Bai Shi helped Millicent up, then sat down on a rock.
He beckoned for Millicent to sit down as well.
"You don't need to thank me. Your strong will shouldn't be consumed by the Scarlet Rot."
"It seems the needle has done its work."
"How are you feeling now?"
Millicent sat down across from Bai Shi and nodded.
"I feel better than ever."
"The pain from my severed arm has been suppressed, the Scarlet Rot is no longer stirring, and I can move freely..."
Millicent looked at Bai Shi, her expression turning sad.
The needle's power was so great... so without it, what would happen to O'Neil?Bai Shi came back alone. Could it be that O'Neil has already...
"Without the needle, O'Neil..."
"How is he now?"
Bai Shi met Millicent's gaze and said:
"O'Neil is fine now."
Millicent was silent for a moment before speaking again.
"Really?"
"You don't have to lie to be kind. I'm not a child who can't face death."
"Is O'Neil already dead? Because he didn't have the needle?"
Seeing her like this, Bai Shi knew she had misunderstood.
"Don't worry, O'Neil isn't so easy to kill."
"He's a battle-hardened veteran. He wouldn't succumb to a little Scarlet Rot."
"I treated him just now. Although his condition isn't great, his life is no longer in danger."
"He's resting outside the cave now. He said he couldn't let you see an elder in such a sorry state."
Millicent breathed a sigh of relief.
She considered O'Neil family, so it was the best possible news that he was all right.
"I'm eternally grateful."
Bai Shi waved his hand dismissively.
"It's thanks to his own strong will. Otherwise, there would have been no chance to save him."
"By the way, is there anything you want to do next?"
Millicent thought for a moment.
"I want to journey to the Haligtree."
"While I was unconscious, I saw Malenia's memories and learned of some of her experiences."
"So I want to go see her."
"I want to see what kind of person she is, this woman with whom I share some unknown connection."
Bai Shi nodded. This was a truth Millicent had to seek out.
"If you're heading to the Haligtree, you'll surely pass through Limgrave. You can stop by Stormveil for a visit when you do."
"All of Limgrave is under my rule. I don't think you'll dislike it there."
Millicent smiled lightly.
"Alright, I'm very grateful."
Bai Shi thought for a moment and decided to ask what Millicent meant when she said she'd seen Malenia's memories.
After all, he had already noticed that the timeline regarding Miquella was strange and didn't match the game.
If Malenia didn't start the battle in Aeonia just to find her brother, then there must be another reason.
Malenia completely obeyed Miquella, so it was almost certain Miquella was the one who instigated it.
"Millicent, can you tell me what you saw while you were unconscious?"
Millicent agreed readily and began to recount the scenes she had witnessed.
Bai Shi listened carefully, repeatedly asking about certain details.
The beginning was quite normal, very close to the plot he knew.
But some of the later parts left Bai Shi puzzled.
Miquella and Radahn's relationship seemed to be very good.
And they had some kind of promise, where Miquella said he wanted to become Radahn's god.
If that was the case, why did Miquella send Malenia to Caelid to fight Radahn?
The key thing was, it wasn't an ordinary fight.
During the battle in Aeonia, Malenia even unleashed the Scarlet Rot she had always suppressed. No matter how you looked at it, that wasn't normal.
And what was with Malenia's final unconscious murmur?
Was Malenia afraid Miquella would abandon her? Or had Miquella already abandoned her?
Why would something like that happen?
Bai Shi was completely bewildered.
In his mind, hadn't Miquella abandoned his innate gold to seek a cure for Malenia with the Haligtree?
After hearing Millicent's story, Bai Shi had a bit of a headache.
Not only had his original questions not been answered, but things had become even more convoluted.
It was like a tangled ball of string; not only had he not found the end, but the knots had become even tighter.
Bai Shi let out a breath.
Perhaps he would need to find more information from other sources to piece together the full picture.
Millicent looked at Bai Shi a little shyly.
"Mr. Bai Shi, could I ask you to help tie my hair?"
"I know it's a bit forward to ask, but I'm not used to having my hair down."
"And missing an arm makes it rather inconvenient..."
Actually, Bai Shi thought Millicent looked better with her hair down, but if she wanted to tie it up for convenience, he would.
"Tying your hair, me?"
"Just to be clear, my handiwork won't be pretty..."
Bai Shi stood up and moved behind Millicent.
He gathered her damp hair and tied it with a cord into a rather unflattering ponytail.
It couldn't be helped. Bai Shi had never tied anyone's hair before, so of course he didn't know how to make it look good.
Melina watched from the side as Bai Shi tied Millicent's hair, and suddenly had a bad feeling.
Could it be that Bai Shi actually likes ponytails?
It was the same back when he was traveling with Irena.
He seemed to treat Irena differently from others, a little too intimately.
Melina began to wonder if she should try tying her hair in a ponytail in the future. —
Not long after he finished with her hair, O'Neil strode into the cave.
His expression was normal, as if nothing was wrong.
Seeing O'Neil was alright, Millicent stood up excitedly.
O'Neil nodded to Millicent.
Although his condition was still far from optimistic, and he was hanging on by a thread, at least he hadn't died on the spot.
Just before, Bai Shi had forcefully stuffed all sorts of medicine into his mouth and onto his body, clearing out a good deal of the Scarlet Rot.
However, the problem with his internal organs was still severe.
Many of his organs had started to rely on the Scarlet Rot to function, which was troublesome now.
Originally, he had wanted to just die.
But Bai Shi had persuaded him.
O'Neil always thought his death was unimportant, that he had no reason to live.
But Bai Shi told him that someone considered his life very important.
If he died, Millicent would surely be heartbroken.
O'Neil accepted this reasoning and decided to live on, even if it meant just barely clinging to life.
Looking at Millicent, who could now move freely, O'Neil smiled at her.
"Millicent, you should leave Caelid now and begin your journey."
"Go and do what you feel you must."
Millicent hesitated.
"Before leaving Caelid, there's something else I want to do."
"In my memory, it seems an important person raised me, but I can't recall his face."
"I want to go to the area around the Town of Sellia first. That's where I grew up. I want to see it one more time."
Although Millicent had already noticed something amiss in her memories, she still wanted to investigate the truth for herself.
O'Neil frowned imperceptibly.
Bai Shi had told him earlier that the five sisters were all taken in by those disgusting pests.
They raised them with impure intentions, intending for them to become vessels for a valkyrie of rot.
He really didn't want Millicent to go there. But given her personality, she would probably go no matter what.
"Then, you must be careful."
"You don't even have the strength to protect yourself right now."
Millicent nodded in agreement.
"Yes, I will be very careful."
Bai Shi thought for a moment and said:
"How about this? I'll take Millicent there later."
Both Millicent and O'Neil were a little surprised.
"Wouldn't that be too much trouble for you?"
Bai Shi waved his hand.
"It's fine. At least this will ensure her safety."
Millicent had absolutely no combat ability right now.
Not only was her sword arm, her right arm, severed, but she also had no other skills to defend herself.
Never mind her four powerful, watchful sisters; even the Kindred of Rot could easily take her down now.
Not to mention the giant dogs and crows roaming Caelid, which were no easy opponents.
Millicent thought for a moment and took out a talisman from her pocket.
"Thank you for your help."
"Please accept this as a token of my gratitude."
"Please, don't refuse."
Bai Shi looked at Millicent's determined gaze.
If he didn't accept it, Millicent would definitely insist on going on her own.
Bai Shi accepted the talisman. It was carved with the figures of two people.
The carving was simple: two people facing each other, each holding a blade.
This was the Prosthetic Swordswoman's Talisman, which could increase the wearer's dexterity.
Millicent had worn this talisman ever since she could remember and knew of its power.
Now that she could no longer wield a sword, the talisman was of no use to her.
So, it was better to give it away as her meager token of thanks.
Bai Shi accepted the talisman, but instead of putting it on immediately, he asked Millicent:
"Are you leaving right now?"
Millicent bit her lip, finding it difficult to say.
"I'd like to... clean my clothes first..."
"Since I'm about to start a journey, I'd like to be as proper as possible."
"I'm afraid I'll need you to wait for a while."
Bai Shi looked at her filthy clothes and nodded.
Although Millicent seemed to have cleaned herself, her clothes hadn't been washed.
They were covered in blood, sweat, and even traces of Scarlet Rot.
Wearing clothes like that would be very uncomfortable.
From the time he first entered the Lands Between until he reached Castle Morne, he hadn't changed his clothes, so he knew how unpleasant it felt.
"Alright, then come find me outside when you're ready to leave."
Bai Shi and O'Neil left the cave again, leaving the space for Millicent.
—
Once they were a short distance from the cave, O'Neil couldn't keep up the act any longer.
He had only been pretending so as not to worry Millicent; he was truly just hanging on by a thread.
He knelt on the ground and coughed up another mouthful of blood.
"Cough, cough—"
Bai Shi went forward and patted his back.
"So what will you do now? Just stay in this cave?"
O'Neil took a deep breath.
"Yes. I won't die in my current state."
"So there's no need to worry."
"If you ever find a real cure in the future, you can come back and check on this old fellow."
Just as O'Neil said, he wouldn't die now, but living would be quite painful.
Since he was unwilling to go to Redmane Castle, Bai Shi could only leave him some neutralizing incense and rot-curing medicine.
O'Neil stayed in the cave to rest on his own, while Bai Shi waited for Millicent at the entrance.
After a while, Millicent emerged from the cave.
Her clothes were soaking wet, clinging to her body and outlining her curves.
Thankfully, the fabric wasn't too thin, so it wasn't see-through.
There was no fire in the cave, so Millicent had no way to dry her clothes.
And it was hard for her to wring them out completely by hand. Waiting for them to air dry would take far too long.
Seeing Millicent like this, Bai Shi summoned a ball of fire and set a nearby dead tree alight.
He couldn't use sunlight casually until he finished testing the changed Scarlet Rot, but fire was fine.
Using the fire, Millicent gradually dried her clothes.
While they waited, Bai Shi made idle chat with Millicent.
Before long, Millicent's clothes were mostly dry.
The two of them officially set off.
Bai Shi whistled, summoning Torrent.
Millicent watched in amazement as the steed suddenly appeared.
Bai Shi mounted Torrent first, then took Millicent's left hand and helped her up behind him.
"Hmph."
Bai Shi thought he heard Melina let out a soft hmph and could only give an awkward smile.
But Melina wasn't an unreasonable person; she understood the circumstances.
So she was only just a tiny bit annoyed.
Torrent galloped swiftly along the main road.
Kindred of Rot would rush out from the roadside from time to time, trying to block their path.
Bai Shi burned all of them to ash.
Millicent, sitting behind him, was amazed by Bai Shi's immense strength.
Thanks to Torrent's speed, the two soon reached the checkpoint in front of the Town of Sellia.
Beyond the checkpoint was Sage Gowry's shack.
Along the stretch of road near the checkpoint, no more Kindred of Rot came to harass them.
It was hard to say whether it was because too many had died, forcing them to retreat, or if they were following Gowry's orders.
Gowry's shack was still empty.
Millicent stood before the chair, lost in thought.
After a while, as if speaking to Bai Shi, yet also as if muttering to herself, she said:
"This place feels nostalgic."
"I did indeed grow up here, through my childhood."
"It's a shame no one is here."
"...Perhaps I wanted to say goodbye to someone before setting off on my journey."
"Although I feel something is strange... the kindness of being raised is still not something I can so easily forget."
Millicent sighed.
"Thank you for saving my life."
"Thanks to you, I would have otherwise died in some corner of the Swamp of Aeonia, consumed by the Scarlet Rot and turned into a fleshy pulp."
Looking at the resilient girl before him, Bai Shi's mind was filled with a thousand thoughts.
In the game, he had been quite fond of Millicent's character.
She had a tenacious will to fight the Scarlet Rot, and was also a companion-in-arms in the game.
However, her ending in the game was not so happy, which was a great regret.
—
Bai Shi decided to spend a little more time and escorted Millicent all the way to the border between Caelid and Limgrave.
The creatures in Caelid were all very dangerous, and the Kindred of Rot were especially menacing.
Bai Shi couldn't stay by Millicent's side to protect her forever.
In any case, Millicent had to pass through Limgrave to get to the Haligtree.
And under Bai Shi's rule, Limgrave could be considered quite safe.
Bai Shi also gave her a number of items to ward off wild beasts and the like.
Given Millicent's current situation, starting her journey from Limgrave would be no problem at all.
After thanking him repeatedly and vowing to repay his kindness in the future, Millicent bade farewell to Bai Shi and set off on her long journey.