Chapter 95: Ancient Minkz

"Hehehe. Oh my God! Hehehehe, thou art good! Man, what the hell!"

Arthur laughed along with the others. Even Lee, who had maintained the same serious expression throughout most of the encounter, allowed a small grin to appear on his face.

I looked at Arthur and gave him a sarcastic smile.

"You laugh like a rat."

"Whatever, man. Thou?!" Arthur shook his head, trying and failing to hold back another laugh. "Hehehehe!"

The others burst out laughing again.

I could not help but smile.

Even I was bewildered by the words I had used.

They had sounded natural enough when I spoke them, but the more I thought about it, the stranger they became.

Those words were spoken in Valemont, but not in the way I had used them.

Of course, English did not exist in Valemont. The language spoken there was Minkz, while the particular form of speech I had imitated belonged to an older version of the language.

Ancient Minkz.

It had been spoken around two thousand years ago, during a completely different era.

Modern Minkz was introduced in 1735 of the Third Age, while the current year was 1351 of the Fourth Age.

Back then, the world had been very different.

Steam and machinery had not yet been introduced by the great scientist Zeno VI. The cities had not been filled with machines, factories, and the strange inventions that had slowly changed the kingdoms.

It had been the Silvicultural Era.

Ancient Minkz had already become obsolete long before modern Minkz appeared, but some of its expressions had survived.

Mostly among a particular type of person: arrogant nobles and arrogant members of the orders.

The sort of people who thought themselves better than everyone else.

Apparently, I had managed to sound exactly like one of them.

"Well, they are certainly going to be scared," Theodore said, still laughing. "Did you see that girl’s face? She was about to shit herself!"

"I thought the wood might pee!" Arthur added.

Arthur immediately started laughing again.

Mary covered her mouth, trying to hide her smile.

Sera had given up entirely and was laughing without even attempting to suppress it anymore.

Lee looked at all of them.

’How can these guys even be serious?’ He thought, shaking his head.

’No. How the hell are they even alive until now?’

Lee had been with us for considerably longer than most of us had been together. He had seen more battles, more betrayals, and more people die than any of us could probably imagine.

His smile had already disappeared, but there was still a faint trace of it on his face. For someone like Lee, perhaps this was strange.

Because he had seen people turning against each other. People abandoning one another when things became difficult. People smiling at each other while secretly waiting for the opportunity to stab the other in the back.

Yet we were different.

Even in dangerous situations, we trusted one another. We could be surrounded by enemies one moment and laughing together the next.

There was no hesitation about whether someone would abandon the others. No one seemed worried about whether another person would save themselves first.

Perhaps that was why Lee found us so strange.

He had spent most of his life learning not to trust people. We had somehow done the opposite. We had learned to trust one another without even thinking about it.

Lee cleared his throat and returned to the matter at hand.

"Now, what remains is putting a spy inside the palace. We need to know what is happening within it."

"I suppose I will be the honored one," I chuckled.

Lee’s eyebrows moved slightly.

"I will also try to ignite the sparks while I am there," I continued.

’He accepted that easily?’

I could practically see the disbelief in Lee’s eyes but I ignored it.

There was really no reason for me to hesitate.

Someone had to enter the palace, and I was probably the most suitable person for it.

"I will go there after today’s meal," I said. "The five of them would not dare tell Culex about us directly. They are too frightened after what happened. That gives me some time."

I paused...

"I can also change a few pieces of information before he hears anything from them. That way, if he starts looking for a spy, I will not immediately appear suspicious."

Lee nodded slowly.

"How are we going to meet you?" Lee asked.

"Simple."

I looked around the group before answering.

"Whenever I come hunting with my team, I will meet you."

Lee considered it.

"And where?"

"The area behind the mountain."

He nodded. "That should work."

I looked toward the mountain in the distance.

The place was isolated enough that nobody would accidentally stumble upon us, while still being close enough to the palace for me to reach it without wasting too much time.

It was not perfect. But nothing ever was.

"We will have to be careful," Mary said quietly.

I turned toward her.

She was no longer laughing.

Neither were Sera or Theodore. Arthur’s expression had also become more serious.

They understood what this meant. I was going to walk directly into the place where Culex and his people operated.

There was a difference between fighting someone in the wilderness and walking into their home while pretending to be one of their own.

If something went wrong, I would not have the others beside me.

I smiled. "I know."

Sera looked at me for a moment. "Do you really think you can fool them?"

"I only need to fool them long enough."

She frowned. "That does not sound reassuring."

"It was not meant to."

Arthur snorted.

I glanced at him. "Something funny?"

"No."

He immediately looked away.

"Good."

Theodore chuckled. "I still cannot believe you actually spoke like that."

I sighed. "Neither can I."

"Thou."

Arthur started laughing again.

I did not say anything to him this time. Instead, I looked toward Lee.

"Anyway, I will leave after we eat."

Lee nodded.

"You are going alone, are you?"

"I don’t know."

"You know what I mean."

I understood. He was asking whether I would have someone nearby in case things went wrong. I shook my head. How the hell would I have people around me? I had just came here barely a day ago.

"No. If too many people follow me, it defeats the purpose."

Lee remained silent. I could tell he did not like the idea. Neither did the others.

But they also understood that someone had to do it.

"I will be careful," I said.

Sera looked at me. "You better."

There was no joke in her voice this time.

I nodded. "I will."