After a brief moment of surprise, Litt recovered quickly, though she didn’t look angry.
She simply kept that comforting, gentle smile on her face.
“I’m just an ordinary nun of the White Church. Taking on a side job is something even the Lord allows, you know.”
Clearly, Liz didn’t believe a word of Litt’s explanation.
If she was really just an ordinary nun of the White Church…
Why did her identity and records seem completely cut off, as if out of nowhere?
Why didn’t her own family’s forces even dare to investigate Litt’s background?
If she really believed Litt was just an ordinary nun, Liz felt she might as well dunk her head in a bucket of water.
“Do you need any weapons or Armor?”
Litt paid no attention to Liz’s confrontational gaze; she just acted like an ordinary shopkeeper, doing what she ought to do.
“And Red?”
Liz looked around the entire shop but didn’t find any trace of Red, which did strike her as odd.
Her original reason for coming here was to meet Zhoude—
No, to see just how miserable Red’s life had become.
For that, she’d even dressed herself in this set of rather splendid Armor and a long sword, just to create a sharp contrast with him.
But unexpectedly, Red wasn’t in the shop.
That left her a little disappointed.
“You mean Red? He said there were some things he needed to handle outside, so for now I’m looking after the shop.”
At these words, Liz released her senses, sweeping over the interior of the shop.
Five Protective Arrays, four Warning Falcons, seven or eight Blood-Hunting Spiders, and the Hand of Gaeboa on standby.
With this kind of setup, someone who didn’t know better might think this shop was in the Dungeon.
But from another perspective…
Was Red consciously protecting this nun who had no combat ability at all?
Thinking of that, Liz became even more displeased.
“Litt…”
Liz seemed to have made up her mind.
She took a deep breath and questioned Litt, “What’s your real purpose in getting close to Red?”
On this point, Liz had been investigating all along.
As a Noble, she was used to assuming the worst of others.
Because the truth instilled in her since childhood was: in this world, there is only absolute benefit, no such thing as absolute friendship.
The same went for Litt; she simply didn’t believe in the existence of pure goodwill.
For Litt to so actively approach Red, there had to be some hidden agenda.
Liz had always wanted to dig out her true face, but Litt’s background was so deep and unfathomable that even Liz’s family didn’t dare get involved.
So she could only use this approach to question her.
“Rather than stay here in this cold, deserted little shop, Red should be striving alongside me in the Dungeon. Litt… Don’t you think that what you’re doing now is just holding Red back from his future?”
As she spoke, Liz clenched her fists, her gaze locked onto Litt’s face, as if waiting for an answer.
Seeing Litt still remain silent, Liz pressed on.
“You know, Litt, this world never lacks Nobles. Many of those exalted people are just like you—without any strength, never setting foot in the Dungeon. To you, power is everything, and anything or anyone that can bring you profit is simply something to be used.”
“But in my eyes, these so-called rights are nothing but fleeting clouds. Only by delving into the Dungeon, pressing ever deeper, becoming a Legend, becoming… a New God, is that truly worth Red’s utmost efforts. Staying here, what meaning is there?”
Litt didn’t answer immediately; in fact, the moment Liz said this, she was already affirming Red’s value.
Just as before, in front of Red, she would never admit this, but with him absent, even if her tone was still cold and tough, her words carried a different weight.
Still… such a personality really wasn’t very likable.
Litt simply lifted her eyelids, facing Liz’s pressing gaze, and once again that gentle smile, like melting first snow, calm and embracing, appeared on her face.
That smile made Liz feel like the punch she’d worked up all her strength for landed squarely on a pile of cotton—her anger instantly leaking away by half.
And just as she wanted to continue, Litt spoke up.
“I think… isn’t life itself something that has no meaning?”
Litt’s gentle, soothing voice echoed through the quiet and empty shop.
“No matter Nobles or commoners, heroes or brave warriors, we’re all born with nothing and die with nothing.”
“What are you trying to say?”
Liz’s brow instantly twisted into a knot.
She wanted to argue back against what she saw as a negative, defeatist worldview.
But Litt didn’t give her a chance to interrupt.
Her voice remained gentle, steady as a spring of clear water.
“What I mean is… rather than always pressuring him, forcing Red to become the perfect Legend in your mind, I personally think he only needs to be himself.”
With that, Litt smiled softly at Liz.
“After all, in this life, isn’t being happy the most important thing?”
That simple sentence made Liz’s mood even more irritable.
She was just about to argue, but then someone unexpected entered the shop.
“Yo! Red, I came to give you some business—eh?”
Brian walked in, but instead of Red, he found Liz in a face-off with Litt.
He laughed heartily and came forward.
“Captain of the Dawnblade, what wind blew you here?”
Brian’s bold laughter made Liz sit back down.
She took a deep breath, still glaring at Litt behind the counter, but now with a little less edge.
“Nothing much. I just wanted to see what kind of unserious things Red is up to these days.”
But hearing that, Brian only laughed again.
“Unserious? I actually think this suits Red quite well.”
“And why’s that?”
Liz frowned, but Brian went on.
“Oh? Miss Liz, did you forget something? Why don’t you take a look at the Armor you’re wearing?”
“My Armor? What about it?”
“Maybe you don’t know, or maybe you just don’t care… but the Magic Patterns and Magic Array on your Armor and Knight Sword? Red hammered them out for you bit by bit himself.”
Brian’s hearty voice held no mockery, but Liz still felt the words sting.
“What’s your point?”
“My point, Miss Liz,” his words rang out like a hammer striking an anvil, clear and forceful, “if Red, relying on his skills, opens a shop and quietly crafts the things he loves, and in your eyes that’s ‘unserious’…”
Brian paused, his gaze sharp as he stared at Liz, then enunciated every word:
“Then, when you personally went to him back then, asked him to stop his training and research, and spent all his energy to craft you this… shining, resplendent Armor meant only for attending Noble banquets—what was that, then? A serious occupation?”
At that, Liz finally remembered.
Her face paled, and she clenched her fists tightly.
She’d almost forgotten… forgotten that when she’d first bought this Armor, she’d actually been quite dissatisfied, and casually made requests of Red.
At the time, their relationship was still pretty good, not as tense as now.
So Red had patiently modified the Armor’s patterns and arrays to her liking, bit by bit.
But… she forgot.
Lifting her head, Liz saw Brian’s big white teeth, and felt her heart throb with pain.
By now, she was glad Red wasn’t in the shop.
But a Noble’s pride wouldn’t let her just slink off in shame, so with a flushed face, she glanced at the shop’s weapons and Armor, and declared forcefully,
“Enough talk, I’m a customer! Wrap up all those KnightSwords over there for me!”
“Thank you for your patronage!”
It had to be admitted—Liz might not have many good points, but her generosity was definitely one of them.
Watching Liz’s embarrassed back as she left, Brian took a swig of wine, then asked Litt at the counter,
“Miss Litt, she didn’t give you any trouble, did she?”
“Nope.”
Having lived two lives, Litt honestly didn’t feel much toward Liz.
After all, compared to her actual age, Liz was really just a kid.
Sure, bratty kids could be annoying, but who really gets mad at a child?
“That’s good. Most Noble-born young ladies have that kind of personality. I’ve seen plenty.”
Halfway through, Brian grinned, then said to Litt,
“Let’s not talk about all that unpleasant stuff. Today I came to support Red’s business—so I’ll take all that Armor over there too.”
Hearing about another big sale, Litt’s eyes sparkled.
“Alright! Thank you for your patronage, I’ll pack it up for you.”
With two large orders, let alone a whole day—Litt felt the shop’s monthly sales at other weapon shops wouldn’t compare.
But while packing, Litt still felt a bit of concern.
“Buying so much Armor, are you sure it’s okay? If you’re just supporting the shop and buy a bunch of things you don’t need, there’s really no need…”
At that, Brian just laughed.
“How could it be a problem? Our Scarlet Legion is preparing to enter the Dungeon, so we need a big stock-up, of course.”
“So you’re going into the Dungeon… Mm!”
As she spoke, Litt suddenly felt a stabbing pain in her head.
That sensation—familiar beyond words—rushed over her again.
Brian’s concerned face blurred, twisted, faded before her eyes… and in its place, countless madly flickering, nightmarishly jumbled words and shattered images surged into her mind like a broken dam.
This time, the one at the center of the Prophecy… was no longer Litt herself.
Is Little real or not, A question for the ages.