Chapter 60 Let’s Call You Grey (Two-in-One)
Looking at the hope flickering in the little girl’s eyes like a young beast in the darkness, Rast did not answer immediately.
As a result, her eyes gradually dimmed.
“Is that really the case—”
“I heard Grandpa Mayor say that only those who accidentally awaken superpowers, like the ability to spit fire or control water, have the chance to be chosen by the Guardians.”
“But I don’t have any superpowers, no matter how I try, I can’t use them.”
“Grandpa Mayor said that maybe the Guardian of the Shore Organization has some kind of technology that can help someone awaken superpowers.”
There was a hint of disappointment in her voice.
“But every time I mention my wish to awaken superpowers to Grandpa Mayor… the originally kind Grandpa Mayor would show a very serious expression and then abruptly change the subject.”
“Even when I want to go to the lighthouse outside of town, to meet you, Brother Rast, his reasons for rejecting me are always serious, saying that I’m still too young, and I should wait until I grow up to talk about such things.”
“How strange…”
The little girl’s voice paused: “Clearly, when Grandpa Mayor tells us bedtime stories, his eyes also shine when he talks about being saved by the Guardians.”
“But whenever I bring up the same thing, Grandpa Mayor’s attitude turns a hundred and eighty degrees, as if he’s a completely different person.”
“Has he really said such things before?”
Rast glanced at the little girl in front of him: “The old mayor is indeed a good person.”
“Why?”
She raised her numb eyes: “Clearly, as long as I join the Guardians, regardless of passing assessments, claiming to be an orphan, or using a tragic performance to evoke sympathy, how I get in doesn’t matter…”
“But once I join, I can receive the protection of the strongest, and go to the safest place in the world.”
Rast smiled.
He stood up, walked to the wooden table by the window, and lit the small oil lamp.
The wick of the oil lamp was ignited, emitting a warm orange glow that illuminated the surrounding space.
The room was divided by the light of the oil lamp into a clear line, one side bright, and the other side pure darkness.
It seemed that her eyes had adapted to the darkness of the room, making the light appear overly dazzling.
The moment the oil lamp was lit, the little girl recoiled like a startled young beast, shielding her eyes against the harsh light, retreating back into the shadows on the other side.
“How to put it…”
Rast thought for a moment: “Filling someone with empty hopes and painting grandiose dreams can be done by anyone.”
“It’s like if there is a child in front of me shouting about wanting to be the world’s richest person, I might just casually agree with them, saying, ‘Yeah, yeah.'”
“But your wish… it’s not the kind of fervent desire that makes you want to announce your ambitions to the world, only to throw those grand statements aside in a moment of passion, is it?”
His voice rang out in the flickering candlelight.
“Being irresponsibly supportive of others’ dreams, anyone can do that.”
“However, only those who are truly close to you will consider you sincerely, will worry for you.”
“So, the old mayor, despite yearning for the Guardians himself… when you speak that wish out loud, he chooses to put on a stern face, hardening his heart, letting you feel discontent towards him, rather than frivolously support your dreams.”
“Moreover…”
“Do you really think the Guardian organization is exactly as you imagine it?”
Rast gazed at the flickering light: “There may indeed be the strongest humans there.”
“But there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world; giving and receiving, rights and responsibilities, have always been equivalent.”
“Simply wanting the protection of the strong, to enjoy a safe, prosperous, and stable life… however, you have never truly considered the weight and responsibility that the term ‘Guardians’ carries.”
“That kind of thought is a bit too arrogant.”
…
The little girl’s form wavered slightly in the darkness.
Though she heard what Rast said, she only partially understood the meaning within.
In her limited understanding, the human settlements spread across the continent resembled wolf packs on the wilderness, and she was merely a wandering cub among those packs.
Some wolf packs are weak and uncertain, so when they are devoured by other stronger beasts, she can only wander again… like the human town she lived in before, which no longer exists, or like Frozen Water Town, which is still there but offers her no sense of security.
Some wolf packs are powerful, having the strongest alpha wolf, making it the safest place in the world, enough to protect her from being killed by the other beasts in the wilderness. Thus, even just hearing fragments of it from the mayor instills a desire to join the Guardians in her.
Most wolf packs, however, are closed off and exclusionary, so during her wandering, the girl learned to camouflage using protective coloration, striving to appear cute, clever, obedient, sensible, and pleasant… because only in this way would those wolf packs accept a seemingly harmless wandering cub.
The wilderness, beasts that take life, wolf packs, and the long journey… this is how the girl sees the world.
She couldn’t understand what Rast meant by the “weight of the term Guardians.”
But the girl, having wandered much at a young age and seen the warmth and coldness of many hearts, keenly sensed Rast’s earlier words of denial and rejection directed at her.
So, she quietly stood up and deeply bowed to Rast.
“I’m sorry for making you listen to me for so long.”
“I will report everything I’ve done to Grandpa Mayor. I want to steal from you… even if that means I’ll be banished from Frozen Water Town, that would be my deserved punishment.”
After saying these words with a voice that was both clear and tinged with numbness.
The gray-haired girl, without disturbing anyone, walked through the shadows and darkness of the room that the light had not yet dispelled, heading towards the door.
“Here.”
The little girl subconsciously turned around, something traced a parabola in the air, landing accurately in her hand.
It was a pure silver badge, simple lines outlining a coastline protected by wings.
It was exactly what she had long desired, the Guardian’s Wing Emblem for which she had even risked sneaking into Rast’s room to steal.
She looked up at Rast in confusion.
“Ultimately, this thing isn’t really valuable.”
“I can’t decide on Hiltina’s badge, but my own, if I give it away, then so be it.”
Rast’s calm voice sounded from behind her.
“Also, there’s no need to report to the old mayor… if he found out I got angry with a child, Hiltina would probably laugh at me.”
“As for that badge, it doesn’t matter whether you sell it for silver, or actually use my and Hiltina’s names as soul rings to deceive the Guardians’ headquarters into believing you’re an orphan or something.”
“But just hope you remember one thing.”
His voice coincided with the howling evening wind outside.
“What the ‘Guardians’ represent is not the safe and stable good life you imagine.”
“It’s a pair of shackles, a cage, and even… a curse.”
“A curse that will accompany you for a lifetime, like a growth that you can never break free from, until the end of your life.”
“Before you are determined to bear this curse, do not lightly speak out about ‘becoming a Guardian.'”
…
The gray-haired little girl glanced at Rast and silently nodded.
She tightened her grip on the silver wing emblem, stepping forward to exit.
Just as her figure was about to disappear outside the door, Rast’s voice echoed again.
“By the way, do you have a name? Little Grey can’t be your formal name, right?”
The girl’s footsteps paused slightly: “I don’t have a name; a wanderer doesn’t need a name.”
“Little Grey is what Grandpa Mayor calls me because of the color of my hair; later, everyone just started calling me that.”
Rast’s voice paused: “I see, that’s quite a coincidence.”
“I have a friend who also forgot his name at one time; it was only after someone told him that he got his name back.”
His voice carried a hint of laughter.
“A person without a name is quite pitiful; you wouldn’t want to be called ‘Little Grey’ forever when you grow up, or referred to as ‘hey,’ ‘that one,’ or ‘you,’ right?”
“Little Grey… GREY… Grey.”
“Since that’s the case.”
“From now on, I’ll call you—”
“Grey.”
Grey…?
The little girl silently repeated the name in her heart.
For some reason, when she uttered this name, she felt a strange warmth in her heart.
It made her think of the warm winds of summer.
…
Thus, Rast stood by the door.
Until Grey’s footsteps faded away in the corridor, he turned around, looking towards the balcony deep within the room.
“I say, Miss Hiltina.”
“There shouldn’t be a rule in the Ranger’s code about eavesdropping on others, right?”
As Rast finished speaking, the girl with flowing chestnut hair walked out from the balcony.
It appeared she had directly climbed from the exterior of the balcony of the next room to this one.
“Of course, there isn’t.”
“However, as a single male, I should keep an eye on you for being in a room with a little girl just over ten years old.”
At this moment, Hiltina was not wearing her knight uniform but had changed into simple white home clothes and a skirt that didn’t reach her knees.
She looked at Rast, a hint of a smile in her eyes: “Luckily, under my supervision, you haven’t done anything improper.”
“If you actually did that kind of thing, it wouldn’t just be improper; it would be perverse.”
Rast smiled wryly.
He was not surprised by Hiltina’s appearance.
Although Grey’s earlier infiltration and their conversation were very quiet, they were not enough to escape the notice of a perceiving individual who could break through the Fourth Tier at any moment.
“What a child who has suffered a lot.”
“Grey, is a good name too.”
Hiltina sighed lightly, looking in the direction where Grey had disappeared.
“And for some reason…”
“She gives me a feeling very similar to you.”
Hiltina scrutinized Rast with suspicion.
She distinctly sensed that in the earlier conversation, not only was Grey’s disguise revealed, but Rast’s mask briefly slipped, showing glimpses of his true self.
But clearly, if Rast himself did not reveal it, she would never know the truth.
“Since it’s over, I’ll head back to my room.”
Hiltina tidied her chestnut hair, which had been blown messy by the wind on the balcony, then turned to leave, but was interrupted by Rast.
“Wait a moment.”
“I just want to confirm, you don’t have any nightmares or past events that have troubled you for a long time, which would become a chink in your mental armor, right?”
Rast’s voice rarely carried a serious tone.
“If there are, tell me.”
“I can help you erase those memories using mental suggestion.”
Hiltina turned her head to look into Rast’s eyes, and a few seconds later, she understood the meaning behind his words.
“Are you talking about what will happen at midnight? Have you found a clue?”
“Yes.”
Rast nodded: “This should be a kind of rule-based mental pollution. If we don’t return to the safe zone at the lighthouse outside the town before midnight, but stay in Frozen Water Town, we will inevitably face this pollution.”
“Your long-series and Night Blade are specialized in physical enhancement, with little experience in mental or spiritual enhancement; combating mental pollution is not your strong suit… letting me hypnotize you to forget those things, directly erasing the cracks in your psyche, is the simplest option.”
“Like every ordinary person, I do have some unforgettable memories, and my mind is far from perfect.”
Hiltina smiled slightly: “I know you mean well, Rast.”
“But in any case, that is my past; no matter how unbearable it is to look back on, how deeply it pains me, it ultimately belongs to me.”
Her movements did not pause, heading straight towards her own room.
“Having the determination and courage to conquer all obstacles and dire situations, that is the justice of the Rangers, and it is my justice.”
“And if faced with those memories, faced with these mental cracks, I do not choose to confront them but rather use forgetfulness to escape, it goes against that justice… then Hiltina Engulite would no longer exist.”
“That’s really quite in line with your style.”
Behind her, Rast sighed.
“Since that’s the case, I’ll leave a mark for you in the spirit world; if necessary, I will try to forcibly awaken you.”
Hiltina did not stop but silently nodded.
The figure of the young knight, along with her flowing chestnut hair, quickly disappeared into the nearby room.
And Rast said nothing more, instead extinguishing the oil lamp and quietly lying back in bed.
Time passed in darkness, second by second.
Tick.
Tick.
Until the moment the clock’s hands pointed to midnight.
Dense white fog quietly engulfed the entire Frozen Water Town, along with all living things within it.
(End of this chapter)
