Chapter 680

The girl looked to be about eleven or twelve years old.

She wore a loose, plain-colored dress, barefoot, her pale little feet already blackened, with straw and mud even splattered up onto her shins.

Rod looked at the girl's pale, sickly face and recalled her name.

Aure Fairclough.

The daughter of old Fraser, who ran the ore processing plant in Shi Ying Town.

She was the merchant's daughter Rod had encountered on the road back to Shi Ying Town after advancing to the sixth tier from Emerald City.

Their second meeting had been at the engagement banquet of the old gentleman Humbert's adopted daughter.

This girl's father, old Fraser, had once come in a panic seeking help, claiming his daughter Aure was haunted by demons and suffering from a grave illness.

Afterwards, Rod went over to take a look.

Yet there was not a trace of Infernal aura, but Aure's spirit was withered, she was severely malnourished, and nearly on the verge of death.

After Rod's Green Pastures Domain gently nurtured her for a while, there was no longer any problem.

Since then, he had heard nothing more about their family.

"Little Aure? Is something the matter?"

Rod placed his hands on his knees and crouched down.

He displayed the gentle smile of a handsome man.

Rod was thoroughly versed in the self-cultivation of a decent person; outside the Henry Farm, bards intent on digging up private secrets lingered year-round.

Look, behind the outermost sheep pen on the northeastern edge of the farm, a blue-skinned sea elf was hiding, thinking Rod couldn't see her.

Hmm.

Isn't that the sea elf Laura?

The adopted daughter of the Coral Bay Times newspaper office.

Although these fellows dared not approach, even a blurry long-distance lens could fabricate quite a bit of content.

So Rod, being cautious, had not walked too close.

Then

the girl's first sentence left him utterly baffled—

"Please do not use large-scale spells near Shi Ying Town, Ranger Rod."

The girl's voice was still childish, but her tone was filled with an unsettling maturity and sophistication.

Rod was stunned.

"Huh?"

Tally walked over and poked her little head: "Who are you, little thing? Where are your parents? Believe it or not, I'll eat you."

As she spoke.

Young Lady Succubus transformed into a tiefling form: crimson skin, demonic horns, strange stripes blooming on her face, sharp fangs and claws, feigning a threat.

It would be terrifying for a child, but for Rod, it was just right, even quite good-looking.

"This is no place for you to speak, Succubus."

"What did you say? You brat!?"

Rod grabbed Tally's collar to stop her from stepping forward.

At this point.

How could one not see that the little girl's state was wrong.

Aure ignored her, staring straight at Rod: "First meeting, Ranger Rod. I am Fabio."

Rod narrowed his eyes slightly, pretending not to know.

This was because he had heard the name Fabio only twice, both times while using the "Source-Seeking State" of 【Child of Nature】, with no one else present.

"Fabio? Never heard of it."

"You don't know Fabio?"

"Should I know?"

"As a ranger of the Windwall Forest, you ought to know; this is an agreement between us and the Kingdom of Aethelorn."

"My predecessor never mentioned anything regarding 'Fabio'; as far as I know, the predecessor before him, and the one before that, were the same."

Fabio was stunned as well.

She angrily pinched the bridge of her nose: "We should have guessed; human lifespans are too short to maintain agreements spanning such long periods."

"Please speak."

Rod cast a Cleansing Spell on her, then had Tally give her a pair of shoes.

There were not many useful items in the Succubus's spell satchel, but clothing, jewelry, and shoes were in abundance.

To perfect the persona of every transformation, one must satisfy different settings and attire.

Tally pouted and tossed over a pair of small sandals.

Rod, with a smile on his face, knelt halfway to put the shoes on her.

Doubtless, under the recording stones of the bards in the distance, he had already transformed into a friendly big brother caring for a lost girl.

Fabio was stunned again.

She looked at him with a strange expression and continued:

"Fabio is our designation. We are the bloodline of the Ancient Holy Clan. At the appropriate time every century, we will obtain the memories of the previous Fabio and be reborn. If not for your Origin's conditioning, I likely would have remained submerged for another decade."

"Holy Clan?"

"That is what you call the Ancient Lizardfolk. I do not like that name; it makes us sound like a pack of beasts. The Ancient Holy Clan and modern Lizardfolk merely resemble each other externally; they are not the same race."

"So, why have you come?"

Fabio's youthful face grew solemn, utterly serious.

"To guard the relics beneath Shi Ying Town."

Rod showed no reaction: "I've heard of First Epoch relics. So what is it?"

"It's a clay tablet, inscribed with—"

She fell silent, watching Rod warily. "Forgive me, this is too grave—I cannot reveal all until I know I can trust you. In short, it concerns a host of gods brimming with evil and destructive desires."

Rod was sick of riddles. He rolled his eyes.

"You're not saying that tablet seals a whole bunch of evil gods, are you?"

"How did you know that?!"

Fabio was stunned, her expression betraying obvious clumsiness.

"."

Then she saw Rod's stunned expression.

Her face instantly flushed pale, then darkened, torn between shame and fury.

"You tricked me?!"

"I just guessed."

No wonder it took you over a decade to wake up—your body and brain hadn't even fully developed yet. You're not sharp at all right now.

But

Are there a whole bunch of evil gods hidden beneath Shi Ying Town?

Rod pinched the bridge of his nose, his head throbbing.

"Forget it. That's why I told you not to use large-scale spells nearby. Times have changed—the boundary between other dimensions and reality grows thinner every day. If you wake them, the consequences will be unimaginable."

Is that so.

Then the goddess Mistralla's ban must be for the same reason.

"Besides this, I also need to verify the effectiveness of the forest's seal hiding the historical tablet. I'll be staying in the forest these next few days. I heard your influence has grown—wanted to let you know in advance."

"You, a little girl, coming into the forest every day? I'm afraid the bards will write you into infamy."

"I don't care about your public opinion."

"I care that Shi Ying Town has a primary school gallery full of ten-year-old brats. I'm taking them into the forest for a few days of fieldwork. You figure out how to sneak in."

"Why so complicated—"

"It's settled. I'm going to eat. Bye."

The world is vast, but eating is paramount.

Rod stopped caring about her and strode toward Shi Ying Town.

Fabio hurried after him, grabbing his sleeve.

"Aure!"

In the distance, old father Ferez arrived late, calling out anxiously.

"Rod? Aure! You've troubled Lord Rod! This is your savior!"

Rod waved his hand. He disliked such scenes. He brushed off Fabio's small hand and turned to leave.

But Fabio's clear black-and-white eyes flickered.

She shouted: "Father! I must repay Lord Rod for saving my life—I'm going to marry him! Let me live in the forest!"

Rod froze.

Click-click—

Click-click—

Countless recording orbs flashed, the hidden bards suddenly emerging from concealment.

"."

The next day.

The newspaper headline—"The Delayed Tide of Love: Forbidden Twilight Romance—Forest Warden Rod and a Ten-Year-Old Girl Secretly Promise Their Lives"—exploded into public view.

That night, Rod hanged every employee and owner of the newspaper from the Coral Bay city gate, where they remained on display for five days.

As for Fabio—she wasn't getting away either.

Under the pretext of spirit possession, she was hanged beside the newspaper owner.

But it was peak concert season, so the incident spread as expected.

Rod? He ran off to lie low.

(End of Chapter)