Seeing the layout inside the room, Mida was somewhat surprised.
She had originally thought the room would be filled with cluttered items—at least, enough to pack the space mostly full.
Instead, she never expected there to be so few things in the room, making the already small space feel somewhat empty.
Wei Bai didn’t mind.
He nonchalantly led Mida inside and began introducing his belongings.
“This was the weapon I used when I first joined the Adventurer’s Association.”
“This one is a trophy I scavenged during a mission. It’s already damaged. Here, if you look closely, you can still see the cracks.”
“And this is a longsword I exchanged points for at the Association,” Wei Bai said, pointing to a longsword hanging on the wall.
Mida observed it briefly, then her gaze moved on, her head bobbing left and right as she followed Wei Bai’s introduction.
“Wei Bai, Wei Bai, what’s inside this box?” Mida asked curiously, pointing to a box sitting on the desk.
Wei Bai looked over at where Mida was pointing, and his face couldn’t help but turn red.
That box was stuffed with his private clothing and daily necessities from his time as a princess in the Elf Kingdom.
Since coming to the human kingdom, he felt he didn’t need them anymore, so he sealed them all away in that box.
He had originally planned to find a chance to throw it away, but every time it came down to it, a strange sense of reluctance stopped him from abandoning the box.
“Oh, that. That box contains my clothes from when I was at the Adventurer’s Association. I can’t wear them anymore, so I just put them all together.”
“Oh.”
Seeing that Mida believed him, Wei Bai’s face remained flushed, and his voice lacked confidence as he introduced the other items.
“Wei Bai, Wei Bai~”
“What is it?”
“This sword is so cool.”
Seeing Mida pointing at a longsword woven with gold and silver, Wei Bai looked at the blade and couldn’t help but feel a sense of nostalgia.
“Do you want to hear the story behind this sword?”
Wei Bai thought for a moment and calculated the registration time.
Realizing there was still some leeway, he felt he had enough time to chat with Mida; it wasn’t that urgent.
“I do!” Hearing that Wei Bai was going to tell her a story, Mida’s eyes instantly lit up with stars as she looked at him with immense curiosity.
“This sword… it has a name.”
Wei Bai composed his emotions and spoke slowly.
The Glorious Throne.
It was a longsword forged by the Elven Royalty.
Wei Bai’s feelings for it were incredibly deep, not for any other reason than the fact that when he fled the Elf Kingdom, it was this very longsword he held in his hand.
However, Wei Bai couldn’t say that, so he slightly obscured the beginning of the story.
“Its name is the Glorious Throne.”
“It could be said to be a very close comrade-in-arms. Ever since I escaped the realm of the Tyrant, it has always been by my side. It has cut down the Tyrant’s lackeys, defeated fierce Sea Monsters, and sealed rampaging Evil Dragons. It has accompanied me through the entire journey.”
“For me, when I was surrounded by malice and suspicion, it remained steadfast. It was the only partner that could give me enough courage. Every time I held it, I felt invincible and fearless. Even if I faced an opponent I couldn’t match, I had the courage to fight.”
“It’s just that we’re both tired now. So, I thought I’d let both it and myself take a rest. That’s why I placed it here, far away from the noise of the outside world.”
“From beginning to end, it has always been my most trusted old friend.”
Listening to Wei Bai’s narration, Mida fell silent.
She knew about Wei Bai’s former profession and his status as a gold-rank Hero.
She hadn’t expected this sword to be so special to him.
“Then it really is a very important item.”
“Of course. This sword has been with me the longest. Naturally, it’s very important.”
Indeed, from the moment it was forged, the Glorious Throne belonged to Wei Bai’s mother.
After her death, the sword was passed down to Wei Bai according to tradition.
However, it was later seized by the Bastard Queen and sealed within the Royal Treasury.
It wasn’t until the day of his escape, during the riot in the Royal City, that he managed to take advantage of the chaos to bring it back into the world.
The blade was very slender and felt light in the hand, but with a bit of training in Wei Bai’s hands, it could unleash power equivalent to a greatsword.
It was as exaggerated as a needle exerting the force of a javelin.
Relying on this sword, even without using magic, Wei Bai could charge in and out of enemy lines, becoming the most solid front-liner of the team.
As long as there was someone in the team who needed protection, he would not back down.
Facing unknown threats with a brave adventure; facing powerful enemies with a fearless battle; facing weak companions with a determined defense.
People fear the unknown, so they explore it; people long for freedom, so they bring it; people dread the darkness, so they shatter it.
This was the original intention of the Adventurer’s Association and the Adventurer’s Creed for all adventurers.
This was the spirit he placed upon the Glorious Throne—the spirit of an adventurer, the spirit of a Hero.
“Gosh, it seems I talked a bit too much.”
Wei Bai slapped his forehead.
Looking at the wall clock, there were only ten minutes left until registration closed.
“Hurry!” Wei Bai grabbed Mida’s hand and ran toward the door.
“Huff…”
Mida, being dragged into a wild sprint by Wei Bai, clearly wasn’t used to it.
She ran behind him, panting heavily.
After rushing frantically, Wei Bai finally saw the Tournament Grounds.
At this moment, the security staff was preparing to close the fence.
“Wait! Wait a moment!” Wei Bai shouted loudly, then dashed to the front of the fence in one stride.
“May I help you?”
Startled by Wei Bai, the staff member didn’t look pleased, but still inquired politely.
“I—I’m here to… to enter the competition.”
After saying that, Wei Bai pulled out five gold coins and showed them to the staff.
“Registration has already closed.”
Seeing Wei Bai’s flushed face and heavy breathing, the staff member did not grant him any leniency.
With a look of slight impatience, he continued to close the Tournament Grounds.
“But…”
“No buts. Registration is over. You only have yourself to blame for being late.”
The staff member had no intention of listening to Wei Bai’s pleas.
Just as he was about to close the fence, a refined and elegant voice drifted over.
“Ah, it’s fine. There are exactly ten seconds left, so it still counts as registration time. Let him in.”
A middle-aged man, dressed simply yet exuding an air of a Noble from head to toe, walked over.
He had a small mustache, wore a monocle on his face, and held a Deer-head Cane in his hand.
Wei Bai noticed that the thin frame of those glasses seemed to be made of pure gold, inlaid with a few gemstones.
The material of the lens was also unusual; Wei Bai couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but he guessed it was polished from precious crystal.
So it’s a rich guy!
“As you wish, honored sir.”
Upon seeing the newcomer, the staff member immediately adopted a respectful attitude.
After bowing and scraping to the middle-aged man for a few moments, he left a small opening in the fence.
“Go on in. After all, I am a great supporter of the dreams of you young people. It would be a real shame to miss out because of some unexpected oversight,” the man said, stuffing a Participant Pass into Wei Bai’s hand.
“Go. I look forward to seeing works in this competition that will catch my eye, and I look forward to you showing your talent. Don’t make me feel like my actions were unnecessary.”
Having said that, the Noble turned and left, leaving Wei Bai and Mida staring at each other.
Did they just run into a generous, good person?
Wei Bai glanced in the direction the Noble had left and silently made a note of it in his heart.
Then, he led Mida into the Tournament Grounds.
However, as they walked, Mida noticed something was wrong with Wei Bai.
His face was beet red, his hands were trembling slightly, and he looked very emotional.
“Wei Bai, are you okay?”
Mida was a bit worried, thinking that Wei Bai was nervous because it was his first time participating in a competition watched by so many people.
She was just about to comfort him.
But the words that came out of Wei Bai’s mouth in the next moment were so awkward they made her cringe.
“That Noble just now… he took all of my money!!”