"That's right, Mr. Blaidd. It was Mr. Kale who told me you were here, and I happen to know the man you're looking for," Xia Yu said with a smile.
It wasn't that he was lying; he was actually following the game's side quest. After all, one lie often requires more lies to cover it, snowballing into something bigger.
Rather than doing that, it was better not to lie at all and just make everything traceable.
So, he first circled the Mistwood, then went to the nomadic merchant Kale to inquire about the wolf's howl. Since he often frequented Kale's business and had helped him chase away bandits several times, Kale had a considerable amount of trust in him.
After asking about the wolf's howl and learning about Blaidd, he then asked Kale why Blaidd was there, and that's when he learned that Blaidd was looking for a man named Darryl.
Although he already knew all this from the game, reality wasn't a game, so everything had to be reasonable and logical.
Of course, the information about the Bloodhound Knight Darryl came from the game, but there was no fear of anything going wrong with this kind of information, as no one knew whether he was telling the truth or not anyway.
"Oh? You know where that traitor is?" Blaidd's eyes flashed with a fierce glint, and his fangs protruded from his lips. "A traitor deserves a traitor's end. Please tell me his location, and I will offer a reward."
"Alright, here's the map with his location marked."
Seeing Blaidd's voice grow colder, Xia Yu didn't suggest having a meal first; he understood the atmosphere.
Pulling out a simple map from his Huai, Xia Yu handed it to Blaidd.
This map was drawn by him personally after field surveys and combining it with the in-game map. Although not exquisite, it was generally understandable.
He didn't intend to directly lead Blaidd to Darryl. After all, he had just met Blaidd, and being so overly enthusiastic might arouse suspicion.
"Hmm..."
Blaidd took the map with a serious expression and opened it to look. However, as he looked, his brow furrowed.
"How do you read a map?"
"Huh?"
Hearing Blaidd's murmur, Xia Yu frowned, somewhat puzzled, and poked his ear with his pinky finger. Had he misheard just now?
But looking at Blaidd's distressed expression, Xia Yu still cautiously leaned in to take a look. After just one glance, his face instantly fell.
"Uh... you're holding the map upside down," Xia Yu said, twitching his mouth, reminding him softly from the side.
"Oh?" Blaidd suddenly startled, scratching his head awkwardly. "My apologies, my apologies. I'm really not good at reading maps to find things."
You're not just not good at it, you're completely clueless!
Xia Yu grumbled in his heart, then watched Blaidd rotate the map and look at it again in the wrong direction.
...
Is this guy really the aloof Half-Wolf Blaidd? Could he have been replaced by the Calamity Shadow? Even the Calamity Shadow shouldn't be this foolish, right?
Xia Yu, speechless, took the map from Blaidd's hand and pointed at the landmarks he had drawn, explaining.
"This is our current location. This marked position is south of Lake Agheel. If you follow this route, you will pass Lake Agheel and the Gatefront Ruins, finally arriving at this marked spot."
"I see..." Blaidd nodded, half-understanding. "So, if I follow this direction, I can reach the traitor's location?"
As he spoke, Blaidd pointed straight ahead, which was east on the map.
Xia Yu: "..."
That's the sea! You're a Half-Wolf, you can be sensitive to the cold, but why are you also directionally challenged?! Your Royal Greatsword requires such high intelligence, where did all that intelligence go?!
Seeing Xia Yu's speechless gaze, Blaidd cleared his throat, knowing he must have pointed in the wrong direction. He immediately straightened his face and said seriously.
"Indeed, I need to go to a higher place to determine the direction. Please wait for me; I'll go up and check first."
With that, Blaidd intended to climb the ruined spire again to determine the map's direction with his wolf's vision.
"Wait a moment." Xia Yu, speechless, grabbed Blaidd's fur cloak. "I'll take you there. The way you are, you might never find Darryl's location."
"Who says!" Hearing this, Blaidd's face immediately straightened. "I heard Darryl escaped to this vicinity, so I found my way here alone, alone!"
Why are you saying it with such a proud tone? Doesn't that just make you seem more directionally challenged?!
Xia Yu felt like he had complained more internally today than in the entire previous month.
He couldn't dwell on this issue anymore, or he would eventually become a comedic character.
The Tarnished Xia Yu shivered at the thought of potentially becoming a silly Ashen Xia Yu and hurriedly spoke to Blaidd.
"Alright, alright, you don't need to fret. I'll take you to Darryl. Give me the map."
"Really?" Blaidd was initially delighted but quickly grew suspicious. "But why are you helping me so much? We just met."
Why does your intelligence return at a time like this, you scoundrel? Switch back to your directionally challenged mode!
Xia Yu, roaring internally, showed a helpless smile: "Perhaps it's because I'm a righteous and good person, and you also know Kale. A friend of a friend is a friend, so I'm willing to help."
Of course, the main reason is because of your sister Ranni. What is this, Marika's Black Blade, Miquella's Blade, Ranni's Poor Sense of Direction?
"Thank you very much for your help. I will prepare a generous gift for this," Blaidd earnestly thanked him upon hearing Xia Yu's words. "Shall we go now?"
"What's the rush? The traitor you're looking for won't just disappear." Xia Yu rolled his eyes and pointed at the Runebear lying dead nearby. "I haven't had breakfast yet. Let me eat first."
"This..." Blaidd was stunned, but remembering that he needed Xia Yu's help, he couldn't refuse. "Alright then, let me prepare it. Don't let my appearance fool you; I do know a few royal cooking techniques."
"Hehe, in front of me, no matter what kind of cooking, it can't compare to my monster cuisine skills."
As he spoke, Xia Yu initially wanted to pat Blaidd's shoulder, but reaching out, he realized he was a bit too confident; he could pat it, but he'd have to stand on tiptoes. The next second, Xia Yu naturally switched to patting his arm instead.
"Just wait a bit and let me show you my cooking. Consider it a meal to entertain a new friend. This will definitely be a delicacy you've never tasted before."
At these words, Blaidd chuckled and shook his head. He had grown up in the royal family; what delicacies hadn't he tasted? However, he didn't dampen Xia Yu's spirits. After all, they were friends, so he'd give him some face.
No matter how the Runebear turned out, he would eat it all.
Blaidd being directionally challenged wasn't me making things up. In the game, Kale once said that Blaidd was not very friendly, clumsy, and comically bad at finding things, but he was a good person. Later, based on the manga 'ELDEN RING: The Road to the erdtree,' I gave Blaidd this attribute. An aloof Half-Wolf who is actually a comically bad, directionally challenged individual is a huge contrast, but it feels quite interesting.