The Holy Man of Another Century Gospel

Chapter 134 Sleeping in the rough
Emerging from the basement of the Elf Forge, Eric had a short sword at his waist and a stack of armor design blueprints in his arms.

The old elf took a final look and then instructed Eric to fill in the basement passageway.

"The things inside..."

“I can’t swing a hammer anymore, and those things are useless to me. Since you don’t need them either, just bury them.”

Eric didn't say anything, and moved the broken bricks and stones from the ruins to fill the stairwell.

Just as the three of them came out, the few remaining walls collapsed with a roar, completely covering the passageway on the ground.

Back at the old elf's cabin, Eric didn't take anything and left. Instead, he stayed and chatted with the lonely old man for a while longer, asking him if he wanted to move to another place to retire.

The old elf shook his head and refused, "If I wanted to leave, I would have left with my people seventy or eighty years ago."

Eric thought for a moment and continued to persuade, "The mainland is about to descend into chaos, and bandits and other criminals may roam here."

"Oh?" The old elf looked at him, more concerned with his own safety than his own. "Has the human empire finally succumbed?"

"Well... although that's the result, the main reason is that the demons are heading south."

The old elf's surprise at hearing about the demons lasted only a short while.

“It’s been over five hundred years, the demons should be making a comeback soon.” He patted the little black bear that had run up to him. “I just need to die before that happens.”

That's the confidence that comes from having lived enough.

Eric finally had nothing more to say and stopped trying to persuade him. He drank a few more cups of tea from the old man, and his thoughts involuntarily returned to the moon elf's tomb.

"You mean those murals in the tomb? That is indeed the history of our people."

The old elf recalled for a moment, "In the legends of our people, those moon elves, who were also gods, were unable to ascend to the divine realm with Yera because their bodies were tainted by impure energy, and remained on earth. Our people, after multiplying, have lost their divine power, and thus serve them as if they were gods, until their death. And they have indeed protected us, otherwise our people would have perished long ago."

"Do the other moon elves know that there is a graveyard for the first moon elf here?" Eric asked.

The old elf Elias said he didn't know, but he didn't have a good impression of the current moon elves. Since those moon elves chose to stay with them in the first place, he hoped that Eric wouldn't inform the moon elf clan or disturb them.

"I understand."

Eric then abandoned the idea of ​​telling Eileen about it, and having her relay it to Agnes.

Eric stayed for another half a day, until the old elf showed signs of fatigue, before he prepared to leave.

Once again expressing his gratitude for his generous gift and reaffirming his reluctance to leave, Eric bowed, mounted his horse, and led Elise away from this lost land of elves.

They returned along the same route and in less than half an hour, they were back at the hotel next to Hero Avenue. After a short rest, they continued on their way.

"Whom does Your Highness intend to have crafted from those design drawings into protective gear?" Elise asked.

"Since the protective gear was designed by elves, it would be more appropriate to have elves craft it, although relatively speaking, there are far fewer elven craftsmen than dwarves."

The two had already mounted their horses. Eric turned to look at her. "But I remember there's a highly skilled elven master craftsman in Tallinn, Dorne. We're on our way to the ancient battlefield, and Tallinn is on the way."

Elise nodded, and after a while asked, "Would Your Highness also like to prepare a set of protective gear for me?"

“Don’t worry, I’m not using you as a combat asset, I just have you wear it for self-defense. The main feature of elven armor is its lightness, you should be able to wear it,” Eric explained.

He touched the short sword at his waist again. "I originally planned to give you this short sword, but after actually holding it, I found it was very suitable as a secondary weapon and could be used with my left hand, so I kept it for myself. When we get to Tallinn, I will have an elven craftsman forge a short sword that is more suitable for you. Your dagger is too short. It is good for concealment, but it is probably not good for self-defense."

Elise smiled. "Thank you, Your Highness."

When the two returned to the hotel, it was almost noon. After a short rest, they drove along the main road in the afternoon. When they passed a service area lined with taverns and hotels, the sun was still high in the sky. Eric felt that they could still travel a little further, so he did not stop.

He kept running until dark, but he didn't see the next service area.

The night was clear, with some moonlight enough to barely see the road, but the two dared not run too fast. They continued on for a while, but still did not see the iconic cold-flame streetlights along the main road. Eric sighed and reined in his horse to slow down.

"Looks like we'll have to spend the night in the wilderness."

Elise stopped and looked at the desolate wilderness under the moonlight.

"Oh no..." she muttered under her breath.

Before leaving the main road, Eric fired a charged-up, brighter light orb above his head, illuminating the wilderness below.

“There’s hardly any grass around there, making it easier to avoid snakes, insects, and rodents. Let’s rest there tonight,” he said, pointing to a clearly visible open space beside the main road.

Elise responded.

Eric glanced at her. "Just make do with this."

She had no choice but to speak up, "I'm fine, Your Highness."

But the reluctance is real.

Eric didn't say much, but rode his horse over. When he got closer, he found a pile of burnt charcoal in the middle of the open space, indicating that someone had spent the night there before.

This is good news, indicating that there are not many snakes, insects, rodents, or ants here, and there is basically no danger.

The two dismounted, and Eric looked into the dark woods, trying to figure out where he could find firewood. Then he saw Elise rummaging through the bag on her horse.

Soon, she pulled out a bottle of unknown powder, opened it, and shook it out while circling the open space.

Eric pursed his lips.

He remembered that this was one of the alchemical trinket pieces that Eileen had given her before she left; it was probably for repelling insects.

I don't know which small workshop produced this substandard product, but the ingredients were too strong. Eric saw her Lille horse sneeze violently after smelling the powder, and then it avoided the circle she had scattered.

“I’ll go find some firewood to start a fire,” Eric said.

“I’ll go with Your Highness.” Elise put away the small bottle.

“No need.” He left her the short sword. “You can set things up here a bit. I’ll be back before the illumination spell wears off.”

"it is good……"

Eric walked into the woods by the roadside and, by the light of the moon overhead, half-heartedly searched for any dry branches he could find on the ground.

There probably aren't many people staying overnight here; you can easily find plenty of branches of varying thickness nearby. Eric also found a whole fallen, dead tree, almost completely rotten in the middle, with only a thin layer of bark about half the thickness of a little finger remaining.

With one stomp, he created a hole. The dry, brittle tree trunk was perfect for starting a fire. Eric drew his sword and tapped the trunk a few times, warning any insects, rodents, or other native inhabitants that might be inside to leave immediately.

"what--"

Elise turned her head to look into the woods, where she seemed to hear a muffled shout.

A short while later, she saw Eric dragging a dead tree back to this side, just as the overhead light sphere went out.

Having added more light, he stomped the dead tree in two, dragged the shorter piece to the pile of burnt remains in the center of the circle, and stomped it even more, using the sacred flame to ignite it.

"Luckily, I drank some water at the hotel at noon..."

Once the pile of wood was fully burning, Eric chopped two more pieces, roasted them over the fire, and placed them by the campfire as makeshift stools.

"As for food, we always carry dry rations." Elise looked at the piece of wood to make sure there were no insects before sitting down. "It's a good thing Your Highness is here, otherwise I really don't know what I would do alone in the wild."

“If you were alone, you wouldn’t be here at this time.” Eric took off his water pouch, tossed her a bag, and then pulled out some dry biscuits he had bought from Lutia, along with some unidentified, rock-hard jerky, from the other side of his bag before returning to the campfire.

Eric poured water on the sword, then skewered some jerky on it and grilled it over the fire.

"..."

After staring at the Aran steel sword reflected in the firelight for a while, Elise reached out her hand, "Your Highness, let me do it."

Eric handed her the sword, took out a biscuit, toasted it slightly over the fire, and then took a bite.

It was bland and tasteless, but still palatable.

Elise stared at the sword in her hand for a while, then followed his example and started grilling the dried meat on it, her gaze gradually becoming fixed.

"My people weren't actually wrong..."

She suddenly spoke up, "After I turned teens, I never experienced any hardship. I never had an experience like this after leaving the Aramean settlement."

“Is that so?” Eric looked at her. “What was Miss Iris’s life like before she infiltrated Sinmag’s inner circle?”

She raised her gaze, paused in mid-air, and thought for a while.

"Earlier, before Luca came to our settlement, we Arans seemed to be just wandering... well, just wandering, or rather, hiding. "When Luca came, the elders were persuaded by him and began to feel that restoring the kingdom was no longer an unattainable dream, and the atmosphere among the people changed all at once. Most of the adults were sent out to infiltrate various corners of the empire, while younger people like me stayed in the settlement to do chores such as preparing food... What I remember most clearly is that we rarely had enough to eat back then."

"Then, when I was fifteen, the elders suddenly gave me a task, saying that the Imperial High Priest Simagu had come to Northria and that I should infiltrate his side to gather information about the High Priest."

Elise smiled. "And then, my life got better."

"The High Priest himself upheld a life of poverty, but after I was brought to Lutia Cathedral, I never lacked food, drink, lodging, or other necessities, even the worst of them... Now, thinking back to that early period, I truly feel happy."

A more pronounced smile appeared on her face. "About two months later, the tribesman who had made contact with me met me for the first time and almost didn't recognize me... It was probably from that time that some tribesmen began to feel dissatisfied with me."

Eric shook his head. "You were just lucky to be chosen."

“Everyone understands this principle.” Elise slowly exhaled, “but if understanding it allows one to accept such a disparity, the Aran people wouldn’t be the way they are now.”

Eric tore a piece of soft, toasted biscuit in half and gave it to her. Elise took it, then wrapped it around a piece of nearly roasted jerky on the sword, pulled it off, and handed it back to him.

"You eat, I can do it myself."

She returned the sword to him, then folded up the dried biscuit wrapped with jerky, brought it to her mouth, and took a bite.

"Hmm...it's still a bit hard."

Upon hearing this, Eric poured a little water on the dried meat at the tip of the sword and then stretched it over the fire to continue roasting.

"Speaking of which, are Miss Elise's parents still alive?"

"All dead."

Eric was silent.

He turned the sword and roasted it for a while longer before wrapping it around the jerky and stuffing it into his mouth.

"Hmm, that's about right."

Elise looked over and said, "It just doesn't taste as good as the roast meat at the tavern."

“That’s far from it,” Eric laughed. “And there are no spices or anything like that.”

Elise thought for a moment, "Among the things Eileen gave me, there seems to be a seasoning powder."

"Forget it!" Eric immediately shook his head. "She buys a lot of cheap junk products just because they're cheap. She doesn't even know what their effects are."

She smiled and didn't bother to rummage through the bag on the horse's back.

Eric handed her the next piece of jerky, then skewered a few more and continued grilling them over the fire.

Elise licked her lips, stared at the firelight for a while, then looked at him. "Before Your Highness came to Lutia, Eileen would occasionally talk to me about you."

“What did she say?” Eric asked.

"Eileen said that His Highness has cared for her since she was a child, but because of her own condition, she is always in a daze and can't even distinguish between real memories and her delusions."

Eric paused briefly, then said, "Fortunately, Eileen's problem is now resolved."

Elise looked at him. "What exactly did Eileen look like before?"

Eric thought for a moment before describing to her the frail Eileen who was often in a coma and rarely conscious.

She listened intently, her gaze fixed on him. "The Eileen I've always met is full of energy; it's really hard to imagine her looking sickly."

Eric took a breath and quickly exhaled. "Thank goodness, that's all in the past. Here, it's freshly baked."

Elise wrapped the fragrant jerky in a biscuit, broke off half, and Eric ate ​​the other half.

They ate and drank, and the dry biscuits and water were enough to fill their stomachs. The two of them were full in no time.

Eric tossed some wood scraps into the campfire, and by the firelight, he took out the protective gear design blueprints and started looking at them to pass the time.

The Elias set was considered one of the must-have sets in the early days of "Thorns of the Souls," usable from level 50 to 70. Later updates increased the level cap and leveling speed, allowing players to quickly transition through this stage even with individual pieces, leading to its gradual decline in popularity.

He can wear it right away, but it will take time to craft a complete set of protective gear. By the time he gets it, he might already be level 50.

I wonder if that difficult elven master craftsman would be willing to forge something for him...

"Does Your Highness understand?" Elise asked, looking at him from the other side of the campfire.

"I can understand a little bit, but that's all I can do. It's impossible for me to build it myself."

Seeing her hugging her legs, rolling her eyes and staring at the moon, looking utterly bored, Eric gave her a few blueprints.

Elise took it, glanced at it twice, and was about to put it down, but for Eric's sake, she pretended to put on a brave face for a while before casually handing it back to him.

"Your Highness, please let me see the Aranian sword."

"for you."

"Your Highness said it was found in an underground mine?"

"Hmm, the collection of a necromancer who lived for over two hundred years."

"Heh... It was because Garcia glanced at this sword that the future of the Aran people was cut off. It should be called the sword of destruction."

"...Don't say such unlucky things."

The blueprints are always the same, and they don't really kill much time.

The fire burned out, and Eric didn't add any more. The campfire gradually dimmed, leaving only dark red embers. The two lay down on the mats on either side of their respective bunks, gazing at the starry sky above, preparing to fall asleep.

Eric lay there, watching the moon move from one side of the sky to the other, still unable to fall asleep, not just because the ground beneath him was too hard and uncomfortable.

He turned over again, opened his eyes and looked at the night sky. The night was clear, with hardly any clouds in the sky, and the stars and moon were not obscured.

He muttered to himself, "Thank goodness it's not raining."

But then Iris chimed in from the side, "Yes, that's right."

"...You're still awake." Eric didn't know the exact time, but the two of them had probably not spoken for two or three hours.

She sighed softly, "I've never slept on such a hard 'bed' before."

"Miss Elise is a bit too delicate."

"Isn't Your Highness the same?"

She was actually quite tired and not very clear-headed, so she retorted without thinking.

“I was thinking about something,” Eric said dismissively, then sighed and got up. “But the ground is really too hard.”

Elise turned her head, half-closed her eyes, and looked at him in the moonlight.

“I’ll go cut some branches and gather some leaves to line the bottom,” Eric said.

"what?"

Elise was taken aback, but he had already grabbed his weapon and headed towards the woods.

Tuk-tuk-tuk——

After a while, accompanied by a continuous muffled thud, he came over dragging a large, tender branch.

Elise also got up to help, cutting small branches from above and spreading them on the ground along with the leaves, layer by layer, and finally placing a mat on top.

"Well--"

Eric lay down, relieved. "It's soft and springy, not much different from the bed I had at the Convent."

Elise smiled and lay down to feel it; it was much more comfortable than before.

When she tried to express her feelings, she found that she could hear steady, soft snoring next to her; the person was already asleep.

"..."

Rolling her eyes and letting out a long yawn, Elise turned over to face him and closed her eyes peacefully.

(End of this chapter)