Chapter 106

In the Demon King's Forest, the adventure of the hero's team continues.

Veris, who originally planned to stay for ten days or half a month before heading to the Demon King's Forest again, had to stay at the Grand Vatican because of Sylvain's unusual behavior.

When Lortheran heard that he had returned, he took time out of his busy schedule to visit the Papacy. He saw Veris sitting in the Pope's private study, with Sylvain standing to one side with his head down, unaware of Sylvain's unusual appearance.

He walked in with a grin.

Veris looked up at him and said politely, "Good day, Your Majesty."

Just as Lortheran was about to reply, he was caught off guard by Sylvain's glare.

His Majesty the King: "?"

He glanced at Sylvain discreetly, coughed twice, and said, "How long has it been since you came back? You didn't even tell me you were coming back. I've been missing you terribly."

Lortheran felt like he was being stabbed all over. Veris gave him a curious look. "Weren't you busy with your eastern tour? I haven't heard of you having any free time."

"Didn't you send me a letter not long ago, asking me to send a few archbishops with you? You've come all the way to the East?" It's no wonder Veris couldn't remember; he was very busy, having spent more than a month slaughtering in the secret realm, and had forgotten many small things.

If Lortheran hadn't come to him, he wouldn't have remembered that Lortheran had asked him to borrow someone not long ago.

The familiar tone in their voices made Sylvain's expression darken even more.

Lortheran found a chair and sat down, not at all reserved, and said casually, "I'm back a while ago. I went to Daventry and dragged Ethan back. He wasn't willing, but a beating would have put him in his place." Of course, he didn't beat him. Lortheran glared at the kid, and Ethan shrank back and agreed.

Veris looked down at the official documents on the table and said, "Arnold and his team's current progress will probably take another year and a half."

"So long?!" Lortheran exclaimed. "They're at the Demon King Lin An's house!"

The pen tip left a series of beautiful characters on the paper. Veris didn't even look up: "I've dealt with the most important things, but they still have to solve their own problems... Two years isn't slow."

He remembered that the previous generation of heroes had spent four years.

Lortheran curled his lip, picked up a water glass from the table beside him. The water inside had already cooled, but he didn't mind, took a big gulp, smacked his lips, and showed no trace of royal decorum.

Sylvain remained silent. Lortheran felt that there must be something wrong with Sylvain, otherwise Veris wouldn't have stayed in the study to review official documents. However, since Veris didn't say anything, he didn't need to worry about it.

After a while, Lortheran suddenly said, "Let's find some time to push down those two stone tablets in the Demon King's Abyss."

Veris paused as he wrote, still not looking up, staring at the string of words he had written, and remained silent for a while.

He put down his pen, looked at Lortheran, and suddenly said, "Do you think Hill is still alive?"

Lortheran blinked: "Why not?"

“What worries me is that Hill has already merged with the others, not through reincarnation, but through complete fusion.” Veris’s expression was somewhat grave.

Lortheran, however, was not too worried: "What's the big deal? Even if he's no longer himself, I'll make sure he's comfortable now, considering we were once companions. Hey, I'll give him a noble title, or send him to work for the Papacy, whatever I want."

Veris: "..."

He imagined the scene of Rotheran bestowing a noble title upon Vesper, and a slight smile crept across his face as he asked, "Are you sure?"

Lortheran asked warily, "Is that not allowed?"

"Of course you can, you are the king."

Veris laughed even harder.

Sylvain's face darkened even more.

Lortheran glanced at Sylvain, then looked back at Veris, sensing something was amiss. Could Hill be the reincarnation of one of the sinners he had dealt with? But it didn't matter; it was just a change of appearance.

He scratched his face, feeling that the atmosphere was strange. He didn't care about anything else and said what he had just remembered: "It's mainly those two stone tablets. The curse of the hero has been over for so many years. Sigh, let's just forget about it."

The two stone tablets, bearing the curse of the hero and the demon king, were set up by Lortheran years ago; he simply dug them up from the ground.

He was blinded by rage, and his words, though seemingly spurred by blood, inscribed a curse that had lingered between the demon king and humanity for centuries.

The Brave Star only appeared after that.

Lortheran was a born astrologer, but more accurately, he was born for the stars.

Unable to kill Vesper in the past, he carved this curse, initially hoping that a successor would be able to kill Vesper in his stead and avenge his companion.

To everyone's surprise, the successors were all useless. Their mission to the Demon King's Forest was to seal Vesper, but every few decades, the curse seal would loosen.

Even the current Arnold and his team, while similar in composition to the squad he led back then, are by no means exactly the same.

He has good talent and works very hard; given time, he will definitely become one of the top experts on the continent.

But they weren't enough.

The original hero squad was composed of exceptionally talented individuals from birth. Lortheran, who had worked his way up from the farm, cutting grass every day, was wiped out by bandits when the farm was attacked. He used his grass-cutting sickle to slaughter dozens of bandits. Seventh-tier warriors were sent flying through the air by his sudden slingshot.

Needless to say, Veris, Sylvain, and the dragon.

One, posing as an apothecary, could annihilate an entire city with a single magic circle. Another, a taciturn mage, could cripple a thick-skinned dragon with a single punch; it was only after Veris cast a healing spell that the dragon was back to its lively self.

The dragon is the last dragon in the world, whose bloodline crushes all other monsters.

As for Hill, after spending the first ten years biding his time, he later built a puppet army. Lortheran dares to say that Hill alone could conquer the entire continent of Icarus.

Compared to them, Arnold and his ilk are simply no match.

He was indeed a genius, but that's about it.

Lortheran believed that the symbolism of Arnold and his companions was greater than the power they possessed.

He had a vague feeling that perhaps the century-old curse was overthrown by Arnold and his companions.

Veris frowned slightly upon hearing Lortheran's words. Lortheran still had a host of state affairs to attend to, and after speaking, he rose and hurriedly left, leaving only Veris and Sylvain in the study.

Sylvain looked at the empty doorway and suddenly asked, "The current king is actually a different person."

Veris snapped out of his daze. Sylvain had amnesia… no, he just didn’t remember most of the past few years. So he said, “Lotheran ascended to the throne two years ago, after the death of King Charles the Elder.”

"I have never heard of this person in the royal family."

Veris smiled. "He certainly doesn't have royal blood."

Hearing his words, Sylvain's eyes darkened even more.

"His previous life was that of the founding king, Lortheran. After his death, I turned him into a ghost, who occupied the High Papacy for over two hundred years. A few years ago... I brought him back to life on a corpse."

"That corpse has an unusual physique, so I'll strike first."

Many things happened afterward. Taking advantage of the royal turmoil, Veris changed his initial idea and went with the flow, putting Lortheran on the throne.

Veris patiently recounted the events of the past while reviewing official documents. Sylvain was no longer suited to handle such matters; although he hadn't been involved for some time, he had done this kind of work for two hundred years and quickly adapted.

The large stack of official documents on the table was quickly emptied, with only a dozen or so remaining. Veris planned to call someone over to inquire about them in detail before making a decision.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps sounded outside. Sylvain was carrying a stack of documents and walking out when a figure rushed in. Sylvain's eyes narrowed, but it was too late to step aside. A magic circle instantly appeared in front of him.

But it wasn't his own.

The dragon couldn't stop and crashed headfirst into the magic circle. With a cry of "Ouch!" it staggered back a few steps, but its balance was good, and it quickly regained its footing. It covered its bright red forehead, looked up at Sylvain's eyes, and dared not cry out in pain, giving an embarrassed smile.

It sensed Veris's presence; they hadn't seen each other for a long time, so it quickly flew to the High Papacy.

Veris stood up and looked at the doorway: "Why are you here?"

Dragon: "I've come to see you! Didn't you go to the Demon King's Forest? I sensed that your location had disappeared. Did you go to the secret realm?"

It shrank its neck and quickly darted into the study from beside Sylvain.

Sylvain pursed his lips, picked up the stack of official documents, and left the study. Behind him, he could still hear the boy's chattering voice, his familiarity with the young king no less than that of the boy from before.

He had never seen so many people around Veris.

The Veris I remember was always polite and distant. He would joke with the tavern owner, but the conversation was limited to daily life and food.

Veris had few friends; the Papacy was full of his subordinates, followers, and believers. He never formed deep friendships with anyone, saying it was because he had lived too long and getting too involved with others would cause trouble.

It seems there has been a precedent to learn from.

But now, Sylvain has awakened from his slumber and finds that two years have passed. In these two years, the entire Kingdom of Lortheran has undergone earth-shattering changes, and the policies of the High Papacy have also changed several times. The people are still the same familiar group, but everyone's faces show a mix of fatigue and excitement.

They all knew that this was the moment to go down in history.

They are experiencing a major turning point in history.

No one dared to question the Holy Son's unusual behavior, and with the Pope's return a few days prior, even less attention was paid to it.

Sylvain looked at the unfamiliar official documents and silently had them moved to the long-forgotten papal study.

Those people were very excited.

As of today, Sylvain's mindset remains stable.

It wasn't until he saw Lortheran and Veris chatting familiarly about things they were talking about that he realized how familiar they were, yet he understood nothing about them.

This is Veris's friend, a friend of Veris from hundreds of years ago.

Lortheran must have seen his past life, the one Veris longed for.

Sylvain stood in the corridor, the cold sunlight falling on him. He lowered his eyes, his shadow falling on the wall depicting the fresco of Cupid shooting a deer.

He felt a throbbing pain in his temples, and the pain radiating from his brain made him pale. He realized he couldn't think about it anymore.

Some blurry images flashed before his eyes, and his body stiffened slightly.

Footsteps sounded behind him, slightly hurried, and Veris's voice came from behind: "What's wrong?"

Sylvain turned around stiffly.

Veris walked up to him, looking at him with concern, and took his hand. A pale golden power surged into his body, seemingly searching for the ailment in his soul.

Soon, Veris's expression turned slightly strange. He let go of her hand, gave Sylvain a shove, and said, "Don't think about such nonsense in broad daylight."

He sensed that Sylvain's power was somewhat restless. After thinking about it, he felt it was still not safe, so he simply pushed him back into the room.

This person's memory was in a state of confusion, causing his power to become restless. He was worried that a portion of his divine power would escape his control and destroy the Papacy.

Sylvain's room was also unreliable, so Veris took him back to his own room without a second thought.

Standing at the door, he said sternly, "I'll come to see you tonight. I have to go to convene the Archbishop's Council now. You stay here obediently, understand?"

Sylvain was taken aback.

Seeing Sylvain's expression, Veris gave another earnest explanation before closing the door.

Countless chains woven with divine power sealed the room's door, and soon, the entire exit of the room was bound by invisible chains.

Veris finally felt relieved.

The demon's divine power is rampaging... Let alone the Grand Papacy, wiping out half the capital wouldn't be a problem.

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Author's Note: Xiao Wei: Hiding the West in a Golden House