Chapter 130
"haven't seen you for a long time."
"Actually, it wasn't long, less than a month."
"It's just a greeting."
"......haven't seen you for a long time."
The two sat on the outside seats. Denos lit a cigarette, took a long drag, and slowly exhaled.
All they can talk about is greeting each other.
To be honest, their relationship wasn't good. Last time, in that city with the demons, although Denos saved her once, they were definitely not friends. So-called alliances are something no one wants to believe in.
“I left that demon-hunting group,” Nina said softly, then sipped her tea. It was a delicate bamboo tube filled with pale green tea. “And you?”
“I also left that caravan,” Denos said, looking at her. “Why did you leave? Weren’t the benefits they offered good enough?”
“The benefits were good, it’s just because I’m too weak.” Nina slowly lowered her head and said softly, “I think I have some practical experience, and I didn’t make any obvious mistakes in that city. But I almost lost my life twice in a row.”
"Twice? When else besides that one time?" Denos raised an eyebrow.
“A spider monster, I barely had time to react before I was instantly killed.” Nina gave him a disapproving look: “Asking about this kind of thing as soon as we meet? What a jerk.”
"Sorry, sorry." Denos scratched his head.
"How reckless are you? How old are you?" Nina said with some displeasure, "You make me feel like sorcerers have no future."
"Not quite thirty, I think," Denos said after a moment's hesitation. "I can't remember the exact time, but I shouldn't be over thirty."
"Really? Do you look any different from someone in their forties?" Nina raised the corner of her mouth. "Maybe you should shave your beard and hair."
"So, is this slightly underdeveloped little girl an adult yet?" Denos scratched his messy hair, a little annoyed. "It's really impolite of you to talk like an adult."
“She’s twenty-one,” Nina said, displeased. “Who are you calling a little girl?”
The two looked at each other and then laughed at the same time.
“I’ve finished explaining. So why did you come back here?” Nina said, “I came back because my cultivation level wasn’t high enough. It was obviously too early for me to go out. I planned to improve further. What about you? Are you here to further your studies as well?”
"Me? It's just because I've been out for too long." Denos said helplessly, "You know, staying out for too long can cause irreversible damage to your body. I retired before my condition got too serious and came back to live out my days."
"How old are you to be retiring?"
"Don't let my appearance fool you, I've made enough money." Denos leaned back in his chair. "While I'm not extremely wealthy, I'm financially secure enough. It's not bad to have a teaching job here and enjoy my retirement."
Nina didn't answer, but just sipped her tea.
"Do you still want to be out there?" she whispered, "to continue the adventures and stuff."
“If there’s a chance,” Denoston paused and said, “but I still need to think it over carefully. I’m a human being. Humans aren’t exactly strong. We all have short lifespans, and those with short lifespans should cherish their lives. Or conversely, if there’s a moment when I feel that even death doesn’t matter, then obviously I’ve lived a pretty good life.”
“Yes, we all have short lifespans, after all, we're human,” Nina said softly. “I'm hungry, shall we go eat?”
"Is this an invitation?" Denos said with a smile. "This meal is on me, consider it a welcome gift."
"No need, witchers earn a good income."
"Of course, if you work your life away, how can you not make money?"
At this point, the atmosphere quieted down again.
Denos glanced at her face and confirmed that she was just spacing out and not angry.
I finally found someone I knew, and she was even a pretty girl. Although I'm not really into guys with flat figures, I still didn't want to upset her.
Otherwise, life would become even more boring.
"What's the point of us learning sorcery?" Nina suddenly asked a strange question. "I already have enough skill in sorcery. I left because there was nothing else that I needed a teacher to learn. But what's the point of that?"
Denos did not answer; he simply sat there.
“We are human. As long as this remains unchanged, it means our bodies are fragile, our talents are mediocre, and our lives are short.” Nina’s voice trailed off. “But once we become clergy, everything will be different. But the question is, once we are recognized by God, are we still human?”
She muttered to herself softly, propping her head up as she thought.
“It’s normal to have this kind of thinking,” Denost said after a pause. “After all, that’s the reality. We’re not monsters, we’re human. That’s why we’re fragile and short-lived, weak yet arrogant.”
Nina paused, then turned to look at Denos as he lit another cigarette and smoked it.
“I can’t accept those clergy as human either. After all… I don’t believe a human could have their arm cut off, or half their body shattered, and still calmly repair themselves.” Denos exhaled smoke, then stubbed out the cigarette on the back of his hand for her to see.
The cigarette stubbed out there, leaving a burnt black mark, from which blood seeped out.
“I’m in excruciating pain because of something so simple, because my wounds are charred.” Denost paused and said, “In the caravan I was in, the most human-like guy was a fellow called Ghost Duke. But he’s also a monster, he can’t die at all, he’s a true immortal. So he shouldn’t be considered human.”
What are you trying to say?
“I don’t have anything to say, I’m just going along with what you said. Even if we work very hard and become the strongest human sorcerers, we will still die in less than fifty years. Fifty years is a blink of an eye for those who can’t die, and it’s not long for monsters either, but it’s fatal for us humans. We are weak, and what we do is meaningless.” Denos sighed, “There’s nothing we can do, we are born as humans.”
Nina didn't say anything more, she just sat there.
Denos couldn't think of any grand principles that would bring her any comfort. After all, they were human, that was a fact, and unless God was willing to grant them the power to become non-human, they would only ever be human.
The sadness of this feeling, especially when your father says he's going to die, is truly unbearable; it makes you want to curse God.
He was a very energetic old man, full of vitality. But he was dying. The cause of death was very simple: extreme old age, with all his bones deteriorating. Coupled with his frequent travels in chaotic areas in his youth, he was extremely weak. This was quite different from his outward appearance.
He made himself look very energetic, perhaps so that he could look better when he died.
"Do you have a place to stay here?" Denos suddenly remembered this question.
“I used to study here and live in the dormitory,” Nina said after thinking for a moment. “But now I’m not a student anymore, and even if I apply to be a teacher, I won’t be able to find a place to live for another two weeks. Until then, I plan to stay in a hotel.”
"Stay at my place for the next couple of weeks," Denos said after a pause. "Don't let my appearance fool you, my house is quite big."
"Do you know what it means to invite a girl to stay at your house?" Nina looked at his blank expression and shook her head with a helpless smile: "Sorry, we're not that close yet."
“Mainly because I just moved in, and it’s just too big, too empty for me.” Denoston paused. “It’s called my house, but it’s actually about the size of a tower, with many floors. I feel at ease, and the hotel isn’t far from there either. I’d rather save this money to buy some good food.”
"Huh?" Nina was taken aback. "What does your family do?"
“I run a school,” Denos answered truthfully.
"That school?" Nina shook her head helplessly. "Well, I really underestimated you."
"You'd better not overestimate me either. I only occasionally managed to get into the top three in my class. I was far worse than you," Denos said softly. "Besides, judging from your abilities, we might be related by blood."
"You mean this?" Nina showed him the black markings on her wrist, then shook her head helplessly. "You'll be disappointed. I'm a real orphan. I grew up in this safe zone. After I turned fourteen, I couldn't find my family. After I came out, I lived in the church for two years, and then I went to school. The church supported me as I grew up. As for these markings, I used some evil magic to transfer them from the corpse of one of my family members."
Denos paused, looked at her, and then scratched his head.
"Is that so?" he muttered softly.
“That’s right.” Nina nodded. “But if I really live in your house and do nothing, it does seem a bit unreasonable. How about this, I’ll cook and do some housework.”
“You don’t look like someone who can cook,” Denos said after a moment’s hesitation. “Wasting food is a serious crime.”
"Don't worry, don't worry, otherwise I wouldn't have grown this big." Nina stood on the ground. "If there's still food in the house, I'll cook something for you to try later. If you're not satisfied, I'll pay the room rate."
"The room fee is really unnecessary."
“I am not desperate, so there is no need to pity me.”
"I'm not pitiful... I'm just a little afraid of being alone."
......
Yak chewed on some jerky, slumped on the table, looking somewhat dejected.
Business was terrible; there was nothing they could do, since nobody needed small pieces of metal.
These kinds of items are usually purchased in bulk by blacksmith shops and similar places, so there's no rush if they can't be sold. They'll sell them all when the opportunity comes.
However, it's a bit unreasonable that so few of the witchcraft potions have been sold. Logically, with a mercenary guild here, the demand for witchcraft potions should be quite high.
Perhaps only the black flower managed to boost sales. After all, everyone needs something to suppress corruption, especially those who are out in chaotic regions. Because they can't return in time, the black flower is very important and sells very well.
The jerky in his hand was snatched away and thrown into a pot.
“It’s such a waste to eat the dried meat directly.” Benny flicked his forehead. “If you make soup, you can make several batches. Then, after picking out the meat, you can add some salt, and it’s really good with rice.”
“That’s true,” Yak replied casually.
Because there's rarely time to cook soup outside, dried meat is mostly eaten directly. It's rare to find a small pot set up specifically for simmering it for a while.
There's another pot of rice steaming; that's what we'll eat later.
This meal was mainly prepared by Benny for Yak. He went to get the carriage in the morning and left without eating anything, so his stomach should be empty.
“Do you remember that time at the beginning?” Benny asked, propping her head up as she looked at Ark, as if remembering something.
"Back then, because I wanted to buy more goods, I didn't prepare enough food before setting off." Akton paused and said, "I'm fine, after all, I'm a kind of monster, I can just absorb magic power when I'm starving."
“So you gave all the food to me,” Benny said softly. “I looked scary back then, didn’t I?”
Ark recalled when they had just driven the carriage out of the city; Benny could only understand what others were saying, and she wasn't yet able to utter a complete sentence. For a long time, she didn't want to speak, just sat there, tightly gripping the knife in her hand.
“You were so cute.” Yak smiled and shook his head. “Back then, you were huddled in the corner like a little mouse, with your hair and half your head buried in your scarf, only your eyes showing. Occasionally, I would turn around and see them blink a few times. If I gave you food, you wouldn’t eat it even if I was right in front of you. You would only eat it hastily if I hid. How should I put it? It was like having a funny little animal with you.”
"What a terrible metaphor! To compare your fiancée to a small animal." Benny pouted slightly, a little annoyed, but then smiled helplessly.
“I was like a frightened mouse,” she said softly. “I could sense that everyone around me was unfriendly, so I was terrified. Until you led me to the carriage. I didn’t sense any malice from you. But that only made me wary; I was waiting, waiting for you to suddenly turn fierce.”
"Have they arrived yet?"
"No, every time I see you coming over, all I get is a bowl of rice porridge that isn't very tasty."
Benny stood up, ladled out a large bowl of rice, poured broth over it, and handed it to Yak: "It's almost done. This is much tastier than the rice porridge we had before."
“Of course, this is the food you cooked.” Yak took it and ate heartily with a spoon. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had your cooking.”
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