The Strange Adventures of Hearn the Believer

Page 58

"But all I could feel was the sea breeze moving."

Pandora instinctively opened his eyes and saw that the believer was still in the same place as he had said, unchanged.

“The answer is simple, because I did indeed transform myself into the wind of another kind.” After landing, the believer tapped Pandora’s hand lightly, then opened her palm, letting a wisp of shimmering blue flame burn silently.

A wisp of blue flame, identical to the one in the flame, appeared in Pandora's palm. This time, she recognized the essence of this blue flame. It was the foundation of her existence, the miracle substance defined by the Hive's central control as the Prometheus particle. In the central control's experimental records, it was almost able to mimic all things in the world, shape forms, and even create souls.

If Mr. Hearn was also a being constructed from this miraculous substance, then the principle behind his transformation of his core into pure wind element to gain the ability to fly can be understood.

Pandora pondered this.

"You, me, and her."

The woman pointed to Pandora and herself, then nodded to Aozaki Aoko, who was fast asleep on the wine table, and said softly.

"Without a doubt, this is a power that belongs only to me, something so evil that it cannot be worse than evil. In my understanding, besides me, at most only she would suffer such a terrible consequence for teaching and imparting knowledge. But now there is another one like you."

“But, Mr. Hearn, you should know—I had never met you before.”

"Yes, me too. So, you, me, and her, the three of us are now in this together. We share the same fate, and we share the same glory. We have to put aside our prejudices and go north together to dig out the answer."

Chapter 108 Transformation

Thin rays of sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, casting pale golden silhouettes that added a touch of warmth to the already desolate environment. Ancient trees grew thick and dense, blocking out the sun; a deep gray mist settled on the ground. After the canopy completely replaced the sky, the surrounding trees transformed bizarrely from their usual forms into towering giants, many hundreds of meters tall. Only true inhabitants of the Rosetta Tree Sea could understand what this Rosetta Tree Sea, which divided the southern continent, truly meant.

Pandora, a mere passerby, stood atop a giant rock in the forest. Her aura of perception swept across the area like a gentle breeze, then spread throughout a spherical space with a radius of three hundred meters. In this way, she could perceive every movement in the area. After doing all this, she nimbly leaped down from the rock.

The former mage/now foreign devil was leaning against the giant rock, quite close to where Pandora had landed. He nodded slightly to her as a greeting.

Since the party the night before, Mr. Hearn's friend seemed to have let go of his subtle prejudice against Pandora, and even when they were alone, his attitude became much more amiable.

The day after the banquet, just as Mr. Hern had predicted, the princess from the Far East organized a group of over a hundred people and quietly set off that night. Carrying the trading caravan credentials belonging to the Gozan Dragons, she left the Silver Harbor where she had stayed for many days, heading north and directly through the man-made plains. She finally disappeared completely into the depths of the Rosetta Forest before dawn.

Saint Joshua and the landlady of the Cloud Inn naturally accompanied the group, while Mr. Hearn...

"Miss Aozaki, why would Mr. Hearn lead a small team independently from the main force?" Pandora asked again, bringing up the current situation with a question in her mind.

"I don't know either. There are many possible answers, but I'm too lazy to delve into it." Qingzi shook her head, not particularly concerned. "He'll tell me when the time comes."

"It seems that Miss Aozaki really trusts Mr. Hearn."

Pandora's gaze shifted from her to the makeshift camp twenty meters away, where the believer Hearn was leading the white fox Yonglin, one rubbing and the other blowing, as they vigorously pounded a tree stump in front of them.

As noon approached, the team, who had traveled through the night, decided to take a short rest and set up camp. Meanwhile, Mr. Hearn, who had been chatting with the white fox about some strange topic along the way, found some materials and began to try making fire by friction, a survival skill that was practically useless in the mysterious world.

As for the fifth person in the group—Deedlit, the woodland elf who had previously stood Hearn up—she was also a troublemaker who didn't mind making things worse. After the incident, instead of stopping them, she sat aside and watched with great interest.

After realizing that more than half of the team were eccentric, and knowing that there was no point in trying to stop them, Aoko simply relaxed and went off to slack off on her own, which led to the scene before her.

"Trust?" Aoko's gaze lingered for a moment on the busy oddball over there before returning to the girl beside her. "I've been meaning to say this before, Miss Reinhardt, you always seem to be easily misled by appearances."

“Just call me Pandora. That way, it's easier to distinguish me from that Far Eastern princess and avoids unnecessary misunderstandings.” Pandora calmly corrected a certain form of address, then asked matter-of-factly, “Why do you say that?”

“Then I’ll do the same for you. Just call me Aoko, like that guy does. As for why? Well, given our current state, that’s hardly convincing, but considering we were both once human.” Aoko sighed inexplicably, her mood momentarily dropping, but she quickly masked it. “Human relationships are very complex and troublesome. Two close friends who get along well might reveal their true intentions the moment they shake hands, while two lifelong rivals might secretly be life-and-death friends who can entrust their backs to each other. So, Pandora, don’t jump to conclusions about the relationship between two people, at least not until you truly understand them.”

“I understand. In other words, Miss Aoko and Mr. Hern don’t actually have a good relationship. In fact, you two are secretly looking for an opportunity to get rid of each other.” Pandora understood and nodded thoughtfully.

Is this girl's brain filled with diodes?

Aoko swallowed those words, trying to maintain a calm and composed demeanor, and denied it, saying, "No, it's not that exaggerated, Pandora. You have to understand that this world has long since moved beyond binary oppositions. There are many ambiguous points between the two extremes."

What does "ambiguity" mean?

"It means that I myself don't know."

"I understand."

"Ha, you understand again. What I mean is you misunderstood again, Pandora." Aoko's hard-won composure was once again swayed by the little girl beside her. She always felt that this girl's mental age was pitifully young, far less mature than her outward appearance. In fact, the so-called maturity of her appearance was only relative to her mental age. Pandora looked at most fifteen years old. Back in Aoko's time, girls of that age were still in junior high school and were still innocent and naive.

"Ahem." As if to get the conversation back on track, Qingzi deliberately cleared her throat. "In short, my relationship with him is neither as optimistic as you imagine, nor as pessimistic as you think. If I had to describe it, it would be that we've met twice by chance, and are just passersby with a bit of a connection. In fact, we've only interacted for a total of two weeks, and there were even gaps of four and twelve years between us. There's an old saying that goes, 'A gentleman's friendship is as light as water,' and I think that's a very apt description."

After saying this, Qingzi patted the little girl's shoulder with a mature air, turned around and strode towards the temporary camp. Her red hair flying in the wind made her look particularly dashing.

“I understand, but if it’s as bland as water, why did you pretend to be asleep after only having two drinks the night before last, Miss Aoko?”

The little girl's voice, mixed with strange yet familiar grammar, floated lightly from behind, as unreal as the wind. Qingzi, who had only taken two and a half steps, stumbled upon hearing this.

The next moment, she followed the exact footprints she had just left and walked back, her face now showing a bright but forced smile.

"Pandora, how did you know?" Aoko asked the little girl, speaking slowly and deliberately as she leaned closer to her face.

“Miss Aoko is a living humanoid being, and any living being has a heartbeat. By comparing her heart rate before and after, it’s easy to conclude that you are faking sleep.” Pandora stated naturally and frankly that this was one of the applications of Prometheus particles in the field of intelligence gathering, and after careful consideration, she left out the second half of the sentence, “Mr. Hearn can certainly do that too.”

"Pandora, can you forget about this?"

“Targeted memory modification requires additional energy, while long-term maintenance requires more reserves.”

"Well, name your price, Pandora."

"?"

"Even before the collapse of dualism, I mean during my student days, equivalent exchange was one of the few principles I advocated. If used properly, it could often save a lot of unnecessary trouble."

Having readjusted her emotions, Qingzi appeared sincere and confident of victory. After catching 665 fish and living off others for many years, the result was that the number of items she possessed had reached the peak of her life. Picking out one or two items to satisfy this curious young girl and divert her attention should not be difficult.

"I understand."

Pandora rested her thumb on her chin in a thoughtful gesture, seemingly already interested and beginning to assess the feasibility of the deal.

"Oops!"

“MxtherFxxk!”

Boom!

Boom!

Just as this strange combination of foreign devil and android was whispering and making a clandestine deal in a corner, a cry of alarm came from the direction of the temporary camp, followed by a refined and gentle foreign voice, a dull thud of metal colliding, and a belated thud as someone collapsed to the ground.

Rewind five seconds. On one side of the temporary camp, the white fox Eirin was lying by a tree stump, puffing out her cheeks and blowing into a pile of sawdust. Meanwhile, Mr. Hearn, who had somehow gotten into the urge to try making fire by rubbing wood together, was the one rubbing the awl until sparks flew. And squatting to the side, cheering her on, was the mischievous forest sprite, Deedlit.

Just as the wood chips were about to ignite with sparks and lightning, the awl, unable to withstand the strain at the last moment, broke in two with a snap. The lower half, still carrying momentum, nearly pierced Yonglin's cheek as he puffed out his cheeks and blew air into them, scaring him so much that he quickly ducked to the side.

Whether it was the anger from all the wasted effort or the instigation from Lin Jing, which made him furious, Mr. Hearn, after all his efforts were in vain, pulled a hollow steel pipe from the warp rift that was perfect for a street brawl, swung it in a full moon, and threw it at the old wooden stakes in front of him—the pipe bounced back intact and hit him right in the face.

After a muffled thud, amidst the swaying laughter of the forest spirit and the exclamation of the white fox, Mr. Hearn fell straight backward, his face filled with utter despair.

As for the two people who happened to be twenty meters away and witnessed the end of the farce...

"I take back what I said, Pandora. It's not you with diodes in your head!" Aozaki Aoko immediately abandoned her business, uttered a nonsensical remark, and turned to run towards the camp. "It's that idiot!"

Pandora watched her run back to the camp, then grabbed her by the collar like a dead dog and gave her a good scolding.

From afar, one could hear intermittent, amusing remarks such as "You idiot with diodes in your brain," "There's a limit to experiencing life," "Why take so long to light a fire with magic?" "The scenery along the way can't fill your stomach," "Make sure you get the result before you look at the scenery," and "It's almost lunchtime!" Interspersed among these were the Lin Jing's uncontrollable laughter that cracked her voice and the White Fox's earnest advice.

Pandora Reinhardt stood at a distance, silently observing everything that was happening in the forest. Suddenly, as if sensing something, she gently brushed her finger across the corner of her lips, confirming that a subtle smile was playing there.

Chapter 109 Candy

Pandora stared down at the ten raspberries in her hand. In her informational world, they were the fruits of a pale golden woody plant belonging to the genus Rubus of the Rosaceae family. They were clustered together, possessed certain pharmacological value, and had a sweet and sour taste. This plant typically bears fruit in mid-February and its leaves fall off completely in early June, entering dormancy.

After entering the Rosetta Forest, the moderating effect from the ocean gradually diminished, and the group found themselves deep in the forest, where sunlight rarely reached. The cold wind blowing through the trees brought a long-awaited year-end greeting.

In other words, these berries are not a gift of nature, but a creation of divine magic.

The berries were provided by the druid from the Sea of ​​Trees. Just moments before, Eirin had put an end to the unexpected commotion with her actions.

"Here, these are fruits made with divine berry magic. One fruit is enough to fill your stomach for a day. They can also have a slight healing effect when you are weak. But don't have too high expectations. Oh, and these berries can only be kept for one day at a time. They will expire after that. Everyone, take ten berries with you for now."

After his attempts to mediate the fight failed, Eirin finally realized that the witch accompanying him was more interested in dealing with the people who created the problems than solving them. So, in order to completely quell the storm, he had no choice but to take the initiative and solve the problem at its source, which led to the scene of him using divine magic.

Pandora took the berries from the druid's hand, secretly admiring his kindness while also feeling a little guilty—in her opinion, the only ones in the group who truly needed to eat to maintain their strength were this young druid and the swordswoman watching the show. Of the remaining three, Pandora considered herself an emotionless silicon-based being and naturally didn't need to eat. As for the other two, namely Miss Aozaki, who was currently grabbing Mr. Hearn's collar, and Mr. Hearn, whose collar was being grabbed by Miss Aozaki, as far as Pandora knew, the act of eating was a far greater spiritual need than a material one for them.

As for conflicts, those were even more ephemeral. Just as Eirin turned her back to distribute fruit to Deedlit, Pandora clearly saw Miss Aozaki steal a glance at Mr. Hearn, who casually raised his hand and gave her an "OK" sign to indicate that everything was alright.

Considering Ms. Aozaki's inexplicable behavior the other day—specifically, the incident where she instinctively tried to close the door and trap the big-tailed fox in the doorframe the moment she opened it for Eirin—Pandora easily drew a conclusion that lacked credibility.

Miss Aozaki had a past conflict with Mr. Eirin, but Mr. Eirin seems to have forgotten about it.

Pandora nodded knowingly, then tried putting a berry into her mouth.

very sour.

It is too sweet.

A small raspberry doesn't have much of a physical presence; after the slightly sour juice spreads between your lips and teeth, what remains is a long-lasting sweet aftertaste.

A moderate amount of sweetness can evoke a slight sense of happiness, which often occurs when a person is feeling down. However, when a person is feeling anxious or manic, sweetness can also soothe their emotions to some extent.

For example, now.

The five-person team continued their leisurely northward journey through the forest. With the trees now so enormous, the issue of paths had become irrelevant. Fortunately, all members of the team were well-suited to this complex, densely vegetated environment. The two native inhabitants of the forest were unburdened by their native surroundings, while the remaining three were practically non-human; their dispersed blue particles, covering hundreds of meters, served as the team's eyes and ears hidden within the dense forest—a task previously assigned to Pandora.

Aoko walked silently to the second-to-last place in the line, trying to shake off the last bit of anxiety from her emotions.

The forest spirit, familiar with the terrain, led the way at the front, while the relatively fragile druid followed in second place. Behind them was Pandora, whose location was still unclear and who was currently acting as a radar. Aoko glanced back and saw Shinjo, alone at the very back of the group, engrossed in writing with a pen in her other hand, seemingly oblivious to the impending fall.

"What are you doing now?" Qingzi asked, glancing sideways.

"Hmm? Oh, that? I'm thinking about how to build an adventurer team from scratch." The woman, interrupted from her thoughts, snapped back to reality, her gaze still fixed on the paper as she answered casually.

"Huh? Haven't we already hastily assembled a makeshift team?"

“You know it’s just a makeshift team, huh?” Xin Nu rolled her eyes and continued, “With this team right now, if something goes wrong, it’ll just be another makeshift team where everyone fights their own battles. Of course, I don’t mean to question the members’ abilities, I just want to clarify everyone’s roles.”

“Okay, then tell me about it.” Qingzi became interested in the topic. “It’s rare to see you do something worthwhile.”

"It's as if I did something inhuman before."

"That's right, you never used to do anything that involved people."

"Tsk."

"Would you like me to imitate it on the spot?"

"Well, a basic team consists of the well-known warrior-mage-priest trinity. Adventurers with the means can supplement the team around this trinity, such as adding a rogue skilled in craftsmanship, or a sharpshooter skilled in reconnaissance and eliminating enemies from a thousand meters away."

Just before the tide of the conversation was about to turn against her, the woman decisively cleared her throat and began a long, drawn-out description to change the subject.

"These are all very ancient basic professions, and their counterparts can be found in many Netherworlds. Although occasionally, due to the prevailing trends of the world, there may be situations like a mighty paladin and his four grooms, or an omnipotent mage and his four dogs, it's not really an occasional occurrence. In fact, I think you should understand after doing business for so many years that the arcane and holy light energy domains are the mainstream in most thriving Netherworlds. The reason is simple: the rest are either too balanced to have any presence, or too obsessed and destroyed civilization early on, leaving everyone as wasteland bottle cap bastards. So let's not distinguish between high and low, noble and base."

"It's so great to hear you talk so much after all these years. I feel like my anxiety is almost cured."

"Wait a minute, you weren't this sarcastic person before. Although you were a high school girl who seemed to have a tendency to commit crimes against minors when we first met, you were undoubtedly a very mature adult the second time. You were a senior in life who was someone people could look up to. How come you've suddenly reverted to this?"

"Whether it was the first or the second time, I lived my life step by step according to my life plan for the next hundred years and became the person I expected. As for now, who do you think is to blame for this unplanned situation?"

"Don't tell me you planned your retirement when you were a teenager."

"of course."

"you"

"Hey, didn't you plan this out?"

"I'm sorry, when I was a teenager, I was obsessed with slaying demons and monsters and never thought about what would happen after I died."

"Mr. Hearn, what do you mean by 'later years'?"

"You don't exist. Also, children shouldn't interrupt adults. Focus on the road, Pandora."

The believer squinted and tossed a raspberry into the air, which landed steadily on Pandora, who was secretly eavesdropping in the front row. However, the raspberry was intercepted by the witch in the front row during its flight.

"Do not waste food, and never bully children, my believer."

After finishing her lecture, Aoko casually put a strawberry in her mouth, but then frowned slightly.

The taste that bursts forth on the tip of the tongue is not the sweetness of before, but rather the blandness of cooled boiled water.

Raspberries are a divine creation of nature, beautiful and inexpensive. The only difference is that the flavor of each batch is random, which relatively completely recreates the entire process from fruition to decay.

For some reason, the woman received the last batch, the last flavor before it spoiled. Aoko reached out and swatted away the remaining eight raspberries in his hand, then took four from her own palm and gave them to him. She then looked suspiciously at the white fox walking in front, recalling the scene when the woman had given her the raspberries under the pretext of "ladies first".

"Who just said not to waste food?" The believer chuckled as she popped a berry into her mouth, the sweetness of the wild fruit putting her in a good mood. "Besides, don't overthink it. There's nothing wrong with him. He's just too kind, and he's a little annoyed by what you did to me just now."

"Is she really okay?" Aoko asked, still unwilling to give up.

“He’s really fine.” The believer nodded gently, but then sighed with a hint of melancholy. “I’ve already confirmed that the name and appearance are just coincidences of elements rearranged in a random order. At most, they can only be considered identical. In short, he’s not the old friend we know, so let’s not try to outsmart thin air.”

"Okay, whatever you say. Let's continue our previous topic: the division of labor within this team."

Chapter 110 finalized

When the conversation resumed, the believer's voice had switched to an encrypted channel. Unlike the previous casual chat, the following topic had a strong foreign flavor, and it didn't seem like something a Gozan dragon and a Rosetta red wolf should be talking about. If the three people with super hearing overheard this, it could easily cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

"To be honest, I'm starting to regret having you two mimic Rosetta people. While your appearances are natural and plausible, you'll easily give yourself away in front of the locals when it comes to cultural common sense. Although most people won't suspect you're counterfeit, you'll still be seen as weirdos."

The believer stared at the big red wolf and the little gray hat in front of her, and felt a phantom pain in her forehead.