The rain grew heavier and heavier, splattering against the floor-to-ceiling glass and creating beautiful splashes under the lights.

  The two men sat across each other with a large glass of beer sitting in front of each of them as they looked at one another in silence.

  Louis smiled and broke the silence first. “I bet no one on the entire Norland Continent would believe that Alex would’ve become a chef, let alone one capable of making the most delicious mooncakes in this world.”


  “Just like how no one would believe that the nightmare of the entire orc race would become a merchant.” Mag chuckled in response.

  “What can I do? I’ve got a lame leg now, so I’ll only be dragging our comrades down on the battlefield. I didn’t die, though, so I have to make the most of my life. Otherwise, your efforts to save me from those orcs would have gone to waste.” Louis nodded with a smile.

  “Indeed, we should all try to make the most of our lives. I find cooking quite interesting at the moment, so I became a chef. Your efforts to save me from Rodu also haven’t gone to waste.” Mag also nodded in response.

  “After being a merchant for these past few years, I’ve discovered that I’m still better at and more interested in killing people.” Louis laid a hand on the hilt of the long saber that was hanging from his waist. Mag could see that deep finger indentations had been worn into the hilt, suggesting that the blade had been used extensively.

  “I actually feel like cooking is a bit more interesting than killing now.” Mag shook his head in disagreement.

  Louis was rather taken aback by that response. He looked into Mag’s eyes, and discovered that they were a lot softer than they’d been in the past.

  “Your daughter is very adorable; she’s not like you at all.” Louis chuckled as he abruptly changed the subject.

  “What do you mean she’s not like me? You just haven’t seen my adorable side!” Mag crossed his arms and feigned anger at Louis’ remark, but there was a hint of amusement in his eyes.

  Louis, AKA Thirteen, hailed from an aristocratic family. His father had also been a homeless wanderer during his youth, and prior to Louis’ birth, he had already fathered 12 elder brothers for Louis. Thus, Louis was ranked 13th in age, and was thus given the nickname Thirteen.

  Even though Louis’ father became a wealthy merchant, Louis was not interested in business whatsoever in the first 26 years of his life. He was much more interested in honing his blade skills and ran away from the family when he was just 15 years old, escaping to the southwestern border, where he became a soldier. That was also where he had met Mag Alex, who had also just joined the army.

  These were Mag Alex’s memories. Mag had thought that he could detach himself from those memories, analyzing them in an objective manner before taking advantage of the situation. However, with Louis sitting across him, he was unable to suppress the feeling that he was in the company of an old friend.

  This was a true friend who had stuck with him through thick and thin, the kind that Mag would be willing to entrust his life to in the blink of an eye, even though they hadn’t contacted each other for three years.

  That was the feeling of absolute trust that welled up in Mag’s heart as he looked at Louis.

  This kind of feeling made him slightly uneasy, but also filled him with yearning.

  He began to understand the true meaning of memory integration and assimilation. After assimilating Mag Alex’s memories, both the information and emotions contained within those memories had been passed onto Mag.

  For example, he was struck by a powerful urge to protect Amy when he had seen her for the first time. That wasn’t due to his paternal instincts or because of how adorable Amy was. Instead, it was a powerful emotion that had resulted from assimilating Mag Alex’s paternal love for Amy. In his mind, he was Amy’s father, and he wanted to protect and cherish her forever.

  Mag didn’t resist this assimilation process, as it would make it easier for him to blend into this world. Furthermore, the process didn’t affect his independent awareness. If he wanted to, he could even suppress and reject these emotional inclinations, so he had full control over everything.

  However, Mag chose to accept this type of emotional inclination on this occasion. Louis was a man who had risked his life to smuggle Alex and Amy out of Rodu, and then found someone to treat his injuries and completely alter his appearance before taking them to Chaos City.

  Mag didn’t have many true friends in his past life; he wanted to add to that list in this life. There was no stronger bond of friendship than this.

  Louis looked at Mag and suddenly burst into raucous laughter.

  “Pipe down; you’re going to wake Amy up.” Mag furrowed his brows.

  “Sorry, I suddenly remembered when we first joined the army. You were trying to appear cool and mysterious, so you refused to speak. Our team leader then made you meow 100 times as punishment. Everyone from three entire battalions came to watch. Thinking back now, I think you have shown me your adorable side.” Louis was crying from laughter.

  Mag’s expression immediately darkened. Even though he hadn’t been put through that experience himself, he was still struck by an intense sense of humiliation upon recalling that memory.

  He had been afraid of Louis bringing up embarrassing stories like this. Thankfully, Amy had already gone to bed.

  After his laughter died down, Louis downed all of the beer in his glass in one go before slamming the glass onto the table with a dull thump. He burped and gave Mag a thumbs-up as he praised, “This is some really good wine.”


  “Would you like another glass?” Mag asked with a smile.

  “No, thanks. Killing isn’t as satisfying when drunk.” Louis shook his head as he rose to his feet with his hand on the hilt of his blade. He looked at Mag with a smile, and said, “Save the wine for me. If I don’t come back, then drink it in my stead.”


  “You said you wanted some mooncakes for your kids, right? I’ll prepare some for you to take back with you,” Mag offered.

  “Don’t worry about it. My kids have their mother and their 12 uncles to look after them; they won’t starve.” Louis shook his head in a nonchalant manner. He looked at Mag, and said, “You should go upstairs and stay with your daughter. You’re the only one she has.

  “I may have a limp leg now, but don’t forget I’m still Lone Wolf Louis. I can take care of a few rats with ease.” Louis chuckled as he turned to walk out the door.

  Mag fell silent as his hands slowly balled up into tight fists. He looked on with a heavy heart at the limping figure walking into the rain.

  The door slowly swung shut, and the sound of the falling rain was abruptly muffled, making it seem as if he had been separated from the outside world.

  Mag looked at the empty glass across from him and chugged down his own beer in one go. He then rose to his feet with a smile and picked up an umbrella as well as a sword before striding out the door.