Chapter 85: Broken Futures and Hidden Clues

“Uncle, what did you see just now? You seem rather distressed.”

While Qing Yu hummed a tune, awaiting Aldoran, Forseti, the cloaked young woman, drew Eden aside and quietly questioned him about the sculpture.

“This…” Eden appeared somewhat troubled.

“What is it, Uncle? Please, speak your mind; I will listen attentively.”

Noticing Eden’s difficult expression, Forseti seemed to guess something, yet she did not relent. Instead, she pressed her hand onto Eden’s shoulder and continued her inquiry.

“It’s alright. Even if what you saw might cause me sorrow, please tell me. I can bear it.”

“We have failed countless times, haven’t we?”

“Even if we fail this time, it won’t matter. As long as we live, we still have a chance, Uncle.”

“……”

Eden bowed his head.

“Indeed, we have failed tens of thousands of times…”

“Yes,” Forseti smiled gently then, and Eden understood that she was trying to comfort him.

“Please tell me, Uncle, about the sculpture, about Lady Mimir’s prophecy.”

Finally, under her patient gaze, Eden gathered his courage and spoke, meeting Forseti’s eyes.

“This time, Lord Odin’s and Lord Frigga’s future, it also…”

But then, Eden frantically shook his head.

“No, it’s not the same. This time, it’s different…”

“What about their future?”

Forseti looked at Eden, having thoroughly prepared herself mentally to accept whatever words might escape his lips.

Eden, for his part, strove to maintain his composure, ensuring Forseti could hear every single word he uttered.

“Their future, here, was broken…”

In that instant, the air seemed to halt, and Forseti stared at Eden in astonishment, her eyes wide with disbelief.

“Are you saying they lost here? Lost to Fafnir?”

“No, that’s not it, little Fan…”

“But we are all here. Even if they couldn’t defeat Fafnir, there’s Roalsa, and there’s me. Fafnir is certainly no match for me, so how could they possibly…”

Forseti paid no heed to Eden’s words, her mind overwhelmed with shock. Before she could voice her torrent of questions, Eden interrupted her.

“No, it’s not Fafnir, little Fan. This time is different, listen to me.” Eden hastily calmed Forseti’s thoughts.

“This time, the one who killed them was not someone else, but—”

“Mimir…”

“Mi…” Forseti recoiled a step, swallowing repeatedly, her lips slightly parted and trembling softly. Several times she tried to speak, but no sound emerged. She simply stared at Eden, her very eyes quivering.

“But, but I’ve already guided Lord Odin and the others to meet Mimir.”

“How could this be possible? How could Mimir possibly…”

“Eden! Aldoran is back!”

Before Forseti could fully grasp the situation, Qing Yu cheerfully ran up behind Eden, patted his shoulder, and interrupted his conversation with Forseti.

Eden immediately donned a smiling face again, turning to give Qing Yu a V-sign.

“Alright, no problem. I’ll be right over after a few more words.”

“Hurry up, we’re waiting for you.” Qing Yu nodded quickly, leaving Eden’s side before even finishing his sentence.

At that moment, Eden turned, swiftly pressing a golden apple, shimmering with magical radiance, into Forseti’s hand and giving her a meaningful look.

“I’ll go join Aldoran and the others first. I had originally intended for you to stay a few more days, but that might not be possible now. I’m entrusting you with Lady Mimir’s matter, little Fan. Please, you must find Lady Mimir as soon as possible.”

“This time, we cannot dwell on recreating past events. They should not meet Lady Mimir, absolutely not…”

“Please clarify what exactly happened with Lady Mimir before we defeat Fafnir.”

Forseti accepted the apple and nodded.

“Understood. I will find Mimir as quickly as I can. Until then, I will maintain contact with you through Ratatoskr.”

“Also, I am entrusting Durandal to you. Please use it for self-defense.”

Having said this, Forseti wasted no more time, turning directly to leave the paleontology museum. Eden, meanwhile, headed in the opposite direction to rejoin Aldoran and her companions.

****

Late into the night, at the inn, Roalsa, Olivia, and Aldoran had gathered at Aldoran’s summons to discuss the matter of Fafnir.

Roalsa and Aldoran had failed to locate any museum staff, returning empty-handed that day. Olivia’s knight order had also yielded no useful clues, leaving them to rely solely on Qing Yu and Eden to share whatever information they possessed.

“Um, actually, I’m not sure if this information will be useful. Just think of it as listening to a story, everyone.”

It was Qing Yu’s first time speaking before so many people, and he couldn’t help but feel nervous, even stammering a little.

“Relax, take your time.”

Aldoran gently squeezed Qing Yu’s hand, and only then did he feel slightly better.

“So, um, do you all think there’s a possibility of ancient creatures being resurrected?”

“The possibility of ancient creatures being resurrected?” Liliya immediately scoffed at Qing Yu. “How could that be? Even an uneducated illiterate like me knows ancient creatures absolutely can’t be resurrected. What nonsense are you talking about?”

At Liliya’s mockery, Qing Yu’s face immediately flushed, and he squirmed uncomfortably.

“Liliya dear, shhh.” Thrud instantly covered Liliya’s mouth, whispering a gentle reminder in her ear, “Actually, there are such theories in academic circles.”

“Eh?”

Liliya stopped laughing, surveyed everyone, and then, with an awkward expression, fell silent.

At this point, Eden took over from Qing Yu.

“You all know about Arebos, right? The ultra-ancient dragon race, colossal dragons existing only in legend.”

Everyone nodded, save for Liliya.

“Does Liliya dear need a refresher?”

“No, no need!” Liliya’s face immediately reddened. “I, I know! I’ve heard the elders of my clan speak of it!”

A faint smile played on Eden’s lips.

“Good, then.”

“The reappearance of Arebos, a colossal dragon long thought extinct, has stirred a massive storm in every aspect. Before this, the academic community consistently believed such dragons should have vanished long ago.”

“Following Arebos’s emergence, theories suggesting certain ancient creatures never truly went extinct have proliferated.”

Roalsa’s fingers gently stroked her lips as she listened intently to Eden’s explanation, nodding in approval now and then. The moment she heard Eden’s words, she immediately thought of the Fafnir race’s remains in the paleontology museum. Thus, after Eden finished, Roalsa was the first to pose a question.

“Are you suggesting that dragon might be an unextinct member of the Fafnir race?”

‘No, not “might be,” but “definitely is,”’

Eden had intended to tell Roalsa as much, but considering that Roalsa and the others were, after all, merely humans, incapable of possessing the same vast accumulation of knowledge as someone who had lived countless years, he ultimately kept the words to himself.

“Yes, indeed, I believe that is highly probable.”

“Then, where is the evidence? You haven’t seen it with your own eyes; you’ve only heard bits of information from us,” Olivia questioned second. “We need proof. Even if it is true, we need evidence to substantiate it, especially since you only know that bandit leader is called Fafnir.”

Aldoran was thinking similarly. Although the gem on her bracelet pulsed faintly, and her intuition wildly hinted at a connection between the young woman and the Fafnir race, Aldoran dared not draw any conclusions just yet.

“Hmm…” Eden found himself unable to prove his words. Explaining everything clearly to mortals was simply too difficult; in Eden’s eyes, everyone present was as innocent as a child.

Aldoran, perceiving Eden’s struggle to substantiate his theory, proactively stepped in to assist him.

“Let’s set aside the evidence for a moment, Mr. Eden. Please continue to tell us about Fafnir. This might provide us with future clues.”

Roalsa and Olivia echoed her sentiments simultaneously.

Olivia and Aldoran differed from Roalsa; while Roalsa relied on intuition to suspect a connection to the Fafnir race, Olivia’s knight order had found no leads, compelling her to investigate the relationship between Fafnir and the Fafnir race as their only recourse.

This was their only option for now.

“I know I’m speaking without proof. So, let me describe a few characteristics. Aldoran dear, Roalsa dear, Qing Yu dear, I’m relying on those of you who have seen Fafnir to recall carefully if there are any commonalities between her and the Fafnir race.”

“First, there are the Fafnir race’s distinctive red pupils.”

“Many Midgardians also have red pupils,” Aldoran and Qing Yu exchanged glances, both simultaneously affirming “True.” Roalsa, however, waved her hand.

“She was asleep at the time, so I didn’t see.”

“It’s alright,” Olivia patted Roalsa’s shoulder. “It’s enough that Qing Yu and Aldoran saw.”

“Mm-hm, yes, yes. The second point is the dragon horns that grow forward in a winding fashion, with many turns…”

This time, the three remained silent.

“The third point is the wings. The Fafnir race’s wings are pure black, bearing unique patterns, and typically feature eye-like red structures at their tips.”

Having finished, Eden looked at the three, awaiting their replies expectantly.

Qing Yu lifted his head, pondered for a few minutes, then met Eden’s gaze.

“Um, I’m sorry, I was too nervous then and didn’t notice.”

“No problem, no problem.” Eden then looked at Aldoran, whose reply was identical to Qing Yu’s.

“I see, I see.” Eden maintained his smile, showing no sign of discouragement. “What about Roalsa dear?”

Roalsa also thought for a few minutes, then revealed an embarrassed expression.

“The light was a bit dim then, and I only got a rough look.”

This made things rather difficult. Since none of the three had noticed this particular characteristic of Fafnir, Eden could only set it aside for the moment and continue describing the subsequent features.

“Fourth, the Fafnir race’s tail has barbs at its tip, like a scorpion’s, and their tails are segmented, each section a dark purple, resembling metal.”

On this point, the three also had not noticed.

The subsequent characteristics Eden described either belonged to Fafnir after dragonification, or they were too subtle to be easily discernible. After a thorough analysis, only a few of the observed characteristics could be confirmed.

“What do we do now?” Thrud looked at everyone.

“How about I go and take a look?”

“That’s too dangerous, Thrud,” Qing Yu quickly advised. “That fellow’s strength is formidable; we can’t act rashly.”

For a moment, silence descended upon them. They knew too little about an opponent of this caliber to formulate an accurate counter-strategy, and rash action would be tantamount to suicide.

“It’s alright, don’t I still have a plan?”

Just as everyone was deliberating on a countermeasure, Roalsa suddenly conceived a plan and stood up abruptly, an action that immediately drew all eyes to her.

“I have a way, Olivia. After I emerged from the cave, I mentioned a young man named Brunhilde to you, didn’t I?”

Roalsa gave Olivia a thumbs-up and a wink, looking incredibly confident.

Olivia pondered, feeling as though Roalsa had never mentioned that name, but soon, Roalsa continued speaking on her own, interrupting Olivia’s thoughts.

“It’s alright if you can’t recall. You all just need to know one thing: that young man is in Fafnir’s cave, and Fafnir considers him her wife. So, I played along and gave the young man a small teleportation stone, which can be used to transmit messages.”

“Are you saying…” Aldoran was the first to react. She looked up at Roalsa, who displayed a triumphant smile.

“Precisely. We can use him to—”

“—obtain information about Fafnir.”