"Ha, I won this escort mission for the bathers."
"How can a competition started unilaterally be considered valid?" Mydei asked.
"Look at you, saying a few flattering words won't hurt you."
"... HKS."
Phainon tilted his head. "Hai Yi... what are you saying, in your hometown dialect?"
"Hyena—I'm comparing you to a skinny hyena. By the way, your stress is completely off."
"We've known each other for a while now, but I've only heard you mention the ancient sayings of Kremnos a handful of times."
"Because I'm not good at this language either. Listening and reading aren't a problem, but if you ask me to write in classical Chinese..."
Phainon's eyes lit up. "You can write?"
Your statement sounds like you've no brain at all.
"Haha~ Just kidding. No wonder, after all, you spent your childhood... wandering, far from home."
"Take more care of yourself, Savior. Aside from introducing yourself, you never mention your hometown," Mydei retorted.
"Heh~ because there's really nothing to say." Phainon shook his head. " Aedes Elysiae was just a small village, and it's long gone because of the war."
"The only time I've ever seen it is in my dreams. And also..."
"Besides?"
"... in the trial of the ' Spear of Divine Retribution '."
"As expected."
Phainon closed his eyes, recalling the scene. "Yes, I saw it, the burning Aedes Elysiae, my family, friends, kin... everyone fell in the sea of fire."
"A half-circle of blood-red sun hung in the sky, just like back then, and the murderer... killed Cyrene right in front of me."
"But this time, I saw its true form: a black cloak, a strange mask, a shattered greatsword exuding an ominous aura..."
"I fought that thing during the trial. But so much time has passed, and even though I fought with determination, grew stronger, and became more powerful... I still can't defeat it."
"Hatred blinded you; you almost lost your way in that trial."
"Yes... so I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Mydeimos."
Phainon turned around and spoke to Mydei.
"Hmph, at least Guild manners. It's not too late."
"And you, Mydei? What did you see in that trial... and what were your fears?"
Mydei corrected, "First of all, the word 'fear' doesn't exist in the dictionary of the Kremnosians."
"... Does your dictionary even have any words?"
Mydei ignored Phainon's sarcastic remark and continued:
"Then, I saw Okhema among them, and... my former comrades."
He uttered those familiar names. " Hephaestion, Perdiccas, Leon, Ptolemy, and Peucestas... ever since I returned from the Abyss of Fate, those five have always been by my side."
" Years of exile, they shared my life and death. Those ten years were filled with hardship and displacement, but they are also worth remembering. Every night, we would sit around the campfire, drink honeyed wine, and sing our hearts out..."
"The wild winds of Amphoreus smell of rust. Hephaestion always laughs at me for drinking honey like goat's milk, saying it makes the bright red of blood look incongruous. He is thin and small, but he is incredibly fierce on the battlefield, killing enemies without hesitation."
" Perdiccas is an expert in medicine, specializing in unorthodox remedies and remedies; Leon is a skilled runner and a trusted messenger."
" Ptolemy always loved to nitpick over words. When he left Kremnos, he took quite a few ancient books from the Great Library—they all belonged to my family, so I don't need to return them. As for Peucestas... well, he wasn't much of a talker, but he played the violin beautifully..."
Phainon had never heard Mydei mention this past event before. "These five... this is the first time I've ever heard their names."
"Of course. They were killed before the Kremnos force joined forces with Okhema."
Mydei's expression remained calm. "First came Perdiccas. He died in the second month of cultivation, struck in the abdomen by a poisoned arrow from the Ladonans. His remedy could save everyone except himself."
" Mydeimos, do not grieve. I have earned glory, and I will repay my mortal enemy with a glorious death." He mimicked the tone of Perdiccas in his Remembrance.
" Leon died in his fifth winter, Aidelia lasted for three whole months. On the night of the heaviest blizzard, the enemy launched their attack."
" Aidelia... is the city-state where Castorice used to live?"
Mydei nodded. "It's those fanatics. They're as fearless as the Kremnosians, but they lack any reverence for honor."
"They pursued him relentlessly through the bottomless swamp, and Leon, covering their retreat, had both his legs severed. He vanished into the mud of a foreign land, leaving no trace."
"In the twelve evenings that followed, we finally launched a counterattack into the city of Aidelia, accepted the tyrant's pleas for peace, but the stubborn rebels had laid an ambush within the city..."
" Ptolemy and his cavalry were wiped out before they could even savor their victory. The burning and collapsing obelisks became their tombs."
"Then came Peucestas. In the Oenonus, he lured the enemy deep into our territory with his song, buying us precious time."
"Enraged, the enemy troops set fire to the city, burning our army and the entire city to the ground... His last words were left on a small piece of clay tablet cracked by the fire."
" Mydeimos, put on the crown."
"Finally, my most trusted Hephaestion... He should have been with me to witness the dust settle, but his chronic illness relapsed on the eve of my father's and my passing..."
"He concealed his illness, and by the time I returned victorious after personally killing my enemy, he was barely clinging to life."
After hearing Mydei's story, Phainon seemed to empathize with him and his expression turned sorrowful.
"What a heavy trial. Now I understand why you viewed 'immortality' as a flaw, even a curse."
Meanwhile, in the Cloud Stone Heavenly Palace, the milk tea challenge came to an end with the appearance of a silver-haired elven priest.
"Wow... it was the priestess who arrived at the crucial moment!"
Xing came to Fulisina's side as the award presenter, unaware of when she had acquired this position.
"Priestess, have you dealt with the black-robed swordsman?"
He handed the gold-plated trophy shaped like the star infinity symbol to Fulisina, and casually asked her a question.
"Cough~ This body is merely a wisp of my divine consciousness, bound by a dark destiny, thus unable to unleash its full power, allowing that swordsman who tainted the abyss to escape."
Fulisina answered without changing her expression; she always managed her expressions well, and she went on to tell Xing a whole bunch of details from that time.
"Is... Grove alright?"
Xing was terrified; it seemed they were going to tear down the " Grove of Epiphany "!
"No need to worry, this item can protect Amphoreus from harm by foreign enemies."
Fulisina took out a sparkling piece of amber and placed it in front of Xing:
"Wait a minute, this is... Cornerstone?!" Xing leaned closer to examine it closely. "A design I've never seen before, which of the ' Ten Stonehearts ' designed this?"
Fulisina thought for a moment, and a faint image of a seashell unconsciously appeared in her mind.
"I think her name is... Pearl?"
Wow, I've never heard of that before.