I, holding a long sword in my hand, only know one move

There was no way around it. This was already a rule that he had agreed to admit. Even if he was worried about Rick's near-death trip, Cheng Rang couldn't overcome his temper.

"...But the rules also say, don't let anyone die."

"I'm not going to die," Rick replied.

"...Rick, you must come back..." Hubie quickly stepped forward and grabbed Rick's cloak, his eyes full of worry.

Looking into those eyes, Rick gave Hubie a reassuring smile.

"I will definitely not die, I swear to consent."

Cheng Rang sighed silently, feeling relieved slightly when he thought that even if the course of history was not changed, Rick and Hubby could still win.

Rick, a guy who would do anything to survive, shouldn't be stupid. With this idea in mind, he finally got out of the way and watched Rick's back leave the secret base.

...

The capital of the forest elves, a suburban mansion.

The returning elf is called Nina Crab.

"--?!.....who is it?"

He instantly sensed the aura of the intruder and deployed detection magic and lighting magic as a warning.

In the illuminated depths of the darkness, a robed figure sitting at the table seemed to blend into the darkness.

The whole body was covered with rags and animal skins, and he was wearing a fur robe. The hood was lowered to cover his face and the shadow said: "Hello, I'm sorry for disturbing you without permission."

The shadow greeted her in fluent Elf language with a kind tone. The Elf instantly weaved an attack spell but did not hit it because the second spell, analytical magic, that was launched at the same time told her:

Unrecognizable, unidentified.

She must be surprised, thinking so, Shadow laughed.

Even if she disguised her appearance - she probably didn't expect that even if she used magic, she couldn't even reveal the outline.

So she could only ask: "Can I ask who you are?"

One should not act rashly against a person of unknown origin. Shadow slowly said: "I am just a [ghost]. All I can say is that I am not your enemy, nor your companion."

Of course, the elves will use magic to spy on the authenticity of words, but [Ghost] knows the results of spying.

[Ghost] is fake, but other than that it is real - magic will definitely answer her this way.

Because it was a fact that he was neither an enemy nor an ally, the ghost raised his lips and smiled.

Of course, the elf couldn't understand the meaning and asked: "You must have something important to break into someone else's home, right?"

Definitely! Do you think ordinary humans would sneak into the capital of the elves without any reason?

"——I want to play a simple game."

"....ha?"

"The chips we are betting on each other are intelligence. If you beat me, I will provide information; if you lose to me, I will collect information."

Seeing that Nina was still on guard, Ghost smiled inwardly and said, that's good.

The elf known as Nina Crabbe is an outstanding and intelligent person, and she is also the number one magician of our time.

Because of this, she was chosen as the person to contact, and Rick guessed what she was thinking.

"You want to say that we don't know whether each other's information is true, and unguaranteed chips cannot be used as bets, right?"

"...Yeah, that's right."

Nina was worried about the possibility of her thoughts being read, so she answered cautiously.

Of course, when a wise person faces someone of unknown origin, he will first consider the worst possibility.

That is - the possibility of a superior race than myself.

Chapter 58 The chess game called "World" (3)

But precisely because of that smart mind, he won't back down. Because the three possibilities of upper race, lower race, and the same race still overlap.

Therefore, the ghost thought with a smile - this guy will definitely agree to the game.

"Then let me give you one first

Information, if it is information that cannot be ignored regardless of whether it is true or false, it can prove that this game will be established. "

For example, as long as you say these words - she will definitely agree to the game.

"The existence of [The Zeroth Protection of the Void] has been known to the goblins - what is this information?"

"!!!"

Although the ghost cannot detect it, she will definitely use magic to detect whether it is a lie, but it will be in vain.

"Are you satisfied with this? The authenticity of the information is not a problem. As the theoretical advocate of [The Zeroth Protection of the Void] and also the compiler of the technique, you have your own way to review the authenticity. I didn't say that. Wrong?"

The forest elf pretended to be calm, but was thinking anxiously inside. [Ghost] knows her thoughts very well.

——The Zeroth Protection of the Void is a super important secret that even the proponents of the theory are hiding.

Even the names of individuals involved in the development are recorded in secret codes in confidential documents.

For example, in the abandoned forest elf capital, Hubi found some remaining documents in the basement.

To her who didn't know about this, in her eyes, [Ghost] seemed to be an existence that knew everything.

That's right, no matter who the opponent is - they are not beings that can be easily attacked.

.......

Cheng Rang rolled over into the cave in a dusty state, passed through the narrow gaps and passes, jumped down from the cave, and arrived at the lake.

"...Ai Xueer."

Following Cheng Rang's call, bubbles immediately rose from the bottom of the lake, and with the rising purple light, a sea-dwelling girl with long dark blue hair emerged.

"Cheng~!" She raised her hands high and narrowed her eyes with a beautiful smile.

"Sorry for the long wait." Cheng Rang sat by the water and smiled apologetically.

"Not at all!" Ai Xueer shook her head vigorously.

Although due to the relocation of the settlement and the location of the secret base, the frequency between Cheng Rang's visits to Ai Xueer has become much longer, and the stay time is inevitably shortened, but she seems to be able to greet him with a smile every time, without any dissatisfaction.

It seemed that just seeing that he was still abiding by his promise to come here and call her name would be enough.

"There have been a lot of things lately, but I have a lot of good news to share with you."

Cheng Rang took out a wooden lunch box from his arms. This time, in addition to the normal food supply, he specially made delicious meals.

"Try it, I made it. I don't know if it suits your taste, but most of it is seafood..."

"Wow! It looks very delicious! Then I'm welcome!"

"No need to be polite, hahaha."

The sea-dwelling girl, who had eaten everything from her lunch box, lay on the shore with a satisfied look on her face, rested her head on Cheng Rang's arms, and snored happily.

"Well, it's delicious. I really want to eat the food cooked by Cheng himself for Ai Xue'er every day."

"There will be a day, and the reason why I came here this time is to tell you the news about [the war]."

"Hey, is the war about to end?!"

Ai Xueer suddenly raised her head and looked at Cheng Rang with eyes full of expectation.

"Um."

Cheng Rang smiled and nodded, but after hearing this answer, Ai Xueer seemed not to have expected Cheng Rang to answer so decisively, so she asked again: "Really?"

"real."

"Is the war really coming to an end? Ai Xue'er... can I be with you forever from now on?!"

"...The war is really going to end, and it won't be long."

"That... is... great."

Cheng would not lie to himself. He had always been like this because the two of them had agreed.

The war is ending!

After receiving such exciting news, the sea-dwelling girl happily swam in the water, jumped out of the water, and then fell nimbly. Under the crystal water, the snow-white body reflected by the light had a dazzling beauty.

Cheng Rang sat on the shore and smiled, watching the extremely excited girl jumping up and down, playing in the water like a child, and said, "Okay, okay, although the war is about to end, it's not over yet. Wait until No matter how happy you are, there is no rush."

Ai Xueer suddenly swam in front of Cheng Rang, jumped into his arms from the water and said, "Yeah! But Ai Xueer can't wait any longer~"

"It won't be long, I promise you."

"Well, I believe you!"

When Ai Xueer calmed down her excitement and returned to the water with only her head exposed, Cheng Rang continued: "The other good news is that Rick and Hubby are finally on the right track!"

"On...the right track?" She tilted her head, seemingly not understanding such abstract words.

"Just getting married."

"Married?! Hubie and Rick, are they married?!"

"Yes."

Cheng Rang told Ai Xueer what happened at their wedding, and the corners of his mouth could not help but curl up. When he was really happy for the two of them, he found that Ai Xueer's expression was a little downcast.

"It's great, Rick... Hubby and the others can love each other and be together all the time, and have family and friends who also love him..."

Ai Xueer was also happy for the two of them, but inevitably, she was involved.

In this way, we can only learn about the outside world through Cheng Rang's mouth every time.

Ai Xueer, who has a beautiful world, always feels very lonely.

"It would be great if...Ai Xueer could also marry the one she loves." Resting her elbows on the shore, Ai Xueer rested her arms on her head and slapped the water with her fish tail.

"Ai Xue'er... you can't marry your own mother..." Cheng Rang raised the corners of his mouth and corrected her possibly erroneous thoughts, "Only people of the opposite sex... uh, words You can’t say that, but there is a big difference between the ‘love’ in family relationships and the ‘love’ in love.”

"Is that so? Asher understands."

It was obviously a perfunctory answer, and he didn't understand it at first glance... Cheng Rang looked helplessly at the absent-minded Ai Xueer, and could only interpret it as the feeling that he was always alone here, very lonely, and wanted someone to accompany him. .

After all, I have also experienced such days...

It's really hard.

"There are other stories!" Cheng Rang told Ai Xueer in order to cheer her up.

"Really!" The girl swept away the gloom on her face and became cheerful again.

"Well, let me tell you..."

In the dark cave, the man told the story eloquently and the girl looked at him with bright eyes. Time always passed quickly in this place.

During the mission, Riku emphasized that he must keep a low profile and not be exposed, kill, or be killed. Therefore, as always, the high-profile pretentious behavior was basically restricted, and Cheng Rang could only use some exaggerated words to satisfy his little thoughts when telling these stories to Ai Xueer.

Ai Xueer also spared no effort to pursue her, clapping her hands from time to time and praising Cheng for being so awesome. It can be said that she is the leader of the atmosphere group that fully supports her.

To be honest, Cheng Rang likes Ai Xueer very much, but this kind of love is like a brother looking at his sister, without any other thoughts.

As clean as a piece of white paper, she has the best and most hopeful thoughts about everything. There is no turbidity in her mind. Her almost transparent eyes reveal hope, and her smile is like waves in the sun. brilliant.

If such a rare girl had any other thoughts about her, Cheng Rang might not be able to forgive herself.

He wanted to keep protecting her like this, but he couldn't bear to let her stay in such a lonely, dark and cage-like "world".

He can only end the [War].

As long as the war is over...

As long as you get the Star Cup...

Then everything will be solved, and I can introduce this innocent and kind sea-dwelling girl, Ai Xueer, to the two of them without any scruples.

They will definitely get along well...oh yes!

Cheng Rang suddenly thought of something and warned Ai Xueer in a nonchalant manner: "Ai Xueer, be careful of a girl named Ke Long!"

"Eh? Kelon? Isn't that Rick and Hubby's sister? Why should we be careful about her?"