A few days later, Kenneth no longer saw Brox hanging around. The child, who usually preferred to spend time with Kenneth rather than his parents, left early in the morning and returned late at night. Kenneth, who was worried because Brox was still young, tried to talk about his worries with Matias and Amy, the child's parents. However, they asked Kenneth not to worry because no one in Celeste Village would dare to bother Brox.
Although everyone was not worried about what Brox did, for Kenneth, who shamelessly asked a small child to help him on a difficult mission, the prince couldn't stop worrying all the time. When Kenneth no longer had difficulty moving and making sure that the situation was safe, the prince finally sneaked out to look for Kenneth in Celeste Village. For the first time, Kenneth finally saw what Celeste Village was like. The man couldn't stop being surprised because the Celeste Village he had always thought of was so different from reality.
In other places, the border areas were always the poorest and most backward areas compared to other areas. However, in Celeste Village, Kenneth saw that even though the area did not have tall buildings like the capital, it was prosperous. Both children and adults could live comfortably in that place. As far as Kenneth could hear, he could only hear the sound of laughter and comfort that he rarely heard, even in the capital. The sight in front of him made Kenneth feel like he was living in a magical village where sadness never existed.
"Do you like this place, Prince?"
Kenneth's attention was diverted when someone asked while mentioning his real identity. Kenneth did not realize when the person approached him. But behind him, stood a man with white hair that showed his mature age. His calm eyes seemed to tell Kenneth that the man behind him had lived for a long time. But in front of Kenneth, he appeared as a dashing man who could still stand tall despite his old age.
"Ah, Master, why are you outside?"
From behind the mysterious man, Brox appeared and looked at Kenneth with a surprised expression. Kenneth unconsciously let out a sigh of relief when he saw that Brox did not seem to have done anything dangerous without people's knowledge. The prince was just about to answer Brox's question when the mysterious man who had been watching Kenneth nodded while showing a smile that was not warm but not unfriendly either.
"You look fine. Good. Now, I will answer all your questions."
The mysterious man spoke as if he knew what Kenneth wanted. Kenneth's gaze dropped to look at Brox, who was smiling widely. Kenneth also unconsciously smiled when he saw that smile. Brox, that brat, had managed to persuade someone to tell Kenneth the secret of Celeste Village.
"We can talk at my house. Brox, you can come too if you want."
"Hehe, thank you very much, Grandpa!"
Kenneth raised his eyebrows when Brox called the mysterious man his grandfather. The prince had no choice but to follow them, even though his mind was filled with questions. Along the way, Kenneth could see that the people of Celeste Village respected the mysterious man. From the attitude of the people towards him alone, Kenneth could already guess that the mysterious man had a position in that strange village.
"He's Grandpa Neil, the Chief of Celeste Village. Although he still looks dashing, he's almost a hundred years old."
"A hundred years old?!" Kenneth repeated in disbelief. Brox smiled when he saw the shocked expression on Kenneth's face. Since long ago, Brox had always enjoyed seeing the shocked expressions when people found out the age of the eternally youthful Celeste Village residents.
"Yup! He's an old man in the form of a middle-aged man," Brox confirmed. The boy smiled even wider when he saw Kenneth unable to recover from his shock. However, his smile immediately disappeared when Neil turned around and gave Brox a warning look.
"Yeah, well... even so, it's not like the villagers intentionally pretend to be young. The natives of Celeste Village do live longer than ordinary humans. That's why this village is also often called a magical village."
"I just found out there was such a fact about this village," Kenneth muttered in disbelief. He was so lost in his thoughts that Kenneth didn't realize that Brox had almost angered Neil by calling him an old man. A hundred years old was not an age that was too old for the people of Celeste Village. Calling someone an old man just because he was a hundred years old was like an insult to the villagers.
"It all happened because we received a blessing from the Audoran Forest. Now, we have arrived at my house. You may come in. I will have someone prepare some drinks for you."
Even though Neil was the village chief, his house was the same as the other villagers. The house was simple, but it looked comfortable to live in. Kenneth sat down next to Brox. The two of them waited until Neil sat down, then began their conversation.
"You said you wanted to enter Audoran Forest through a safe path, right? Well, such a path does exist. But do you know why only Celeste Village can pass through that path, despite the many people who have tried to invade Audoran Forest all this time?"
Kenneth thought about his answer, then spoke with a confident tone.
"I think it's because the entrance to the secret path is not visible around the Audoran Forest area. If I may guess... I think it's because the entrance is actually in Celeste Village's area."
Neil smiled because he was satisfied with Kenneth's answer. "That's right. The real entrance is in Celeste Village's area. Or rather, the entrance is right below us."
Kenneth looked at the floor and then dared to knock on the floor he was currently standing on. As he had expected, although faintly, Kenneth could feel that there was a large space beneath Neil's house. The large gap looked like a tunnel, which had always been a safe path for the people of Celeste Village to go to Audoran Forest.
"For hundreds of years, the Celeste Village Chief has always been in charge of securing this path. Anyone who enters must get the village chief's permission to go to Audoran Forest. Now, it's my turn to let you in. Your Highness, I allow you to use this path to go to Audoran Forest."
"However... why are you letting me use this path? Is it because I helped the Matias family before?" Kenneth asked in confusion. Kenneth couldn't believe that Neil would let him through just like that. Even if he helped the Matias family, such a gift felt too one-sided. The Celeste Villagers had given him a place to hide and heal. Even if Kenneth was looking for the secret path, the prince didn't believe he would find out without paying anything.
"We Celeste Villagers never forget the kindness that someone has given us. A promise is a promise. When you are ready, you can go through this secret path to arrive at Audoran Forest."
"Master, isn't this what you wanted? The village chief has permitted you. You don't have to be so polite anymore."
After being persuaded by Brox, Kenneth finally nodded slightly. That's right. No matter what the reason was, Kenneth couldn't ignore the tempting offer that Neil had given him.
"Give me a day to say goodbye and prepare everything. Tomorrow, I will come to this place again."
"Eh, you're leaving so soon?" Brox asked in disbelief. The boy did know that Kenneth had come for an important mission. However, as someone who had been attached to Kenneth for the past few weeks, the boy was not very prepared when Kenneth said he would leave tomorrow. His excited face faded a little. Brox frowned, seeming no longer eager to hear what Kenneth was going to do.
"Don't worry. When everything is done, I will come back to this place again," Kenneth told him. Brox's gloomy face immediately brightened up because of that. Because Brox didn't know that what Kenneth was going to do was something dangerous, the boy took Kenneth's promise to heart.
"You had promised! Don't worry. I, Brox, will continue to grow stronger so that you won't recognize me anymore when you return to this place!"
Kenneth nodded, although his heart was a little sad for the innocent child. Even he was not sure he could complete his mission alive. However, when faced with Brox's hopeful face, Kenneth couldn't help but lie for the child's sake.
Kenneth got up from his sitting position and then bowed to Neil, who was sitting in front of him. "Thank you very much, Chief. Then, I will return immediately to prepare everything."
Neil nodded and waved his hand. "Alright. You can take that child too. My head hurts because he keeps bothering me," Neil complained.
"That happened because you didn't want to grant my wish!" Brox replied in disapproval. Kenneth saw that Brox seemed like he would continue to grumble if he didn't stop him immediately. The prince's hand reached out to cover Brox's mouth while he once again smiled at Neil, who smiled in satisfaction at Kenneth's initiative.
"Alright. We'll go now, Chief. See you later."
"See you later. Remember to leave that chatty kid at home when you come back tomorrow."
After Neil finished speaking, Kenneth quickly dragged Brox out before the kid got upset again when Neil called him a chatty kid. At first, Kenneth thought that Neil was a serious leader type. However, when Kenneth accidentally saw Neil's mocking smile, he felt that he had to rethink his judgment of the man.