“Of course, even though Histori was so righteous with her words earlier, in the end, the demon race’s greedy and vile nature still overcame her conscience, tempting the inherently good-natured Histori to pick two items that looked somewhat practical from the dwarf forging vault.”
“Although deceiving those simple-hearted dwarves filled Histori’s heart with a strong sense of guilt, on second thought, not taking advantage when it’s there would be a real fool.”
“Besides, the real culprit behind the deception, the former assassin of the United Kingdom, didn’t seem to have an ounce of guilt right now!”
“Under the confused gazes of many dwarven guards on night duty, Amir, carrying the three dwarven forged items she had selected, walked with a calm and elegant step, openly strolling down the streets of Furnace City.”
“‘The dwarves are simple-minded, hot-tempered, and tend to think in a straightforward manner.'”
“Seeming to sense Histori’s somewhat subtle gaze, Amir tilted her head slightly and said with a light smile—”
“‘So, when dealing with such a single-minded race, you often just need to take a slight detour. As long as they don’t notice anything unusual during the event, using the information gap to let them make their own decisions, that’s already a success.'”
“Really? I thought Baron and Yorike were just the lowest point of dwarf intelligence…”
“‘Didn’t you say you could tell the difference between static electricity and a holy artifact reaction? You couldn’t even recognize the little trick Amir was playing right in front of you?'”
“‘Saying that, well… you’re not wrong.'”
“Amir nodded in agreement with Histori, then shrugged her shoulders—”
“‘The more a dwarf master is obsessed with forging, the simpler their mind tends to be. That’s also the virtue the dwarven race upholds—a sincere forging heart.'”
“So, she and Amir had just teamed up to bully a pair of dwarves among dwarves…”
“As the moral benchmark of the demon race, Histori sighed, then turned around, silently clasped her hands together towards the tall black square building, expressing her apology.”
“‘Sorry, this wasn’t my doing. Blame Amir for it. I really just wanted to help you get through this Great Forging Assembly…'”
“‘But, Lady Amir…'”
“To shift the lingering guilt in her heart, Histori decided to change the subject.”
“She pointed her finger at the seemingly thin and translucent cloak Amir was holding in the crook of her arm, along with a pitch-black cup engraved with some tiny magic circles, and a smooth round sphere about the size of a fist, whose material was hard to identify.”
“‘The things you picked, they don’t seem to have much to do with combat, do they?'”
“‘If it were me as the Hero, able to randomly pick items from the dwarven treasury, I’d definitely go for the strongest sword, the hardest shield, and the thickest armor. I wouldn’t choose such seemingly meaningless little gadgets.'”
“‘Hmm, in terms of combat, even dwarven forged items made with holy artifacts wouldn’t have that much impact on my actual fighting ability.'”
“Amir shook her head and explained in a calm tone—”
“‘So, rather than taking weapons like swords, spears, or axes, such items with stronger utility are more useful.'”
“‘We… well, I suppose that makes sense?'”
“Histori silently scratched the tip of her nose and chuckled awkwardly at Amir.”
“‘Now I’ve embarrassed myself. Amir could knock over the Demon King’s Castle just by carrying a black slab taller than her. Even if she added some swords and spears, it would just be making a few extra holes of different shapes in the Demon King’s corpse—completely redundant.'”
“Thinking this, Histori’s cheeks flushed, and she quickly stuffed the close-fitting mithril chainmail and small round shield she had chosen from the dwarf forging vault into her storage space.”
“‘Th-this isn’t because I’m worried I’ll end up like the Demon King someday. It’s just that my defensive abilities are indeed a bit lacking. That’s all, okay?'”
“‘After all, as the Blood Magic Princess of the demon race, my offensive methods are already quite diverse. It’s just that in defense, I only have a few defensive spells I learned hastily in the past two months.'”
“So, picking protective gear for myself is actually a very reasonable choice. It’s a wise decision that covers my combat weaknesses!”
“‘…Mmm! That’s right!'”
“After this mental self-consolation, Histori finally puffed out her chest with justified confidence.”
“As they walked, before she knew it, Histori had followed Amir back to the front door of the inn.”
“‘Alright, what we needed to do in Vulcania is done.'”
“Amir pushed open the wooden door of the inn, then turned back to look into Histori’s eyes—”
“‘Histori, is there anything else you want to do here?'”
“‘Me? I… I guess not.'”
“‘Good.'”
“Amir nodded, then briskly turned around and headed toward the second floor—”
“‘Then we’ll each go back to our rooms to grab our things, and then set off for the next destination.'”
“—Help me—”
“Seeing her relentless attitude, Histori rubbed her temples helplessly and forced a smile—”
“‘We’re leaving now? Where’s the next stop?'”
“‘…'”
“Amir paused slightly in her steps. She turned her head and looked at the rough continent map hanging in the inn’s lobby.”
“‘…You have a point. Let me think.'”
“‘The nearest kingdom to Vulcania that possesses a holy artifact should be…'”
“Her fingertips traced northward along the direction of the dwarven mountain range. After moving a short distance, they landed on the United Kingdom directly above Vulcania.”
“‘The kingdom of humans, a place blessed by the God of Light, and also the location of the Church of Light.'”
“‘Huh?! Seriously? The next stop is directly the human stronghold?'”
“‘Amir herself is the Hero chosen by humans. Now she’s going straight to raid the United Kingdom and steal their holy artifact? How will the road ahead…'”
“Amir seemed to share the same thought as Histori. Her gaze only lingered on the United Kingdom for a moment before shifting northward across the map.”
“‘Histori, next, we need to retrace our steps, bypass the border city of the United Kingdom we passed before, and continue north. After crossing a continuous forest, we’ll arrive at the land of the elves.'”
“‘Elves!'”
“Hearing this word, Histori’s eyes widened, a faint light shimmering in her pupils.”
“‘Correct. If you still have no concept of elves, they usually have a pair of pointed ears.'”
“Amir explained softly—”
“‘Also, regardless of gender, elves all have meticulously groomed long hair and advocate closeness to nature…'”
“‘Alright, alright, skip those cliché settings! What is the elves’ holy artifact?'”
“‘As for that…'”
“Amir pulled out the small sphere she had obtained from the dwarf forging vault, gave it a slight spin in her palm.”
“Immediately, a brilliant light projection emerged from the center of the sphere. Within the projection, a golden chalice surrounded by faint ripples of water slowly revolved.”
“‘Their holy artifact is the source of the Elven Spring, the chalice that supplies them with nearly infinite magical power.'”
“‘Among the elves, they usually call it… the Cup of Life.'”