The commercial district.
Lin Gui cast Levitation, trailing a line of swaying wooden crates tied together with straw ropes behind him.
They were packed to the brim with the supplies he had just purchased.
He squeezed through the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds in the commercial district, surrounded by a boisterous festive atmosphere.
Streamers and banners advertising sales hung across every shopfront:
“Blessing of the Saintess, ten percent off storewide!”
“Celebrate the Eternal Royal Capital, buy one get one free!”
Joyous crowds flooded the streets, a mixture of alcohol, the aroma of food, and sweat filling the air.
Everyone wore expressions of ecstatic relief, celebrating their survival.
Lin Gui was jostled by the crowd, struggling to make headway.
He still had to buy those ridiculous novels for Theia.
Following the vague address written on Theia's slip of paper, he turned into a slightly quieter alleyway.
Deep inside the alley, a shop sign depicted a book and a quill, bearing the name “Ink Fragrance and Dragon Scale Bookstore.”
Pushing open the heavy wooden door, the doorbell chimed softly.
The interior was warm and quiet, completely shut off from the noise outside.
The scent of old paper and ink drifted through the air.
A few elegantly dressed noble ladies gathered in front of a bookshelf, whispering about the latest romance stories.
A young noble gentleman leaned against the counter, haggling with the shopkeeper over a deluxe edition of a poetry collection.
Their maids stood quietly behind them, holding several books.
Their faces were completely flushed.
At the same time, a few self-conscious commoner girls huddled in a corner, sneakily reading.
Lin Gui, with his plain mage robes and a string of floating crates behind him, looked completely out of place.
Ignoring the curious glances directed his way, he pulled out his list and began searching the shelves.
《The Elven Princess's Runaway Sweetheart》... found it.
《The Domineering Magic Dragon's Sweet Little Wife》... yes, this one.
《The Untold Stories of Me and Seven Knights》... there was actually an illustrated edition.
Just as he reached out for 《The Cold-Faced Duke's Contract Lover》...
...someone poked him in the back with moderate force.
Lin Gui frowned and turned around.
A girl wearing the standard mage robes of the North Wind caravan was puffing out her cheeks, glaring at him angrily.
It was the member of the North Wind caravan he had briefly met at the transport guild.
Betty.
Dust clung to her robes.
Her hair was somewhat disheveled, and there were faint dark circles under her eyes.
She looked thoroughly exhausted and sleep-deprived from rushing around.
“Little mage!” Betty said, practically through gritted teeth.
“You jerk! Where on earth have you been these past few days?! We've been looking all over for you!”
She grew angrier as she spoke, her words tumbling out like rapid gunfire.
“To find you, I turned the Royal Capital upside down!”
“I asked everywhere, from the hotels in the Upper District to the sewer entrances!”
“My legs are about to break! I was this close to reporting you missing!”
She raised her hand, looking as if she wanted to flick his forehead or give him some other kind of physical lesson.
Lin Gui sidestepped to avoid her, looking at her speechlessly.
“The agreed-upon departure date was the day after tomorrow. You guys were the ones who changed the schedule. How is that my fault?”
Betty's hand froze in midair, the anger on her face instantly hardening before melting into an embarrassed, sheepish look.
This really wasn't Lin Gui's fault.
And the caravan had indeed departed early because the compensation offered by the Carter Royal Capital was simply too lucrative.
Freya couldn't refuse it.
She coughed awkwardly and lowered her hand.
“Ahem... anyway... just come with me right now.”
“We have to set out tonight to meet up at Twilight Fortress.”
“Once Teacher Freya helps resolve the demon tide, we have to head straight to Shield City.”
Lin Gui shook his head. “No. I still have important matters to attend to.”
Betty frowned. “What could possibly be more important than setting off?”
Lin Gui fell silent.
Aside from informing the Saintess of his agreement with Caleb so she could notify the Holy Church, there didn't seem to be anything else.
Or so it seemed.
Theia's expectant gaze flashed through his mind, and Lin Gui could only apologize to her in his heart.
“Tomorrow,” Lin Gui said, his tone leaving no room for argument.
“We will leave after the forces of the Holy Church of Light depart the Royal Capital. How about that?”
Betty stared at him for a few seconds, recognizing his stubbornness.
She let out a helpless sigh. “Fine! Tomorrow it is! Where should I meet you then?”
“Around noon, wait for me outside the city gates.”
Having said his piece, Lin Gui ignored her, gathered the ten novels he had selected, and walked over to the counter.
He pulled out his bank voucher, only to be informed by the clerk that there were no funds left on it.
Left with no choice, he reached into his own pocket and pulled out his coin purse.
After counting the books, the clerk quoted the price. “That will be one thousand gold coins, please.”
Lin Gui's hand, holding the gold coins, froze in midair. He slowly raised his head.
“...How much?”
The prices in these apocalyptic city-states shattered his expectations every single time.
Lin Gui returned to the post office.
He walked up to the loft and found that the Holy Saintess, Eve, had already woken up.
She was sitting by the bedside, her palms emitting a soft white light as she healed the pale-faced Elvia.
Elvia leaned back in her chair, groaning weakly.
Theia was no longer in the room.
Clearly, she had left the Royal Capital immediately after the Saintess woke up.
The forces of the Holy Church of Light were still in the city, so she couldn't afford to linger.
“You're back,” Eve said, turning her head. Her violet eyes looked at Lin Gui, calm and rippleless.
Lin Gui set down the supplies, walked up to her, and got straight to the point.
“Caleb planted a mark in your soul.”
“He made a deal with me that I would watch over you.”
“From now on, you must travel with me.”
Eve smiled faintly, as if she had expected this all along.
“Alright.”
She agreed swiftly and decisively, without a shred of hesitation.
Lin Gui looked at her calm demeanor and frowned.
“Will the Holy Church just let you walk away with me?”
Eve nodded slightly, her tone carrying a peculiar detachment.
“Do not worry.”
“To the Holy Church of Light, the Holy Saintess herself... is not important.”
“What matters is whether the Prophecy can be cast.”
“As long as I return to fulfill my 'mission,' they won't care where I went or what I did during this time.”
Her voice was ethereal, yet it carried a trace of subtle coldness.
Under the cover of night.
Lin Gui brought Eve to the luxury hotel in the Upper District where the Holy Church personnel were staying.
Eve stood in a relatively quiet corner outside the hotel, making no move to enter.
She extended her fair fingers, drawing in the air.
A tiny, intricately structured rune of faint golden light quietly manifested before fading into the air.
Before long, the tall, imposing figure of Disciplinary Knight Daniel appeared at the hotel entrance.
He strode forward, his metal boots striking the ground with steady, heavy thuds.
His gaze behind the visor swept over Lin Gui before finally settling on Eve.
“Your Highness.”
Eve spoke in a calm tone.
“Daniel, I am about to leave with Mr. Lin Gui to search for Avalon.”
Daniel remained silent for a moment.
The air seemed to freeze for a few seconds.
Finally, he bowed slightly, his voice sounding somewhat muffled through his visor.
“Understood, Your Highness.”
He did not question her, nor did he try to dissuade her.
But before turning to leave, he paused.
His deep voice carried an undeniable gravity.
“Please be sure to remember. Do not miss the 'Hero's Expedition' next spring.”
Lin Gui noticed that upon hearing those words, a faint, almost imperceptible shadow flitted across Eve's usually placid brow.
The Hero's Expedition.
This was the most tragic and desperate operation launched by the alliance of surviving races after the descent of the Demon God.
Every time the Dark Tide receded,
the alliance would gather the top geniuses and powerhouses from every race.
They would form a strike team to venture deep into the demon territories, aiming straight for the Demon God in an attempt to carry out a decapitation strike.
In the forty years since the Demon God's descent, the alliance had launched exactly twenty Hero's Expeditions.
Not a single one had succeeded.
Countless geniuses and heroes had left their bones buried in the demon territories, their blood staining the path of the crusade.
It was like a cyclical sacrificial ritual, using the freshest blood to prove the absolute invincibility of the Demon God.
Daniel spoke no further. He turned and departed, his heavy footsteps gradually fading into the distance.
Eve stood quietly in place, staring in the direction he had vanished, remaining silent for a long time.
Rate on N.U.
