Parting

"There's no way, I think that only you can use it," Lidia regretted, returning that strange key to her father.

Eldi shrugged, keeping the key he had used to unlock the passageways that led inside the duke's residence, a key he had obtained in the game long ago, in one of those unique missions that he now knew had been real.

Both had gone into the big reception hall, and dropped the corpses of the young noblemen, with the intention that they were discovered and served as a warning. Lidia hoped to keep the nobles at bay, to make them believe they were being watched, and that, now, their crimes were going to be punished. She intended to scare them, and end their sense of impunity.

On the other hand, the high human had sent a message to the rebels to confirm Eldi's presence, in addition to justifying his necessary absence during the time he needed to level up. It was also beneficial that the nobles could know it, since the rebel leader knew that the threat of a hidden enemy was more than effective, while the lack of news could have led them to believe that he had died or fled. After all, it was a strategy she had used for years.

All she regretted was having to part with her just found father, but there was much to do in Engenak, and he had to regain his power, which was better to do outside the kingdom. If not, there would be danger of being discovered.

Now, the biggest problem was how to cross the border without raising suspicion, since even the hidden paths used by the traffickers were guarded, not by soldiers but by the traffickers themselves, or the assassin guild. It is true that there were friends who could help them, but also enemies lurking.

"Take care mom. Give regards to grandma," said a redhead woman, with aquiline nose and light brown eyes.

In the cart, along with other travelers going to or returning to the kingdom of Goltrenak, was a somewhat older woman, also redhead, and whose appearance was somewhat similar to the young woman who was saying goodbye to her, her daughter.

The farewell was sincere, they would miss each other, a usual scene in that border place. Although, maybe, the sarcastic look that no one noticed, except her daughter, was less common. The daughter looked back at her, with her hand in her mouth to hide her laugh, something that those who were seeing the scene thought it was to cover her tears.

Lidia had a lot of fun doing her resigned father's makeup. And while to see him go broke her heart, she couldn't help but find the situation amusing. She couldn't forget his multiple complaints, asking if "there was no better way", or reproaching her for "enjoying it too much". Although she also knew that, in part, he was just playing, as he had done when they were little kids, when the two siblings tried to make up him like a clown, and he ended up like a Picasso painting.

Not faked tears also slipped by her cheeks, while Eldi struggled to contain his, as they could spoil his makeup. He didn't stop looking at his daughter until he lost sight of her, after a bend in the road. He was leaving behind something he had just found, something that, when he returned to Jorgaldur, he didn't know if it would still be there, he didn't even know if it had been real. A part of his family. When he crossed the border, he did it with a much more determined heart than before having found it. Now he had a much more powerful reason to fight, and to come back.

Meanwhile, Lidia returned to the inn to pick up her baggage, more than anything to keep up appearances. She would soon leave, since she had a lot of work to do, now that she had found her father and there were nobles to intimidate. But before leaving the room, she took out her sword and hugged it tightly, wishing the time would come soon to meet him again.

With his armor and weapons in the inventory, his true level hidden behind Disguise, his appearance of an unattractive middle-aged woman, a retired adventurer with some scars, and after the emotional farewell with her daughter, no one suspected that behind that face it was hidden the visitor that the whole kingdom was looking for. In his bag he carried women's clothes, food and some souvenirs, nothing suspicious or excessively valuable, so he had no major problems getting out of Engenak or entering Goltrenak.

He spent the trip pretending to feel sick, so he didn't need to speak too much, since it had been extremely embarrassing to force something similar to a woman's voice in the few words he spoke. However, he didn't travel in the cart very long, as he got down when they arrived at the second village. The cart left him in front of it and get on its way. He was about a hundred meters from the village, but instead of heading there, he walked into the forest.

He changed his clothes, wearing his armor, and spent a long time to clean the makeup, imagining how his daughter would have laughed at him if she had been there. And even as embarrassing as it would be, if he had been able to choose, he would have liked her to be there.

When he was ready, he went deep into the forest, hoping to find material and, perhaps, suitable enemies to level up. It was a 45-50 level zone, but the most important thing was that there was a small one floor dungeon, which in the game was often used to level up, as it was wide and had many enemies to defeat, in addition to not be too dangerous. Neither Lidia had heard of it nor appeared on the maps, so it had either been forgotten or no longer existed.

It was worth looking for, because he was only risking wasting some time. And a forgotten dungeon, where there was no one who could recognize him, was the ideal place to raise some levels and, perhaps, get some metal and magic mushrooms.

Thus, his assistant began to collect wood and some herbs, while he advanced through the forest, looking for clues that matched his memories from the game and could take him to his destination.