In the near-dark room, Sodden’s eyes were wide as saucers. It was as if a chunk of Ore had been stuffed down his throat; for a long time, he couldn’t squeeze out a single syllable.
He naturally knew everything there was to know about Tieflings.
His burly body tensed, and his large hand subconsciously reached for the handle of the War Axe at his waist. This was the vigilance against Demons that the entire Dwarf Race had cultivated over countless years at work. There was once a great Dwarf Kingdom that, under the temptation of Demons, had been reduced to an Eternal land of Curses.
But his hand quickly froze in midair.
What he saw was not a bewitching Demon, but merely a Human Race girl with her head bowed, looking as if she wished she could shrink herself into a tight ball. Those black horns, which seemed "overly delicate" to him, didn’t look evil at all. Instead, they made her Human Race face appear even more pale and helpless. This was simply too far removed from the image of the Tiefling he had heard of—"arrogant, cunning, and reeking of sulfur."
As a Dwarf Warrior, Sodden was used to judging intentions from a person’s posture. The posture of the "little Tiefling brat" before him showed not the slightest hint of threat or provocation. There was only an overflowing tension, fear, and the lowly demeanor of someone awaiting judgment.
He slowly moved his hand away from the axe handle. He looked at the girl who didn’t even dare to raise her eyes, and at the tail wrapping tightly around her own waist, squeezing so hard.
Didn’t this look exactly like how he had been back then, packing his bags and leaving alone while his own people poked him in the spine? That inescapable embarrassment, that struggle of fearing being watched yet longing to be treated fairly...
Faced with this soul similarly branded as an outcast by fate, a bitter sense of shared misery quickly washed away his slight vigilance born from rumors. Her "brand" was an innate bloodline, while his own "brand" was an unbearable past. Yet, their fates of being ostracized by their people were so strikingly similar. As a Dwarf who favored beards and brawn, he had no interest whatsoever in an Earth People woman who looked like a bean sprout, but that didn’t stop him from empathizing with her.
"Ahem..." The Dwarf cleared his throat forcefully, trying to break the heavy atmosphere that made him uncomfortable.
When he spoke again, his voice had noticeably softened. "So, your ’specialty’ is just an extra sturdy crown on your head and a... uh... belt that can wiggle on its own?"
By classifying her non-human features simply as "equipment," he was showing the most direct form of "acceptance" a Dwarf could express. With these words, the tense atmosphere in the room noticeably eased.
"He means he has no objections." Having acutely sensed the shift in the Dwarf’s emotions, Raine nodded at Kaelin. "Since she’s the candidate you found and she has proven her abilities, Sodden and I have no problem with this."
"Hey, Earth People boy, I only temporarily have no objections!" Sodden immediately mumbled, trying to save face. He then looked at Kaelin. "So, Armless, those two pieces of her ’equipment’ won’t affect her Casting, nor will they suddenly glow or attract things like Abyssal Hounds, right?"
"Don’t worry. Aside from her horns and tail, she is no different from any ordinary member of the Human Race," Kaelin said, a relieved smile blooming on her face. She squeezed the Tiefling girl’s cold hands and smiled. "Did you hear that, Winnie? They both agreed!"
It wasn’t until this moment that the Tiefling girl named Winnie seemed to awaken from a hazy dream upon hearing those words. She raised her head in disbelief, and those azure eyes that had been hidden beneath her lashes peered over carefully.
Her gaze darted about, trying to find any trace of pretense on Raine and Sodden’s faces. But what met her eyes was the black-haired youth’s gentle, approving smile, and the Dwarf’s slightly impatient yet accepting tolerance.
An unexpected rush of warmth instantly surged into her heart. Aside from her adoptive parents, she had never been accepted by so many people before. She wouldn’t have even dared to dream of such a thing.
Her body trembled slightly again, but she fought back the urge to cry and suppressed the corners of her mouth from curving into a smile. Her past experiences made her afraid to show any emotion, terrified of ruining this hard-won acceptance. Ultimately, her face only revealed a stiff expression of being at a loss, but the tail tightly wrapped around her waist unconsciously loosened.
"Introduce yourself." Kaelin gave her an encouraging nod and gently squeezed her hand.
Feeling the warmth from Kaelin’s fingertips, she took a deep breath and finally mustered the courage to say, "I-I’m Winnie."
Hearing this crisp voice, like a clear spring in the forest, Raine couldn’t help but feel a bit puzzled. This sounded completely different from the voice he had heard at the Alchemy Workshop that morning.
"That was a voice-changing trick," Winnie explained softly, pressing her lips together. She had clearly recognized Raine from the start.
Raine nodded in understanding. He and Sodden then gave brief self-introductions, officially completing the most basic getting-to-know-you phase for their adventuring party.
At this time, the last ray of sunset outside the window completely vanished, and the room was entirely enveloped in darkness. Kaelin stood up and, with practiced movements, lit the few tallow candles on the corner of the table one by one. Dim yet warm halos of light flared up in succession, dispelling the surrounding darkness and clearly outlining the four faces gathered around the table—Raine’s calmness, Sodden’s ruggedness, Winnie’s lingering timidity, and the solemnity that had gathered on Kaelin’s face once again.
"Since everyone has met, let’s get down to business." Raine sat up slightly straighter and turned his gaze back to Kaelin. "What exactly is hidden behind that Magic Barrier? Where is the destination for our upcoming adventure?"
Kaelin took a deep breath, her eyes turning distant and solemn. "Behind the barrier sleeps an ancient underground fortress of the Human Race Alliance Army, known as the Crown of Grey Rock. I’m sure you all know that the Black Tide from five hundred years ago was an absolute cataclysm.
"It was like a tide of death, carrying a sky-blotting black mist and frantically mutating Demons, surging out from the depths of the Demon Shadow Forest in a vain attempt to swallow all life.
"To resist this devastating torrent and buy time for the main force of the Alliance Army to gather in the rear, countless vanguard warriors stepped forward one after another. They established a series of forward fortresses on the outskirts of the forest, acting as stubborn stones nailed into the defensive line, using their flesh and blood to delay the advance of the darkness."
Her tone grew even heavier. "In the end, without exception, these fortresses were entirely overwhelmed by an endless horde of beasts. Along with their defenders, they completely disappeared from the world’s view. I need to find something inside. That is the goal of our adventure."
"Exploring the ruins of an ancient fortress from the Black Tide War?" Sodden’s eyes flickered with a gleam of respect and excitement. Then, knitting his bushy brows, he raised his doubts. "But Armless, how can you be sure that the item you’re looking for is inside?"
"Because my ancestor fought to the very last moment during the fall of this fortress and ultimately was buried there. The thing I need to retrieve is on his body." A hint of reverence and unwavering resolve entered Kaelin’s voice. "He died to protect the Human Race. Though I do not wish to disturb his rest, I have no other choice."
Having silently listened to Kaelin’s words, Raine nodded slightly. This aligned with his previous guesses, and his doubts were answered. Kaelin’s ancestor was indeed a warrior of the Alliance Army from back then, and she was precisely searching for his relic. As for what lay behind the Magic Barrier, it was an ancient fortress of the Human Race Alliance Army—the destination for this adventure.
However, simply looking for an ancestor’s relic was probably not the main point. The main point was what she intended to do after obtaining it; that was Kaelin’s true, hidden mission.
Just what kind of connection did this mission have with the imminent war between the Traditional Nobility and the New Nobility of the Solan Kingdom?