Chapter 558
Reunion with Oswald
Freyja quickly found Oswald in the crowd.
—But she immediately regretted it.
It would have been better if she hadn’t found him!
Oswald’s old face was filled with laughter as he hooked arms with a human youth who looked no older than twenty or thirty. This youth was the one whose roar had almost pierced Freyja’s eardrums.
“I told you! I told you! Pierrick is a hero!”
The youth’s face was flushed. He slung an arm around Oswald’s shoulders, a look of excitement on his face, “He did it! Three goals in the last ten minutes, a comeback—!”
Then, he jumped onto the bar counter, one foot on a stool and the other on the bar table. He moved his right hand through the air as if playing a musical instrument.
“Come~back~”
He stared at the lizardman bartender, who was calmly wiping glasses, and leaned his face closer, singing with deep emotion. The bartender patted the youth’s right leg, which was on the bar table, signaling him to remove it.
Seeing that the other party wasn’t paying attention, the youth stood on one leg, raised his wine glass with one hand, and stood on his stool, spinning around as he sang, “Come~back~”
The other patrons in the bar joined in, wanting to see how long he could spin. Even Oswald was among them. He clapped enthusiastically, shouting encouragement.
Just then, while spinning, the youth noticed Freyja and Lily standing at the entrance. He whistled and walked over to them. Then, as if he had become a different person, he bowed slightly and, with a gentlemanly gesture, placed his hand over his chest in a salute. “Good morning to you, two beautiful ladies! But… have you come to the wrong place?”
“Don’t kick out my customers, Robert.”
The lizardman bartender, still calmly wiping glasses, grumbled in annoyance, “I sell Curry Fried Rice here too!”
“I was just thinking… alright.”
The youth, known as Robert, looked around and shrugged. Undoubtedly, it wasn’t even noon yet. Those who came out to drink at this hour were basically there to watch the soccer match. A place that was dark, hot, smoky, and noisy wasn’t somewhere young, pretty girls would flock to. It was only natural for Robert to assume they had come to the wrong place.
But when Robert turned around, he saw Oswald looking as if he had seen a ghost.
“Your daughter? Or granddaughter?”
A middle-aged man next to him glanced at Freyja’s slightly pointed ears, then looked back at Oswald and asked, “Is she here to see you?”
“…Not exactly, but she’s probably here to see me.”
Oswald got up somewhat flustered, tidied his clothes, and regained his usual calm demeanor. But there was no doubt that neither Freyja nor Lily could ever associate the cool, rational Oswald from before with this old elf anymore. It was as if a stiff, ghost-like stereotype had come to life.
…But that feeling wasn’t unpleasant.
Oswald followed the two out of the bar, and soon the sound of boisterous laughter came from behind them.
The elf butler bowed respectfully and politely, then clasped his hands behind his back. “It has been a long time, Miss Freyja. Please do not mind their rudeness; they are all good people with no ill intentions.”
Clearly, he remembered Freyja.
“I certainly don’t mind such things,” Freyja said, crossing her arms and looking at the elf butler. “As for you… Old Man, your vigilance has slipped. In the past, you would have definitely sensed us the moment we entered. You would have definitely looked back at least once.
“I’m getting old, after all,” Oswald sighed softly. “I’ve already come to the Second Ring to retire.”
Freyja blinked, somewhat surprised. “It’s not easy, Mr. Oswald. Have you finally accepted your age?”
“My mission is complete,” Oswald’s lips curved slightly. A smile, rarely seen, appeared on his gaunt face, which resembled that of an old wolf. “Little Miss Yulia is healthy, and Little Master Eivass no longer needs me. Young Master Edward has also started on the right path, and my master has granted me my freedom… Now that I can confirm you are doing well, it couldn’t be better.”
“About Master…”
Lily keenly picked up on that statement. “Mr. Oswald, have you found Master?”
“Yes, I found Master as soon as I arrived in the Church,” Oswald nodded. “His Majesty the Pope back then had tasked us with protecting the founding family of Avalon… a protection until death. But if the protected family no longer needs us, then we are free. Master, under the name Moriarty, released me from my duty as a guardian. Therefore, I am no longer a guardian elf. I had originally intended to return to protect Young Master Eivass, say a proper farewell, help Young Master with the inheritance procedures for the Moriarty Family, and then help Young Master find a reliable new butler. But Master said I did not need to return to Avalon—that was his last command to me, so I had no choice.
“After suddenly becoming free, I felt somewhat lost. I wanted to see His Majesty the Pope and give my report, and to ask if there was anything else I could do… But His Majesty the Pope refused to see me.”
“…Did he refuse, or was he unable to see you?”
Lily pressed.
“He refused,” Oswald added very confidently. This was because he still remembered His Majesty the Pope’s words—Let my knight rest well, I don’t have much time left. These were words conveyed by Cardinal Matilda. Oswald trusted Cardinal Matilda’s word. Thinking of this, the old elf glanced at Lily and sensed something. “You asking that… has something happened to His Majesty the Pope? Also, Lily… Since you are in the Church, does that mean Young Master Eivass is also here?”
He didn’t say much more, merely stating plainly, “You should be with Young Master Eivass.”
“Eivass has important matters to attend to,” Freyja comforted him. “He chose to go alone— have some faith in him, Old Man. He is no longer the little boy who needed us to look after him and guard him. As a man, he will do what he needs to do; you don’t need to worry about him.
“Instead of that…” she said, looking around the street, “Are there any suitable places where we can sit and talk?”
“Please follow me,” Oswald replied.
It was clear he had been mingling here for the past few months. Many people on the streets greeted Oswald, and this terrifying-looking old man nodded kindly to everyone. The stiff, corpse-like cold expression was no longer visible. Seeing all this, Lily felt genuinely relieved. —If only Young Master Eivass could see this scene, she thought.
Soon, Oswald found a teahouse. It was a teahouse opened in the Church by traveling merchants from the Taichu Empire… Although the tea leaves themselves were stimulated by local divine arts, the tea-making and frying techniques were from the orthodox crafts of the Taichu Empire. They found a private room, and Oswald skillfully ordered a pot of tea and some snacks. While waiting for the tea and snacks, Freyja recounted their current predicament to Oswald.
The old man listened, nodding constantly. From time to time, he offered constructive suggestions—the old man’s experience was still invaluable. An old elf who had lived in Avalon for hundreds of years possessed a level of shrewdness that could be considered top-tier in the entire Church, and even the world. He remained silent usually, simply to be true to his identity.
When he heard the end of it, Oswald frowned slightly. He picked up a wild jujube cake with a fork and sank into thought.
“Cardinal Loki…” the old elf murmured, “I’ve heard that name. Master mentioned it to me not long ago.”
(End of Chapter)
