On January 24, 795 in the new calendar, at dusk, Duan Qing dragged his tired body and returned to the association little by little. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Although his heart is full of mixed feelings now, the experience of this day is still a little unbearable when I think about it now.

Taking care of a little girl who doesn't talk much and has difficulty communicating is an extremely difficult task in the first place, let alone playing with this little girl, and going out to play.

And also a little kid who never went out to play.

Well, the last one, in hindsight, may have been a bit too absolute - the little girl named Nina seemed to have a basic understanding of the wonderful world out there, at least she didn't touch anything or run into any strange places. However, for Duan Qing, leading such a little girl, he was under a lot of pressure.

Because Nina is curious about everything.

She would look at the bluestone slabs on the street floor, look at the signs next to the intersections, look at the fluttering petals, and look at the various people coming and going - whenever she looked at these things, she would always stare at those big eyes, and stand there for a long time, until Duan Qing's legs and feet were a little sore, and then she would continue to move forward without saying a word, walking to somewhere else that she didn't know where it was.

The whole process was done without a word.

If you want to know anything, you can ask...... There were several times when Duan Qing was so anxious that his eyelids began to jump, but in the face of Nina's unchanged eyes, he still couldn't ask for anything. Occasionally, she would stare at some of the kittens and dogs on the side of the road, staring them out of the blue, their fur standing on end, and then fleeing in panic, and even one or two stall owners who had no business were uncomfortable with her physical gaze.

Then they would glance this way with strange eyes, look at Nina, then at Duan Qing, and finally turn away, leaving them with a back that they didn't pay attention to.

So Duan Qing only smiled bitterly.

Some of the townsfolk who came and went knew the peculiar little girl, and they would come over to say hello and get the girl's glare. Those who had dealings with this family before, they would touch the little girl's head, and then chat with Duan Qing casually, thank Duan Qing for taking care of him, and at the same time thank the Adventurers Association for their help, and they are so enthusiastic about a little girl...... If you meet someone with bad intentions, most of them just look at them with hatred, leave one or two inexplicable cruel words, and then shake their heads and leave.

"That guy Albert, he didn't do anything good out there!"

"Your family won't end well......"

What a mess, you are sick...... Duan Qing pursed his lips, then pretended not to hear, took the little girl's hand and continued to wander around, or was pulled by her to wander around.

At a certain moment, they came to the center of Windflower Town, near the north. This is the center of the town and the edge of the hillside, the hillside part of the town, located in the northwest section of the town, with its dividing line through the center, from the northeast corner to the southwest corner, several times through a river flowing down the mountain, through several bridges and many residential areas. Although the center is close to the mountains, there are still many buildings placed here, some of which are quite peculiar in shape, and it seems that there are more statues. Duan Qing had inquired about the origin of this place before, and it was said that these buildings had a certain commemorative significance, as if they were commemorating a battle that once took place here, but time had passed so long that even many of the townspeople who lived here did not know about it.

Most of them have taken a fancy to the scenery here, and it is normal for wealthy families who have emigrated from other places to not hear of it. However, this is not entirely their fault, because the vicinity of this section of the area has now developed into a more lively place, in fact, a short walk north from this place will lead to the famous Flower Basket Street.

Flower Basket Street is an authentic commercial street, and in comparison, it is still relatively civilian, and the people who do business here sell some irrelevant things. For example, all kinds of clothes in daily life, small knick-knacks at home, and all kinds of daily necessities and so on. The residents of Zhenshan still come here from time to time, and for players, the things here are really not of much use. Therefore, among the people who come and go, Duan Qing, who has a short sword hanging from his waist, gloves on both hands, and is dressed as an adventurer, is still quite eye-catching.

However, there were not many stalls he passed by.

Little Nina didn't take many steps every time, she would stop and stare at the things on the stall, biting her fingers and looking hard. From barrels, brooms, drying racks, to all kinds of clothes, of different colors and styles, she had to watch them attentively for a while, and she didn't know what was going on in that little head. If there was a bookstall on the side of the road, no matter what kind of books were placed on it, the little girl would walk up and sweep it around with her big bright eyes, and then look at Duan Qing with a bitter face.

It didn't take long for the girl to hold several books of various sizes in her hands.

It seems that the living expenses that were just calculated a few days ago are going to be wasted again...... Duan Qing tugged at his neckline and thought with some pain. But looking at the two little arms that hugged the book tightly in front of his chest, and the little face with a little calm, his heart became a little calm.

It's okay to take care of it, as a player, I'm already very kind, and I don't ask for any extra rewards, just let me go......

"Are you...... Nina. ”

At the entrance of the street ahead, an old voice suddenly sounded.

Duan Qing turned his head to look, the direction leading to the street entrance was the direction of the upward mountain road, and occasionally people in horse-drawn carriages got off here, and then walked towards the mountain on foot. There is a bridge on one side of the intersection, and many passers-by like to stop and rest on the bridge to admire the flowers and leaves that drift down from the mountains and the clear water flowing under the bridge. Standing on the edge of the bridge at this time, the two of them were stopped by an old man with white hair, but only those white beards could prove his old age, the dress he wore at this time, the top hat he wore on his head, and the aristocratic cane standing straight on the ground under the dry palm, all showed in a neat and clean way that the old man in front of him was still full of energy.

As if she knew the old man, Nina didn't look at each other as fixedly as before, but looked at each other and lowered her head. Duan Qing looked at the old man in the black dress, then at the little girl who still didn't say a word, and put on a smiling face: "May I ask ......?"

"I'm Rama, the mayor of Windflower."

In the afternoon, crowds of people walked over the bridge, but no one looked at the three people who were staring at each other. Duan Qing was stunned for a moment, and then nodded with some realization: "It turned out to be the town elder, who has heard of the famous name for a long time, but he has never had time to visit ......"

"You're welcome." The old man raised a hand and stopped Duan Qing's politeness: "You...... I've heard all about the things that came here before. ”

Duan Qing didn't speak.

"You and your partner are acquaintances of Master Gustin, aren't you?" The old man didn't care about Duan Qing's attitude: "Those things that happened before, please allow me to apologize on my behalf." ”

The old man held his cane in both hands and bowed slowly, causing Duan Qing to wave his hand again and again: "No, no, no, the town elder doesn't have to be so ......"

"You don't need to call me Mayor Ma, just call me Rama." Rama said in a calm tone: "I heard that you have joined the Adventurers' Association and set up an adventure group, I hope you and your friends can make due contributions to the peace of Fenghua Town." ”

"That's as it should be." Duan Qing didn't hesitate this time, and said it directly.

"As for ...... Little Nina. The old man nodded, then looked at the little girl beside Duan Qing, who shrank back a little timidly, and saw the old man smile again.

"She's Robin and Rylith's child, but she's been living a hard life since she was a child, so she's not very ...... It's cute, it's really hard for you to take care of it today. ”

"That's what we're supposed to do." Sensing the strangeness of the little hand he was holding, Duan Qing responded with a smile: "It is the duty of our adventurers to complete the commission. ”

"It's our faith, too." He added.

"Young people with ambitions." The old man exclaimed: "There are really not many young people like you now. ”

With his smile, two gray beards curled up beside his face, quite in the image of Santa Claus. Duan Qing also laughed, but the corner of his eye was silently glancing to his right side.

Little Nina still kept her head down and didn't move, like an honest kitten.

"Alright, it's not early, I have other things to deal with." The old man looked at the sky, and then said, "If there is anything to do, you can come to the town hall to find me, and I promise that you will find me without any problems." ”

Duan Qing smiled and nodded.

"Although Richard is a ...... Very capable person, but there must still be some things he can't solve, so ...... If there is any trouble, for the sake of Gustan's face, I will definitely help you. ”

The old man left one last word, then turned and walked towards the mountain path on the other side of the bridge. It wasn't until his figure disappeared into the corner of the street that Duan Qingfang dispersed the smiling face that had lasted for a long time and looked down at the little girl.

The little girl was also looking at herself.

I don't know when she started staring at her face, and I don't know how long she has been staring, in short, when Duan Qing found those beautiful eyes staring at her, the other party lowered her head like a frightened bird, and then turned to look in other directions.

But the little hands were clenched tighter.

Duan Qing smiled meaninglessly, and then said, "It's really not early, should we ...... What about going home? ”

The hesitant turn to the side stopped, and the girl lowered her head again, as if she was thinking about the undesirable question. After a while, Duan Qing used his keen perception to notice that the black satin hair that had flowed down to the back of his shoulders had moved imperceptibly.

Phew, no matter what, it's finally over.

Duan Qing took Nina's hand and returned to her dilapidated home.

Although he was just walking back and forth this day and didn't do anything too tiring, Duan Qing still felt very tired, and the most important thing was that his heart was too tired, which even made him feel like he was in a different world when he sent the little girl back to her room.

"I'm ...... today," he patted his head, "what have you done......"

The plan was not completed, the tasks were not completed, the children who accompanied him for a day, and walked a lot of roads, Duan Qing felt that the time before him was simply burning his life. He bowed his head in frustration, lacking even the strength to say hello at the last time, and just wanted to close the door for the little girl who had been hanging her head all the time, and then leave the place as soon as possible, and when he returned, he would share the painful experience of the day with the rest of the team, and at the same time express his willingness to never accept such a thing again.

It hurts so much......

"Mr. ......"

The voice is somewhat high-pitched, some faint, and people who have not spoken for a long time generally make such sounds. Duan Qing turned around in surprise and found that the little girl sitting on the bed was holding the few books she had just bought for her, looking at her with the same eyes that had stared at countless kittens and puppies before.

"Aoyama...... Brother. ”

As if remembering something, she changed her name, and her words became smoother than before, but she covered the lower part of her little face with a book, so the voice became more indistinct. However, at this time, Duan Qing didn't care about these details, he turned around, slowly walked in front of the little girl, and then squatted down, looking into her eyes without care.

"What's wrong? You...... Can I help you? ”

"You...... You just said, adventurer ......"

"It's going to be done, isn't it?"

The setting sun brought dusk over the town, and then through the layers of air, through the worn windows, into the clean little room, illuminating the warmth of the whole room. Outside, there was the occasional sound of rolling wheels of carriages passing by, as well as the excited shouts of adventurers returning from going out, which were brought to this dim room by the perennial mountain wind, but Duan Qing didn't pay attention. He looked at the little girl who was quietly holding the book he had just bought, and suddenly felt something tremble in his heart.

"Yes." He replied.

"So...... Can I entrust you? ”

"Although adventurers accept commissions for reward...... Duan Qing looked at the little girl who was holding the book tightly, and tried to slow down his tone: "But I can also be unpaid, so ......"

"Tell me what you want."

The wind blew in through the window that had not yet been closed, and it seemed to be whispering in this quiet space, although Duan Qing couldn't see it, Xiao Nina still bit her lip and looked at him for a long time, and then said in a voice as thin as a mosquito and a fly:

"I want Daddy."

**********************

"Uncle, you're finally back! It's really a pity that you didn't go today......" Seeing Duan Qing push the door in, Mengzhu, who was sitting at the small table, jumped up suddenly: "The men of the city guards and Kidd's men are fighting too fiercely!" It almost turned into a group fight......"

"Mengzhu, the little girl you asked me to take care of before, the ...... named Nina"

"Oh, uncle, are you listening to me...... yes, what's wrong? Although she was a little dissatisfied with the other party's sudden change of topic, the little girl was obviously in a good mood, so she still shook her ponytail and dangled it: "How is it, that little girl is very cute, right?" Hey, hey, hey...... Belch. ”

Sensing that the other party's face was wrong, the shaking of the ponytail stopped: "You...... You didn't go......

"." Duan Qing replied: "Of course I went, and...... I received a commission. ”

"Huh?" After being stunned for a long time, Mengzhu suddenly jumped up as if he had a big idea: "You can still get a task from her?" It's so powerful, how did you do it......"

"I'd rather not do it." Duan Qing sat on the bench on the other side and sighed a little discouraged. The smiling uncle next to him asked with some confusion: "What kind of task actually makes you so unoptimistic......

"It's not like that...... Never mind. Duan Qing looked at the rest of the people, and then calmed down: "Let's prepare, let's go together tomorrow, just ...... Group travel is good. ”

"Where are you going?"

"Blue Mountain Village." Duan Qing said, "Go and call her father home." ”