Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 963 - 80: The Gaze that Transversed Time and Space

Chapter 963: Chapter 80: The Gaze that Transversed Time and Space

Walking up the stairs leading to the high platform, Catherine felt an unprecedented sense of relief, and in that moment, the young girl’s heart was incredibly calm. Awakened by those who fought for interests, she reexamined her heart and took the Knight’s Oath once again. She felt as if she had returned to her past, to the days when she was still a naive little girl, whose heart was clear as water, filled only with the firmest of beliefs, untainted by the mundane world.

The girl vaguely remembered the first time she looked up at the statue of Nellie, at the knight whose name itself symbolized the Legendary, whose deeds were sung in epics, her heart brimming with endless admiration. Touching the declaration of Nellie engraved on the stone before the statue, she softly read the words written there. Before she had become a knight, the girl was first drawn to Nellie, and in that moment, she felt her soul come infinitely close to the heart of a hero. In that instant, it seemed as if an emotion-filled gaze was being transmitted from a distant world, crossing the boundaries of time and space, moving through past and future, finally converging behind her. The girl felt as if she stood together with the hero, under the hero’s radiant protection, with the courage to confront all hardships and pain, daring to face all evil and injustice. From that moment, the girl decided on her path as a knight, a path of eternal hardship that would never change.

The girl clearly remembered the first time she knelt before the statue of Nellie, offering up her knight’s Emblem to the statue. The neutral knights’ Emblem, eschewing all ornate designs, featured only a simple sword and shield; the sword symbolized the courage to cut through the thorny path and counter evil and oppression, while the shield represented the determination to guard justice and fairness. To offer one’s Emblem was to pledge one’s loyalty and life, never to turn back. Offering the Emblem, and formally reciting the Oath of the Knight beneath the statue, and once again reading Nellie’s declaration before the statue, the knightly girl felt as if she was experiencing the same illusion as years ago. Standing alone in the empty square, the girl felt enveloped by eyes filled with satisfaction and joy, wrapping around her body, bringing her warmth and courage.

But as the years passed, the girl did not know when, worldly matters gradually dusted her faith in grey. From some point, when making choices, the first reaction in the girl’s mind was the pros and cons of the choice rather than its righteousness. Although her final decisions were not compromised by benefits over justice, and she did not abandon her faith, the girl could not deceive herself. She knew her will was not strong enough. Facing temptation time and again, her heart still fluttered; even just a few days earlier, when unexpectedly encountering Grandpa Snape, who truly cared and loved her, facing the old man’s sorrowful gaze, feeling his reluctance and anticipation, her heart wavered once again. If this continued, perhaps someday her heart of faith would falter in the face of temptation, completely drowning in the whirlpool of self-interest, forever losing the qualification to follow the path of Lady Nellie.

"But now it will never happen, never again," the knightly girl said with a faint smile on her face, her clear eyes no longer holding any hesitation or confusion. Just now, the girl’s thoughts were complex; between two countries, who was right and who was wrong, whether it was justifiable to entangle for national interests, who was innocent between those to be sacrificed and those protected by such sacrifices. These questions circled repetitively in the girl’s mind. Although Freya said there was no right or wrong, and this was the reality, something every leader must do, deep within her heart, Catherine never accepted this answer, always feeling she was on the verge of grasping something tangible. But now, she had finally grasped what she wanted to hold on to. Therefore, she could calmly smile, her upright posture reflecting her inner resolve: "There will be no more confusion, no more hesitation, no more succumbing to temptation. This is the knight, this is the path of the knight, the only right path for a knight."

"Let’s go," Catherine said as she led a few girls down from the high platform. Pannis was already waiting, his arms crossed, leaning against a column of the high platform, clearly having guessed the knightly girl’s weariness of the circumstances before her, guessing her desire to leave, thus preemptively stepping back to give the girl an excuse to depart. With a knowing smile, Catherine patted Pannis’s arm as she passed by and said, "Also, thank you."

"Eh?" Pannis immediately looked up at Catherine and couldn’t help but utter a low exclamation, somewhat surprised as he commented, "You seem to have figured out something very important, huh? Your whole demeanor seems different. Tsk tsk, I can’t help but feel a bit jealous of you, do you realize what it means that you’ve figured these things out?"

"What does that mean?" Catherine, clearly not taking Pannis’s jealousy to heart, playfully tilted her head and teased him, "Does it mean someone is going to pay me a lot of gold coins?"

"Huh, it seems you really haven’t guessed it," Pannis shook his head and smiled bitterly. "You know, I don’t know specifically what those problems you’ve figured out are, but I’m very clear about their importance and complexity. Of the people who reach this stage, nine hundred and ninety-nine out of a thousand get stuck here, unable to take another step forward for the rest of their lives. And you? You’ve mysteriously crossed this barrier, and now an open path lies before you. As long as you accumulate enough, you can naturally take that final step. I think you should understand what I’m talking about now."

"Really?" Several girls asked in unison, almost exclaiming, "Do you mean big sister is about to be promoted?"

"How can that be, it’s not that easy," Pannis shook his head. "It’s just that the obstacles ahead are gone, but it still takes a long time to enhance one’s power. No one can say for sure how long, maybe five years, maybe ten years, but no matter how long, as long as she lives, she will definitely take that step."

"Ah, big sister," Lina couldn’t suppress her curiosity and awkwardly stroked her own bald head as she asked, "What exactly did you figure out?"

"Actually, it’s nothing much," Catherine smiled. In that moment, she seemed to feel again the gaze that traveled through time and space focused on her. In that sensation, the girl lightly said, "I just understood that many things, perhaps for most people, don’t have a distinction of right or wrong. But for a knight, it’s different. Sacrificing some for the benefit of many? Inducing others to sacrifice for one’s own benefit? For leaders, for citizens, even for the sacrificed, these indeed have no right or wrong, it’s just a matter of perspective. But for a knight, wrong is wrong, no matter how beautifully it’s dressed up, it’s still wrong. These are things others can do, but not something a knight can do. Instead, a knight should do the only right thing, which is what we are going to do."

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