Yarra's Adventure Notes-Chapter 1288 - 74: We Call It Mithril Coins

"You didn’t lie to me, my child, you really did come back alive from such a dangerous place." When all unrelated individuals had left, and only three people remained in the room, Marquis Snape heavily sank into the corner sofa of the living room, heaved a sigh while gazing at Catherine and said, "When I received the message that all of you had returned safely to the Elven Royal Court, I could hardly believe my own ears. I didn’t dare to sleep all night, fearing that upon waking up, it would all turn out to be just a dream. Phew, thankfully, none of it was a dream, and even that terrible Forbidden Land couldn’t stop you. You kept your promise and returned to my side. I..."

His voice was cut off halfway by his own choking sobs. In the presence of others, he was shrewd and resolute, building his own business empire, but in front of his own kin, he became a fragile old man. Few words into the conversation and his eyes began to redden, his voice growing hoarse.

Of course, no one would laugh at his distress. Even if everyone previously in the sitting room were still there, no one would mock him. Everyone could understand the overwhelming emotion a senior feels upon seeing a child return safely from afar—beyond description in any language—something everyone could empathize with.

Therefore, the knight girl and Pannis exchanged a glance, sharing a smile. Catherine sat next to Marquis Snape, her slightly large hands for a woman reaching out to gently enclose the Old Marquis’s frail, withered hands. She tenderly patted the back of his hand and softly said, "I’m sorry, Grandpa, for worrying you. Although it’s a bit late, I still want to say, Grandpa, I’m back."

"Hahaha." The Old Marquis laughed like a child, with tears still on his face, unable to stop himself from laughing heartily. His tearful laughter was filled with joy as he gripped the young girl’s strong hand and said loudly, "Good, good, this is probably the happiest moment of my life. Hahaha, if it weren’t for such a sensitive time, and if you were willing, I would surely have held the grandest of feasts to celebrate your safe return."

"The happiest moment, hehe, crunch." Pannis sat cross-legged on the conference table, lazily speaking while biting into a dry fruit he had taken from the fruit plate. Although it was hard to understand why he would choose to sit in all sorts of odd places rather than a chair, the Old Marquis wasn’t bothered to comment on it, as Pannis’s words had already caught his attention: "I’m not so sure it will be, after you hear what comes next. I hope you can still maintain your opinion."

"What is it?" Marquis Snape’s smile became somewhat stiff. Like any ordinary person, he grew nervous because of Pannis’s words. He looked anxiously at Catherine and then back at Pannis, asking with a hint of unease, "Is there any special news coming up? I haven’t heard anything."

"Of course there is. You haven’t heard it through official channels because this is information that shouldn’t be made public. Naturally, we haven’t reported it to anyone." Pannis’s voice slowly became more somber, and the suppressed tone combined with a mysterious cadence inevitably raised a sense of ominous foreboding, "I suggest you calm your mind now, prepare yourself mentally, and then we will tell you the specifics. We certainly don’t want an excessive emotional swing to lead to any irreversible consequences. Hmm, if only we knew earlier, we would have brought Lina along today; at least with her here, emergency treatment would be more convenient."

"Hey, enough already." Catherine interrupted Pannis’s performance with a mix of laughter and disbelief, saying irritably, "Nobody talks like that. Even good news become scary after you say it that way."

"Eh, I meant well though." Pannis revealed an annoying smile and said cheerfully, "There wasn’t a single lie in what I just said, nothing exaggerated at all."

"True, but you deliberately made it sound misleading," the young girl glared at him, then reassured the elderly man beside her: "Don’t listen to him, Grandpa Snape. It’s actually good news. But he’s right about one thing; you need to be prepared and try not to get too excited."

"I understand." The only thing the Old Marquis felt was bewilderment, but knowing he meant well, he took several deep breaths to calm himself before nodding, "I’m ready now; tell me."

"This is a piece of news no one else has spoken of, except for Mr. Dillie and my family’s little skeleton, who were eyewitnesses—no other informants involved." Catherine glanced around subconsciously and whispered, "In the Core Area of the Forest of Death, within the Forbidden Land of Living Souls, we stumbled upon several campsite relics. Based on the traces left in the camp, we can conclude that those were from... Grandfather’s last expedition."

"What did you say?" The Old Marquis stood up abruptly, his voice becoming shrill from excitement as he grasped Catherine’s shoulders, "The old man’s campsite that he left behind? Did you find anything there? Did you find his... No, it couldn’t be possible, but did he leave any message behind?"

"Grandpa Snape, look at you, we told you to prepare yourself, and yet you’re still so agitated," Catherine sighed and advised, "This isn’t even the main topic, and you’ve already become like this. I’m afraid to continue."

"Alright, alright, I’m calm, I’m calm." The elder, truly a king in the business world, managed to forcibly adjust his mindset and calm his emotions, sitting back down, he said seriously, "Okay, continue."

"Hmm, first, a digression." Catherine revealed a cunning smile and happily said, "Regarding the debt my family owes you, I’ve already converted it into five hundred Magicsteel Coins. It’s just inconvenient today, so I haven’t brought them over. I’ll deliver the money tomorrow or the day after, and that way, our debt will be reduced by another eighth, leaving a gap of thirty-five million gold coins."

"Is this your news?" The elder said with a wry smile, "This must be your reward for the mission, right? You just got your reward and are already returning the portion that is yours to me, that’s too..."

"No, this is just a side remark." Catherine said with a tantalizing air, "And you must not refuse, or else you’ll be in big trouble."

"But I... Huh? What’s this?" The elderly man was about to say something when he saw Catherine open her hand before him, revealing a gleaming Mithril Coin in her palm.

"Well, under normal circumstances, we call it a Mithril Coin," Pannis said, propping his chin on his hand while seated at the table, "Or commonly known as money."