Chapter 677

Chapter Sixty-Two Returning to Messer Town

In the distance, the contours of the dunes gradually became clear. The ridge lines were smooth and flowing, and the splendid sunrise slowly rose from behind the dunes, soon hanging high in the sky.

In the boundless sea of sand, the little girl and the maiden wore veils, riding on pack animals led by an old man with a hunched back. Their large footprints were left in the fine sand.

They had long since left the not-so-bustling town, walking step by step further west into the desert.

The pack animal they rented from the old man was expensive. Including the newly bought compass, food, and water, they had almost spent all the money they had stolen from that gang.

When they went to the market to rent the pack animal, many people saw two young girls and offered lower prices than the old man. However, most of them had ill intentions. To avoid unnecessary trouble, the two finally decided to let the honest-looking old man take them a part of the way.

Although the old man was advanced in age, he had rich experience in traveling through the desert. This journey was much smoother than when they first set out. With the pack animal, they didn’t have to walk and thus felt less thirsty. The little girl was in high spirits and talked a lot.

“Sister, sister…”

“Did you have a famous name in West Continent? You know, the kind where everyone knows who you are just by hearing your name…”

“Sister, last night’s papal knight… His name is Carlos, right? Betty seems to have heard his name before… but she can’t remember where she heard it…”

“Sister, Betty thinks he’s not a bad person…”

“In fact, I heard some of what you said in the room last night…”

“But later I got sleepy, and then I dozed off… Did they come to the town to look for you? Do they know Sister Eluna?”

“I hope nobody gets into a fight…”

“Hey, Sister…”

It seemed the little girl only listened to half of their conversation last night. When she heard about the woman possibly dying, she probably started dozing off outside… After all, she was only ten years old, and her mind was simple. Hearing complex topics she didn’t understand or care about, she couldn’t help but fall asleep, which was quite normal.

She wasn’t very clear about what happened afterward. Perhaps because she believed Carlos was a good person, she didn’t pay much attention to the situation from last night. Now, seeing the town coming closer, the little girl was extremely excited, chattering non-stop, which annoyed the maiden, though she didn’t scold her. She sat on the animal’s back, one hand supporting her chin, frowning silently.

Occasionally, the old man leading the pack animal would turn around and interject a few words.

But he was not good at talking and could only say dry things like “Is the little girl from that town down there?” “You dare to go out without a man, you must be brave,” “I’ve been to that town several times before,” and similar phrases. Because of his age, his hearing wasn’t great, so after saying something, if the little girl responded, he wouldn’t hear and would remain silent, leaving the conversation unfinished.

Three days passed quickly.

On the fourth day as dusk approached, the silhouette of Messer Town appeared faintly in the distance.

This journey had been truly peaceful. Behind them, the vast desert stretched for thousands of miles, the wind and sand making no sound, as if no one was following them.

Soon, they reached the eastern entrance of the town. The old man released the reins, and the maiden and the little girl slowly dismounted from the animal. Far away, they saw a figure standing by the fence. Someone was walking towards them. Upon seeing the situation clearly, they suddenly froze, then quickly waved their hands, and several people rushed forward.

“Betty…”

“Little Betty!”

“Are you okay? Are you okay? Where did you run off to… Your grandfather must have been worried sick these past few days!”

“Uncle Mond, we encountered a sandstorm…”

The little girl stammered, speaking to the man who rushed over first. He picked her up, “I guessed it.”

Here, I guessed…May the goddess bless us, thank goodness you’re safe…It’s all right, it’s all right…

“Let Uncle check, if there’s any injury…”

The townspeople were very caring towards the little girl. Standing not far away, I raised my head and looked at the town that wasn’t really familiar to me. For a moment, a sense of emotion suddenly arose in my heart.

“Aah…”

In the end, I still came back here…

On this journey, I actually did think about just leaving, going away from this place, letting the beast carry Betty back… After all, according to Carlos, the Church would likely come here soon, and before that, the Sword Saint could return at any time…

I could have stayed away, avoiding these unnecessary risks.

But I still came back.

I thought that if I left, going to a place where no one knew me and couldn’t find me, staying there for a while might be safer, yes, but the progress of regaining my strength might become extremely slow…

Currently, the state of energy inside my body, the Frost Order has improved slightly, but it’s only slightly better, still a long way from its peak. The same goes for the physical strengthening power. It feels like being forcibly suppressed by some bottomless black hole; although I have the strength, I can’t use it, which is frustrating and very uncomfortable. This feeling was already very obvious when I fought the red-haired woman.

It feels like something inside my body is constantly draining and restraining my strength, thus preventing me from unleashing it fully…

That’s roughly what it feels like.

Only the Abyss power can feel a gradual recovery during meals…

As for the Karma power, there hasn’t been any sign of awakening until now.

I worry that this will eventually cause problems with my body…

But that dancer must know something, because she restored my body… to human form. And before that, according to Betty’s description, my appearance could have scared her so much she almost wet herself.

I should try to see Elona again, to figure out what’s going on with my current condition.

If she really has died…

Then I’ll consider leaving at that time.

At least, I need to confirm whether the dancer is alive or dead first…

“Uncle Mond, Betty is fine, it was, it was the sister… She saved Betty’s life…”

During the period of distraction, after several consolations from the people around, the little girl pointed at me. The man holding Betty then looked over with the others. Of course, they had noticed me long ago, perhaps unsure how to communicate, no one had spoken up until now.

The men’s eyes still carried a hint of awe, but when they heard the little girl say I saved her, their expressions softened, and the wariness and unfamiliarity between them seemed to fade away significantly.

“Um…”

The man holding Betty scratched his face and gave me an unnatural smile: “Miss, thank you… Oh, I don’t know how to thank you… We thought earlier… Heh…”

What, did they think I had abandoned Betty and left?

Although the man swallowed his words in time, his thoughts were clearly written all over his face.

Of course, I wouldn’t argue with him about such things. Not only because I didn’t think it necessary, but also because I could tell that despite his stiff smile, his gratitude was genuine.

“It’s okay.”

I waved my hand at the man.

These people didn’t know how to interact with me, and I wasn’t particularly keen on getting close to them either. I had no interest in wasting time and energy on them. This place wasn’t the nameless village of Silgaya, and I wasn’t that naive little creature who arrived here clueless about the world.

I would eventually leave this place.

I had things I needed to do…

“Old man Robert, where is he? I have something to ask him.”