Chapter 45

"…Stopping me won’t work." Zheng Chen said indifferently. Upon hearing this, Grina’s fatigue returned, and she sighed heavily.

Lei and she were both stubborn people who refused to give up on certain matters. This was why they had many standoffs in the past. "But you are the one who can stop her the most."

"It won’t work for me."

Soft words had little effect on Zheng Chen… probably.

"You must stop her even if you can’t! You don’t know what’s in the Edel Garden! That place isn’t as glamorous as it appears on the surface." Grina said with a serious expression. "Come in first."

After pouring Zheng Chen a cup of hot tea, Grina continued, "Even if it means sealing her again, we can’t let her go to the Edel Garden!"

Sealing?

Thinking back to when he first met Lei, that state was indeed a form of sealing, but five hundred years had passed…

"Have you already encountered the organization of Orkande…?" Grina suddenly asked.

"Uh-huh."

"In fact, I suspect Orkande is the dark organization in the Edel Garden." Last night, during her conversation with Lei, she learned that Zheng Chen had not formed a pact with Lei, which was quite surprising. If Lei hadn’t detailed her journey with Zheng Chen, she would have thought Zheng Chen had some other agenda.

Because she had been betrayed by a pact partner before… she didn’t have a good impression of humans. Lei was stubborn but wouldn’t lie to her. "Let’s put the Edel Garden aside for now. Let’s talk about your matters."

Grina’s gaze toward Zheng Chen became more scrutinizing.

"…What?"

"Why do you want to go to the Edel Garden." It was a similar question to before, but the meaning was different. Lei’s reason for going to the Edel Garden was to find a holy war angel who had a significant impact on her childhood. What about Zheng Chen?

Just because Lei said it was convenient? What a joke!

"Where I go is the same." Zheng Chen replied indifferently. "In the end, I will leave this continent."

Grina raised an eyebrow slightly. Zheng Chen’s response surprised her. "Oh? To the outer realms? Do you like traveling?"

"No, I’m looking for something." Zheng Chen said. He had little hope of finding what he sought on this continent. Even in the small city he used to live in, he could find some reliable information about gods and demons. But here, there was a severe lack of high-level records, even information about so-called ‘gods’ was scarce.

"Can you satisfy my curiosity?"

"Gods."

"…" How to put it, the old lady looked at Zheng Chen with a helpless expression. She couldn’t tell that this cold-faced young man would pursue such an intangible existence. Well, gods couldn’t be completely denied… the holy war angels wouldn’t question mysterious powers.

For example, once they formed a pact with someone, they absolutely couldn’t form a pact with anyone else. There was a force in the universe that maintained this binding rule.

"This isn’t an easy task. What do you seek from ‘them’?"

"To ask how to leave this world."

"…"

This time, the old lady’s gaze toward Zheng Chen was no longer helpless but more sympathetic. So young and already wanting to leave this world? What was he thinking? Suicidal… well, it didn’t seem like that.

"I don’t quite understand what you mean."

"Literal meaning."

Grina felt she should reconsider the matter of finding a new guardian for Lei. Only someone who seemed to have nothing to live for would do something like this for Lei?

"Suicide isn’t good. You have a bright future ahead, young man."

This time, Zheng Chen was a bit surprised. It seemed the old lady had misunderstood. "It’s not about death, but about escaping this world."

"…" Grina reassessed Zheng Chen. She had seen many people with ambitions, but someone like Zheng Chen was quite rare. He didn’t seem to be a misanthrope, so why did he want to escape the world? This was something that would be hard to achieve in a lifetime.

"Are you sure this isn’t a delusion?"

"Not trying is a delusion." Zheng Chen said indifferently. "There must be a way."

Otherwise, how did he end up in this world?

"Is that so? Do you know what lies beyond the world?"

Zheng Chen thought for a moment. What lies beyond this world? Was it the wasteland he lived in or the world described by the players?

"I don’t know, but it won’t be too bad." The worst would be returning to the wasteland, or the real world where the players lived. Either way, it was better than the unknown and invisible threats in this world.

Just like now, that strange feeling of being watched came again!!

His expression didn’t change much, but his hair stood on end. It seemed that whenever he mentioned the world beyond, especially anything related to the players, this feeling would appear. The deeper he delved, the stronger the feeling became… Zheng Chen didn’t want to test the threshold.

So, he avoided mentioning it!

"I can’t say too much." After giving up on the topic, the feeling of being watched slowly disappeared.

"Although I don’t know why you have this idea, and you don’t want to talk about it, I’ll ask you one more time. Are you worth my trust!"

"Not worth it." He answered without hesitation.

"…" For a moment, Zheng Chen noticed the old lady glanced at the large sword in the room, as if she had a strong urge to use it.

"I’m about to leave here. She has already met you." Indeed, Zheng Chen had already decided to leave. Although it was hard to find a ship to the outer realms, he could still find one with some inquiries. Missing the timing would mean waiting for a long time.

Grina stared into Zheng Chen’s eyes for a while, then sighed deeply. Zheng Chen was really determined to leave. If it were a hundred years earlier, she wouldn’t have said much. Now… "Being able to see Lei again is enough for me."

She shook her head, feeling both regret and satisfaction. "I’ve lived too long. I’ve been holding on just to see Lei again. Now… I no longer have that resolve."

The knot in her heart was gone. Lei had been sealed and separated for five hundred years. Grina had always worried that Lei would hate her, even resent her and refuse to forgive her. But in reality, both of them felt guilty toward each other.

She was very satisfied with the mutual understanding, but the only regret was that Lei still hadn’t given up on going to the Edel Garden, and she hadn’t given up on stopping Lei. But as she said, she had lived too long…

Even if she could temporarily keep Lei by her side, what about after she was gone?

"Are you going to die?"

"Young people don’t know how to speak properly." Grina glared at Zheng Chen, saying irritably, "Life, aging, illness, and death—holy war angels can’t avoid it either. I’ve lived too long, and dying is normal, isn’t it?"

She was now very calm about life and death.

"…" Seeing the lack of expression on Zheng Chen’s face, Grina smiled lightly, then put on a stern face, "Brat! What’s with that expression! Lei is so cute, you should be happy!"

"I’ve never been happy." Happiness? Most of his time in the wasteland was spent thinking about how to survive and stay safe. Where was there time or opportunity to experience it?

"Don’t talk nonsense…" Grina, who didn’t believe it at first, noticed Zheng Chen’s unchanged expression and retracted her words. The young man in front of her wasn’t lying. "Alright, alright, it seems you’ve had a tough experience."

But only someone like this could make her feel at ease. Humans, though she disliked them, were a race that easily produced unique and exceptional individuals.

"Actually, it’s better that you go to the outer realms, and it’s even better to take Lei with you!" That way, Lei could completely stay away from the Edel Garden, fulfilling her last wish. As for Sia, thinking of her, Grina couldn’t help but feel some pain.

Since she went to the Edel Garden, news about her became scarce. Over the past five hundred years, Grina had also paid attention to Sia’s affairs, but learned nothing. Sia’s existence seemed to be deliberately concealed.

That was why she didn’t want Lei to go to the Edel Garden!

"She doesn’t want to."

"That’s fine!" Grina slapped the table. "Show some manliness! Just take her away by force. Once you’re far from this continent, you can unseal her. Even if she’s angry, she’ll only be stubborn for a while."

"…I don’t understand, but I feel the power." Zheng Chen thought of a term he had seen in literature that seemed appropriate here. He didn’t understand why this old lady, who clearly cared about Lei, would resort to such a relationship-destroying method. But the term ‘power’ fit well as a suffix; her tone was quite domineering.

"Ah, compared to Lei encountering danger, I’d rather use this method. I trusted the surface… back then." Grina sighed deeply, feeling conflicted and helpless. If she could, she wouldn’t do this, but Lei’s resolve couldn’t be swayed by mere persuasion. In a deadlock, she had to take drastic action.

"It won’t have much effect."

Grina lightly massaged her forehead and nodded. She had indeed been a bit hasty in her previous words. Lei had been sealed for five hundred years and still hadn’t given up her original idea. Even if Zheng Chen took her to the outer realms, would she give up?

Perhaps during Zheng Chen’s lifetime, she couldn’t return, but what about afterward? Zheng Chen was just a human, while Lei was one of the Seven Radiant Trees of the holy war angels, with a much longer lifespan, far surpassing Zheng Chen’s by many times.

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**End of Chapter**