Durin's Diary

By the time Durin returned to Lublin, it was midnight. Exhausted, he pushed open the door to his room and turned on the light.

The butler and the rest had the day off. Durin was kind-hearted; after all, tomorrow was the last day of the Harvest Festival, and there were some things that were inconvenient to do with others at home.

After taking off his coat and washing his face in the bathroom, Durin felt puzzled by the water in the bathtub—had someone used it?

No, that couldn't be. No one would use the bathtub. It was so small that only someone the size of a Grassland Elf could fit, but Xialu couldn't possibly use it either.

Perhaps the girl cleaning the bathroom had accidentally left some water behind and hadn't cleaned it up properly.

With that thought, Durin returned to the hall, stood in front of the mirror, and transformed into another Durin.

His Attributes were displayed on the screen as well.

Durin

Transcendent Path General Prerequisite: Apprentice.

Attributes:

Strength: 12

Agility: 15

Constitution: 8

Intelligence: 14

Perception: 18

Charisma: 20

·"Mr. Durin, do you think that by leaving that world and coming to a new one, you will no longer be embroiled in strife? You are mistaken. Humans are creatures of struggle, with a natural instinct for plunder, which cannot be taken away. In a world of the survival of the fittest, there is no clear distinction between the hunter and the hunted."

"Big Orange, I didn't know you were a poet," Durin exclaimed, looking at his reflection in the mirror.

"I know many poems, sir. This is the power given to me by the language module," replied Big Orange, emerging from Durin's body in the absence of others, examining both Durin and itself in front of the mirror: "Your body is almost completely repaired, but I am curious; it seems that your Grassland Elf body has undergone surgery in an embryonic state."

"That's impossible; there's no way such surgery exists in this godforsaken place," Durin shook his head, feeling that Big Orange was being overly sensitive.

"Indeed, perhaps I am just being overly sensitive as a medical device. However, I have good news. I am repairing my new mechanical body, which seems to contain a very interesting system. The only problem is that I currently lack Origin Force. It was such a pity at Salik's place. If only I could have come out and absorbed it," said Big Orange. After wishing a good night, it crawled back into Durin's body.

With Big Orange gone, Durin began to contemplate his own Status. The enhancements from the Candle Dragon's Vein and the Forefather's Child weren't inherited by his aged self. However, Durin was prepared for this; after all, they were two entirely different bodies.

When we reach the Northern Kingdom, I'll get some new clothes for my aged self—It's not that I can't buy them in Lublin, but an aged Durin looks unfamiliar, and wearing hospital clothes makes me look like some odd fugitive slave. I don't want to be taken into custody by the police for ten days or a half a month," thought Durin.

As for buying clothes while transformed into a Grassland Elf, that would be even worse. In less than a day, the rumor that Ailish's great-grandson was buying adult human male clothes would spread to the Central Province, and who knows what kind of terrifying and twisted changes that story would go through by the time it spread; even the Dual Mothers probably couldn't predict.

So, setting aside this dilemma, Durin transformed back into the cute little one and headed to his own room.

As he reached the door to his room and pushed it open, Durin felt puzzled once more—he saw that the Arcane Furnace in his room was lit.

·There's a biological reaction on your bed! Quack! There's a master present! Retreat quickly!

Big Orange let out a piercing scream.

Durin turned on the light, and his gaze met with Anta's as she was sitting up.

Get back, your big-headed ghost.

"You just admit she's skilled, right?"

Alright, you're not wrong.

While inwardly cursing Big Orange for being such a mischievous piece of medical equipment, Durin was puzzled by Anta's presence: "How come you're in my room?"

Anta reached under the covers with both hands, and Durin watched as she pulled a lynx out from under the blankets: "Durin, look, it's a kitty."

"Good grief, what do you mean by cuddling a lynx from the Lynx race of the orcs, is this a cat, do cats have such short tails? You'd better apologize to Xialu and the others for this most serious breach of cat protocol!" Durin deployed his light-speed ranting skill: "Also, how come you're on my bed?"

"Grandpa and Uncle at home are both allergic to lynx fur. I didn't want to get rid of it, so I had to sleep here, but I didn't have the key to the guest room, so I let Redwing come in through that bird hole to open the door." Anta said this while holding the cub in her arms: "Durin, can you please not get rid of it, it's so pitiful."

Looking into the golden pupils of the silver-haired girl brimming with hope, Durin felt that even if his heart were as hard as ironstone, he could not give an order that would force this girl to throw out the little lynx.

"If I were to get rid of it, would I have to get rid of you too?" After saying this, Durin gave the girl another glance: "Don't worry, I won't."

After changing into pajamas and crawling under the covers, Durin saw the smile on Anta's face.

"I knew you would take pity on this little one." She lay in bed, giggling in her robe while holding the small lynx.

"I'm taking pity on you." Durin said, while reaching out to stroke the little lynx, who mewed a little, showing some resistance.

When you come right down to it, whether it's a cat, a lynx, or a clumsy little girl like Anta, a cub always evokes feelings of tenderness.

"Durin, how did things go today?" Anta asked.

"Not bad, the bad guys are dead all over, we finished the job, all the kids have been rescued." Durin yawned.

"Did you find my auntie?" the girl asked, full of hope.

"No, we weren't able to find her. That guy saw your auntie five years ago, but now five years have passed, and nobody knows what has happened in these five years. We found the ledger of the child traders, but the ledger is now in the hands of the eleven elders of the Circle of Truth." Durin said and sighed.

Anta sighed along but soon became optimistic again, staring at Durin while holding the small lynx: "But anyway, the bad guys are dead all over, and you all came back safe, that's good, I don't have to worry anymore."

"...Yes, it's quite good. But looking at the bloodstains on the basement wall, I still regret that we arrived too late." Durin was moved by the girl's concern for him and told Anta the whole story of what happened in the dungeon cells, which turned the girl's eyes red.

Holding the little lynx, she pondered with full heart: "Durin, tell me, why are there always such bad people who do such bad things?"

"Because life is an advanced animal with desires. As long as desires burn, the struggle never ends. The Salik family wanted to live better, but they couldn't endure hardship, suffer pain, yet they wanted to make big money, so they did this. On the book called law, every big-money-making deed is written with an ostensibly appropriate prison term to match." Saying this, Durin noticed the golden shimmer in Anta's eyes, ripples of tears.

The girl looked at Durin as if she had made a decision: "Next time, if such evil deeds occur again, I will join you in exterminating the evildoers."

Durin had a lot to say, like how it's very dangerous; or how it's not suitable for a girl to do such things.

But seeing the tears in Anta's eyes and the determination on her face, eventually, the thousands of words he wanted to say turned into one word.

"Okay."