Chapter 278
Evan D. Sherden, Forms a Sub-Party (3)
Finding Must Save wasn't that difficult. Of course, this was because Evan knew where he was staying in advance.
"I think you and I are good enough."
"It's the same reason I'm trying to test you. The teacher cares about qualified people."
"Huh, that doesn't make me feel too bad."
Renail was currently walking alongside Louise and was training her magic quickly. What she had in her hand was an old-fashioned harness lamp that had once helped Belois' magic skills grow at a great speed!
Of course, it was a different model for Belois. There was still quite a bit left of them in the world.
"It's really innovative. I feel that the operation of magic is easier than anything I've ever tried. How the hell could anyone...?"
"It's the teacher."
"He must have been sent by God."
Louise looked very perplexed as she saw faith spring up in the eyes of her companion.
"I can't wait to meet the teacher."
"Call him Leader."
"Hmm... oh, no. All right, I'll establish my own mentor relationship with him!"
Looking at Renail, who was rightly and bravely responding with her cold eyes, Louise began to worry about whether she would really be okay to enter the dungeon with her.
'One thing for sure is that I don't want to let this girl meet Evan. And that's not because I'm jealous...!'
"Wow, he's staying at a worse hotel than I am. Are you sure he's a very talented person?"
"Do you doubt the teacher's eyes?"
"No! I believe in him!"
'All right, this is how you're going to do it,' Louise smiled internally and opened the inn door, and entered. It was an extremely old man who was in charge of manning the counter.
"Astray...... It's an honor that you've come to visit. Is there anything you're looking for......?"
"There is a guest I would like to meet. Can you let us meet him?"
"Okay."
Astray's name was absolute in this city.
Everyone in the dungeon city remembered the young members who were busy running around Evan three years ago; they had prevented the terrible crisis that came upon the city that day.
"Wait here. I'll bring him myself."
"Thank you."
The owner of the inn was like everyone else. Even though knowing that Louise was a newcomer, he took an extremely polite attitude just because she belonged to Astray.
Naturally, Renail's view of Louise was bound to change.
"You're so cool, Eonni!"
"It's not my fame, it's the fame that the Master has achieved. Keep in mind that they respect us because of our teachers' and seniors' performances. We have their names on our chests."
"Yeah!"
Looking at how Renail's personality seemed to be, Louise felt more and more perplexed at the prospect of accompanying her into the dungeon.
"Please, I hope the other guy is fine. But I don't think I can expect much from the fact that he fainted when he saw my teacher.'
She thought that she was lucky to have learned shield art.
'Even if a dangerous troll confronts us in the dungeon, I have the means to save my life!'
"You're here, as expected."
"...As expected?"
"Yes, I've been waiting."
A boy with a far cry from what she expected appeared before them. Of course, his beauty did not transcend human royalties like Evan.
It was a little unusual that the brown and green hair was mixed with a dark olive color, but except for that, he was an ordinary boy.
No one on the continent would know, but his hair and eye designs were special editions.
"As I've seen you, you've probably seen me. The other day, I'd like to apologize for sneaking up on you."
"Uh, uh... yes, I see."
However, if there was anything more unusual, it was the boy's attitude who had joined the party.
The logbook of his entry and Maybell's men's report, who had been observing him, stated that the boy Must Save had been wandering around in all sorts of huts.
"Please be comfortable around me. You are with Evan, right?"
"I'm a disciple, but..."
"Disciple!"
The moment he heard that, Must Save's attitude changed.
Louise felt a different sense of uneasiness than when she met Renail at the sight of the boy, who had grown even more polite upon hearing this. The crystal earrings on her ear shook as she felt the atmosphere in the room.
"I thought so, but I see it! A disciple would be like his apostle. It's an honor!"
"Eonni, I think he's worse than I am."
Louise pushed Renail aside and faced the boy again. He spoke with his eyes slightly downward, as if he had dared not make eye contact.
"Apostle, can I ask you exactly why you came to see me...?"
"It's not that serious. And I'm not an apostle, I'm Louise."
"Okay, Louise. You can call me Save!"
'That's weird. My teacher told me that dealing with Renail would be more challenging.
But the situation seems to be a bit different. If I ask this boy to pick up the head of a Demon right now, he'd just run straight out to do it!'
"If you want, why don't you have a dungeon party with us? My teacher wants to support those who are qualified. Do you think you can be strong enough..."
Louise was the Astray member in the room, yet she was the one feeling anxious. While Louise was watching with shaky eyes, the boy shed tears as he couldn't overcome the overwhelming emotion.
"I am also a chosen warrior....!"
"..."
Perhaps Evan's overly shocking beauty had utterly destroyed his brain.
Louise looked at him with worried eyes. Renail had just decided to ignore the remark, but that was probably because she was blowing magic into the lamp.
"I accept your proposal with pleasure."
He spoke in a husky voice as if to shake off the resentment of the past years.
"I will gladly obey his orders. Apostle, I will follow your guidance and be reborn as a great warrior!"
"Uh...."
Louise was slightly frightened by the boy's spirit. Fortunately, he didn't notice it and went on passionately.
"I was already preparing my mind. I'll do anything. What should I do first?"
"Well...then, first."
Although they weren't off to a great start, their sense of purpose seemed clear. As she seemed to have succeeded in having a party with him, Louise decided to follow her esteemed teacher's instructions in order.
"Let's get rid of that weird junk you have and go buy a proper halberd. Then we'll start by learning basic combat skills."
"...Oh, I see."
The halberd, which Must Save had scraped together from the ingredients he had found in the countryside, was disposed of that day.
However, that was why his halberd mastery had not been growing properly so far, so it would not be enough even if Save thanked Evan for a hundred days.
* * *
That evening, Evan was vividly watching Louise's group training in the backyard of the accommodation, and more precisely, teaching Save the basics of the halberd mastery, through a fist-sized crystal ball artifact.
"Well, I guess that's all you've got..."
Of course, it was okay to be reported by correspondence from Louise, but it would be much nicer if Evan could see it for himself. The means of their communication was the crystal earrings that Evan had given to Louise.
The earring was a real-time transmission of voice and video, with communication functions attached as well. He could even summon the earrings' owner by injecting magic into the other pair, or the crystal ball, or move near the earring.
"The screen is really clean."
"Yes, it's 4K."
"What unit is that?"
"About 4,000 pixels... No, pretend you didn't hear." [TL NOTE: 4k is 8million pixels Toika-nim...]
As one could expect from its preposterous capabilities, it was an artifact obtained three years ago by defeating the Four Heavenly Kings. Thanks to this artifact, Gefrel was able to deploy his army to Sherden at the time.
Originally, the function was limited, and there was a lock that only the Demon tribe could use, but the joint study with Ctheasil had not only unlocked it, but Evan was also able to strengthen its ability.
As a result, miraculous artifacts that were not originally in the game were born, so it was called a legend's birth. Ctheasil's success in making it had made it less attractive to other witches, though.
"He's very lousy. I'm sure he's not a player. It's not acting."
"It's not something you can act on. I don't know what a player is, but that's real. It's a real mess."
Like Evan, who gained memories of his past life, Save may have gained memories of his past life.
Evan chose the character. Who was going to live with that character in his past life? Of course, only the ruling and opposition parties would be considered as candidates.
'I'm glad it wasn't like that......Of course, the fundamental question of Must Save's existence in this world has not been solved.'
He almost fell into serious consideration about himself. He shook his head to shake off all the ideas that were not conducive to the current situation.
From now on, they had decided to work on the assumption that Save knew nothing about the game called the Yo-Ma Great War, and that he could respond very sensitively to his aptitude or the other party's ability (i.e., something that is infinitely close to the Status or itself).
"That's a very similar ability to Master."
"No, it's definitely different. If I've captured an uncertain future so far, he'll be able to capture the definite present. Utilization is endless."
"So you want to raise him as an avatar who deals with troublesome things instead?"
"...Was it obvious?"
"Yes."
"Hehe."
Evan poked out his tongue, hitting him on the head due to the sharp retort that Shine made.
The 18-year-old man's charm was a critical hit, meaning that it was bad for Shine's heart! He clenched his fist tightly and desperately controlled himself not to hit his Master by mistake.
"So what are you going to do, Master? I don't like his attitude."
"Well, I think you're mistaken..."
Evan thought for a moment and then nodded with a determined look.
"I don't think he's harmful, so let's just leave him alone. I don't want to worry about anything more."
"I knew you'd do that, Master."
"Anyway, we should wait a little longer and start providing more full-fledged support. It's dangerous to go into the dungeon like that. He needs at least another week of training."
"Let's get Louise back to work today. Raihan was complaining that she still had a lot of shield training left."
"Okay."
Evan tapped the crystal ball to deliver a return order to Louise. Louise responded with noticeable joy and immediately said something to Renail and Save, before breaking apart from them.
Of course, there was no problem with their surveillance even if she returned. They had already moved to Evan's quarters, and there was plenty of bugging installed there, to the point where Evan could see every move.
Was it a crime? Of course, it was a crime. But Evan didn't care about such a trivial matter.
"Save, if you think of me as someone sent by God..."
'Then I will always be a guardian angel and take care of you.'
Evan smiled satisfactorily and stood up. That was how the relationship between a compassionate leader and an innocent warrior began.