Frilian: The Adventure of the Hero

Chapter 162 [Yubert]'s "Three Questions"

Yubel stood in the center of the nest.

He casually kicked the pile of trash at his feet.

Ores, weapons, armor — and some ancient books?

The girl squatted down.

Whoosh—

Pull out a complete book from a pile of junk.

She drooped her eyes, glanced at the words on the book cover, neither particularly interested nor uninterested, and simply flipped to a page.

The moonlight cast a soft shadow on her lowered eyelashes.

A gentle breeze blew by, ruffling her long, dark green hair. The girl turned around expressionlessly.

She sensed someone approaching.

By the light of the bright moon, the girl slowly made out the person walking at the very front.

hansome.

easy going.

A hint of surprise flickered in his eyes.

He looks exactly like a "kind uncle" from ten years ago, just as I remember him.

A faint smile slowly appeared on her previously expressionless face. She raised her hand to her forehead, as if trying to see more clearly.

"You are—Shane?"

Xia En opened his mouth, but for a moment he was speechless.

Looking at that familiar yet unfamiliar face under the moonlight, his memory was instantly pulled back to that morning in [Gostan City] ten years ago.

The green-haired little girl, covered in colorful ribbons and crying pitifully, slowly overlapped with the calm, composed girl standing before them.

【Yuber】

That guy who possesses magic that can cut through almost everything, and will be known as the "God of Concepts" in the future.

It's really her.

Yubel has grown up now.

She is tall and has delicate features.

Her green ponytail was tied to the side of her head, and she wore a fitted magic robe that allowed for easy movement. Her right hand was gloved, and she was holding a metal wand that looked like a square fork.

She has a youthful and beautiful appearance, but she also has a distinctly unapproachable air about her.

"You've grown so much!"

Upon hearing this, Yubel dropped the book in his hand, stepped onto the edge of the nest, and nimbly jumped out, arriving in front of Shane.

The corners of the girl's mouth curved upwards very slightly.

Her gaze lingered on Xia En's face for a moment, her tone tinged with doubt and surprise, "Ten years, Xia En—Uncle, you haven't changed much."

Xia En touched his face, unsure how to react.

Ten years is enough time to leave a deep mark on the people of this world.

But for him, time seemed to stand still, leaving no trace of change on him.

"What are you doing here?"

Xia En voiced the question that had been bothering him.

At the same time, his gaze involuntarily drifted to the huge nest behind Yubel, piled high with all sorts of [garbage].

"Just passing by."

"I sensed some residual magic here, so I came up to check."

As he spoke, Yubel turned his wand and pointed to the books scattered throughout the lair. "These books—they're quite interesting. Are they what you're looking for?"

Xia En nodded.

At the same time, he looked Yubel over and asked, "You—aren't you injured? This is the lair of the [Poison Feather Owl]."

"So those little birds are called Poison Owls."

Yubel blinked, as if she had just remembered something. She casually pointed to a shadowy spot at the edge of the nest. "When I came in, they seemed a little agitated, so I calmed them down."

Everyone looked in the direction she was pointing.

By the moonlight, one could vaguely see a pile of lumps, haphazardly stacked there, slowly turning into black magical particles.

"It's quiet now?"

Xia En swallowed hard.

"Um."

Yubel nodded, as if he were talking about something trivial.

"They didn't seem very welcoming to visitors, so I dealt with them first to avoid trouble."

Xia En's eye twitched slightly.

Although it's just a brood of chicks, judging from the pile of debris, these chicks are probably larger than a brown bear.

Shaun gained a new understanding of Yubel's fighting prowess.

Even Viabel, who was standing nearby, curiously went over to examine the fragments.

The way he looked at Yubel was scrutinizing.

Zain and Shutark were also shocked.

Only Frilian, completely unconcerned about any of this, had already excitedly bypassed Yubel and run into the lair to search for magic books.

Philon followed her helplessly.

She was quietly reminded to be careful of any poisonous feathers that might remain in the nest.

The white-haired elf gave a perfunctory reply, but didn't stop rummaging through the items.

Yubel didn't look at anyone else.

Her gaze remained fixed on Xia En, seemingly particularly interested in him. "Are you doing a commission?"

Xia En briefly explained the incident involving the attack on the Continental Magic Association's transport team and the loss of the ancient books.

Yubel listened quietly, nodding occasionally.

She didn't speak until Xia En finished speaking: "I see—I did encounter a few suspicious people on my way here."

"A suspicious person?"

"Three men, armed and looking flustered, were arguing near the main road. I heard [they were all books]."

Phrases like "It's a losing proposition" or "You might as well go back to being a pirate" were used.

Xia En frowned.

They had sensed something strange at the place where the transport team had perished.

The scene not only showed scorch marks from magical burning, but also several obvious sword and knife slash marks, meaning that the transport team was not only attacked by magical beasts, but may have also been robbed by bandits before that.

"When they saw me, they seemed to think I was alone and easy to bully, and they wanted to steal my things."

As she said this, she seemed a little helpless. She glanced at Xia En, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned, and she sighed in a pretentious manner.

"I didn't want to cause trouble."

"Because I always remember what you taught me before, that magic is powerful but also dangerous, I specifically thought about their feelings and tried to understand them."

Xia En had a bad feeling.

"What did you do to them?"

Yubel's pale purple eyes appeared clear and earnest in the moonlight. "I asked them three questions."

"First question: Are you guys kidding me?"

"They laughed and said they weren't joking, and told me to hand over all my valuables and my wand."

Xia En glanced at her. "You definitely won't do it—"

Yubel raised an eyebrow and continued, "So, I asked them a second question: 'Can you beat me?'"

They laughed even harder, saying that I, a mere young girl, had too much nerve.

97

Yubel paused, his tone light and playful: "Seeing them like this, I had no choice but to ask one last question: 'Are you all looking for death?'"

Xia En: "—"

"Then they rushed over."

Yubel shrugged.

His expression even seemed somewhat innocent.

"There was nothing I could do but make them quiet down."

A night breeze blew by, and the hillside was silent.

Looking at Yubel's calm and expressionless face, everyone felt a chill creep up their spines.

In her words, the three vicious robbers were like three noisy mosquitoes, which she could easily swat away.

Xia En closed his eyes.

"Near a main road—do you know how much panic this will cause—"

He could already imagine the shock and horror that travelers on the main road would feel when they saw a pile of human body parts.

Ironically, the one who started this is here telling a story with an innocent look on his face.

They showed absolutely no awareness of the need to frighten innocent passersby.

"Don't worry, I've taken care of everything. It won't attract any monsters."

Yubel pointed to another direction in the woods, "I chopped it up very finely and threw it all into the river; the fish loved it."

Xia En: "————"

The handling was truly clean, efficient, and environmentally friendly.

Xia En pressed his temples.

This style of doing things is indeed very characteristic of "Yubel".

But compared to the ruthless killing machine in the original work who treated human life like dirt, the Yubel in front of us at least asks three questions before taking action.

Would they also consider the consequences of improper handling of the body?

He recalled what he had said to that crying little girl ten years ago: "—Stop and think before you act—"

Try to understand the other person's feelings —

So, these three questions are her way of "thinking it over"?

But why does every question sound more like a provocation?

This is not entirely different from my original intention of hoping that the other person's personality could improve; in fact, it's completely contrary to it!

Xia En was helpless.

But it's too late to say anything now.

The group tidied up the books in the nest. Fortunately, most of the books were intact and had not been damaged.

In addition, the lair contained a large number of worn-out weapons and armor, with many basic attributes on them, making it another great harvest for Shane.

With the batch sent by President Lloyd, he now has an abundance of [entry pads].

Night fell.

The group found an open space nearby and set up camp to rest.

Because Yubel threw the body parts into the river, the group, who were supposed to camp by the river to make it easier to get water, unanimously chose to stay away from the water source on the hillside.

Ubel was very puzzled by this.

This is completely contrary to the adventurer's strategy for choosing a wilderness campsite.

No one could tell her the reason.

In a temporary camp.

Around the campfire.

Yubel sat next to Shane.

He stared at Xia En with curiosity the whole time.

They kept asking him what kind of magical power he used to maintain his youth forever.

Xia En gave a few evasive answers.

Yubel then pressed him for details about his adventures over the years.

Unable to resist his persistent questioning, Xia En could only utter a few words.

Yubel listened with great interest.

Beside the firelight, Philen listened silently to the conversation between the two. This time, however, she did not puff out her cheeks as she had done when she saw Shane and Elle talking before.

She simply cooked the soup quietly, occasionally glancing up at Shane and then at Yubel, her eyes peaceful.

Frillie noticed her quietness and teased, "Why aren't you jealous this time?"

Philen muttered under her breath, "When did I get jealous? Lady Frilian, please don't make things up."

"No?"

Philon glanced at Shane.

She looked down at the flickering campfire, pursed her lips, her gaze gentle yet firm, "Because I know that you and Mr. Shane will always be by my side."

She had been sitting by the campfire the whole time; how could she not feel the warmth of the flames?

The little girl's heart was more fulfilled than before.

Frillie paused slightly.

Then, she reached out and gently rubbed Philon's head: "Of course."

Philen turned her head away somewhat embarrassedly, "Lady Frilian, I'm not a child anymore."

Frillie withdrew her hand.

A gentle smile spread across her lips.

"certainly."

On the other side of the campfire.

Shane handed the softened bread to Yubel.

Yubel took it, raised an eyebrow, and then gave Shane a meaningful look.

then.

Reach out and carefully peel off the burnt bits of bread, one by one.

In the end, about two-thirds of the bread was left.

After checking and making sure there were no burnt parts, Yubel put the bread in his mouth.

Shaun didn't notice Yubel's subtle actions.

He took a bite of bread by himself.

Ugh—this baked bread is awful, it even tastes bitter. You really can't trust adventurers' recipes. He only took one bite before putting it down and picking up an unbaked slice.

Ok.

It has regained its sweetness.

He turned to look at Yubel.

The little girl ate with great relish; indeed, adventurers have unusual tastes.

"You just said you're going to [Oisastra]?"

Xia En brought up another topic.

"Um.

""

Yubel swallowed a mouthful of bread. "Go take the qualification exam for [Level 1 Mage]."

"Level 1 exam? Then you're now—"

Um----

Level 3.

'

Xia En's heart skipped a beat.

Is it still level three?

In the original work, Yubel was already a level three mage before he appeared, just like Philon.

Before taking the Level 1 qualification exam, she took an extra Level 2 exam.

That exam was administered by "Golden-haired Young Master" Bruges. With Yubel's abilities, he could have easily advanced to level two.

But she failed.

During the exam, he used a spell that could almost slice through everything to kill the examiner.

Their qualification for advancement was immediately revoked.

Back then, in [French], Shane met Brugge and specifically reminded him not to use him directly as a [prop] for the exam.

They wanted to change Brugge's tragic fate as an "examiner" through this.

But now, the exam time should have passed, yet Yubel is still at level three.

"I originally wanted to take the Level 2 exam, but something went wrong during the last exam and I was disqualified."

Yubel's words rang out.

Xia En's heart sank.

"What happened? You didn't... accidentally switch to the examiner, did you?"

The gruesome image of Brug being sliced ​​in two flashed through his mind.

Has nothing changed?

Yubel gave him a strange look. "An examiner? No. I chopped up a scarecrow."

"scarecrow?"

"Yes, a scarecrow wearing the uniform of a Level 1 Mage."

A rare look of annoyance appeared on Yubel's face.

"That's strange."

"It was just a scarecrow, but the way that blond examiner looked at me was as if I were chopping him up."

Xia En's mood was like a rollercoaster.

What I'm saying is, could you please not breathe so heavily when you speak? It's scary, okay?

Forget it.

As long as Brugge escapes unscathed.

Yubel, oblivious to Shane's mood, continued to complain: "She cried so loudly in front of so many examinees, she even blew bubbles out of her nose."

"This also led to the cancellation of my promotion eligibility."

"What are you saying? I destroyed his most precious thing. You're a devil."

"It's just a piece of clothing."

When he said the word "clothes," Yubel's eyelids drooped, and his tone gradually weakened.

Xia En turned to look at her.

The girl was feeling down.

Shaun thought of Yubel's sister; if he remembered correctly, her sister was a very skilled tailor.

At that time, the city of Gostan was attacked by Solitaire.

Yubel's tailor shop was smashed to pieces.

Afterwards, he went to the city hall to inquire and learned that Yubel and his sister were both safe and had been properly taken care of before he left with peace of mind.

"How have you and your sister been these past ten years?"

Yubel fell silent.

She did not answer Shane's question.

The night breeze stirred her hair, the green strands swaying gently in the breeze, creating ripples.

Xia En frowned.

He vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

Did something else happen after that?

"It's okay if I can't be promoted to level two."

"I might as well just take the Level 1 exam. Anyway, my ultimate goal is to become a Level 1 Mage."

1

Yubel looked at the flickering campfire in front of the two of them.

"Only by passing the first-level exam and becoming a [First-Level Mage] can one be qualified to request that magic from [Grand Mage Seria]."

"What kind of magic?"

Xia En's voice was a little hoarse. He already had a vague answer in his heart, but he hoped that his guess was wrong.

pity.

Things still unfolded in a direction he didn't want.

Yubel's deep yet calm voice came through.

"A magic spell that can help me find my sister."

Five years ago, she went to the suburbs to deliver custom-made clothes to a client—and never came back.

The atmosphere suddenly became quiet.

In this world, "disappearance" is often equated with "death"—either eaten by monsters or by demons of the demon race.

Looking at Yubel's calm profile, Shaen felt a surge of complex emotions.

He wanted to say something comforting, like "Please accept my condolences" or "There may still be hope," but those words seemed pale in the face of cruel reality.

Yubel seemed to read his mind.

"You don't need to think about how to comfort me—I know that my sister is most likely dead, otherwise, she wouldn't have gone five years without coming back to see me."

Her tone remained largely unchanged, as if she were stating an objective fact.

"but."

She paused, and deep within her pale purple eyes, there seemed to be a kind of extremely stubborn light flickering.

"I can't think like that."

"If I accept that she's dead, slowly, I'll forget the days I lived with her, forget her voice, forget what she looks like—forget the feelings we had for each other. When that time comes, my sister will truly be dead."

"So, I must find her."

"At the very least—we must find the last place she stayed."

"Until then, she will continue to live, living in my search."

Xia En was stunned.

As long as a person is alive, they always need something to look forward to.

For Yubel, finding her sister is the meaning of her life and proof that she is alive.

This may also be the source of the extreme purity of her magic.

[A magic that can almost cut through everything]

What's being cut open isn't just everything in front of us.

It is also everything that stands in the way of the heart.

"We will find it."

Xia En nodded slowly.

"[Seria] is the living encyclopedia of the magical world. Her magical knowledge is unfathomable. She must possess magic that can grant this wish."

Yubel curled the corners of his mouth, tilted his head, and looked at Shane with an ambiguous gaze.

"Not bad, just like ten years ago, you know how to comfort people."

2

Xia En rubbed his forehead.

Girl, isn't your focus a little strange?