Chapter 191: Savior (1)

Kendrick and Lavina. Despite not meeting Louis, they would have been comrades if it weren’t for him. Paradoxically, their meeting was made possible thanks to Louis.

Shhhk!

“Huh? Sir!”

“Louis!”

“Louis is here!”

“Ma’am!”

The twins had returned to their quarters after completing their daily assignments, with Tania and Fin chatting beside them. As soon as they spotted Louis, they swarmed around him like children greeting parents returning from work.

But then, they froze.

All eight eyes were drawn to the small, fluffy white ball nestled in Louis’s arms.

Tania’s eyes visibly lit up at the sight of the kitten, her excitement seemingly inappropriate for the occasion.

“W-wow! What is that? Oh my god, it’s adorable!”

Completely smitten by the chubby little fluffball, Tania reached out instinctively.

And then…

Thwack.

Kriiiiiscshhh!

Nabi angrily swatted away Tania’s hand, as if indignant at her presumption. When Tania clutched her hurt hand with a wounded expression, the twins recognized this distinctive behavior and eagerly leaned forward.

“Huh?”

“Could it be?”

Feeling under their intense gazes, Nabi flinched slightly. Memories from the past flickered through his mind.

250 years ago, on Mount Kasik Torra:

“KRRRRRRAAHHH!”

Nabi had charged at humans, mistaking them for post-meal snacks. Back then, he was unaware that what he thought were mere mouthfuls were actually monsters capable of swallowing him whole.

THUMP!

That day, as a young cub, he had been beaten black and blue by the fists of children and knocked unconscious.

The jumbled fragments of memory materialized, casting their shadows upon the twin’s faces as they gazed at him.

And in an instant, realization struck.

These were the very creatures who had menaced him twice before.

“Hey… Aren’t you Nabi?”

As Kani approached, Nabi couldn’t help but notice her outstretched hand. His survival instinct trumped his pride in this moment.

Shlick.

Kani’s hand was moistened with his saliva, and she looked at Nabi fondly. Khan gently stroked his head.

Lavina, witnessing this scene, could only stare in disbelief, her jaw dropping open.

I-impossible…

The Nabi who had ruled like an emperor over his own kind. Now here he was, behaving like a docile pet cat, licking hands with fervor.

While Lavina stood transfixed, her mind reeling from the surreal turn of events…

“Oh? You’re here?” Kendrick, who had just entered from outside, was delighted to see Louis.

His gaze then shifted towards the small woman standing idly to the side.

”…”

”…”

Their eyes met, creating an interesting sight: the Encounter between Sword Saint and the Lady of Waters.

What will happen now?

Louis had brought Lavina here for this exact purpose. In the original story, these two were destined to become companions. How would they react to meeting in this new world where their fates had changed? Would this new destiny lead to some kind of ‘interaction’ between them?

Kendrick and his comrades shouldn’t meet their past selves again.

After all, coincidences are unpredictable. If Kendrick and his former companions were to coincidentally reunite and cause an ‘unknown effect,’ it wouldn’t bode well for Louis.

And what if Kendrick and Elvis were to meet?

After all the effort I’ve put into this one, I can’t let it all go to waste.

That’s why Louis was conducting this experiment with Kendrick and Lavina—to prevent any potential problems before they could arise.

Louis quietly observed them, eager to see how these two heroes would react.

At the end of a brief silence, Kendrick spoke first.

“Teacher, this beggar… um… who are you?”

Initially unreactive to being called a beggar, Lavina turned her gaze away from Kendrick’s stare. But there was no one else around. Realizing then that he meant her, her face crumpled into a scowl.

She glared at Kendrick and screeched, “What makes you call me a beggar?”

“The one yelling right now.”

“How am I a beggar?!”

“No matter how I look, you seem like one.”

Her appearance, covered in mud after rolling around in the sludge, was indeed the face of a beggar. Lavina’s face reddened as she finally realized her state.

“H-have you ever seen such a pretty and cute beggar?”

“I see one now. Cute, yes, but not so pretty.”

“Um… really? Thank… no, wait, what did you say?”

Seeing Kendrick hold his ground in the argument, Louis let out a snicker.

No need to worry then.

In the original story, Lavina often complained about Kendrick, almost as if looking for a fight.

Kendrick had always been the recipient of Lavina’s sharp tongue. Kendrick, ever the quiet and reserved one, would simply smile and brush her barbs aside no matter what she threw at him.

Yet, though Lavina’s personality remained unchanged from the original, Kendrick’s had undergone a transformation.

As Lavina ranted, Kendrick merely rubbed his ears, a look of utter indifference on his face.

“Is your ear blocked? Because I won’t repeat myself.”

“T-This…”

Lavina couldn’t contain her indignation any longer and exploded.

Witnessing this, Louis couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly.

Well, well, I know who raised these twins!

Kendrick, noticing the brotherly resemblance between Louis and himself, always ended up bearing the brunt of Tania’s frustrations. This, however, was less about Kendrick’s own shortcomings and more a result of his companions’ overwhelming personalities.

With his upbringing under Louis’s tutelage and occasional turn of a blind eye, Kendrick had developed quite the eloquence. It was much like Pablo, for instance—back home he suffered Louis’s unilateral dominance but made up for it by playing out the role of a sophisticated warrior to the world.

For some reason, the discussions between these “teammates” always turned into argument.

“Sir Louis, I’m back!”

Pablo burst through the door. He noticed the standoff between Lavina and Kendrick,

“And who is the little pissant dressed in rags?”

“…” Not even the dwarves spared her any respect.

“Hnn…”

Her Nabi had been taken away, Louis was ignoring her…

“Hnnn…”

The shame and embarrassment built up. Then…

“Hnnnngh…!” She broke down weeping.

“Ahaaahhh!”

“…”

The others stared at her morosely.

Three days had passed since Louis brought Lavina to the Holy Land.

On the first day, she had been beyond herself with grief and wailed uncontrollably. Now…

“Big sister, oh my! Kani-bonchan, you’re so pretty. Look at that skin!”

“She’s got keen eyes, our little sis. Heh-heh.”

Lavina trailed after Kani like a chick following its mother.

And it wasn’t just Kani.

“Khan-oppa, please try some of this!”

“Sure, thanks.”

Out of nowhere, Lavina had appeared with a snack for Khan. Next, she set her sights on Pablo.

“Oh wow, Pablo-jüssi, your craftsmanship is truly amazing!”

“Ha-ha! You think so?”

“Oh, Mr. Pablo, look at what you’ve made! This is incredible!”

“Pablo has always had nimble fingers. Despite how he looks, he’s actually a dwarf.”

“Huh? Mr. Pablo is a dwarf? Ahahaha! Is that an elf joke? It’s absolutely hilarious!”

”…It’s actually true.”

Even Fin engaged in conversation with Lavina without any inhibitions. Tanya, too, though still slightly guarded, didn’t express open hostility towards Lavina.

Watching this, Louis sent incredulous glances in their direction.

“Shouldn’t there be… Shouldn’t there be a sense of discomfort…?”

In just a few days, Lavina had seamlessly integrated with Louis’s group due to her astonishing sociability, as if she had been acquainted with them for ages.

Louis felt no awkwardness around Lavina at all. Of course, there were still some who didn’t mix well with others, like oil and water.

Lavina glared fiercely and snapped, “Hey, Baldie! That spot’s mine!”

“Does Tania count as ‘Baldie’ too, according to you?”

Lavina flinched momentarily before pointing at Kendrick. ”…I mean you! You male Baldie!”

“So then is Tania a female Baldie?”

“N-no, not exactly… Ah, anyway, that spot’s mine!”

“Since when?”

“Three days ago!”

“But it was my spot since I came here?”

“You got proof?”

Watching the bickering between Kendrick and Lavina, Louis shook his head at their antics.

Honestly… they’re not even children.

Watching the two of them bickering at the ripe age of twenty-three…

It’s quite entertaining, isn’t it?

It was indeed amusing. It reminded Louis of a scene from a comedy, where an awkward-looking fellow resembling nothing more than a cat, overtaken by curiosity or a deep sense of duty, approached something akin to an enormous flirtatious hound. Meanwhile, his real cat, Nabi, lay sprawled out beside the fire, belly exposed, sound asleep.

Well, that’s that, I suppose.

Louis approached Lavina.

She flinched at his approach.

Why? Why is he coming over?

As Lavina continued to adjust and live in this new world, she discovered two crucial pieces of information:

Firstly, Nabi had been taken away by a thief named Louis.

Secondly, this Louis was not just any petty bandit of his clan but rather, a tyrant whose mere word could command the rest of them with absolute authority.

Not even the dominant male bull, who never backed down from a confrontation with her, dared to move without heeding Louis’s nod. As the absolute ruler approached, fear flickered in Lavina’s eyes:

“W-What’s wrong?”

“Huh? Aren’t you going home?”

”…I have to?”

“How long do you plan to stay here?”

“Didn’t you say you’d take me with you, Mr. Louis?”

“I said I would take you along, but did I say I’d keep you here forever?”

“B-but that’s not the point… I can’t leave like this! I need to go with Nabi…”

Lavina’s gaze shifted towards the fireplace.

Nabi, mentioned by name, had slightly turned his head to look at Lavina. There was no trace of willingness to follow her in his demeanor.

Lavina’s shoulders shivered as her eyes met Nabi’s. Oh, Nabi…

She’d tried to get Nabi to come with her at every opportunity over the past three days, but Nabi refused, as he already knew who his owner was.

“What do I care about Nabi?”

“…Anyhow, I mean, I’ll stay here until Nabi says goodbye.” With that, Lavina took refuge behind Tania.

“Huh? Uh, uh…” The flustered girl fumbled for words.

Lavina and Kendrick were twins, which meant that she was technically older than Tania. Yet anyone watching would think Tania was the elder sister.

As Tania stood frozen, unsure how to proceed, a voice came to her rescue.

“Louis, let’s just take them along.”

“You’re right; they seem quite nice. A little scattered, perhaps, but manageable.”

Though called scatterbrained in front of twins, unassuming Lavina remained oblivious. She was only grateful that Khan and Kani were defending her.

“Sis! Bro!”

Seeing Lavina dash towards them with glee, Louis tutted.

Tsk, is this why she played along with the twins earlier?

After observing for a few days, Louis had noticed that Lavina was perceptive. She must have realized who had the next speaking rights—the twins. By ingratiating herself with them, she aimed to secure their allegiance.

“Oh boy…”

Louis sighed heavily and addressed the twins.

“Khan, Kani.”

“Yeah?”

“What is it?”

“If you run into trouble from now on, you’re on your own.”

“Got it! No problem!”

“You can count on us! We’ll keep ourselves in check!”

Seeing the twins’ determined nods, Louis couldn’t help but smile.

As they parted ways, Lavina looked on with puzzlement.

She couldn’t have known that she had escaped one danger only to stumble into another.

Had she realized that conversing with Louis was a hundred times better than dealing with the unpredictable twins, her perspective might have changed.

Only Fin and Pablo, who were privy to the full situation, could offer prayers for Lavina’s well-being.

And so, Louis had conveniently foisted Lavina onto his twin dilemma.

He rose and stretched before them.

Kendrick asked, “Where are you going?”

“It’s time.”

“Hm?”

“It’s the end, so I need to wrap up…and collect my winnings.”

“Ah…”

“It’s come already.”

Between Fin, the Twins, Flame siblings, and Pablo—Louis’s words held a meaning known to six, who nodded as if they’d sensed the end was nigh.

Meanwhile, Nabi, uninterested in worldly matters, had simply turned over and fallen asleep.

”…What does that mean? End? Winnings?”

Lavina, unaware of the implications, could only raise a puzzled eyebrow.