Knight and Wand

Chapter 322 Looking for a companion
Leon found the graves of little Lina, the cook Aunt Milia and others, and paid tribute to mourn their lamentable fate in this life before leaving the cemetery.

After learning the way to the Forest Valley from the villagers of Selva, they set off again after a night's rest.

The next day, he and Ines rode on horseback through the dilapidated forest road. It took half a day. After passing the familiar yet unfamiliar forest valley, the two of them looked into the distance on horseback.

I didn’t see the magnificent ancient fortress.

On the high ground in the distance, there are only a few weathered ruins.

On both sides of the winding river, village houses and farmhouses are scattered everywhere. Farmers are busy with the autumn harvest, creating a peaceful and tranquil rural scenery.

Even when he discovered in Farolis city and Selva village that people had never heard of the legend of the "Nightmare Forest" and that the forest south of Selva had another name, he had already anticipated this.

In sight of Avalon Castle, or Bauhinia Castle, which had long been reduced to ruins by the erosion of time in this time and space, Leon's heart still sank infinitely.

Lady Aphrodite's wizard tower and the collection of Gulorelit magic books in it are almost his only hope of reading and deciphering the time and space magic of the Orlandon Palace.

But now, the greatest reliance in his heart may be shattered.

This forest area in this world had never been covered by a spirit-like field before, and what was worse was that no one had even heard of the legend of the "Cursed Land" that should have been known to everyone in the folk of the Western Continent.

The differences between parallel universes are greater than you can imagine.

"Are you okay?" Ines asked with concern as she looked at Leon's increasingly gloomy expression.

Leon temporarily concealed the confusion in his heart and shook his head: "It's okay, let's go and take a look."

We rode along the badly damaged road and passed the village located in the river valley. After asking the villagers, we learned that this large village has existed here for hundreds of years and the villagers' ancestors grew up in this river valley.

As for the dilapidated ruins on the mountain highlands, they were only used as a temporary camp for some soldiers during the war. As far as their ancestors could remember, it had always been the ruins of a legendary ancient fortress and there was nothing special about it.

Still holding on to the last bit of unwillingness and hope in his heart, Leon quickly urged his horse to the ruins of the ancient wizard's fortress.

He stopped his horse in front of the stone foundation of the city wall that had been severely eroded by wind and looked around.

The flat and solid wall that once stood tall here no longer exists. Only the rubble that was partially exposed after its collapse and the cross-section of the fortress wall that looked like a whole rock indicate that there was once a solid fortress here.

But none of this matters.

Leon swung the reins, urging the horse to step quickly into the dusty ruins street, bypassing the rubble of the collapsed crossbars of the canal bridge, and rushed towards the ruins of the former upper class area.

The further into the inner city you go, the harder it becomes to move forward. Except for the roads on the periphery that have been cleared by the army, the collapse of the platform in the middle area has completely covered the stairs and ramps, making it impossible for horses to follow the original path to the higher areas.

Leon had no choice but to tie up the horse, protect Ines, and climb through the badly weathered ruins on the mountain path.

The arduous trek was like climbing a mountain to reach the circular square, bypassing the broken and dried-up fountain pool, and climbing up to the platform at the end of the high steps.

Looking at the ruins of the Mage Tower covered in dust in front of him, Leon walked forward in silence.

Magical light filled his fingertips, and he drew a seal that echoed the magic curtain, and chanted the spell:

(Gulorelite)
"Respect to Ms. Neti, please open the way for us, Shelter"

However, after a long time, there was no magical feedback from the surroundings.

Leon sighed and dispelled the magic in his hand.

The ruins of the wizard tower before us are not an illusion.

In this time and space, the legacy of the ancient great magician was indeed not preserved.

Before leaving, Leon searched reluctantly for the last time. After confirming that there was nothing meaningful, he had to take Ines away from the ruins in disappointment and return to the village to find a place to stay.

Along the way, he couldn't help but wonder, what does it mean that there is no "soul-like field" in this time and space? This is not as simple as a change in the fate of a few people.

No wonder when I asked about the forest villages and towns, the villagers told me that not only was there a village in the river valley to the south, but there was also a famous mining town nearby.

I think that if there was no curse, the dwarf's underground mine would have been developed and utilized by local lords in the history of this world.

After finding a tavern in the village, Leon asked the waiter to tie up the horse, then he walked into the inn with his luggage and went to the counter to ask the price.

"A dormitory bed is five copper cents each, a single room is one dir and five copper cents, and a double room is two dir. Food and drink are not included." The boss answered lazily while shooing away flies and leaning back in his chair.

He couldn't help but secretly frown at the price. Leon remembered that Olivia wanted to rent the farmhouse to the three of them, and they could live there for a month for only three dirhams. He didn't know whether the little lion was too kind or the price was a rip-off.

He had no choice but to plan to book two single rooms as usual, but was stopped by Ines.

"Boss, a double room will be fine."

Ines, wearing a veil, handed over two dirhams first.

Leon looked at the girl in surprise.

Ines turned around and blinked her bright eyes: "You have to spend money sparingly. These are all the things you and I have left. If I spend them, I won't have any clothes to sell. I definitely can't rent a dormitory, but a double room is at least cheaper than two rooms, right~"

Leon was still a little hesitant after hearing this: "But you and I are..."

Ines chuckled.

"What's the big deal? We were closer when we were camping, weren't we? At least there were different beds in a double room~ Don't worry, this is a 'parallel world'~ Miss Olivia won't know~"

After saying that, she couldn't wait to take the key from the boss, asked about the location of the upstairs room, turned around and walked up the stairs with brisk steps.

Leon scratched the back of his head, thought about it carefully and didn't feel conflicted.

During the camping trip, the distance between the two people resting was indeed closer than the distance between two beds for safety reasons. Why should we be so hypocritical now and worry about whether it was in separate rooms or the same room? Anyway, it was not the same bed.

Besides, what Ines said was right. Now she was no longer the Princess of Orland, and he was no longer the Baron of Avalon. Apart from the horses for their long journeys, the only thing left for them was the money the little princess had earned from pawning her clothes and shoes in the Holy City, which was all they had to live on.

Turning around and following the girl, Leon came to the double room. He dusted the bed on one side and opened the wooden window for ventilation.

"Your Highness, how much do you have left?" Leon asked, turning his head.

Ines took off her veil, sat on the bed, took out her purse and counted the Orland coins she had exchanged from the big city: "Five gold crowns, five nalers, and twenty-seven dirs."

Leon calculated that, adding the money in his own pocket, the two of them now had a total of coins worth about thirteen gold crowns.

Of course, it is not a small amount for ordinary people. If it is an ordinary family, it is more than enough to find a place to settle down and live a good life. But for him who wants to find a way to go home, in the long run, if he has no income, this amount of money will soon be spent.

"Why don't you try to travel while practicing medicine? Your healing magic will make many nobles willing to pay for it." Ines put up her braids, twisted her hair with her fingers, and suggested casually. In fact, she was not worried about money at all. If she really wanted to make money, the girl had many ways to make a lot of money, some of which were legitimate, and perhaps more of which were illegitimate and harmful.

What she said downstairs just now was just an excuse. She just wanted the other person to be in her sight as much as possible.

"Practicing medicine? Yes, that's an idea." Leon nodded, but suddenly an idea flashed in his mind and hesitantly said to Ines: "Wait, I seem to know a place where a lot of treasures may be hidden. If we really need it, we can go look for it later."

It may sound a bit guilty to say this, but what Leon was thinking about was his wife's dowry.

Uncle Brian had hidden several boxes of treasure for Olivia in the mountains of Westral County.

If Uncle Brian in this world didn't have time to tell Olivia when he died, those riches would probably still be lying quietly in some hidden cave.

I think Olivia in this world has become the Queen of Orlando, so she definitely has no shortage of these things.

I can solve some urgent problems myself.

".Is it treasure?"

Ines' eyes flickered with interest, and she asked curiously, "Are you sure that those treasures are still there in this world?"

Leon was not sure about this and shrugged: "I can't guarantee it, so I just said it's possible. But don't worry, even if I sell my martial arts to become a knight-errant, I can still ensure that you and I have no worries about food, clothing, housing and transportation."

As he spoke, he leaned back on his bed, relaxed his tense mind, rested for a while on his arms, and thought about his next move.

Going to the royal palace of Orlandon City and investigating the time and space conversion magic is undoubtedly the most important goal.

In his heart, Leon only prayed that the magical mysteries under the Holy Sword Courtyard would not be lost in the years like the fortress of Lady Aphrodite.

But even if the magic is still intact, it would be extremely difficult for me and Ines to enter the palace now.

Even without bringing Ines, who had a sensitive identity, he was just a commoner now and did not even have the qualifications to approach the palace.

What should he do? Should he rely on his martial arts and magic to find a nobleman to serve the Kingdom of Orlando, regain his reputation, and hope to get an audience with the Golden Lion Queen?
This is indeed a reliable way. With his current proficiency in everything from breaking into battle to marching and fighting, Leon is confident that he will not be buried. At worst, he can look around to see if there are any lords holding knight tournaments, so as to earn prize money and make a name for himself.

Thinking about it this way, finding an opportunity to directly join Olivia in this world and establish achievements under the Golden Lion Queen seems to be the fastest way to find an opportunity to enter the palace.

Of course, it would be nice to try going to my old boss, Lord Elliver.

However, with the experience and lessons learned from the different time flow rates in the spiritual field, Leon did not know whether the time flow rate in the parallel world was consistent with his own space-time.

If you delay too long
Leon frowned, trying not to think of the worst-case scenario.

However, even if he could solve the problem of entering the palace, it was still a question whether he could figure out the principles of ancient magic and send himself and Ines home.

Without Ms. Aphrodite's library, how long would it take me to figure out the complex and huge magical ritual on my own?

Feeling a headache, Leon sighed as he touched the Neti card hidden on his chest.

It would be great if Corvis was here. In terms of theoretical knowledge, Akau always knows more about Lorelit magic than I do.

If he had not deciphered the magic book in the wizard's tower and figured out the usage of the Neti furnace, how could he have possessed this magical weapon that could bring the dead back to life and create miracles?

It was because of him that the ancient magic under the Great Temple of Rolandar could be deciphered and analyzed to solve the undead plague, and even the whereabouts of the ancient dwarves could be investigated.
Looking back, Corvis' help to me is truly irreplaceable.

Sitting up suddenly, Leon made a decision.

These days, he has been thinking about where he can get help as soon as possible in this seemingly parallel world where everything seems to have to start from scratch.

Azerien and Olivia are now kings and it is difficult for them to meet. It is unknown whether Lohak is alive or dead, and his whereabouts are unknown.
But, Corvis.
If fate had changed, and the self in this world had not gone to Western Port to assassinate the ambassador of the Atias Empire, would Akau still be trapped in the hands of that gay Piriano?
Rubbing his chin, Leon calmed down.

Of course, we cannot rule out the possibility that in this time and space the Atias people have never come to the Western Continent, and even the Kingdom of Vilania has not perished, and Corvis is still serving as a prince in his hometown.

After all, whether in the folks of Rolandar, Kosos, or Mamor, he could not obtain any information about the Mage Empire of the East Continent from ordinary people. It was hard to say whether those damn Atias mages came to the Western Continent to cause trouble in this life.

But even if it is only possible that Akao is in Western Port now, it is worth going there to see the situation.

Not to mention that his knowledge of magic and brains could be of great help, even if we only consider the brotherhood between them, Leon would never sit idly by and watch him remain imprisoned and humiliated without anyone to rescue him in this world.

As for relatives and friends in the original world, such as little Lina and others, I have arrived too late and am unable to save the tragedy, but if Corvis is still in distress, then I still have a chance to save him!

Having made up his mind, Leon turned to Ines and told her that he wanted to go to the west of Kantadar to find Corvis's whereabouts.

But after saying that, Leon suddenly had a headache.

He was heading to the western port of Kantadar, which was a natural thing for him to do, but this trip would take him deep into the territory of the Falcon family again, and there was no guarantee that he would not encounter danger. The miserable appearance when he was chased by Eamon was still vivid in his mind.

"How about you stay in Orland and wait for me to come back, Your Highness?" Leon suggested, explaining the risks of this trip.

"Lord Leon, do you really think that I will be safer staying alone in Orland than staying with you?"

Ines sighed softly, lying weakly on the bed, her face buried in the pillow, looking at the other person with aggrieved eyes: "Of course~ If I will be a burden to you, it doesn't matter if I stay. I can only pray that the gods will have mercy on me and wait for you to come back intact. Please don't leave and never come back."

Leon's scalp tingled at the look that seemed to be hinting at something inexplicably. In his overdeveloped imagination, a series of bad associations about the butter he had played with in his previous life on Earth suddenly flashed through his mind.

This left the little princess alone in a remote area where she could not be taken care of. Now that she had no subordinates, she only relied on her brain. No matter how smart she was, she would have no ability to protect herself if she met a reckless man. She was not Olivia who could tear tigers and leopards apart with her bare hands at the age of fifteen or sixteen.

Nodding helplessly, Leon sighed: “Well, you are right, Your Highness should go with me.”

Now I really can’t find a place where I can settle him down.

Even if they were noble knights who had been proven to have good character in another time and space, given Ines' sensitive identity in this world, she would be recognized as soon as she showed up, and then be handed over to the Golden Lion Queen in the royal capital by the local lords for punishment.

When Ines heard this, she nodded obediently, turned over, and then revealed a faint smile.

Are you kidding? How could she not find a place to live for a long time and protect herself? If I were such a fool, I might as well find a basin and drown myself as soon as possible to save wasting air.

But if the two of them could go back one day, the days when they had each other's close company might be memories that they would never be able to obtain again.

For the first time, she was grateful for the magic that sent her to another world.

Ines closed her eyes, and wonderful ripples were rippling in her heart.

At least here.

I am one step ahead of Miss Olivia~
(End of this chapter)