440. Treasured Gift

It took a while for Daniel to escape the horde hounding him with questions. He deflected all of the interrogation because he really didn’t have many answers. He directed their questions to the [Archbishops]— to the [Priests] from the Council of Cremont. Still, not all of the questions flung his way were related to him being anointed as the Cardinal of the Sanctum of Elements, the Den of Souls, and the Sanctuary of Fauna.

As expected, some people were still dubious of the fact that he was a [Hero]. To deal with those people, he simply grabbed the nearest Elite Ranked adventurer he could find and used them as a shield for those questions. Scarlet blinked, looking up from the buffet as Daniel patted her on the shoulder.

“She can answer all your questions— she was there when Helena Warshade questioned me two days ago! Thanks, Scarlet!”

“I… what?”

The Red Rose glanced between the [Hero] and the small crowd that broke off after the [Hero]. She opened her mouth to protest, but the young man was faster than the [Rogue]. He quickly circled around her as his distraction worked, much to the chagrin of the young Elite.

He scurried away, pushing his way through the party heads turned and exclaimed. He only paused when he bumped into a pair of women he recognized. Amanda and Saffron. The former assassin and the young noble were standing next to each other. Daniel had no idea they were friends, but he didn’t question it.

“Daniel—”

Amanda started, but he quickly spoke over her and faced Saffron.

“Where’s Salvos?”

The pink-haired girl gestured towards the back of the room.

“I placed her all the way back there so she wouldn’t cause too much trouble. She’s busy trying to feed those baby Wyverns anyway…”

“Thanks.”

He smiled at Saffron before breaking off to get to his friend. A hand grabbed him from behind, stopping him. He blinked and looked at Amanda.

“Did you need something, Amanda?”

He raised a brow at her. She lowered her head, not meeting his gaze. She looked like she wanted to say something, but unsure of what she even wanted to say at the same time.

“Daniel… I—”

The former assassin opened her mouth. Then she paused. She saw the way Daniel was glancing over to the side— towards Salvos. Amanda slowly closed her mouth and let go of his arm.

“Amanda?”

Daniel turned back to her. She shook her head.

“It’s nothing…”

The [Hero] was pretty sure that was a lie. But he could see a few members of the crowd breaking off in pursuit of him, and he really didn’t want to stick around for them to catch him. Once he got to Salvos, she’d repel them by virtue of being Salvos.

So he just shrugged and hurried off. Eventually, he managed to escape to Salvos’ table.

“Daniel! You didn’t tell me you were giving a speech!”

The silver-haired girl waved at him as he made his approach. Her cheery and carefree attitude starkly juxtaposed with the tension in the room. Daniel welcomed it. He thoroughly relished in her conviviality after the last two days of constant interrogation. But on one hand, the young man couldn’t help but sigh as he slumped himself over a cushioned chair. After all, it was clear she didn’t understand the gravity of the situation… or at least, didn’t care for it.

“It was a good speech! I liked it when you said the thing which made everyone gasp!”

She gave him a thumbs-up. Daniel shook his head as he sat there.

“Thanks, but I hated giving it.”

“Why would you hate your speech?”

She cocked her head at him. He waved a hand off.

“Because it wasn’t really my decision. They kinda forced me to become their Cardinal.”

He shrugged as Salvos stared at him. Her confusion was evident. The [Hero] himself was more annoyed by it than anything. And even Salvos could see that.

“Why didn’t you just say no?”

The silver-haired girl suggested casually. Daniel massaged his temples.

“Well… I couldn’t really say no?”

“Why not?”

She pestered him. And a voice from the side replied before Daniel could.

“Because.”

Daniel looked up at the [Will O’ Wisp] floating off to the side, hovering over the three baby Wyverns as they scared down a whole roast pig from the buffet. Willy, the normally sarcastic Grand Spirit, was entirely serious with his single-word non-answer. But it was true— and Daniel just nodded.

“Willy’s right. It’s just… because.”

“What?”

Salvos blinked, utterly confused. Daniel smiled at her.

“It’s fine, Salvos, really. It’s a bit annoying, but otherwise it’s the right thing to do.”

He was grateful that she cared enough to worry over him. But he didn’t want to change anything, even if he was a little irate. She just stared at him for a moment.

“Huh.”

She studied his face as he reached for a glass of red wine. He didn’t know why there was even wine on the table since Salvos didn’t drink. Unless she was letting the baby Wyverns drink the alcohol— in which case, Daniel wouldn’t really be surprised. He glanced over at the three baby Wyverns as they whined and fought over the food.

Salvos clapped her hands together.

“Oh, have you met them yet?”

She proudly gestured at the baby Wyverns. Daniel nodded.

“I met them briefly, but they were a bit… antsy back then.”

“Well, they’re better with Humans now! Come here, guys!”

Salvos called over the three baby Wyverns. They looked up from their food and exchanged a glance. They hesitated when they saw Daniel sitting next to their mother. But they answered the call and scampered over to her.

“Say hi to them, Daniel.”

She beamed as the young man mumbled an awkward greeting.

“Uh… hey, Novis, Bellum, and…”

“Oriur.”

“Right, Oriur.”

He pursed his lips. The baby Wyverns made a sound. A soft growl. But not an aggressive one. It almost sounded like they were saying ‘hello’. Although, Daniel was probably imagining it. He cleared his throat and leaned forward to Salvos.

“So… how long are you going to keep mothering them?”

He asked in a whispered voice. Daniel was pretty sure they couldn’t understand him anyway, but this was just to be safe. Salvos crossed her arms.

“I am not their mother!”

She spoke emphatically, and Daniel shrank back.

“Alright— alright. Don’t need to yell.”

He rubbed his ears before sighing.

“But what I mean is are you really going to be looking after these baby Wyverns forever?”

“That’s…”

Salvos looked at Daniel for a moment, registering his words. Then she drew back, clearly offended.

“Of course not! I’m just going to be looking after them until they grow up!”

“You know that it’ll take them years to fully grow up, right?”

He gave her a flat stare. Salvos paused.

“Wait, really?”

She sounded genuinely surprised. The young man from Earth pinched the bridge of his nose, and Willy snorted.

“Idiot.”

“Salvos… please don’t tell me you genuinely didn’t know that.”

Daniel pleaded with her. Salvos sputtered.

“But look at them! They’re all already over Level 10! They’ll reach Level 40 anytime soon!”

She waved at the baby Wyverns as they looked on, confused. Daniel nodded.

“They are Level 10, yes, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be adults at Level 40. They’ll just be very high-leveled babies.”

“That… that makes no sense!”

“No, it makes complete sense. Do you seriously think that our level determines our age?”

Daniel crossed his arms. Salvos bit her lower lip. She shifted in her seat for a moment. Then she murmured.

“But I evolved from an infant at Level 10…”

Daniel watched as she mulled over this fact for a while. He cleared his throat.

“Anyway, I didn’t really come here to tell you that.”

She raised her head as he reached for a weapon at his belt.

“I came here to return this to you.”

Her eyes went wide.

“That’s…”

He raised the Sword of Alexander, and Salvos frowned. She narrowed her eyes as the glint from the Mythical Grade Weapon drew more than a few onlookers.

They gasped and whispered, their gaze fixed only on the iridescent blade. Honestly, Daniel wasn’t sure why they were in such awe of the weapons Salvos was, after all, wearing the rest of the— unbroken— set of the Treasures of Alexander. Although it seemed like he was the only one who noticed it. No one else did. A passive effect of the Mythical Grade artifacts.

Salvos pointed at herself.

“Wait, why are you giving the Sword of Alexander to me?”

“I’m just giving it back to who it rightfully belongs to.”

He smiled at her. Daniel was grateful that she lent it to him when she did. He wouldn’t have been able to fend off that Level 150 [Fiend] if not for the Sword of Alexander itself. Especially with the boost it gave him thanks to him being a [Hero]. But at the end of the day, it was better in Salvos’ hands.

The silver-haired girl raised a hand as he proffered the Sword of Alexander to her— before pushing it back to him.

“It’s fine— keep it.”

She grinned at Daniel as he blinked. The [Hero] opened his mouth.

“What?”

“I said: keep it.”

She backed up as the young man from Earth stared at her, puzzled.

“It’s yours, Daniel.”

Mine? he thought, befuddled. That wasn’t right.

“But you were the one who—”

The young man started, but Salvos raised a hand to cut him off.

“The only reason why I got the Sword of Alexander in the first place was to give it to you.”

“You… what?”

“Yep.”

Salvos nodded as she got to her feet. She patted the young man on the shoulders.

“You’re my companion. And, also, you’re the best possible fit for the Sword of Alexander itself. I mean, you did attune yourself to it, didn’t you?”

“I… did.”

He replied sheepishly. Salvos nodded.

“It’s fine, Daniel.”

Daniel stared at her. This was Salvos. A young and carefree girl. Someone who often didn’t put much thought into her actions. Someone who was beholden to herself over all else. But also— someone who was incredibly caring when it mattered. He slowly lowered the Sword of Alexander as his lips curled up.

“Thank you.”

Daniel bowed his head at the silver-haired girl as she chuckled. She settled back into her seat, waving a hand off.

“Now, where’s Edithe, anyway? She still hasn’t been properly introduced to Novis, Bellum, and Oriur yet!”

The young man raised his head and scratched his cheek with a finger.

“I’m not sure. I’d have assumed she’d be here since all the big adventurer companies were invited. She’s probably busy, I guess.”

“Huh.”

Salvos furrowed her brows. She got to her feet as the baby Wyverns perked up.

“Well, let’s go find—”

She froze as a tinny voice spoke up.

“Salvos the Sentinel of Secely. And Daniel Song [Hero] from Earth.”

Kaitlin Darkhelmn stepped forward as Daniel turned to face her. He didn’t know what she was doing here, but it was clear she meant business since she was accompanied by a pair of knights. She cleared her throat and gestured at both him and the silver-haired girl.

“The both of you are in possession of all four pieces of the Treasures of Alexander. I would kindly like to ask you to hand them over to the Vaun Qieur Empire’s Swordsguard Forces for safekeeping.”

“...what?”

Daniel blinked. Salvos stood in alert. The [Hero] turned to his loyal companion. His longtime ally. His friend.

“What do we do, Salvos?”

Her eyes flickered and she answered.

“Here’s what we do—”

Daniel waited for her to continue, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, Salvos spun around, grabbed the baby Wyverns, and made a break for it. When the young man turned around, she was already down the hall waving at him.

“You can hold her off! I believe in you!”

“Salvos…”

The [Hero] sighed. Willy scoffed.

“Good luck.”

And the [Will O’ Wisp] trailed after her.

It probably was going to be fine. It definitely wasn’t going to end with fighting. Not right now. Not especially since it seemed that Kaitlin Darkhelm wasn’t acting on behalf of Helena Warshade or the Elite Ranked adventurers. She was clearly representing the Vaun Qieur Empire in that regard. And if anything happened, the Council of Cremont would protect Daniel.

So I ran off with Novis, Bellum, and Oriur before they could catch me. I only slowed when I was away from the palace, heading out of the city. I looked down at the three baby Wyverns as they whined in my arms. And I pursed my lips.

Daniel was right. I couldn’t protect them forever. Nor could I baby them for long. There was a massive war looming. I was getting close to my Level 150 evolution. And I needed to go to the Netherworld to find Haec. I really didn’t know what to do with the baby Wyverns.

“Ok?”

Willy asked as he flitted after me. The baby Wyverns exchanged a glance quizzically as I nodded.

“I’m fine.”

For now, I would keep to my word and look after them. I would figure things out… maybe.