Erii: A Journey Through the Heavens Begins with Frilian

Frillie opened the notebook, looked at the familiar handwriting, and said, "It's true."

Whether it was a sign of fate or not, I randomly flipped through a page and found the information I was looking for.

She slowly read aloud the text recorded above: "At the far northern edge of the continent, I arrived at a place that the people of this world call paradise... a place where souls rest in peace, where thousands of souls gather. There, I spoke with my former comrades. This once-in-a-century discovery will surely lead to a leap forward in the field of soul research."

"Is this true?" Philon asked in surprise.

"I don't know, Vlame is unreliable," Frilian replied.

Aize countered in a relaxed tone, "Heaven exists, isn't that more to everyone's liking?"

"Yes," Frillie smiled, "it's okay to believe it just once in a while."

Erii also asked, "Where exactly is it?"

Frilian looked down and continued reading, "Northern part of the continent, Endai... um, the place where the Demon King's castle is located."

"I need you to find a place where souls can rest in peace and speak with Simmel," Azer said, glancing guiltily at Frilian as he looked towards the door. "You'll help me, right?"

Frillie smiled knowingly. "Even you're getting clever with yourself now~"

"It's all because of Haita that I was affected," Aize said, shifting the blame directly.

Frillie closed the book and smiled helplessly, "Fine, fine, anyway, this trip has no end, it's just retracing the old path."

She then looked at Philon and Erii.

"I don't care. Wherever Ms. Frillie goes, I go," Philon replied.

"The North?" Erii stretched out her hand, her silver snake ring gleaming. "When are we leaving?"

"Another target, all in the north, what a coincidence," Frilian muttered, suddenly feeling like she'd been tricked by fate.

She looked reluctant and sighed, "It's so cold up north, I really don't want to go."

"Are you already getting discouraged?" Philon muttered.

The four people returned home.

One day later, after breakfast.

"Aize, you're really not coming with us?"

At the doorway of farewell, Frilian checked once more.

"No," Aize said, stroking his beard. "I'm already a burden."

"Aize is not a burden," Erii interjected.

"That's right, how could Mr. Aize, who can kill a monster with one punch, be a burden?" Philon said.

"Alright." Frillian's brows relaxed, knowing that Aize, now middle-aged, preferred peace and stability and was no longer willing to cause trouble.

"Do you still remember the road?" Aize asked, sounding just like a worried old father.

"I remember," Frillie turned and waved, "I'm leaving."

Philen followed closely behind.

Erii pursed her lips, as if she had thought of something, took out her camera from her bag, and called out, "Philan, Frilian, wait a minute."

The two stopped and turned back.

Erii took Aize over, set up the camera, and placed it on a tree stump.

Under the bright sunshine and the shade of the trees, the four of them posed for a photo taken by a countdown camera, a photo symbolizing their encounter.

……

Central Kingdoms, Wiley Region.

The three hitched a ride on a merchant's convoy of goods and entered a small town nestled in the hills.

This was the first time Erii had ever seen a town of any size. Before, she had only seen villages or mountains and fields, giving her the illusion of returning to nature.

"Let's buy some supplies here and rest for a couple of days," Frillian said.

Without her saying anything, Erii had already run to a bakery and returned shortly afterward with a bag of all-natural wheat rations. Her mouth was bulging and wriggling, with a cheese bread shaped like a caterpillar stuffed inside, her cheeks puffed up like a greedy hamster.

"Mmm~ Mmm~" Erii mumbled indistinctly as she approached the two of them.

"You mean you want to buy some more fruit?" Frillie asked.

"Apples, bananas, tomatoes, hmm, what else do you want?" Philon asked.

"Mmm~ Mmm~" Erii replied.

"Cheese does go really well with bread," Frilian thought to herself. "We should also buy some jam. I'd like strawberry jam. What about you, Philon?"

"I'm fine with anything. We're almost out of tissues, so don't forget later," Philon added.

The shopkeeper selling handicrafts next to them was dumbfounded. He rubbed his ears with his fingers and realized that he still couldn't understand what Erii was stammering about.

To what extent must these three people be familiar with each other to develop such a tacit understanding?

After a thoroughly enjoyable shopping spree, it was already dusk, and the sunlight had quietly become gentle and romantic.

At the stall, the woman selling fruits and vegetables handed Philon the change and asked, "Are you planning to take the mountain path?"

Frillie nodded.

"I advise you to change your mind; several people have already gone missing recently," the woman kindly advised.

"A monster has appeared?" Philon asked.

"Someone saw it with their own eyes; they say it was taken away by a ghost," the woman replied.

"They might be undead. Do you know what they look like?" Frilian asked again.

The woman shrugged and spread her hands. "I don't know. You can go to the tavern and ask."

"Uh-huh!"

Erii, who had been silent, sniffed and became interested.

Clearly, this triggered an NPC; she sensed a side quest!

So the three of them inquired around and gathered some important information.

Some people have seen the ghosts of their deceased relatives or friends, who still look the same as they did in life, and even say that the ghosts talk to them.

The experienced and knowledgeable Frilian denied the initial guess, saying that it was not the work of the undead.

Because the undead are a general term for corpses that are controlled by magic, such as zombies and skeletons, they do not appear as they did in life, nor do they possess such complex abilities.

"Waaaaah..."

The sound of a woman sobbing came from the tavern entrance.

The three of them looked in the direction of the sound.

A woman in her fifties knelt on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. Her faded blonde hair shimmered silver in the setting sun, and the wrinkles on her face were etched with deep sorrow as she convulsed.

The tavern owner said that her daughter was one of the missing.

Since then, the woman has often stood guard at the quest board outside the tavern, hoping that a professional adventurer would take on the quests issued by the town and investigate the truth.

In fact, the woman had also searched herself, joining a search and rescue team composed of guards and civilians to go into the mountains, but unfortunately she found nothing.

Erii looked at the woman's grief-stricken and somewhat numb face. Although she couldn't empathize with her, she felt inexplicably down.

Is this what a mother is like?

How painful is it to lose a child, to the point that it can make an adult unable to stand?

Before she could speak, Philon said, "Ms. Frilian, shall we give it a try?"

She was referring to accepting the commissioned task.

Erii immediately nodded in agreement.

Frillie, however, remained calm, but said with a hint of relief, "You two are just like Simmel. Anyway, that mountain road is our only way through."

They walked up to the mission notice board, and Erii ripped off the only commission form.

It says the reward is 10 gold coins.

They also receive a lifetime free stay at Mary's Hotel, an heirloom sword, and a jar of strawberry-flavored candy.

"Y-you guys?" The woman on the ground looked up blankly, then asked in surprise after a few seconds, "Are you adventurers? You accepted the commission?"

She wiped away her tears with trembling hands, brushed the dust off her clothes, and forced a smile. "Hello, my name is Mary."

Upon hearing her name, Erii immediately understood the three strange rewards that followed.

at the same time.

The guide text suddenly appeared:

[Triggering the sub-objective: Investigate this event and defeat the mysterious monster]

[Reward: Random Word of Power]