CHAPTER 32: LYRA

"What!?"

"How does he know the family is in danger? Did dad tell him?"

"Also, why is he telling me? Does he really expect a twelve-year-old kid like me to change the situation?"

"Plus, he was never mentioned in the original story; either he dies early, or something is missing here!"

Muttering inwardly, Damien looked at Garrick with suspicion.

Although he didn’t know what it was, he always felt the intentions of this person, who claimed to be his father’s friend, were impure.

Unfortunately, he neither had the strength nor the ability to find out what it was.

The only thing he could do was try to get as much information from him and see what he wanted.

So, using his contract gem ability to whisper to Isabelle to stay still, he faced Garrick directly.

"Hey, Garrick", Damien said, dropping his guild head honorific

"I don’t care about any adventurer party my old man was in, but what do you mean he’s about to die?"

"And you said you wanted me to promise you one thing? What do you want?"

Staring into Garrick’s eyes, Damien tried to see if he could see any emotion; perhaps that would allow him to guess his intentions.

Unfortunately, the only thing Damien saw was anger and madness..

"Kid, it seems that what I said made you angry, but it’s the truth"

"The empire seems to be making moves on all of us from that party, and that brings me to the favour I wanted to ask you about"

Saying this, the madness in his eyes calmed down a bit.

"Lyra, come out here. Come meet this kid"

"he’s the one who’ll help you out next"

With that said, under the shocked eyes of Isabelle and Damien, an injured elf girl came from behind Garrick’s shelf.

With shoulder-length blond hair, a set of leaf green chain mail armour, blue eyes, sharp ears and a bow strapped against her back

Had it not been for her waist and right arm wrapped in bandages, Damien could say she was a one-in-a-kind beauty

So much so that he was temporarily lost in thought, a state that made Isabelle beside him slightly angry

*Ouch!*

Feeling his thigh being pinched, Damien glared at her angrily. Unfortunately, Isabelle pretended not to see him.

"Haha, quite the beauty, eh?"

"Unfortunately, that’s the problem, Lyra here came from the elf forest to request help from Theron"

"Apparently, it seems that the surrounding empires, including ours, are making their move on the elven forest to capture elves for slavery"

"Not only that, but I suspect the dragon empire is using this as an opportunity to wipe out Elinor, another member of our party"

"They are trying not to allow us to gather together"

Pausing to smoke his cigar, Garrick struggled to maintain his calm.

"As you can see, Lyra here is injured. According to her, her group, which was sent to request help from Theron, was ambushed by slave traders in Gravestone border town"

"Although she managed to escape, there’s no way she can complete her mission. I want you to take her and rescue her comrades"

"If you can do that, not only will I owe you a favour, but as a payment in advance, have this"

Handing Damien and Isabelle two guild cards, Garrick had a smile on his face.

On this guild card, there was no mention of Voss or anything, just Damien and Isabelle, who were essential for them in maintaining their hidden identities.

However, holding this card in his hand, Damien didn’t immediately accept it, but rather looked at Lyra in front of him.

Unlike Garrick, he felt that the name was very important; unfortunately, he couldn’t remember where.

Twelve years had already passed, and his knowledge of the book’s events was not as clear as it once was.

Despite his best efforts, he had forgotten many minor details over the course of the years.

It’s just that, this time, despite not knowing where she was from, a feeling at the back of his mind kept telling him he couldn’t afford to let Lyra escape his grasp.

Thinking of this, as someone who always trusted his gut, Damien instantly made a decision.

"Alright, Garrick, I’ll accept, however, when I come back, you have to tell me more about my parents and the Voss family ’s condition"

"Also, since you’re part of or were part of the party, aren’t you also in danger?" Damien asked, a hidden inquiry in his eyes.

However, Garrick, hearing this, just smiled.

"Haha, I am in danger, but so what? I, the king of fists, once fought the current king of the empire for three days and three nights. Who dares attack me head-on?"

"Those rats are probably even too afraid of the guild leader to do anything, so don’t worry about me"

"The only issue I have is that I can’t move as freely as I did. Like rats, they’ll most likely ambush me once I’m alone"

Gritting his teeth angrily, Damien could tell that Garrick was very frustrated by the current situation.

However, a voice at the back of his mind still told him to be wary of Garrick even if he saw him like this.

At least until he asked his father, Garrick was listed as a target of caution.

Making up his mind, Damien prepared to leave.

After taking one more glance at the elf girl who had not said a word since they got here, he directly stood up.

"Isabelle, Lyra, let’s go."

"Guild head, don’t worry, we’ll complete the mission and be right back."

As he said this, Damien left the room with both of them in tow, leaving only Garrick seated in the room with a smile on his face.

"Damien, huh? smart kind. He seems to suspect something"

"However, even if you do, what can you change?"

"Theron! Elizabeth! Elinor! Durin! Are you ready? This era is about to reach its peak!"

"hahaha!"

Laughing in silence, his whole being seemed to be consumed in madness as he looked forward to the future.

Unfortunately, Damien wasn’t there to see this scene, as right now, he and Lyra were in the middle of a serious discussion.

"Hey, Lyra, is the Elf queen a virgin?" asked Damien to the shocked eyes of the blushing Lyra and Isabelle.