Chapter 55: 86-Year-Old Virgin Old Man

Herbie forcibly suppressed her desire to escape. Even as the terrifying, half-skeletal, half-fleshy Cat Beastman hopped toward her step by step like a bizarre zombie, she did not retreat.

"A deal?"

Greenland leaned down. Amidst his pale, bluish-white fur, his vertical, orange-yellow pupils were filled with mockery (despair).

"Ah~ You’re Herbie Hermes from Hermes’ Travel Hat. To think you actually want to strike a deal with me. Don’t you hate me?"

"I don’t care about the malice in my own heart. I only care about whether I can secure a profitable deal," Herbie said, lowering her voice.

"Please tell me, what price must I pay to make an Evil Person like you, who walks the path of Vice, withdraw from this Witch Hunting?"

"No can do~ The Deputy Lord’s reward has exactly what I want, something your Hermes’ Travel Hat cannot provide."

In an instant, countless fragments flashed through Herbie’s mind. She pieced them together, analyzed them, and arrived at an answer.

"Something a Lord can give, but Hermes’ Travel Hat cannot... The thing you Foreigners care about the most is the Special Profession, Knight, isn’t it?"

"That’s right~ I need the Knight Profession to complete my Profession sacrifice. However, a person walking the path of Vice can never receive a Lord’s dubbing, making this Witch Hunting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Greenland said as he waved the Branch Magic Staff in his hand. The withered apple attached to it held an inexplicable allure in Herbie’s eyes.

"No, what you want isn’t to be a Knight."

"Huh?" Greenland’s eye twitched. The system interface had already begun flashing urgent warnings about his bodily needs.

He couldn’t hold it anymore. He really couldn’t.

Greenland shakily reached out his hand, intending to force a log-out. Even if he was going to wet himself, he absolutely could not do it inside his expensive VR Game Pod.

"What you truly need are commissions, quests that can unlock Professions, and the ability to trade with Merchants—everything that a normal Foreigner can possess."

Greenland was startled. His discipline as a Professional Player triumphed over human limits and a sense of shame.

Herbie read every emotion necessary to finalize a deal in Greenland’s eyes. She opened her arms and took the initiative to step into the darkness where Greenland stood, her golden eyes icy and full of oppressive weight.

"Make a deal with me, Foreigner. Give me what I want, and I, Herbie Hermes, will become your middleman.

"Whether it’s the Kingdom’s secret commissions, bounty posters, or requests from Ancient Races, I can provide them all to you."

In Wolf Head Grass Village, inside a beautiful wooden cabin adorned with withered flowers.

Juliet lay on the bed while Audrey sat by her side, softly humming a healing song. The flowers that heard her voice began to bloom with renewed vitality.

"The Singer is truly a miraculous Profession," Blaze sighed in admiration as he leaned against the outside of the cabin.

There was no need to select a target, nor was there a specific activation range; one only needed to hear the sound to receive its support Effect. Even if a hundred people heard the song and received the buff, a Singer only had to expend the Magic Power Value of a single song.

"Sir Knight," the Village Chief of Wolf Head Grass Village greeted Blaze with some restraint.

"There’s no need to be so formal. Just call me Blaze."

"How could I? You are a Knight dubbed by a Princess. You are incredibly noble," the Village Chief said, shaking his head in trepidation.

"Princess..." Blaze frowned. A sharp pang of pain pierced his mind, vanishing as quickly as it came.

He recalled the Memory of the Black Beast Knight, of the Golden Princess standing amidst radiant light. That noble visage seemed like something someone of his lowly status had no right to look upon; every recollection in his mind consisted only of looking down, catching glimpses of her reflection from the corner of his eye.

And he remembered the Golden Princess softly calling out his Armor title.

He couldn’t remember it. Any attempt to delve deeper into the Memory only resulted in a murky void.

"Wait, how did you know I was dubbed a Knight by a Princess?" Blaze suddenly realized something was amiss. This was a secret that even people like Herbhard were unaware of, yet this Village Chief from Wolf Head Grass Village somehow knew.

It seemed he wouldn’t need to seek out that elderly Elf in the Newbie Village to gather intelligence about the Golden Country after all.

"Hmm... Intuition, perhaps," the Village Chief said, rubbing his chin and looking rather perplexed himself, though he quickly found a reasonable explanation. "The Armor you wear must have been obtained from some noble ceremony. As a descendant of the Silver Race, whose cultural center revolves around the Priest, I can sense the aura of any ancient and sacred ritual."

"Village Chief, you’re a Silver Believer too."

Blaze lowered his head. He had almost forgotten that those with the Special Profession, Knight, would be bestowed with a set of honorary Armor upon being dubbed. The Village Chief had probably deduced it from certain patterns on his nameless Armor and simply attributed it to his Faith.

It seemed he would still have to seek out the Newbie Village after the matters in the Arcadia Territory were resolved.

"How impressive, Sir Black Beast Knight," Audrey said, poking her head out the window and side-eying Blaze with a flat tone. "To think you are actually a Princess Knight. In terms of status, you’d rank even higher than the Lord of this tiny Arcadia. If that Princess were to become a Queen, you’d be promoted to an Emperor Knight. Must be nice."

"Village Chief, how old are you this year?" Blaze quickly changed the subject.

"Eighty-six."

"E-Eighty-six? Didn’t they say the average lifespan of Arcadians is only fifty?" Blaze was taken aback. The Village Chief standing before him looked to be in his early forties at most, complete with a head of glossy, jet-black hair.

"The Village Chief is the most famous long-lived elder in Arcadia. The current Deputy Lord is practically his grandson’s generation," Audrey said, resting her chin on her hand, continuing to interrogate Blaze with her gaze.

Her aloof look practically screamed, "I originally planned to take in a stray dog wearing armor like you, but unexpectedly, you already have an owner, and one whose estate is far grander than my entire family’s. It seems I overstepped my bounds."

"T-Then, on behalf of someone who needs to live a very long time to realize his ambitions, may I ask the secret to your longevity?" Blaze couldn’t help but press on, craning his neck so hard he nearly suffered a Fracture.

"Be a devout Silver Believer." The Village Chief pulled a badge from his pocket. On it was depicted a flawless moon and three worshipping Priests.

[Moon Badge]

[Identification of a Silver Believer. Made of pure Silver. As the holding period lengthens, it will gradually become dyed pitch-black.]

"I’m afraid that won’t work. That guy already has a different Faith."

"Then remain a pure person forever."

"That person’s heart has already been thoroughly corrupted." Even in this incredibly uncomfortable situation under Audrey’s interrogating gaze, Blaze couldn’t help but cast another glance at the Village Chief.

The word "pure" sounded exceptionally awkward coming from the mouth of an eighty-six-year-old man.

"No, I mean bodily purity."

Blaze’s eye twitched. He forcefully resisted the urge to stare at the Village Chief’s crotch.

"That guy, for the sake of doing business, actually pays close attention to his personal hygiene."

"Give it up. The Village Chief is talking about refraining from relations between men and women," Audrey said, rolling her eyes and scoffing dismissively as she turned her head away.

However, Blaze could see her blushing ears peeking through her black hair. No matter how domineering she acted, Audrey was ultimately a sheltered lady from a noble family, and thus, very poor at handling topics involving intimacy.

But Blaze was far more shocked to realize that this old man was actually a hidden Magic Master.

Foreigners often joked that remaining single at thirty allowed one to change their Profession to a Wise Man. If someone stayed single until eighty-six, they had to be at least a King of Magic.

"No, I am simply an Arcadian who has lived a relatively long life. However..." The Village Chief rolled up his sleeve, revealing a muscular arm. "My body is still very healthy."

Blaze stared at the Village Chief impassively.

There was no display of a special name or title; he was truly just an ordinary Arcadian.

"Village Chief, how long has that young man named Romeo been in Wolf Head Grass Village?"

Blaze steered the conversation back to the main issue. Rushing to inherit a noble title was important, but he couldn’t just let a Werewolf wreak havoc on the entire village.

"He arrived in this village with Juliet a week ago. As for anything else, I’m not entirely sure."

"Has he exhibited any unusual behavior?"

"I wouldn’t know. An old man like me doesn’t have the time to keep an eye on everyone."

Blaze narrowed his eyes. The Village Chief had started playing dumb.

Audrey raised her hand and rapped her knuckles against Blaze’s Armor, using her thumb to point at Juliet, who was lying in the room.

She mouthed a single word.

"Pregnant."

"No way." Blaze’s eye twitched. That was definitely not a topic to joke about.