Malin began to understand why old Hoffman and all the Punishers looked so grim.
These agents of Chaos weren’t strong, one could even say they were weak, but they had the advantage of numbers and could continually reinforce their ranks. The Punishers fought until they ran out of ammunition, engaging in hand-to-hand combat several times. If not for the weak nature of each individual, this fight would have been unimaginable in terms of casualties.
"Right, that elf is female, isn’t she?" Malin said, remembering his last question.
"It’s a male," sighed old Hoffman.
Malin began to feel pity for everyone—the fat Fatty was truly terrifying. With this thought, he felt it was indeed impossible to go to the town hall before it was purified, too disgusting. Just listening to the story made Malin feel nauseated, and he couldn’t imagine how his mentor and the Punishers had managed to fight through the ordeal.
"Then I’d better head back to the Church," Malin concluded.
"By the way, what’s the deal with that girl?" Hoffman pointed behind Malin, who turned to see Shelton’s sister, giving Malin a smile that would have suited a rugged man from Hirohiko Araki’s creations.
Old man, that "little girl" you’re talking about could have your apprentice standing on her arm.
Malin rolled his eyes and covered his face as he dashed away.
Back at the Church, Malin suddenly thought of something—if Elsa Moka was a native of Carterburg, then perhaps his girls might know something about her. First, he asked Jessica, who was completely clueless, but Malin had expected as much. If what the old Half-human had said was true, Elsa might well have been dead, so it was very normal for Jessica, a wolf girl, not to know.
There was no need to ask Maya, for like Malin, there would be something amiss if she had any knowledge of the matter.
Lillim... Malin didn’t question her, not because he thought Lillim wouldn’t know, but because he felt that she was already under a lot of psychological stress with recent events. It was better not to burden her further.
He didn’t ask Clovis either; if Elsa really was a Follower of the Goddess of Mercy, then asking Clovis would be pointless — like Malin and Maya, Clovis would certainly not be privy to such information.
So, in the end, Malin asked Faye. Upon hearing the story of the picture frame Malin held, she curiously glanced at it: "Eh, that’s weird, it looks like you when you were a child. Let me see the back..." She snatched the picture frame from Malin’s hands and took a look at its backside: "Lorrin?"
She looked up at Malin: "What exactly is your name, Malin?"
"Lorrin, it’s a nice name. From now on, it will be my stage name," Malin replied with an unwavering smile, only to have his face twisted by Faye, who hummed with a laugh: "Aren’t you going to get jealous? What I saw was someone else."
"You said it yourself, that was me when I was younger. Maybe this name was a nickname of mine, didn’t I tell you before that I was picked up by my foster father when I was starving and confused?" Malin answered, deftly steering the conversation. Faye nodded in agreement: "That’s right, it must be you. You wouldn’t be jealous of yourself, anyway. Let’s get back to the matter at hand, I do know this Elsa Moka. She was a Legendary figure who miraculously led her family to revival after its decline, a Follower of the Goddess of Mercy, the greatest Alchemist."
Through Faye’s words, Malin learned that the Moka family was considered an anomaly among the Nobles of Carterburg. They were also one of the Thirty Braves, but unlike the others who were ennobled, their ancestor was a Guardian of Nature, an advanced profession of Druid—nowadays nearly extinct among humans, though quite numerous back in the day.
After being granted the forest to the east of Carterburg as his territory, he remained largely detached from the Noble circle of Carterburg, until the Tide of the Dead swept over 130 years ago, and the regions around Carterburg fell. A loyal guard from the Moka family brought the only heir—Elsa Moka—into Carterburg.
At the time, people were panicked, but Elsa Moka seemed never to know what fear was. Despite being an orphan with no one to rely on, her story unfolded like that of a heroine favored by destiny. In the Carterburg defense battle, the young girl shone brightly, her potions saving thousands of Transcendents and mortals alike, and it was during the war that she met the last heir to Carterburg, Anna Shelton.
After the war, the two chose to marry a commoner hero, a move that seemed utterly surprising. But in Malin’s eyes, this was also a way to prevent their families from being taken over by outsiders—the hero’s bloodline might not be powerful, but his children would undoubtedly belong to both families, making it a game without losers for him and them.
After that, Lady Elsa thrived as if blessed by the Goddess of Happiness. First, the Moka family’s potions were sold throughout various countries—the potions made by the fairies were more effective than those of the Moka family, but their price was something the average person could not afford. Moreover, the fairies only started this business in recent decades. Before then, the Moka family had already established their potion shops in every city of the western human nations.
Everything the young man did completely surpassed the era. Malin felt that if this person wasn’t an existence like himself, he must have been mad to perform such unexpectedly remarkable feats.
You get what you pay for, and the Moka family’s potions were entirely worth their price.
Lady Elsa herself also devoted her life to the Church of the Merciful Mother, finding joy in helping orphans. She even sponsored a tier-one powerhouse who calls her mother to this day.
However, even the most beautiful of lives seem to have their regrets. Lady Elsa had only one son and one daughter. The boy died in an accident at the age of seven, and Lady Anna was childless throughout her life. They and their lovers were devoted to each other, but it seemed they all lacked in the aspect of childbirth.
And so, the bloodline of the Shelton family, the masters of Carterburg, came to an end, and the city ultimately became a free city.
Lady Elsa’s daughter married and had two sons and four daughters after growing up, with the second son being the youngest of the six children. He came back to carry on the Moka family, but all this was no longer a matter for Malin and Faye to discuss.
"What’s the deal with this picture frame anyway? Can you see the most important person to you or someone linked to your fate?" Faye was curious as she looked at Malin, "Why do I see you when I look into it, while you see this elderly Lady Elsa?"
"How would I know? She and I aren’t even from the same era," Malin spread his hands with a helpless expression.
Thinking it over, Faye indeed found it just like Malin had said, "Then maybe it’s someone who can change our fates? It must be, I met you and thus my fate changed, but you can’t meet her because she died decades ago." At this point, Faye reached out and hugged Malin, "Don’t worry, Malin, your sisters will always be by your side."
"I have never worried about that," Malin smiled and patted Faye’s cheek, "Speaking of which, back to the subject at hand, would this count as a mystical object?" He raised the picture frame and asked Faye.
"It probably counts, but as for mystical objects ... They seem a bit unreliable", Faye said with a smile as she kissed Malin’s cheek, "With you and me, for instance, I had already become close to you, so I didn’t need this picture frame to remind me of anything. And you, well, your destined one exists in a completely different era from you."
"I’ve never believed that anything in this world is predestined," Malin said, dismissing the idea.
"But you are my predestined one," Faye retorted with a totally different view.
The two, with their differing opinions, looked at each other and ultimately smiled.
"Alright, I believe," Malin changed his stance.
There’s no shame in sacrificing one’s views and opinions for a loved one.
After all, meeting you all was truly wonderful.