Departure

“Since I can’t avoid it, I’ll just go with the flow. The immediate problem is my food.” Unable to break free from the predicament, I decided to just let it be.

“Heh, you’re quite optimistic. I happen to have two decent quests here that should temporarily solve your problem.”

“What quests?”

“The first is a three-star quest to collect Snow Silver Flowers in Mount Lan Forest, near Sùfēng Village, with a bounty of 2 gold coins. As for the other one…” Abruptly, my ear stung slightly.

“What are you doing!” Since we were still whispering, Ninina gently bit my earlobe when I was caught off guard.

“How about spending a night with me?” Ninina only bit me once before flashing away a body length from me, a sweet smile on her face, unlike her usual demeanor. It scared me into taking a step back.

I was afraid that if I were 0.1 seconds slower, this woman would have swallowed me whole.

“You… you don’t mean you like girls, do you!”

“Who knows? So, do you want to spend a night with me to find out?”

“Absolutely not!”

What bad karma did I commit? Why are all the people I meet such weirdos. Suddenly, a saying came to mind: freaks are always attracted to each other.

But I’m definitely not a freak!

“Tsk, it’s rare for me to want to teach you all sorts of interesting things, you uninteresting little beauty. Let’s stop the joke here.” Ninina glanced around the Guild, which was gradually filling up, and lightly returned to the front desk, handing me a quest sheet from a pile.

“All the information is here. The deadline for submitting the quest is three days later. Remember to come back early.”

Mount Lan Forest, near Sùfēng Village, is an ancient forest on the north side of the town, rich in medicinal herbs and ore resources. It would take about half a day to reach by beast carriage. With the time for return travel and collection, three days is more than enough.

“Are there any discounts for riding the Guild’s beast carriage?”

“No, but if you give me a kiss, I might be able to give you some discount.”

“If it’s just a kiss on the cheek, then yes.” My integrity be damned, I’m willing to sacrifice my virtue for a small discount.

Thinking about my wallet, which was as flat as a piece of paper, I had to bow to reality. All that noble spirit of not stooping for five pecks of rice can just fly away!

Speaking of which, from a male perspective, being kissed on the cheek by a girl is a gain.

Thinking this way, I felt a little better.

“… You rejected me so decisively just now, I didn’t expect you to be such a shameless little beauty.” Ninina suddenly became shy and coy.

“…” An actress, this is definitely Oscar-worthy acting.

“Are you going to kiss or not?”

“Uh, I was just kidding just now. Wait, don’t draw your sword! I’ll give you the discount!”

Dealing with this woman is exhausting.

“Then I’m leaving.” After paying the carriage fare, I turned to leave.

“Wait, I have a huge piece of news for you.”

“What news?” Seeing Ninina’s serious expression, I became somewhat curious.

“I’m wearing pink lace underwear today.” Swish swish swish! I could almost hear pairs of ears in the Guild perking up at that exact moment. What is this woman saying? Huge news and underwear have no relation whatsoever in this lifetime!

“Stop! Stop! Girls who don’t know how to joke aren’t popular!” Seeing me reach for the meteorite sword at my waist, Ninina immediately stepped forward and grabbed my hand.

“I don’t want to be popular!” I never expected this woman’s true nature to be so malicious. I shouldn’t have gotten involved with her.

“Alright, this time I’m serious.”

Ninina leaned closer again. I took a step back warily. However, Ninina, who had been holding my hand all along, gave a strong pull, and I involuntarily leaned towards her.

“Don’t move, this time I’m absolutely serious.” Adopting a solemn tone, Ninina whispered in my ear.

“…” This woman is surprisingly strong. Being held by her felt like being cast into a statue with cement, unable to move.

“You must be careful of Romeo B. He doesn’t just win over so many women with his looks and strength alone.” Ninina’s tone suddenly turned as cold as winter, giving me a strange illusion. It was an indescribable illusion; I feared it would be too terrifying if I took this illusion seriously.

“Are you saying he has some special power to enchant girls?”

“Who knows? In short, you must never be alone with him, no matter the time.” Ninina’s voice returned to its usual ethereal style.

“I understand.” Although Ninina is a bit strange, I don’t think she’s the type to harm me. Keeping this in mind, I waved goodbye to Ninina and left the building, preparing to depart.

The moment I stepped out the door, I looked back at Ninina, then quickly left.

The morning sun was a bit warm, but my heart was as cold as winter.

Ninina, Life Level: ???

This was the information I got from checking Ninina’s status out of curiosity earlier.

Three question marks. I don’t understand what this represents.

But one thing is certain: Ninina’s Life Level is either higher than Lis’s, or she possesses a mysterious item that prevents me from seeing it.

Either way, it sends shivers down my spine.

This town is too bizarre. First, the little demon Flora resurrected the Archdemon King in the Witch’s Forest, then I encountered Lis on the road, who had a monster-like Life Level.

And now, here, a receptionist at a town-level Adventurer’s Guild is even more mysterious than Lis.

If only one of these had appeared, I might have considered it a coincidence. But with three appearing in just a few days. It makes one suspect if there’s some conspiracy at play here.

Did they cause my transmigration to this world?

Who is it?

“If you want a ride, get on. Why are you standing here daydreaming?” The female coachman’s somewhat annoyed voice startled me from my contemplation.

Never mind. When the boat reaches the bridge, it will naturally straighten itself out. Even if I knew something, with my current strength, I couldn’t change anything, so I gave up thinking.

“To Sùfēng Village’s Mount Lan Forest.” Handing the discount ticket Ninina gave me to the coachman, I got onto the beast carriage before me. There were only a few people inside.

Ignoring them, I found a corner seat and waited for the coachman to depart.

After more than ten minutes, no more passengers boarded.

After the beast carriage had been on the road for some time, I suddenly remembered the days in the countryside when the roads weren’t paved.

Whenever it rained, the road would be full of potholes. Driving a vehicle on such a road could churn your bile!

This beast carriage is terrifying!

Under the violent shaking, I forced myself to suppress the urge to vomit.

Compared to Lis’s beast carriage, which was so smooth that you couldn’t feel it moving, this beast carriage is definitely a bootleg, inferior product!