Chapter 746: Chapter 118 Dream
Nighttime.
Aske lay on the floor, strangely finding himself unable to sleep.
After resolving the issue of “who gets to share a bed with the Squad Leader” with a floor-plan setup, everyone began to vie for spots based on their proximity to him.
In the end, Sigrdrifa and Mia were elected to sleep on either side of him.
Supposedly, the reason was that these two girls had no interest in him.
But was that really the case?
As Aske thought about this, he lay back on the blanket-made mattress, silently staring at the ceiling.
By this point, it was already 2 a.m., and Mia had crawled into his embrace from the left, curling up like a little kitten.
Sigrdrifa, on the other hand, had embraced his arm from the right, her white hair falling across his neck, breathing directly into his ear, tickling him a bit.
Of course, being tightly surrounded by two beautiful girls, young and old, was not the reason Lord Aske couldn’t sleep tonight; rather, whenever he closed his eyes, the nightmarish images from last night involuntarily emerged in his mind.
He was slightly worried that if he opened his eyes, he might once again see Nora holding a bloody kitchen knife, with a malevolently transformed smile.
He had always considered himself not to be a stud, so he absolutely couldn’t have encountered such a butcher-knife ending. But looking at the current situation, himself sleeping in the center, surrounded by a bevy of pretty girls…
Eh, no way, right? I’m not really on the path to becoming a stud, am I?
Thinking thus, Aske felt a headache coming on, silently pushed Mia, who was curled up beside him, away, and then withdrew his other arm from Sigrdrifa’s embrace, deciding to get up and go to the bathroom.
Inside the bathroom, Aske washed his face, allowing his restless thoughts to cool down a bit before he looked up at the mirror on the wall.
His appearance in the mirror was haggard, which made him subconsciously a little surprised, as though his expression suggested he had been hollowed out…
While he was thinking this, the light bulb above the restroom suddenly went out.
Aske: ???
He turned around, trying to twist the doorknob.
It didn’t turn…or rather, it seemed as if some hard object was blocking it from behind, preventing the door from opening.
Uh, a paranormal event? However, the Intuition Sequence didn’t give any warning.
Aske looked around, silently using his ability, trying to pull a weapon out of thin air.
No response? Had the Conceptual Weapon been sealed?
He turned back around and saw in the mirror his own reflection, with a motionless white figure standing behind him.
Aske looked back, but saw no one behind him.
Turning back to the mirror, the white figure was still standing there, the upper portion shrouded in darkness, the lower half in white clothes and skirt, her hands slightly raised at her sides, motionless.
Looking back again, there was still nothing behind him, even though he reached out and felt only air.
Turning back to the mirror, Aske could still see that standing white-clothed wraith, her arms now raised halfway, seemingly aiming for his neck.
“Heh,” Aske laughed, “so it’s just a dream after all.”
Silence ensued for several minutes, then suddenly a strange female voice rang out:
“How did you know?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Aske turned around to see that he was no longer in the confined bathroom setting, but instead, he found himself by a lakeside forest—precisely where they had stayed last night at the “Konggu Youlan” inn’s lakeside.
“What’s important is that you are contacting me secretly through my dream, for some purpose,” Aske continued.
The white-clothed specter from the mirror also revealed her true form; she was an adult Half-elf woman in a white full-length dress, with soft features and pointed ears, bearing a resemblance to Miel.
“You shouldn’t have come,” the half-elf female said.
“But we still did,” Aske replied offhandedly.
Half-elf female: ???
Wait, isn’t this the time when you should ask “why”?
Because someone gave a reply with a martial arts novel flair, it left her unable to say the words she had prepared next, and for a moment, she was somewhat at a loss for words. Fortunately, the dream was still under her control, so she forced herself to regain her composure and smiled again, saying:
“Aren’t you going to ask me why?”
“Why?”
“Because it’s not the right time,” the half-elf female said.
“I see,” Aske said.
Half-elf female: ……
Hey, at least ask “why isn’t it the right time”!
“Cough, do you know why?” Seeing that he continued to deviate from the script, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and take the initiative to ask.
Can I say I’m not interested? Aske fell silent for a moment, seeing that she seemed on the verge of crying, he could only play along and ask:
“Why?”
“Did you read the letter that you were supposed to deliver?” the half-elf female asked.
“No,” Aske said.
“Do you know what the contents were?”
“I guess it’s a call for help.”
“That’s right,” the half-elf female sighed, “but the half-elves now are not ready.”
“So, when will they be ready?” Aske asked.
“That’s indeed a question,” the half-elf female replied, “I hope it would be immediate, but it might be a very long time, perhaps until the war on the Iberian Peninsula is completely decided.”
Isn’t it just isolationism, to speak of it in such a mystical manner? Aske was somewhat disdainful internally but maintained his composure as he said:
“In that case, regardless of who wins or loses the war, it will not be a good outcome for the half-elves.”
“Yes,” the half-elf female sighed, “such a simple fact, yet many people fail to see through it.”
“Or rather, some half-elves can’t see that far, while others have seen through it but pretend they haven’t,” Aske also sighed.
“Perhaps that’s politics,” the half-elf female lamented.
“However, even a meticulously woven political conspiracy will inevitably have points that can break it,” Aske said.
“That’s correct,” the half-elf female looked at him with approval, seeming to find this style of conversation to her liking, “There are no perfect situations, only opponents who lack the necessary weight.”
“My political enemies have concocted so-called ‘human assassinations of half-elves’ incidents, trying to incite more half-elves to antagonize humans and thus create rifts and divisions.”
“What’s more troublesome is that they are not acting alone. Outside the Lusitania Great Forest, the upper echelons of the Aragon-Castilla Kingdom are also involved in the operation of this conspiracy, making the situation even more complex and unpredictable.”
“You mean?” Aske was somewhat surprised this time, “The Aragon-Castilla human kingdom is stirring up ‘anti-human’ sentiment within the half-elves?”
“It’s ironic, isn’t it?” The half-elf female was very pleased with his surprise, “Lies and deceit, that’s the norm in political strife. As long as there are sufficient benefits, nothing is sacred—not even one’s own race.”
“The Azure Longsword Mercenary Corps, I hope to hire you to help rescue my people in this incident, to not let them fall into blind panic and hatred, and ultimately, to engage in acts that lead to their self-destruction.”
“Finally, to introduce myself: I am Maya, the ruler of Lusitania and the queen of all elves on the Iberian Peninsula,” the half-elf female extended her hand toward him, her pink hair, soft as cherry blossoms, fluttering in the bright moonlight.
“… And also, a friend of Miel’s.”