A Core Ship From The Start

Chapter 261: Chapter 210 Witch_1

After acquiring detailed information, Duanmu Huai quickly found the Black Blade Tomb, and inside found a black blade inscribed with a certain brand. He then returned to the cabin and handed it off to Roger.

“This…!”

Looking at the black blade handed over by Duanmu Huai, Roger could hardly hide his astonishment.

“Could this be the Black Blade Brand? I didn’t expect you to actually get your hands on it…”

As he spoke, Roger gently stroked the oddly shaped black blade.

“Can you find the Rune of Death?”

Staring at Roger, Duanmu Huai asked, to which Roger nodded in response.

“To infuse the power of the Rune of Death, even though it’s just a fragment, a certain scale of ritual is needed. And the brand of the ritual will surely leave traces of the initiator…”

As he spoke, Roger reached out and placed his hand on the blade, and a flash crossed his eyes.@@novelbin@@

“I found it… I now know the identity of the mastermind of the ritual, the instigator of the Night of Conspiracy. Moon Princess – Lani, one of the children born to King Flagang and his first wife Lena Lani. Her name was hidden in the brand, and now we can confirm that she was the one leading the Night of Conspiracy, although we don’t know why she did it.”

“Lani…”

“Yes, since this princess is the mastermind of the Night of Conspiracy, then her body must bear the curse of Predetermined Death. She lives in the magic high tower behind Kalya Castle in the north of the academy, the homeland of Lani’s family – the Kalya Royal Family, so she should be there.”

After receiving the clue from Roger, Duanmu Huai and Melfy set off again for Kalya Castle, but…

“Uh… Sir Knight, the Moon Princess he mentioned, isn’t she…”

“Yes, I know. It appears this encounter might not go well.”

In response to Melfy, Duanmu Huai looked helpless. They were still unclear about the situation here, but the relationships between several characters were already clear to Duanmu Huai.

It was evident, Lena Lani, the woman living in Leila Lucalia Magic Academy, was Lani’s mother. They had barged into her mother’s house and beaten her mother. No matter how you looked at it, Princess Lani wouldn’t be happy about it.

As for the relationship between Lani and her mother, there’s no need to question it. After all, during the second phase, Lani even used magic to create a queen avatar to stop Duanmu Huai. This showed that their relationship must be quite good.

So the question was, what would a daughter think seeing strangers bust into her home and attack her deranged mother – deranged because her child was lost?

“… We should be grateful if she doesn’t throw us out directly.”

Melfy lamented helplessly, while Duanmu Huai let out a sigh.

“Look on the bright side, at least we didn’t kill her. It more or less shows our goodwill?”

“No, no, no, Sir Knight, when you were attacking her, you didn’t show any goodwill…”

“What was I supposed to do? I didn’t think this would happen…”

Although Duanmu Huai regretted it, a pity there’s no cure for regret. They headed towards the high tower behind Kalya Castle, where Duanmu Huai and Melfy met the legendary Moon Princess – Lani.

“Oh,… it’s you.”

Sitting in the chair was a petite, adorable girl. She wore a white hat and a white robe. From the surface, she was indistinguishable from a human, but the four arms extending from her oversized sleeves and the puppet limbs under her robe revealed that like Ogis, Lani in front of him was a puppet.

The gaze she set on Duanmu Huai clearly wasn’t friendly.

“Why are you here, foreigners?… I didn’t send any invitation. Are you here to knock me down and take my power just as you did to my mother?”

“Uh…”

Upon hearing Lani’s sarcastic mockery, Duanmu Huai was at a loss for words -aggressively intruding into someone’s home and beating their mother… that was a label he couldn’t shake off.

“About that, I’m sorry. I didn’t do it on purpose, but of course, I know apologies are pointless now.”

After all, there wouldn’t be any police if apologies worked.

Although Duanmu Huai is a judge, that didn’t help.

At this point, Duanmu Huai stared at Lani.

“I came here for clues about the Rune of Death.”

“Ah…”

Upon hearing Duanmu Huai’s words, Lani’s eyes grew colder.

“Seems like you’ve uncovered quite a bit… Indeed, I am Witch Lani, who stole a portion of the Rune of Death, and through a ritual, turned it into the Black Blade used for god-slaying — killing Gedwin was indeed my doing. I know why you’re here, but what you’re looking for isn’t here. I’ve already killed and discarded my original body… and the curse of the Rune of Death is inscribed upon that body.”

“Then where is this body?”

“Hmph.”

In response to Duanmu Huai’s question, Lani snorted.

“…Why should I tell you? I don’t hide my past, I don’t regret it, but I won’t offer anything just because someone asks for it. The curse you’re looking for isn’t here. I’ve said all I have to say, now leave.”

“Uhh…”

Upon hearing Lani’s dismissal, Melfy felt uneasy, and Duanmu Huai could only shake his head in helplessness. If this was in a game, this NPC’s reputation would be at least starting off unfriendly. The fact that it hasn’t plummeted to hostile is already a good thing. Despite this, Duanmu Huai won’t back down. After all, the Rune of Death is one of the things he currently wants to find most.

“I’m sorry, but I have to get the Rune of Death.”

“Oh? What do you plan to do?”

Lani raised her head, looking Duanmu Huai straight in the face.

“Do you intend to subjugate me with brute force, as you did my mother? If you want to do so, I don’t mind, but the power of Witch Lani is not so easily overcome.”

As she spoke, Lani slowly lifted her finger, a dazzling light emerging from her fingertips. A star-like brilliance surrounded Lani, and a surge of magical power welled up, spreading all around. Clearly, she was ready to fight at a moment’s notice.

“That’s not what I meant.”

Noticing the magical aura around Lani, Duanmu Huai quickly raised his hand. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t mind a fight, but having just beaten up her mother made his position a bit awkward. So, he had to try a diplomatic approach against Lani.

“I understand perfectly well that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. I have no expectation that you would accept my condition just by asking, so… could we make a deal?”

“…What kind of deal?”

“If you have something you need me to do, I can do it for you. In return, I hope you can tell me the location of the curse… How about it?”

“…”

Upon hearing Duanmu Huai’s proposal, Lani stayed silent for a moment.

“Indeed, I do have something that needs to be done. But… can a person like you, who has no loyalty, be trusted?”

“Trust is not a prerequisite for our transaction.”

Duanmu Huai shook his head.

“I won’t show loyalty or trust toward you, but as a trade, our interests match… I’ll help you, and you’ll compensate me. I think that’s enough.”

Duanmu Huai watched Lani as he spoke, this was his last attempt at compromise, but he could still abandon the deal. What the Judge aims for, you must give, whether you want to or not. If Lani still chooses to refuse, then even if his claim is weak, Duanmu Huai will have to persuade her with reason.

“Not loyalty, but a trade…”

Hearing this, Lani stared at Duanmu Huai, thought for a while, and finally nodded.

“Sure, I don’t dislike such a straightforward relationship. After all, if it’s my actions that have brought you here… this could also be considered fate. Alright, I’ll allow you to do this job for me. First, I need you to head to the Eternal City of Nokronon and meet up with a half-wolf warrior named Blazer. Find the hidden treasure within the Eternal City. As for the details, you can ask him when you arrive in the Eternal City. I’ve marked the entrance on this map.”

As Lani spoke, she waved her hand, and a map fell into Duanmu Huai’s hands.

“Alright, you can go now. I hope next time you bring good news.”

After finishing her sentence, Lani closed her eyes, clearly not intending to entertain them any further.

Although the process wasn’t smooth, Duanmu Huai got a further clue about the Rune of Death anyway. As for Lani’s assignment, Duanmu Huai didn’t mind at all.

After all, don’t players always have these kinds of chain quests in games?

To get A, you have to find B, then B gives you tasks CDE. Once that’s done, B asks you to find F to get a key for a door, and then F says that G stole the key…

Damn, if life were like this, there would be a lot of fist-fights.

Of course, if Duanmu Huai were in the game and played a cheeky little loli character, he could probably get Lani to spill the beans with just a cute gesture.

Unfortunately, he currently has a charm level of 1…

There’s no helping it. Off to do the quest he goes.