"He's not here?" Robin frowned. "Where is he?"

"He returned to Solais," Cedwyn replied. "He said that he has some important matters to attend to."

"When will he be back?"

"I'm not really sure. However, his subordinate is currently staying here in the village. We have given them one of the non-occupied houses that we built after the village was destroyed by the Monster Outbreak."

The frown on Robin's face deepened, but he knew that there was no point in making things difficult for Cedwyn, who had no way of contacting the Half-Elf that he was looking for.

"Understood," Robin felt relieved after knowing that he could at least talk to Lux's subordinate. As long as the message would be passed along, his trip to Leaf Village wouldn't be in vain.

He had traveled in secrecy just to prevent his brothers from knowing where he was. Since he couldn't stay for long, he wished that he would be able to personally talk to the Half-Elf, but since it was not possible, his subordinate would have to make do.

"By the way, I noticed that almost all the Dwarves here in Leaf Village have Slimes accompanying them," Robin commented. "Is this some kind of trend?"

Cedwyn chuckled. "At first, we decided to raise slimes for fun after seeing how Eiko accompanied Lux. We even asked Commander Thoram to help us catch them, since Slimes are not native to this region.

"But, to our surprise, after catching a dozen of them, the slimes multiplied at a rapid pace. Also, we discovered something interesting. These Slimes are somehow evolved. Perhaps, this is the side effect of the Guardian Crystal, allowing them to become stronger than regular Slimes."

Nevreal tilted his head in confusion. "Slimes are just Slimes. They're one of the weakest monsters out there. Are you sure you want the villagers to have Slimes as their first Beast Companion?"

Cedwyn only smiled at Nevreal and glanced outside the window of his house. From there, he could see the statue in the distance, which had become the main attraction of their old rustic village in the countryside.

"You're forgetting that Eiko is also a Slime," Cedwyn replied. "Have you seen her unleash a Dragon's Breath? I have. It was the most surreal thing I've witnessed in my lifetime."

The Village Head of Leaf Village could still remember the Monster Outbreak as if it was just yesterday.

Even though he and Grandma Annie had retreated to a safe distance, they were still able to witness the battle that made his blood boil in excitement, allowing him to regain the feelings that he had forgotten due to his old age.

"Also, all of the Slimes that are born in our Village can use magic." Cedwyn turned around to look at Nevreal and Robin with a smug look on his face. "I'm sure that one day, our village will be known throughout the Kingdom of Gweliven for fostering the future heroes of the world."

Robin and Nevreal exchanged a glance before shaking their heads helplessly. They didn't want to say that Cedwyn was being delusional because they didn't want to hurt his feelings.

What they didn't know was that someday, what the Village Head had said would become a reality.

The young Dwarves, alongside their Slimes, who had started their adventures in Leaf Village, would rise up to protect the Dwarven Kingdom, and their legacy would be immortalized for centuries to come.

Of course, this was a story for another time.

Cedwyn led Robin, Nevreal, and their bodyguards to the house where Bedivere, Lilia, and Heidi, were staying.

Bedivere, who was at the side of the house and chopping firewood, noticed Cedwyn approaching him and stopped his work.

He was quite grateful for the accommodations that were given to him and his family by the Elders of Leaf Village. Because of this, he told them that if there would come a time that they would need his help, he would gladly lend it without asking for any repayment.

"Bedivere, I brought some guests who are looking for your Master," Cedwyn said with a smile. "This person is Sir Nevreal, and he had helped your Master a couple of times in the past. This young Dwarf, on the other hand, is Robin. He came here because he wanted to discuss something important with your Master. Do you know when he will be back in Leaf Village?"

"Is it important?" Bedivere didn't answer when Lux would be back to Leaf Village because the Half-Elf could come anytime. However, he was not willing to pass on just any kind of information to his Master and disturb the red-headed teenager's quality time with his fiance.

As a married person, Bedivere knew how important it was to spend some time with your lover. He would not allow anyone to pester his Master, unless it was a very pressing matter.

"It is important," Robin replied. "Can I meet with your Master?"

Bedivere glanced at Robin before shifting his gaze to the bodyguards that were escorting him.

Ten of them were Grade A Apostles, while two of them were Initiates.

In his peak, Bedivere had been a Ranker. Even though he had regressed to a Grade A Apostle to match Lux's current Rank, he was confident that he could take out half of Robin's bodyguards before they could overpower him using their numbers.

Naturally, this was only referring to his own strength without asking for his partner's help, which was a Wind Dragon, whose rank was the same as him.

A Rank 4 Dragon was very different from a Rank 4 Horned Rabbit. If the two were to fight, the rabbit would become the dragon's lunch with plenty of energy to spare.

"Tell me the details," Bedivere replied. "If it is important enough, I'll let him know. But, it will be up to my Master whether he will come here or not. He is a very busy person, and there are many things that he is handling at the moment."

Robin glanced at Nevreal because he didn't know if it was fine to tell Bedivere why they had come to Leaf Village.

After pondering for a minute, Nevreal found an easy solution to their problem.

"Tell your Master that Nevreal is looking for him so we can have a serious discussion," Nevreal said. "We will only be staying here in Leaf Village for two days, so I hope that I can talk to him before we leave."

Bedivere nodded. "Okay. I will send the message to my Master. Where can he find you?"

"We'll be at the Prancing Pony Inn," Nevreal replied. "Please pass the message along as soon as possible."

"Okay." Bedivere smiled.

In truth, he had already passed the messagethat Nevreal was looking for him, to Lux. As a seasoned veteran, Bedivere could faintly feel that Nevreal and Robin were troubled by something.

He just didn't know what it was nor did he care about it. If Lux wanted to help them, then he would go and help them.

As one of the Half-Elf's Knights, he would be there to lend his hand, even if it meant that he would fight in a foreign land, where no one knew who he was and what kind of past he carried.