did you run out alone? Paul came back and found you missing, and he was furious..."
When Norn saw them, she immediately wriggled out of Luo Ge's arms and slid down, asking in a childish voice, "Is Daddy back?"
Luo Ge glanced at the two beast-eared maids for a few moments, and after confirming that Norn did indeed recognize them, he nodded. "Since you know each other, we'll be going now. Goodbye, little Norn."
"Mmm."
"Thank you... thank you, big brother."
Norn, who was somewhat shy, said...
"Please, please wait a moment!"
The cat-eared maid looked up, wanting to ask the boy's name, but found that the boy had already turned and walked about ten steps away with the black-haired girl beside him.
His silhouette was clean and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.
"What a strange person..."
The maid with dog ears muttered something under her breath, then knelt down and picked up Norn. "Miss Norn, let's go back quickly, Paul is very worried."
Norn leaned on the maid's shoulder, glanced back at Luo Ge's departing figure, and whispered, "That big brother... he's so amazing."
After walking a short distance, Nanahoshi Shizuka suddenly turned to look at Luo Ge, her tone carrying a hint of seriousness that she herself couldn't quite explain, "I didn't expect you to be a lolicon?"
"Lolita complex?"
"What nonsense are you spouting? I might sue you for defamation!"
"Snort!"
Nanahoshi Shizuka couldn't help but purse her lips. She, a beautiful high school girl, was standing in front of him, alone in a room with him, but he didn't react at all.
Then, for some inexplicable reason, he was so gentle with a little girl who was only a few years old, not only saving her but also taking the initiative to help escort her home.
This whole thing just doesn't seem right, does it?
Nanahoshi Shizuka looked at Luo Ge with a very strange expression, as if her eyes were saying the word "pervert".
Luo Ge didn't bother arguing, but instead smiled slightly, "Miss Nanahoshi! You don't want to be abandoned and starve to death, do you?"
"You?! You?! You really are a pervert, disgusting..."
Suddenly, a scene flashed through Nanahoshi Shizuka's mind, and her face flushed slightly.
Although she was verbally cursing him as a pervert and disgusting, Nanahoshi Shizuka's lips actually curled up slightly. "Speaking of which... you seem rather cold and aloof, and your personality is a bit nasty, but I didn't expect you to have such a gentle side."
"Gentle?"
Luo Ge chuckled, "Any normal person wouldn't stand idly by when they see something like that happen."
Nanahoshi Shizuka didn't speak, but silently muttered to herself, "No way! Weren't all those people who passed by just now normal people?"
But they ignored it all.
Without saying another word, the two quickened their pace and headed towards the border of the Fittoa Territory.
The morning mist had mostly dissipated under the sunlight, and the view had become more open.
Luo Ge glanced back one last time at the land behind him, a patchwork of ruins and tents, then turned back and continued walking.
The Hitogami said that if we left before sunset, nothing would happen.
He wanted to make sure he crossed the line before dusk.
Meanwhile, at the temporary residence of the House Boreas in the north of the city, the atmosphere was as tense as a fully drawn bowstring.
Paul stood in the courtyard with a livid face, while the old butler Alphonse stood before him with his head bowed and his forehead covered in sweat.
Paul had just gone to the Adventurers' Guild to gather clues and left his daughter with Alphonse, the old acquaintance and butler of the House Boreas.
When they returned, they discovered that their daughter Norn had been lost. Paul, furious about his daughter, nearly turned the entire camp upside down.
Alphonse!
"Didn't I tell you before I left to have someone keep a close eye on Norn?!"
" Paul, this is truly..." the old butler said with a pained expression, "The maids only turned around to fetch some water, and Miss Norn..."
"Never mind."
Paul took a deep breath and suppressed the anger that was rising in his head.
He knew, of course, that Alphonse had done his best, and that his outburst of anger just now had been somewhat unreasonable.
The most urgent task now is to find Norn; everything else can wait.
Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the courtyard.
The cat-eared maid rushed in carrying Norn, shouting, "Found her! Found her!"
Paul turned his head sharply and, upon seeing Norn's little face, his heart, which had been hanging in suspense for so long, finally settled down.
He rushed over in three strides and pulled Norn into a tight embrace.
" Norn!"
"You scared your dad to death..."
Norn was a little breathless from Paul's strong arms, but she still giggled and patted Paul's shoulder with her little hands. "Daddy's hugging too tight!"
Paul released her, squatted down, and carefully checked his daughter for any injuries. Only after confirming that she was unharmed did he breathe a long sigh of relief.
He stroked Norn's head, his voice a little hoarse. "Next time... Daddy will never leave your side again."
"Oh, right."
Paul wiped his face, composed himself, and asked, "How did you find it?"
Norn's eyes lit up, his little face full of admiration. "A really amazing older brother helped me! Some bad guys were trying to catch me, and that older brother chased them away in a flash. Then a lot of people came to beat him up, but he killed them all in a few swift moves!"
Paul paused for a moment, then asked, "Uh, big brother? What does he look like?"
Norn gestured, "Big brother looks a lot like Dad, he's tall and very handsome, even better looking than Dad."
"Oh, right! He also had a black-haired older sister with him..."
Paul felt a little jealous as he listened to his sweetheart praising another man with such adoring eyes.
Damn it, where did this little blondie come from? My daughter is only three years old!
He said with a hint of bitterness, "That guy... did he leave his name?"
Norn tilted his head, trying hard to remember, "Right, the big brother's name is... Luo Ge?"
"What?"
Paul's pupils contracted sharply.
"... Luo Ge?!"
As if triggered by some keyword, Paul froze on the spot, completely shocked.
Luo Ge?
That name struck him like a hammer blow to the chest.
He opened his mouth, wanting to ask more, but found himself unable to even speak properly.
At this moment, the old butler Alphonse, who had been standing silently to the side, suddenly spoke up, " Paul, I happen to know some clues about that gentleman."
"It is said that in recent years, a top expert who has mastered all three major schools of martial arts has risen in the northern part of the Central Continent. He is known as the ' Demon Sword King '. He is a disciple of the Sword God, the Water God, and the North Emperor... and because he has cultivated all three major schools to the King Rank, he is also known as the 'Three Kings'."
He paused, then continued, "That Demon Sword King King's name happens to be Luo Ge."
"..."
Paul's lips moved a few times, but no sound came out.
Demon Sword King...
The Three Kings...
His name is also Luo Ge?
There are countless people in this world with the same name. How could a genius swordsman from the northern part of the Central Continent possibly be his son who died at the age of five in the Red Dragon Mountains?
Paul lowered his head, looking at Norn's upturned face, his voice a little hoarse. "That... that person... what does he look like? Is he...?"
He suddenly couldn't continue speaking.
Norn blinked. "Big brother's eyes are squinted... He looks really handsome when he smiles! He's as tall as Dad..."
She gestured, then suddenly tilted her head, "Hmm, his eye color seems a bit like Dad's."
Paul's heart skipped a beat again, and his voice grew tense. " Norn... that Demon Sword King, has he left?"
"Um!"
"He's gone. It seems he and that older woman have already left."
" Paul, Miss Norn is right."
"According to reports from our subordinates, this Demon Sword King seems to have left our Fittoa Territory not long ago due to some urgent matter."
Paul gazed at the empty dirt road outside the courtyard, his expression complex.
He looked down at Norn in his arms, then looked up at the distant horizon, his voice soft, as if talking to himself. "I was really confused, how could I have thought that Luo Ge was the Demon Sword King?"
"Wow, that's really impressive... If Luo Ge were still alive, he would definitely have done the same, after all, that kid is practically omnipotent."
A breeze blew from the other side, ruffling the slightly disheveled yellow hair on his forehead.
Paul stood there, holding his daughter, whom he had lost and then found again, tightly, and after a long time, he let out a soft sigh.
Norn looked up at his father's eyes, then suddenly stood on tiptoe and touched his face. "Hey, Dad, what's wrong?"
Paul lowered his head and forced a smile, "It's nothing, Dad just... remembered someone."
Norn tilted his head. "Who is it?"
Paul was silent for a moment, then pulled Norn into his arms again, as if recalling something, and murmured, "He was your brother, a very remarkable person."