Chapter 340 Blank Slate <TOC> Chapter 342 A Spoonful of Drama
Translator: SumTLMan
The mountain was not steep, and their journey was not difficult, especially when Angel discovered a man-made path in the woods, which made the walk even easier.
The presence of a path signified human activity. Angel instructed Toby to scout the terrain, and Toby nodded like a pecking chick before spiraling up into the sky. After a while, Toby landed on Angel’s shoulder and muttered a few words.
“Is there really a sign of human habitation? On the other side of the mountain, there’s even a fairly large city?” Angel’s eyes lit up; he had been worried about encountering a small village and having difficulty determining his location. However, a large city would not pose such a problem.
With no worries ahead, Angel’s mood improved considerably. He turned to the man who had been following him closely and said, “We’re about to reach the city. I can’t keep calling you ‘Hey, hey.’ Don’t you think you should have a name?”
The man appeared puzzled, his eyes innocent but filled with joy.
After this period of interaction, the man had finally stopped repeating Angel’s words but had not made any other response. Angel was uncertain whether this development was good or bad.
However, Angel noticed that the man seemed especially happy when speaking with him. His eyes shone brightly, like the morning star on the horizon, pure and clear.
Angel speculated that this was a case of imprinting behavior, like a baby bird seeing the first face upon waking and considering that person its mother.
Oh, wait, it should be father.
Father didn’t seem quite right either. He certainly didn’t have a child who had lived for a thousand years, even older than Mentor Sanders.
“What do you want to be called?” Angel asked.
Although the man usually did not respond, he occasionally blurted out some vocabulary from Angel’s speech. Angel hadn’t expected the man to answer his question; he just wanted to see what vocabulary the man would blurt out and use that as his name.
Angel mischievously hoped that the man would say something like “poop,” “puppy,” or “mud.” In the future, when the man’s intelligence returned to normal and he realized his name had such a lowly meaning, it would be amusing. And since he chose it himself, changing his name would be a denial of his self!
However, Angel’s mischief did not work. For some reason, the man remained silent, tilting his head with a curious expression.
With no other choice, Angel decided to help him. “What do you think of Hippocrates?” Angel said, “That’s where you used to live. To prevent you from forgetting, why don’t we use it as your name?”
Angel continued speaking to himself, “On second thought, Hippocrates might not be quite right either, considering the tragedy that occurred there.”
Angel kept talking, hoping to prompt the man to say something, even just a random word, but the man remained silent throughout.
In the end, Angel couldn’t continue, “I give up. I’m terrible at naming things anyway. You can choose your own name later… When I initially helped you expel the parasites, your eyes were clear. How did you suddenly become dumb?”
As he spoke, Angel suddenly paused, and his eyes lit up, “I remember! When you first regained consciousness, it seemed like you still had your memory. You uttered a sentence before passing out. What did you say?… Let me think.”
Angel racked his brain, recalling the situation at that time.
After extracting the parasites from the man’s body, his eyes showed a moment of clarity, and then he whispered something before passing out… By the time the man woke up, he had lost all his memories.
“Totoro!” Angel exclaimed, “I remember now! You said ‘Totoro’ and fainted.”
“Shall I call you Totoro from now on?” The name sounded a bit strange, and Angel was unsure if it was his actual name. However, since it was the first thing he said upon waking up, it must hold some significance. Perhaps it was a persistent obsession that he could not forget for thousands of years. Using it as a name could serve as a constant reminder not to forget this phrase.
Even if he was overthinking it, it wouldn’t matter if the word had no meaning. There were many people with strange names, and “Totoro” was easy to remember and pronounce.
As Angel was lost in thought, the man behind him suddenly froze.
Upon hearing “Totoro,” a trace of confusion flashed in the man’s eyes, as if some images were surfacing from the depths of his mind. There were flashes of swords, iron armor, blood, and the sound of hooves… and gentle old men carrying small iron boxes on their backs…
“What do you think?” Angel turned around to look at the man.
As Angel suddenly asked, the fragments in the man’s mind gradually faded away. Then, with a puzzled expression, he looked up at Angel, tilting his head as if he didn’t understand anything.
“I’m wasting my breath asking you. Let’s settle on this: before you recover your memories, you’ll be called Totoro.” Angel paused and added, “As for your surname, it doesn’t really matter if you have one or not. However, you must never forget the kindness of Akeso, who has nurtured you with his essence for a thousand years. So, for now, let’s use Akeso as your surname.”
“Totoro Akeso, this will be your name from now on,” Angel declared.
The man nodded blankly.
A gust of mountain breeze blew by, lifting his long hair that reached his knees. Slightly yellowed leaves rustled and fell, as the wind accompanied the falling leaves, and the flowing clouds followed the sky, capturing this unforgettable moment for Totoro.
…
Halfway up the mountain, Angel discovered a rather exquisitely built two-story wooden house nestled in a clearing within the forest. Not far from the front of the cottage, there was also a signpost.
Angel approached and looked closely, noticing that several types of writing were on the sign. The topmost script was in the common language.
“Byzantine Mountain Range, Section oo39, Kana Mountain Forest Ranger’s Cabin”
In the lower left corner of the sign was the date it was erected, along with an emblem of a “sun rising from the edge of the horizon.”
It turned out to be a forest ranger’s cabin.
Angel stroked his chin, not particularly concerned about the cabin itself, but the sign caught his attention.
Although it was just a sign indicating a location, it could be used to infer a lot of information.
The emblem, as well as the words “Byzantine Mountain Range, Section oo39” on the sign, conveyed a message to Angel: this was an official symbol.
Only official authorities would divide the land into sections, even going so far as to split a single mountain range into numerous segments. This indirectly indicated that the “officials” were peaceful when the sign was erected. If it was a chaotic region, the welfare of ordinary people would not be considered, let alone the protection of forests.
The Goldfinch Empire had forest ranger positions in the past, but after the war with Sea Blue, the people struggled to survive, and the forest rangers disappeared into the tides of history.
“So, am I lucky to have arrived in a peaceful place?” Angel touched the sign, which was not very dusty, indicating that someone must have cleaned it regularly.
Walking past the wooden sign, Angel arrived at the forest ranger’s cabin.
There was no one inside, which Angel had already noticed. The front door was locked, but this was no obstacle for Angel. He could easily unlock it using either mental or magical power.
Angel pushed open the door and entered.
Although the cabin was two stories, there was only one room on each floor. The first floor was a hall, and the second floor was a bedroom. The furnishings were simple, with only a few locked cabinets, and everything else was clearly visible.
“Except for weapons, there is only food. There isn’t a single book, so it seems the forest ranger didn’t have much leisure time.” Angel opened the cabinet and unexpectedly found a map.
However, the map only showed the locations of the forest ranger cabins in sections oo21 to oo40 of the Byzantine Mountain Range. According to the scale on the map, there were 20 ranger cabins along the 800-mile-long mountain range.
This was an incredibly dense distribution.
Treating the forests and nature kindly, this country was more peaceful than he had imagined.
Putting down the map, Angel was attracted by the smell of smoked meat. Looking up, he saw a row of smoked ham hanging from the beams above the cabinet, as well as another row of unidentifiable dried meat.
Angel had been eating unseasoned food for several months, and his eyes lit up at the sight of the salty and fragrant food.
Taking down a piece of smoked pork, Angel uttered “forgive me” before placing it in the pot on the stove and boiling it in water to eat.
That aroma was simply irresistible! Not only did Angel find it enticing, but even Toby couldn’t help but devour the food.
On the other side, Totoro, who had been eating fruits for more than half a month, was also salivating at the scent of the meat. However, he did not come forward to ask for any; he merely gazed longingly at the fragrant meat in the pot.
Angel thought for a moment. Totoro had been eating fruit for half a month without getting sick, so his digestive system should be functioning well enough. He then gave Totoro some tender and soft-cooked meat.
They enjoyed a satisfying and fulfilling meal.
Upon leaving the forest ranger’s hut, Angel placed a gold coin on the table. Although it seemed like an afterthought, it was a way of settling things.
As for the gold coin, it was used to purchase some pork jerky, along with… a set of clothes and shoes.
This outfit was not meant for Angel, but for Totoro.
The only garment in Angel’s bracelet was a flamboyant and shiny purple wizard robe obtained from Promi, which Totoro had been wearing these past few days.
But underneath the wizard robe, he wore nothing at all.
This sense of lacking didn’t seem to bother Totoro, but it made Angel feel uneasy. A gust of wind would not only reveal Totoro’s curves but also his overall shape, which was considered indecent.
To avoid drawing unwanted attention when entering the city, Angel resorted to this measure.
After changing into the new clothes, Totoro looked more presentable than before. To avoid any trouble, Angel also gave him a buzz cut.
Once everything was sorted, they left the forest ranger’s hut.
Initially, Angel planned to cross mountains and valleys, but a clear path had emerged here. Following this path, they should be able to reach the human settlement directly.
Chapter 340 Blank Slate <TOC> Chapter 342 A Spoonful of Drama