NOVPUBChapter 728: Chapter 114: Reunion with Oswald Chapter 728 -114: Reunion with Oswald Soon, Freya located Oswald amidst the crowd.
——But she regretted it immediately.
It would have been better if she hadn’t found him at all!
On Oswald’s elderly face was a broad smile as he held a full cup of ice-cold beer, arm in arm with a young human who appeared to be in his twenties or thirties.
It was the same youth whose roaring voice had almost pierced Freya’s eardrums earlier.
“I told you so, didn’t I tell you?
Pierik is a hero!”
The youth’s face was already flushed red.
...
Clutching Oswald’s shoulder, his face was full of excited smiles, “He did it!
In the last ten minutes, scored three goals in a row, reversing——!”
Suddenly, he stepped up on the bar counter in front of the tavern—he stood with one foot on a stool and the other on the edge of the counter, as if playing an instrument, passionately waving his right hand through the air.
“Revers~ing~”
He looked at the unflappable lizardman bartender, wiping glasses, leaned in close, and sang soulfully, while the bartender tapped his right leg that was on the counter, signaling him to take it down.
Seeing that the bartender ignored him, the youth stood on one leg on the stool he had just been sitting on, raising his glass high in hand.
He spun around on the swivel chair, singing at the top of his lungs, “Rev~ers~al~”
The other patrons of the bar were egging him on, curious to see how long he could keep spinning.
Even Oswald was doing the same.
He clapped his hands with great enthusiasm and cheered loudly for him.
It was at this moment that the youth, while spinning, noticed Freya and Lily standing at the entrance.
He whistled and walked over to them.
Then, as if he were a different person, he bowed slightly—a perfect gentleman with a hand over his chest as he greeted, “Good morning to you, two beautiful ladies!
But…
have you come to the wrong place?”
“Don’t drive away my customers, Robert.”
The lizardman bartender, still calmly wiping the glasses, grumbled discontentedly, “I also serve curry fried rice here!”
“I was just wondering…
Alright, then.”
The youth named Robert looked around and shrugged his shoulders.
Without a doubt, it wasn’t even noon yet.
Basically, those who came to drink at this time were here to watch the soccer game.
In such a dark, hot, smoky, and noisy place, it was perfectly normal for young and pretty girls not to come rushing in.
It was normal for Robert to think they were lost.
But as Robert turned around, he saw Oswald looking as if he had just seen a ghost.
“Your daughter?
Or granddaughter?”
A middle-aged man nearby glanced at Freya’s slightly pointed ears, then back at Oswald and asked, “Here to see you?”
“…Not exactly, though perhaps she is here to see me.” Oswald replied somewhat awkwardly, straightening his clothes and once more assuming his composed demeanor.
But without a doubt, neither Freya nor Lily could fit the previous image of the cold and rational Oswald onto this old elf anymore.
It was as if a rigid, thin shadow-like stereotype had transformed into a living person.
…Although the feeling wasn’t unpleasant.
Oswald followed the two ladies out, and soon, the sound of the patrons’ laughter echoed from behind.
The Elf Butler bowed respectfully and politely, then clasped his hands behind his back, “It’s been a long time, Miss Freya.
Please do not take offense at their rudeness; they are all good people, with no ill intent.”
It was apparent that he still remembered Freya.
“I am certain I wouldn’t mind such things,” Freya said, arms crossed as she sized up the Elf Butler, “But you…
Old man, you’ve let your guard down.
“If it were the past, you would’ve noticed us the moment we entered.
Either way, you would have surely turned to look.”
“After all, I have aged.” Oswald sighed softly, replying, “I have come to the Second Ring to retire.”
Freya blinked in mild surprise, “It’s not easy, Mr.
Oswald.
Have you finally accepted your age?”
“After all, my mission has been accomplished,”
Oswald’s lips curled up slightly.
On that gaunt face, akin to an aging wolf, a smile that was almost never seen emerged, “Miss Yulia is now healthy, and Mr.
Aiwass no longer needs me.
Master Edward has also started on the right path, and the master has granted me my freedom…
Now, knowing that you are doing well too, nothing could be better.”
“The master…”
Lily realized something in one of the sentences, “Mr.
Oswald, does that mean you’ve found the master?”
“Yes, I found the master as soon as I arrived in the Holy Nation,”
Oswald nodded, “His Holiness the Pope tasked us with guarding the founding family of Avalon…
that guardianship should cease only with death.
But if the family we’re supposed to protect no longer needs us, then we are free.
“The master relieved me of my duties as a guardian in the name of Moriarty.
So now, I am no longer the Guardian Spirit.
I originally wanted to go back to continue protecting Mr.
Aiwass, to say my goodbyes properly, then help the young master with the succession process for the Moriarty Family, and finally find a reliable new butler for him.
But the master said I no longer needed to return to Avalon—this was his final order to me, so I had no choice.
“Suddenly finding myself idle, I was somewhat at a loss.
I wanted to see His Holiness the Pope to report my duties and ask if there was anything else I could do…
but His Holiness refused to see me.”
“…Was it a refusal, or could he not see you?”
Lily pressed.
“It was a refusal,”
Oswald added very certainly.
Because he still remembered that sentence from His Holiness the Pope—let my knight take a good rest, I don’t have much time left.
These were the words conveyed by Cardinal Matilda on her behalf.
And Oswald trusted Cardinal Matilda’s credibility.
At this thought, the old elf glanced at Lily, keenly perceiving something, “You ask this…
Has something happened to His Holiness the Pope?
“And, Lily…
since you’re here in the Holy Nation, does that mean Mr.
Aiwass is here too?”
He didn’t say much, just stated calmly, “You should be following Mr.
Aiwass.”
“Aiwass has important matters to attend to,”
Freya consoled, “He chose to go alone—it’s about time you had some faith in Aiwass, old man.
He is no longer the little boy who needs our care and protection.
As a man, he will always have things he must do on his own.
You should stop worrying about him.
“Rather than that…”
She said, looking around the streets, “Is there a suitable place here where we can sit down and talk?”
“Please follow me,”
Oswald responded.
Clearly, he had become very familiar with this place over the past few months.
Many people on the streets even greeted Oswald, and the old man with the terrifying appearance nodded politely to everyone.
The stiff, corpse-like cold expression was no longer visible.
Seeing all this, Lily felt truly relieved.
—If only Mr.
Aiwass himself could see this, she thought.
Soon, Oswald found a teahouse.
This teahouse, opened by a merchant from the Primordial Empire in the Holy Nation…
although the tea itself was stimulated by local Divine Arts, the methods of brewing and roasting the tea were traditional crafts from the Primordial Empire.
They chose a private room, and Oswald skillfully ordered a pot of tea and some pastries.
While waiting for the tea and snacks, Freya recounted to Oswald the situation they were facing now.
And the old man listened, nodding continuously, occasionally offering quite constructive suggestions— the old elf’s experience was still valuable.
Having mingled in Avalon for hundreds of years, his shrewdness was top-notch across the entire Holy Nation, even the whole world.
His usual silence was merely out of loyalty to his identity.
When everything was told, Oswald slightly furrowed his brow.
He picked up a piece of tart wild jujube cake with a fork, deep in thought.
“Cardinal Loki…”
The old elf murmured softly, “I’ve heard this name, the master mentioned it to me not long ago.”
