I just hope to live a leisurely life in the world of anime.

"Tsk, he's quite 'robust' to jump that far!" An Shu couldn't help but praise him.

Although this sea of ​​flowers is not large, it is not small either. At a normal adult walking speed, it would take five or six minutes to reach the end.

But the old man only took seven steps and had already covered more than half the distance.

An Shu began to tidy up her maid's clothes, sweeping away the dust and petals from her garments, while glancing at the approaching old man out of the corner of her eye.

thump——

The final leap occurred just as Anshu removed the last petal from Rem's body, and the old man landed steadily in front of them.

An Shu then turned to face the unexpected visitor and looked him over properly.

His gray hair was pulled back into a ponytail, he wore a dark black tuxedo suit, a white shirt underneath, and the blue collar with the emblem of the Karlsten family pinned to it. His shoes were polished to a shine, and his back was straight. Even in his old age, his upright and serious face could not be concealed!

These characteristics make his identity crystal clear!

Before An Shu could ask any questions, this unusual old man took a step forward and greeted her with a bow.

"President Anshu, Miss Rem."

In this other world, which old man is the normal, burly, two-meter-tall Mr. Rom, the wise and shrewd head of the Kingdom's Sages' Council, or the upright, gentlemanly old man before us?

Uh, the focus seems to have gone off-topic! After all, none of this is important...

The important thing is, how did he know my identity? I'm out of magic!

An Shu suddenly became interested.

###Chapter 225 Wilhelm###

"Would you like something?"

An Shu took out a tablecloth from her storage space, spread it on the empty ground where there were no flowers, covered it with various fruits, and extended an invitation to the old man in front of her.

The old man was a little curious about An Shu's peculiar method of retrieving objects, but since it was someone else's secret, he didn't ask any further questions. As for An Shu's invitation, he shook his head reservedly.

"Sir, please have something to eat with us." As a fellow servant, Rem could guess the old man's mindset when faced with a stranger of higher status. She took the initiative to pat the tablecloth and make room for him to sit down.

"This..." This time, he didn't refuse directly, but hesitated instead.

Refusing their kindness again would seem ungrateful.

"Thank you." He nodded, sat down cross-legged, and took the fruit Rem offered him.

"I haven't asked yet, sir, who are you?" An Shu was also holding fruit, but had already taken a bite.

Although we've already eaten at the palace, but... but...

Pshaw, fine, I'll eat it, but what is it?

Looking at the fruit in her hand, An Shu couldn't find a reason to justify her actions, so she inexplicably began to speak with a sense of self-righteousness.

“President Anshu, I am Wilhelm van Astrea, the butler of the Karlsten family. It’s a pleasure to meet you here.”

I guessed it was 80% correct.

After all, there's only one elderly person in the world with such a refined demeanor.

"Master Will! How did you recognize me?" An Shu asked indistinctly after taking another bite of the fruit, and then withdrew the spell.

After all, it's incredibly impolite to hide your face while chatting with someone!

"No, President An Shu, that title is really..."

"Mr. Will, you are an elder, there's no need to worry about this."

An Shu interrupted him, silently adding in her mind, "Although I've lived a little longer than you, I'm still a forever sixteen-year-old boy... no, a forever fifteen-year-old boy, just one year younger than Zi Ma!"

I refuse to believe that Old Lady Purple can hear what I'm thinking even though we're not in the same world. An Shu seemed rather unrestrained, though he would dare to do the same thing in Gensokyo...

“…Alright. I only guessed your identity after seeing Miss Rem.”

"Eh, do you know Rem?" The little maid took a fruit that was about to roll away and put it back in place.

“Yes, I am the Karlsten family’s butler. I often interact with various nobles, so I have your portrait at home. Remembering the name of each noble… uh, representative is one of my required lessons.”

I was going to call her a servant, but considering An Shu's close relationship with her, even having meals together, it seems unlikely to be that simple. To be on the safe side, I'll just call her a representative.

Wilhelm didn't have any other thoughts about their little affair. After all, this world doesn't advocate monogamy. Even the most down-on-his-luck nobles have several concubines, let alone the president of the continent's number one merchant guild.

However, he was a little curious whether Sima Weizhi, who had recently married An Shu, knew about their relationship.

Hmm, thinking about it carefully, given Sima Weizhi's shrewdness, he certainly wouldn't be confused if he could manage such a large chamber of commerce; he probably had some tacit approval.

"Old people just love to gossip!" Wilhelm thought to himself.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard he racked his brains, he couldn't guess that the little girl in An Shu's family was a little different from the other girls...

“Is that so…” An Shu took another bite of the fruit. The matter was already clear, and there was no need to ask him why he didn’t guess that he was someone else.

What's going on with Will?

It was Rem who asked this question. She knew that Karlsten's mansion was in the very center of the capital, which was a hundred and eight thousand kilometers away from here. Even by carriage, it would take half a day to go there and back.

"..." Wilhelm fell silent, toying with the fruit in his hand, lost in thought.

"Remlin, no!" Her expression said it all. Knowing that her maid had touched on someone's sore spot, An Shu tugged at her skirt and scolded her.

"Hehehe, it's okay. Actually, my wife often likes to come here, so I come here every month to reminisce."

However, An Shu's scolding woke Wilhelm up. He smiled and waved his hand to explain, surprisingly nonchalant.

"In remembrance..." Rem murmured softly.

If the person is still alive, there's no need to mourn! She vaguely guessed what was going on and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry!"

"It's nothing, it's nothing." He was still chuckling, his face showing the kindness that an old man should have. It was hard to imagine that he had once been honored with the title of "Sword Demon".

But An Shu could see some bitterness in his smile.

"Will's wife must be a very beautiful woman."

"Yes, she's very beautiful!" The old man suddenly became proud when this was mentioned. "In my eyes, Theresa is the most beautiful person, even President Anshu is a step behind! I apologize, President Anshu, for my rudeness."

"It's okay, it's only one step short. Maybe I should be happy since I was praised..." An Shu took another bite of the fruit. This time, he was unusually calm and didn't get angry when others praised his beauty.

Theresa van Astrea, the previous Sword Saint, Leo's grandmother...

###Chapter 226 Past Events###

"So your wife really likes flowers?"

After a brief exchange, the atmosphere became more familiar.

Wilhelm was not as serious and rigid as he appeared. He found that An Shu did not have any arrogant superiority or aloof aura, and he gradually opened up to her.

While he wouldn't actually go so far as to eat in front of An Shu, he has started to reminisce about past anecdotes and tell them to the younger generation, just like a normal elderly person.

An Shu showed no sign of annoyance, patiently listening while eating fruit. Listening to an old man recount his rich past experiences was far more interesting than any game or novel!

Because their vivid descriptions always allow you to immerse yourself in the story and experience joys you wouldn't normally feel.

“Yes, my late wife loved flowers, so she used to come here often.” Wilhelm answered Rem’s question, then hesitated for a moment and looked at Anshu.

"President An Shu..."

"Hmm, what's wrong?"

"I've heard your chamber of commerce has been hunting the Fog Whale."

“Hmm.” An Shu was concise and to the point; she never liked to waste words.

“I would like to make a request to you.”

"ask"

"Yes, please let me know once you find the white whale. I want to handle it myself!" His tone suddenly became more serious than ever before.

An Shu, who was stunned for a moment, could even hear the hidden hatred and self-blame in his voice, and the sharpness that he couldn't hide in his eyes was a stark contrast to the gentleness he had just spoken.

Suddenly became serious

The little maid was a bit taken aback; the atmosphere had been so relaxed just moments before.

“Okay.” An Shu agreed immediately without much hesitation.

"...President Anshu, don't you want to know the reason for my impolite request?"

An Shu's straightforwardness surprised Wilhelm. He didn't even mention payment. After all, An Shu's actions were like helping someone gather information for free, without any benefit to him.

“I already know! Don’t force yourself to talk about such sad things.” An Shu sighed and added, “But I want a part of the beluga whale’s carcass, of course, the one you killed. I’ll pay for it.” After saying that, she continued to eat fruit.

An Shu's focus was on something different from his; what he cared about was that a beluga whale was still a whale! Barbecue and stuff... um.

Wait a minute, which fruit is this? Hmm, the fifth one, never mind, it doesn't matter.

What's important is his surname and his wife's, Theresa van Astrea.

The previous generation's Sword Saint possessed the ancestral Sword Saint's blessing and the innate Death God's blessing. He ended the largest demi-human war in the history of the Kingdom of Lugnica and died in battle fourteen years ago while fighting against the White Whale.

Wilhelm's words clearly indicate that he intends to take revenge personally.

If it were just a normal combat death, Wilhelm would have nothing to say, at least his tone wouldn't be as emotionally charged as it was just now.

It's hard to imagine that he's like this. As the steward of a hereditary duke, his manners and composure are absolutely top-notch! And having lived for so many years, even if the sky were to fall, he could remain calm and collected!

The death of the previous Sword Saint was suspicious!

Some time before the campaign against the white whale, Wilhelm, then a knight of the kingdom, was responsible for protecting the safety of the king's children.

But for some unknown reason, the king's descendants were kidnapped and disappeared without a trace. When they were finally found, they were already corpses.

Although no one blamed him, Wilhelm, who was still proud and arrogant at the time, was greatly affected. He voluntarily resigned from his position in the kingdom, began to give up on himself and refused to see anyone. In the end, he hid in a place unknown to anyone to calm down, and even Theresa could not find him.

Coincidentally, on the third day after Wilhelm had been silent, the relatively peaceful beluga whales in the south suddenly rioted, and the battle situation became tense, resulting in heavy casualties.

As the kingdom's swordswoman, Theresa certainly couldn't stand idly by and prepared to lead the army into battle.

But for some unknown reason, a strange force suddenly appeared and began to attack the Astrea family, attempting to kidnap Reinhard, who was only five years old at the time.

Although they failed to succeed against Theresa's resistance, it left Theresa unable to spare any attention, because that force, regardless of casualties, seemed to be insane and could attack Reinhard at any moment.

As for the beluga whales in the south, they can no longer be delayed.