Chapter 37

The next day, after simply packing their things, Luolin and his two companions prepared to depart from here to Xikaer City.

Shirna walked out from the side. She looked much tidier now and had changed into nice clothes, so she no longer had that disheveled appearance from before. However, she still kept her head lowered, not daring to meet anyone's gaze.

"These clothes suit you quite well."

Luolin said with a smile. Shirna glanced up at Luolin, then lowered her head again.

"Thank... thank you for the compliment, Master."

As Shirna spoke, she seemed to turn her head slightly to the side out of embarrassment.

She tugged at her collar.

"It's just... it feels a bit tight. I feel constricted in the chest area..."

Shirna said again. Luolin scratched his head, also feeling somewhat embarrassed. It seemed he had underestimated Shirna's "size."

Luolin said in a low voice. Hearing Luolin's apology, Shirna became somewhat flustered.

"No, Master, that's not what I meant. Since these are clothes given to me by Master, I will wear them properly, so... please don't punish me."

Shirna's flustered appearance was genuine. She truly feared that Luolin would punish her.

This made Luolin shake his head helplessly.

"Master made me change into these clothes, it must be to enjoy the pleasure of tearing them apart, right? Then, then trampling on my dignity, ravaging my body, I... I definitely won't resist, so please don't punish me..."

Under Shirna's somewhat fearful gaze, Luolin extended his hand, slowly approaching.

Shirna watched Luolin approach but didn't dare to flee. She could only stand in place. In the end, she still closed her eyes in fear.

However, the imagined pain didn't come. There was only gentle stroking.

Luolin reached out and stroked her hair.

"Alright, stop saying these strange things, okay? Everyone else is watching..."

Luolin couldn't stand the strange looks from all around anymore. These people probably already considered him some kind of weirdo.

Shirna was stunned by this. Not only was she not punished, but she received gentle stroking instead.

"It's getting late, we should go. By the way, what is Ailuka dawdling about over there?"

Luolin's voice talking to himself still echoed in her ears, but Shirna remained stunned for quite a while before gradually coming back to her senses.

[Affection +10]

[Target Shirna's cumulative affection: 10]

[Card obtained: Shirna]

[*Shirna has lowered her guard]

A series of sounds rang out consecutively in Luolin's mind.

Finally, he had also gained Shirna's affection. By the way, what was that last line? A status notification?

[Considering making it easier for Master to gain affection, a feature has been added to display the character's current psychological state.]

Well, that's not bad. At least it has considerable usefulness.

[Hmph, what's so special about that? I can do that too!]

[No, you're just pirating my idea!]

[How can something done by a system be called pirating? Besides, so what if I use it? If you're capable, try reaching through this skull and killing me!]

The two systems started arguing again, causing a roaring noise in Luolin's mind.

"Smack!"

Something slapped Luolin's back, and with considerable force too. Luolin turned around to look.

He found it was Ailuka.

"What are you doing? Using that much force, you could kill someone!"

It was fortunate that Ailuka used a backpack for clothes. If she had used a sword, Luolin would already be done for.

"Hmph, nothing."

Ailuka said, turning her head away, but her gaze couldn't help drifting toward Luolin's hand resting on Shirna's head.

[Resentment value +30.]

[Target Ailuka's accumulated resentment value: 870.]

"..."

Luolin removed his hand.

Only then did Ailuka's expression return to normal, and she seemed to nod with satisfaction over something.

Ailuka shoved a pile of parchments she was holding into Luolin's hands—they were all relatively basic commissions.

"Why take on so many commissions?"

Ailuka muttered, while Luolin shook his head helplessly.

"My dear lady, we need to make a living! This trip is going to take quite a few days. Should we just waste all that time? Of course not!"

Luolin said firmly. Money was something you had to squeeze time to earn.

That's why Luolin took on these commissions—so they could complete them along the way. After all, Xikaer City also had a Mercenary Guild. Wouldn't it be great to complete the tasks there and collect the commission fees?

"Alright, since we're all prepared, let's set off quickly. Once we enter the forest, we need to find a place to spend the night before dark."

Luolin said. The three of them didn't hesitate any longer and entered the forest.

In the weapon shop not far from the guild, the weapon shop owner Ruide watched the figures of the departing group while polishing an iron sword in his hands. He chuckled softly:

"They've set off."