Isaiah closed the book, and the Angel that had not yet fully formed completely vanished.
“I lost.”
Roland also canceled the casting of her explosion magic. Although she had won, she felt that Isaiah still had some hidden cards he hadn’t played. Her victory was entirely due to the information gap.
“Can you tell me now how exactly my father died?”
“If possible, I would like to explain the entire sequence of events to you. But if you’re in a hurry for the answer, I can tell you now.”
“I want to know the detailed process. The more detailed, the better.”
“Do you remember the Daisy Field outside Wilderness Town?”
The Daisy Field?
Hearing the keyword, Roland’s head throbbed again. Memories of a distant past quietly surfaced; it was a childhood life she had discarded in a corner.
“Roland, this is your mother’s favorite place. It doesn’t have a name, but everyone calls it the Daisy Field because every spring, it’s filled with daisies,” her father had said in her memory.
Roland had never met her mother, yet she often heard her father mention her.
“I… remember.”
“Go there. A Hero’s dream is buried there.”
A Hero again.
This was already the countless time Roland had heard the word. It was something from nearly four hundred years ago; how could it still affect the present? Surely she hadn’t traveled to the past to become the Hero, defeated the Demon King, and then intentionally set up a time loop? That would be far too imaginative.
But regardless, since there were clues, Roland wouldn’t let them go. It was both to give the original soul closure and for her own safety.
“Take me there.”
After instructing Golem to deliver Mia home safely, Roland got onto the church’s carriage.
On the carriage, Isaiah explained to her, “Your father, Rhode Mon Ackerman, was an overly passionate egoist since he was a child. His admiration for the Hero was second to none. How much do you know about the story of the Hero?”
Recalling the piles of storybooks at home, it was hard for Roland not to know about the Hero. Although she couldn’t remember quite a few details due to her memory gaps, she still remembered the general content.
Legend says that the Saintess of Light, Atia, followed the will of the Goddess of Hope and summoned someone from another world. The Goddess bestowed upon him the title of Hero and commanded him to embark on a journey to subjugate the Demon King.
The original Hero’s party consisted only of the Hero Mithius as a warrior and Atia, who doubled as a priest. Later, as the adventure progressed, two more members were added: the magic-user Elise and the vanguard Hector. This was the party that subjugated the Demon King.
There were rumors that Elise’s true identity was actually the Ageless Witch, and Hector was a Dragon-kin. There was no evidence to support the former, but the latter could be seen from the horns and wings on Hector’s body.
The four heroes went through hardships and obstacles, finally succeeding in subjugating the Demon King in the tenth year of the Heroic Era, ending the Demon Race’s centuries-long reign of terror.
It was a very classic story of a Hero and a Demon King.
“I roughly remember, but what does this have to do with my father’s death?”
Isaiah explained, “The first time I met Rhode was when I was twenty-four. I had just been promoted and sent here. He hadn’t inherited the territory yet, much less fallen in love with Adela. He was a daydreamer who told everyone he met to ‘Watch out, Demon King!'”
“He only gained enlightenment after meeting your mother. He stopped obsessing over the dream of becoming a Hero. After starting a family and a career, he had you but lost Adela. Until a few months ago, he was a qualified lord and father.”
“And then, he heard news of the Demon Race’s revival.”
Roland frowned. She had also heard news about the Demon Race from Jasper. If combined with what Isaiah said, she could roughly deduce the sequence of events.
That is, Rhode had originally given up his fantasies of becoming a Hero, but the sudden appearance of the Demon Race reignited his hope. He met with an accident while searching for the Demon Race and eventually met an unfortunate end. This would explain why he left without saying anything.
But here was the problem.
Who spread the news about the Demon Race? What was the evidence? Why did Rhode happen to find out? Could this be a conspiracy?
If it truly was a conspiracy, the first person Roland thought of was Duke Edmond. After all, he had made things difficult for her many times. But if he really wanted to act, why go through all that trouble? Wouldn’t it be easier to just hire an assassin?
Mere conjecture couldn’t provide the answer. She decided to continue questioning Isaiah.
“So, how exactly did my father die?”
“Magic Beasts attack.”
Magic Beasts referred to a branch under the Demon Race.
True Demons were very close to humans in both appearance and habits, but each individual possessed strength far exceeding that of ordinary humans.
There were two types of Magic Beasts. One was non-human creatures that had lost their sanity after being eroded by the power of the Demon Race, and the other consisted of existences directly created by the Demon Race. Both were directly controlled by the Demon Race.
These were all things that appeared in picture books.
So Rhode’s true cause of death was actually an attack by Magic Beasts?
But the presence of Magic Beasts didn’t necessarily mean the Demon Race had truly revived. Perhaps some animal accidentally ate an item imbued with the power of the Demon Race?
“You didn’t tell me the truth because you were afraid I’d recklessly seek revenge against the Magic Beasts?”
“More or less. After all, since Magic Beasts have appeared in this territory, you’ll have to deal with them whether you want to or not. I just hope you can be mentally prepared.”
“I’m not that fragile. Since he was going to fight the Demon Race, didn’t my father consider that he might die?”
“Of course he did, but for him, death was always a matter of glory, especially if it was for the sake of subjugating the Demon Race.”
“Then he truly was selfless.”
Hearing Roland’s sarcasm, Isaiah gave a bitter smile. He also felt that the behavior of disregarding everything just to achieve an ideal was not good, so he did not make excuses for the deceased Rhode.
Perhaps thinking that fate would favor him, Rhode chose the latter on the scale of love and ideals, eventually leading to today’s outcome.
“At least he truly loved you.”
“I know. I don’t expect him to give me the whole world. I only wish he would have settled his affairs before going off to his death.”
After saying this, their conversation hit a dead end.
Isaiah knew how to read the room. Seeing that Roland was no longer in the mood to talk, he stopped speaking.
The carriage thus drove into the distant plains in a quiet atmosphere.
Through the window, one could see the golden plains dazzling like gold under the sunlight. The distant ridgeline and deciduous forest reflected their silhouettes, and the wheat ears in the villages swayed with the wind. A few farmers could be vaguely seen bending over to harvest wheat, while several spotted horses stood still, watching the humans gradually depart.
This was the first time Roland had seen the scenery of autumn. She had never known before that as the end of the month approached, the fields would become so beautiful.
But this beauty would soon be covered by the impending winter, leaving only white snow and cold silence.
Thinking of the destination of this trip, she couldn’t help but wonder.
Will the daisies in the Daisy Field bloom in winter?