Read Novel Full Chapter 245: Humble
Chapter 245: Humble
Under the astonished gazes of everyone, Richard followed Carla toward the massive crimson mountain.
No one knew that Richard himself was just as astonished.
In fact, he also felt a little strange. Carla, the ten-year-old girl, looked exceptionally cheerful. She kept looking at him, and the smile on her doll-like face almost never faded.
Richard felt that her gaze was rather unusual, yet he didn’t dare think too deeply about it, since the girl was only ten years old.
"Brother Richard, I heard that even our Lord couldn’t capture you. You know, he’s a very terrifying man, yet he came back in such a sorry state. I didn’t believe it when I heard it, but it turned out to be true. Considering that you’re actually still quite young, I’ve always been curious about how you train," the girl said.
"Miss, I train just like everyone else. It’s just that luck might have been on my side," Richard replied with a chuckle.
His answer made the girl hold her chin, looking thoughtful.
After a moment, she nodded.
"True, perhaps it’s because you’re lucky. However, there are very few people in this world like that. For luck to favor someone, they must be special in every way."
Richard couldn’t say he fully understood her words.
He simply took them as the innocent thoughts of a young girl trying to reason things out.
"Actually, I don’t really like being considered special. It makes it sound like I didn’t work hard at all," he said.
"Of course you worked hard. No one succeeds without hard work. Those who achieve more are certainly the ones who work harder than others. That’s why, Brother Richard, you don’t need to be humble. Your achievements are likely the result of your hard work rather than the luck you speak of."
Richard, "..."
After approaching the mountain for a while, they arrived before an enormous gate.
The mountain was naturally encircled by walls that rose nearly a kilometer high—far too tall for ordinary people to imagine, yet from below, their height wasn’t immediately apparent.
The gate in the wall stood open, but it was guarded by elderly members, most of whom were in the Grimoire Realm.
"Miss!"
"Hello, Miss!"
"Good afternoon!"
They greeted Carla warmly and then looked at Richard with expressions as if they didn’t quite know what to say.
Naturally, they had seen what had happened below.
"Everyone, Brother Richard is an old friend of mine. Grant him permission to enter," Carla said, not immediately leading Richard inside.
Perhaps entering the mountain also required something similar to the rings used to enter the city.
An old man quickly approached them, carrying a red bracelet.
"Sir Richard, please..." The old man handed the bracelet to Richard.
Naturally, he didn’t address him as "Your Majesty," even though in terms of status, Richard was a king.
To the Order of the Crimson Veil, only a few kings in the entire world were worthy of being called "Your Majesty."
"Thank you!" Richard accepted the bracelet, believing it to be nothing more than an artifact for a formation to recognize him.
"Come on, Brother Richard!" Carla immediately continued forward.
The elderly members let out sighs as they watched Richard follow her further up the mountain.
"I don’t hold a grudge against that boy, but he gained fame by bringing down our Order of the Crimson Veil... I never thought he’d be able to enter our mountain so easily," one of them said.
"Well, he was basically only hostile toward the younger members. The elders and ancestors don’t really care. Many of them even want to recruit him. Now that he’s Miss Carla’s old friend, who would dare trouble him here?"
"Hahaha, he’s such a lucky man. It seems he’s very easily liked by women. I heard that aside from Queen Lilith, he has another lover who’s just as beautiful."
"Don’t tell me the Miss has taken a liking to him as well?"
"What nonsense are you talking about? The Miss is still young—how could she understand such things? She’s simply impressed by that man’s stories."
"The Miss is already ten years old. She may be young, but even girls at that age can fall in love."
"Don’t compare the Miss to the village girls where you come from."
"..."
While they were talking, Richard was busy observing the crimson mountain.
Every path had steps, making the climb very easy.
Many wooden houses could be seen, spaced far apart from one another.
Richard also noticed many gardens and farms, all of them planted with magical crops—ranging from common to extremely rare varieties.
There were even restaurants on the mountain, seemingly selling special kinds of food.
"Brother Richard, I’m actually a bit hungry. How about we have lunch?" Carla suddenly said.
Richard was slightly surprised to hear that, but considering the girl’s power, she still needed to eat.
He nodded lightly and replied, "Of course... I’ll follow you wherever you wish to go here."
He smiled, feeling rather at ease, since Carla’s friendliness was clearly genuine and without any ulterior motive.
"Come on, they sell grilled lobster here, imported from the Holy Star Kingdom," Carla said, stepping toward the nearest restaurant.
The restaurant was built entirely of wood—yet it was extremely luxurious, crafted from magnificent timber.
It had only one floor, with a transparent roof that allowed guests to gaze at the sky, while still blocking direct sunlight.
The restaurant wasn’t empty, and Richard noticed that the patrons weren’t members of the Order of the Crimson Veil.
Many guests seemed to be visitors who had come for business and were brought here to dine.
They didn’t recognize Carla, so they were a little puzzled by the young girl, but the members who noticed her stood up in panic.
"Miss?"
"Hello, Miss. Are you here for lunch? Please allow me to pay for your meal."
The members immediately greeted her and even offered to pay.
The guests couldn’t have been more surprised by the members’ hospitality toward Carla.
But once they learned her identity, they no longer found it strange. She was, after all, a "little ancestor" of the Order of the Crimson Veil.
"No need. I want to treat my guest," Carla replied quite politely.
At least toward the older members, she was much friendlier.
"Brother Richard, sit!" Carla invited Richard to take a seat by the window.
And Richard sat down.
"Brother Richard, what would you like to eat? I like lobster, but you might already be tired of it," Carla said as a waiter approached with his head bowed.
Richard looked through the menu and found quite an extensive selection.
Compared to seafood, he was more interested in the roasted lamb paired with vegetable soup, all of it grown on this mountain.
"These two..." Richard said to the waiter, who immediately nodded.
After writing down all the orders, the waiter quickly headed to the kitchen.
"By the way, Brother Richard, why did you come to this region? Do you have some special business here?" Carla suddenly asked, her expression filled with curiosity.