Richard wasn't sure what to do with the knife. He could just keep it in his inventory to ensure it was never used, but it didn't satisfy him, to simply avoid the problem.

Using it was out of the question altogether, given how vile of a weapon it was. It's true, that such a weapon could be used in a bad situation, but he couldn't justify using it, after he had criticized the man for using such a vile thing.

Would purification work?

They had mentioned taoist and buddhist, which were themselves, akin to magicks of faith, if you believed the books, though admittedly little studies had been done to publicly confirm this.

[Correct. Purification magic from a priest likely could purify such a weapon.]

Then that was a solution. If he could purify it himself, then he would. He had studied all the hymms and prayers, akin to the teachings that had been mentioned. Unfortunately, it likely required-

[Requires true faith in order to activate the purification abilities.]

It required faith, yes. Unfortunately, none of his hymms had ever worked.

He would likely have to try and hand it into a church within mountain city, or somewhere else.

It would be hard to explain having, and cast suspicion on himself, but that was fine. What really mattered to him was that the blade was cleansed, and the soul inside was purified.

[The system is willing to purchase the blade for 10000 points.]

Hmm? Richard couldn't help but inquire why mentally, and the system responded patiently.

[The system aims to encourage good choices from the players who rely on the system, including not using tools of questionable materials and means such as these.

The system would rather you purchase materials/weapons from the shop of less unscrupulous means. ]

'And what would happen to the blade after I turn it in?'

[The blade would be purified by the system, and then stored away afterwards. Weapons such as these, after being purified, and the soul inside freed, can become powerful weapons]

The system was blunt about what would be done with the weapon, and the fact that it could purify such a weapon, indicating that the system held such means

If this was true, then could he not do the same thing? There is no reason not to find a church that could do this for him, and thus allow him to use this weapon.

But Richard found himself leaning towards selling this weapon. Perhaps it would be clean to use then, and it could be invaluable to him, but knowing by the means it was made would never make him handling such a weapon.

Better to place it in the hands of others who would use it without such concerns.

So he sold the weapon, plain and simple.

[Congratulations! You have sold the weapon and gained 10,000 points! ]

With that, Richard had cleared one weight off his chest, allowing him to focus on the matter at hand.

After that moment in the woods, they had acted quickly, disposing of the bodies in various means.

As long as the evidence wasn't too obvious, it was unlikely anyone would investigate too closely.

And now, they had rented a room in the city from a human host.

The human host didn't seem bothered by our appearance at all, though did warn us. "The rooms are a bit short around here, so make sure to be careful with your wings." She warned.

She was right. The rooms were clearly sized better to fit dwarves. Not that the entire room was completely sized to dwarves, but the smaller things. Beds were the same size as a human's bed yes, but it was lower to the ground, and the sinks? Lower to the ground as well.

Many things were lower to the ground, to better service the needs of dwarves.

This was mountain city after all. It was a city of dwarves, and though many humans would come to this city to seek the aid of dwarves for creating things, this was still a dwarven city first and foremost, with many of their guests being dwarves.

Mountain city may be popular for weapons, but it was not the most popular, as the cities that connected to the dwarves native realm, Nidavellir. The fact that it lacked such an entrance made it less reliable when it came to weapon smiths.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

At least, this is what Richard had read in books. Supposedly the cities that rested on this periphery were more popular to visitors, and thus had more hotels aimed towards foreign races. Mountain city was a niche spot, both for being a center of beast taming and mostly for the joke of its name, Mountain city. The fact that the city was built around this mole hill seeming to emphasize this joke.

The room was thusly smaller and more for dwarven use. And it was more uncomfortable for them, who had wings and tails, thus taking more space than the average human.

It wasn't horrid, but uncomfortable nonetheless.

"So how did you find me?" Lyssandre asked. She was glad to see Richard, but she couldn't ignore the circumstances in which they had met up. They were weird, and coincidental, suspicious so.

He was hiding something. Richard might've thought he was good at hiding things, but no, he was rather bad at it, though the usual hints he gave off when he was lying was there, confirming to her it was her naive fool.

"A little birdie told us." The snake rudely interrupted.

She didn't like her. Richard said she was trustworthy, and it was clear he believed it, but even so, she didn't know the full circumstances in which they met, something Richard had heavily omitted.

She knew Richard wasn't stupid, more naive than anything else, but she couldn't put her guard down around the lady. She didn't trust her, and the fact that he addressed her as "sister" rubbed her the wrong way. It was a titlethat Richard did often use politely yes, but also an endearing title he used for women he trusted, especially since he had never used the title mother.

He had disappeared for a few months, appearing with this older women he addressed as sister.

And the matter of his disappearance...

She shook her head.

She wasn't ready to discuss that yet.

Lyssandre turned back to Richard, seeking her answer, and he nodded in agreement, looking sheepish.

"She's telling the truth. We were tipped off by a giant bird that claimed to be of kobold descent A... korvold?" Richard said hesitatingly, as he recalled the weird creatures.

"A korvold?" Lyssandre thought about it and recalled a new creature that had been spreading throughout the continent. Seemingly erupting from nowhere, this new species had become the focus of rumors and speculation. It was seemingly a friendly monster to humans, seeking the benefits of trading, though this creature was still being treated suspiciously.

Why would they know about her status?

It was clear that more was being hidden, but she could tell this was the truth to some extent, as far as Richard was willing to tell.

"Do you know then? What I was pursuing them here for?" She asked, and Richard blinked uncomfortably. "I know. You were pursuing them after they dug up my... my body." He trailed off, and the room became a little awkward, before ALexandria coughed a bit to clear up the room.

"Speaking of the body, do you know where they planned to transport the body?I didn't see it anywhere out there, so I have to assume they already moved it already."

Lyssandre shook her head. Despite her distrust of the lamia, she was still working alongside her in the meantime, so nothing would be held back. "I was planning to meet up with some old friends while we were here, to track what your father was up to before I was ambushed. They said they'd be waiting at the local church of Isis. " She glanced at Richard. "You know them too." she said, with a hint of a smile on her face, and a teasing glance.

Richard looked curious. ""Really? Who is it?"

"Olivia and Brother Frodo "

Richard felt surprised, and excited even, hearing that two more of his friends were near.

Alexandria looked curious. "Who are they?" she asked curiously, and Richard happily obliged.

"Olivia is an adventurer who closely works with the church of Isis, often escorting the priests and priestesses to more dangerous locations. Brother Frodo happens to be the one she travels with the most." He paused, as if unsure how to continue, before Lyssandra joined the conversation, rolling her eyes.

"Just say it Richard. Olivia is a shotacon." Seeing the confusion on the faces of some, and understanding of others, she nodded.

"The fuck is that?"The squirrel said, obviously confused, while Alexandria had a knowing look on her face.

Ellie shrugged. "It's a foreign term for people who like small, boy like guys."

Richard added in as if to defend Olivia. "Brother Frodo happens to be a dwarf, but one who has no beard, so he has a young, boyish look. And given Olivia's previous "partners", people tend to spread rumors about her. They're obviously hyperbole. " He said, attempting to defend his friend, while Ellie snorted.

"Anyway, when are we going to meet up with them?" sister Alexandria asked, choosing to bypass the subject.

"Tomorrow. I was planning to meet up with them and intercept the body inside the city." She winced when mentioning the body, glancing back at Richard before continuing.

"We can meet up with them tomorrow and discuss what to do from here after we find the body."

And with that, they agreed to find their own individual beds and tuck in for the night.

They bought themselves enough bedrooms, courtesy of Alexandria, who paid for the rooms.

----------------------------------------

As they waited at the meeting spot where Ellie was meant to meet up with Olivia, two familiar people showed up, old friends that Richard had been hoping to meet up with, sooner than later.

They were good friends though their tendency to wander meant he didn't actually know where they were. IN their case, he was hoping the system would be able to give him hints as to their location

The woman was tall and adorned in adventuring gear, as one would assume, wearing a predominantly black pelt, which contrasted with her shocking red hair, tied up in a ponytail. She was holding her familiar big shield.

The black suit also starkly contrasted with the pure white clothes of the church of Isis that Frodo wore.

The dwarf dressed in priestly clothes was indeed beardless, and had a young aura about him, far different from your average dwarf, and had a more peaceful aura about him, though still lively like a dwarf.

Before anything else could happen, or even shock register in Olivia's eyes as she witnessed a living Richard, her eyes locked onto something behind them.

A surprised voice spoke behind them, a rather familiar one.

"Olivia?" Alexandria said, genuinely surprised.

"Grandma!?" Olivia shouted, genuinely horrified and confused to see her "grandma".

That was the wrong answer.

"Olivia!" Alexandria was annoyed as she promptly slapped the woman on the head. "Didn't I tell you to call me Auntie!" She demanded, and Olivia complained as she rubbed her head and glared at Alexandria resentfully.

"But you're my great-great- OOWW! AUNTIE! AUNTIE!" She complained loudly after being smacked on the head again, and her ear twisted as her elder glared at her.

Ellie was aso confused, but mildly terrified.

She knew about Olivia's grandmother after all.

And she was a wyrm!