Lyle walked down the stairs, straightened the sofa that had been knocked askew from the previous collision, and sat down, glancing at Renas's waist.
A magic leather pouch?
He had noticed earlier that Renas's long spear weapon was drawn from the leather pouch at her waist. This should be a magical item specifically for storing things in this other world.
It was the kind that was quite expensive.
Given Renas's original noble status, possessing such a magic leather pouch was normal.
"I'm just offering practical solutions," Lyle shrugged. "Both of these methods can definitively resolve the curse on you."
"Do you have any other methods?" Renas looked up, her gaze fixed on Lyle.
"Take me to the place where you first got cursed," Lyle nodded, a slight smile on his face, looking back at Renas. "Only by finding the source might we truly find a way to resolve the curse on you."
"However, this method cannot be guaranteed."
Renas's slender fingers tightened on her black long spear, her expression somewhat grim and conflicted.
Back then, she had protected her family's territory and taken pride in clearing out monsters within the family's domain, but in the end, her family betrayed her!
If she were to return to that place again, the only thing she could think of was revenge.
"Alright!" A flicker of struggle passed through Renas's deep blue pupils.
"Then let's depart now," Lyle stood up.
"Huh?" Renas was startled. She suddenly felt that this was his real objective.
Imena, who had been standing to the side watching the show, seemed a bit slow to react to their conversation.
"Hey, what about the regeneration potion? Do you know how popular alchemy potions are right now? Leaving at this time—" "Never mind, you're the employer."
Imena quickly spoke, then stopped halfway and picked up her bow and arrows.
Lyle turned around, looking at Imena, who also seemed to be planning to follow. "Leaving the Imperial Capital is not within the scope of the previous remuneration."
"For now, help me keep an eye on things here. If anyone asks, just say I'm researching new alchemy potions and three people just died, so no one should dare to force their way in for a while."
"Little Black, help me look after it. Let it go to the door and wander around occasionally."
Lyle spoke concisely and without hesitation.
"Woof."
The bone chains on the Little Imp Hound rattled slightly, letting out a whimper.
Renas's eyelids twitched a few times.
This guy, this really was his true objective.
However, even if she guessed Lyle's intention, she truly had no way to refuse.
Mid-Fire Moon, August 24th.
Lyle and Renas secretly left the Imperial Capital and headed towards Renas's family territory.
The terrain of the Bahas Empire was far more complex than that of the Re-Estize Kingdom; not only was the land barren, but its resource disadvantage meant it didn't even have the vast flatlands of the Re-Estize Kingdom.
Throughout the entire Bahas Empire, there were numerous mountain ranges and swampy areas.
The Blood Emperor Jircniv Rune Farlord El-Nix, from his ascension to the throne until now, had elevated the entire nation's power to the same level as the Re-Estize Kingdom, truly earning him the title of an excellent emperor.
Three days later.
A vast, purplish-tinged swamp, shimmering faintly under the sunlight, as if directly embedded in the land, appeared in Lyle's and Renas's field of vision.
The air was filled with a damp, earthy scent, and a light breeze from the depths carried an indescribable fishy odor.
Lyle stood at the edge of the swamp, looking out. The entire swamp was enormous, covered not only with large and small puddles but also various weeds and low shrubs.
If Renas hadn't warned him, he would have thought it was a grassland.
And deep within the swamp, one could see towering mountains and a hazy swampy jungle, the entire area exuding an eerie and dangerous aura.
This was the territory of the Lockbulz family, Renas's family, located in the eastern part of the Bahas Empire.
It was somewhat close to the Angellicia Mountains but completely separated by this large swamp and the small mountain range terrain in its depths.
Renas stood beside Lyle, her golden hair, which covered her right cheek, swayed gently in the breeze, her face showing a grim expression.
Returning to this place that left such a deep impression on her, probably no one's mood would be too good.
"That monster had never been seen before. It didn't come from this swampy area, but from the jungle deep within the swamp or that mountain range," Renas said softly, taking a shallow breath and smelling the rotten yet familiar scent in the air.
Lyle retracted his gaze from afar and smiled, saying, "In that case, it seems we'll have to go deep into the swamp."
"Are you sure?" Renas asked in surprise. "Leaving aside the conditions deep in this swamp, just crossing this swampy area is an extremely dangerous undertaking."
Even those who had lived here since childhood never ventured deep into the swamp; it could swallow everything and was not a place humans could easily tread.
Even in the past, Renas had only cleared out monsters that entered the territory, not gone into the swamp to clear them out.
"That power is indeed strong," Renas bit her lip, reminding him. "But it's also a curse. When you truly encounter it, you might regret it."
In her opinion, Lyle was here because he was interested in the cursed power within her.
"Do you know what's most important to an alchemist?" Lyle stretched, corrected his words, and without waiting for Renas to speak, smiled and said, "It's mystery and the unknown."
"As for power, believe it or not, that's not my goal."
After all, he had already obtained this power.
"You can stay here for now," Lyle said to Renas.
"I don't have a habit of letting others protect me," Renas said, lifting her chin slightly, directly refusing. She took out her black iron spear. "What you should be thinking about now is how to cross this swamp."
"The method is very simple."
Within the loose sleeves of Lyle's priest's robe, both his arms simultaneously held a magic scroll, then he gently squeezed it.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two white lights emerged, condensing into the form of Flame Archangels in mid-air.
Chirp!
One Flame Archangel flapped its wings and flew behind Lyle, extending the arm not holding a flame sword, holding it across its chest.
With a simple jump, Lyle sat on the Flame Archangel's arm.
"See? Isn't it simple?" Lyle asked.
He could summon two angels at once?
Renas's heart was startled, and her gaze towards Lyle changed once again.
He was not only a genius alchemist but also a powerful faith-based magic caster!
Renas saw the other Flame Archangel flying towards her. She stomped her foot on the ground and leaped onto the Flame Archangel's back.
"You're a magic caster, but I'm not," Renas said. "That sitting posture wouldn't allow me to move freely." Renas grabbed the armor groove on the Flame Archangel's shoulder with one hand, essentially riding on its back.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The wings flapped again.
The two Flame Archangels flew over the dangerous swampy ground, heading deeper into it.
"Gurgle~"
A black shadow moved quickly beneath the soft swampy ground. It had targeted the two conspicuous strange creatures in the sky.
Just as the two creatures in the sky passed over its head—
Bang!
The swamp's mud exploded.
A monster similar to a shark, but with brown skin, burst out of the swamp, opening its bloody maw and pouncing towards the Flame Archangel in the sky.
"It's a Swamp Shark!" Renas's voice came out in a hurried warning.
The flaming longsword quickly slashed down from the air, colliding with the sharp-headed Swamp Shark.
Blood bloomed in the air!
The flame sword instantly cleaved the Swamp Shark in half, and a large amount of blood mixed with shredded flesh fell onto the swampy ground below.
In the blink of an eye, the seemingly calm swamp began to boil, and the shredded flesh of the Swamp Shark was completely devoured by creatures hidden in the swamp.
'Experience gained: 172'
'Experience bar: 4123 / 10000'
"So these are the monsters in the swamp? They're quite peculiar," Lyle's calm voice resounded.