Chapter 1,042 A Certain Version of "Let Me Ask You..."

"Huh--?"

After Jeluka left, I always felt that something was wrong, and then suddenly I remembered the conversation from the previous few days, and immediately let out a sad cry.

"Ahhhh-this cunning little fox!!"

Picking wild vegetables? It sounds nice, but I obviously want to go out and play, and then I can buy some and take them back for business! !

But... damn, why did I just react now? She had obviously complained about pinching him two days ago, so why did she forget so quickly and let this cunning maid take advantage of her?

I gritted my teeth bitterly and made up my mind that Jeluka would never be free again tomorrow. Then I took steps towards the long and dark job search journey.

"So I said..."

Greo's eyes occasionally glanced at the stove outside, where he still had a half-forged barbed shield.

"The elder is willing to change his mind and find a job to make money through his own efforts. This troubles me... No, I am very pleased, but why me?"

He took off the insulated forging gloves as if resigned to his fate and put his head in his hands, just like Uncle Madao who had been running around in the job market for a whole month and still had nothing to gain, and his pockets were empty and he could only live in a waste paper box in the park.

"I think you have misunderstood something, Uncle Greo. You are talking about me as if I was a loser who used to idle around and always used my parents' money to eat, drink and have fun. Finally, I was penniless and determined to find a job."

I was confused by Greo who looked like Uncle Madao and was mistaken for Uncle Madao. This bothered me a lot.

"Just leave that aside for now, or ask me to apologize. In short, the question now is why me?"

Greo's head was lowered while he was holding it in pain, and he looked even more like an uncle madao sitting on a bench under the lights in the park with his figure stretched out.

I briefly talked about Xiao Heitan, focusing especially on what I had said to Xiao Heitan that he seemed to have some forging skills.

"So why is it me?! Why did an old devil leave and a little devil come, and you still don't let me feel at ease to forge!!" Uncle Madao finally burst out in anger.

"So, you are the only blacksmith I know here."

If you weren't afraid of causing trouble to Qiaxi, just ask her to come over and cooperate. Between the beauty and the madao uncle, who do you think would choose you?

Unknowingly, I have accepted the setting of Uncle Greo Madao. Although it seems aggrieved to call him this way, he is also the person in charge of the Demon Fortress. Brother Qing is indeed somewhat similar in this regard.

"This is easy to handle. I'll just introduce you to one."

Greo suddenly raised his head and said with joy, his expression was like the madao uncle who accidentally rolled down while sleeping on a park bench but accidentally touched a silver coin at the foot of the bench and lamented that a blessing in disguise was a blessing in disguise. , to be clear in advance, I always mention the term madao uncle, madao uncle, madao uncle intentionally or unintentionally. It is definitely not for brainwashing or the like, to achieve the evil purpose of making everyone accept the setting of madao uncle. I am not that kind of person. , will not give random nicknames to people.

"This is not good. I don't want to expose my identity. Besides, if I ask people I don't know to cooperate, it is very likely that my fault will be exposed in various aspects."

I refused without thinking, and then Greo bumped his head on the table.

"Elder, I still want to forge!!" Greo's eyes turned red.

"It doesn't matter, it won't take more than a few months."

I patted his shoulder happily. From now on, we are both revolutionaries.

"No, no, no." Greo rubbed his short hair in confusion.

"Reason, yes, reason, unless the elder can give me a reason to convince me!!" As if he had thought of a good idea, Glio stood up and said firmly.

"..."

It seems that if you don’t come up with a good reason, you won’t be able to deceive this guy. Really, he looks like a hot-blooded uncle madao to me. If he were uncle madao, he shouldn’t have stood up after hearing Xiao Heitan’s story. Kneel down, even if your forehead bleeds when you knock it, do you still want to help?

"Well...which reason do you want to hear?" I scratched my head and asked.

"Why do you, the elder, work so hard to help this little girl?"

Greo sat down again and straightened his face that was blackened by charcoal fire. His eyes were solemn, and he finally seemed to have the aura of a responsible person.

"Why……"

I lowered my head and pondered. There was no doubt about the reason, but that was why it was difficult to answer.

"Yes, it is true that if a child is in trouble, I think anyone with a conscience will reach out to save him, and I am no exception. If I can save the little black coal in the elder's mouth, I will also help. However, Mr. Zhang, please don’t forget your identity. You are not an ordinary adventurer or an ordinary blacksmith. Every move you make is, without exaggeration, related to the entire human world!!”

"Ah...hmm, maybe that's the case."

I tilted my head in confusion. Although the elder did seem to have this ability, when Grio said it like this, it really felt like a dream. I... uh, every move affects all human beings? It's not like I haven't experienced this kind of sense of responsibility... Well, in the game, one button or one choice can determine the fate of the world.

Therefore, when this huge sense of mission and responsibility that can only be experienced in the game actually turned into reality and fell on my head, I was a little confused. I felt that Glio suddenly transformed into a character who would instill enthusiasm in every pink newcomer. The savior mission of the novice village elder seems to be that the world will not change without you. His eyes are also sharp. If you don’t accept the mission, I will never give you the novice wooden sword. Without the novice wooden sword, you can’t even defeat the slimes outside the village. A disgusting old man appearance.

"Well... I am also fulfilling the elder's mission now, in order to pull out the monster with the crystal shard." I answered Glio with a guilty conscience.

"I'm afraid that's not the case." Glio raised his eyebrows, a little angry.

"Elder Fan, do you know that you are doing something very dangerous now? If you fail, the pain worm may turn into a world power monster. At that time, not only you, but also the entire Demon Fortress will follow Suffer together.”

Greo raised his voice in vain, and the clenched fists on the table began to tremble continuously, making a clattering sound. No matter how careless he was, he was still the person in charge of the Demon Fortress. Although Xiao Heitan was pitiful, but... He must be responsible for the entire people in the Demon Fortress.

If a person in charge is like this, what about the alliance elders who are even above this? Don't you have the awareness to make a decision? Greo, are you conveying this meaning?

"..."

He lowered his head and remained silent, never expecting that Uncle Madao, who at first glance looked like he didn't care about big things and didn't ask about trivial matters, would actually inquire about this matter so carefully and have such heavy courage.

"Originally, you are the elder and I am the person in charge. I have no right to interfere with your affairs. But today we are talking about this. Elder Fan, I hope you can give me a reason to convince me. Otherwise, for the sake of the group, There are hundreds of thousands of lives in the Demonic Fortress, and I will... act according to my own will."

At the end of the sentence, Greo relaxed his fists and closed his eyes gently, as if he had finally made a decision, showing signs of exhaustion.

Ha...ah haha, I didn't expect that this visit did not convince Greo, but made him make up his mind. If I didn't say something, maybe... no, he would definitely be detrimental to Xiao Heitan.

I scratched my cheek and smiled bitterly. As a person in charge, there is nothing wrong with what Greo said just now. No matter how precious Xiao Heitan's life is, it cannot be compared with the hundreds of thousands of lives in the Demon Fortress. Bi, I can't blame him for anything, but similarly, I will never allow anyone to hurt Xiao Heitan.

What should I say? I'm worried.

"Um...Uncle Greo, perhaps it is indeed what you said. If you spend this time on other things, you may save more lives, instead of just a little Heitan..."

Greo nodded, seeming pleased with my sudden enlightenment.

"But look."

I pointed to my eyes.

"Look...what are you looking at?"

Greo was confused by this sudden change of topic and my actions, and asked reflexively.

"My eyes." He replied naturally.

"You probably want me to comment on how deep your eyes are. In that case, the answer may disappoint you."

Uncle madao couldn't help but complain. He is indeed an uncle madao. He usually looks serious and may make others mistakenly think he is the director of the [Beep] Administration Bureau when he puts on a serious look. But no matter what role he plays, the spirit of making complaints is Absolutely nothing will change.

"Is...is that so?"

To be honest, although madao... ahem, Uncle Greo misunderstood me, but he still made me a little disappointed when he said this. After all, we are also adventurers with nine years of experience, and our eyes are not more or less what we should be. Do you have some profound expressions of vicissitudes of life, melancholy, etc.?

"I mean, my eyes are straight in front." Disappointed, I corrected Uncle Madao's idea.

"Why don't you find someone with eyes in other places to show me?" Uncle Madao complained again, is he already addicted?

"No... I mean... uh, let me think about it, I mean, I can only see what's in front of me?" I tried to explain to Glio in my own poor language.

"I... still don't quite understand." The other party showed an expression that seemed to understand. It was very good, and it was not that he was completely unable to understand what I meant.

"For example... look at Grandma Akara. Although she has the same pair of eyes in the same position, don't you think she also has a pair of bright eyes on the back of her head?"

"If you say it like this, you really have this feeling. That old... ahem, Elder Akara, gives people the feeling that there is no blind spot at 360 degrees."

Greo seemed to understand what I meant. Speaking of which, Uncle Madao definitely wanted to say that he was an old fox. He wanted to call Akara an old fox, right? !

"Also, don't you think she seems to have many pairs of eyes? It's like they are everywhere, maybe there are even such a pair around us." I lowered my voice deliberately to be sensational.

"Don't... don't scare me."

Because of the gaffe he just made, when I said that, even though he knew it was impossible, Greo still looked around suspiciously.

"Ha... don't be nervous, don't be nervous, I'm just making a metaphor."

Seeing that the intimidation effect of the tone was achieved, I secretly chuckled.

"I say this just to illustrate that Grandma Akara has a pair of bright eyes. Whether it is the past, present, or future, or a Rogge camp, the entire alliance, or even the entire Dark Continent, her eyes can see clearly .”

"This may disappoint you who have high expectations for me, but the fact is that I am different from Grandma Akara."

Still pointing to my own eyes, I continued.

"Like mine, my eyes are extremely ordinary. They are neither able to penetrate the future like Akara, nor grasp the overall situation like Grandpa Kane. What they touch is what I can see. What is beyond my reach, I cannot see.”

In Greo's silent expression, I slowly said, maybe saying this will make these people who have a "savior" heart towards me very disappointed, but I still have to say it, it is better to be disappointed now than to After expecting too much, it turned upside down. Now, I can't bear so many expectations.

"So, maybe, as an elder, I can save more people by saving this time, but I can't see any of this. All I see is Xiao Heitan, only Xiao Heitan who needs to be saved. , I cannot abandon the small goals in front of me and chase the big invisible goals. I am an ordinary person. I can only save what I see in my eyes. This is probably what I mean, Uncle Glio, do you understand?"

"Can we only save what we see?" Grio muttered in a daze and repeated this sentence.

"I'm very disappointed. A person like me is completely unfit to be an elder."

I scratched my cheek a little embarrassed, I'm really sorry for not living up to everyone's expectations.

"A very mundane answer."

Greo said in a deep voice as he sipped his glass of wine noncommittally.

"To put it simply, it's not as good as I thought, nor as useless as I thought."

"..."

Should I take this as a blow or a compliment?

"However, I'm not a powerful person anyway, so I can't ask for too much. This answer is enough, enough..."

Greo said repeatedly, drinking all the wine in the glass in one gulp.

Maybe it's not enough now, but one day... this world of disaster and darkness will appear in your eyes. With this idea and determination, as a savior... you are barely qualified. Greo seemed to be tasting the words just now. As if feeling drunk, he gently closed his eyes in intoxication and thought like this.

"but……"

He opened his eyes, shook his head and said.

"Don't get me wrong. I said enough. I just admitted your current behavior, but it's not enough. It's not enough to convince me. How can I believe that you can succeed? I am the person in charge of the Demon Fortress. I am responsible for hundreds of thousands of lives here."

"..."

Ah, this madao uncle is really unexpectedly cautious. He looks rough and bold, but he is unexpectedly as considerate as a woman?

"That's it, there's nothing we can do about it."

Saying this, I stood up, as if my persuasion was ineffective and I left in disappointment, but suddenly I pulled out my sword and pointed it at Greo who was still sitting across from me and pouring wine for me.

"Oh, do you plan to solve it by force? This is a good idea. If you kill me or lock me up, no one can stop your plan."

It was obvious that the tip of the sword was almost touching his bangs, but in the face of this sudden move, Uncle Madao did not waver in his heart at all, and even the hand pouring the wine did not shake at all.

Could it be that Uncle Madao is unexpectedly a master? No, no, no, the more obvious a guy makes "I am a master" gesture, the less likely he is to be a master. The old drunkard is just an accident within an accident.

My many years of experience in novels and games have allowed me to make this judgment.

"Uncle Greo, you are really troublesome. Obviously Grandma Akara has already said that I will decide everything."

"Haven't you heard the saying that a strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake? You who can make Akara so confident, show me the source of that confidence."

After two-thirds of the glass was filled, Greo put the wine jar aside with a smile and glanced upward, looking at the sharp sword tip in front of him, or in other words, looking at me through the sword tip.

"Honestly, if it's for Xiao Heitan, I don't mind locking you up for a while. Anyway, you're a careless guy. Even if you disappear for a month or two, I'm afraid no one will miss you."

"Aaaaaaaaah——?!!"

Grio, who had not wavered in the slightest even when faced with the sharp sword in front of him, looked embarrassed by these words, with a panicked look like "Damn it, you've already seen this".

"But, I hate doing troublesome things."

Before Greo could make a weak defense for himself, I continued, pointing the tip of the sword forward, almost touching the space between his eyebrows.

"Glio, am I an alliance elder?"

"no doubt."

As if he was suddenly asked by the king whether he was willing to be loyal to his knight, Greo said the answer without any hesitation.

"The Alliance elders should shoulder the burden, right?"

"Without a doubt." was the same cheerful reply.

"Then, let me ask you, are you willing to entrust the hundreds of thousands of lives in the Demon Fortress on my shoulders?"

For a moment, the relaxed expression on Greo's face became dull.

"You just have to answer, yes or no."

I thought it would be a very difficult choice for Greo, but he was just stunned for a moment before he laughed, and his smile became even more hearty.

"I am very willing, Mr. Elder. Not only the hundreds of thousands of lives in the Demon Fortress, but also the billions of lives in the entire Dark Continent will one day be entrusted to your shoulders."

Contrary to his previous casual attitude, Greo solemnly performed a knight's half-kneeling salute and spoke softly.

"Well...that's good, that means there's no problem."

I took back the sword from between Greo's eyebrows with some discomfort. What's going on? There is always a feeling of being forced onto a pirate ship by this madao uncle, and where did this decent knight's ceremony come from? Oh, I almost forgot, most of the best blacksmiths in the Alliance are paladins...

All in all, it was all kinds of uneasiness, like a sudden flash of excitement in Robinson Crusoe's soul when he stepped onto the ship for the last time before rafting.

"Okay...ahem, it's settled, I will bring Xiao Heitan over in a while."

I left Glio's blacksmith shop in a hurry. What was going on? I had obviously achieved my goal, so why did I feel a serious sense of frustration in my heart? To put it simply, it means realizing the unpleasant feeling similar to picking sesame seeds and losing watermelon.

Of course, what I didn't know was that just as I stepped out of the blacksmith shop door with my front foot, a figure rushed in with my back foot.

"Hey, you are quite proud of yourself for being able to push that stubborn brat to this point."

As soon as Kasha came in, he stared at the remaining half of the wine jar on the table, and unceremoniously stretched out his hand to scoop it up into his arms, declaring that it belonged to him.

"That's right, I am the person in charge of the Demon Fortress. I should have some wisdom as a person in charge, don't you think so, Elder Kasha?"

Gritting his teeth but helplessly watching his precious wine go into the wolf's den, never to return, Greo could only show a feeble wry smile.

"Don't say stupid things. If that little girl named Xiao Heitan hadn't hit the brat's weak spot and caused his perverted father's soul to attack, do you think you could have done anything to defeat him?"

Putting aside the most basic principles of eating people's soft lips and taking soft hands, Kasha took advantage of Greo and did not forget to verbally attack the opponent.

"Also, are you really not afraid of that kid getting angry? I'm not looking down on you. With that kid's current strength, if a fight really breaks out, you will probably be the one to suffer."

"I don't understand what Elder Kasha is saying at all. I just wholeheartedly work for the alliance." Glio pretended to be stupid.

"Just pretend."

Kasha cast a look of disdain. No one in the entire alliance knew that when it came to being a hand-off shopkeeper, apart from her, Kasha, who was undoubtedly at the top of the list, it was the turn of the guy in front of him who could only think about forging.

"However, it was really beyond my expectation. I didn't expect that brat who was always afraid of trouble would do this for a little girl I only knew for a few days. To be honest, I heard from him that he had to shoulder the responsibility. With the words "hundreds of thousands of lives," I almost jumped in from the outside without being frightened."

"Isn't this nice?"

Holding the last glass of wine in the glass, Glio responded in a low voice while resenting why he pretended to be polite and only filled two-thirds of it.

"Humph, that's the best. Doesn't this finally make him look manly? Thinking about it this way, we old guys seem to be able to leave the future to him with a little peace of mind."

Kasha nodded, then added.

"Of course, he is still an ordinary man who is silly and happy all the time, afraid of trouble and perverted."

Greo rolled his eyes.

"No, that guy seems to have come back again. I'll get out of the way first."

As she said that, Kasha's figure flashed and she disappeared with the wine in her arms, giving the impression that her appearance was more for the jar of wine on the table.

Grio burst into tears, why is it always me who gets hurt...