After saying goodbye to Melly and Torotaro, Alex followed Salom in the direction of the outside of the town. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

"...... this is so amazing, I can't see any signs of repair."

As she walked, Alex exclaimed as she carefully stroked the rim of the shield. The scratches on this round shield during the battle with the previous puppet have been completely erased, and even the pattern has been restored to its original shape. The smooth surface looks like it has never been used.

Squinting at Alex's admiring expression, Salom spoke lightly.

"Don't look at Miss Melly, she's probably been studying blacksmithing longer than Miss Alex has been practicing in the past. Although I don't have a concept of weapons and equipment, from the feedback of everyone in the organization, it seems that her skills are not inferior to some craftsmen in big cities. ”

"...... yes."

Thinking that the innocent and cute figure was actually a few years older than herself, Alex once again showed a complicated expression.

"Because of the bloodline of the long-lived race, Miss Melly's mental age is roughly the same as that of a human child around seven years old, so Miss Alex can continue to treat her with her previous attitude." Seeing Alex's distress, Salom spoke flatly.

"......It's hard, but I'll do my best."

Hearing her answer, Salom silently turned her head away.

The two moved forward in silence for a moment, and Alex reattached the shield to the clasp of her left arm as she walked.

"But is it really okay to pay for this?"

Alex looked down to check the equipment on her body and in her hand, and couldn't help but look up again and asked.

Although Melly had said before, "It's okay because I borrowed Mr. Torotaro for help", Alex still felt a little uncomfortable.

"Don't care. With the exception of combatants who are often on the go, few people use currency in the town, and most of the inhabitants use simple barter. Salom glanced sideways at Alex, "Besides, Miss Alex." Do you really have money? ”

Alex had lived in a village isolated from the outside world, even more so than the secret town that was the secret base of Kiss of Death. According to Salom's speculation, there should be no money in circulation.

"If you want money, I have it."

To Salom's surprise, Alex replied with a look of course. After reaching out and fumbling in her arms for a while, she slowly reached out, and several gold coins were stacked in her palm.

"......" pinched the top one and looked at it carefully, confirming that it was indeed a genuine gold coin, and then Salom gently put it back in Alex's palm: "Miss Alex, did you bring this from the village?" ”

"No, I stole it from the bandits who intercepted me before I came here." The girl said without changing her face: "I have used some of the food I have used up to buy food from the merchants I have met a few times, and now there are less than ten left. ”

…… What have you done? The image of the girl grabbing the collar of the person who was supposed to be a bandit and threatening others to hand over the money with words came to her mind, and Salom suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness.

"......Miss Alex, there's no doubt you're breaking the law, understand?"

"Eh-" Alex dragged out in dissatisfaction, "Teach the thugs who can't open their eyes to the door, and snatch the wallets of robbers who aim for their money, these are all common practices, right?" ”

"I don't know which world convention you're talking about...... Even if the other party is a bandit, robbery is still illegal, so please keep this in mind. After speaking, Shalom shook his head back and forth with a sigh: "I didn't expect His Highness Hill's future companion to be a robber, it's really unbearable." ”

"...... Shalom as a stalker isn't qualified to teach me a lesson, right?"

"It's completely unfounded slander, I'm not a stalker."

"Evidence, your room is all over the place, huh? And if you see what you're doing, 11 out of 10 people will convict you of stalking! ”

"......What's that, a horror story?"

"It's a figure of speech!"

With a sigh, Salom gently tugged at the glasses on the bridge of her nose.

"Miss Alex, it seems that you have a misunderstanding of me. What I did wasn't the act of a stalker, it was just the passion that surged in my chest. Because I want to build a theme pavilion for His Highness Hill that benefits everyone, I collect as much of His Highness Hill's possessions as possible, and I want to take pictures of His Highness Hill's posture whenever I want, but that's it. ”

"Well, there's no doubt about it." Alex nodded without the slightest hesitation and asserted, "And what to say benefits everyone...... Shelom is the only one who will benefit from this, right? ”

"With all due respect, Miss Alex lacks the necessary tolerance and rationality to understand the cause of the situation."

…… Why do I have to be accused of being a stalker? That said, I don't want to use my tolerance for this, and I don't want to understand your motives at all.

Although I think so, it is endless to continue. Alex swallowed her anger and put the gold coin in her hand back into the pocket on top of her skirt.

The gold coins fell into her pocket with a crisp clatter, and Alex suddenly thought of something.

"Speaking of which, it's clear that there are no gold coins in the town, and that guy is still so happy to extort others, it's completely rotten to the bone."

She didn't name "the guy" by name, but Salom knew who she was talking about.

"...... gold is probably to that person what a gem is to a dragon." Salom said in a flat tone.

"Is it all greed, I wish there was a dragon slayer...... " Alex sighed.

With that saying this, Salom and Alex stepped out of the town's arched wooden sign. The bluestone-paved road gradually submerges into the loess, and the fields and hills line out on both sides.

"Here's to you, Miss Alex." Stopping, Salom handed Alex a copper-colored magical machine, a disc-shaped object just the size to cover the palm of her hand.

"What is this? Dragon ○ radar? Alex scrutinized what looked like a circular timepiece in her hand, dots of light flashing in the flickering green squares on one side of the disc.

"It's a simple locator, and the dots on it indicate the location of His Highness Ciel."

...... didn't want to think about where this stuff came from, and Alex silently put it in her pocket.

"That's the direction of His Highness Ciel, and Miss Alex just needs to follow it all the way in that direction. If you get lost in the middle of the process, you can relocate it with that locator. ”

“…… It occurred to me that with my speed, it would be hard to catch up with that Hill guy. ”

Alex thought of the speed that Hill had shown before, and even if there was no level gap, the gap between agile-minded thieves and guardians should not be underestimated.

"It's okay, from what I know, His Highness Hill should be deliberately slowing himself down. As long as Miss Alex pushes forward with all her might, she should be able to catch up by dawn tomorrow. ”

“…… Meaning, let me not do the day and night of rest? ”

"If you want to catch up with His Highness Hill as soon as possible, this level of effort is a matter of course. Or is it okay if His Highness Hill is lost at an important juncture in your life while you rest? ”

"I—I see." Alex pouted and shook her hands back and forth: "I didn't say I wouldn't do it, did I?" ”

"Well, then, you're ready to go."

"Ah~ yes, yes."

As she spoke, Alex raised her feet and prepared to walk in the direction Shalom had pointed earlier. After taking a few steps, she suddenly stopped as if she had thought of something.

"What's wrong, Miss Alex? Thought of something you forgot to bring? Seeing this, Salom, who stretched out her hand to look at her, couldn't help but ask.

Hearing her voice, Alex slowly turned around.

"No, I just wanted to ask - the position and distance of this assessment are random, right?"

"That's right."

"In that case, what if you don't meet any wicked people along the whole road? Such a probability can't be impossible, right? Alex asked, looking at Salom.

For example, if Hill's direction is deflected seventy degrees clockwise, his path will coincide with the ridge of the Tria Mountains. It is difficult to meet living creatures at an altitude of hundreds of meters, not to mention bad people. When Alex had crossed the mountains in the past, she hadn't seen anything other than herself for days. Of course, if it were in such a place, it would be impossible to pass the assessment at all.

“…… In that case, you will have to accept your fate. ”

"Huh!?" Alex opened her mouth in surprise with an unacceptable expression: "Hey, this way is not reasonable at all, right?" What will those who are selected and drawn think? ”

Indeed, for the trainees who have been trained for many years, it is not only excessive to cut them off because of bad luck, but even a ravage of their persistence and faith, and Salom understands Alex's idea. But......

"No, that's not what I mean by 'resignation'...... I don't know exactly what to do, but the crystal ball used to show the location and distance seems to have been magically enhanced to divinate locations that are closely linked to the fate of the subject. If there really is a path without any wicked people, it is probably the result of divination that he is not fit to be a full member. ”

“…… What's that? Alex couldn't help but say, "Divination or something, it's completely superstitious, isn't it?" Does Miss Salom believe in that kind of thing? ”

"Indeed, I don't really believe in this fatalistic argument." Salom nodded affirmatively: "Especially, after trying all kinds of methods to get the result that His Highness and I will become lovers, I am completely convinced that the divination is 100% a lie." ”

"You're too pragmatic...... Alex complained.

Ignoring Alex's words, Salom continued, "I don't believe it, but that crystal ball does work in an incomprehensible way. Coupled with the fact that it was a rare item that Mr. Korn had ordered from his old acquaintance who was a high-ranking member of the Magic Guild, I still reluctantly recognized its utility. ”

"Really......" Alex nodded in thought.

"Miss Alex doesn't have to think much about it, this kind of occult stuff can neither be verified nor falsified. All you need to do is follow this path towards His Highness Hill. ”

“.…..” Alex turned her head to check the path behind her, then turned back to a smile, "That's right." ”

Turning around and stretching, Alex looked energetic.

"So! I'm leaving! ”