After thinking about the system in such an unfortunate way, suddenly, a new message appeared for the young Lothur.
[First and only Hint: welcome gift.]
"Oh?" Lothur forgot that his whole body was sore and unconsciously stirred as he saw such a message appearing right in front of him.
"Ouch!"
"Hell!" He cried out in pain, feeling his injuries even more intensely than before he was brought to this room.
'Damn, I'd better take these pills soon!' He pondered over this, picking up those pill bottles left by Viktoria.
[Body Recovery Pills] [Rank: Iron] [Purity: 52%] [4 units]
[Effect: recovers damage to the different tissues of a given body].
Immediately after touching that bottle with pills, a screen with its information appeared in front of Lothur.
'Oh?'
'So this so-called system can also see the characteristics of what I touch?' Lothur wondered in surprise but did not think much of it and immediately threw those pills into his mouth, completely ignoring whether that was the right thing to do or not.
All he had in mind now was to reduce his body's pain and understand what was this Hint that the system had given him.
After this, he unconsciously thought of the word 'Hint.' Soon after, a new text appeared in front of him, helping this young man understand a little more of the system's functionality.
[Hint]
[As a welcome gift, the system naturally brought the host's soul to the body closest to one of the Lost Tree Seven Fallen Scrolls.]
[As the host's ultimate purpose, completing the Lost Tree Seven Fallen Scrolls collection is a must. Hence, the system must assist you in at least your first gathering.]
[Thus, the host must take advantage of the opportunity created and search for the first scroll as quickly as possible not to lose its location.]
[Search for a metal leaf, and when such a thing comes within reach of the host's hands, the system will naturally recognize such a scroll.]
After Lothur finished reading that, the text in front of him disappeared, allowing this young man to return to observing his surroundings normally.
'So, this thing is nearby!' He thought about it in satisfaction, feeling that at least there was a chance that such a system would help him at the beginning of his journey.
Lothur was bewildered as to what to do in the future.
He had been someone who always had a purpose in his former life. And with that, it was genuinely hopeless to find himself in a totally different place, which he had practically no good information about because of the incompetence of his predecessor.
To make matters worse, he was injured and could not even do the same as most ordinary people in this world!
But knowing that the system had at least given him this opportunity, he now felt much better.
At the very least, he could go after that thing and maybe get a pleasant surprise.
'Well, there's nothing I can do in my current condition.'
'Then, I will continue my recovery until I can get out of this damn bed. After that, I will look for such an item before dinner with that woman's parents.' He planned.
"Sigh..."
'I hope those pills are not like the medicine in my world.'
...
After a while, the end of the day finally arrived in Peters City, with the orange sky slowly giving way to the darkness of night.
But while the local temperature was easing and some young people were out playing, Lothur had just left his room to go to his previously arranged appointment.
Lothur had barely managed to dress because of the pain in his frail body, but after much effort, he had managed to at least look presentable.
And since there was not much time left for the occasion he had been 'invited' to begin, he could not waste any time looking for one of the scrolls he was supposed to find.
Not because such a thing was any more important than visiting his in-laws. It was not. Gathering that thing was much more important to him than visiting his wife's family.
Not only because his life might well be positively affected by completing the system requirements but also because he did not like the idea of seeing his in-laws.
His former self was simply too troublesome. Thur, his mother-in-law hated him.
His father-in-law was not so bad and could even defend him in certain situations. However, even this person would hardly stand against Viktoria's mother, and in general, the former Lothur had to listen to all kinds of sermons from that woman.
Not surprisingly, Lothur had a grudge against such a person and always avoided meeting her in this estate.
Knowing all this, the present Lothur was worried about having to suffer from the harassment of an angry mother-in-law when he had just arrived in this world.
However, as much as his task of collecting the scrolls was more important and exciting to him, this young man did not have many options here.
As a member of the Frost family, a mere son-in-law, he could very well have his freedom threatened, be arrested, and even physically punished if he did not obey the house rules.
And as much as being late or even missing dinner with the in-laws was no great crime, Viktoria's parents were the leaders of this family... In other words, if they decided to punish him for this, he would be alone, with no one to defend him!
So, thinking that it would be more beneficial to keep his long-term freedom, in view of the fact that the scroll might not be in this residence, he had decided to go ahead with this commitment.
If the item in question were in this place, such behavior would not hinder him much. But, on the other hand, if the first scroll to be collected was outside the Frost estate and that family punished him, it could impair him immensely.
So, he just moved on, trying to avoid expressing the discomfort around his body, until he opened the door of his in-laws' residence that gave access to the dining room.
...
"... And that's what happened." Viktoria was just finishing talking about something with her parents when suddenly Lothur entered that place.
He was strolling, carrying a stern expression on his face, while a slight pallor could be seen on his cheeks.
Upon seeing her worthless son-in-law, Mabel Rios felt even more disdain and anger that such a scumbag had married her beautiful and talented daughter.
'I still underestimated him!'
"It seems that even my worst expectations of you were wrong..." She said in an icy tone, looking at Lothur in a way that, if the look killed, this young man would drop dead to the floor.
"Honey, let's not talk about that now." Aiken Frost, the patriarch of this family and Viktoria's father, said this to the beautiful woman sitting next to him. "It is not Lothur's fault that a carriage hit him..."
"Humph!" That woman, who looked a lot like Viktoria, but with the typical charm that only mature women could have made a sound of discontent upon hearing such a thing.
To her, it did not matter whether it was luck or bad luck that had caused it for young Lothur. From the rumors already circulating in the family, he seemed drunk before the incident.
In this case, it was his fault!
"Good-for-notings naturally attract the worst to themselves!" She said, feeling one of her husband's hands squeezing her thigh, asking her to tone down her offenses.
And upon hearing those 'beautiful words of welcome,' Lothur felt even worse than he had assumed he would feel upon meeting that woman.
'This person is toxic!'
'What have I done to deserve this?'
'If my predecessor had at least consummated his marriage to Viktoria, I could understand such a thing, but...'
"Tsk!"
"If I am not welcome, I can just return from whence I came!" He said without thinking, surprised by this ability to make matters worse without any need.
'What the fuck!'
'Why did I say that?'
"Lothur, be quiet and sit down!" Then, finally, a thin voice reached Lothur's ears, coming from the fourth occupied seat at the large table where Viktoria's family was at this instant.
There were many plates of different kinds of cuisines there, with Mabel and Aiken at the end of the table, while on the sides were Viktoria and her twin sister, Annaliesa.
Then, hearing the voice of the only person in this house who conversed with him in an 'equal' tone, Lothur pressed his fists together and just did what she had 'suggested.'
He sat beside his wife, still irritated, looking first at Viktoria's inexpressive face, then at Annaliesa, and lastly to his mother-in-law.
"Well, may I ask why madam Frost invited me here? I assume it wasn't just to enjoy my company, right?" He said, once again impressing with his tongue.
...