Pillar of Yita

”Mr. Diket!”

Fang Hong pushed the door open and entered, just in time to see the middle-aged knight sitting on one side of the bar hall. In a gray cloak, he was looking at him with a smile—the shadow and light outlined the gentle features of his face, which surprised Fang Hong into exclaiming.

Diket smiled and stroked his beard, nodding to him while motioning for him to sit down. ”Keep it down, my friend,” Diket said with a smile. ”I’m here quietly this time, I don’t want to alarm others.”

Fang Hong, hearing this, quickly looked around and saw that no one was paying attention, then let out a breath of relief. He turned back, scratching his head awkwardly. Diket couldn’t help but laugh at his appearance: ”You’re still the same as ever, Ade,” but then he paused, shaking his head: ”But not entirely.”

Fang Hong was taken aback, puzzled: ”How am I not the same, Mr. Diket? I haven’t changed much from before?”

Diket shook his head and smiled: ”You might not feel it yourself, but indeed there have been great changes.” Saying this, he squinted his eyes, observing Fang Hong closely: ”You’ve grown a lot, Ade.”

Fang Hong suddenly understood that the other was praising him, and couldn’t help but blush. However, after experiencing so many events, especially as the team gradually matured, even he could feel the changes in himself.

He was still the same Ade as before, but also not quite.

Looking at the other, he couldn’t help but say: ”Actually, the feeling you give me is completely different too, Mr. Diket.”

”Oh?” The knight was somewhat curious: ”How so?”

”How should I put it, Mr. Diket seemed more serious in the past.”

Upon hearing this, Diket chuckled: ”After leaving Dolifen, indeed I don’t need to be as burdensome as before with enemies and allies. Although everything from thirty years ago hasn’t ended, we have to look forward, don’t we, Ade?”

”That’s certainly true, Mr. Diket.” Fang Hong couldn’t help but agree, as he himself did not like dwelling on unhappy memories of the past; no matter how the past was, there’s always hope ahead.

After the pleasantries, Diket then asked: ”Speaking of which, I didn’t have your communication ID, I could only find a Holy Chooser outside to contact you, this shouldn’t be a problem, right? I heard there were some small flaws regarding your status, do you need my help?”

Hearing this, Fang Hong couldn’t help but be pleasantly surprised. He knew this seemingly ordinary middle-aged knight actually held extraordinary power represented by Colin Ishurian. Sir Roban is his eldest son, standing independently between the Royal Household and the Prime Minister, Nobles and Old Faction—everyone wanted to win over this hero from the Battle of Bain thirteen years ago because he was not only the leader of the Court Mages but also represented public favor.

Moreover, the ambiguous relationship between Princess Briana and Sir Roban ensured that, at critical moments, the Avenquin Elf would firmly stand by. Of course, the princess was merely one factor; more importantly, both the Elf and the Dwarf valued traditional friendships.

Thirteen years ago, participants in the Battle of Bain, the warriors of the past, today hold significant power.

Additionally, this knight himself was quite remarkable, as Fang Hong knew, the Elpaxin Artisan Association owed him a huge favor. Moreover, as a member of the traditional nobles of Colin Ishurian, even if Diket was somewhat rigid, he couldn’t be a solitary figure.

The forces behind him connected have the ability to change the court’s attitude. With this knight speaking favorably behind him, his value in the military would naturally increase significantly.

However, regarding Diket’s question, Fang Hong couldn’t help but shake his head.

Before, he was puzzled about why a stranger would contact him, knowing he had only given the new number to a handful of people after losing his communicator in Fenris. Those people didn’t need to use others to reach him.

Moreover, the owner of the number mysteriously informed him that someone wanted to see him, speaking unclearly, making him suspect he had fallen into a trap. Unexpectedly, behind it was an old friend who had fought alongside him in Dolifen.

Upon hearing this, Diket laughed heartily: ”He speaks unclearly, the situation down south is unstable. I worried about causing unnecessary trouble for Roban, so I came quietly without making a fuss, avoiding alerting too many people. It must have been hard on that Holy Chooser, not knowing who I am.”

Fang Hong nodded in agreement. Speaking of which, after their parting in Dolifen, it’s been nearly half a year since they last met.

He then replied: ”Actually, it was nothing; the person didn’t know me, once connected we deleted each other as friends, a mere communication ID isn’t enough to expose anything.” Saying this, he curiously observed Diket. After resolving the events in Dolifen, the other must have many matters to attend to, so why was he found here?

It’s known that traveling south from Elpaxin to reach Fanric isn’t a short journey.

Upon hearing this, Diket first smiled: ”I obtained your new communication method from Princess Briana, and this time heading south, partly because we haven’t met for half a year, I wanted to check on you and that little girl from the Mawei Family, and also to attend to some formal matters.”

Fang Hong was stunned. ”You know about Hilveld...?” But he suddenly realized he asked a silly question. Considering Briana’s relationship with his son, she naturally wouldn’t hide these matters from him.