“Wait…” Ailiya tried to say something else, but as soon as a word popped out of her mouth, her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed to the ground.
Fortunately, Saifei'er was right beside her and caught Ailiya once again. She was startled at first, thinking something might have happened to Ailiya, but then she heard the steady breathing of the girl and immediately realized that she had simply fallen asleep.
Of course, Ailiya wasn't so absurd as to instantly fall asleep on a battlefield. This was because Fei had canceled the effect of Speed Boost, which had a magical side effect.
Speed Boost wasn't a spell that Fei simply cast, applied a buff, and then it was over. It was a rather special spell that required 'maintenance,' meaning Fei needed to continuously expend energy and magic to sustain its effect. He had only turned off Speed Boost after seeing that the Black Knight no longer wanted to fight.
This was why Ailiya had such an absurd moment on the battlefield, 'speaking halfway and then falling asleep.'
After watching the Black Knight truly turn and gradually walk away, Saifei'er asked Fei, “What do you think? Those things she just said.”
Fei replied, “I think it's quite credible. That Black Knight should be a Holy Knight of the Oath of Vengeance, which means the Brown family must have done something truly heinous.”
Subsequently, given Saifei'er's previously clueless and naive demeanor, Fei briefly explained what the Oath of Vengeance generally entailed.
It's worth noting that not just any oath could make someone a Holy Knight. There were only a few fixed Holy Knight oaths: the Oath of Devotion, known for integrity and justice; the Oath of the Crown, known for absolute loyalty and upholding rules; and the Oath of Vengeance, known for using any means necessary and fighting violence with violence. These three were the most famous.
Of course, 'famous' was relative. Fei, being well-read, knew these, but the equally naive Ailiya hadn't known before that Holy Knights had other oaths.
After understanding the general concept of the 'Oath of Vengeance,' Saifei'er couldn't help but ponder. This made her think of someone: Kaxi, whom she had met when staying in that small village. If Kaxi had a firm will, could she become a Holy Knight of the Oath of Vengeance?
But clearly, that child had already exhausted all her courage just to stay alive, so it was impossible for her to have that level of willpower. However, this also gave Saifei'er an idea: had that Black Knight also experienced something similar?
Although it might sound a bit dark, 'the death of one's entire family' was certainly the easiest thing to stir up hatred deep in a person's heart.
So, assuming the Black Knight truly became a Holy Knight because of 'the death of his entire family,' and the culprit was the Brown family, and Kaxi also experienced a similar 'death of her entire family' incident, could the killer also be Brown?
Of course, these were all speculations, but verifying them was actually very simple: Saifei'er just needed to go to the Brown family again and check if anyone had 'X'-shaped scars on their wrists.
It could be said that the scope had suddenly narrowed from 'all strong men in the world' to 'strong men in the Brown family,' which was more than a little simpler.
Saifei'er carried the sleeping Ailiya on her back and continued on their journey with Fei, beginning their return to Stone Pine City.
Logically speaking, carrying a beautiful girl should be a very enjoyable thing, right? But Ailiya had no curves in front and was wearing leather armor. Saifei'er didn't feel any of the soft, sweet scent of a girl; she only found Ailiya a bit poky, not to mention she was currently drenched. But there was no choice; she still had to carry her.
On the way, Saifei'er and Fei chatted for a while longer, naturally about the Black Knight.
Fei's opinion was to ignore it and not get involved. The Black Knight might have some deep-seated grudges, and the Brown family might truly be great villains, but they were just adventurers; they wouldn't stay in Stone Pine City for long and might leave at any time. Why bother with these things?
However, Saifei'er's opinion was somewhat different, mainly because of Kaxi. She had, after all, promised to help Kaxi find the killer.
Although Saifei'er had said that at the time mainly to 'trick' the other party into staying alive and had no intention of fulfilling the promise, now the killer seemed truly close at hand, as if he could really be found. After thinking it over, Saifei'er decided to go look. After all, she had promised Kaxi, hadn't she?
It took about two hours, and the three successfully returned to Stone Pine City. Saifei'er immediately went back to her inn room and dropped the still-sleeping Ailiya onto the bed.
'Are the side effects of Speed Boost that absurd? To sleep for so long?' Saifei'er rubbed her shoulders, thinking, 'Maybe it's not just Speed Boost? Perhaps it's also because she hasn't rested since yesterday morning and went through two battles, so it's normal to be very tired?'
Sighing, Saifei'er first helped Ailiya take off her still damp clothes, then simply wiped her body with a towel, and finally covered her with the quilt. Saifei'er clicked her tongue, “Why do I feel like a mother hen?”
Then she carried the wooden bucket from the washroom to get hot water and took a comfortable bath. It's worth mentioning that after taking off her top, she held it near her nose and sniffed.
Wearing damp clothes, she had also sweated a bit on the way. Normally, after such an operation, these clothes would definitely be 'marinated' with her body odor. But after sniffing, she didn't smell anything.
“It's because I can't smell my own scent,” Saifei'er thought, while tearing the 'Cleanse (Transmutation School)' scroll Fei had given her earlier. In a few seconds, her set of clothes became brand new.
“However, I can't just rely on this scroll. I still need to buy a few more sets of clothes.”
After her bath, Saifei'er also crawled into bed and slept. When she woke up again, it was already evening. Douglas had also returned. After he instantly killed the thief leader, the remaining two thieves turned and ran. He chased them, but not long after, the crypt collapsed.
Douglas had waited there for a long time, and finally, having no other choice, he returned to Stone Pine City by himself. In short, upon seeing that his teammates were all safe and sound, he let out a huge sigh of relief.
Although the process was a bit convoluted, 'clearing the underground crypt' was definitely completed successfully, especially since the crypt no longer existed.
...