The precise physical condition allowed Lann to wake up from his meditation right at six in the morning.
Fingers gently pressing the ground, his sturdy body and heavy armor stood up silently.
On the bed, Alia, curled up in the blanket, was murmuring names in her sleep.
Saying things like "Sansa is a fool", "Rob, help", "Jon, save me".
Everything that happened last night was brutal and sudden, even someone like Alia was genuinely frightened.
The names she muttered were those of her family.
This little girl seemed to immerse herself in the excitement of encountering new things every day, but deep down, the fear of longing for home and leaving it was something she probably didn’t even realize herself.
Lann gently shook his head in the dim morning light.
The distance represented by the convergence of celestial orbs was too vast even for interstellar civilizations.
He was just a slightly special Demon Hunter.
He couldn’t save everyone.
But precisely because of this, Lann wanted to try to save those he might be able to help.
Even if it’s just... a try?
He put back on his studded leather gloves, secured his steel gauntlets, and hoisted the already stiffened corpse.
The ever taller Demon Hunter walked lightly out of the room, heading towards the agreed-upon lakeside meeting place.
A morning mist floated over the lake’s surface, different from the mysterious and dark atmosphere under the moonlight, offering a sense of moist freshness.
Lann rented a small fishing boat by the lake, similar to the one he and Bernie had used when they went to hunt Water Ghosts.
Lann could handle it by himself.
He declined the fisherman’s offer to steer the boat, paying a bit more for the deposit instead.
The bow of the boat sliced through the water and lily pads, just barely entering the lake about ten meters when a sound different from the usual "splashing" of the boat arose nearby.
The Messenger of the Lady of the Lake, the Nymph from last night, followed alongside Lann’s boat like a water sprite.
After glancing at her, Lann diverted his gaze, avoiding looking at her directly.
Fun Fact: Plump fat is a semi-solid substance.
With the waves swaying and splashing, the Nymph’s unclad body excellently demonstrated the elasticity of a semi-solid material.
"And hello to you, Demon Hunter."
The Nymph herself didn’t mind at all, in fact, tales of villagers engaging in trysts with Nymphs, Marsh Daffodils, and even Harpies often circulated among the folk.
The villagers found these stories fascinating, while Demon Hunters merely shrugged them off.
Indeed, some men could find pleasure with these wild creatures, but the vast majority who presented themselves just ended up as an additional meal for them instead.
In the literal sense of "an extra meal".
Lann rather believed that the Nymph serving the Lady of the Lake wouldn’t be as wild as her kind in the fields.
But today, she didn’t seem quite happy.
"Are you in trouble?"
The Nymph led the way in the waters ahead. Lann, finding steering a bit dull, asked directly.
The other party answered straightforwardly as well.
"I’ve lost my necklace, it’s a necklace crafted of precious gold and rubies."
"Isn’t the Lady supposed to be aware of all information across this region? Didn’t she tell you?"
"The Lady surely will tell me eventually. Isn’t that also why I’m bringing you here, to ask along the way?"
The Nymph answered so naturally, it surprised Lann significantly.
In his long-standing impression, the attitude of deities toward requests was either to feign profound wisdom, indifferent and silent,
or to handle everything effortlessly, dealing with both causes and effects in a single gesture.
That’s how it was in the Eastern myths of his homeland; otherwise, wouldn’t it be too undignified?
But listening to Miss Nymph speak...
It seemed that besides using her own power to look around, the Lady hardly employed any extraordinary powers.
Even their locations needed to be verbally asked by Nymph in front of the Lady.
Lann slightly combined this scene with his imagination of home myths.
—Would the Queen Mother bestow an immortal decree, summoning a maiden to embroider with her, while chatting about domestic affairs and gossip?
Such thoughts made it feel so mundane...
Perhaps this is how gods are in Western contexts.
Lann had no particular opinion about it since he didn’t believe in any god.
Black Seagull Island wasn’t far from Dark Water Village, taking about a forty-minute boat ride to reach.
This lake island should have beautiful scenery, but as Lann approached it, a frown appeared on his face.
As if he were a seasick passenger wanting to vomit.
"An inexplicable feeling of nausea...even the scenery around begins to disgust me."
Is this the place where the Lady of the Lake resides?
Stopping the fishing boat on the shallows, he hoisted the corpse and waded onto the island.
The Nymph walked alongside Lann.
Her expression wasn’t pleasant either but was much more adapted than Lann.
"This is Da Gun’s power; it’s uncomfortable, isn’t it?"
The Nymph explained to Lann, who also furrowed his eyebrows tightly.
"But you probably can’t imagine, this level of sensation is already the result after the Lady gathered the power of Vizima Lake for suppression."
Lann slightly clicked his tongue.
His willpower had long been proven through self-conducted surgery, opening his own chest.
He could unhesitatingly open his heart’s arteries with clear rational understanding.
Yet with such willpower, just stepping onto Black Seagull Island made him feel irritable and nauseous.
If it were an ordinary person, it might be equivalent to directly entering a state of mania upon landing?
Should it persist long, perhaps they might directly go insane.
And this was even the suppressed intensity... Da Gun was indeed a terrifying Evil God.
"You say this is Da Gun’s power, but my badge didn’t vibrate."
Wading through the water, Lann asked the Nymph for more information.
"A Demon Hunter’s badge doesn’t react to all supernatural powers. Da Gun’s power is profound and strange even in the Lady’s eyes; it’s normal not to have a response. Precisely due to this trait, the Lady believes that using his power to manipulate the souls of the deceased won’t cause local Magic Power imbalance."
"That is a force from outside the world, not participating in building the balance."
The small island on the lake couldn’t be large; Lann barely followed the Nymph a few steps before reaching the center of the island at a small pool.
The Nymph raised her hand, signaling Lann to halt.
She gracefully knelt on one knee first and lowered her head.
"Good day, Lady. As you instructed, I have brought the Demon Hunter you hoped for—Lann of Sintra."
Lann also threw the corpse aside, placing his left hand over his chest, extending his right hand to his side, bending forward into a bow.
This was the courtly manner of this world, as mentioned during a casual chat with Triss.
Lann thought it better to use the local custom when paying respects to a local deity.
The memories filled with beauty every second from the Son of the Emperor provided Lann a considerable upgrade in his sense of artistry.
This allowed him to perform even a merely heard manner with a remarkable ceremonial grace in movement and detail.
If a Temeria royal steward witnessed it, he probably wouldn’t think it was his country’s manner.
Because many parts were unorthodox.
But if it were said to be a similar manner from a distant land, he probably wouldn’t dare critique it.
Because this manner indeed appeared solemn.
Lann sent greetings to that clear spring with a bow.
The spring responded accordingly.