338:
To make himself look more majestic, Gus, who was over thirty, had grown a beard. As a warrior who had once served in the temple, his body had not aged rapidly with age and still maintained the figure of his prime.
What made Gus very gratified was that although his daughter liked to be with her mother, she did not dislike him, this father.
What he liked most was to let his daughter ride on his shoulders and then walk together on the country roads.
He had heard from passing travelers and caravans that the outside world was becoming more and more dangerous.
Speaking of the strange things that had happened in the outside world these past few years, Gus had a feeling of being in a dream, an unreal feeling.
Princess Elena had actually become the ruler of the south, which made Gus, who had once trained under Captain Elena, very proud.
What he was most proud of was telling his daughter that he had once observed Her Majesty Elena up close, and had even fought side by side with her. And at that time, his daughter would also show a look of longing, looking at him with admiration.
Even after hearing the story of Her Majesty Elena, she had specially asked him for a small wooden sword and had started to train with him.
Although this matter had made his always-gentle wife angry for several days, and had even not let him sleep in bed at night, but had to sleep on the floor… but in the end, his wife had still agreed to Gus’s idea of training his daughter a little to have the ability to protect herself.
This world was too dangerous. A woman with no strength to truss a chicken would have a hard time living in this world.
One day, as he was swinging his sword in the courtyard while his hungry daughter lay nearby, babbling softly to herself, two travelers in hoods walked past the door.
Although the stable life made Gus enjoy it very much, his years of experience still made him notice the abnormality of these two people at the first moment.
A man and a woman, and they were holding hands. They were very likely a couple or lovers.
But the point was not here… they basically made no footsteps when they walked, and it was even possible that they had deliberately made their footsteps heavier after passing by here, but for an ordinary person, it was still very light.
If they were not rogues who were proficient in stealth, then without a doubt, these two people… were experts.
At least for him, they were experts.
Gus’s whole body’s muscles began to tense. He looked at the two of them a little nervously, hoping that they were just passing by.
But his abnormal behavior seemed to have been noticed by the two of them. The shorter woman turned her head and found the little girl in the courtyard.
“Oh?”
“My dear, look at that child.”
The man beside her, even if his body was shrouded in a cloak, could not hide his tall and straight figure. He turned his head at her words, looked at the little girl with surprise, and then silently nodded, saying softly, “Very talented…”
As if he felt that what he had said was not enough, he thought for a moment and added, “A genius.”
The woman laughed, and then she let go of the hand that was holding the man’s, and gently took off her own hood. Her ears moved a little. She nodded at the extremely nervous Gus, who was protecting his daughter behind him, and said, “Hello.”
“May we stay at your place for a while?”
This was a very reasonable request. The small town where Gus was was very remote. If they missed this place, they would have to walk for four or five hours through a dangerous jungle to get to the next village. And at this time, it was already evening. The forest at midnight was extremely dangerous.
Gus looked at this woman’s friendly smile and did not feel any danger. And even that man, who looked a little cold, did not have an aura that made him feel disgusted. On the contrary, it reminded him of the expressionless, extremely rigid priests he had seen in the temple before.
He was silent for a moment, walked to the fence, gently unlocked the gate, and turned to the side to invite the two of them into the courtyard.
“I hope you won’t bring us any trouble.”
The woman nodded happily, and then she pulled the man and bowed together. She winked at the little girl who was hiding behind Gus and then nodded with a smile, “Of course. Please rest assured.”
The little girl, who was usually shy, looked at the woman who was showing goodwill and, contrary to her usual practice, revealed a smile.
…
Although his wife was strange that Gus had let the two travelers stay at their home at this time, instead of at another villager’s home, the virtuous her did not ask, but just silently prepared dinner.
The dinner was very lively. After a few glasses of wine, Gus learned that this young man, who looked a little cold, with black hair and green eyes, was actually just a husband who was cold on the outside but kind on the inside, and was not good at expressing himself.
Because the gaze he directed at the woman was always full of gentleness and love.
Although the woman seemed to have some subhuman bloodline, her personality was cheerful. Her and her daughter’s laughter never stopped.
“I heard from your wife… you seem to have been to many places.”
Gus and that man were sitting at the wine table, each with a glass of home-brewed wheat wine, watching the three of them play, and chatting leisurely.
To have extra grain to make wine was something that the former Gus had never imagined. And all of this good life was thanks to Prince Shelley’s wise policies.
“Praise Her Majesty Elena! Praise His Highness Shelley.”
The man heard Gus’s muttering, raised an eyebrow, and then revealed a faint smile.
“Yes, we have been to many, many places, and have seen many, many people.”
Gus became interested. As a warrior who had once wanted to be an adventurer, but had in the end gone to work in the temple because of his parents’ arrangements… this kind of life was an experience he had dreamed of.
But because of his wife and daughter’s concerns, he had given up his former dream of traveling the world. He had not regretted it, but was just a little regretful.
“Then tell me. I heard from others that the outside world is not very peaceful now.”
The man nodded, and for the first time, he took the initiative to swallow a large mouthful of wheat wine. He wiped the white foam from the corner of his mouth and then said, a little sadly, “Many places outside have broken out in war, plague, famine… and all sorts of natural disasters.”
“Many common people have lost their homes and have become refugees.”
“Those temples, after more than a year of silence, have finally started to operate again. They claim that all of this is the result of their disrespect for their gods.”
“The followers of the evil gods have begun to quietly appear in various places. They are constantly creating slaughter and blood sacrifices.”
“The monsters in the wilderness have begun to have a great migration, occupying the necessary paths between cities and blocking the trade routes of many places.”
“Evil is beginning to breed in every corner of the Material Plane, and chaos is gradually making the world a terrible place.”
“…”
The two of them’s mood became low. They silently clinked their wine glasses, and the two of them drank the wheat wine in large gulps, as if they wanted to swallow the sadness and anger in their hearts…
