Yarra's Adventure Notes-Chapter 1421 - 207 Finche

"Hey, that’s a bit too much," Luscia moved the forelimb that was covering her head, as the Soul Fire flickered discontentedly. "It was a choice made out of necessity. How can you describe it as deception?"

In fact, not just Luscia, even the young girls behind Pannis had an odd look in their eyes when they gazed at Pannis; however, the emotion conveyed was not blame but curiosity. The trust and understanding that had been established over the years between the girls and Pannis allowed them to fully believe that Pannis would never mock someone unreasonably in a formal setting. There must be a reason for him to do so. However, to lighten the mood and prevent the atmosphere from becoming unnecessarily tense due to Pannis’s satire, Catherine still grumbled in a half-serious tone, "Yeah, Pannis, you shouldn’t speak about others like that."

"Hahaha," the one accused of lying didn’t mind at all and even let out an elderly laugh, although it was quickly interrupted by a cough until the coughing stopped. Then, in between breaths, the elderly voice continued with a laugh, "Kyle, it’s been many years, and you’re still upset about my deception back then, hahaha. But if it had been earlier, you definitely wouldn’t have expressed these thoughts outright. Now you don’t conceal your feelings at all."

"Hmph, that was the first time I was ever deceived without any clue," Pannis crossed his arms and turned his head aside, snorting heavily. "Who would have thought, you would lie about something as serious as your own lifespan."

"Hahaha, to fool an all-controlling figure like Kyle is really something to be proud of," the old voice could not suppress its laughter and bragged, "And besides, if I hadn’t lied, how could you have agreed to my request and let me be involved? Although I hadn’t met you before, I heard from Carl that you are very stubborn, and without deceiving you, you would never have agreed."

"That still doesn’t justify your reckless actions at the end," Pannis complained grumpily, but eventually couldn’t help but ask in a low voice, "Finche, the shaman, how have you turned into a ghost and still cough so badly? Ghosts don’t get sick, do they?"

"I don’t know, maybe the habit of coughing is ingrained in my soul, having coughed for decades, I guess I got used to it." Finche, once a Beastman Demigod and one of the heroes of old, dragged his dying body to follow Kyle in the Temple War to the ancestral Realm of the Dead, and though his body wasn’t present, his voice still echoed in the prayer hall, "We had never experienced Undead Transformation before, so no one knows exactly what it’s like, maybe it’s like I said, bringing habitual post-life actions into the afterlife."

"Hmph, maybe," Pannis glanced around and spoke loudly, "But how come you’re still not coming out? Don’t you find it difficult to speak like this?"

"Because no matter what, I still feel guilty." The old shaman’s voice let out a bitter laugh, "No matter the intention, I did lie after all, and facing you would be quite awkward." freeωebnovēl.c૦m

"So you’ve simply hidden yourself," Pannis sighed, "At this point, aren’t you prepared to meet an old friend? There must be some tasks you want me to do, right? Leaving it all to Luscia to tell me, are you confident about that, are you not afraid she might fall asleep halfway through?"

"Mr. Kyle, I cannot pretend I didn’t hear that." Luscia lifted her skull, speaking discontentedly, "Although we Guardians indeed prefer sleeping, we have never started talking to someone and then run off to sleep in the middle of it."

"Really?" Pannis raised an eyebrow, his face expressing a strange curiosity, "Are you sure?"

"Well, there should...probably not be." Luscia hesitated, thought it over carefully, and realized that such things might not be beyond her kin. However, hesitation is one thing, and admitting is another. In such situations, one must firmly deny, so Luscia loudly said, "Anyway, it certainly hasn’t happened, Finche, since you’ve been discovered, come out now, speaking for so long has tired me too."

"You really have had it tough." The voice of the old shaman came with a rueful laugh from outside the door on the inner side of the prayer hall, the door was slowly pushed open, and a ghost, wrapped in a faint halo with an inconsistent corporeal form, walked in. Once inside, it became clear that the ghost of the old wolfman maintained the aged appearance he had before his death, but he no longer looked like he could die at any moment, and his steps were much quicker and steadier than before.

Watching the familiar figure approaching, Pannis, with his arms crossed in front of Luscia, just stared blankly at Finche getting closer, until the old shaman stopped in front of him. Pannis then took a deep breath, no longer feigning discontent, but instead spoke in a very wistful tone, "To meet again, elder, I never dreamed that I would see you once more."

"Yes, to meet again." The old shaman was just as filled with emotion, extended his clenched fist, and with Pannis doing the same, they knocked their fists together up and down twice, followed by a tight hug. After completing the Beastman Tribe’s most intimate gesture of friendship, the old shaman continued, "When I died, I never thought I’d meet you again either, but after waking up this time, I was sure that I’d meet you once more."

"For the promise we never fulfilled?" Pannis and the old shaman, gripping each other’s hands like wrestling, said with a smile, "Back then we had made a pact to heartily drink the spirits of the plains, now although Carl is no longer here, you still are, so this promise surely isn’t another lie, is it?"

"Hahaha, of course, it’s not a lie, but not now." Finche seemed particularly excited, his other hand firmly slapping Pannis’s shoulder, "Let’s wait until everything is over, maybe then we’ll really be able to fulfill that promise."

"Let’s hope so." Pannis wasn’t as confident as Finche, merely agreeing noncommittally before looking Finche up and down thoughtfully and saying, "From the very beginning, seeing those totem columns and hearing about how the Undead have developed a habit of pilgrimage, I guessed you were here, and it seems I was right. With you here, I feel much more at ease about the Undead, no longer needing to rely just on my guesswork, I think, we need to have a good talk."