Although the innkeeper pit ten imperial gold, at least the volcanic wine tastes good and is worth the price, of course—whether it is worth it is one thing, whether you want to buy it or not is another.

Probably because of the money he made from Arnold, the innkeeper was very hospitable to Arnold, and took the initiative to recommend the special feature of Fortagenling, a hot spring formed by the heat of the underground heat of the blazing mountains. And Arnold, after asking the price, also decided to take a good shower. If it's wine, he may not be willing to give it up, but Arnold, who loves cleanliness, has a high demand for bathing, especially after a long time of running, he has long wanted to take a good bath.

The hot springs of Vortagendra are as famous as the region's rich minerals, and the scorching mountains provide not only heat, but also minerals that are difficult to replicate anywhere else.

Lying in the artificially dug hot pool, Arnold breathed a sigh of relief, and had not enjoyed it in a long time since Harper had been coerced into raising troops.

"It's a little warmer, but it's a different kind of enjoyment. Arnold scooped up a handful of hot spring water and slowly poured it back into the pool, beside him, where Beatrice was crooked her neck and staring at Arnold with scarlet eyes. After all, it's a crow, and it's troublesome to get your wings wet when you go into the water.

"Ahh Immersed in the water of the pool, leaving only the part above his nose on the water, Arnold felt like he was absorbing the steam from the hot springs in every inch of his skin, and he felt as if he had ascended to heaven.

Straightening his legs, Arnold almost lay down in the hot spring and fell asleep.

"yes, it's very comfortable—"

Arnold was startled by the sudden sound, and then he immediately followed the source of the sound.

Sure enough, it didn't surprise him, and Lily also ran into the hot springs and washed with him without hesitation.

"Really. Arnold sighed again, this time not because of the comfort of the hot springs, but because of his helplessness for Lily, "Can't you just stop and leave me alone for a while?"

"You stay over there, I'll stay here, so I'll be alone for a while. Lily didn't seem to lean over, just looked at Arnold with a smile on the other side of the pool.

"Forget it, I'm not interested in arguing with you. Arnold shook his head and gave up reasoning with Lily.

He looked around, this hot spring pool was built under the hostel, about ten square meters, and the surrounding space was separated by wooden planks, the sound insulation effect may not be good, but at least it can avoid people's eyes.

Thinking that the adventurers and mercenaries might not pay much attention to hygiene, Arnold also relaxed his guard slightly, and just patted Beatrice, signaling it to pay attention to the movement around her.

"What do you think about the matter in the Vortagan Territory?" Arnold stared at Lily, perhaps because of the heavy water vapor around her underground, Arnold didn't see Lily's expression very clearly.

"What do you mean, why did the lord of the Vortagan suddenly disappear, or did you talk about the adventurers?"

"Most people think of the two as one thing. Arnold stared at Lily closely, although sometimes he was out of line, but Arnold knew that Lily was actually very delicate, especially in observation and analysis, "Do you think of anything when you separate these two things?"

"I thought you had a better head than I did. Lily curled the corners of her mouth slightly, wondering if the smile was sarcastic, "Regardless of the current situation of Count Vortagen, one thing is clear - he should have had an accident at Blackstone Peak. Because he had an accident, the mission issued by the lord was suddenly canceled by the Rupert family, and then it caused a situation where so many adventurers were stranded in the Vortagan Territory. ”

"Actually, however, the crux of the matter is not the large number of adventurers stranded in the Vortagan Territory. Arnold pursed his lips slightly, and as he expected, Lily and he thought of the same question, "It's on two overlooked factors, and it's these two factors that really lead to the current state of the Vortagan Territory. ”

Lily fiddled with the water, causing a ripple in the pool. "First of all, it's strange that Count Vortagen would choose to hire adventurers to purge the evil dwarves. As the innkeeper had just said, Count Vortagen had sent an army to wipe out the dwarves before, so why did he hire a large number of adventurers this time instead of a more combat-ready and solid army? That's why he needs adventurers to complete this task, so why did he invite so many people with such fanfare, so that the news of this mission has spread to the surrounding territories, it stands to reason that he should find some stronger and more reliable adventure team, but he has found enough adventurers to fill the city of Vortagen. ”

Listening to Lily's analysis, Arnold nodded and continued. "Second, after the disappearance of Count Vortagen, the reaction of the Rubot family is also very strange, no matter what, losing the lord, their first reaction should be to do everything possible to find Count Vortagen, and they turned a blind eye to the large number of adventurers in Vortagen's territory, and would rather let them stay here and cause trouble to the territory than recruit them to find Count Vortagen. To say that Count Vortagen was kidnapped by adventurers would not believe anyone who could see things clearly. Since Count Fotagen can lead an army to clear out the dwarves, he must know how to fight, and he is a lord, and there must be a lot of people around him to protect him, so with a group of adventurers gathered together from all over the world, if he wants to kidnap the lord, it is almost an impossible task, unless the Rupert family is a group of fools, they will believe this rumor. ”

So, the suspicion is obvious. Lily got up from the pool, walked to the other side of the hot springs, and sat down on Arnold's shoulder, "Count Vertagen's recruitment of adventurers to clear the dwarves is probably something else, and it is not as simple as his mission says. And the Rupert family, for some reason, did not want to find Count Vertagen, at least not for adventurers to find Count Vertagen. ”

"I didn't expect to encounter such an interesting thing when I first came to Fotagen. For Lily, who took the initiative to lean over, Arnold did not refuse this time, perhaps because the dense water vapor was too pleasant, and he also had a different mood, "Maybe it's an opportunity, of course, it may also be dangerous." ”

"What do you want to choose?" Lily rested her head on Arnold's shoulder, her wet hair pressed against Arnold's skin, and he couldn't help but feel a new life, "Do you want to test the Rubot family?"

"Maybe there will be an unexpected discovery, the Leng Shan Territory will find out sooner or later, and their eyes can't just stay in the territory, so while their attention hasn't shifted to this side, I should seize the time." ”

Arnold stretched out his arm and wrapped his arms around Lily's waist.

But Lily, as if electrocuted, hurriedly distanced herself from Arnoldra.

"Why, wasn't it very proactive before?" Arnold squinted at Lily, "Or are you just talking about it, but you can't actually do it?"

Lily turned her back to Arnold, and the smooth skin on her back reminded Arnold of Serena.

"I—I just don't like ...... in the water"

"Then you can continue in the room later. Arnold didn't give up, he could trust Lily to be on his side, but he couldn't trust Lily, who didn't know the details, "Didn't you say on the road that you wanted to see if I was a virgin? ”

Lily turned half of her face to the side, I don't know if it was because the water vapor in the hot spring was too hot, or because Arnold suddenly turned defensive into offense, Lily's face was unnaturally red.

"Okay, then I'll be in the room later, I'll come seven times!"

Arnold stared at Lily's face for a few moments, and finally, he backed down first.

"Forget it, when I didn't say it. ”

"Hmph-" Lily wrinkled her nose and snorted softly, "Little virgin!"

Arnold glanced slightly, he still couldn't fully guess Lily.

——————————————

Probably after soaking in the hot springs for too long, Arnold felt dizzy when he returned to his room and immediately lay down in bed. Beatrice fluttered her wings and landed on Arnold's pillow.

"Aren't you going to eat something?" Lily said with a plate of roast venison and a bottle of wine in her other hand, with a slight crimson on her face still from the hot springs, "The venison roasted in this inn is quite delicious, and the owner looks so ...... Uh-smart? Well, it looks so smart, but I didn't expect it to be so good at cooking. ”

"Whew—then I'll try it. Arnold sat up, and Lily offered to hand Arnold the plate with venison.

This scene reminded Arnold of when he was still in the castle, when he was not feeling well and could not go downstairs to eat, the maids would take the initiative to push the food cart and bring the food to his room.

It's just that the maids did it out of their duty, and Lily did it because they were friends.

Is this supposed to be a friend?

Arnold was suddenly a little confused, although he had only been with Lily for a few days, he found that his relationship with Lily was difficult to accurately express in one word.

He took a piece of venison from the plate and put it to his mouth, but Arnold couldn't take a bite of it, and when he saw such a charred roast, he couldn't help but think of the rabbit meat he had received from Judson that night, and the unseasoned taste, which he would probably never forget for the rest of his life.

I took a bite and it tasted really good, much better than the meat that night.

Seeing that Arnold was eating deliciously, Lily opened the bottle and poured Arnold a glass of volcanic wine.

"These things," Arnold said, taking his glass, chewing on it, "how much did you spend?"

"Hmph, do I still need to spend money?" Lily crossed her hands over her chest and shrugged her shoulders triumphantly.

"You seduced the innkeeper?" said Arnold, pat his chest, and took another long sip of wine—he choked a little.

"Don't worry, I'm not so tasteless. Lily sat down on the other side of the bed and said to Arnold with a grin, "Of course I paid for it, but at a more affordable price." ”

Arnold put down the meat in his hand and burped unsightly.

"Why, are you full?" Lily looked around her head, and now she was lively again, not as thoughtful as she was in the hot springs.

"I'm just going to eat slowly, and I'm not in a hurry for this meal anyway. Arnold lowered his head and looked at the plate in front of him, not knowing what he was thinking.

At least Lily couldn't read his expression.

"But there are some things that you can't take your time. Arnold suddenly looked up again and looked at Lily, "I wonder how long this journey will continue?"

"Isn't it two days away from Vortagen?"

"No, that's not what I'm talking about. Arnold looked at Lily seriously, and his expression suddenly became very serious, "What I want to know is how long you will help me like this." I don't know what your purpose is, and I certainly won't have to say it, but—I need to know at least a deadline, lest you have to leave, I'm not mentally prepared. ”

Lily was stunned for a moment, then lowered her head, and the smile on her face was put away.

"Would you miss me if I left?"

"Don't get me wrong, it doesn't mean anything else. Arnold put the food and bottle aside, his eyes not looking at Lily, "I just said to be prepared, I didn't say I'd be sad if you left." ”

"Humph!" Lily snorted coldly again, "hard-mouthed little virgin!"