Undeniably, to avoid unexpectedly stumbling into a “battlefield”, Tyler’s ability to observe and discern the “enemy” had been greatly augmented.
With the aid of his skill’s deceleration effect, it took him no more than three seconds to ascertain there was no trace of Emilia within a thirty-meter radius, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.
(Alas… truly, each day is fraught with “surprises”.)
To be precise, due to the influence of the “Heart of Fearlessness,” Tyler was “startled,” but not “frightened.”
Nonetheless, it had to be said that if he continued to live on tenterhooks like this, it would inevitably shorten his lifespan.
“Banning! Wonderful! I’ve finally found you!”
Upon seeing Tyler, Avril promptly sprinted towards him.
In her wake, the divination rabbit granny ambled over leisurely.
“Hehehe, so it turns out we would encounter ‘another knitting needle’… So that’s what it means~,” the rabbit granny muttered to herself.
Tyler didn’t comprehend what she was saying and immediately peered into the rabbit granny’s heart, only then realizing that the rabbit granny had divined for Avril.
The divination’s outcome was that tonight would be the best opportunity for Avril to depart from Sunny Town, and prior to departing, she would encounter “another knitting needle.”
(“Another knitting needle”… Could that be referring to me?)
Tyler pondered.
Avril has always been fond of tailoring, and knitting needles are indispensable tools when knitting woolen garments. They always come in pairs, and correlating this to the divination’s outcome, the implied message is self-evident… and somewhat terrifying.
“Hmm? Were you looking for me? I was just about to dine, would you care to join?”
Knowing full well, Tyler feigned surprise, succeeding in leading Avril and the rabbit granny away from areas where Emilia might appear, to a secluded yet delectable restaurant.
·
Throughout the meal, Tyler was “quite astonished” to “learn” that Avril and the rabbit granny planned to depart Sunny Town for Madison Town tonight.
He then smoothly volunteered to accompany them to the familiar carriage station after dinner, arranging for them the best carriage and coachman that could depart tonight.
Just before parting ways, while the rabbit granny was filling her water bag, Avril seized the opportunity to be alone with Banning.
A bashful Avril didn’t know what to say to Banning, however, Elle had something to convey.
“Banning, um… Sister Elle said she has something to tell you…”
Upon hearing this, Tyler’s heart tightened, realizing that what was inevitable has finally arrived. He maintained a calm exterior and nodded.
In the blink of an eye, Avril’s originally gentle countenance transformed into a stern one, instantly morphing from the adorable girl-next-door to a commanding Valkyrie.
Concurrently, the status information Tyler saw also changed.
━━━━━━━━━
Elle, Female, 16 years old, Villager of Ira Village.
Production Occupation: None
Manufacturing Occupation: Tailor – Lv9
Combat Occupation: Murderous Phantom – Lv20
Skills: 1 / 1
━━━━━━━━━
In just a month’s time, Elle’s combat occupation, “Murderous Phantom,” had already advanced from level 6 to level 20, which Tyler hadn’t anticipated.
It seems that during their time living alone and adventuring, Avril/Elle had experienced her fair share of hardships.
(No wonder she was so agile that night…)
“Hehe, Banning, aren’t you thinking, ‘Finally, Avril is leaving, now I don’t have to live in constant fear?'”
As soon as Elle spoke, Tyler’s heart was thrown into turmoil. 𝒪𝗏𝒍xt.𝐜𝒐𝓶
A woman’s intuition is truly terrifying.
Tyler maintained his calm demeanor, beginning his verbal sparring with Elle evenly.
“Elle, if it weren’t for the conflicting itinerary, I really wanted to go to Madison Town with Avril.”
“Hmph, still the same old sweet talk, don’t think I don’t know what you men are thinking.”
If it weren’t for his mind-reading ability, Tyler wouldn’t dare to easily conclude that Elle was bluffing.
“Elle, you’re overthinking,” Tyler helplessly shrugged.
At this point, Elle suddenly stepped forward, sniffing Tyler’s scent intently.
“Hey, you… seem to have the scent of another woman on you?”
“Hmm, I interact with many people daily, it’s inevitable to pick up some scent. Why don’t you sniff again to see if there are other smells?”
Tyler remained unperturbed, not at all flustered.
Through mind-reading, he had a clear understanding of Elle’s thoughts.
At this moment, Elle herself wasn’t completely confident, she was merely applying pressure and testing him.
Several rounds of confrontation had passed, and Elle had retreated without any gains.
Just before switching back to Avril, she had spitefully warned Tyler, “In any case, if you dare to mess around behind Avril’s back, I will not let you off.”
With that, Elle even gestured a ‘snap’ with her hand.
To this, Tyler could only return a smile.
.
After switching back to Avril, she kept apologizing to Tyler, causing a faint ache in his conscience.
Afterward, the rabbit granny returned from her errands and joined Avril in the carriage.
While Avril was not paying attention, rabbit granny quietly slipped a note to Tyler, then winked at him.
Tyler understood and silently accepted.
·
Watching Avril and rabbit granny about to leave, Tyler felt a pang of reluctance. Just as the carriage was about to leave, Tyler handed the remaining four smoke bombs through the carriage window to Avril.
“Avril, if you throw these, they’ll create smoke. If you need to escape from danger, use them. Keep yourself safe!”
“Thank you, Banning! I’ll keep them safe!”
Avril gratefully accepted them, tears welling up in her eyes.
Shortly after, the carriage started moving, and Tyler waved his arm. Avril and rabbit granny leaned out of the window, looking back at him.
“Granny! Avril! Take care of yourselves on the road! I’ll meet you in Madison Town!”
“Banning, take care too!”
“Keep it up, young man~!”
The carriage slowly faded into the distance amidst the clattering of wheels.
Tyler stood watching until the carriage disappeared, he still lingered.
·
Today, Tyler had said his goodbyes first to Granny Kasi, then to Avril and divination rabbit granny.
The melancholy of parting was always hard to bear. The Prison Star world had no internet or phone, and the postal system available to the commoners was imperfect. It was very hard to meet again after parting.
However, this reminded Tyler of his purpose in the Prison Star. Regardless of everything, he had to complete his mission, return to the Earth world, save his father, and rescue his family.
Coming back to his senses, Tyler opened the note that rabbit granny had given him.
It read:
━━━━━━━━━
Banning, the matters of the Scarlet Family, now rely on you.
I have nothing to give you, nor can I divine your future. However, today I did manage to divine your “Stellar Oracle”. It’s abstract, and its specific meaning can only be interpreted by you.
·
“Stellar Oracle·Banning”
Do not be entranced by the butterfly’s dance, the black butterfly is the servant of the snake;
Do not ignore the bird’s cry, the holy white deer is the messenger of God;
━━━━━━━━━
(Is this some sort of warning and reminder?)
Tyler read the “Stellar Oracle” several times. He had no idea about some of the images, like the butterfly and the white bird, but he was somewhat familiar with the image of the snake.
(I’ll rest at the inn and think about it.)
As evening fell, Tyler didn’t want to waste time standing outside. But speaking of the inn, it reminded him of something he had said to Emilia during the day.
—”Emilia, there might still be remnants of the Mayor’s power… Your home isn’t safe at the moment. If you don’t mind, you could stay with me at the inn.”