Chapter 118 Fate · Fight · Choice, and...Trust - IV
"You just need to answer yes or no."
"Deal." Valrhona said without hesitation, reaching into the shadow on the counter. Half of its arm disappeared as if into water, pulling out a bottle filled with a viscous black liquid and tossing it to Ansel. "Hmph... I wonder which poor soul is going to fall victim to you, but it's none of my business."
Valrhona snorted, "Go to hell sooner rather than later, devil."
Ansel shook the bottle, not paying much attention to Valrhona's words, and laughed at it:
"I wish you a fortune, Lord of the Crow's Nest."
Under the watchful eyes of the tavern patrons, Ansel waved to the leader of the largest adventurer group in the empire, and left nonchalantly. After Ansel left, a crowd rushed to the bar, surrounding Valrhona, asking in a flurry:
"Hey, boss, is that guy really Faust? The Faust who's said to be able to take on the Grand Duke?"
"He looks so weak, I thought he was a super macho alpha man!"
"Weak? You didn't see him when he was fighting that old freak Wyvern..."
"Exactly, when this monster walked into the city with a string of dragon heads, you guys were hiding in the basement calling for your mommies."
"Hey, Vig, what's your deal?"
Seeing their boss silent, they turned their attention to the bartender who had finally calmed down a bit, "What drink did he order that scared you so much?"
Viggo was silent for a moment, his body still trembling slightly, but he seemed to want to use the act of telling his experience to rid himself of this fear, forcing himself to calm down. "He ordered a glass of Fate, the ingredients are a drop of saint's blood, a drop of believer's blood, a drop of arcane blood, a drop of beast king's blood, and ninety-nine drops of the tears of the suffering."
Before Ansel could respond, she was already dragging Marlina, running all the way. After running a short distance, she seemed to realize that Marlina couldn't keep up, so amidst her sister's cries of surprise, she picked her up, hoisted her onto her shoulder, and dashed into the mansion.
The echo of Seraphina's call seemed to still be ringing in his ears. Ansel couldn't help but smile at the thought of the girl carrying her sister and sprinting all the way. However, this uncontrollable smile had barely risen when it abruptly froze on his face.
"..."
Hydral silently touched his cheek, his fingertips tracing the corner of his mouth.
As his finger slowly moved down, the curve of his smile gradually lost its previous warmth and color.
It wasn't until this smile returned to Ansel's usual unassuming, yet gentle demeanor that Ansel lowered his hand and murmured to himself:
"This is for the best."
Maintaining this smile, he left the study to respond to Seraphina's affection and anticipation.
At this moment, Hydral suddenly remembered the words :Valrhona had said to him after the transaction was over.
Go to hell sooner...
A laugh involuntarily rose in Ansel's heart.
It seemed he had always been there, never leaving.
*