The weather was clear, and the sun shone brightly.
The birds on both sides of the road chirped, creating a very cheerful scene.
Inside the dim carriage, Weibai sat in his seat, dazed.
Taurani leaned beside him, observing his every move.
‘Does this little elf always pretend so well?’
‘Every move he makes is that of a human through and through.’
Now that she knew Weibai’s true identity, Taurani no longer felt any distance between them.
Instead, she became very clingy, constantly asking Weibai to tell her stories about elves.
After seeing the little elf’s true form last night and losing the barrier of the opposite sex, her curiosity only grew stronger.
‘I really want to explore Weiwei’s story further. I can’t suppress my curiosity at all.’
‘Since we’re both girls anyway, it doesn’t matter~’
However, the others in the carriage were currently at a loss.
After Jiu’s explanation, Grey and Rom only knew that Taurani had gone to take a bath.
Thinking about how Weibai had rushed over there, the three of them had various expressions on their faces, but without exception, they all wanted to laugh.
They knew Taurani’s strength all too well.
Although she was a doctor, her combat ability was far superior to theirs.
Therefore, they were certain that Weibai would never be able to defeat her.
Sure enough, when the two returned, Taurani had dragged Weibai back the whole way.
But why was the current situation so different from what they had imagined?
Shouldn’t their relationship have dropped to a freezing point after Weibai cleared his head?
Why did it look like Taurani was sticking to that guy instead?!
“Francis? Francis, Francis, Francis, Francis…”
After calling his name so many times without a response, Taurani leaned toward Weibai’s ear and spoke in a demonic whisper.
“Little Weiwei~”
“!”
When Weibai heard those words, his entire body visibly shuddered.
However, he still ignored Taurani and shifted his body away from her.
Seeing this, Taurani followed him and shifted her position as well.
Now, one side of Weibai’s body was pressed tightly against the carriage wall, while the other side was being clung to by Taurani’s soft and fragrant body.
“What are you doing?! Why are you sticking to me like this?!”
Weibai felt the gazes of the others becoming increasingly strange, so he finally spoke to Taurani.
To his surprise, Taurani’s next words almost made everyone’s jaws drop.
“Didn’t we agree last night? You have to take responsibility for me. You even said you would be a qualified husband~ How could you regret it so soon?”
Seeing Weibai’s cheeks turn redder and redder, Taurani felt that this little elf was simply too much fun!
However, it seemed the little elf was still unwilling to face her.
It looked like she needed to add some more fuel to the fire.
“Could it be… that you’re going to abandon me…”
Taurani’s eyes lowered slightly, and her voice trembled as she put on a pitiful act.
Grey couldn’t sit still any longer.
He hurriedly spoke up, “Brother Francis, you can’t be like this. You’ve already treated the young lady that way; you can’t just pull up your pants and run!”
Although Jiu and Rom said nothing, the way they looked at Weibai changed.
They were adventurers, and as adventurers, they had to have a spirit of justice.
If Weibai were truly a scum who ate his fill and then ran away, they wouldn’t mind making him childless right here and now.
“No! It’s not what you think!”
At this moment, Weibai felt as if he had a hundred mouths but still couldn’t clear his name.
Even jumping into a river wouldn’t wash away this misunderstanding.
“Sigh, brother, we all understand. But since you acted on impulse, you must take responsibility. Look at how much this young girl likes you,” Grey said, pointing at Taurani, who was clinging tightly to Weibai.
“…”
Weibai didn’t want to say anything anymore.
He knew that if he continued to ignore Taurani on purpose, his reputation would be ruined.
With great reluctance, he turned his head toward Taurani.
Her blood-red eyes blinked at him before she grabbed his arm and began rubbing her head against it.
Taurani’s white hair swayed with her movements, making Weibai feel an intense itch.
“That’s enough,” Weibai said, his voice devoid of any emotion.
“Hehe~”
Taurani continued to hold his arm, though she stopped rubbing her head against him.
She looked up, her watery eyes staring at Weibai.
Being held by Taurani made Weibai feel very uncomfortable.
He exerted some force, trying to pull his arm away.
Sensing his intention, Taurani held on even tighter.
“No, no! Weiwei, don’t be like this.”
“Who is… Weiwei?”
Grey, who had been munching on dry rations for a while, suddenly heard Taurani call out a strange name.
“Um… it’s nothing.”
Realizing she had made a slip of the tongue, Taurani quickly corrected herself, “Mr. Francis looks so much like a friend of mine, which is why I’m so clingy with him.”
“Alright then,” Grey replied, before continuing to eat his dry rations in silence.
Actually, he had wanted to say something more, but every time he opened his mouth, he felt it was inappropriate.
Seeing Taurani like this, he felt that saying anything would ruin the atmosphere.
Just as Taurani was leaning closer and Weibai was at a loss for what to do, the carriage driver’s voice suddenly rang out.
“Everyone, we have arrived at the Kevin County.”
Hearing those words, Weibai felt as if he had been granted a divine amnesty.
He hurriedly pulled his arm away and looked out the window.
There were dense forests on both sides of the road and rolling hills in the distance.
It seemed that the terrain within the Kevin County was mostly mountainous.
No wonder the bandit plague was so severe; these deep mountains and dense forests were natural bases for bandits.
Further down the road, a city stood within the thick woods.
“Labia City is just ahead. You all can get ready; we have reached our destination.”
Upon hearing this, everyone in the carriage began packing their belongings and checking for anything they might have left behind.
Taurani looked at Weibai and wanted to say something, but she realized he wasn’t paying any attention to her at all.
‘Is the little elf still angry?’
Thinking this, Taurani didn’t say much and turned to pack her own luggage.
“Hey! Where are you from? Let me see your passes. Also, everyone in the carriage and all luggage must undergo a routine inspection!”
While they were busy, a shout came from outside.
Weibai looked out and saw a guard dressed in armor and holding a spear blocking the carriage, questioning the driver.
The armor on the guard’s body had many marks, and the spear looked somewhat worn.
Moreover, the guard’s face didn’t have the same grit as the guards in Karven City; instead, it carried a heavy exhaustion.
“Are these the guards of Labia City? Why do they look so haggard?”
Weibai muttered in a low voice, but he didn’t expect an immediate answer from beside him.
“With the bandit raids happening every day, of course they’re haggard. They can’t sleep well at night, and these humans just can’t take it.”
Taurani had squeezed beside Weibai at some point, resting her head on his shoulder as she replied.
“When did you get here?!”
Weibai quickly moved away from his spot, looking at Taurani with a defensive posture.
“Ouch!”
Because Weibai moved so suddenly, Taurani’s head lost its support, and her chin bumped against the window ledge.
“Just now! I saw you looking so intently that I wanted to see as well.”
“Tsk, why are you haunting me like a ghost!”
“Hey! Why are you being so rude? What do you mean by haunting you like a ghost?!”
Just as Weibai was feeling a headache coming on, the carriage door was pulled open from the outside, and a guard appeared before them.
“Passengers, please step out for a routine inspection.”
“Alright, alright,” Weibai quickly agreed, jumping down from the carriage.
He didn’t want to stay with this Blood Demon any longer.
He felt that if he stayed too long, all his blood energy would be sucked away by her.
The others got off one after another and stood in a row beside the carriage as instructed by the guard.
After checking the Adventurer Badges of the party, the guard didn’t say much or give them a hard time.
However, when he saw Taurani’s badge, his mouth twitched, and he gave her a deep look.
Soon, the guard arrived in front of Weibai.
Seeing Weibai dressed in light clothing, the guard couldn’t help but feel suspicious.
“Where is your luggage?”
“Just this,” Weibai said, pointing at the Glorious Throne and two small bags on the ground as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Are you saying that you traveled all the way to the Kevin County with only this much luggage?”
“Yes.”
The guard looked at Weibai as if he were an idiot and seemingly decided not to speak with him further, beginning the inspection immediately.
“Why are you carrying so many Magic Potions and Magic Scrolls? Are you an Alchemist?”
“I am not.”
“Oh,” the guard grunted, and then he began to unwrap the cloth strips around the Glorious Throne.
After thinking about it, Weibai decided to speak up and warn him, as the Glorious Throne was quite dangerous.
“That is a weapon. Why don’t you let me unwrap it? It might be a bit dangerous,” Weibai warned kindly.
The guard glanced at Weibai and let out a dissatisfied cold snort.
“Just stay where you are. This is inspection time; we do not allow weapons to be in contact with their owners.”
He then pointed at the members of the Adventurer Party.
Their weapons were all laid out at their feet, looking like a cluttered street stall.
“Look at them. They all follow the rules. So, you have to follow the rules too.”
“Fine.”
Since the other party had put it that way, what else could Weibai say? He could only shrug helplessly and stand still.
As the guard worked, a magnificent longsword woven of gold and silver appeared before everyone’s eyes.
“This sword?!”
At first glance, the guard felt that this sword was of extraordinary quality, definitely not something an ordinary person could possess.
Immediately connecting this to Weibai, the guard stood up warily, one hand gripping the hilt of his own sword as he questioned Weibai.
“Who are you?! Why do you possess such an extraordinary longsword?!”
Hearing the guard’s questioning, Weibai looked left and right.
Aside from Taurani, everyone else was looking at him with shocked expressions.
Generally speaking, only a Blacksmith could determine the quality of a weapon.
It was rare for many people to recognize the excellence of a weapon’s quality at the same time.
Unless the quality of that weapon was so high that even ordinary people could sense its brilliance.
The Glorious Throne was exactly that kind of weapon.
The members of the Adventurer Party had never seen such a high-quality longsword before.
During their time working at the Adventurers’ Guild, they had heard of high-quality weapons and often fantasized about owning one themselves.
And now, such a weapon was right in front of them.
It had even been with them for the entire journey, yet they were only finding out about its existence now.
“Explain the origin of this sword honestly, or we will take you in for interrogation,” the guard pressed.
He had already concluded that it was impossible for this sword to belong to Weibai.
The person before him didn’t look like someone who could master such a blade.
The members of the Adventurer Party also looked at Weibai with skepticism.
They didn’t doubt him as much as the guard did, but they simply couldn’t find a way to connect Weibai with this sword.
“This sword is mine,” Weibai said, looking at the reactions around him and feeling a headache.
Why were these guards still obsessing over this when they were so close to entering the city?
***
(Some readers mentioned that the beginning was a bit difficult to read. I’ve re-read it a few times and agree it was a bit confusing, so I’m planning to revise the prologue. I should have it finished around seven or eight PM. Everyone can re-read it then; it should be much better than it is now.)
(Also, could everyone please help me by voting with some monthly tickets? I’m begging you, even one is fine. If you can’t, giving a like is also great!)