"And that's pretty much all about lycans. Anything beyond that will likely go over your heads," remarked the black knight with a nonchalant shrug. Elanor had been absorbing every word, meticulously storing the information in his mind. "Wow, thank you for explaining all of that," he expressed his gratitude, prompting the black knight to give him a thumbs up.
"Wait, you didn't say what they are weak to though, or are they weak to silver like all monsters?" Lennix piped up. They had been listening to the black knight explain lycans for about 20 minutes now, and in that time, they had covered a fair amount of ground. Treasurehold was getting pretty close at this point.
"Nah, unlike every other corporeal monster, lycans aren't weak to silver. In fact, they're resistant to it," the black knight clarified, leaving Lennix and, to a lesser extent, Elanor visibly surprised.
"So, what is their weakness?" Elanor asked, poking his head up from behind the black knight.
"Bronze," said Clarissa abruptly, just as the black knight was about to delve into further details, much to everyone's shock.
"Huh? How do you know that, Clarissa?" Lennix questioned, scratching his head. *Could it be?* Lennix pondered, focusing his gaze on Clarissa atop the shadow horse. *Could it be that before being my maid, Clarissa was... a monster hunter!?* Shock was written across Lennix's face.
Just as Lennix thought he had uncovered a hidden aspect of Clarissa's past, she responded, "I know because I do something that you have never done, nor will ever do, Master Lennix—read a textbook." The words felt like an arrow piercing Lennix's undead heart.
"There are textbooks about monster hunting?" the black knight asked, sounding genuinely surprised. Clarissa turned to him with her usual lack of emotion and replied, "Of course there are. Are you stupid?" Elanor was taken aback by Clarissa's blunt response, and even the black knight seemed slightly stunned by her sudden hostility. "Hey, that's just rude! I was only asking," he retorted, while Lennix couldn't help but snicker inwardly. *Feels different when it's not aimed at me, doesn't it?* he thought, feeling somewhat relieved to see Clarissa directing her sharp tongue elsewhere.
"Don't tell me you can't read, can you?" Clarissa continued, her tone cutting. The black knight shook his head defensively. "Of course I can read! I'm just not a book guy. Don't make me sound as dumb as Lennix," he defended himself, while Lennix shot him an annoyed look. "Hey! I can read! I'm not that dumb!" he protested, prompting Mari to look at him with wide eyes filled with shock and disbelief. "You can read, Uncle Lennix?" she asked incredulously, as if the sky had vanished before her eyes.
Lennix dramatically clenched his chest with his hand, pretending to be in pain. "Ow, that hurts! But it's sad that I can't fault you for thinking that!" he exclaimed. Elanor looked between them, slightly amused, before he whispered to the black knight, "Is he really that dumb?" The black knight gave a exaggerated sad nod, replying, "He is. Honestly, I'm pretty shocked myself. I didn't think he could read either."
Meanwhile, Mari wiped away a tear from her eye, looking at Lennix with genuine pride. "I'm so proud of you, Uncle Lennix. You're growing up so fast," she said, her tone sounding surprisingly maternal. Lennix gaped at her words. "Am I that incompetent that I'm triggering the maternal instincts of an 8-year-old!?" he exclaimed in shame.
Clarissa, as usual, remained unfazed. She clapped her hands together slowly. "Good job, Master Lennix. You are the first man in the history of Aetheria to have accomplished this," she said emotionlessly. Lennix's expression turned from shame to indignation as he threw his hands up in exasperation. "That's not something I should be proud of!!!" he protested loudly.
Lennix walked with his body slumped over, feeling a bit defeated. "Whatever, at least I accomplished something for once," he muttered to himself, his tone taking a sudden shift.
"That's not true, man. It's because of you that we were able to win against Eirisse," said the black knight, trying to lift Lennix's spirits.
Lennix sighed. "I didn't do much other than get zapped, though. And I'm sure Cain would have been able to disable the ritual circle. He's a powerful caster, after all," he replied, downplaying his contribution.
Elanor was confused by what they were talking about and the sudden heavy tone of the conversation. "Master Lennix, do not put yourself down so much. If not for you asking for help from Guest Zee, Guest Larkin, and Guest Xain, Mistress Eirisse would have been able to execute her plan," Clarissa interjected, squinting at him.
"I mean, I guess that's true, but again, I didn't actually do anything of worth after that," replied Lennix, feeling a bit uncertain.
The black knight raised an eyebrow (not that anyone could actually see it). "Didn't you tell them where the ritual room was? And guide them to it?" he asked, pointing out Lennix's contributions.
Lennix scratched the back of his head, considering the point. "I guess I did do that," he admitted reluctantly.
Mari chimed in, her voice filled with gratitude. "And you saved me, Uncle Lennix! Auntie Eirisse would have eaten me if not for you!" she huffed.
Lennix muttered under his breath, "You're still calling her auntie?"
Elanor, feeling the need to contribute, tentatively raised his hand. "Um, you also saved me from that forgebear," he offered, his voice slightly shaky with embarrassment.
Lennix, always one for banter, couldn't resist teasing him. "Aw, did you feel left out?" he quipped, a playful smirk tugging at his lips.
Elanor's cheeks flushed bright red as he stammered, "I-I did not! I just felt like I had to say something."
Lennix, seemingly pondering something, put his hand to his chin and fixed an intense gaze on Elanor. "Wha-what is it?" Elanor asked, a sense of déjà vu nagging at him. *Why does it feel like this happened before?*
Nodding approvingly, Lennix remarked, "Could you blush again? Because you really look like a girl when you do." Elanor chose to ignore the comment, turning away from Lennix, who chuckled. The black knight shook his head at their banter, focusing on the road ahead as Treasurehold gradually came into view.
(Just so you know, Karin was here the entire time; she just didn't do or say anything.)