"What? Your name is Guzan?" Now it was Igor's turn to be surprised.
"Yes, my full name is Felix Novato Guzan." Guru Guru shrugged. He was all too familiar with Igor's reaction.
"Are you the Guzan from the Alchemy Workshop?"
"I did spend some time there once."
"Are you the Guzan who went in and out of the enemy's camp multiple times during the Empire's National Defense War?" Igor was still slightly incredulous. The legendary figure from the tales was sitting right before him now.
"All those are just things of the past." The self-proclaimed Guzan, Guru Guru, didn't show much emotion or excitement. To him, even the richest experiences of the past were just that—the past. The present was what truly mattered.
However, Igor was extremely excited. He had heard many stories about the Kayne Empire during his time at the Yonder Travel Academy. Every story had a hero, and every child seemed to have a natural admiration for heroes.
"Do you know who he is?" Igor was beyond thrilled, waving his arms and legs at Kadi. Still, he felt this was not enough to express his inner excitement.
"He is Guzan! The legendary figure of the Kayne Empire, the chief Alchemist of the Alchemy Workshop, the hero sung about in ballads!" Igor grabbed Kadi's shoulders and shook them forcefully. He was too excited to control himself.
And Kadi? He was bewildered by Igor's frantic shaking, his head spinning. He simply wanted to know why their monster leader was a human.
Consequently, Kadi struggled free from Igor's grasp after much effort. Perplexed, he exclaimed, "I don't know! I don't know who Guzan is! I only know Guru Guru is the leader of this mountain, but he's a human! I just want to know why!" His voice was so loud it drowned out all other sounds in the Stone House.
Kadi's shout silenced the entire Stone House. Igor froze on the spot, while Guru Guru remained seated, as quiet and calm as before. The sudden, awkward silence made Kadi realize his gaffe. His voice had been too loud, completely disregarding the feelings of others. So, he composed his turbulent emotions, blinked, and said softly, "I'm sorry, I was too impulsive. I shouldn't have raised my voice."
Igor's face immediately turned red. The current awkwardness was entirely his fault for getting overexcited. Now that Kadi was apologizing, it made him feel even worse.
"No, no, it was my fault," Igor said. Though there were only three of them in the Stone House, Igor felt compelled to apologize. He had been too impulsive, completely oblivious to Kadi's feelings. Moreover, his behavior, especially in front of Grand Master Guzan, made him feel like a senseless fool.
"HEHEHE, it was my fault. I'm always being elusive, not clarifying things properly," Guru Guru, also known as Guzan, said, suddenly finding himself influenced by the atmosphere and also apologizing.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the Stone House was palpably awkward.
"Uh..." Finally, Kadi broke the awkward silence. "Let's just continue. Why do you have two names?"
"Like I said before, 'Guru Guru' is just an alias I used for safety. But now, I feel that no matter how much I try to avoid this danger, it won't pass. I might as well face it directly," Guzan said with a gentle smile.
"Senior." Igor respectfully saluted Guzan, his heart filled with reverence. "Your deeds are legendary, yet you say you came here seeking refuge. I can't understand it. For a great hero like you, what could possibly drive you to such a plight?"
"Hero?" Guzan gave a bitter laugh. "I don't think I'm a hero. I'm a sinner."
"Huh?" Igor was confused, and Kadi was even more perplexed. Guzan's brief words were laden with so much unspoken meaning that Igor couldn't decipher it all at once.
In Igor's mind, Grand Master Guzan was the hero of the entire Kayne Empire, a legendary figure who would never be associated with the word 'sinner'.
Great Mentor Guzan was the fourth chief of the Alchemy Workshop, protector of the Kayne Empire, and the soul of the Kayne Realm's Guardian Army...
Too many lofty titles, too many glorious accolades—they couldn't be fully explained in just a sentence or two.
Guzan was the legend, the pillar of the entire Empire. Without him, the Kayne Empire might have been shattered during the last three National Defense Wars. Either Mantai or Wensi could have devoured the land of Kayne.
How could such a legendary figure be a sinner?
"No, you are a hero! Without you, there would be no boundary between the Star River and the Bess Mountains, no peace as we know it! You alone stopped the Tree Spirit army of the Wensi Empire! You drove away the raging Mountain Monsters with your magical arts! Without you, Kayne wouldn't be whole! We wouldn't have the peace we enjoy today!" Igor recounted many of Guzan's deeds, tales he had heard time and again and knew by heart.
"Peace?" Guzan looked at Igor in surprise. "Do you think the world is at peace now?"
"Isn't it? Over the years, neither Wensi nor Mantai has attacked Kayne. They have consistently adhered to the agreement regarding the Bess Mountains and the Star River," Igor said.
"SIGH," Guzan breathed out deeply. "Perhaps. Disaster is often preceded by a brief calm. I only hope this Empire has not yet plunged into the abyss."
Igor didn't understand what he meant by that.
"You two are making less and less sense! Can you say something I can understand?" Kadi, who had been lost in the confusing conversation, was growing impatient. It was understandable; who wouldn't be irritated when forced to listen to something they couldn't comprehend?
"HEHEHE, I'm sorry, Kadi. I'm old, and my thoughts tend to wander. I was just reminiscing about things from long ago," Guzan said kindly. He was being honest; Igor's long speech had inadvertently made him reminisce about a bygone era—an era he couldn't let go of, yet couldn't control.
"Can you speed things up and say something I can understand? I've been trying really hard to listen, but I just don't get any of it!" Kadi blurted out his true feelings. He had been stuck between Igor and Guzan, watching them go back and forth with all sorts of strange talk, none of which he understood. It was incredibly frustrating.
"SIGH. You are another matter I find hard to let go of, Kadi. Ah, Kadi, you are the most innocent one, dragged into my conflicts for no reason at all," Guzan said, looking thoughtfully at the small, blue-skinned monster opposite him.
"It seems, Senior, you really do have a long story to tell," Igor said, rubbing his eyes and taking a closer look at the legendary figure before him.
"The story is long, but we don't have much time," Guzan sighed softly again.