New Home

After thinking everything through, Blake changed his promised compensation for the house to a villa with a small courtyard from the Duke’s estate.

Property in the Royal Capital was worth tens of thousands of gold coins at the very least.

Aila was surprised as she watched Blake solemnly hand over a key and a gold card. She had initially thought the brown-haired young man was just a brainless playboy, but he turned out to be surprisingly sensible.

“I don't need this compensation; I don't live in the Royal Capital that often anyway. Here! Catch!”

Aila only kept the card containing the thousand gold coins and casually tossed the key to Midir.

Midir, in turn, solemnly handed the key to Rosal, stating, “The house was hers. If there’s to be compensation, she should be the one to receive it.”

Rosal stared at the key in her hand in shock. It took a long moment before she realized that the value represented by this key likely far exceeded the savings from her entire career as an adventurer—it was enough for her to live a life of luxury in the capital.

This unexpected surprise almost sent the young girl’s mind reeling. Even as they stood before the gates of the new residence, she was still muttering to herself repeatedly.

“Rosal is a wealthy lady now!”

While the residence Blake provided as compensation was not in the heart of the inner city and the surrounding facilities were not as convenient as her old home, the interior space alone was several times larger than Rosal’s cottage. Not to mention the perfectly sized courtyard, which spanned over two mu.

Once Rosal realized the value of the land, her recently calmed mind went into a state of total shutdown once again.

Looking around, the area was much quieter than her previous neighborhood, lacking the urban bustle. Midir was satisfied with this and nodded slightly.

Ignoring Aila, who was still looking around, and Rosal, who had yet to snap out of it, he directly chose a room near the street as his quarters and brought out his luggage.

Calling it luggage was a bit of a stretch; it was merely the few personal items Midir owned—a few sets of clothes brought from Taro Village. He rarely wore them, however, preferring the coat woven from various elements.

The garment was unexpectedly durable, but creating it had been exceptionally difficult. Midir wasn't entirely sure what state of mind he had been in when he crafted it, and now, even if he wanted to, he couldn't replicate another one.

Aside from a money pouch tossed into his storage space, the only other thing he had was the replica of the Magic Intelligence Book titled 《Carlos's Great Journey》.

He lay on the bed and flipped through the book for a while, but he still couldn't glean any of the knowledge he desired from it.

When he closed the book and walked out of the room, he found that Blake had quietly departed, leaving word that he would return tomorrow.

In the living room, Rosal sat beside Aila, humbly asking her various questions.

“Aila, have you seen this book before? More specifically, I mean the original version.”

Midir walked softly to the two women and handed over the book.

Aila took the thick volume and examined it carefully for a while before returning it to Midir with a look of confusion.

“Huh? The title sounds familiar. I think I heard someone mention it in a story when I was little? But it’s been too long, and I can't remember clearly... I can check for you when I go home, though. I have seen the material of the stones on the cover; it should be something called Time Crystal produced by the dwarves. It doesn't have any special effects; it’s just pretty and relatively rare.”

“Is that so? It makes sense for a Magic Intelligence Book made by dwarves to be inlaid with gems from their own lands, but... something still feels off.”

Midir took the book back and returned it to his storage space, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

“Oh, Mr. Midir, could I trouble you to take out the luggage you brought from my house? Why don't we tidy up the place a bit?”

“Oh, sure.”

Midir’s train of thought was interrupted by the girl’s reminder. He only then remembered that before they left, he had swept all of Rosal’s belongings from the cottage into his space to save them the trouble of moving everything back and forth.

With a thought, the circular space began to spit out the items it had swallowed one by one, stacking them neatly on the floor.

Items clattered onto the living room floor in succession. Suddenly, a massive two-handed sword fell from the air, catching Aila’s eye.

“Rosal, is this your weapon?”

Aila bent down and picked up the refined steel greatsword. For her, lifting such weight was effortless, but the sword was nearly as tall as her own statuesque frame, which piqued her curiosity.

“That’s right! That’s my weapon. It cost me several gold coins back then. It wasn't made by a master, but it’s been with me for several years!” Rosal took the greatsword and slung it diagonally across her back to show them.

“Have you ever thought about using a lighter weapon? This greatsword doesn't seem to suit you very well.” Aila spoke with a hint of exasperation, looking at the sword whose tip nearly touched the floor while the hilt stood taller than Rosal’s petite frame.

“But greatswords are majestic and powerful, aren't they, Mr. Midir?”

Rosal turned to ask Midir, who was clearing a path through the clutter around him.

“I’ve never used one, so I wouldn't know. You could describe your thoughts in more detail, Rosal. For instance... why do you think greatswords are strong?” Midir replied neutrally.

Seeing that Aila was also listening with interest, Rosal began to vividly describe an event she had experienced years ago.

Rosal was born into an ordinary merchant family. After years of hard work and saving, the family had finally bought a property in the inner city of Lionheart City. However, during a long journey, their carriage was attacked by a pack of magical beasts.

The sudden appearance of the magical beasts was far beyond their expectations. Even the hired adventurers were brutally killed after a fierce resistance. For Rosal’s family, who had no combat ability, escaping the pursuit of the magical beasts was almost impossible.

Witnessing her parents fall before her, covered in blood, the young Rosal was completely overcome by fear. Even the strength to stand was stolen from her, leaving her with nothing but silent tears.

Just as Rosal thought she was about to be swallowed whole by the giant beast in front of her, a streak of purple light flashed across her darkened eyes.

A burly figure carrying a giant purple two-handed sword appeared before her like a god from the heavens. Amidst the glow of purple lightning, he reduced the beast that had driven her to despair into ashes. To Rosal, the man’s fiery red hair was as dazzling as a flame ignited in the dark of night.

The image of that red-haired back was deeply seared into Rosal’s young heart. The shock of being reborn from the brink of death exhausted all her strength and left an indelible mark in the depths of her soul.

She only remembered seeing a large gold-red bird circling down beside her before she fainted, its melodious cry seemingly soothing her with gentleness.

When Rosal opened her eyes again, she found herself lying on the edge of the Royal Capital’s outer city, with a few simple pieces of luggage placed beside her.

After that, Rosal registered as an adventurer and lived in the cottage her parents had left behind. As time passed, the life of an adventurer changed her much, but the heroic figure carrying the giant purple sword remained deeply etched in her memory.

It was a feeling she found hard to describe—it felt like destiny.