Masked Knight

Chapter 248: Mouse’s New Clothes

The next day. Mouse was still asleep when she suddenly heard a soft voice calling out. "Hey!"

She suddenly opened her eyes in shock and shot out a magic light ball. She heard a familiar voice cry out in alarm and then she saw a big hand catch the ball of light. The sparkling ball of light gradually disappeared. Mouse then saw Rody’s familiar face smiling wryly at her. "Idiot. Do you always indiscriminately attack people?"

Mouse then cried out in alarm and her face instantly turned bright red. She instinctively cried out as she retreated into the snow-white blanket. She then angrily asked, "Why are you in my room?"

Rody hurriedly covered her mouth and spoke in a soft voice, "Hush! Don’t be so loud! Do you want others to hear you?"

Mouse blushed and started to think before she said, "You, why did you come into my room at this early hour? You…what do you want to do?" Her last few words were so soft that it could not be heard. Her heart was jumping wildly as she saw her lover enter her room early in the morning. She did not know if she was afraid or feeling expectant.

Rody felt charmed when he looked at Mouse’s bashful eyes. He then whispered, "Alright. Quickly get up. Why don’t we secretly get out and go for a walk?"

Mouse bit her lips feeling disappointed. She then whispered, "What did you say? Go out?"

Rody nodded. He saw Mouse’s change in expression. Rody was panic-stricken but then guessed that it was a woman’s psychology. His heart also warmed up and he lowered his head. He ignored the struggling Mouse and kissed her lips. He then gave a faint smile "Alright. Idiot. I do not have any bad intentions. Quickly get up. Just be careful not to let anyone else find out. How about we climb over the walls?"

Mouse was surprised and whispered, "Secretly climb over the walls?"

Rody smiled. "Of course. The King has dispatched so many Royal Knights outside to protect us, but I am afraid it is mostly to monitor us. What would be the point if we get followed by a group of people after getting out?"

Mouse hesitated for a moment before she replied. "Alright." She wanted to get up but before she could do so, she realized that she was still wearing pajamas under the bed. Her face turned red as she said to Rody, "You go out first!"

Rody sighed and gave a wry smile. "I am unable to leave. I came in through the window. Am I supposed to jump out of the window? I suppose turning around is enough?" Rody then turned around and softly said, "Alright, hurry up."

Mouse bit her lips feeling irritated and affectionate. She finally jumped out of bed and ran barefooted to the clothes stand to take her black gown. But then she suddenly noticed something and did not put them on immediately.

Rody stood there and heard the sound of Mouse wearing clothes behind her. Although he pretended to be calm, his heart was also jumping wildly. He originally did not have any ulterior motives when he sneaked into Mouse’s room. But now that he was standing there, he thought of Mouse changing her clothes and he could not help but imagine a few erotic images. After all, he was a young man with his lover behind him. Besides that, after having spent some good time with Nicole, he was no longer an ignorant and silly boy. He could not help but have such beautiful thoughts.

As his mind struggled, he heard Mouse speak, "Alright. You can turn around now."

Rody turned around to see Mouse who was beautifully and cunningly smiling at him. His eyes shone, and he could not help becoming muddleheaded.

Mouse was not wearing her usual set of black robes. At that moment, she was wearing a young girl’s simple long flax-colored dress. The skirt also had a fold sewn into the hemline which made it look lovely. Her black and long satin-like hair was tied with a cord at the back of her head. She had a shy and joyous expression with a red face. She no longer looked like the cold and elegant Black Veil Saint. It was clearly the expression of a girl on a first date with her lover.

Rody looked at Mouse’s face and was speechless. Mouse laughed. "What’s wrong? Is it not nice?"

Rody took a deep breath and honestly replied, "It suits you!" He paused and added. "It looks really nice. I did not expect you to look so beautiful not wearing the black veil. Where did you get these clothes?"

Mouse smiled cunningly. "I found it here in the Summer Palace. Initially, I thought of making Seth wear it, but I ended up wearing it first."

The two of them looked at each other and laughed unknown to them that someone sleeping in another room, far away, sneezed.

Rody was a Domain Master and Mouse was the Black Veil Saint. Naturally, none of the Royal Knights would notice that both of them had sneaked out. Rody made Mouse wait outside while he went back to the Royal Knight’s stables and stole two horses.

Mouse saw Rody gently leading two horses from afar. He waved his hand and ran over. Unable to stop herself from smiling, she said, "You have become a horse thief again."

Rody approached and helped Mouse up one horse. He then got on the other horse and softly replied, "I only stole horses twice in my whole life. Both times were for you."

Mouse was startled and immediately remembered that Rody had stolen a horse from a tribal herdsman during her unfortunate time at the Great Moon Kingdom. When she remembered how both of them had to depend on each other to survive, she felt happy and her face turned warm and tender.

They both had the same feelings and they did not speak much. They rode together to the main street in the early, crisp morning. Along the way, there were a few pedestrians. They looked at the two horses and saw a well-dressed young robust man in uniform with a young and beautiful woman. They could not help but sigh secretly. With a single look, they could tell that it was a royal horse. They believed it was a young couple from the royal family going for a ride early in the morning.

The two of them traveled slowly. Although the buildings of the Sauron Kingdom were not as towering as the Imperial Capital of the Radiant Empire, they were quite unique. Almost all the buildings presented a rugged and bold feeling. There was no unnecessary flashy decoration. Even the prosperous nobles’ buildings were just 'big and tall' only. It did not have exquisite, delicate architecture like those in the Radiant Empire. As Rody continued along the way, he suddenly sighed. He thought of how, right at this place, the civilization of the Shaka Empire was extinguished and forgotten. Who amongst the pedestrians here would know that they were standing on the land that once was an empire that promulgated freedom and equality?

Although Rody did not know the way, Mouse had long stayed in the Sauron Kingdom and was familiar with the roads. However, as the Saint of the Temple, she never had the opportunity to dress up like a normal girl and wander around the streets. Now, she looked at the pedestrians and the shops around her and felt that everything was interesting and fascinating. She was in high spirits. Looking at her, one would never be able to imagine her as a powerful saint of the Temple.

Rody was moved as he looked at Mouse’s soft and beautiful face. He grabbed a bunch of flowers from a florist and rummaged his pocket, but then immediately looked embarrassed.

His basic necessities had been provided by the King ever since he came to the Roland Continent. He did not have the common gold coins of the Roland Continent. He took out the Radiant Empire’s gold coins and then pinched it into a lump before handing it over.

The merchant had never seen such a wealthy person before. Even in the capital of the Sauron Kingdom where a lot of influential nobles gather, he had never seen a person throw a piece of gold to buy a bunch of flowers.

Rody did not mind at all. He turned away after leaving the gold behind. He then gave Mouse the bunch of flowers and said, "It’s for you."

Mouse blushed and quietly laughed. "I didn’t expect you to know this."

Rody was embarrassed but he still quietly replied, "I have never given flowers to a girl before. This is my first time."

Mouse looked at the flowers in her hands and sighed. "Unfortunately, these are not tulips. It is hard to find the tulip flower in the southern part of the Roland continent so there is probably none here."

Mouse then laughed and asked, "Rody, do you know what flower this is?"

She saw Rody feeling at a loss and laughed. She let go of the reins and gently pulled Rody’s hand before whispering. "This flower is the Sauron Kingdom’s specialty. It is called a ‘Bloody Datu’1.

"Oh? I have never heard this name before." Rody, who thought it was strange, asked. "It is such a beautiful flower. Why does its name have the dreadful word ‘bloody’?"

Mouse gave a wry smile and looked at the rising sun in the sky. She had a sad expression as she replied, "The name of this flower has an origin. In the legends, there was once a hero on the Roland Continent who went to the frontlines of an expedition in a certain war. Before leaving, he promised his lover that he would come back alive. Unfortunately, as the war went on year after year, she who was waiting at home did not hear a single news about her lover. Finally, the war was won, and the hero returned triumphantly only to find that his lover had fallen ill from fear and died. The hero knelt in front of the grave of his lover and cried. His tears fell to the ground and these beautiful flowers immediately grew out of it..."

Mouse then sighed and said, "That is why this flower is also called ‘Hero’s Tears’

Rody took a deep breath. He smiled and said, "This is a very sad and beautiful story. Unfortunately, I have never heard of it before. Otherwise, I would not have bought you such a tragic flower."

"No!" Mouse smiled sweetly and replied, "I feel happy that you gave me flowers."

Rody laughed and gently held Mouse’s hands. Mouse then laughed and suddenly said, "I told you such a nice story. You must also tell me a story."

Rody froze for a moment and smiled wryly. "I don't know how to tell stories…"

Mouse laughed. "How could that be? Didn’t you hear any stories when you were younger?"

"When I was young…" Rody seemed to stare blankly for a moment.

At that moment, the two of them had arrived at the capital square. As it was morning, the square seemed desolate. Rody kept the horses at the side. He then pulled Mouse into the square and looked for stone steps to sit on.

After a moment of silence, Rody sighed. "There is nothing to tell about when I was younger. It is very simple…" Rody pointed at the crowds at the streets and said, "I was just like them."

Mouse pulled at the corners of Rody’s clothes and said, "No! I want to hear it1"

Rody recalled his memories and slowly said, "I…I have never seen my mother’s face. Ah, maybe I have seen it before, but I have completely forgotten it as I was too young. My father was a warrior. He was a very low ranked warrior. There was also no money at home. On normal days, my father was a bodyguard to a wealthy person or a hired person2 to make money. As his swordsmanship was not too good, he could not earn a lot of money."

After sighing, Rody laughed. "After that, my father brought me to the Imperial Capital hoping to earn more money. When I was young, my father hoped that I would become a powerful warrior. At a young age, I followed my father to practice swordsmanship. Although now that I think about it, my father was not too good with swordsmanship. However, I truly worshipped him when I was young and felt that he was very powerful. That is why I trained very hard to become as powerful as my father."

Mouse gently sighed and smiled. She slowly leaned her head on Rody’s shoulders and whispered, "Right now, you are very powerful. Domain Master. It would be hard to find a person more powerful than you."

Rody thought of Sky when he heard this. Although both of them had strong domain powers, Sky had been a Domain Master for many years and would be superior to Rody in understanding and experience. After that, another figure that Rody could not beat flashed in his mind.

That figure was the Pope Corsica VI.

During the turmoil at the palace, the Pope and had used the ‘God’s Vanquish’. This scenario and the power of the spell was vivid in Rody’s memories. Even Master Autumn that was a Domain Master could not oppose the Pope and the ‘God’s Vanquish’. It was likely that Rody himself would be unable to defeat the Pope.

Mouse was a smart woman. She noticed that Rody’s demeanor had changed and immediately guessed that she had caused Rody to have some unpleasant thoughts. She immediately laughed and changed the topic. "What happened then?"

"After that?" Rody gave a bitter smile. "My father had a tough time in the Imperial Capital. The Imperial Capital was the center of the Empire and there were many more stronger warriors. My father’s swordsmanship could still make a little bit of money in our hometown. but it is not worth anything in the Imperial Capital that was full of masters. That was why we had difficult lives."

Although Rody’s tone was plain, Mouse could feel he was not very calm. An unlucky warrior without a source of income with a young child struggling at the bottom of the society in the Imperial Capital. That kind of life was not something Mouse could imagine. However, Mouse was holding Rody’s hand and could feel that his fingers trembled a little.

She immediately clenched Rody’s hand tightly and said, "Your father would be proud of you."

Rody sighed and replied. "Hopefully…" Suddenly, Rody turned around to look at Mouse and said, "Did you know? My father was a devout believer."

"Oh?" Mouse could not help but feel strange.

Since she got acquainted with Rody, she could see that he did not think highly of God’s teachings. His actions were all outrageous and blasphemous. This person grew up in a devout family?

"Yes!" Rody whispered. His voice trembled as he replied, "My father would go and pray every few days. Even though life was not too good, he would still donate a little bit of money for ‘atonement tax’. He hoped to exchange it for God’s blessings. However, God did not seem to have heard his prayers."

Mouse started to regret leading Rody to talk about that. She avoided looking into his eyes and hugged his neck, oblivious to the stares around them. She softly said, "It’s alright. That has already passed."

Rody shook his head. "I was fourteen years old when my father died. He was a very good and kind person. He had never committed any crime and was generous. He died of illness; we did not have money to cure his illness. He could only go to the church and ask the priest for some holy water. But then…hmph, did you know? The holy water needs to be bought. Although my father was devout and had constantly paid the atonement tax, God did not open up his arms when my father needed it the most."

"That is why you don’t believe in God." Mouse sighed.

"I don’t believe in it." Rody lightly said, "I have never believed in God’s teachings and I despise the priests! Hmph! They wear robes made from exquisite cloth, live in large spacious homes and eat exquisite dishes! They then tell the suffering people to endure the suffering for it is the fate given by God!"

Mouse remained silent. Although Rody’s voice was not loud, she could feel the deep hatred from his voice.

Rody gave out a long sigh and suddenly laughed. "I am so stupid. Why am I telling you this? I just wanted to spend a quiet day with you, but I have destroyed the atmosphere."

"No." Mouse’s voice sounded faint as she whispered into Rody’s ears. "I am willing to listen."

Rody laughed and kissed Mouse on the cheek. He then softly said, "Alright, then I will continue the story for you to listen."

After clearing his throat, Rody continued, "When I was fourteen, my father passed away leaving me alone. The things he left behind for me was not much. He only left behind a sword, a worn-out house, and a wooden trunk. I sold everything and only earned four gold coins. In accordance with father’s wishes, I looked for a way to enter the Imperial Academy. I wanted to become a warrior. A superb warrior! That was because it was the hope my father placed in me. I was lucky that my father taught me swordsmanship since my childhood. Although the lessons were not too deep, it gave me a good foundation. Besides that, the teacher at the academy said that I was very talented. So, I successfully passed the assessment and became a civilian student using the four gold coins as the tuition fees."

At that moment, Mouse suddenly whispered. "But you would not have any more money. How did you survive?"

Rody laughed proudly and replied, "Thanks to the Great Sage Dandong of our Radiant Empire, he had set the rules when he was the principal of the Imperial Academy. All of us civilians would be provided housing to live in. Although the house was worn-out, in my opinion, it was already very good. As for food, I have a different way."

At this moment, the haziness on Rody’s face disappeared as he proudly said, "Our Radiant Empire had an abundance of a type of fish! This fish was called a pufferfish! It had a large body and a small tail with a colorful and beautiful body. However, nobody dared to eat this fish as it was poisonous! Those that eat it would die from the poison!" After pausing for a moment, Rody proudly said, "Even the bravest people did not dare to eat pufferfish. However, I dared to eat it!"

"What?" Mouse turned pale. Although the person that ate it was in front of her, Mouse had heard of the poison in a pufferfish. A young boy had unexpectedly dared to do the thing that others would turn pale just talking about it.

Rody laughed seemingly pleased with himself and said, "Others do not know but I do. When I was young, I learned that pufferfish could be eaten but they must be cooked longer. The poison of the fish would only disappear after cooking it for a long time. When the poison is gone, you would be able to eat it.3" (TL reminder: Please read the important note about pufferfish poison below.)

Rody then smiled and softly continued, "Because I know this secret, I seldom go hungry. There are a lot of pufferfish in the rivers of the Imperial Capital. Nobody dares to eat it, but I dare to. Nobody would fight with me for it and it is free. It is just that others thought of me as a monster when they found out. However, it did not matter. I grew up looking ugly. I originally had a large birthmark on my face and I was already used to being treated like a monster."

Mouse did not laugh. It was as if she could see an ugly youth fishing alone at the riverbank and then eating the lethally poisonous fish in front of the disgusted and horrified gaze of others.

She was in a daze as she looked at the strong man in front of her and tears welled in her eyes. Mouse had been chosen by the Temple when she was young. She showed remarkable talent after entering the Temple and became a favored disciple. When she first met with misfortune in the Northwest, she was terrified. However, the man at her side had remained calm and took care of her. It probably was related to how he suffered during his childhood.

Rody gently held Mouse’s hand and softly said, "Ah, although the puffer fish was delicious, it was still extremely poisonous. It could not always be so smooth sailing. One day, I was finally poisoned. Fortunately, I had a good friend. His name was Star." Rody sighed. "He was a very good person. He did not have any money, but he was a magician. He stole some holy water from a magician teacher in the academy to save me. He was then punished by the teacher. Now that I think about it, he was my only friend in the Imperial Academy. Unfortunately, he was probably still at the academy. When he graduates, I must properly reward him. Right now, I do not want to look for him. That is because I now realized that having that kind of peaceful life is a kind of happiness."

Rody then gave a wry smile and said, "For example, right now I have a lot of authority and earned a lot of attention. However, I am burdened with more and more trouble. There are times I wish I could go back to becoming a small warrior that need not be concerned about anything."

"Rody…you…" Mouse finally noticed something wrong.

Today, Rody had secretly brought Mouse out. Mouse had already thought it was strange. Rody’s words and actions also felt weird. Another thing that made Mouse had a peculiar feeling was her instinct. It was as if she was faintly aware that something was wrong.

Rody shook his head indicating for Mouse not to speak. He stretched out his hand to hold Mouse’s face, touching her tousled hair. He suddenly said, "Mouse, I still remembered that at the Northwest grasslands you told me something about the Domain Masters. You said these people have achieved the highest level of existence that is almost like God. Am I right?"

Mouse was startled. "Yes. What…what about it?"

Rody’s eyes looked perplexed as he said, "In that case, how long can a person with strong domain powers live. Do you know?"

Mouse was speechless and silent for a while. She then said, "I do not know. That is because a person with strong domain power only exists in legends. I have reached the level of a Great Practitioner and is still one step away from obtaining a domain. However, I know that this one step is a huge gap! At the Roland Continent, there were many that had reached the level of a Great Practitioner, but I have never heard of any that became a Domain Master. Even if there was one, it only exists in the legends."

Rody faintly smiled and replied, "I know the answer to this question! That is because I know a Domain Master who has lived for hundreds of years!"

"Oh?" Mouse exclaimed.

Rody becoming a Domain Master was already a miracle to Mouse. For something that had existed only in legends to happen in front of her was already something unbelievable to Mouse. However, Rody said that he knew another Domain Master. Did that mean that, in this era, there were two people with strong domain powers? Had Mouse known of the existence of Master Autumn, she would have been even more surprised.

Rody nodded and told the story about the fatty Sky. He then laughed and said, "If I am not wrong, that fatty must be the Paladin that defected from the Roland Temple hundreds of years ago!"

"Sky…" Mouse was extremely shocked and had to try very hard to suppress the shock in his heart. She swallowed her saliva and asked, "Paladin Sky…he is still alive?"

Rody endured laughing and replied, "He is alive. It could even be said that he is living happily."

Mouse was speechless for a long time—immortality. This miracle was unimaginable even for Mouse who stood at the peak of the sorcerers' realm.

Suddenly Mouse thought of an important question and asked, "Are you saying Domain Masters would not die from age?"

Rody sighed. Mouse was truly herself; she could immediately see the crux of the problem.

He nodded and replied, "Yes. If I am not wrong, as long as you have acquired domain powers, you can break the rules of the world, including the rules of life!"

He suddenly looked up. The sky was sunny and had white clouds. A hazy look covered Rody’s face. "What I find strange was that even if it was just a legend, Domain Masters have appeared in history. If Domains Masters are immortal, then…" He turned to look at Mouse with a questioning look. "Why did all these ancient Domain Masters not appear in the present? Where did they go? Have they all died?"

Mouse thought for a bit and then shook her head and said, "That should not be right. As people with domain powers, who could have the ability to kill them? As they are immortal, it is also unlikely they’d die from old age."

"That was what I was thinking about the entire time last night." Rody smiled bitterly. "Where have they gone then?"

Mouse suddenly had a strong sense of unease. Although there were no signs and evidence, she started to feel panicked as if Rody would suddenly leave her.

She almost instinctively hugged Rody’s arm.

Rody froze for a moment. He gently held Mouse and murmured.

"Domain is the Greatest Path."

As if confirming the uneasiness in Mouse’s heart, Rody suddenly looked into Mouse’s eyes and gently asked. "Mouse…do you think there is a day we would have to separate?"

"What did you say?" Mouse turned pale.

Rody shook his head. His heart turned soft as he saw Mouse’s panicked expression and kissed her on her cheek. He lightly said, "Don’t be like that. I am simply feeling uncertain. I can’t help thinking about this problem." He sighed and calmly said, "Did you know? I have thought of a lot of things last night. The more I thought about it, the more terrified I became. Domain Master. It is such a proud name. However, why have all the people in history who mastered domain powers disappeared? Had Sky not hidden himself in a cave on a remote mountain where the Mystic Dragon was sealed, it may also happen to him. Hmph. What is the significance of a domain?"

As if he felt Mouse’s trembling, Rody held her tighter and whispered, "Mouse, I have a lot of doubts. Right now, I could only voice them to you. I am not sure who else I could discuss this with except you. I…I have an absurd thought. Perhaps this thought could help explain my earlier questions of where all the Domain Masters have gone to."

"Hm?"

Rody gave a bitter smile and asked. "Have you ever seen a farmer’s pig? A farmer would raise a lot of pigs. They would carefully feed and fatten the pig. After a period of time, there would be one or two particularly larger and fatter ones. The fatter ones would then be next to be slaughtered." Rody paused for a moment and laughed mockingly. He then said, "I was wondering if a person with a strong domain power would be similar. The Domain Masters compared with the normal humans are just the fatter pigs. As for the pig farmers…" Rody looked up and pointed to the sky. "That would be those people from heaven."

"No!" Mouse suddenly screamed as her expression changed. She pulled Rody’s hand and said, "You…why are you telling me this today? Did you take me out today just to tell me this?" A hint of anger flashed through her eyes.

Rody shook his head. His eyes were gentle like water as he hugged Mouse and said, "No! I have no intentions of leaving you, Mouse. In fact, I am more afraid of separation compared to you! However, I cannot ignore this matter."

"I…I do not want to hear you talk about these terrible speculations!" Mouse bit her lips.

Rody felt touched. He suddenly said, "Alright. Even if I do not mention these things, you must remember that Domain Masters are immortal but…you cannot...in the future…"

Mouse suddenly broke free from Rody’s embrace and looked at him earnestly. She had a determined expression and then said, "Even for a meteor, it dies after striking but that glittering instant itself is happiness."

The beautiful female sorcerer moved over and kissed Rody on the lips. She then laughed and said, "If love is a poison, you and I are pufferfishes."

On that sunny morning, a young man and a young woman were embracing and kissing each other in the square of the Sauron Kingdom’s capital city...

Translator's Notes:

1. 血色曼陀. 'Xuese mantuo'. '血色' is 'blood or bloody'. 曼陀草 (草 means 'grass or herb') is actually datura stramonium (commonly called the thornapple or the moon flower). Hence, 血色曼陀can be translated as 'Bloody Datura' or 'Bloody Stramonim'.

2. A legal ‘thug’/handyman like the guards at Nedis’ pub. Beating people within the law.

3. I did some research on pufferfish. Whatever you do, do not try what Rody did. You would die even if you have cooked it a long time. The FDA says that cooking or freezing would not destroy the poison.