It was already 8:00 PM, and like the day before, he left the ants to continue their digging work while he accompanied the other dwarves to their village.
The dwarf Finerg, always very polite, invited him again and took him to his house. Once more, he prepared a large enough tub with hot water for little Joe's bath.
Afterward, he served a good meal to his guest, and they talked for two hours until the dwarf Finerg said goodnight and went to sleep.
The boy, however, remembered Ylsean's diary that was inside the suitcase, well-protected. He kept the rustic lamp on and, opening it to the marked page, began to read.
**Ylsean's Diary**
'Finally, Miau Lee, getting even closer, fixed her gaze on me and asked:
"Do you trust me, Miss Ylsean?"
I didn't know how to answer, while she pointed at a soldier, and he approached me, politely asking me to leave that rustic throne. Miau Lee stepped back five meters and, without even looking at the chair, threw one of her knives, which landed just inches from the soldier's head. After that, he stood up, bowed his head to Ylsean, and returned to his place.
"Do you like me, Miss Ylsean?"
Again, a soldier approached the large chair and sat down. It wasn't the same one, but that didn't seem to matter to Miau Lee, who took a few more steps back. Standing about eight meters away, her hand moved too quickly, and two knives flew almost simultaneously, narrowly missing the soldier's body and embedding in the backrest of the rustic throne.
The soldier stood up, came to Ylsean's presence, bowed to her, and returned to his place.
"Do you have something against me, Miss Ylsean, and want to talk about it?"
Meanwhile, Miau Lee took three long steps forward, distancing herself from the chair, now about ten meters away. This time, it was my brother Dimmy who seemed to be acting impulsively, for he went to sit in that courage-testing place, the rustic throne.
I froze and wanted to stop him, but I wasn't fast enough, because, once again, with incredible agility, Miau Lee threw three knives in my brother's direction, embedding them in the wood just inches from his face.
My brother, looking at the knives that had almost hit him, only smiled, hurried over to where Ylsean was, and praised her aim. He seemed unaware of the unnecessary risk of death he had just faced.
"Do you trust me, Miss Ylsean?"
This time, I looked desperately at the rustic throne to see who would serve as the target. Deep inside, I knew, but I was shocked. My legs weakened and trembled so much that I almost fell to the ground, because it was my father, Baron Roderick himself, who would personally sit in that dreadful chair.
I screamed with all my might:
"No, father! You can't do this! You are the pillar of our barony, the inspiration of our people. And you're also my father, whom I love so much!"
Without caring who was watching, I broke into tears, and only my sobs could be heard.
At that moment, I realized that my father discreetly wiped away a tear from his face with the tip of his finger. Meanwhile, Miau Lee, serious and defiant, turned to me and asked again:
"Do you trust me, Miss Ylsean?"
"Then, in that moment, I understood the message my father wanted to convey to me. My fear made me quickly and concisely analyze everything. I realized that this was a moment where I had to take a stand in the face of my fear and surprise my father and everyone present. My goal wasn't just to position myself as a rebel or a last-minute brave soul, but to create such a strong bond with that fateful moment that no one would ever again doubt my judgment. From then on, I would be, until my death, second in command in my father's barony... without anyone questioning it."
Once again, he fell asleep clutching the diary tightly.
It wasn't even 7:00 AM when the dwarf Finerg woke him up and, afterward, served him a piece of dry bread with some kind of juice, different from the flavor of the previous day, but still, he couldn't identify the pleasant taste. He felt sorry for Finerg, always lonely and with little food in the house, but who welcomed him warmly and treated him with the best he had, always.
"Mr. Finerg, I have something to ask you, and I'm sorry if I'm being too intrusive, but would you be willing to leave here?"
The dwarf wanted to respond, but suddenly tears filled his eyes.
"Forgive me, young one, but I cannot leave here, for I am waiting for my wife, just as many other dwarves are waiting for the return of their wives and children."
"Alright. I won't speak of it anymore."
"Say whatever you want, young one. Who else do I have to talk to if not you?"
"Do you really think they'll release your wife and children?"
"I don't even know what to say, but even though I think they won't return, I'd rather just believe they will."
"And what if I help you? I think we've got a good chance of success."
"Well, young one, I would follow you, but as for my dwarf brothers, I'm not sure."
Joe remained silent, putting Ylsean's diary back in his small suitcase after wrapping it up. Then, together, he and the dwarf Finerg set off once again to where the ants were, which had worked all night.
[System Alert! Detection of intelligence increase in π§ +0.50%! Now you, the Florida ant, and the micro-screen worker ants can communicate 75% intelligibly. Your intelligence level is now Lv 2, 15%. π§ ]
The sudden alert almost made little Joe trip over the dwarf Finerg, who caught him to keep him from falling.
"Sorry about that, Mr. Finerg."
"Don't worry, Mr. Joe. It's a pleasure to be able to help you with anything."
Moving a little away from the dwarf, little Joe headed for the tunnel, which was lit by large lamps.
"Since you made all this fuss, Per Joe, give me the XPs result for the ants:"
**Healer Ant** = 1 unit.Β
π¦ Level 0.1 / ππΏ 1.1 / ββ 1 per hour. / πΆβ = 72 XPs
**Worker Ants** = 125 units.Β
π Level 0.1 / π€ 00.1+ / ββ 1.10 per hour x 12 hours = 13.2 XPs x 124 ants = 1636.80 XPs π
**Excavator Ants** = 26 units.Β
π Level 0.1 / π€ 1.0 / ββ 11.0 per hour x 12 hours = 132 XPs x 26 ants = 3432 XPs π
**Queen** π Level 2.Β
π€ 5.4 / β 3.3 per hour x 12 hours = 39.6 / π β + 10% thousand ants = 215.1 XPs
**Total XPs earned from the screen ants' efforts** = 5355.9 XPs.
Little Joe's eyes widened:
"Wow! I think I'm rich!"
[Don't forget that these aren't coins.]
Warned Per Joe.
"Oh, whatever, you killjoy! But next time, just give me the summary. This is too much to read, ok, Per Joe?"
[Affirmative. Next time, the total will be summarized.]"