Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 85 - 82: The Bear Clan Assassin Echel

"Grandfather?" Kayla looked at Echel, wanting to gather information about the disheveled, unexpected visitor from him.

"Mr. Lyle Butler, my new friend from Twilight Memories, came primarily to see my treasure, and secondarily because he needs your help with something."

Kayla revealed a helpless smile, "I understand what you mean, but I fear Mr. Lyle might be heartbroken. Is he a similar existence to you now?"

"Andereyen, like Irene, I think so."

"Then... is His Highness Lyle also a... former king?"

"No, perhaps he will be in the future, but tonight’s actions have almost made me dismiss that thought. A ranger who can’t climb trees is not a good king."

Kayla looked at Lyle, who was slowly getting to his feet, and voiced her support for the new guest, "A partial deficiency cannot define the whole, a king must have a long-term vision, as you taught me."

"Yes, of course," Echel hummed, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied that his granddaughter was helping an outsider, although he was clear she was right. "But I’m not a king now, and I don’t need to worry about the big picture."

Watching her grandfather grumble like a child, Kayla smiled at Lyle like daffodils blooming by the river.

Her expression returned to serious, her gaze proud yet authoritative, refined yet solemn.

"Mr. Lyle Butler, standing before you is the fifth ruler of the Liveser Kingdom, Kayla Livesey."

Kayla carried her chin high, her eyes fixed on Lyle. Lyle realized this seemed to be some sort of royal audience ceremony.

But understanding this did little good, as he could only awkwardly, his body trembling, perform a hat-doffing gesture to the beautiful queen.

"Um... It is an honor to meet you, Queen Kayla."

Perhaps it was Lyle’s comical demeanor, perhaps the egregiously flawed and botched etiquette.

Kayla turned back into a girl for a moment, her smile radiant as sunlight, and the next second, she resumed the lofty posture of the queen, glancing sideways at something behind her. She extended her arm, clad in a teal leather glove, her fingers like Elves escaping a cage, placing them before Lyle’s eyes.

Lyle looked at the arm before him and then at Kayla’s eyes, emerald green.

Until his consciousness was swallowed by greenery, the strings in his mind snapping.

"What?"

Kayla’s face blushed like a ripe apple, her voice akin to a mosquito’s whine.

"You should perform the hand-kissing gesture, His Highness Lyle."

So that was it?

Mentally apologizing, Lyle extended his hand towards the delicate arm.

His black leather glove, clasped another... black leather glove.

Lyle stared at Echel’s head shrouded in a hood, a visage that seemed to exude a dark aura from the shadows.

"Kayla, this isn’t a formal state affair, there’s no need to practice national etiquette."

He turned his head and glared fiercely at Lyle, "Watch yourself, boy!"

"But, Grandfather, you’re the one who taught me the basic etiquette."

"We’re just ordinary friends, Lyle has an uncle who’s alive, so he should be about your age. Just greet him with the Liveser Kingdom’s peer-level etiquette."

"Are you sure?"

"I’m sure."

"No take-backs?"

"I, Echel, never regret."

"Alright then." Kayla shrugged her shoulders, hopping like an Elf, her golden hair rippling through the air, her laughter blending with the sound of wind chimes. She walked up to Lyle, embraced him, her lips close to his ear.

"I’m glad to meet you, Lyle."

Like a breeze, untouchable, she receded.

Echel’s quiver clattered to the floor.

"What’s this?"

"The hug gesture, Liveser’s trendy new etiquette this year. As a king, one should keep up with the times."

"Ban it! Liveser does not permit such indecent etiquette."

"No, the hug gesture fosters relationships between people, any good thing will be implemented in Liveser."

Echel gritted his teeth.

Kayla looked at her own arms.

"Grandpa."

"What’s the matter?"

"Is His Highness Lyle really one of yours? When he held me, it was... just like one of us."

"...Maybe some kind of magic, he is Cassandra’s sheriff, and he has normal social activities."

"Sheriff? Like a Guardian Ranger, that’s amazing."

"He’s far from a Ranger," Echel stared at Lyle as if looking at a dead man, "What do you say, Lyle, how does it feel?"

Lyle’s consciousness was still immersed in the unexpected tenderness.

"It feels... soft?"

Echel pounced like a wild beast.

......

"I understand now, His Highness Lyle wants our Sword Dance Grass."

"Yes, Sword Dance Mandala, just one will suffice."

"Hmm... if it’s just one, I can give it to you, but if Liveser is willing to accept new things, the ancient traditions are still preserved. If you want the Sword Dance Grass, you must prove you are worthy of it."

"Yes, Echel talked to me about the Liveser coming-of-age ceremony, and I am willing to participate in this hunt."

"Hmm, but Mr. Lyle must have come of age a long time ago. For fairness, the target of your hunt must be decided by me, who provides the Sword Dance Grass. Is that acceptable?"

"Of course, it is my honor, Your Majesty," Kayla clearly prioritized the bigger picture over a granddaughter’s control, presumably not making things difficult for oneself.

Kayla’s palm laid flat on the table, a custom in Liveser, signifying the decision was final and beyond dispute or revision.

"His Highness Lyle, Liveser is willing to give you a chance to obtain the Sword Dance Mandala. In exchange, Liveser needs your future support and convenience. This is an investment. Don’t be surprised, we don’t need actual chips. I think our friendship is more precious. You are someone valued by Echel, I trust my grandfather’s judgment, and I also trust my own eyes."

Lyle took off his hat, placed it on his chest, leaned forward, and bowed, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

"We will start your hunting ceremony tomorrow. Tonight, please rest at the Dawn Palace with Grandpa. I know this is a waste of time for you, but my people need to rest, and in the dark, the beasts have the upper hand."

"I don’t mind, as long as Kayla is there, whenever we start is fine," Echel.

"Then we’ll do as you instruct, Queen Kayla."

The night in Liveser was spent on a hammock.

Kayla laid on the right side of the parallel hammocks, "His Highness Lyle, I heard that people on the ground all lie on wooden beds; are you accustomed to the hammock?"

Lyle laid on the left, "I have no problem, Her Highness Kayla. I have rested in a hammock before (in a past life). Actually, many sailors love hammocks on ships because they don’t fall out of bed due to sudden rocking."

"The ocean, though I’ve heard about that large lake from my grandfather’s stories, I’ve never seen it. I’ve never left Liveser; I wonder if I’ll be able to see it someday?"

"Kayla, do you want to hear grandpa tell a story?" Echel slept in the middle, with the Silver Falcon Bow, quiver, and a shiny dagger hung on the side facing Lyle.

"Yes, after becoming an adult, I rarely get to hear grandpa’s stories."

"Ahem, today, grandpa will tell you a story about a great hero who saved the world."

Lyle listened intently, curious if the bedtime stories from another world were the same as those he had experienced.

"Once upon a time, there was a great hero named Echel..."

Lyle fell into a lengthy inner silence.

"When Echel was six years old, he dug traps to kill an adult black bear, exchanging its fur for a very powerful bow. At ten, he killed a three-meter-tall brown bear with this great bow. His feats were sung in the village; all the little girls liked him. When he came of age, Echel was no longer satisfied with ordinary game. He hunted a ten-meter-tall Bear Mage with a rocky shell, impervious to arrows. But Echel was not afraid. He leaped and darted among the tree branches, eluding even the most agile monkeys. He dodged the Bear Mage’s claws and shot arrows into its eyes, smashing its brain. Echel had come of age, growing stronger and stronger. A beautiful girl named Gleia declared she would marry no one but him..."

"It seems grandmother wasn’t called Glaya, nor did she have a pet name as Glaya." Kayla stated a fact.

"...Ah ha, I said it’s a story, detached from reality."

A story about someone with his own name, who had been killing bears from a young age to adulthood.

Besides flattering Echel and building spiritual admiration for Kayla, the story held certain reference value; maybe Lyle could consider the trap-making methods.

Of course, there was quite an exaggeration. In the story, Echel, happy or sad, hungry or full, resolved everything by killing bears. And the opponents set up were ludicrous – a ten-meter-tall Bear Mage with rocky skin, a Fire Bear, a Two-headed Bear, a Bear Mage, and finally, the mountainous Bear God. Averaging three bears a day, it was outrageous the bears hadn’t gone extinct.

This was the story of Echel, the Bear Clan killer, that Lyle listened to all night long.

In the end, Lyle counted bears as he drifted into sleep.