Chapter 29: Luo Yi’s New Home

“This path is very hard. Are you sure?”

At the end of the alley, Bali Saihe leaned on his long staff and posed the question to Luo Yi.

His posture remained straight, just like the fearless commander of years past.

Luo Yi nodded.

“I thought… Bali Saihe was no longer the great hero of my dreams… that he would have become something terrible.”

The red-haired, gray-eyed boy said,

“But… but I also saw that you, sir, are still the hero of those days… So I am willing to become your disciple.”

He poured out all the suffering he had endured.

He told of the hardship of living with his grandfather, of killing the Manticore only to receive no fair reward, and in the end, losing the last person in the world who loved him.

Bali Saihe let out a long sigh, as if mourning that brave subordinate.

In a way, he and Bali Saihe were the same kind of person.

They had both thought themselves unrivaled.

In his youth, Bali Saihe had been the champion of the Hero Selection, but he never intended to go it alone or engage in pointless individual heroics.

The better approach was to teach his skills to the kingdom itself.

So he joined the army and eventually became a general, the empire’s unyielding shield, and even…

But how similar was his own fate to Luo Yi’s?

Asuna was also listening quietly, but her attention wasn’t on the conversation.

Even though she had become a little beggar, this girl maintained her manners.

She sat silently on an abandoned wooden crate at the end of the alley, her small feet dangling like willow branches swaying in the spring breeze.

“…Therefore, I want to become a Brave not just to fight evil and save the world, but also…”

Luo Yi said.

“I want to prove myself. That I’m not some lowly person.”

“You never were.”

Bali Saihe couldn’t see Luo Yi, but he could sense the spirit in his chest.

The spirit unique to youth.

“You were meant to be the proud descendant of a brave warrior, respected by people and earnestly anticipated by your elders.”

The old man crouched down, feeling Luo Yi’s face with his hands, trying to memorize his features.

“Child, you have a stubborn refusal to give up. That’s good. But there is also anger in that spirit, which sometimes keeps you from seeing clearly.”

Bali Saihe stood up again and said,

“Besides, you’re probably hiding something you haven’t told me.”

Luo Yi’s face turned pale in an instant.

But the old man suddenly grinned.

“But I respect young people’s privacy. I’ll still take you as my disciple. If you can become the next generation’s Brave, that would be a good thing.”

“As long as…” Bali Saihe returned to his previous melancholic demeanor.

“…You don’t make the same mistakes I did.”

Luo Yi knelt on one knee, then laid his Heavy Sword flat across both hands and presented it to the old man.

“Master!”

Bali Saihe nodded, acknowledging the relationship.

He took the Heavy Sword, then lightly touched Luo Yi’s head and both shoulders.

“From now on, Luo Yi is my child. I shall fulfill the duties of guardian and teacher…”

This was an ancient custom passed down through human generations, back when the white sails of the human adventurer King Frank had just arrived in Patagonia.

Adopting and educating the orphans of fallen comrades was very common.

But that didn’t mean Luo Yi’s good days had arrived.

Bali Saihe believed that Luo Yi’s first lesson should be begging.

No, in the language of ascetics, it was called alms-seeking cultivation.

Luo Yi had no choice but to accept.

After all… improving one’s perception and endurance through such training seemed to be a necessary path for a Brave, didn’t it?

The old man wouldn’t be lying, would he?

He obediently followed through.

The first thing he did was take his still-decent clothes to a pawnshop in Grino and exchange them for one copper coin and a ragged outfit.

Dressing himself as a new beggar—was that really…

“My grandfather is just tricking you.”

Asuna broke off a piece of bread and handed it to Luo Yi.

“Are you… my big brother now?”

“Sort of. My good buddy.”

“I’m a girl!”

Asuna reiterated, her cheeks puffed out.

“Sorry, but you’re not as pretty as the girls I used to know…”

Luo Yi immediately clapped his hand over his mouth.

Oh no, how did he let that slip?

Saying to a girl’s face that she’s not as pretty as other girls?!

***

Ah-choo—

Xue La rubbed her nose.

Summer had just ended, and autumn still had three long months.

The weather wasn’t particularly cold, so why was she sneezing for no reason?

It must be the terrible environment in this women’s monastery.

The rooms were either moldy or dusty!

How much longer did she have to stay here?

Calculating the time, little Luo Yi should be meeting Asuna, the true female lead of the game and the cute granddaughter of the old general Bali Saihe, very soon.

In the game, they fell in love at first sight.

By then, Luo Yi would quickly forget about her, right?

***

Asuna frowned.

A girl’s intuition was that accurate.

“Grandfather said he dressed me as a boy so I wouldn’t be bullied!”

Asuna said.

“The thing you were hiding before—it’s about that time in the Manticore Cave, isn’t it? What did you do?”

Luo Yi’s scalp tingled.

He really didn’t want to get tangled up with this brat.

But who told her she was his master’s granddaughter?

So the red-haired, gray-eyed boy told the truth.

In the Manticore Cave, he had once saved a girl.

Not just any girl—the only daughter of House Linde.

Xue La Linde.

Luo Yi spoke the truth.

“I like Sister Xue La. I don’t want to become a Brave just for pretty words…”

Luo Yi said.

“Also, a Brave who performs great deeds is the kingdom’s great hero—they can even marry a princess… I want to become a Brave and then marry Xue La. That thought…”

“So mean! So greedy!”

Asuna stuck out her tongue, then turned around and ignored him completely.

Luo Yi shrugged.

He hadn’t wanted anything to do with this ugly brat anyway.

But Bali Saihe knew the children needed to stick together.

“That girl is just worried about losing her only love now that she has a new big brother…”

The old man called Luo Yi over and said softly,

“Asuna… is the only thing I care about in this life. Can you promise me you’ll take care of her?”

“Fine. I’ll look after her like a little sister.”

Luo Yi was still unhappy.

“Only a girl who truly cares about you gets jealous.”

Bali Saihe chuckled wryly.

The atmosphere in the alley seemed relaxed, but beyond the shadows, there was still a significant threat.

Xi Fu hid in the shadows across the street, listening to all this.

He didn’t know the full story, but “Bali Saihe,” “Asuna”…

Those names were valuable.

Valuable enough to sell to the leader of the Shadow Thieves’ Guild, “Black Sheep” Ke Lun.

The nickname came partly because Ke Lun was a thin man with thick, pitch-black hair and a goatee that he meticulously trimmed every day with a murderous knife.

And partly because his heart was even blacker than his hair.

Ke Lun was one of the secret rulers of the city of Grino, sharing the city’s profits peacefully—at least, that’s what they said—with a few other underworld brothers.

In the deepest, most remote courtyard of Grino’s lower district, Xi Fu reported this matter to Ke Lun.

He was hoping to exchange this information for a few gold coins!

Because this news was really valuable.

Xi Fu knew it, and Ke Lun knew it too.

The latter was having a barbecue in the courtyard, using simple firewood…

Well, at least this guy had one more reason for his nickname “Black Sheep.”

He was a lamb lover.

He was roasting a leg of lamb right then.

With his daily devotion to eating lamb, it was no wonder he reeked of mutton!

The knife quickly cut a slice off the leg, and a layer of meat with just the right amount of fat was easily picked up between two fingers.

When you’re a thief, you can’t complain about things being too hot to hold or too hard to pick up…

“Bali Saihe? That old general?”

Ke Lun chewed the mutton, savoring the taste.

“And that fat sheep called Asuna?”

“Yes…”

Xi Fu nodded.

“Everyone knows… that person in the royal capital is willing to pay a very, very high price to have Bali Saihe and his granddaughter brought back for a reunion.”

“We’ve done so many bad deeds in the Shadow Thieves over the years. Maybe we can still wash our hands of it!”

Ke Lun laughed heartily.