Inside Kruff’s Humble Cabin.

“Say, honorable Arkruff Mondsten… How long has the Exalted One know of her majesty, the Queen, Sofalia Din Blumend?” Marcus curiously asks.

Meanwhile, Gilmore who feels tense at this sudden question expresses a similar level of interest. “I am curious too…”

Kruff with the wisdom of his old age feels where his question is coming from. Comes with dementia in his failing mental faculties is the regression of memory. However, he is able to preserve so much of his memories through his Rune Magic. Most often though, his common sense suffers.

“They have known each other for five years and then maybe a few more months than you lot…” He plainly tells them the truth. As an old man, Kruff lacks a lot of entertainment, and living the hermit lifestyle in White Peaks strips him of one of his favorite hobbies which includes gossiping. “So what are you on about, Marcus?”

Kruff learns of the name of his two visitors who should be Sofalia’s subordinates. The big guy is Gilmore, and the white-haired red-eyed is Marcus.

Marcus places his fingers on his cheek seriously thinking about it. “What are the chances that the Exalted One, and her majesty… hmmm… had a baby…”

Gilmore spits the warm booze that Kruff kindly shares with them. Despite knowing Marcus will be asking such a dumb question, he cannot help but react this way. “What the?”

Pyla is not helping at all. “What is a baby?”

“They are like you, little Pyla…” Kruff softly tells his granddaughter unsure whether she is already ready for that. “Think of the little deers as babies, something like that…”

***

In the wide expanse of snow, two figures sit side by side in contemplative silence. It has me thinking about a lot of things after learning that I am not alone in coming into this world with flesh and blood.

After all, I am not the only AI Bot functioning with Player Avatars. The possibility of NPCs that should not exist in this realm coming here is also possible.

“Eight-One-Three… Would you allow me to rename you?” I ask the silver-haired beauty beside me.

I feel her burdening gaze upon me which I dare not confront. I hear her sniffling, and I can only imagine what of a mess her crying looks like. To be honest, all of this is new to me. I think to myself that since this is a new beginning, we should have new names.

“If you are uncomfortable with a new name—”

Interrupting my words midway is her imploring words. “No, please name me! Father, I will gladly treasure the name that you shall give me!” The way of her address is still bothersome for some reason. In terms of appearance alone, she comes close to Sofalia in age but in fact, she should be about 800 years old considering her in-game time in Vanaheim.

“First, let me reintroduce myself. I am Van the Third.” I turn to her with a smile. I recognize her slightly puffy eyes. This clues me that as a person, she must be a moody type who is quick to tears.

“Yes,” She jubilantly cheers, my name smoothly rolling in her tongue. “Van the Third,” She whispers with adoration, her both palms in her chest.

“Then, from now on… You are Eyt Cirowan…” It is simply a play on pronunciation, but I hope this name works just fine for her. “Is that okay with you?” I ask her for her input.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“It is perfect… Father… No…” She excitedly leans closer to me, seeking my attention. “Dad… Can I call you Dad?” I guess there is no helping it as I am really her father as the data that composes her AI comes from me.

***

“Thank you for bringing us these convenient things. Living here in White Peaks will become easier from now on, but I fear we will not be staying here for long…” I tell Marcus and Gilmore who waits for me from the fore.

“Perhaps, are you planning on relocating to Blumend?” Marcus excitedly asks me.

I feel bad as that is my initial plan to at least give Pyla what she deserves, and also because a place like Blumend will be more conducive for Kruff’s health. “No, I want to bring Kruff and Pyla to my Abode, and to take care of some personal matters…” And also to help Kruff advance to Tier 8.

It is a sensitive topic, thus I decide not to reveal this part to Marcus and Gilmore. “I have already given you Marcus your Legacy Quest, but your compatriots will not be receiving theirs any time soon, and as we will be leaving, they will not be able to reach me here in White Peaks anymore. So I trust that I will just give you Marcus the information and you give it to them. Remember not to take the Legacy Quest unless you have met the Level Requirements. Having STRF calculate your levels through math is good, but it is prone to human error, so I suggest you guys ask Orun for assistance to check your levels.”

I give Marcus a small notebook. I did give Sofalia something similar so that she can give the quest in my stead, but she decides to return it to me before departure. She says something along the lines that it is too dangerous for her to carry such knowledge when she is only Tier 7.

I trust her decision to be justified as there really are specific powers that can implicate her. For example, my Treasure of the Heart as it is might also be able to target information-based treasures like a set of information about Tier 7 advancement.

“Her Majesty did not ask this of us in particular, but I want to inform you Exalted One that she has gone on a journey to advance her Legacy to Tier 8,” Marcus adds.

I nod in approval. “It is good that she did not bring any of you…” I comment, subtly aware that the Quest of a Heroic character like Sofalia will not be in any way easy. After all, the Quest for the ‘Fenrir’s Descendant’ Legacy is to destroy a Kingdom. It is best that Sofalia does this covertly.

“How about the… supplies? There are some gifts there for Lady Pyla and a lot of food stock…” Gilmore expresses his regret for the supplies he brought.

As Kruff requests Marcus and Gilmore to address Pyla as a lady instead of a princess, they now address her as such. I tell them that there should not be anything they worry about. “It is fine… They won’t come as a waste. I will bring them to my Abode, and I assure you Gilmore that your efforts are not in bane.”

The problem is… How do I break this to Kruff? I am really intent on sending him to the Warrior’s Nest together with Pyla. I sincerely believe that they will be safer there than in the unstable Blumend Kingdom anyway.

“Then, we will be going now. Exalted One…” Marcus carefully stashes the notebook in the little pouch by his waist. That notebook should have some resistance on Tier 8 prying abilities and below as I have Eyt use her Secret Art and Subclass Technique as Archaeologist to treat the notebook.

I should experiment more with the subclasses as they might provide a new avenue of combat and all kinds of unthinkable things. I am not really the creative type, but I am certain that there is something special with techniques.

***

“Can I call you big sister?” Pyla asks the silver-haired beauty.

Eyt tilts her head at the curious child. The child is scruffy, lacks elegance, and is a total weakling. “No, you cannot.” She removes her attention from the child and glances at her dad through the small window of the cabin.

“Why can’t I?” Pyla disappointedly complains. “That other big sister with big brother is better… She is nicer…” She recalls a particularly blue-haired girl who fought for a few rounds with her grandfather. “No… That bigger sister is actually a bad girl!” She shortly comes to realize.

“You are annoying, shut up,” Eyt demands to the child as she cannot enjoy her peace in quiet.

“Are all big sisters bad?” Pyla comes to this conclusion.

But then again, for Pyla who has not seen much of the world, it is wrong for her to assume that all big sisters are bad. Who knows? Maybe there are actually good big sisters out there. Pyla tries to think more positively.

Her eyes look at the curious sword hanging by Eyt’s waist. “Are you a Warrior too?”

“Yes.” Eyt succinctly replies.

“Heh~! Big brother Van too! He is teaching me swordsmanship!” Pyla snobbishly boasts while rubbing her nose. She grabs her wooden sword and shows some of her moves. “See? See? I am good, right?”

This annoys Eyt to no end.

Skill— Sword Stance: Quick Slash

~Click

Eyt’s sword makes a clicking sound as it imperceptibly returns to its sheathe.

Pyla makes a dumbfounded look at her wooden sword which is already split in half.