"Xiaoxi, wait a minute. ”

In the hallway outside the reception room, Gurney and King Kong called the three of them from behind.

“...... Gurney?"

Gurney smiled at Starstream, and then raised his hand to Ali Ali and Egger beside her.

"Hmm...... Do you have time for the next step?"

"Tonight, there's nothing special planned. ”

"So," Gurney said with a relaxed look, "if you don't mind, let's go out for a walk?"

Xingxi's eyes looked straight at the young thief who looked like he was honestly invited, but Gurney didn't hide any feelings, and looked friendly and kind. However, such an expression inexplicably made Xingxi have some feelings of resistance.

Just as she was about to open her mouth to find an excuse to refuse, King Kong, who was standing behind Gurney, suddenly spoke.

"It's just right, haha, I've been with Egger and Ali for a long time, and I just have time to get together tonight, so I'll leave it to you two young people here~"

"King Kong, it's not what you think, I just want to confirm the next arrangement with the news. ”

Hearing King Kong's joke, Gurney cooperated with a slightly embarrassed look, while Ali Ali, the glasses lady standing behind Xingxi, was suddenly unhappy.

"Hey, Uncle Kong! What do you mean! I'm a young man too!"

"Hahaha, it's also a slip of the tongue. ”

"What, hey, what's that feeling of accommodating to admitting after I've emphasized it! I'm so young! I-"

Ali Ali hadn't finished speaking, but a jar of stuffy gourds suddenly came out of nowhere.

"Well, let's go have a drink. ”

"Haha. Let's go~"

"Hey, you two uncles, stop with me!

Listen to the conversations of your companions. Xingxi's eyes never left Gurney. And the latter also kept smiling, as if waiting for Xingxi's decision.

The black-haired girl sighed softly in her heart.

“...... A-chan, you go out for a walk with Uncle King Kong and Uncle Egger, I have something to say to Mr. Gurney. ”

Ali Ali still looked dissatisfied, but this time it was Xingxi's request, and she could see that there was indeed something important to say between Gurney and Xingxi, so she didn't continue to object.

"Okay then...... Hey, Gurney. If you let me know that you bullied Xiaoxi, you will definitely not spare you, you know!"

Glaring at Gurney mercilessly, Ali Ali turned and left.

Xingxi watched the glasses girl leave with some helplessness, and then looked at Gurney, who was still smiling without any angry expression on his face.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Gurney, but she doesn't mean anything malicious. ”

That being said, Xingxi actually knew very well in his heart that Ali Ali really didn't like Gurney very much, at least not like him like the rest of the clansmen. As for the reason, Xingxi was also a little helpless...... It's because of her.

It's no secret that Gurney has a crush on Startide, among the surviving Nolans. And most people are like King Kong, in fact, they are quite optimistic about the two of them. After all, one is the youngest girl in the Nolan tribe at the moment - of course, Chelus, who has been exiled and has not been heard from until now, should be excluded - and the other is the youngest young man in the Nolan tribe at the moment, and the strength and talent of the two are good, and they are relatively compatible.

But in fact, Xingxi's perception of Gurney has only stayed at the level of his brother of the same clan until now, and he does not have that kind of good feeling between men and women. And she also knows Gurney, although the other party does have a special feeling for herself, but it only stops at this step, this young man has always been entrenched in the flame of revenge in his heart, until this flame is extinguished, it is difficult for him to divide too much energy on other things.

But Ali Ali doesn't think so, she has a very close relationship with Xingxi, and even to some extent, the glasses lady who also has some strange feelings about Xingxi has a natural aversion to Gurney, who is suspected of being a competitor, but because she also knows that from the perspective of ordinary people, she is afraid that she is the one who is inexplicable and doesn't know what to say, so although she has never treated Gurney very well, she rarely does anything too explicit against Gurney, at best, she only hacks Hei Gurney in front of Xingxi from time to time in private, saying Gurney"In a few years, he will definitely be the first yin person in the clan" or something like that......

"It's okay, hehe, the relationship between Ali and Xiaoxi is so good, it's normal to worry about you. ”

Hearing Xingxi apologize on Ali Ali's behalf, Gurney smiled and waved his hand to show that he didn't care at all.

"So, shall we go?"

"Hmm. ”

The two walked side by side down the stairs of the Chamber of Commerce, all the way out of the hidden door behind the Chamber of Commerce, and then down an unobtrusive alley from an alley that was already some distance from the Chamber of Commerce to a commercial street. Neither of them spoke along the way, and the atmosphere was slightly stiff, but neither of them seemed to care about this, one still with a kind smile seemed to be genuinely happy to be able to walk with a girl he liked, while the other was as calm as ever, and did not seem to feel the slightest ambiguity or the embarrassment of continuous silence all the way when the two of them were alone.

Although it is only a medium-sized shopping street in the southwest of Alrante, the level of bustle of the night market during the Elemental Festival does not feel any worse than the usual largest shopping street in the central area of the city.

Looking at the noise and excitement in front of him, Gurney finally spoke first and broke the awkward silence between the two people.

"Speaking of which, after coming to Alrant City, it was the first time that I had the opportunity to visit the night market at night. ”

However, what they had to do in a week or so was something that would destroy all the happy sight in front of them.

Inexplicably, Xingxi looked at a few children not far in front of him running around with the magic torches bought from the small stalls, ignoring the scolding of their mothers. An inexplicable feeling of irritability arose in my heart.

“...... Call me out. What are you trying to say?"

"Nothing. I just want to invite Xiaoxi to come out for a walk, after all, Alrante's night scene is very famous on the entire continent, isn't it a pity not to see it once?"

Xingxi suddenly stopped, Gurney didn't react and continued to take a step forward before stopping, turning his head to look at the dark-haired girl behind him, looking at him with a calm but seemingly see-through gaze.

The strange behavior of the two people in the downtown area attracted the attention of a small number of people around them, but it seemed that it was just a small couple having an awkward relationship, so most of them only glanced at it. At most, I admired the cuteness of the girl in this pair, and then left without caring about myself.

The two of them confronted each other wordlessly in the crowd for a few seconds, and finally Gurney's smile changed from the original kind and closeness to a little helpless.

“...... Well, if you don't mind, Xiaoshi, let's find a slightly quieter place?"

Xingxi nodded calmly, Gurney smiled wryly, looked around, and then chose a café that looked exquisitely decorated, elegant and less noisy.

"That's it, and by the way, you can also try to see what special late-night snacks are available here in Lorris...... And desserts. ”

Xingxi's expression when he heard the word dessert finally loosened slightly. Then he randomly returned to his original calmness, but his feet were much cleaner than just now. He turned around and walked towards the café without Gurney leading the way.

Gurney raised his hand and touched his nose, then followed Startide towards the café as well.

Neither of them noticed that in front of a small stall on the side of the street not far from them, a petite wolf-eared Lori was standing there with a small magic ornament in her hand, but her cute little face was facing them, and the figure of Xingxi walking in front was reflected in the green and gold heterochromatic pupils.

...... Is that her?-

Madame Roland's Cafe, unlike the small coffee shops on the street, this café belongs to the store that specializes in high-end routes, the store environment is beautiful and elegant, and the various services are also full of aristocratic style, or the aristocratic style in most people's impressions, so the price of drinks and desserts provided in the store is also more expensive than that of ordinary stores, but this obviously does not affect the business of this store, after all, people who choose to come to this store to consume will naturally not be what they are looking for.

On the second floor of the café, there are small private rooms separated by partitions, which appear to be semi-enclosed sections, but the store has obviously taken care of the needs of some customers, and has taken the trouble to invite magicians to paint soundproofing magic on the partitions of these small private rooms, so that the people who talk in them do not have to worry about the conversation being heard by the guests sitting in the adjacent private rooms.

At this moment, in a small single room in the corner of the second floor, Gurney, who had confirmed that the soundproof barrier around the single room was already in operation, was relieved, sat down and looked at the opposite of him, enjoying a cup of chocolate Buffy Xingxi intently.

It's only when faced with her favorite sweets that this girl will show some of the relaxed looks that ordinary girls have.

Gurney looked at Xingxi, who looked like he was no different from before, but in fact, the atmosphere around him had changed from cold and indifferent to relaxed and happy, and he couldn't help but feel some soft feelings in his heart. He couldn't really say whether he cared about Xingxi as the girl he liked or as a sister who needed protection, anyway, he knew he didn't want to see this girl with the same Nolan blood as himself show any unhappy expression - like he had just done at the meeting.

That's right, Gurney knows, Xingxi isn't happy.

Maybe it's not just this meeting...... Gurney and King Kong rushed directly from the secret stronghold in Prud to Arrant's side to join the stars who also came to help Vincent, and since that time Gurney has been aware of it, and during this period of time, the stars have been staying in Alrant, as if they have always had something on their minds, and often show a look of worry or loss alone.

“...... Xiaoshio, recently ...... What's the matter?"

Xingxi stopped holding the spoon and put Buffy in his mouth, and the expression on his face instantly returned from the ease of enjoying dessert to the original coldness that was somewhat repulsive.

Gurney, who noticed this change, suddenly felt a trace of entangled regret, and almost wanted to blurt out the topic, but this was only a momentary thing, Gurney quickly suppressed the inexplicable mood in his heart, and looked at Xingxi calmly.

"During this time in Arrant, Xiaoxi, you seem to have been out of shape. ”

Xingxi slowly put down the small spoon in his hand, and there was no expression fluctuation on his cold little face.

"yes, I don't feel any different. ”

"Xiaoxi, although we have seen each other very often in the past few years, I can still see the difference...... Uncle Vincent's plan is about to reach its most critical point, and it won't be a good thing for everyone if you continue like this. ”

Xingxi bit her lip.

She didn't know that her current state was wrong, but ......

“...... Sorry, I just haven't had a lot of rest lately, so don't worry, I won't delay the plan. ”

Gurney shook his head earnestly.

"Xiaoxi, what you say like this is not convincing at all, to be honest, if you are still like this in a few days, let alone Uncle Vincent, even if I preside over this operation, I don't dare to send you out for any important mission. ”

Not to be involved in this operation...... That's actually not bad.

The thought had just come to his head, and Xingxi suddenly dispelled the thought with vigilance.

As a Nolan person, even if she misses other actions, how can she miss this time, this is the first major action of the Nolan tribe against important people of the Divine Cult in more than ten years.

"Gurney, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," Xingxi closed his eyes, then spoke slowly, obviously hesitantly, "I just ...... Does the person in the plan for the first step of this operation have to be Her Royal Highness the Princess?"

Gurney was stunned, he really didn't expect Xingxi to ask such a question.

"Xiaoxi, why do you ask that?"

Because if we do that according to plan, we may have to face an opponent who is supposed to be our compatriots.

"Because...... Presumably you have also understood during this time, that Her Royal Highness the Princess's influence in the Loris Kingdom is no less than that of the Saintess of Solan among the followers of Solan, in case the plan fails, we are likely to completely lose the possibility of gaining a foothold in Loris because of this move. ”

Gurney raised an eyebrow, then smiled.

"Xiaoxi, your worries are not unreasonable, but you also said that it was a case of plan failure, and in fact, things have developed so far, and the plan has almost succeeded more than half of it, and even if the plan fails, we have already achieved the most basic set goals, right?" )