After being reborn, I was turned into a slave girl by a princess.

"Princess Cecilu, good morning. How is Ling Li doing?"

"Yes, thanks to your good fortune, you are out of danger. I can now lead you to the Temple of Bright Ashes without any worries."

"Great!"

It's impossible not to be excited.

In fact, Lonnies already has 3 Rainbow Abyss weapons... If you add the one from the Temple of Bright Ashes, that makes 4.

The journey to collect all seven items is already halfway complete, and the dream of myself and Elusia has taken another step forward.

"Hmph, look at your pathetic self."

However, compared to Lonnies, Elusia appeared much more composed. Her crimson eyes showed no joy, not even the excitement she felt when she touched Lonnies's tail the night before.

“Well then, Princess Cecilu will have to lead the way… But I’ve heard that the Temple of Bright Ashes isn’t so easy to enter.”

"Yes...that's true. The real Temple of Bright Ashes is located on an underground continent, a place rife with miasma and filled with corrosive power. But beneath our capital, there is a portal leading to the temple."

"Even with a teleportation portal, you still have to pass through the underground continent area, right?"

"It's a long way to go, but as a member of the royal family of Corlottia, I have an innate ability to resist erosion. I will set up a protective force field for you all to ensure your safety."

That's how the decision is made.

Although Princess Cecilu did not limit the number of people, Dean Tribiya had to take care of the patients with Senior Sister Yan and could not leave for the time being.

It seems that Senior Zhou Mixue was invited by a nobleman and stayed in the palace.

So on this trip, only Yicheng will accompany me, along with Zhou Suling, this seemingly fearless girl.

"Yay! It's the Temple of Bright Ashes! I want to go check it out too!"

“Su Ling, but Elusia said... the temple is dangerous.”

Just like when they were in the Endless Land, Lonnie wanted Zhou Suling to stay in a safe place... but this pink-haired girl seemed quite interested.

“I’m not afraid of danger, and… hasn’t Xiao Luo noticed that Su Ling has grown with each encounter?”

"what?"

"Like the first time, Su Ling was trembling with fear when she saw the headhunter bats. But later, at the Tree of Ruins, she wasn't afraid anymore. Now she's even eager to try, and can't wait to see the monsters!"

Zhou Suling clenched her fist with confidence, but before Lonnie could say anything, a little girl with blonde hair walked up to her.

"Hmph, you seem quite confident, don't you? But do you know what the Temple of Bright Ashes represents?"

This little girl wasn't very tall, probably a few centimeters shorter than Elusia, the little girl herself. But despite her petite stature, she wore a gorgeous red dress, making her quite eye-catching.

Lonnies had seen this little girl before; her name was Naronat. It was she who suddenly burst into the exhibition hall yesterday to tell Princess Cecilu that Ling Li was seriously ill.

"Miss Naronat, what does it mean...?"

"That's right. The Temple of Bright Ashes doesn't mean light. Rather, it represents both light and shadow. It represents the opposition and harmony in this world. In other words, if you don't have both sides, even if you enter it, you will never receive a blessing."

"What does 'two-sidedness' mean?"

"A common saying goes—destruction and hope are one, killing and salvation are indistinguishable."

"what?!"

"I'm warning you about the dangers of the Temple of Bright Ashes. If you insist on going, there's nothing I can do."

After saying that, the blonde little girl turned and left, leaving Su Ling standing there blankly, looking at Lonely with no idea what to do.

"Xiao Luo! What... what does this mean...? Why don't I understand?"

"Um……"

Compared to Su Ling's blank expression, Lonnie seemed to remember something.

That happened when she was still a hero.

During his journey, he encountered an old man who was nearing the end of his life.

The old man looked travel-worn and appeared to have been wandering in the wilderness for a long time... As a hero, Lonnie instinctively wanted to help him and escorted the old man back to town to rest.

But Lorne never expected this...

The old man shook his head, rejecting his suggestion.

"Adventurer, just let this old man die here."

“How can this be? Don’t worry, I know a lot of people…we will definitely help you.”

"No need. I know my illness is completely incurable... Continuing to live in this world will only prolong the pain."

"what?!"

The brave man was stunned and looked at the old man in horror.

But the other person narrowed their eyes, their pupils seeming to pierce through the vast mountains, as if recalling many things:

"Actually, when I was young, I was an adventurer just like you. So for me, the happiest thing would be to die on an adventure."

"Uh……"

"However, I am no longer able to cross the mountains, nor can I venture into the Demon Realm alone. So, adventurer, could you do me a favor?"

"What... are you busy?"

"I want to die with hope and courage, so can you take me to a monster so I can duel it to the death?"

Chapter 33 The Dungeon of the Kingdom of Mingjin

At that time, Lonnie pondered for a long time, unsure of what to do.

From a social and moral standpoint, he should have sent the old man back to the town... If he could have received treatment, he should have been able to live a little longer in his hospital bed.

But is that the kind of ending the old man hoped for?

No, that's not how it works...

Gazing at the old man's face, Lonnie noticed that although his eyes were small, they contained a glimmer of light—his definition of his life.

A person cannot choose their birth, their gender, or their race, but...

But they can decide their own death.

This is the dignity that makes us human, and Lonnies knew that the old man had come all the way here for the sake of dignity.

However, at the same time.

If I help an elderly person, does that mean I've killed them?

While I can respect the elderly person's wishes, doing so would be facilitating suicide.

So Lonnie hesitated at that time.

Because he discovered that the best way to save the old man was to kill him... and in the end, Lonnie did not help the old man achieve his goal.

He neither returned the old man nor took him to find the monster, but simply left.

……

……

Looking back now, I realize that my failure to make a decision back then was a sign of my immaturity.

……

“Lonnies…”

"Ah, ah...it's nothing."

Because she was so engrossed in her thoughts, Lornes only snapped out of it after Su Ling called her repeatedly.

"Um, Lonnie was just thinking about things that happened in the past?"

"Hey... Su-ling, did you notice?"

"Hmm, although I don't know what Xiao Luo was thinking just now, that contemplative expression was really handsome, just like a boy."

"Cough cough!"

Su Ling's words almost made Lonnie choke and choke on her breath... What do you mean by "like a boy"? She is a boy!

However, it was still a compliment, so Lonnie wagged her tail and said in a pretentious manner, "Let's not talk about this. The past is a shackle; the more you carry, the less you can see the road ahead."

"what?"

"I think what that blonde girl was trying to tell us... was that we shouldn't underestimate the Temple of Bright Ashes."

"Underestimate..."

"Yes, although we have visited the three temples relatively smoothly, it would be a big mistake to assume that the rest of the journey will be equally smooth. Nothing in this world is a given, and we must be extremely careful and vigilant in dealing with everything."

"I see. Lonnies is amazing!!!!"

……

……

Actually, although Lonnies can be impulsive at times, she is by no means an idiot.

As a hero who saves the world, Lonnies' achievements are by no means solely due to "good luck" and being "the chosen one"... In fact, she had many shining qualities back then.

For example, her intuition was absolutely correct:

Although I don't think about many things in detail, I can still make a pretty good sense of them just by feeling.

Although I encountered many bad people along the way, I never really suffered a loss.

"Hmph, as expected of the hero that Princess Ruohui spoke of, he really does have some skills."

Watching Su Ling and Lonnies talking, the blonde loli smiled faintly: "But, if you knew the truth hidden beneath the Mingjin Kingdom, how would you react? Would you still remain as confident as you are now...?"

……

"Then let me witness it all from here."