Chapter 122: Fate Brought Us Together
"I need to correct you, your skewers didn't attract me. I just felt an unfamiliar presence here, so I thought I'd come take a look, and then I met you."
"Is that so?" Kurtz suppressed a smile. "Then you should be even more grateful to the mushroom skewer. After all, if it weren't for it, I wouldn't have thought of any other way to get closer to you."
"If you really want to show gratitude, why not build a statue for that mushroom skewer?" Serie retorted in the same joking manner.
But to her surprise, the man was seriously considering her suggestion. "What you said actually makes a lot of sense."
"Hmm?" Serie was a bit confused. "You're not actually thinking of building a statue for a mushroom skewer, are you? That would be too strange!"
Serie had seen statues built for gods and for great heroes, but she had never seen one for a mushroom skewer.
If one were really erected, how would it be explained to future generations?
The God-Slayer, Kurtz, the saviour, once met his close friend, Serie, with this mushroom skewer?
It's too strange!
"No, not a standalone mushroom skewer statue."
Kurtz's eyes were cunning, and his fingers rubbed his chin, as if he were planning something.
"What I'm thinking of building is a statue called 'The Fated Encounter.'" He gestured, his tone very serious, making Serie wonder if he was joking.
"The Elf Miss sits on a branch, proudly looking down at the human below, while that presumptuous fellow hands her a mushroom skewer."
Serie froze for two seconds, then thought of something and immediately retorted, "I wasn't sitting in a tree at the time, and are you serious?"
"Of course." Kurtz nodded with a smile. "This is a historic moment, worth commemorating with a statue."
Serie massaged her forehead, looking a little helpless. "Then it would be better to build a statue of you and engrave a line below it: 'The legendary saviour hero, Kurtz, but he once used a string of mushrooms to trick an Elf Miss into becoming his companion for an adventure.'"
Kurtz looked at Serie, who had lowered her head after speaking, still frowning and nibbling on the burnt rabbit meat, and couldn't help but let out a low chuckle.
"I don't think it was trickery. That Elf Miss clearly ran off with me willingly."
Serie continued to struggle with the tough piece of rabbit meat, just giving him an annoyed glance. "Say what you want, but I won't admit that I was attracted by your mushroom skewer."
Even if Serie starved to death, never eating anything again, she would never let people know that she was lured out of the Elf Forest by Kurtz with a string of mushrooms.
She was clearly attracted by his magical talent, which was why she left the Elf Forest to accompany him on his adventure.
"Alright, alright, if you say it wasn't, then it wasn't." Kurtz shook his head with a smile. "But when I really do put up the statue, will you not come to look at it?"
Serie's movements paused at his words, and she immediately retorted, "Who would do such a thing!"
But for some reason, that image inexplicably appeared in her mind. If there really was such a statue, she might, indeed, be unable to resist taking a look.
She took another bite of the skewer in her hand. The taste was still terrible, like biting into some hateful fellow.
Kurtz watched Serie's feigned toughness, his smile deepening.
He stopped teasing her and instead rummaged through his satchel for a few wild fruits, offering them to her.
"Here, I just picked these. At least these won't be burnt."
As they moved further away from the Godfall Land, the surrounding environment returned to normal. Kurtz had found these wild fruits on a cliff.
Serie took the fruit and bit into it, sweet juice spreading in her mouth.
She looked at Kurtz across the campfire; it had always been like this.
He would always pull out a fruit and offer it to her.
Even now, it was the same.
"Actually..." she suddenly spoke, her voice very soft, "Even without the mushroom skewer, we probably would have met."
Kurtz looked up at her, his eyes questioning.
Serie didn't explain, only lowered her head and took another bite of the fruit, the emotion in her heart like the taste in her mouth.
'Because fate always brings those who are meant to meet before each other.'
...
The sun was just right, and there was still a slight mist in the forest. Kurtz and Serie had once again embarked on their journey.
Serie walked ahead, her steps light, her golden hair gently swaying with her stride.
Unlike the beginning, where they frequently encountered monster attacks, their adventure now had a more peaceful feel, with very few monsters encountered along the way.
Suddenly, her left hand was enveloped by familiar warmth.
She didn't need to turn around to know who it was.
"The path ahead is a bit slippery," Kurtz's voice carried natural amusement, but his restless hand had already very naturally grasped the Serie's small hand. "If you accidentally slip, I, as your close friend, would be very sad."
Serie stopped walking and looked down at their tightly clasped hands.
This was the third time since they had held each other's hands.
The first time was when crossing a small stream, when Kurtz shamelessly said, "I'm afraid the current will wash away my close friend."
The second time was when passing through a patch of hallucinatory flowers. Even though she had already sensed something was wrong and cast dispel magic, the man still held her hand.
At that time, his reason was "to prevent the Elf Miss from falling into an illusion."
Each reason was like his burnt rabbit meat, full of holes.
She tilted her head slightly, her eyes filled with a hint of inquiry as she looked at Kurtz: "Kurtz, is this also custom in your hometown?"
"Yes." Kurtz blinked, explaining earnestly, "In my hometown, close friends must walk hand in hand."
"Between 'close friends' in your hometown," she shook their clasped hands, "do they really need to maintain physical contact all the time? Especially in a safe place like this?"
The expression on Kurtz's face didn't change at all; at least, the Elf Miss couldn't find any flaws.
"Of course! This is the highest form of expressing our deep friendship, showing mutual trust and support! Serie, don't you believe me?"
Serie frowned slightly. Her intuition made her subconsciously feel that this man was lying, but she couldn't find a way to refute him.
So she tentatively asked, "Is it the same even between close friends of the same gender?"
"Yes, for example, two girls who are good friends will also walk hand in hand like this."
As he spoke, he even seriously tightened his grip on Serie's hand, as if to strengthen his persuasiveness.
"What about between two boys?"
"Of course, it's the same!" Kurtz said without batting an eyelid.
Serie imagined the scene of two boys walking hand in hand down the street, and a subtle expression flashed across her face.
This truly exceeded the elves' understanding of "friendship."
[End of Chapter]
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