NOVPUB"Girl, you need to be a little wary of strangers. You even ate the barbeque just like that. Haven’t you ever thought that I could harm you?" Elysia shook her head with a subtle smile.
"I’m always wary of everyone, especially strangers. However, for some reason, I know you’re not evil, sir." Linda also wondered why.
She could tell Mister El was a powerful esper. Thus, she could do nothing if he wished to harm her either. If everything was predestined, then she only had to embrace her fate.
"I see. You have good eyes, judgement, hunch, and luck. Can you tell me more about yourself? I am a good listener." Elysia nodded in understanding.
A person can usually distinguish the good from the bad, and she knew Linda had more inner foreboding power than ordinary people.
"I’m just a poor herb picker, sir. My story may not interest you." Linda felt a little depressed and looked down.
"You might think so, but the story of the lucky and someone who has lived long enough always brings many good tales. You can go into the depths of this forest as if this place is your backyard. We can start with your life before the monster apocalypse." Elysia muttered as she stared at the heavy rain outside the cave.
"..." Linda was silent for a moment. Mister El’s voice was pleasant to hear and somehow soothed her soul.
For some reason, her mouth seemed to move by itself, and she started talking about her ordinary life to the esper she had just met.
Four years ago, before the monster apocalypse occurred, she was still a young CEO of her late brother’s company.
The Earth was expanded by 150%, and another world merged with Earth, followed by the world of ghosts and demons of hell.
As for the mutated beasts, humanity did not feel too threatened because mutated beasts were not as aggressive as otherworld monsters.
Even though the monster apocalypse occurred, her life was still not significantly affected because the monsters appeared from the distant south and the seas.
The one that changed her life drastically was her uncle’s biggest mistake. He refused to work and became lazy, but he used their assets for online gambling and was addicted to that scam.
Many people fall victim to fraudulent investments and online gambling. Her family lost everything because of that. Unfortunately, he committed suicide, leaving a huge debt and burden on her and her auntie.
She took care of her auntie alone, but her auntie’s sanity began to deteriorate as time went by.
Her only good old days were when her brother was still around. However, the people she loved left her one by one. She only had her auntie as her remaining family.
"My condolence. I didn’t expect you to have such a past. It must have been hard, but you carried through it tenaciously." Elysia patted Linda’s shoulder.
"..." Linda nodded slightly but was already sobbing a little. She never told anyone about her hardships, but she just expressed her inner heart nonetheless.
Elysia waited a few moments and handed Linda a can of warm chocolate. "Here’s hot chocolate for you. Have you calmed down?"
"Thank you, sir." Linda received the warm chocolate and took a little sip of it.
"I can see you love your family a lot. However, you live for other people. Have you ever thought about living for yourself?" Elysia heaved a subtle sigh.
"I don’t know, sir." Linda shook her head.
"Alright. The rain has stopped. Let’s head out." Elysia stood up and walked out.
"Eh?" Linda was stunned. She shared her story and didn’t realize that the storm had passed. She came out and saw that the sky was bright again.
However, she found a particular sparkling plant not far above the cave.
"Sir, it’s a super precious herb. It’s probably the A-grade flower which can be sold at a high price." Linda pulled the hem of Mister El’s sleeve and pointed upwards.
"Hou? Since you found it, then take it." Elysia glanced up and smiled faintly. It was her who put it there.
"But, sir. It’s sparkling gold in color and emits an unusual aura. I’m not sure I could survive if I brought it back." Linda was worried and anxious, knowing the danger wouldn’t always come from monsters or mutated beasts.
"Nobody will harm you with me around. Take it, and we can return immediately. The gate of hell will soon arise." Elysia raised her hand and put her arm behind her back.
Such a precious herb couldn’t even make Mister El interested. Linda was silent for a moment and nodded in understanding.
After picking the precious herb, she followed Mister El out of the forest on foot. This time, she wore no bush disguise anymore.
"Roar!" A big Javan tiger jumped from behind the bushes.
"!?" Linda stepped back and tried to protect herself reflexively with both hands.
"Get down." Elysia moved her finger upside down.
"!?" The big Javan tiger abruptly stopped and lay like a good cat on the ground. He almost messed up with the wrong people and had to show he wasn’t threatening. "Rawr."
"???" Linda opened her eyes slightly, wondering why the big tiger seemed to meow, pretending to be cute.
"Listen, tell your comrades and other beasts to evacuate this area. Migrate to the northeast, a safe place far from human territory. This forest will soon be visited by many powerful humans. The gate of hell has emerged nearby." Elysia raised her finger for attention and reminded the big tiger.
Linda had many questions in mind. That big mutated beast listened to Mister El’s words!?
"Rawr." The big Javan tiger nodded in understanding.
"Good boy." Elysia gave a head pat to the big tiger and gifted him a large piece of fresh meat.
The big Javan tiger immediately jumped away to carry out his task. It was an emergency, and he had to tell everyone to migrate as soon as possible.
"Let’s go." Elysia beckoned to Linda to follow her.
"En." Linda immediately followed.
A few moments later, the smaller Javan tiger returned and lay on the ground, asking the benefactor to climb onto his back as he wished to be the mount.
"Just this once. Take us near the forest exit. You still need to migrate northeast with the others, understand?" Elysia reminded the young Javan tiger.
The young Javan tiger nodded in understanding, and Elysia climbed onto the tiger’s back.
"Go on." Elysia stretched out her hand.
Linda was terrified, and her face turned pale, but she grabbed Mister El’s hand and hopped to the Javan tiger’s back. It wasn’t as big as the previous one, but it was still a three-meter-long tiger!
They drove quickly towards the west. After a few minutes passed, Linda felt like asking but didn’t dare to say it.
"I know you want to ask something. Say it." Elysia was amused when she saw Linda’s anxious expression.
"Sir, you are so powerful. You can even control the mutated beasts. But, what is your view on mutated beasts and monsters?" Linda braced herself to ask. Mister El could become the most dangerous esper that controlled the entire monster horde, and she was terrified by her own imagination.
"Hohoho... does that surprise you? I don’t control them. They understand what I say. Sometimes, all we need is to have a good talk with them. For some cases, you need to be wary of not beasts or monsters but the human heart." Elysia shook her head with a chuckle.
"Is that so... Linda understands." Linda nodded in understanding
Regardless, it was her first experience to ride such a dangerous mutated beast. The tiger also ran very fast...she was afraid to fall and cause trouble for Mister El. She subconsciously held Mister El tightly.
A few moments later, they arrived near the edge of the forest. Elysia waved her hand in farewell to the good tiger and wished him good luck.
After that, they went out of the forest. However, they encountered a big group of armed humans.
"Halt! Report your identity and occupation." The captain blocked the two people who had just left the forest.
"My name is El, a merchant. She is Linda, my herb picker. We just picked some flowers and grass nearby. Are you going to head out for a big mission, sir?" Elysia responded politely.
"Yes, a newbie guild has reportedly been exterminated in the forest. We need to check their situation in case there are survivors." The captain sighed.
"Sir, I bring very urgent news. Can you send someone to take us to the Esper Association’s intel?" Elysia nodded slightly.
Considering there were many people, she could use this opportunity to her advantage.
"How urgent is the information you want to convey?" The captain frowned.
"I believe some of you have seen it too. The colossal demon gretted us amidst the storm. The gate of hell has emerged. We saw it with our own eyes. The underworld will fully descend into our world in a few days. Tell the Esper Association and, if necessary, the World Unity Force." Elysia pointed to several random people and emphasized her last sentence.
"Huh!?" The captain widened his eyes in shock. He looked at his people, and some people explained it.
Amidst the storm, there was indeed a scary demon-like shadow that appeared behind the storm clouds. They never expected that the gate of hell would emerge near them!
"Then, that’s a dragon-level threat! Oh my God, we need to inform EA and WUF now!" The captain slapped his forehead and shouted out to his people. They aborted their mission and went back to their camp.
"Hmm... they didn’t even give us a word of appreciation. Well then, shall we go to your house, or do you want to sell your herbs to the market agent first?" Elysia scratched her head.
Linda was still wondering about Mister El’s real identity. She knew the merchant was just a pretext. However, he said she was his herb picker. So, he wanted to recruit her?
"I need to sell the herbs first, sir. Would you like to go with me?" Linda remembered her auntie was still waiting for her to come home with food.
