After work, start to speedrun the other world-Chapter 108 - 20 Changing the Relationship of Interaction
The hot wind brushed by.
Xi Mu’s palm swept over the Hunting King’s Greatsword, black flames symbolizing death entwined, exuding a horrifying sense of death’s oppression.
"Woman, what foolishness are you speaking?"
His icy voice carried a hint of murderous intent.
"My mentor, Hecate, who masters all the paths of fate’s flow, you dare talk about destiny before me."
"..."
The nun serving the fire shook her head gently, intending to explain the reasons, but found the future King of Ash had already mercilessly launched an attack.
The greatsword wrapped in black flames chopped towards her fair neck, with resolute murderous intent and without the slightest hesitation.
However.
"Clang!" Just before the blade could touch the tender neck, it was stopped by a transparent red shield and did not sever the nun’s head.
Xi Mu, seeing this, had an icy look in his eyes as he exerted force on his wrist, changing the direction of the greatsword and swiftly striking again, yet still failing to break the shield.
He took a step back, placing his hand on the Sword of Light.
And at that moment.
"Lord Ash, please don’t do this," the nun serving the fire spoke softly, "Your body isn’t well right now, using the Sword of Light will cause excessive weakness."
As she finished speaking.
Light surged forward, forming a pillar and stabbing towards the blindfolded nun’s chest; with the collision, the entire world was submerged in light.
Moments later, the light faded.
The terrain underwent a drastic change; the hillside had vanished from its place, and above the cave, a bottomless hole had appeared.
And Xi Mu and the eight-legged horse had disappeared at this time.
"Lord Ash, I... truly had no ill intentions," sighed the blindfolded nun with a hint of helplessness as she walked out from the lava.
She remained in an unharmed state.
But she looked somewhat helpless and frustrated. Facing such hostility at their first encounter, how was she to guide the fate of the King of Ash from now on?
Of course, she hadn’t given up; on the contrary, she planned to be even more patient and sincere to make the King of Ash understand she had no ill intent.
With that thought, she looked in the direction where the King of Ash had fled and disappeared in a step, leaving only scattered embers fluttering in the air.
Meanwhile.
In a remote small town.
Outside an inn.
The dwarf girl opened her mouth wide in astonishment, gazing at the silver-clad knight who had appeared at the door, filled with the novelty of seeing an alien creature.
For the dwarves who lived underground, humans were exceedingly rare, spotted only in big cities where human activity was more frequent.
In smaller places, you could practically go a lifetime without encountering a human.
And now, there was a living, moving, and quite handsome human right in front of her.
"Accommodation," Xi Mu said, weariness on his face, leaning against the eight-legged horse, as if he had been battling for days and nights, feeling as worn out as if his kidneys were overdrawn.
The dwarf girl immediately nodded upon hearing him, wiping her small hands on her apron before asking:
"For two guests, right?"
The atmosphere quieted down.
Xi Mu followed the gaze of the dwarf girl and saw the nun serving the fire standing beside him as if she were a subordinate.
Upon feeling his gaze, she even gave him a gentle smile.
"Lord Ash, please... grant me some time for communication," the blindfolded nun said with her hand gently resting on her chest, speaking with a pleading tone.
"Had I harbored any malice toward you, I could have claimed your life earlier, but I did nothing."
"..."
Xi Mu did not respond, nor did he refuse.
In truth, he was not the least bit surprised by the acts of the blindfolded nun; it was all within his expectations.
If he had accepted the identity of the blindfolded nun from the start and agreed to become the King of Ash, she would proceed with what was called fate, pushing him step by step to embrace the role, and the whole mission process would be quite bothersome.
However, if he were to refuse to become the King of Ash, then the blindfolded nun’s logic in her actions would undergo a radical change. Instead of driving destiny to make him the King of Ash, she would aim to gain his trust and carry out some fair actions.
The power was in his hands.
Hmm... to draw an improper analogy, it was like dating. If a player initially agreed to become the King of Ash simply because of the blindfolded nun’s looks, they would face trials, and only after becoming the King of Ash, would they win the affection of the beauty.
But if a player, despite having the destiny to become the King of Ash, refuses to carry out the role, the blindfolded nun’s actions would transform drastically, from helping the player become the King of Ash to trying to gain the player’s trust.
Under such circumstances, as long as the requests weren’t too outrageous, the blindfolded nun would inevitably agree to them in order to "conquer" the player’s trust and thus feel compelled to comply.
The situation would go from the player pursuing the blindfolded nun to the blindfolded nun pursuing the player.
And naturally, the initiative would shift to the player.
"Right, Lord Ash, you’re planning to rest, aren’t you?" The blind nun, seeing Xi Mu silent, approached the dwarf girl and conscientiously paid.
"Please prepare two adjacent rooms."
"Yes." The dwarf girl nodded obediently, scurried into the shop; her father had gone to Parad City and had not returned, so now she was running the small inn alone, which made her somewhat... afraid.
The atmosphere between those two humans outside was off, giving the impression they might start fighting at any moment.
"Lord Ash, you are not very familiar with the dwarf world." The blind nun turned around, speaking softly to Xi Mu:
"Let me be your guide."
"..." Xi Mu narrowed his eyes slightly, instinctively placing his hand on the Sword of Light, causing the blind nun to step back upon seeing this.
"Lord Ash, please don’t do that," she advised gently with a resigned expression, "It will only waste the little magic power you have left."
Xi Mu frowned, "Are you saying I can’t kill you?"
But indeed you cannot.
The little mare thought this to herself, standing by to grab the knight and flee at any moment; she had detected the blind nun’s extraordinary strength.
However, contrary to her expectations, the blind nun, though in a position of strength, seemed flustered and waved her hands clumsily.
"Lord Ash, that’s not what I meant." The blind nun raised her hand to her chest softly, her voice filled with concern, "You are very weak at the moment, using the Sword of Light will deplete your body."
Having said this, she added another sentence.
"If you were in good health, then naturally you could have killed me."
That’s feasible.
The little mare gaped, watching the anxious explanation of the blind nun, feeling her worldview challenged; in her steadfast belief, those who were strong could take control, and the strong could decide everything.
Yet the situation was reversed, with the obviously dominant blind nun appearing quite disadvantaged.
"Don’t joke, I am indeed weaker than you," Xi Mu said dismissively, shaking his head, then looked at the little mare, "Partner, can you transform into... a human form?"
The little mare shook her head.
In fact, as a creation of the Monster Witch, she could alter her body shape like a dragon, transforming into a human figure.
But she had no interest in taking a human form.
Otherwise, it would easily lead to some very strange plots, such as a romance between humans and monsters, followed by the tragedy of a life-span debate.
Moving when heard from a minstrel’s lips, yet to become the protagonist of such a story, was a sure tragedy.
Therefore, she definitely did not want to transform into a human in front of Xi Mu.
"This poses a bit of a dilemma," Xi Mu frowned, looking at the dwarf inn. Humans could barely squeeze in, but the great size of the little mare made it inconvenient for her to enter unless she could take on a human form.
Of course, she could also be sent to the stables, but given the little mare’s pride, she would never allow herself to stay there.
So.
"Leave it to me." The blind nun proffered a ring willingly, "Lord Ash, this ring can help you store your warhorse and equipment."
She looked at Xi Mu’s attire.
"Lord Ash, it’s time you lightened the burden of what you wear."
"..." The little mare nearby also admired this, as Xi Mu stood at the inn’s entrance clad in silver armor, with two greatswords at his side and a large bow on his back.
And this was after she had taken on the load of multiple magic potion bottles, alchemical tools, and backup food supplies. If Xi Mu had to carry them himself, he’d have to lug around a large bag.
In the past, Xi Mu had a personal maid to help carry things, but now there was no one to assist.
"Lord Ash, this... is a gift I give to you as we meet for the first time."
The blind nun spoke softly; she had meant to wait until Lord Ash had grown stronger before presenting the ring as a gift.
But now that Lord Ash was full of hostility towards her, she had to change tactics, first to gain Lord Ash’s trust and then find a way to steer him toward his fate.
As for the prearranged gift, it would just have to be given in advance.
"..."
Xi Mu took the ring, inspecting it briefly; it was an item crafted by fairies, precious yet not all that valuable.
After all, he usually would not let his equipment be far from him; otherwise, back at the Magic Castle, requesting from Hecate an alchemical storage item wouldn’t have been difficult.
"You said you were a nun who served the fire, right?" he held the ring in his hand, sounding a bit friendlier.
"Why would you serve something so dangerous?"
"Lord Ash, I serve you," the blind nun explained, "Do you understand Ragnarok?"
Xi Mu pretended ignorance, shaking his head slightly.
At this, the blind nun smiled faintly, gesturing toward the dwarf girl approaching with keys, and whispered:
"Lord Ash, it’s not suitable to discuss this on the street."
"..."
Xi Mu turned to look at the little mare, noticing her large form shrink as she entered the inn with pride.
He didn’t mind it; after all, in a couple of days, the little mare would be willing to stay inside the ring.
