Chapter 338 — Allies

Patty was clearly thrilled. Her questions came one after another—about Gaoyang Cecil leading humanity across the wasteland, about the knights of Ansu standing against the western barbarians, about the underground Great Wall in the southern frontier, and about those wild tales that Gaoyang regarded as pure inventions of later generations: the secret pact between Gaoyang Cecil and the dark wizards, the fairy tale of Charlie and the three golden crowns...

Gaoyang answered them all. For the things that had truly happened, he answered according to his own memory; for the legends fabricated by later generations, he strove to sketch out a fairy tale for Patty.

But even though the little girl was excited, her energy was ultimately limited. After they had chatted for a while, Patty's strength visibly flagged, and the Viscountess Ropenny Glan beside her immediately reminded her daughter: "Patty, it is time for you to sleep."

Patty tried hard to hold on. "But I want to talk with Uncle Gaoyang a little longer... His stories are all so interesting..."

"Listen to your mother. It is time for you to sleep," Gaoyang said, stroking the little girl's head while at the same time sensing the flow of breath within her body. After confirming that the little girl's vital signs were all steady, he let out a slight breath of relief. "I will come see you again tomorrow."

"...All right." The little girl nodded obediently, then turned her head to look toward a corner of the room.

Patty's personal maid had been standing guard there all along. Upon her young mistress's command, the maid stepped forward at once and helped Ropenny carefully carry Patty to the bedside. They unfastened the leather straps securing Patty's body, then slowly transferred the little girl onto the bed. Throughout the process, Gaoyang noticed that Patty would knit her brows slightly from time to time.

Her condition was terrible—truly terrible.

Once the little girl was finally settled, the personal maid took something out of a cabinet nearby.

Gaoyang keenly sensed the magical fluctuations contained within the object, and he stepped forward at once.

It was a magic item of peculiar design—something like a hair ornament, but larger and more intricate. It was composed of several curved metal plates, upon which complex, densely packed magical runes could be seen. Between the plates were conductive filaments and crystals; the inner side was lined with soft leather and cloth, and several straps helped secure it to the head.

As a whole, it resembled a metal "crown" steeped in mystery.

Before the maid could place the thing on Patty's head, Gaoyang spoke up: "What is this?"

"A magic item used to calm the spirit," said the Viscountess Ropenny. "It helps Patty fall asleep."

"Calm the spirit?" Gaoyang frowned and looked at Patty, who was already lying in bed.

The little girl thought nothing of it, and even spoke with a hint of boasting: "A passing mage gave it to me as a gift! With it on, I can dream for a very long time, and I do not feel any pain when I sleep!"

"Dream?" Gaoyang pretended to know nothing. "What kind of dreams?"

"Mm... very good dreams!" Patty laughed. "In my dreams I can run, I can jump, and my body does not feel uncomfortable at all. And Uncle Gaoyang, let me tell you—when I used this to dream before, I could only dream of very, very few people, but lately, when I dream with it, I can see lots of people playing with me! Uncle, do you want to try it?"

"...No. This is your treasure," Gaoyang said, ruffling the little girl's hair and getting to his feet. "Go to sleep early."

The expression on his face was calm, but a question had already taken shape in his mind:

In the real world, Patty clearly remembered how she had entered the network, and she knew perfectly well that this magic item that helped her "dream" was a gift from a passing mage!

Yet in the dream world, that memory was extremely vague to her, and she was utterly unable to answer how she had first entered the network...

Was part of her memory being obscured or tampered with while she was in the mind network? Who was doing it? And why?

After leaving Patty's room, Ropenny spoke up at once: "Your Grace, is there something wrong with that magic item?"

Gaoyang glanced back. Through the door that had not yet closed, he looked at Patty, who was already lying in bed and entering the mind network. After several seconds of silence, he finally shook his head. "No, nothing wrong."

Then he asked: "But I am curious as to exactly who gave her that gift."

"A mysterious mage," Ropenny said. "Several years ago, Patty's condition was dire. Her wounds would never heal, and she could not rest for whole nights on end. I searched across the territory and beyond for scholars, physicians, and priests, and none could do anything. But just when I was at my wit's end, a man who claimed to come from some hidden mages' association arrived at the castle and said he had a way to calm Patty's spirit. After he demonstrated the actual effect, I believed him."

Gaoyang understood at once: without a doubt, that so-called "mage" was one of the Eternal Sleepers.

Considering how mixed the ranks of the Eternal Sleepers were, it was even possible that every part of that mage's identity was genuine.

"Has that 'mage' ever appeared again?" He looked into Ropenny's eyes and asked with a grave expression.

The Viscountess Ropenny shook her head. "Never again... But before he left, he said that if the magic item ever went wrong, or if Patty's mental condition worsened, he would sense it and would certainly appear in time..."

Gaoyang nodded, unsurprised. With the mind network's surveillance, the Eternal Sleepers did not need to watch on site at all; they could learn Patty's condition in real time. According to what Patty had just said, she had already been using that item before the "Eternal Dream" was even launched. At that time, the Eternal Sleepers had only built a crude, small-scale dream world. Patty was probably one of the first users of the Eternal Sleepers' original mind network...

Ropenny, meanwhile, sensed something from Gaoyang's attitude, and the viscountess's expression inevitably grew tense. "Do you know... something about that magic item, and about that mage?"

Gaoyang hesitated, but in the end chose to tell Ropenny part of the truth: "If I am not mistaken, that magic item most likely has something to do with the Eternal Sleepers."

"The Eternal Sleepers?!" The viscountess was greatly alarmed and turned on the spot as if to go back. "That thing..."

"Do not panic just yet," Gaoyang said at once, stopping Ropenny. "I only said the item has some connection to the Eternal Sleepers. That does not necessarily mean it is harmful to Patty."

Ropenny stopped in her tracks, but said nothing. She only stared straight into Gaoyang's eyes, waiting for him to give her an explanation.

"You should know that in the Kant territory I once crushed a conspiracy of the Eternal Sleepers and destroyed one of their lairs in the southern frontier," Gaoyang explained. "After that, I conducted an in-depth investigation and learned a good deal about the Eternal Sleepers, including their magical techniques. From my observations, the item Patty uses to sleep has no negative effects such as seizing the mind or corroding the will. Judging from the item itself, at least, it is harmless."

"But it is the property of cultists after all!" Ropenny seemed unable to accept it. "I cannot believe it... I have let Patty use that thing for over three years..."

Gaoyang sighed. Of course he understood Ropenny's worry, but he had to remind this mother of one fact: "Patty needs it."

Ropenny jerked her head up, then slowly lowered it again.

"You are right... I know Patty's current state. She has already become like that... As long as she can sleep peacefully, I am willing to pay the greatest price," the mother said in a low voice. "But I hope that price is paid by me, not by my daughter."