Ch 324: A Hero Shouldn’t Make That Kind Of Face. You Look Better When You Smile

The two people, reeking of filth, returned to their unit after washing. Bal’s first action was to hug Phia.

“What are you doing?”

“Wuwuwu, I married a bad woman, a bad woman who threw her husband into the abyss and is unwilling to be involved in slaying ferocious beasts. Now, even hugging my wife is met with resistance.”

“……Alright, alright, don’t make a fuss. You can hug me however you want when we get back. Other people are watching.”

Phia responded softly, and Bal rubbed Phia’s ears.

“Ehey! I was waiting for you to say that!”

Bal let go, and Phia stood there feeling tricked.

“Hmm… I really shouldn’t be so nice to him!”

Nia’s side was quite harmonious. After showering, she kept clinging to Grey.

“Next time something like this happens, you have to come with me.”

“Okay, okay.”

Grey kneaded Nia’s fox ears. The fluffy ears felt great to the touch.

After the two who had showered rested, everyone quickly moved downwards through the floor Bal had broken through.

“So you encountered a Three-Headed Dog?”

Yselle asked Bal, and Bal nodded.

“Yeah, that thing was smelly.”

“I don’t remember such a thing existing back then.”

“Then it’s unclear. The Black Tide’s influence?”

“I don’t understand either. There are simply too many mysteries surrounding the Black Tide for me.”

“That’s true.”

When everyone descended to the place where Bal and Nia had fought the Three-Headed Dog, something unexpected happened. The Three-Headed Dog’s corpse, which should have been on the ground, was gone.

“What the hell? Where’s the corpse? I just killed that huge, smelly dog a while ago!”

Bal searched for the Three-Headed Dog’s corpse, but there were no signs of a struggle.

“This isn’t right?”

Nia searched with Bal. After a while, confirming there was no corpse, the two scratched their heads together.

“That’s strange.”

“If we can’t find it, let’s not bother. Let’s continue downwards.”

Phia pulled Bal, preparing to continue their action. She walked to Yselle and asked.

“Yselle, how many floors are there in total?”

“Let me think… I think there are 99 floors.”

“Why not add one more to make it a hundred? It’s driving my OCD crazy.”

Bal complained from the side, but Yselle began to explain seriously.

“Originally, we planned to build 150 floors, but 150 floors was too difficult, so it was reduced to 99 floors.”

“It’s not like building 99 floors doesn’t use resources.”

“Of course it’s different! This tower was voluntarily built by the people of the entire nation. It symbolizes that the Solandale Magic Kingdom will last forever.”

“So how many years has the Magic Kingdom existed?”

Bal’s sharp question caught Yselle off guard.

“Sigh, since it’s a request of the people, I won’t say much. I want to know if there are other strange things on the lower floors.”

Seeing Yselle’s difficulty, Bal gave her an easy way out. However, as soon as this question came out, Yselle’s expression became sad.

“My father is below. The king infected by the Black Tide.”

“Um… I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. I have to face this eventually.”

“That’s good. You wouldn’t mind if I made a few more holes in your family’s property, would you?”

Yselle responded to Bal with a wry smile.

“Please.”

“That’s good. Everyone get out of the way! I’m going to use some force!”

Bal just leaped up to break through the floor, when a sudden dog bark interrupted his action.

“Whoa, it’s still not dead? Let me take care of you, you dog!”

Bal ran towards the barking, and Yselle seemed to hear a familiar sound. She also ran towards the sound.

What appeared in the corner was not the giant Three-Headed Dog Bal had encountered before, but three small black dogs. Yselle quickly recognized the three puppies. She spread her wings and sped past Bal to the dogs.

“Xiao Hei, Xiao Nan, Bell, is that you?”

“Woof!”

The puppies responded to Yselle, and as soon as they saw her, they immediately pounced on her, surrounding her.

“You’re alright! That’s great!”

Yselle hugged the three small black dogs. Bal was dumbfounded. First, his charge was interrupted by an unsportsmanlike aerial maneuver, and then a sudden reunion.

“Are these three dogs yours?”

“In a way, they were my childhood companions. But they should have been swallowed by the Black Tide long ago. I don’t know why they’re here.”

Bal thought for a moment and pulled Nia over.

“What?! It’s settled then, I’m not going to be your vanguard again!”

Nia, pulled away from Grey by Bal, glared angrily at Bal.

“Can’t you communicate with animals? Good, there are three dogs here. Chat with them for five silver coins’ worth of time.”

After hearing Bal’s words, Nia first looked at Bal with a strange expression, then touched her forehead and Bal’s forehead with the back of her hand.

“You don’t have a fever, why are you talking nonsense? There aren’t even any dead dogs here, let alone three. Don’t tell me it includes you? Older brother who’s constantly called a Dumb Dog and a Stinky Dog by your sister-in-law.”

“Go, go, go. Don’t be silly. There really are dogs, look for yourself.”

Bal pointed to the three small black dogs wagging their tails in Yselle’s arms. They started barking when they saw Nia.

“Hmm?”

Nia squatted down and began to communicate with the dogs.

“Where did you come from?”

“Woof! Woof woof!”

Nia turned and translated.

“They say they don’t know either. They just woke up here.”

“Ask them if they know Yselle.”

“Do you know Yselle… no, Ilis?”

Hearing the name Ilis, the dogs barked even more happily.

“They say they’re their master.”

“Ask them what else they remember.”

“Do you remember anything else?”

The dogs quieted down, seeming to think. After a while, the middle dog barked.

“Um, um… I’m sorry!”

Seeing Nia apologize to the three small black dogs, Bal was completely confused. He was about to ask Nia what she had asked, but unexpectedly, Nia stood up, pressed Bal’s head, and continued to apologize to the dogs.

“Nia, what’s going on?”

“Don’t ask yet, you apologize too.”

“Huh?”

“Just do it.”

Bal straightened up and squatted in front of the dogs.

“I’m sorry.”

As soon as he reached out to touch them, the dogs began to lick Bal’s hand.

“It’s so itchy!”

At this time, Nia also squatted beside the dogs.

“They are the Three-Headed Dog we just killed.”

“Eh?!”

Bal and Yselle were both stunned, especially Bal. He stared at the three small black dogs for a long time.

“This… is this reasonable? What did they actually say?”

“They said that after being swallowed by the Black Tide, they didn’t die. Their consciousness still existed. Later, after an unknown amount of time, they appeared in this place. A little earlier today, they sensed Ilis’s magic, and so they woke up. But then, suddenly two people appeared and beat them up. Fortunately, they were separated into their current forms as a result.”

“……I’m sorry!”

Bal knelt on the ground and apologized to Yselle and the dogs. The dogs in Yselle’s arms struggled to get out, and they went to Bal’s side, licking his face.

“Woof!”

“They said their journey can only go this far, and they hope you will protect Ilis for them.”

“What do you mean?”

Bal looked up at the three dogs squatting on the ground. The tips of their tails began to slowly decompose into golden light points, just like Oulan before his death.

“You… are you going to disappear?”

“Woof!”

“Woof woof!”

“Woof woof.”

“They’re thanking you, thanking you for freeing them from the endless curse, and for letting them see their former master one last time.”

Nia translated in a choked voice, her eyes already filled with tears.

“You…”

Yselle reached out to stroke the dogs’ heads. The dogs happily closed their eyes, their mouths open, tongues hanging out. The golden light points had already decomposed to their midsection.

“Woof!”

“They said… to meet… you… again… really… is… great…”

Nia was already sobbing, kneeling on the ground.

“Me… too…”

Yselle sobbed in response to the dogs. She tried to hold them to try and save them, but the moment of separation would inevitably come. In their final moments, the dogs continued to lick Yselle’s face, licking away her tears. As they were about to disappear, they responded to Yselle.

“What… did they say…”

Yselle wiped away a tear and clasped the three light points to her chest.

“They said… a hero… shouldn’t… show… such an expression… you are… more beautiful… when you… smile…”

After translating the last sentence, Nia burst into tears in Bal’s arms. Those nearby also wept. They were moved by the dogs.

“Don’t worry, I will continue to protect Ilis for you. I swear!”

Bal raised his head, tears streaming down his cheeks. He swore towards the direction where the dogs’ light points had disappeared.