Chapter 36
The sky, so blue it seemed it could drip ink, made the yellow eye even more terrifying and eye-catching.
That familiar chill slowly crept up Nelly’s spine, and she actually had the illusion of being stared at by this eye. She shook her head vigorously and squeezed a sound from the depths of her throat. “Sorry, I don’t know what’s going on either.”
This was an accident she had never encountered before. Was it a hidden event, or… she didn’t dare to think any further.
“There might be a curfew soon. Should we go back to the inn first?” Nelly tugged on Melissa’s sleeve.
Melissa stared up at the evil eye, and that cold expression filled with hatred appeared again.
She turned her head, stiffly turned around, and her steps were heavy, as if she wanted to stomp out the light cast by the yellow eye one by one. Nelly didn’t ask any questions, just quietly accompanied her back to the inn.
At the entrance, Melissa suddenly blurted out, “Will Kal be in danger?”
Nelly was silent for a moment, then lowered her eyes and said, “Probably not. He is a mage from Naxier, after all.”
Melissa laughed self-deprecatingly. “That’s true.” She shook her head. “Let’s continue the mission tomorrow.”
Nelly couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. As she relaxed slightly, she couldn’t help but glance back. The strange demonic eye was blocked by the houses, but its cold gaze seemed to penetrate through the many obstacles and look straight into her heart.
Neither Nelly nor Melissa slept well that night.
※
The next day, the cause of last night’s commotion had quickly spread through the streets and alleys. It was said that a spy from the demon army had infiltrated the Norn Palace and created the illusion of the demonic eye in the center of the holy land. According to the temple’s announcement, the culprit had already been brought to justice, and the Demon King’s attempt to desecrate the holy land would be punished.
The divine envoy from the temple, urging the hero to head north as soon as possible, arrived quickly. In addition to the Grand Hierophant’s suggestive blessings, Melissa also received far more supplies than expected. It seemed the temple was indeed quite frightened and couldn’t wait for the hero to eliminate the Demon King to soothe the wounded little hearts of the goddess’s envoys.
Nelly also quickly returned to her professional state, quickly going through the dozens of quests of varying difficulty in Halga’s Keep and choosing the “Find the Wine Barrel” side quest, which was most suitable for Melissa’s current level. It was a pleasant and not-too-difficult leisure plot, fighting some small monsters, collecting wood chips and grapes. If they went back and forth on the map to grind experience, not only could they level up a few times, but they could also get some delicious wine.
At first, Melissa seemed to have a lot on her mind, but she quickly adjusted and began to fight hard.
She was no longer the rookie swordswoman who would panic in the face of a fox in the novice village. Her opponent was a cunning, good-at-escaping goblin. After a few rounds of fighting, the silver-haired girl gradually grasped the combat pattern and was soon able to block the goblin’s path in advance, quickly ending the battle and retrieving the quest item.
Nelly intentionally had Melissa fight more small monsters to leave some room for future battles. But even after grinding the map a few more times, the time Melissa took to complete the quest was shorter than expected. When the two of them returned to the post station, it was still light, and the Lord Hero couldn’t help but run to the foot of the temple hill to look around again.
Whether it was to get more news about the strange events of that night or to find a trace of Kal, both hopes were dashed.
As a faithful believer, after understanding the temple’s tight-lipped attitude, Melissa’s obsession with the demonic eye quickly dissipated. She soon turned to inquiring about Kal’s whereabouts. People came and went at the post station, but after asking one by one, no one had seen the black-robed mage who should have been eye-catching.
It was as if Kal had completely vanished into thin air.
For the next few days, Melissa and Nelly traveled through the various districts of Halga’s Keep, and all their time outside of completing quests was spent inquiring about Kal’s whereabouts. But even the black market, which was famous for selling information, couldn’t find any trace of the “white-haired mage in a black cloak and robe.”
“Maybe he disguised himself…”
Melissa scratched her hair, showing her frustration. “Well… I guess so.” For a rare moment, she didn’t finish her sentence. A little thought would reveal the words she had swallowed: if it had really come to the point of disguise, then Kal clearly didn’t want to have anything to do with them anymore.
After figuring this out, although Melissa was dejected for a night, she didn’t mention looking for Kal again the next day.
Nelly could feel that this hero had a strong hatred for demons. In Melissa’s heart, companions were important, but the first priority was still to head north. Now that she had given up looking for Kal, it was also a weight off Nelly’s mind.
But questions still occasionally plagued Nelly’s mind—did that night’s commotion really have nothing to do with Kal? And was the so-called culprit just a scapegoat for the temple to appease the public? Even though the temple had given a reassuring answer, even though she knew she couldn’t solve the mystery no matter how much she thought about it, she still couldn’t let it go.
She belatedly realized that she was a little sad.
That night, Nelly had a dream. She was standing by the dilapidated fountain again. Kal was standing a step away, and behind him, a flock of pigeons spread their wings and took flight against the wind. His robe was filled with wind, making him look even more slender and frail.
This time, his ruby-like eyes did not avoid her gaze, but looked straight back.
Another rustle of wings, but Nelly couldn’t hear a sound. She couldn’t hear anything. She was drowning in those familiar yet strange eyes, and she even forgot to breathe. She watched as a golden ring appeared at the edge of his deep red irises, and his snow-white hair was stained by the dark night, turning as black as ink in an instant. Black wings grew from under his wildly dancing robe, and the wings spread upward, obscuring the sunlight.
A sword appeared in Nelly’s hand, and for some reason, she knew she could pierce his heart at that moment.
But she couldn’t bear to.
And then, those wings of the night gently embraced her from behind.
Nelly woke up at that moment, her breathing rapid. She couldn’t tell if the turbulent emotion was fear or nostalgia. She closed her eyes wearily, but she couldn’t fall asleep again. In the dead of night, when emotions were most fragile, she couldn’t help but criticize herself. Between the world and Karsus, was her choice really the right one? She had indeed destroyed him, but could she be at ease with the righteous pretext? Was she really not equally guilty? Could she really be forgiven?
The Grand Hierophant’s comfort had not completely let her put aside her inner struggle.
Nelly stared at the swaying dark shadows on the cracked wall of the inn. They were clearly meaningless shapes, but her floating subconscious filled in the blanks, rounding them out with all sorts of strange meanings, and a closer look revealed that they were all shadows of the past.
She struggled with the light and shadow in a daze until dawn, and only then did she fall asleep. Fortunately, she had always been a self-controlled person, and apart from obviously not having slept well, she showed no signs of her delayed abnormality.
The quests in Halga’s Keep were all completed four days later. Nelly tentatively suggested, “We can set off for Mez for an audience with His Majesty the King now.”
Melissa’s violet eyes blinked, and her lashes lowered to hide her gaze. She was silent for a moment, then clenched her fists. “Then let’s go.”
The most convenient route from Halga’s Keep to Mez was to take a boat across the Thousand Islands Sea and cross the inland sea.
It was a week later when the sailboat Nelly and Melissa were on approached the royal capital.
The ship slowly cut through the waves against the morning light, and from the bow, Nelly could clearly see the outline of the continent’s heart. Melissa was half-leaning on the side of the ship, and seeing the scenery ahead, she couldn’t help but let out an ambiguous sigh.
This was a city completely different from Halga’s Keep. If the wealth and elegance of Halga’s Keep were understated, like a pearl veiled in expensive gauze, then the aura of Mez was more like a drawn sword. The majestic and magnificent palaces all had an arrogant and sharp air.
The city of Mez was located at the mouth of the Frisia River and was built around the Red Keep at the highest point. From a distance, the dense houses were layered, and among the ordinary stone houses were delicate and beautiful high towers, with colorful flags flying from the roofs, forming a flowing sea of color, dazzling and mesmerizing.
No matter how many times, as long as she saw this scene of fluttering flags, Nelly would feel a sense of ease. Compared to the secretive and traditional Halga’s Keep, Nelly preferred Mez.
This was a city confined by stone walls and high towers, but with a surprisingly free spirit.
Nothing was more eye-catching than the Red Keep, which stood at the highest point. The Red Keep was condescending, and its name was borrowed from the palace of the legendary king, Halga. The entire fortress was built of expensive and hard red granite. Countless high towers stood behind thick stone walls, and guards in shining armor patrolled the top of the walls. The lights shining from behind the castle’s ornate window frames carried the imagination of many people about the Merloh dynasty.
Perhaps that beautiful princess had once stood behind the window and watched the harbor in the sunset!
The boat slowly docked. Melissa strode down the gangplank, put one hand on her hip, and let out a long breath. She looked up at the dense residential buildings of the port with a look of nostalgia. She quickly adjusted her expression and turned to ask Nelly, “Where do we go first?”
“Go to the Lord Chamberlain to report and have an audience with His Majesty the King.”
Melissa narrowed her eyes. “Alright! Destination, the Red Keep!”
With that, she familiarly took a coastal path by the fish market, turned a few corners to easily avoid the crowded and chaotic port city, and came to the vicinity of the inner city gate. Nelly was a little surprised, and a question couldn’t help but slip out. “Is Melissa very familiar with Mez?”
The silver-haired girl was stunned for a moment, then she scratched her hair in embarrassment, her gaze slightly lowered. “Mhm… I stayed here for a while before.”
Seeing this, Nelly didn’t ask any further. She took out the marquis’s pass, and she and Melissa lined up to enter the inner city of Mez.
The outer city was mostly inhabited by the poor, and as soon as they passed through the city gate, the scenery was different. Although it couldn’t be called magnificent, the neat, two-story residential buildings on both sides of the stone-paved street were much more pleasing to the eye than the winding, dirty alleys and shacks of the port city.
Unlike the residents of the old empire, who were accustomed to life in a commercial city, the people of Mez still had a deep attachment to the land and production. Behind the small houses with shops on the ground floor and residences on the upper floor, there were mostly stables and vegetable gardens. Therefore, in the hustle and bustle of the streets, one could also hear the cries of livestock, which was quite comical when mixed together.
Melissa walked briskly along the street. Seeing a pair of knights in shining armor galloping past on the not-so-sparse main road, she couldn’t help but let out a soft whistle. “The city guards are still so arrogant.”
At that moment, a hesitant call suddenly came from a shop on the side of the street. “Melissa?”
Melissa’s whole body shook at the sound, and her face actually turned a little pale.