The Princess And The Lord

1364  Never Alone

Lory remained silent for a long time after hearing everything Zhao Li Xin said. In the end, she could only accept the situation as it was; however, a pang of guilt slowly crept into her heart, and she couldn't help but blame herself.

She should have known something was wrong with Girsha since he hadn't called her in months, but Lory convinced herself that Girsha was just conserving his strength for something important to come up so he could summon her without problem.

She should have known that being the guardian of Oblivion was no easy task. Just look at what happened to Zian, an immortal who was specially chosen to be the ruler of Oblivion. Didn't that place drive him crazy, so how could Girsha have a chance? Although Girsha was the First Kind, he was the youngest descendant of his kin, and his strength was not as strong as that of his predecessors, so how could he possibly guard all those world doors by himself?

It is a losing game from the get-go.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard Lory thought, he had to be slapped by the reality that he had no way out of this situation. Embarrassed after talking big about saving Girsha, Lory had to admit that he had no plan on how to free Girsha from that place.

As she was lost in thought, suddenly her hand was held and Lory raised her gaze. Her gaze met a pair of black eyes that stared at her intently and immediately her chaotic thoughts gradually cooled down. Zhao Li Xin knelt on one knee in front of Lory, he looked at her tenderly: [Lory, I know this must be hard for you, but you have to remember you are not alone in this situation... don't let fear cloud your mind, remember, I am always here and so are the others...]

Zhao Li Xin's gentle voice was like a spring that filled the gaps in her heart as her emotions exploded uncontrollably. [Why does this always happen? I don't want to lose Girsha or my brother... I don't want to lose you or anyone else, but what can I do? Am I asking for too much?] she wearily said at the same time tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes.

Zhao Li Xin pulled her into his arms [No, not you!] he hugged her tightly and cried, Zhao Li Xin patted Lory's back gently [You're not asking for too much, and it's not an impossible wish either. If we all work together, I'm sure we can save your brother and find a way to save Girsha, as for me, you know how hard it is to kill me, you won't be able to get rid of me that easily....]

Lory put her arms around Zhao Li Xin's back and hugged him tightly as if she was afraid that Zhao Li Xin would disappear at any moment [Promise...]

[I promise!] Zhao Li Xin answered firmly.

After Lory calms down, she exits the mystical realm with Zhao Li Xin, and outside Fargo, Fredhardt, and Adrianne wait on the sofa while drinking tea.

"You're back!" Adrianne beamed with joy, but then she saw Lory's gloomy expression and immediately became worried. "Oh no, why are you making that face, did something happen to Luc!" She jumped to her feet.

"What happened to Luc?" Fred followed suit, he even almost knocked over the whole tea cup from the table.

Fargo, who had been relaxed, immediately froze and his expression became tense.

Lory hurriedly waved her hands to explain, "No - no - no, it's not about Luc. Luc is fine... It's about Girsha... Li Xin, can you explain it?" Lory felt her emotions already drained from the previous conversation so she didn't have the strength to repeat the story again. Lory sat on the sofa and poured herself a cup of tea while Zhao Li Xin began to explain what the fire spirit said about Girsha's condition and also the message from him.

Everyone listened attentively, their expressions became visibly heavy at the end of the story however they remained positive, cause despite the unpleasant news, at least they gained more insight into the origin of the enemy they were facing. The only problem was that they still didn't have a clue how to help Girsha get out of that place, but regardless they were glad that Lory was willing to share her troubles and they suspected that this change was brought by Zhao Li Xin as a result their good opinion of Zhao Li Xin rose another notch.

"So this is a creature from another world, huh?" Fredhardt pinched his chin as he immersed himself in his thoughts.

"It's a tree but not a tree...what the heck is that?" Fargo grumbled in annoyance.

"The bigger problem is how to save Girsha?" Adrianne knew what Girsha meant to Lory.

Lory pressed her lips into a thin line, she also didn't know how to help Girsha even though she had sworn to save him. Once again she had swallowed more than she could chew.

"Let's think about it slowly..." Fredhardt sorted out his thoughts before he spoke to Lory "The reason Girsha is there is to guard the door, right? To make sure no one comes in or out of that door, right?" "Pretty much so," Lory nodded. "...So Girsha replaced Lazarus, so that means we have to find something or someone to replace Girsha to free him, right?" Lory's eyes widened "Well that could..."

Fredhardt snorts derisively, "Where can we find someone or something strong enough to guard the place and most importantly...willing?" Fargo thought it was a ridiculous plan.

Fredhardt sneered, "You idiot, who told you to ask whether they are willing or not, after we find the replacement, we lure them to that place, trap them then pull Girsha out, and Ta-daa!"

Zhao Li Xin thought 'I like him'

"What if it's a human?" Fargo frowned.

Fred opened his arms and mocked, "No human is strong enough to guard that place, even Lucient wouldn't be strong enough, whoever is strong enough to guard that place will not be considered a human."

Fargo agreed, "Then what? Another First Kind? Another dragon, where can we find another dragon?"

Fredhardt rolls his eyes "Haven't we all thought like that and then 'boom' a black dragon as big as a mountain appears!"

"If another Dragon appears like Nazareth we will be in deep trouble!" Fargo chides.

"We already are, instead a dragon is a tree but not a tree from another world, who knows how strong that creature is," Fredhardt sneers while taking a sip of his tea.

"And what do you think we should do smart a*S?!" Fargo was angry.

"I don't know yet, musclehead!" Fred screams from behind the teacup.

"Stop screaming, you are in the presence of Her Highness Princess Lorient, where is your manner you son of bit*h!" Adrianne berated them.

"Well, that's rude.." Fargo mumbled quietly.

"You remembered I'm your son', right? "Fred's brows shot up.

" Hey Zip it!" Adrianne shoots daggers at Fargo and Fredhardt and they immediately look away and pretend to do something else.

On the contrary, Lory's mood brightened when she saw Fargo and Frehardt being scolded like when they were young, Lory never thought she would see this scene again at their age.

"Alright guys, instead of worrying about things we don't know yet, let's think about solving the obvious problem in front of us. Besides, I think we still have time. I knew that old bird wouldn't give up so easily. He's too stubborn to do that..." Lory took a deep breath.

"About making a connection with Girsha the fire spirit, give me an idea, but it will take time to realize it. But, you can let me take care of it," Zhao Li Xin spoke in a calm and steady manner.

"I trust you, man, but for now, I think we need a new plan." Fargo swept his gaze over everyone's faces.

Adrianne's brow furrowed as she thought, then she muttered as if talking to herself, "I think I know someone who is an expert on relics and ancient scriptures... let me call him." Adrian took out his cell phone, walked to the window, and started making a call.

"We also have academics and historians in our department, it's time we put the money we spend on them to good use..." Fred took out his phone and said: "I'll call the head of the national historian department to have them investigate this matter, maybe they know something or I paid them for nothing..." he hissed as he walked towards the window to get some privacy. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Fargo saw Fred's dark face and shivered "I don't want to be the head historian, right now"

"Yeah, me too" Lory remembered how strict and demanding Fredhardt could be, Lory inwardly lit a candle for all the historian departments.

As Fredhardt and Adrianne were busy making arrangements, Fargo playfully wiggled his eyebrows at Lory "Hey, do you want to go to N.I.M.S to check out what they're doing, you need a break after all"

Lory heard from Fredhardt that N.I.M.S found a new discovery about Bael so it wouldn't hurt to see how far they've come.

"I think we all need a break," Lory stroked her cheek then turned to Zhao Li Xin "Li Xin wants to come along, I'm sure you will like this place" Zhao Li Xin had long heard of N.I.M.S, so he was also curious about what this place could offer, it was undeniable that he had quite high expectations for this place. His calm expression changed little, but Lory could see it clearly. Zhao Li Xin answered flatly, "Okay..."

Fargo grinned widely as he pushed Lory and Zhao Li Xin's backs. "Come on, you'll love it too Lory, we have a new building, new machines, and some other additions including a more advanced simulator room for training with beast!"