The table was laden with all sorts of simple yet delicious food: roast steak, baked potatoes, jam-slathered bread, sweet potato soup. After more than a week of eating mushrooms in the relic world, Ye Chui and Debbie were thrilled with the meal. Paired with a mug of frothy barley beer, it felt like the most luxurious indulgence life could offer.
Los and Gaiton, seated at the same table, wore stiff expressions. Though Ye Chui’s earlier actions had earned them a small profit, they thought it a bit cheeky to feast so heartily at their expense.
Still, seeing how much Ye Chui and Debbie enjoyed the meal, Los gave a wry smile and accepted it graciously.
She was glad she had befriended these two youngsters from the start.
“Here’s some freshly made stew. Enjoy it slowly.” Shelith approached with a tray, placing two steaming bowls of stew on the table. “If you need anything else, just let me know.” Smiling warmly, Shelith hugged the tray and walked away, though her expression grew noticeably sombre as she left.
“Shelith seems a bit upset?” Ye Chui asked Los, swallowing a mouthful of food with effort.
“She’s probably envious of you two,” Los sighed.
“Envious of how much we can eat?” Debbie asked in surprise, her mouth stuffed with food.
“Who’d be jealous of gluttons?” Los shook her head. “No, she envies your strength. You might not know, but Shelith used to be a formidable mage. She even founded her own magic guild.”
“Wow!” Debbie exclaimed, her small face full of wonder.
Ye Chui, curious, said, “She was a mage? She doesn’t seem like one…”
“In a duel, her grimoire was destroyed, and her magic guild had to disband. That was five years ago,” Los recalled. “A mage’s power comes from their grimoire. Once it’s destroyed, they become ordinary. So Shelith ended up working as a waitress in the mercenary guild hall. It’s rather pitiful, really.”
“Once a grimoire is destroyed, can’t you get a new one from the Tower of Magic?” Ye Chui asked, not knowing much about mages.
“It’s possible, but difficult. Only a few exceptionally gifted people can gain the approval of another grimoire after losing one, and those are rare,” Los said, shaking her head, her gaze settling on Shelith, who was pouring drinks for some swordsmen. “Shelith was talented, but not enough to earn a second grimoire from the Tower. A once-proud mage reduced to ordinary life, she must feel a lot of resentment.”
“Isn’t there any other way?” Ye Chui asked curiously.
Los shook her head regretfully.
“There is one,” Debbie suddenly said, swallowing a piece of steak.
Everyone at the table turned to her.
The little girl continued, “I’ve heard that dark followers who worship evil spirits can extract a grimoire from a dead mage’s body, turning it into a black-covered grimoire that anyone with talent can use.” She shook her head vigorously. “But that practice is strictly forbidden by the Magic Union and the Church. It’s a desecration of grimoires, and black-covered grimoires are deeply evil, severely affecting a mage’s personality.”
Ye Chui, Los, and Gaiton looked shocked. A black-covered grimoire existed?
Debbie grinned and added, “But dark followers are rare. I’ve been on so many adventures and never met one. Maybe it’s just a legend.”
Seeing Debbie act like a seasoned adventurer, Ye Chui was at a loss for words. Was being a fugitive with a hundred-gold-coin bounty something to be proud of?
The topic of dark followers ended there. The world was vast, and dark followers weren’t something you’d just stumble across, right?
After Ye Chui and Debbie enjoyed their hearty meal, they left the mercenary guild and headed to the town mayor’s residence to visit the gravely injured and unconscious Mayor Cass.
Though Cass’s wounds had been healed, he remained extremely weak, lying in bed with a frail, almost lifeless appearance, his face deathly pale. What made Ye Chui and Debbie chuckle was the sight of his greatsword placed on the bed, pressed close to his body.
“It’s Lord Cass’s habit. He likes to sleep hugging his greatsword. Mr. Merlin says having it by his side will help him wake up sooner,” a servant of Cass’s household explained, seeing their puzzled looks.
Ye Chui and Debbie exchanged speechless glances. No wonder he couldn’t find a wife. Who needs a spouse with a greatsword like that?
Leaving Cass’s bedroom, they met Merlin, who was sitting on a stone chair in the courtyard. The old mage looked at them with a cheerful smile and said with a sigh, “I always thought you two were remarkable, but you’ve still exceeded my expectations.”
Ye Chui and Debbie approached, holding some respect for the old mage. If not for his timely help, they wouldn’t have escaped the ruins. Ye Chui asked curiously, “Mr. Merlin, I heard Cass calls you ‘teacher,’ but he’s a swordsman, and you’re a mage. How does that work?”
“Years ago, I was hunted by enemies, and Cass saved my life. I stayed with him for two months and taught him to read, so he calls me ‘teacher,’” Merlin explained with a smile. “Later, I heard he became the mayor here, so I came to settle down and retire.” He paused, then continued, “I don’t want to know what happened in the ruins. That’s your story. But I’m grateful you brought Cass back.”
Ye Chui appreciated Merlin’s discretion but felt compelled to add, “Cass was injured by Tumu, his deputy.”
The old swordsman Tumu hadn’t used that name in Stan Town.
Merlin’s eyes narrowed. “Tumu?”
“He’s a shadow swordsman for Lord Kevin,” Debbie explained. “Shadow swordsmen are the worst, sneaking everywhere. They might even come for Cass again.”
“No need to worry. I live with Cass, and I’ll protect him. You can rest assured,” Merlin said with confidence and pride. As a guardian of the Tower of Magic, he was no ordinary man.
Hearing this, Ye Chui and Debbie felt relieved. They chatted a bit more with Merlin about an earlier incident where some people had provoked them, only to be swiftly defeated. Merlin assured them there’d be no trouble, as the attackers had started it. As the Tower of Magic’s guardian and acting mayor while Cass was unconscious, he’d ensure Ye Chui’s actions were deemed lawful.
After bidding farewell, the two headed home. Outside, they saw a group filling in a ditch on the street. Upon spotting Ye Chui and Debbie, the workers greeted them with awe, trembling slightly.
The house opposite their wooden cabin had been flattened by the force of a heroic spirit’s punch, though no innocent residents were harmed. The homeowner stood before the ruins, looking at Ye Chui and Debbie as if wanting to ask for compensation but unable to speak. They exchanged a glance, planning to find a way to make amends, though money was tight. They hadn’t even sorted out dinner yet.
They needed to figure out how to earn some cash.
Back home, Debbie darted to the bathroom for a refreshing bath.
But moments after Ye Chui sat down, a startled “Eek!” came from the bathroom. The door flew open, and Debbie rushed out, wrapped in a towel, her face flushed as she shouted, “Ye Chui, Ye Chui, come look!”
“What am I looking at?” Ye Chui glanced at Debbie’s damp hair and flat figure, about to remark that this wasn’t much of a treat, when he noticed a little girl emerging from the bathroom. She looked about five or six, with pale blonde hair, a face like carved jade, and a white dress, utterly adorable.
Ye Chui was stunned. “Bloody hell, is this your daughter?”
Debbie glared at him.
“Chirp, chirp!” The little girl mimicked Debbie’s glare.
Hearing the odd sound, Ye Chui’s eyes caught the tiny white wings on her back, barely larger than chicken wings. He instantly understood. “Bloody hell, how did the Valkyrie shrink so much?”
“I just found out,” Debbie said excitedly. “I was going to summon her to scrub my back, (Ye Chui interrupted: Huh?) but then I realised she can change form with my magic. This is her now.”
Debbie continued enthusiastically, “This is her juvenile Valkyrie form.”
