The coachman was sitting on the edge of the carriage, taking a smoke break. When he noticed a ragged little beggar before him, he was momentarily stunned.
"The Elk Empire? Ah, you mean the magnificent empire standing in the southeast desert? The Saint Grace Royal Academy is in its capital, the City of Windblown Sand. That's a tough journey from here."
The little beggar didn't leave. He stood still in front of the coachman and asked again,
"How much time is needed if on foot?"
The coachman laughed out loud upon hearing the little beggar's question of going to Windblown Sand City. He found it so funny that he laughed exaggeratedly, holding his belly, and even started coughing from the smoke.
"Hahaha. You fool, thinking of walking there? Do you know how far the City of Windblown Sand is from here? If you could get a ticket in Kuwait Town for the magical train to the border of the Elk Empire, then maybe, but then crossing the 'Sea of Death' desert would kill a naive fool like you a thousand times! Walk there? It would take years! Hahaha!"
The coachman laughed again, clutching his stomach. In this freezing weather, listening to someone's foolish words was the best entertainment. He exhaled the smoke and looked down to mock the little beggar once more…
However, the beggar was no longer there since he knew where to go.
...
Among the crowd, the little beggar walked on silently.
"Boy, you want to go to the Deer Empire? Why?!"
The Blood Eye suddenly opened wide, staring at the little beggar fiercely.
The beggar didn't answer; he just looked at the baby girl in his arms. Feeling his gaze, the baby smiled happily, seeming quite spirited.
"…"
"Tch, Idiot, I realize it's really tiring to talk to you. Forget it! I don't care what you want to do. The nonsense in your 'foolish' head will surely annoy me."
"…"
"Tch, a boring idiot."
With a huff, The Blood Eye closed again, stopping the conversation.
Ten minutes later…
"It's strange, you little one."
After a brief silence, the sword seemed unable to stay quiet and opened again, looking at the little beggar confusedly.
"I say, I called you a fool, and you didn't react at all? Even when those soldiers and the coachman called you a fool, I didn't feel any negative emotion from you?"
The little beggar glanced at it, his eyes still cold as frost.
"Do you really not get angry at all? Why?"
" But… Why should I get angry."
At that response, The devil's Blood Eye seemed suddenly intrigued and asked.
"Isn't it obvious? 'idiot' is an insulting word. They are cursing, demeaning, and despising you for no reason. I understand that to achieve a goal, one can endure such insults. But one's pride and dignity should not allow others to call you a fool or idiot all the time. Moreover, you are not a fool. You have wisdom, the evilest one."
"…So what?"
"So? They're insulting your dignity, demeaning your character. Don't you get a bit angry?"
"Dignity can't be eaten as food."
The simple reply from the little beggar made The Blood Pupil widen in shock, having heard an unexpected answer. But soon, its surprised bloody eye slowly narrowed, revealing a cunning look.
"I see, dignity can't be eaten, and character doesn't buy any sustenance. Now I know that as long as you can survive, you don't care about your dignity or character at all."
"... A beggar with dignity and pride will die soon."
"Alright, A gutter rat never needs respect from others, right? Hey, I have a good idea. You said you don't have a name, right?"
The passersby slowly dispersed at each crossroad, and the soft snow on the ground turned into hard ice. With each step, it crunched underfoot.
The bloody pupil widened with excitement and scoff, staring at the face that blended into the cold world.
"Well then, your name from then on is 'idiot.' Good name, right? Hahahaha! Mr idiot do you like your name 'idiot'? Do you feel the name 'idiot' makes people think you the idiot much more idiot, idiot?
The little beggar didn't respond with any reaction or words; just kept holding the baby girl and heading for his road, but the sword kept its self-talking excitedly and sneering insanely.
"Hahaha...hahahaha~! Now why don't you kneel down immediately and thank me with tears of gratitude for giving you such a wonderful name? "
The sword continued with no one focused on it in a freezing world.
"It really makes me jealous that you have such a good name. It genuinely makes even the most powerful demon jealous. Hahahahahaha! I will also give myself a new name for fairness and justice~ "
"I'm really tired of my old name. Just let it fade with my little mistake in the last era. Hahaha! Uh-huh~how about the 'Blood Extinguisher' to welcome this era's battles? It shall mark the start of a thrilling feast of slaughter in this era to extinguish all enemies' blood from bodies. Maybe later babies won't be noisy and naughty anymore after they hear the name."
The beggar just felt that the old sword's mumbling was so annoying that it gave him a headache.
...
The cold wind swept all the time as the sun rose and set, passing over the Continent of Sorrow.
In the distant south, perhaps the gentle warmth of spring had already begun to caress people's faces, bringing them a warm climate, cozy green grass, and rivers breaking free from ice.
But here, in the far northwest. Snow was still the main theme, drifting down, deceiving the starving with its beautiful dangers, and consuming their lives.
The little beggar walked in silence. No, he now had a name, so he could not be called "the little beggar" any longer. The child, given the name "Idiot" by the Sword of the Demon Emperor, Oh sorry, he claimed himself as the Blood Extinguisher from then on, had been trekking through the barren icy lands of the northwest for five days with a baby girl in his arms.
Maybe, the Blood Extinguisher wasn't wrong in naming him at that moment. Making the long journey from the ice-covered border city of Senag to the desert empire in the southeast genuinely seemed like a fool's fantasy. But he had indeed set out on this seemingly endless journey...
...