Chapter 38: Chapter 38: First Encounter with the Libra Saintess Grace
[Location: Dragonbone Prairie]
Louis stretched out his hand to push open the carriage window.
He saw golden wheat swaying in the wind.
The babbling stream flowed endlessly, day and night, through the prairie.
As they moved further and further from Tino City, the city buzz gradually faded away, and the roads grew more overgrown, with Gothic and Romanesque buildings becoming fewer.
The small houses with low conical roofs were now a rare sight.
Farmhouses built with adobe and thatch still looked rather new.
— After all, if they were older, they wouldn’t be far from collapsing.
With the sound of a horse’s neigh, the swaying carriage came to a stop, and Alice, who had been resting with her eyes closed, opened her eyes.
The red eye disease seemed to have healed.
"Caesar, this is the first lesson I teach you. As an adventurer, you should always be prepared for short breaks and rests."
"In the wild, ensuring you have plenty of energy is the top priority."
Louis lightly tapped his gauntleted hand on the iron skull: "I’ll remember that, but you could’ve reminded me before we got in the carriage."
Alice shook her head: "Ah, people won’t remember unless they learn some lessons."
Louis retorted: "But I have a succubus physique, my stamina recovers quickly."
Alice’s face stiffened, and her smile turned dangerous: "Don’t think having a succubus physique is something special."
Louis immediately replied: "Sorry, having a succubus physique means I can do whatever I want, but I suppose the captain wouldn’t understand that feeling."
Alice’s smile grew even more "kindly."
Just as she was about to show some captain’s authority, William, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly spoke:
"It’s not like you can’t feel it."
Alice was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter:
"Oh, William, I didn’t expect you’d look like a block of iron but can crack blue jokes."
The next moment, her expression changed: "We’ve arrived."
Then she gave them each a kick, pushing them out of the carriage.
The two weren’t angry, they just dusted themselves off and got up.
"Is this the home of that brave shepherd?"
Louis curiously glanced at the rundown farmhouse.
It was increasingly difficult to imagine how that saintess went from being a village girl on a farm like this to becoming a revered saintess admired by all.
After all, this isn’t like the priests from another world who liked to use promotion tools on little boys and nuns.
In this world, divinities genuinely exist.
Trying to play tricks could very likely get your soul pulled out by the divine being and hung on the Wall of Sighs to blow in the wind.
On the tree in front of the farmhouse, a yellow warbler chirped and sang melodiously. Louis specifically used a [Charm Monster] spell to make it fly down and perch on his armor.
The cold armor gained some warmth because of a chirpy little bird.
He stepped forward and knocked on the door.
A timid voice came from inside: "Who?"
A door opened, and a pair of eyes peeked out from behind it, cautiously surveying the visitors.
"From the Imperial Capital, here to investigate the shepherd disappearance case."
Louis turned his head to look at William.
William immediately understood Louis’s meaning and stepped forward to lift his cloak.
"It’s the Royal Guard!"
The person behind the door immediately recognized the type of armor William wore and flung open the wooden door, welcoming them in:
"Are you here to find dad?"
It was a very plainly dressed young girl, wearing a side-collared jacket with silver-white hair covered by a blue kerchief.
When she laughed, her long eyelashes fluttered like two small brushes, and her eyes, bright like rubies, sparkled so much they seemed almost blinding, full of extraordinary vitality.
Behind her, Alice blew a whistle at the girl and nudged Louis:
"Caesar, why aren’t you coming in? Don’t just stand there and scare the poor girl."
Yet Louis remained completely still.
No!
To be precise, his body was trembling slightly.
From his angle, he could perfectly see the girl’s high, straight nose below her long lashes, as well as her sharply defined red lips.
She seemed a bit unaccustomed to the strangers’ astonished gazes, standing there confused and a bit shy, capable of stirring up a strong protective urge in any man.
But he wasn’t in the mood to admire this beauty now.
Because at this moment, he heard the sound of a trapezoidal blade sliding down again, like the stealthy footsteps of the Death God approaching, making his steps falter, and it took him a while to recover.
At this moment, the corners of Louis’s mouth lifted into a subtle smile.
Lucky I wore full body armor.
Otherwise, I’d be found out by now.
The future diary recorded:
"Grace’s father, after returning from the Imperial Capital, felt a strong sense of unease, so he left his wife and daughter well situated and went again to the prairie border to investigate."
"He disappeared for two days and nights, and Grace used the last of her family’s silver coins to hire adventurers to find him, but ultimately he wasn’t found."
"It wasn’t until the day after the patrol withdrew that her father suddenly returned home."
"However, on the third night, monsters attacked, and the happiness of their family of three was torn apart completely."
Louis felt that a conspiracy was hidden within this, as if something was weaving through it.
That’s also why he had to come here personally to investigate.
Now, it’s the first day of Grace’s father’s disappearance.
"We picked up the adventurer’s training mission, and we heard someone around here wants to hire adventurers."
While saying this, Louis deliberately glanced at Grace.
Just as expected, she was secretly observing him, and as their gazes briefly met, she lowered her head again.
"Yes, it’s me! I want to hire you to find my dad, he’s already been missing for a day!"
Louis shook his head: "I’ll keep an eye out when I get to the border. Does your father have any distinguishing features?"
Grace became excited, nodding vigorously as if clutching a lifeline:
"Father used to be the best hunter around here, but he lost a leg..."
"One of his legs is a prosthetic?" Alice frowned upon hearing this, "And it’s a bit odd, old hunters are skilled at avoiding risk. Not coming back for a day and a night is peculiar indeed."
Doing a hunter’s job generally gives a certain level of occupation ranking, making them half adventurers.
When a colleague disappears like this, it’s most likely they’re dead.
Her intuition told her something was amiss.
Could it be the sapphire hatchling showing up again?
"You suspect it’s that hatchling?" William said, "Not likely, a hatchling is also quite large, it’d be obvious on the prairie."
"It’s different."
Alice shook her head: "That’s a Gem Dragon; they instinctively like to hide in the underground burrows they’ve dug up. Before they poke their heads out, very few find their tracks."
Louis said, "Then let’s first suspect the missing hunter was taken by the sapphire hatchling."
Hearing their conversation, the young Grace seemed anxious.
Did a dragon take dad?
Although she hadn’t seen a dragon encyclopedia and didn’t know what a Gem Dragon was, she understood that any monster related to dragons was nothing good.
Suddenly, her expression changed, and she said anxiously:
"Our family doesn’t have that much money."
Finding someone and finding someone possibly taken by a dragon, that’s not the same price.
"Then pay with something else."
Louis’s muffled voice came from the helmet. Grace seemed to notice his strange gaze, instinctively taking a step back, her face turning pale.
"If you don’t have enough gold coins, then I want you..."
Louis’s finger pointed at Grace, and seeing her remain silent, her peach blossom eyes became misty, her rosy lips tightly pressed together.
Then he said, "Bring out the best food from your house."
Grace: "Eh?"
Alice burst into laughter, slapping her knee: "Alright, girl, go get the food!"
Grace excitedly jumped up, grabbing Louis’s hand, thanking him repeatedly: "Thank you, thank you!"
"This Mr. Caesar is a good person!"
Such a thought flashed through simple Grace’s mind.
Yet, at this moment, Louis’s expression was rather serious.
Because just now, he discovered a surprising fact.