The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 176

Chapter 177
This can also be considered a meeting of online friends.
Going home with the Grand Guardian has at least one advantage—it doesn’t waste too much time on the way.
Griffins have a strong carrying capacity. Even heavily armed knights can charge at supersonic speeds with them, and they still have enough energy to protect the knights from wind damage.
The Grand Guardian’s gryphon, Philip, carried the three of them and Eivass’s wheelchair… he didn’t even fly at full speed, and in a short while he brought them home.
Eivass, who was riding a gryphon for the first time, couldn’t help but sigh, “Griffins are indeed very powerful…”
It felt like a full-speed race car—and one that you don’t have to worry about crashing.
No wonder Haina talked about her unreceived gryphon every day.
George’s invitation to Eivass was a sudden whim, and because of this, David didn’t know Eivass was coming. He didn’t even know Eivass was back… so he was stunned when he saw Eivass.
“Dad, did you rescue Mr. Moriarty?”
David’s voice was full of worry.
The Grand Guardian raised an eyebrow at this.
—You brat, you’re not even pretending anymore, are you?
If I had really rescued Eivass, then who are you worried about?
“No, I escaped on my own. Or rather, she let me go.”
Eivass said gently, got off the gryphon himself, and walked over to sit in the wheelchair.
“Huh?”
David was stunned: “You can actually walk…?”
“David!”
George frowned and reprimanded him, feeling that his son was being rude.
“It’s alright, Your Excellency the Grand Guardian.”
Eivass explained gently and patiently: “Before I was attacked, someone had already helped me with treatment, the one who helped me repel those assassins. I have almost recovered, but my legs are still a bit weak and I can’t walk steadily… I should be able to regain my health after a period of recovery.
“Until then, she also gave me this…”
As he said that, Eivass raised his finger.
The Flame Butterfly on his shoulder automatically flew up and landed on his finger.
Seeing such a beautiful little thing, David’s eyes widened.
He curiously leaned closer and stared intently.
He asked cautiously, “Mr. Eivass… can I touch it?”
“Yes.”
Eivass replied plainly.
After all, this was just the disguised shell of the Butterfly, serving as her camera. It was essentially just a Flame Butterfly with slightly higher intelligence, with no offensive capabilities. The flame also had no temperature at all.
“Thank you, Mr. Eivass!”
David was very happy, but also a little timid.
He carefully touched the flame-dancing butterfly wings, and surprisingly found that they were not hot. Instead, waves of warmth surged into his body… like drinking hot water.
“Did Miss Alistair give this to you too?”
The Grand Guardian asked from the side.
Eivass shook his head: “No. This is from another lady… Her name is Butterfly.”
This was also part of Eivass’s plan.
To be honest, those people were indeed burned to death by the Butterfly. Eivass wasn’t lying. Little Butterfly could indeed be called a lady—although calling her that would be somewhat exaggerating her age.
But this way, Eivass could explain why he could walk and escape… and also explain where this powerful Devotion skill of suddenly summoning Flame Butterflies came from.
Unlike Alistair, whose traces were impossible to find, “Butterfly” had proof of existence. In the warehouse explosion case, Yulia had left behind a Flame Essence—which was proof of the Phantom Demon Egg’s existence.
Now that Yulia was no longer a Phantom Demon Egg, this would be an inexplicably acquired set of evidence. Butterfly could completely be a Devotee who could wield the power of a Phantom Demon, similar to a Fiend.
Although there was no such profession nowadays, it was possible that such a legacy was hidden in some Grimoire. In this World, anything was possible.
This way, Yulia would completely not be suspected of being a Phantom Demon Egg, and Eivass would not be suspected of being able to draw Phantom Demon power. After all, the warehouse explosion case and Eivass’s attack were connected, so even if it was later said that she had a conflict with the Noble Red Society, it would be perfectly reasonable.
After all, if Alistair alone appeared anomalously, the Noble Red Society might quickly investigate and find out. But if Butterfly also appeared, the situation would become more complicated. At least it would serve to delay things.
“Another lady…”
Hearing this, David suddenly thought of what Eivass had just said, “She let me go.”
He blurted out, “Miss Alistair is a lady… or Miss?”
Hearing this, Eivass said calmly, “If the lady who took me away was Alistair… I think so. And she should be a young lady, possibly an Iris person.”
At this point, he had already confirmed—this child should be the “Knight” he had met in his dream.
In fact, when he heard that her True Name contained “Barton,” Eivass suspected that she was the Grand Guardian’s child.
After all, to receive a gryphon as a gift at a young age, one would at least have the family status of a mid-level officer.
But there were really quite a few people named Barton, and many people with the surname Barton. It was not a particularly rare name. But the one who knew Alistair and thought Alistair was a “mister”… was only this person.
Now it seemed that Barton was indeed the son of Saint George!
Then this could also be considered a meeting of online friends, albeit one-sidedly—Eivass knew the other party’s identity and alias, but the other party knew nothing about his own identity.
Although Eivass did not know the family of the Grand Guardian Saint George, he knew that the entire Grand Guardian family had died in the future war. This meant that the “Knight” young man in the future also died in that war of national annihilation.
Thinking of this, Eivass suddenly felt a little guilty.
Speaking of which, was it a good idea for him to educate the Grand Guardian’s son on the basic principles and methods of entering the Transcendent Path…
But Eivass thought about it and chose to forgive himself—it had nothing to do with me anyway.
I advised him at the time that ‘you can keep this idea, but don’t advance to the Transcendent Path for now’! The one who truly deceived him was that werewolf of the Iris Flower…
Speaking of which, that werewolf seemed to say he was coming to Avalon.
He should be coming soon, right?
The “Knight” heard this, his face full of confusion, and repeated, “Miss Alistair? Or an Iris person?”
“That’s right,” the Grand Guardian nodded, “Alistair is indeed a surname of the Iris people.”
“…So Alistair is a surname.”
David fell into thought and muttered, “But she said she was from Avalon. She said she was the child of a priest…”
…Huh, she remembers me quite well.
She can’t stop thinking about me.
Eivass raised an eyebrow.
—Could it be that my heroic appearance in boiling myself in an iron pot was too handsome?
So Eivass asked with interest, “Do you know Miss Alistair?”
“Ah, we actually only met in a dream.”
David said somewhat awkwardly. “She helped me complete my advancement… I am very grateful to her. But she also said that she was from the Noble Red Society, so… I didn’t trust her then.”
“That might not necessarily be the case.”
Eivass shook his head and said softly, “I feel she doesn’t consider herself part of the Noble Red Society.”
—He had to cover his tracks a little, he couldn’t say for sure. If it turned out that she wasn’t from the Noble Red Society, then it could also be said that she was pretending to be from the Noble Red Society to deceive people.
“So that’s how it is! So, she may have joined the Noble Red Society for some purpose—”
David’s eyes lit up at this, and then his face turned bitter, “So it was all a lie…”
Hearing this, the Grand Guardian suddenly showed displeasure.
He hadn’t said anything when David mentioned Alistair before. But when David said aggrievedly, “Why did she lie to me,” he immediately became stern:
“In the Ascension Ritual, any lie is permissible and reasonable. That is a place where people deceive each other and attack each other. If you didn’t disguise your identity well, that’s your mistake—are you going to blame others for lying?
“The ceremony after this is not child’s play. It is real death and real killing.
“If you can’t adapt, you’d better not go any further, David. You will only harm yourself and others.”
“…Yes. I remember, Dad.”
Evidently, George rarely got angry. His sudden reprimand startled David, and he immediately became obedient.
To help the Knight change the subject and ease the stiff and silent atmosphere, Eivass asked, “Did she say she was a mister?”
“No, not really…”
David honestly shook his head and said, “Because I was late. I saw the people before me saying that, so I followed suit and called her that…”
It was mainly the antlers.
When David first came in, he saw the Antler talking to Alistair. He didn’t dare to interrupt, so he could only listen from the side. Then he remembered Alistair’s name and personal information.
But David had kept a backup.
Because he didn’t mention that Alistair was completely enveloped by a Shadow Demon, and that “her” voice was rough and low, which was why he “mistakenly identified her identity.”
As a result, he could no longer distinguish how much of what Alistair said was true and how much was false…
“By the way, I haven’t introduced myself to you yet!”
The young man, who was at most fourteen or fifteen years old this year, suddenly reacted, apologized, then stood up straight, saluted, and said seriously, “I am David Barton. Good afternoon, Mr. Moriarty.”
“You can just call me Eivass, David.”
Eivass nodded gently and said with a smile.
“Yes, Mr. Eivass…”
David hesitated for a moment, then still asked, “May I ask, Miss Alistair… what does she look like?”
…Huh?
Eivass was stunned.
Why do you care so much about what Alistair looks like?
Even if Alistair taught you what Transcendence is and prevented you from stepping onto the Transcendent Path… that would at most be a master-disciple relationship from a chance encounter.
Do you want to know what she looks like, or do you want to know if this “online friend” is good-looking?
Or, you don’t really want to meet Alistair offline, do you?
Are you that brave?
Aren’t you afraid she’s a villain from the Noble Red Society and will directly tear you apart and take you away?
Update complete!
Brothers, let me ask you, do you prefer one update at 12 o’clock and another at 2 or 3 o’clock, or should both updates be moved to 3 o’clock? Or is it okay for me to take a day off and adjust my schedule back…