At this moment, not far from the palace of Tesca, the three of them were struggling to make their way over the mountains. Gino, who usually lacked exercise, panted and complained, "I should have had his highness make us a cloud carriage."
At the mention of Orizio, Luciana suddenly remembered that early this morning, his highness had come to see her. She suddenly really wanted to know why he had come to see her.
Looking at a certain elf in front of her, who was running out of strength, Luciana thought, I should do something for his highness. "Excuse me."
"What is it?"
"You can climb onto my back."
Hearing this, Gino was greatly startled and instinctively said, "I'm getting on in years. This sort of thing doesn't suit me." Then he immediately reacted and haughtily added, "But I can make an exception this once."
Very soon, the three of them neared their destination. Gino pointed at the large rock ahead and said happily, "It's right there. You've done very well." Then he could not wait to jump down from the girl's back.
It was the first time Luciana had heard praise from Gino, and a sense of pride immediately welled up in her heart. She clasped her hands together and began thanking the gods for granting her a new life.
"I like it here. I can hear the forest sounds, the rustling leaves, the skittering insects. Even the blowing wind feels alive."
Gino, who had rushed ahead to lead the way, turned back and shouted, "Why are you so slow? Hurry up."
"We're coming," Nicole quickly responded, then could not help complaining. "Sometimes he really is like an irritable old man."
Hearing this, Luciana asked in confusion, "How old is Gino?"
"I'm not sure, but I'd say he's at least five hundred years old."
Luciana saw a strange creature appear not far away. Its upper body was human, but its lower body was actually that of a horse. She thought she must have seen wrong and rubbed her eyes, but nothing changed. It turned out that this person was the mage they had come to visit.
When he saw Luciana, he also looked somewhat surprised and said to Gino, "When I heard that his highness had chosen his first companion, I thought he would choose someone like the fairy Aphrodite. Tell me honestly, is she really just a human girl?"
Gino said rather awkwardly, "Mage, that is precisely why we came to you. Fortunately, she is much smarter than she looks, and she is also very good at weaving papyrus baskets."
Hearing this, the mage spoke in some surprise, then heavily stamped his foot on the ground. In an instant, a huge goat monster appeared in midair. Both girls were so frightened they froze where they stood.
Seeing this, the mage said, "I only wanted to remind you that goat monsters appear in this area. You wouldn't want to be swallowed whole, would you?"
Gino at the side said weakly, "Didn't you understand? His highness wants to give his chastity to this woman."
"I was only joking. Stay by my side and you won't be hurt."
"That really wasn't funny at all."
Very soon, the mage led them to a cave, which was where he lived. As soon as they reached the entrance, they were deeply shocked by the enormous collection of books before their eyes. And the mage, who had disappeared the moment he entered the cave, now reappeared carrying food.
"You must be hungry, right? Please help yourselves. If you don't mind, I'll go back and continue my work first."
With that, without waiting for a response, he turned and left. Looking at the mage's departing back, Luciana sighed. "He is a very good person."
Gino replied, "We cross mountains to come see him, and all he served us was beer and venison."
Nicole picked up the beer and joined the conversation. "I heard he is the wisest mage. I've never seen so many scrolls. It's truly amazing."
At this moment, Gino's mouth was stuffed with venison, but on hearing that, he still did not forget to boast about himself. "You call it amazing? I mastered this much knowledge long ago."
Seeing this, Luciana could not help covering her mouth and laughing. Gino asked with a baffled expression, "Why are you laughing?"
Luciana answered, "The way you were just now was rather cute."
A certain elf's face flushed bright red in an instant, and Nicole added the finishing glow from the side. "Lord Gino, your face is as red as a cherry."
Luciana accidentally glanced at the desk nearby. Seeing the pile of messy tools on the table, she could not help sighing. "The mage must be very busy."
Gino, who was eating like mad at the side, responded, "Indeed. He may seem somewhat rude and his personality may also be a little strange, but without a doubt, he is the smartest scholar in this world."
After eating and drinking his fill, Gino lay down directly and said lazily, "He probably has no time for us right now. Since he's not here, let's rest first."
Hearing this, Nicole panicked at once. The conditions here were far too crude, and she feared Luciana would not rest well, so she frowned and said, "You must be joking. The mage surely would not want us to stay the night here."
But Luciana enthusiastically picked up some dead branches. "I'm fine. But before sleeping, there's still something I want to do."
The queen's scheme was quietly unfolding within the palace of Tesca. Looking at the envoy from the imperial palace before him, Orizio said expressionlessly, "You say he betrayed the queen? That is Pericles, my tutor, and the father of my friend."
Clearly, they were a pair of spotless hands. Yet Orizio seemed to see them covered in blood. He suddenly burst into laughter, yet scalding tears streamed from the corners of his eyes.
The next second, he flashed into Luciana's room. Seeing the empty palace, he then remembered that Luciana had gone to the mage of Mount Cole. So he gathered divine power and instantly arrived at the girl's side.
Looking at the sleeping girl, Orizio thought in dejection, Will you also be like the others, unable to meet my eyes?
Surging emotions instantly flooded his heart. Orizio directly embraced the girl beside him and nestled against her chest in satisfaction.
Even if only for a moment, I want to rest in your arms.