The white petals were blown away by the wind and merged with the morning sun in the clear blue sky after a heavy downpour. One of them touched and caught in Leti's fluffy pale pink hair, who hesitated with her forefinger as she touched a gleaming white armour...
"Knight-san"
"Do you have any meat left.. ?" Leti whispered softly into Leon's ear, the sound of her hungry stomach making her face flush.
"Meat?" Leon looked at Leti, but was awkward by the act of hugging her stomach. He turned and laughed softly, "It seems I have some left."
Saying that, Leon stopped, rummaged through the old cloth bag, the Museum of Space, and pulled out the firm, bright red flesh. He tied a rope to it and hung it carefully from a nearby branch.
"Let's see... 1..2.."
"Hmm. There are about six pieces of beef and a few loins from the boars we hunted yesterday..." Leon said, not paying attention to Leti's bright eyes looking at him.Ponpon, who had been snorting nearby, ran back at the smell of fresh meat, curled up in a ball of cotton and hid behind Leti to hide his drooling.
"Ponpon, where are you going?"
A cat-eared girl ran past, and then the children appeared out of nowhere and rushed towards his. Most of them jumped up and threw themselves into Ponpon's soft fur, trying to struggle and hug this "extremely high-quality pillow".
The fox, however, was still looking at the big hunks of meat hanging next to Leon, his little legs wiggling uncontrollably as if he were about to leap at them for immediate enjoyment.
"Pon-chan, what are you looking at..." the children's mouths swelled like a round ball, expressing their jealousy at not seeing Ponpon playing with them as lovingly as before. That was until they turned their eyes to Leon, who was having a little conversation with Leti about meat and lunch.
"Knight-sama"
Little hugs appeared from behind Leon, temporarily distracting him.
"Knight-sama, we're so hungry."
"Knight-sama, can you exchange these sweets for them?"
"Knight-sama..."
"You?" Leon's eyes collided with the twinkling eyes of the children. They lined up in horizontal rows, holding spherical sweets wrapped in brightly coloured paper in front of him.
"Knight-sama, our stomachs..." (Stomach growling sound)
"Okay, let's take a break for lunch" Leon smiled, rubbed his head and hugged the children.
"Yes"
The cat-eared girl pulled Ponpon's hand and ran to Leon's side, her legs jumping up and down happily and her little shaking tail looking very cute. She and Ponpon began to dance funny, strange dances that Leon had never seen before, but from the look on their faces it was possible to roughly guess the message: "What a kind knight!"
"I will honour you as the new captain of Arthen's army..."
"Hey, no..."
"I am currently the captain"
"..."
The boys' joyous bickering echoed through the forest, drowning out the chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves as they danced to the free dance of each gentle seasonal breeze.
After a few times when the sun was covered by white clouds, when the children had done some hide and seek games, Leon noticed that Leti's shadow disappeared.
"Where has Leti gone ?"
"Knight-san, Leti's tinkering with Ponpon over there, they've been there for a while" Noir said from behind Leon, describing a large tree stump that had dried out to the point of cracking, with a large depression in it that looked perfect for a campfire.
"Thanks!"
Leon turned his back and walked over to Noir pointing.
"Leti-san, you..." Leon was about to ask Leti for a barbecue, but soon realised that his thoughts were superfluous.
"I forgot..." Leon sighed, Ponpon and Leti standing in front of him. They were both sitting there, inhaling the aroma of the beef that was evenly roasting in the light blue flame.
"Knight-san, the meat is cooked" Leti hugged Ponpon, trying to curb her clumsy appetite. But with an empty stomach, she still stared at the grill, dizzy as the burn marks mingled with the ingredients in each firm piece of meat.
"Again..."
"Hurry up and get the kids over here."
"How can she grill meat so fast, not to mention that these pieces of meat weigh up to half a quintal..." Leon called the children back while he thought to himself...
___
Leon looked at the image of Leti fighting with Ponpon over a piece of beef, surrounded by beaming children cheering excitedly, he smiled and then turned around, many thoughts popping into his head.
"According to the Appraisal, this fox is probably a spirit beast, a creature closely related to the ancient epic legends of this world"
"Hah, what if Ponpon accidentally finds out that he is a monster while sitting down to eat?" Leon sighed, glad that he had found a good reason not to sit down to eat with everyone. After all, a dry skeleton like him doesn't need to be eaten to maintain his physical strength.
Thinking like that, Leon was much more relaxed. His soft and agile steps continued towards a nearby tree.
"I hope that won't happen"
"Rustling sound" the dry foliage on the top of the tree fell through the mischief of the wind. Above, the sky was clear blue with white clouds like giant blankets, and the occasional bird's wing flew by.
"Don't know when I came to Noir's village..."
A few small butterflies fluttered in the wind and landed on Leon, covering his white armour with a colourful cloth.
"Does this armour attract too much attention?"
Leon looked at himself through a nearby pool of crystal clear water and sighed again, his feet still walking steadily through the lush green grass that was half his height.
"Rumble" Leon stumbled over a small moss-covered rock in front of him, the impact of which caused some of the rainwater left on the hollow of the tree to fall on him.
"…"
◇
"Melina, no..."
"Melina-sama!" Harold approached Melina, holding two glasses of red wine from a bottle he had brought with him. Its enchanting aroma attracted countless envious glances from the young ladies standing around, enough to see how old and valuable the bottle was.
Harold is currently a Prince of the Empire and will soon become a monarch. He has a tall, handsome body, black hair with a touch of silver. He has a pair of purple eyes, buttons that are always open to the chest, and a style of speech that is full of authority. It can be said that Harold is the ideal target for the ladies of the aristocracy who are hungry for power.
"Harold-sama, can you just call me Melin ?" Melina in a white dress took the wine glass from Harold's hand, she smiled.
"No..."
"How can I address the new lady saint of the central church like that..."
"If I called you that and were heard" Harold laughed, "Queen Dorothea-sama will cut off my tongue."
"Don't joke."
"moo.."
"Melina-sama, isn't today your premiere party?"
"The maid is right, you should get used to this kind of call" Harold said to Melina.
"Keeng..." Harold lifted his wine glass and took a sip. The wonderful taste made him happy, "A fine bottle of wine that's 300 years old, it will make you more beautiful and stronger, Melina-sama."
"Thank you" Melina reluctantly took a sip of the wine.
"Hmm" Harold smiled, looking at the curves of Melina's body, looking quite amused.
"Harold-sama, why are you bothering Melina-sama?" A noble girl in a red dress walked over, clasped Harold's arm tightly and stared at him. She seems to have been watching Harold's actions intently for a long time as a few paintings of him fell randomly to the ground. Her name is Carla Vampirees, the daughter of the Duke of Vampeer, one of the four wealthiest merchant families on the continent.
"Carla, you should stop. This is not in your house."
"Hmm, Am not I your wife?" The young lady gripped Harold's biceps even tighter.
"Let go of my hand quickly !" Harold nudged lightly, causing Carla to fall to the floor.
"This is her debut party, not yours."
"Harold-sama, you..." Carla stopped herself, glaring at Melina with a hateful look.
She staggered to her feet in front of the stares and discussions of the people standing around.
"Don't tell me you forgot the contract.."
"Don't mention it here..." Harold clicked his tongue. He remembered the last Imperial Ball, when Rudes, his father and current monarch, had been publicly engaged to the merchant family of Vampirees before his very eyes, without consulting him.
Harold himself did not expect that his father had ruthlessly 'sold' him to the Duke of Vampeer's daughter, Carla, simply because of a very dirty black ring found in the ruins of Hiller. She was no ordinary lady, but a cunning, cruel lady who would stop at nothing to take what she thought was hers.
Noticing that the atmosphere was becoming tense, Label stood in front of Melina:
"I'm sorry, Harold-sama, Carla-sama. Princess Melina is about to speak, so we ask permission to go first."
Saying that, Label pulled Melina's hand, who seemed to be drunk, and hid out of the area as fast as she could. Melina's face was getting redder and redder, her body was hot and she seemed unconscious.
The glass of wine that had been drunk was almost halfway across the table, and when it looked like it was about to fall, Carla approached:
"Harold-sama, why do you have to give rare wine to someone who doesn't know how to enjoy it like her?" Carla took the wine glass and immediately changed her voice.
"Carla, I repeat" Harold glowered, "Speak carefully!"
"Why are you defending her. What's more about her than me, wealth, beauty or power?"
"You should remember that more than half the merchants of the Holy Kingdom are in my father's hands."
"Or are you interested in her ?"
"It's not yours... Keep away from me." Harold said angrily, the glass in his hand shattering to pieces.
As Harold gritted his teeth, his hands were full of red veins, but Carla was not trembling at all, on the contrary, she was even more excited. She approached him and whispered:
"You probably haven't heard that your father has a son of his own."
"Huh" Harold was stunned, his face began to turn pale.
"Harold, don't make me say this again." Carla said, "if you want to be king, then you must be my husband."
"If not" Carla glared, "Tomorrow, you will become a .."
"Real"
"Sla...ve "
Carla looked at the Imperial Prince's panicked face and poured the glass of wine on the floor. Immediately afterwards she threw the glass away, ignoring everyone's stares.
"Don't try to get away from me" Carla muttered, her hand caressing Harold's stiff chest.
Harold broke into a cold, hateful sweat and looked at Carla. He wanted to pounce on her, but he couldn't.
"Harold-sama, if you want more information about this, come to my room tonight."
"I will receive you very carefully!"
Carla didn't wait for Harold to answer and immediately left with an entourage of girls in thin silk armour, their eyes bullet-shaped and their bodies always in a fighting posture. They were, in fact, highly skilled mercenaries, bought by her father, Duke Vampeer, to protect and serve her.
Carla didn't care that she was still in the party, she kicked the door and stomped out, heading for her room.
Đi một đoạn ngắn, Carla dừng bước.
"With this, make that stupid lady saint so humiliate " Carla took out a packet of fine white powdered medicine made from a powerful hallucinogenic and addictive plant. This is also the drug her father is working on, but with jealousy and selfishness, Carla intends to turn Melina into a farce and ruin the girl's life.
"Lusis, the construction and direction of this "drama" will be entrusted to you," the packet of powder was thrown into the hand of a blue-haired girl standing nearby.
"Remember to be careful this time, otherwise your brother..."
"Don't expect to see him again." Carla threatened, grabbing Lusis by the collar.
"Yes..."
Lusis took a deep breath and walked quietly away from Carla's disgusted gaze.
"And you, Eir."
"Watch closely and report back to me on Harold's actions."
"Yes" The girl called Eir knelt on one leg.
"Especially if any young lady dares to come near Harold..." Carla's eyes grew sharp and she clenched her palms.
"Drag her to me."
"Yes" The girl stood up, turned and disappeared in an instant, leaving Carla with a terrifying smile in the hazy space of the red carpeted corridor, with only the bright moonlight outside.
Carla walked deeper into the darkness of the corridor, where the light was gradually overwhelmed by the darkness. As she walked, she eagerly watched Harold's image clearly engraved on the rare red diamond hanging from her neck, which was emitting a ghostly but extremely attractive red glow.
"Harold-sama!"
Carla gripped the diamond tightly: "If this Carla doesn't have you..."
"No one will have you..."
...
◇
(rustling sound)
(rustle)
"This is..."
Leon touched the top of a young leaf of a small sprout growing in the dense grass. He quickly discovered that it was an herb, and the most important one for making healing potions.
"They grow too much..."
"Or me..." Leon stopped, he sat down and tried to cut off the herbs, but still a little hesitant.
"There's still a lot of money I took from those bandits," Leon said to himself, pulling out a frayed brown cloth bag filled with shiny gold coins from the Space Museum.
"Just take some, it's not superfluous !"
Gabul's head suddenly rose in front of him, startling Leon, and he fell backwards, almost knocking the gold coins to the floor:
"Don't appear so suddenly again, do you want to threaten me to death?"
"Huh, it's just that you're weak."
Saying that, Gabul's whole body stood up.
"Gabul, you... What's wrong with you?" Leon didn't seem to believe his eyes.
"Has something happened to you?"
Leon was worried about the armour, which was so hot that it was melting and sticking to Gabul's body. In addition, most of his bones are in a state of fracture, forming sharp spikes.
"I ?" Gabul sighed, "my original body was burned by the magic of a high angel."
"Angel?"
"Yes," Gabul lay down, "why should a creature born of holy power like me be punished by the angels?"
"Can the eyes of angels discern the magical power cores of all creatures? Not to mention the fact that they appear naturally here".
"What is the reason?"
"Slow down, aren't you a bone horse?"
"Of course not" Gabul suddenly looked irritated at Leon, he changed his voice reproachfully, "it's all because of your Lich identity..."
"Me and the holy sword will have to change shape to fit someone like you."
"Isn't it possible that the Bone would ask to ride a horse with flesh and skin, it sounds ridiculous!"
"I'm sorry" Leon put down his coin purse and sat down, his hand touching Gabul's body.
"Fortunately, thanks to your ability to heal, I am still alive..."
Gabul hit Leon's chest with his head:
"Wait"
"Or is it that my profession and my magical power have been affected by you?" Gabul, as if he had just thought of something, hurriedly asked the question, "Could it be that your magical power core has contaminated me?"
"Come on! Don't blame me..."
"If you want to be authentic, just open your status board."
Leon hesitated: "That's it..."
"I'm afraid I can't do it now !"
"?"
...
"Knight-sama"
"The green leafs on your hand is..."
"Neechan, it's an herb whose main purpose is to make potions" Noir ran to Leon, who was struggling with complicated thoughts in his head. He was absorbed in walking, not paying attention to a large stone just in front of the toe of his shoe.
"Rumble"
Leon fell, the white armour on his body quickly covered in dirt. Fortunately, the bag of herbs in his hand was held tightly enough to keep it from falling off, but there was also a small tear in the outer wall.
"Are you okay, Knight-san?"
Leti rushed over, quickly helping Leon to sit up and controlling a small puddle nearby to wash away the dust on his body.
"You have to pay attention to the road" Leti pouted.
"Sorry, it's just me..." Leon looked confused, trying to avoid the worried look on Leti's rosy face.
"Oh..no" Leon said loudly, putting his hands on the floor and limping to his feet. Leaning forward, the mouth of the cloth bag fell on some herbs mixed with the cotton balls on the ground.
"Don't try to hide me" Leti became serious, running over and staring at Leon's dusty face, "Knight-san, what happened to you at the end?"
"Or where are you hurt?" Leti touched Leon's armour-covered arm, "You have pain here?"
"Or here?"
"Take off your armour quickly" Leti urged.
"Thank you. I'm really fine!"
Leon waved his hand, trying to change the subject to sewing the tear in the herbal cloth bag where the cotton was protruding, but met Leti's angry gaze. She didn't care what he was talking about, she was determined to find out about the wounds she thought were affecting his body.
"If the wound is not bandaged, it will affect your life!"
"I.."
"Ponchan, going here to hold the knight to help me!" Leti waved to Ponpon, the fox with a full belly, curled up in a ball of wool, lying in the sun with the children.
"I'm really fine."
"No..."
Leti quickly used her lock to hold Leon's body, but she couldn't. It was his ingenuity, the speed with which he handled the situation and his strength that surprised her:
"Knight-san, you really are quite good..."
Just as Leon was about to step back and run away, Ponpon suddenly hugged him and his face was pressed against the fox's soft fur. Chains appeared from the ground and bound him to this super-soft cotton pillow. Ponpon leaned back, the bodies of Leon and Leti lying above him. She touched a small joint of the armour with her hand and pulled it out.
"Knight-san, I'll heal you!"
◇
Leon did't know how many green fields he had passed, how many streets filled with colourful flowers, but at the sky, the sun has become a huge red ball, the light gradually fading to make way for the night.
"Noir-chan, that's..."
"Yes, that's my village." Saying that, Noir ran quickly towards the sunflower field in front of him, calling the name of a middle-aged man who was harvesting sunflower seeds nearby.
"Noir-chan!" The man was surprised, he let go of the cloth bag in his hand, "Where have you been these past few days?"
"Do you know that everyone is worried about you?" The sack of seeds fell to the ground.
"Yes, I..." The little girl choked up, her eyes filled with tears, "I'm sorry!"
"I'm really sorry..."
...
The tiled roofs were even redder in the late summer sunset. But not long after, waves of dark clouds rolled in, and rain poured down like a waterfall, flooding a low valley around them.
In an oak room with a glass door faded by heavy raindrops, Leti was sipping a cup of warm tea when she was startled by the creaking of the door.
"Leti-san, where have the children gone?"
Leon walked in with an umbrella in his hand, a large room behind him decorated to look like a traditional garden, with soaring stone pillars, dimly lit under the foliage of cherry trees and a small fish pond. They were protected by a magical barrier to keep the rain out.
"Children..."
"They're going to bed" Leti picked up the teacup and didn't look back at Leon.
"Leti-san, about the curse.."
"I'm really sorry I didn't tell you before."
After waiting a while without hearing from Leti, Leon quietly closed the door, stumbled over the rain-eroded stones and made his way to his room. When he was thinking about the way the villagers looked at him, he met the head of the village, a benevolent woman with a face full of age spots wearing an old Japanese kimono.
"Knight-sama"
"Thank you for keeping Noir safe" The woman leaned forward to Leon's surprise, two long rows of tears making him very awkward.
"I..."
"She's my only remaining relative. Her parents died in a landslide some years ago." The woman choked up, telling the story of Noir's past while expressing deep gratitude as she placed a long cloth bag wrapped in something very hard in his hand.
"Chief, this is..."
"This is a sword made by my grandfather" The woman touched the cloth, causing the weapon wrapped within it to radiate heat and burn the outer wrapping.
To Leon's surprise, a large black sword gradually appeared.
"Please take it." The village chief looked at him and then at the sword, "..."
◇