"Ha, Rogier."
D murmured, then turned to watch his once-close friend shuffle closer step by step. After a moment of silence, he said, "How much longer are you going to dawdle?"
Rogier's steps finally quickened, and he jogged up to the two.
He took off his sorcerer's pointed hat, a slightly awkward expression on his face, and then greeted D, "Long time no see, Darian."
D looked at his old friend and couldn't help but retort sarcastically, "Now you know how to greet me? When you stopped me from hunting Those Who Live in Death, your tone wasn't this friendly."
Arthur had thought Rogier would be a little angry, but unexpectedly, the other party only showed a faint smile: "But when you brought me, unable to move, from the depths of Stormveil Castle back to the Roundtable Hold, you didn't have any complaints."
D immediately retorted, "Because I couldn't stand someone being so foolish as to die from touching the Prince of Death's remains."
The two of them kept bickering like this, basically with D scolding a bit and Rogier politely retorting indifferently.
Their relationship seems pretty good, huh? I'm getting the feeling I shouldn't be here.
Arthur lightly coughed, interjecting into their conversation: "Let me interrupt your reunion chat for a moment. I actually have a task for both of you."
Upon hearing Arthur' words, D immediately stopped his verbal assault on Rogier and said to Arthur, "Alright, since you have become Elden Lord and have not betrayed the Golden Order, I am very willing to obey your command."
It's not like I haven't betrayed the Golden Order before, it's just that you and Rogier were both dead at the time, so you wouldn't know about it.
Arthur thought about the various law endings he had chosen in certain past cycles, while concealing his guilty conscience, and said seriously, "I need you and Rogier to go together to an abandoned port called 'Thorndale' to investigate the situation there and along the way. If there are no problems, that place will also become our territory. D, you should have noticed that this is no longer The Lands Between. Rogier arrived half a month before you, so he is quite familiar with this world. He will explain the basic situation of this world to you on the way."
When D heard that it was about the Golden Tree Territory, he immediately agreed without hesitation: "I am very willing to expand the territory for the Golden Order."
Arthur glanced at Rogier, who also nodded in agreement, and then looked at D, admonishing them with a slight unease, "You two, will you be alright?"
Rogier put his sorcerer's pointed hat back on and smiled faintly, "Although Darian can sometimes be stubborn, he is absolutely a person who separates public and private matters and will never let the task you assign him fail due to personal issues."
D also retorted without weakness, "Lord Arthur, please rest assured. I will perfectly execute your task while keeping a close eye on Rogier, lest he gets attracted by something strange on the way again."
Rogier merely shrugged, saying nothing.
After receiving their assurances, Arthur said in a relaxed tone, "Good, I trust you. Then we'll depart tomorrow morning. Tonight, attend the welcoming banquet prepared for you, and I've also arranged for people to prepare provisions and other essential travel supplies for you."
After hearing this, Rogier elegantly and gentlemanly extended a hand, gesturing to D, "Please, Darian. Before the banquet, let me introduce you to Arthur' territory, and also the Dwarves and Elves who have come to help."
After D left with Rogier, Edgar and his daughter Irena also walked towards Arthur.
However, the father and daughter still instinctively became wary when they saw the Lion Hybrid beside Arthur.
As expected, the conflict and prejudice between normal humans and Misbegotten are not so easily resolved.
Misbegotten are actually similar to Omens; they are unfortunate throwbacks who experienced the phenomena of the Crucible, but are essentially still human. Therefore, they also possess the same emotions, intelligence, and rationality as normal humans.
However, in the later Golden Order era of The Lands Between, the tails, wings, and scales that grew on them due to the atavism caused them to be regarded as ominous, just like Omens, eventually becoming slaves with no status whatsoever.
But Misbegotten are different from the Demi-Humans in Fort Haight; Demi-Humans are not human, but another race.
Furthermore, Demi-Humans generally have lower intelligence, living in groups in caves or ruins.
However, even among Demi-Humans, individuals with higher intelligence can appear—the large Demi-Human Queens and the unusually agile Demi-Human Swordmasters. These two types of individuals are capable of using low-level Glintstone sorcery.
Edgar, leading his daughter Irena, tried his best to ignore the Lion Hybrid, and knelt on one knee before Arthur, expressing his gratitude: "I do not know what words to use to praise you, Tanes, Your Majesty. You have restored my daughter's sight; this truly fills me with emotion."
Irena, with her nimble eyes reconstructed by the Grace, charmingly blinked at Arthur, then slightly pulled up her skirt with both hands to the sides, crossed her legs, and curtsied.
Arthur helped Edgar up from the ground, and after accepting the father and daughter's thanks, said, "Then pledge your loyalty to me, Edgar. It is your duty to guard the safety of Morne Castle with your life, isn't it?"
Edgar nodded solemnly, then glanced at the Lion Hybrid, hesitated for a moment, but then showed a determined expression and said, "Tanes, Your Majesty, although you may scold me for what I am about to say, I must still advise you: Misbegotten are not reliable; they are not to be trusted."
Here he even used "they" (referring to things/animals), rather than "they" (referring to people).
The Lion Hybrid had no violent reaction to Edgar's words, or rather, he had long expected Edgar to say such things, and even found such words boring from having heard them so many times.
Anyway, the new Elden Lord summoned him from The Lands Between, which was terrible for him and his kin, and also bestowed the Grace upon him. The Lion Hybrid now didn't care about what people like Edgar thought of him.
In other words, the Lion Hybrid just wanted to follow Arthur now.
After Edgar finished speaking, the Lion Hybrid just silently looked at Arthur with his lion-like face, ready to hear what Arthur would say.
But before Arthur could speak, Roderika, who had been silent behind the Lion Hybrid until now, couldn't help but say, "Sir, I think your attitude towards the Misbegotten is far too prejudiced. I cannot guarantee that all Misbegotten are good people, but they certainly aren't all bad people either, just like Sir Hugh, who taught me the art of Spirit Tuning."
The elderly Hugh merely gently tugged at Roderika's sleeve, subtly shaking his head to signal her to wait for Arthur to speak.
Hmm?
Edgar looked at the blonde girl, who was protected by two Misbegotten, with some surprise. After clearly seeing her attire, he immediately realized that this girl was a member of the Erdtree's royal family.
This made Edgar even more confused.
Shouldn't a member of the Erdtree's royal family hate the Misbegotten even more?
Arthur then spoke, "Regarding the Misbegotten, I will make arrangements so that their presence will not affect the lives of normal people in the territory. Edgar, I now appoint you as the deputy to the current Morne Castle Lord, Nepheli Loux, to assist her in handling all matters, big and small, in Morne Castle. Nepheli was in the fields outside the castle earlier; you can find her there. With your familiarity with Morne Castle, I believe your work together will be very smooth."
Edgar wanted to say something more, but he ultimately swallowed his words, accepted Arthur's appointment, and left with his daughter.
"Whew."
Arthur let out a long breath and looked at Hugh and Roderika. Facing these two, he didn't need to overthink, so he showed a relaxed expression.
Hugh silently looked at Arthur, a strange emotion flashing in his eyes, and finally asked, "Do you still need this lowly blacksmith to forge weapons for you, my King?"
Then, a surprised expression appeared on Hugh's aged face, because Arthur gave him a tight hug, only releasing him after a long time.
"Whether you want to rest or continue forging weapons, you can now choose according to your own will, Hugh. There are no shackles on your ankles here, and no orders from Marika to bind your soul," Arthur said with a smile.
He said, "You are free now, Hugh."
Upon hearing these words, Hugh stood stunned, then raised his rough, broad hands to cover his face, his hunched body trembling slightly.
Roderika, very understandingly, gently patted Hugh's back, silently accompanying the elderly Misbegotten.
Arthur also did not rush him, but quietly waited for Hugh to lower his hands himself.
Hugh replied, "I will only tinker with iron bars and ore my whole life, Your Majesty. Please let me wield my hammer and continue to forge weapons for you."
Arthur smiled and nodded, "Alright, but this time I will give you a more spacious blacksmith shop, one where no shackles will bind you to the stone wall. When you feel tired, you can stop what you're doing at any time, come out for some fresh air, or go back to your room for a good night's sleep."
He then looked at Roderika, who was also happy for Hugh, and said, "Go on, there are many empty rooms in the castle. You and Hugh can go pick two for yourselves."
"Alright, tarnished," the blonde girl replied cheerfully. She knew Arthur had something important to discuss with the remaining Lion Hybrid, so she very sensibly left with Hugh.
Now, only Arthur and the Lion Hybrid remained under the Erdtree.
Arthur put away the relaxed smile he had shown to Roderika and Hugh, and then looked at the Lion Hybrid with a calm gaze.
The Lion Hybrid lowered his furry head, indicating he was listening attentively to Arthur's arrangements.
"Don't you have anything to say about what Edgar said earlier?" Arthur asked.
The Lion Hybrid shook his head calmly, "I understand the prejudice normal people have against us Misbegotten, especially since in their eyes, not long ago we were still slaves to be slaughtered and oppressed by them."
Arthur asked again, "Aren't you afraid that I, too, might be prejudiced against you Misbegotten?"
The Lion Hybrid made his mouth form a "smile" and replied, "Your attitude towards that elderly Misbegotten just now, and your act of bestowing Grace upon my kin, have already shown me that you are different from those people I encountered before."
"Hugh is because he has shown kindness to me. Grace can be bestowed, and it can naturally be taken back," Arthur said.
The Lion Hybrid was silent for a moment, then softly countered, "But we Misbegotten have long lost everything, even our former glory has been stripped away. Great Elden Lord, no matter what arrangements you make for me and my kin, how much worse could it be compared to our time in The Lands Between?"
Arthur took a straight-bladed Misbegotten Greatsword from his spatial backpack and, along with its scabbard, plunged it into the golden grass in front of the Lion Hybrid, saying, "Take it, and lead your kin to be responsible for the security outside Morne Castle. After Rogier and D bring back news from Thorndale, take your kin and come with me; that will be your new home."
The Lion Hybrid extended his long and strong hand, caressed the hilt, then gripped it tightly, pulling the Misbegotten Greatsword from the grass. He hung it on his back, and his tall red body bowed to Arthur.
Half a month later.
Southeast of Minhiriath, in the direction of Thorndale, Rogier and D slowly appeared, one after another, on this land that had been untrodden for a long time.
"Another ruin destroyed by flood. The floods this land has suffered are far beyond what you and I imagined," Rogier said to D behind him, looking at the small town ruins in the distance that were clearly washed away by water, overgrown with much green vegetation, and half submerged in water.
D's pace was slightly slower than Rogier's because he was wearing his armor.
Upon hearing Rogier's words, a strong voice came from under his helmet, "Remember to mark it on the map, Rogier. By the way, how many ruins have we passed now?"
Rogier took out a pen and map from his Pregnant, on which they had simply recorded everything they saw along the way, whether it was jungles, swamps, or towns abandoned for many years.
This was also why they had spent half a month and still hadn't reached their destination.
Rogier counted the house symbols drawn with a few strokes on the map and asked D, who had walked up to him, "This is the eighth town ruin. Darian, do we need to go inside the ruins this time too?"
D nodded without hesitation, "Of course, Arthur also told us to investigate the situation along the way, so we naturally have to go in. Moreover, more than half of these ruins are submerged in water, so there must be those Deadborn we encountered before; we must eradicate them."
Rogier sighed and pointed to the map, saying, "I need to correct you again, Darian. According to the map Arthur gave me and some annotations on it, the monsters we encountered in those ruins are clearly an evil creature called 'Mullipe' in hobbit folklore (Note 1), not Deadborn at all. And it's impossible for Deadborn to exist here; the reason Deadborn are born is..."
D immediately interrupted Rogier, "Oh! Save your long lectures, Rogier. I don't care what those monsters are called; as long as they are evil, they will surely not escape the judgment of the Golden Order!"