Author: 冬瓜茶仙人 / Winter Melon Tea Immortal

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 209

Wind was the first to find Alfred and his group.

The Nawen warriors split into several small teams to search for the missing children overnight. Having lived in the forest for generations, and with their own children missing, they naturally had effective methods.

Their speed was faster than Alfred had anticipated. The magical devices had failed, but their mechanical watches were still ticking. It was just past midnight when they encountered each other.

Alfred, already brimming with anger, drew his sword without a word. Wind knew that the people of Brandenburg harbored significant hostility towards them and didn’t speak. He scanned the firelight for the two children.

The red-haired one was naughty Bee, who was curled up and seemingly asleep. The black-haired one was Night, who had quickly sat up when the Brandenburg Knights stirred, apparently uninjured.

Wind felt a sense of relief, but before he could exhale, a cold blade was at his face.

“Wind!” His companion warned, and Wind stepped back hastily. A lock of his hair, lifted by his retreat, was sliced off. He watched the knight charge forward, his heart tightening.

Such speed!

Even the child who had sat up was startled by Alfred’s ferocity. He nudged his companion, Bee, who was still dreaming and groggy as he woke.

“Night?”

The clash of metal rang out, and Bee looked towards the sound. In the limited firelight, he squinted for a while before his eyes widened.

“Ah!”

He looked excited. “The tribe has come to save us!”

Night, with a stern face, knocked him on the head. Bee saw the two adult men by the fire and realized their “hostage” status.

Spin and Shel were sitting by them. In the flickering firelight, their expressions were somewhat strange—half-smiling, half-expressionless.

Bee, a child who couldn’t hide his thoughts, held back for a while before blurting out, “Aren’t you going to help him?”

Their companion was fighting two on one, yet these two acted indifferent?

“Alfred is very strong,” Shel said kindly, tossing a branch into the fire, which crackled loudly.

Though his tone was kind, his words weren’t.

Bee was provoked. “Our warriors are stronger!”

Spin drawled, “Oh—”

Bee clenched his fists, but Night poked him in the side.

He turned back. The black-haired boy seemed oblivious to the conversation by the fire, staring intently at the fight.

“He’s really strong,” Night said.

Bee: What’s wrong with you?!

He angrily turned to watch. The Nawen warriors, stronger and more enduring than average people, were indeed fierce. But he soon understood why Night said what he did—because that knight… was truly formidable.

Wind and Willow, the warriors searching with him, were both exceptionally strong, especially Wind. Yet, despite their strength, they seemed unable to handle this knight.

As time passed, the knight gradually gained the upper hand. His long sword, like a fierce silver dragon, was unstoppable. Bee saw Willow’s sword knocked from his hand in one move.

“Willow…!” He gripped Night’s clothes, sweat beading on his forehead, then watched in shock as the fierce man threw away his own sword and charged at Willow barehanded.

Spin clicked his tongue.

Unarmed combat usually wasn’t as brutal, but Bee was still terrified. The fight ended as abruptly as it had started—at least, that’s how it seemed to him.

All three were injured, but Wind and Willow more so. Willow remained silent with a cold expression, while Wind tied up his scattered hair as he approached the fire.

Spin retrieved Alfred’s sword, crossing his arms without speaking.

“Your master is unharmed,” Wind said. “We treated him as a guest.”

Shel replied, “What else? Did you plan to throw a five-year-old into a dungeon?”

Willow: “You—”

Wind shook his head at Willow, who then glared at them but didn’t approach further, standing some distance away.

“He didn’t use lethal force,” Wind told Willow.

Spin said, “And you didn’t call for reinforcements.” Otherwise, he and Shel would have had to intervene.

“Taking Dwight’s son was our fault. The chieftain has punished the reckless tribe members. We would have returned him to make amends even if you hadn’t come.”

That sounded reasonable.

Alfred, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke. “Where is Young Master Arnie?”

Wind glanced at the children, watching the adults anxiously. “We’ll take you to him.”

The situation had taken a strange turn. Bee didn’t understand, trying to move inconspicuously closer to Wind and Willow. Seeing no objection from the strangers, he quickly ran behind Willow.

Alfred and his men didn’t fully trust the Nawen tribe just because they had taken a beating. But since they had lost their way, Wind and Willow were the quickest route to finding Arnie, so they cautiously gambled.

Willow, bruised and battered, wasn’t pleased with Bee, questioning the boys about what had happened. The more he asked, the darker his expression grew.

Bee, distracted by a squirrel, had accidentally strayed from the group—normally not a problem, as adults would always come back for them if they stayed put.

But after getting separated, Bee saw Spin and the others. The Nawen tribe were the only ones active in the forest after the elves left, and the knights’ appearance was unlike the southern people. Even children had heard about recent troubles caused by bad people infringing on the Nawen tribe. Bee, in a fit of heroism, decided to follow these suspicious men.

Night had been in the same group as Bee and was the first to notice his absence, following and getting caught up in the situation.

Luckily, both children were unharmed. Wind truly led Alfred and his men back to the settlement. After correspondence with the Imperial Capital, the informed tribesmen weren’t overly hostile to the knights. After consulting the chieftain, they led Alfred to see Arnie.

It was already the latter half of the night, and Arnie had long fallen asleep, as had Charlie, though he remained alert. Hearing some noise, he immediately opened his eyes. Since coming here, the Nawen tribe hadn’t disturbed them at night, so he was cautious as he got out of bed. He heard faint conversation outside. Though the voices were hushed, they didn’t sound furtive.

A glowing fruit always hung by the door of the wooden house. Charlie, barefoot, crossed the living room and opened the door, surprised to see a weary Alfred.

“Alfred?” Charlie tilted his head, then smiled.

The tall knight stepped into the house. Perhaps because he had just fought, his presence clashed with the fairy-tale-like cabin. “Where’s Arnie?”

Charlie led him into the bedroom, where the small boy lay peacefully asleep.

Alfred’s violent demeanor vanished. He gently lifted the blanket, carefully examining Arnie. Satisfied that the child was unharmed, he nodded, his tension easing.

They quietly exited the bedroom and talked in the small living room.

Charlie knew Brandenburg must have been frantic, so he detailed their journey and the fact that the “kidnappers” were actually just children themselves.

“Wind was right. Aside from restricting our freedom, the Nawen tribe treated us quite well,” Charlie said softly. “And I never left Young Master Arnie’s side.”

Alfred nodded. He knew Arnie liked Oscar’s stories, and with Oscar around, Arnie wouldn’t be too scared or lonely. From a quick glance, the boy hadn’t lost weight and was still clean and adorable, clearly well cared for.

“You’ve had a hard time,” Alfred said, considering Oscar a fellow victim. He scratched his head. “I don’t know what punishment awaits me, but the Duke will surely reward you when we return.”

Charlie didn’t respond to this and instead asked about the situation outside the forest.

“The Duke and Duchess should be here,” Alfred said after some thought. “We wasted a few days because of this settlement’s tricks. The magic here is blocked. Otherwise, we’d have found you sooner.”

“Magic blocked?” Charlie blinked.

Alfred was about to nod when he saw a small ball of light coming out of Charlie’s fingertips. Although it was harmless, it was definitely magic.

“I haven’t felt any restriction on magic here.” He extinguished the light. “But that doesn’t matter.”

With the Duke and Duchess here, the emissaries from the capital should soon arrive with the Nawen tribe’s treasure among the tributes.

“I’ll meet with their chieftain later,” Alfred said. “They plan to send an emissary to meet the Duke tomorrow. But we should take Arnie out first.”

“But if Arnie sees you, he might not want to leave immediately.” Charlie smiled. “He wants to go somewhere, but only if Alfred is there to protect him.”

Charlie explained the elven bloodline to Alfred.

Alfred was literate enough to understand the significance of elven relics. After some consideration, he said, “No.”

Charlie raised an eyebrow.

“We can’t let him have his way. No one knows if the hidden realm really exists. If he insists, we must ask the Duke’s permission. And the Duchess—doesn’t she also have elven blood?” Alfred said firmly. “Since you’re safe, waiting a couple more days doesn’t matter. With this news, the Duchess will surely want to come. We can discuss it then.”

Alfred’s caution was understandable. Having finally found the abducted young master, no one wanted complications. Charlie didn’t pursue the topic further and asked about the details of the magic failures.

Alfred took out the magical box meant to sync with Arnie’s earrings. “Look. It suddenly…”

He stopped because the device suddenly worked again, clearly pointing towards the bedroom.

Charlie looked thoughtfully at the device, sensing the deep magic within it. This wasn’t something an ordinary mage could make.

For such an item to lose its way…

“Alfred, did it stop working as soon as you entered the forest, or did it suddenly stop?”

“It malfunctioned midway. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have stumbled here.”

“Was there anything unusual when it failed?” Charlie pressed.

“No, it was still the three of us with the same items. It worked fine in the morning and failed in the afternoon. But now it’s fine again?” Alfred was puzzled.

Charlie thought for a long time, repeatedly asking about their day, then confirmed, “Did it fail around the time you encountered those two Nawen kids?”

“Maybe?” Alfred didn’t quite understand his point.

Charlie asked about the kids’ appearance and behavior, then smiled.

“You might end up confirming the Nawen tribe’s theft accusation,” he said.

Alfred: “?”

“There’s another treasure here besides the one the emissaries have,” Charlie said. “Be ready to negotiate with the Nawen tribe—that treasure is very important to Arnie.”

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The author has something to say:

Readers have already guessed: the skilled archer Hasting came from the forest.

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