Looking at Irina’s expression of “Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do next?”, Leo felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction.
See, this is the dimensionality reduction strike brought on by an information gap.
He was very clear that she must have a mind full of question marks right now; her worldview was completely shaken.
Meanwhile, he himself sat firmly like a fisherman, enjoying the thrill of having others play right into his hands.
“Miss Irina, right?” Leo cleared his throat and broke the slightly awkward silence.
“Since you’ve come all this way, I can’t very well have you standing here on this field ridge catching the wind forever. If you don’t mind, why not come into town for a cup of hot tea and take a rest?”
He issued a warm invitation.
Partly out of basic courtesy.
Partly because he wanted to probe further into this woman’s background.
A mysterious mage who knew the ‘original storyline’, and happened to be this beautiful, must be hiding quite a few secrets.
It would be a waste not to dig deeper into this ‘chance encounter.’
Irina clearly hesitated for a moment upon hearing this.
Come into town? Have tea?
This development didn’t match any of the versions she had expected.
Wasn’t it supposed to be her righteously pointing out the town’s flaws, and then the other party would either be ashamed, angry, or disdainful, and then she would offer her salvation plan, performing a “hero honors hero” drama of the king’s return?
How did it suddenly fast-forward to “country folk meet, please have some soup” mode?
She glanced at Leo. His smile looked sincere and kind, not at all like he was scheming.
Beside him, the female knight still wore the expression of “move an inch and I’ll cut you,” but at least she didn’t make a move.
“…Well, then I’ll trouble you,” Irina nodded after a moment of hesitation.
She also wanted to understand exactly what was going on here.
“Please.”
Leo gestured politely, then turned and naturally walked ahead.
Alice silently followed behind him, while keeping a wary eye on Irina from the corner of her vision, maintaining a distance that allowed her to strike at any moment.
Irina trailed at the rear, stepping into this land that felt both familiar and strange with a complicated heart.
Along the way, she was in a state of constant shock.
In her memory, Blackwood Town’s roads should have been muddy and filthy, with sewage flowing everywhere.
But now beneath her feet was solid, flat stone pavement, still being laid in some places, but already taking shape.
In her memory, the townsfolk’s houses should have been dilapidated thatch huts, shaking at the slightest breeze.
But now, rows of brand-new wooden and stone houses were neatly lined up on both sides of the road, bright and clean inside, some even with smoke curling up from their rooftops.
She even saw simple signposts for a public bathhouse and toilets.
Bathhouse? Toilets?
Are these even supposed to be facilities of a domain in this era?
Is this infrastructure construction, or is he playing SimCity?
The further they approached the Town Center, the wider Irina’s mouth opened.
She saw the Clock Tower under construction, the towering Arrow Tower, and the Town Wall already taking shape.
At the construction sites, townsfolk shouted rhythmically, working enthusiastically.
Their faces showed no numbness or despair, only hope and anticipation for the future.
Several half-grown children chased and played in the streets; when Leo passed by, they bowed from afar and respectfully called out, “Lord.”
In their eyes was genuine respect and affection.
All of this struck Irina’s cognition like a giant iron hammer.
The story she knew about the “Tragic Prince Leo” here seemed like a joke.
“How is it? Not bad for my domain, right?”
Leo’s voice floated over, interrupting her thoughts.
Irina came back to herself, looked at Leo’s back, opened her mouth, but didn’t know what to say.
“…Very… impressive.”
She finally could only utter these dry words.
This was far more than just ‘not bad’ — it was a miracle.
Leo chuckled lightly and said nothing more.
He didn’t bring Irina back to his lord’s manor but instead led her to a small new restaurant in town.
Because many houses were still under renovation, he had long ago built a place convenient for dining.
The restaurant was not large but very clean; the owner was temporarily Leo’s cook.
“Alfred, bring three sets of today’s special,” Leo said confidently, taking a seat by the window and calling to his steward Alfred, who was helping out.
“Right away, young master.”
Alfred wiped his hands, smiled as he approached, and when he saw Irina, a flicker of appraisal passed through his eyes but quickly faded, politely nodding at her.
Irina sat down somewhat reservedly; Alice stood silently behind Leo like a loyal bodyguard.
“Sit, Alice, why are you standing?”
Leo pointed at the empty seat opposite.
Alice glanced at him, then at Irina, and finally obeyed, sitting upright with hands on her knees, ready to fight at any moment.
Leo sighed inwardly.
His female knight was fine in every way except being too “programmatic” — lacking a bit of warmth.
He would have to figure out how to upgrade her AI later.
Put simply, he needed to train her.
Soon, the meal arrived.
Toasted fragrant rye bread, a bowl of thick meat soup, and several slices of sizzling wild boar meat.
For present-day Blackwood Town, this was already a fairly sumptuous meal.
Irina stared blankly at the food in front of her.
Having traveled around a lot recently, often eating in the open and living rough, surviving on hardtack for days, the aroma of meat made her stomach betray her and growl.
Her face instantly flushed.
“Eat, don’t be polite.”
Leo took a big bite of bread and mumbled,
“I’m not one for beating around the bush. Miss Irina, you’ve come all the way to this backwater — it can’t be just to ‘take a look’, right?”
Here it comes.
Irina’s heart tightened, knowing the main topic was about to start.
She put down her knife and fork, took a deep breath, and tried to make her expression as sincere as possible.
“Lord Leo…” she carefully chose her words, “I am a Prophecy Mage.”
“Oh?”
Leo raised an eyebrow.
A Prophecy Mage?
Was there such a class in the game?
This was a bit too random.
“I… I foresaw the future of this land,” Irina forced herself to continue.
“I saw a great Disaster, a terrifying Monster Tide that will sweep through here and destroy everything.”
While speaking, she cautiously observed Leo’s reaction.
Instead of showing panic or solemnity, Leo looked at her with interest, like he was listening to a storyteller.
“And then?” he even pressed.
“Then… the domain is destroyed, countless people die, and you…”
Irina hesitated here, trying to soften the blow.
“You would… walk a very difficult path.”
She had already put it gently.
She couldn’t exactly say, “Then you go dark, become a necromancer, and end up defeated by the Hero,” could she?
Leo nodded after hearing her, then took a sip of the meat soup, smacking his lips.
“Hmm, nice story, very dramatic,” he commented.
“So, you came here to tell me this ‘prophecy’ and then save us from the flames?”
Irina felt her cheeks burn.
Being put so bluntly, she felt like a self-righteous charlatan.
“I… I only wish to do my part,” she said softly.
“I see.”
Leo set down his bowl, leaned slightly forward, his eyes locking onto Irina’s.
Those usually lazy-looking eyes were now as sharp as an eagle’s.
“So, Miss Irina, a ‘Prophecy Mage’, has come thousands of miles, just to save a Fallen Prince and his domain you’ve never met.”
“That doesn’t sound like just ‘doing your part’.”
“What exactly is your purpose?”
The air seemed to freeze in that moment.
Alice’s hand quietly rested on the sword hilt.
Irina’s heart skipped a beat.
She looked into Leo’s eyes that seemed to pierce through everything, feeling all her disguises turn transparent.
She had a strong premonition.
This man before her was far more terrifying than she had imagined.
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