Free Web NovelThe night wind threaded through the alley, letting out a hollow “hoo—hoo” sound.
It was as if unseen ghosts were wailing.
The two guards escorted Vieya along a reasonably broad main road, wide enough for two carriages to pass side by side.
Kerosene lamps along the street had already been lit, scattering their tiny warm yellow glow into the darkness.
The roads of the commercial district carried no foul odor, yet patrol units here were no fewer than in the commoners’ quarters.
A carriage came from the opposite direction. The guards lifted their torches and stepped aside to let it pass. The petite Vieya only needed to stand against the wall.
She was still wrapped in her disciple’s oversized robe. Robes embroidered with the Hero’s exclusive sword-and-shield crest—she once had one as well.
When Rania was little, she used to throw on that robe and run wild everywhere, playing until the sun went down and still not returning.
Vieya would go looking, and find her little disciple in some grove, covered in mud from head to toe.
The ending was obvious: muddy all over, Rania did not dare return home, but still could not avoid a thorough spanking.
When Rania grew a bit older, became more sensible, she clung to her instead, begging to go to the Tower of Knowledge, to the basement’s story section and history section to read books.
“A—choo!”
In the cold wind, Vieya let out a heavy sneeze.
Damn it, was the body of a slime girl this weak? She rubbed her nose and pulled the robe tighter around herself.
Her growth stats per level must have been no more than a fraction of a point...
“Miss, the nights are rather chilly lately. Would you like a torch to warm yourself?” the tall, thin guard suggested as they walked.
“I am fine...” Vieya replied softly. “Better that you keep it for lighting the way. With torches, it is safer.” freēwebnovel.com
“Sigh, who knows when these days of anxiety will end.” The shorter guard lifted his lantern and sighed.
“Do not dwell on it. Monsters can never be exterminated. Even the Hero’s own teacher—that one who was once the strongest Hero in history—fell on the front lines... For small fry like us, who knows when we might be buried by the aftershocks.”
“My home is here. If I do not think about this, am I supposed to waste my time on noble gossip?” The short guard sighed again. “But truly, I miss those years when the strongest Hero was still alive.”
“Miss him for what?” Vieya, who had been silently listening, could not help interjecting.
“Hey, Miss Vieya.”
The two guards lowered their heads, looking at her petite and delicate figure. They estimated that this young miss they were escorting was not very old—perhaps not even ten back when the strongest Hero was active.
Most daughters of noble families were like that: rarely leaving home from childhood, most of their time consumed by lessons in etiquette and study. Likely she had never even seen that strongest Hero in person.
Sigh, they thought, this noble young miss, about the same age as their own daughters, must have met with some family misfortune.
Otherwise why would she be alone at this late hour, without even a proper escort? freewebnoveℓ.com
With that thought, the short guard began to pity Vieya. His tone carried regret, and also a touch of self-important showing off:
“Miss Vieya, perhaps you do not know. That Hero fought against monsters tirelessly, and his strength was unmatched. Where other Heroes required many allies to handle a powerful monster, under his hand it could not last a single move.”
Vieya: There was such a thing?
“Must have been five or six years ago...” The short guard reminisced, speaking on and on, voice thick with feeling: “Back then I was just a supply soldier. Every day, the only thing I worried about was what we would eat for lunch, what we would eat for dinner, and what we would eat tomorrow...”
“Uncle, all you knew was eating?” Vieya muttered in exasperation.
“What nonsense is that!” the short guard huffed indignantly.
“Ha ha, I think even now all you care about is eating,” the tall guard chimed in with a laugh, “only you have added a bit of sentimental flair.”
“What are you talking about!” The short guard stomped along with extra force. “My idol has been gloriously dead for years, but so what? Someone must inherit his spirit of ‘though thousands oppose me, still I go forth’!”
He declared it so uprightly that even Vieya felt sweat bead on her forehead.
What spirit of hers?
“I personally witnessed the strongest Hero go from leaving the city alone to hunt monsters, to gathering more and more companions at his side in a miraculous transformation! You cannot understand!” the short guard cried with sorrow. “If only I had the strength, even a lifetime as a supply soldier would have been worth it!”
“Be rational in your idolizing.” Vieya admitted guiltily. “That Hero might not have been as perfect as you think.”
Doused with a bucket of cold water labeled “reason,” the short guard cast a deep look at Vieya. You had better not be a hidden hater!
At the street intersection, there were noticeably more guards on duty than /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ when they had first set out. Fortunately, with the two escorts by her side, Vieya returned smoothly to her residence.
She turned back and thanked them:
“Thank you for escorting me. From here, I can go alone.”
This was the Core District. Patrols here were far stronger than in other quarters.
“Miss Vieya, then we will return and report.”
