Blonde hair, the radiant set, and a desire to become a Hero…
Ron mentally cataloged the traits where Lifa and Isis heavily overlapped. He glanced sideways at the girl, who was full of confusion, and let out a sigh.
“Eh?”
Not understanding what was happening, Lifa tilted her head. Immediately following that, Ron reached out and pinched her cute face just as it was about to press against the tip of his nose.
“Mmm — Master, what happened — “
This level of intimate interaction had not occurred for a long time since Ron chose to “free-range” Lifa. At this moment, the girl felt shy, yet also felt a secret sense of joy.
“It’s nothing. Can’t your Master just pinch little Lifa’s face?”
Changing the subject was Ron’s usual tactic when communicating with Lifa, using something that could stir the girl’s emotions to divert her attention from Isis.
“Well, of course you can…”
A light blush appeared on Lifa’s face as she softly gave her consent.
“Mm. Speaking of which, you were looking at this map just now, right? This is actually the adventure route we will be taking.”
Moving the empty plate from his meal aside, Ron began to trace with his finger starting from the red line on the map.
“The first city… Gaderade?”
“That name sounds so familiar. Is that the place the village chief used to talk about?”
Looking at where Ron’s finger stopped, Lifa wore an expression of sudden realization.
“That’s right. Over the next two days, we need to cross the edge of the magic beast forest and take the fastest path to Gaderade.”
Ron’s fingertip tapped the city icon on the map. When discussing the travel arrangements that could concern his very survival, he was extremely serious.
“Oh — Lifa understands.”
Lifa nodded cooperatively, but in truth, she had never been very far from the village. Aside from the name, she knew nothing about Gaderade.
“We have many important things to do there. If there’s anything you want to know, Lifa, you can ask me now.”
Ron glanced at the overly innocent look in Lifa’s eyes and helplessly tapped his knuckles against the desk.
“Hehe… When Master says important things, does he mean we’re going to accept a request from the King to go and defeat the Demon King?”
Lifa gave an embarrassed smile and blinked her eyes as she excitedly proposed her guess.
“Uh… No. Gaderade is just a medium-sized city in the Kingdom of Falosa.”
“Then are we going to defeat a giant dragon?”
“Not that either.”
Ron rubbed his ear and decided it was better to just tell Lifa directly.
“For example, we need to process your adventurer credential, buy some necessities for the adventure, and most importantly…”
“What is it?”
Ron closed his eyes. It wasn’t that he was trying to be mysterious; he was simply feeling a bit depressed.
“Making money.”
“Eh!?”
Ron had felt very fortunate last night — before he prepared to end that save file, he had left Lifa several pieces of equipment, including the radiant set, and a storage pendant for keeping items.
But thinking about it now, if he had known he would transmigrate and be unable to open his inventory warehouse again, he should have dumped all those hundreds of thousands of gold coins and top-tier equipment onto Lifa.
“Traveling and adventuring are very expensive things. Moreover, if I want to make little Lifa stronger, it will also cost a lot of money.”
Equipment, skills, levels…
Even though Ron estimated that Lifa’s talent should not be inferior to the girls he had raised before, she still needed time to grow. Strengthening her in these areas would require significant financial support.
“Mmm, money?”
Lifa lowered her head and reached up to grasp the ruby-like storage pendant hanging from her neck.
“I brought the silver and copper coins my parents left behind, as well as the ones I saved up. If Master needs them, you can have them all!”
If the name Gaderade on the map was at least something she had heard of, then Lifa’s concept of money was almost a complete blank.
The only thing she could think of was that if Master Ron needed it, she would give him everything.
“You dummy.”
“If we don’t have an income, that bit of money you have will be gone very quickly in the city.”
Flicking Lifa’s forehead with his finger, Ron pulled over a chair and motioned for her to sit down.
However, Lifa’s reaction just now reminded Ron of one thing even more important than making money — gathering information and intelligence.
The village where he and Lifa lived was an extremely remote and closed-off place. When Ron originally chose to settle here, it was precisely because of its near-total isolation from the world.
This had allowed Ron’s plan of idling away until the end of the game to proceed very smoothly, but it also caused two problems: Lifa knew almost nothing about the outside world, and he also did not know what changes the Uthis Continent had undergone over the last few years due to the influence of his blackening cultivation.
‘Even so, one can still hear various legends of the Hero Isis here.’
Ron sighed inwardly.
Although the village was remote, a merchant with a goods wagon would still visit every six months.
During those few days of stay, the merchant would tell the village children adventure stories, such as how the Hero Isis had slain another Demon King.
As a side note, Lifa was the one who listened most enthusiastically.
*Clack.*
Lifa picked up the chair again before sitting down.
“Mm, there are many things Lifa doesn’t understand! In short… Lifa just needs to listen to Master, right?”
After adjusting her position, the girl sat almost side-by-side with Ron and then naturally leaned her head against his shoulder.
“Making money, adventuring, becoming stronger… As long as Master is by my side, Lifa will do anything!”
She performed a somewhat clumsy knight’s salute to show her determination. Seeing Lifa’s reaction, Ron felt both happy and a bit helpless.
No one disliked the feeling of being unconditionally trusted.
However, seeing how Lifa seemed intent on treating him like an external brain, Ron worried whether she would be easily deceived if he wasn’t by her side.
“Let’s take it slow.”
Habitually stroking Lifa’s head, Ron stood up and rolled the map to put it away.
“Lifa.”
“Hmm?”
“It’s time for us to leave. Think if there’s anything you’ve missed or forgotten.”
The slaves he had raised and blackened might come looking for him at any time; Ron didn’t want to waste any more time.
“Nothing’s left — I’ve already taken care of everything. The village chief will look after Master’s house and mine. I’ve stored everything I need in here.”
Lifa also stood up, pointing at the storage pendant on her chest when mentioning her belongings.
“That’s good.”
Ron walked to the bedside.
He picked up a gray suitcase with his left hand and took down the one-handed sword hanging on the wall with his right — the one he used when instructing Lifa in combat techniques.
“Let’s go.”
Walking side-by-side with Lifa, Ron looked back at the small wooden cabin where he had lived for three years after stepping out the door.
Starting an adventure journey with a girl again… it really was a familiar feeling.
“Master — hurry and keep up!”
Lifa, already ahead of him, turned around and waved to him with light footsteps.
“I’m coming!”
***
Eastern city of the Kingdom of Falosa, Gaderade.
Due to the frequent magic beast riots in the forest recently, the area outside the city gates was crowded with carriages and pedestrians seeking refuge or looking for opportunities.
“Hey — please wait a moment!”
A soldier holding a spear blocked the path, staring with a wary and scrutinizing gaze at a suspicious figure ahead whose body was entirely concealed under a hood.
“Is there a problem?”
The soldier relaxed slightly upon hearing a crisp female voice, but he still pointed his finger at the obvious outline of a scabbard beneath the hooded cloak.
“Because it is currently a special period of alertness against magic beasts, I cannot allow you to enter the city with weapons unless you have a special identity or a credential from a guild such as the Adventurer’s Guild.”
After the soldier finished explaining the situation and regulations by the book, the woman hidden under the hood said nothing, only nodding in acknowledgment.
“We will keep it for you. You can reclaim it when you leave the city.”
The soldier then led her toward a wooden building next to the city gate — inside were various weapons and many miscellaneous items confiscated today.
“Little girl, just hand the sword over to me.”
The soldier’s tone was kind. He pulled a two-part receipt from his breast pocket and held it out while reaching for the weapon.
“I understand.”
Only a pleasant voice was heard, yet there was no movement.
While the soldier was still confused, he discovered there was an extra gold coin in his palm.
“Wha — what is this?”
The soldier’s expression instantly became serious, and the spear in his hand was quickly leveled forward.
Whether it was physical speed beyond his reaction or something like magic, the soldier felt a bit of lingering fear remembering how that gold coin had appeared almost out of thin air.
“Young lady, I don’t accept bribes. If you cannot produce a credential, I need you to remove your hood and come with me to see the magistrate.”
There was no one else in the building at this time. In such an environment, the soldier faintly sensed a lingering scent of blood coming from the suspicious figure.
*Gulp.*
Fortunately, the other party’s next move was not murder, but cooperatively removing the hood.
“You are a dutiful soldier. This is my adventurer credential.”
Long white hair as pure as winter snow billowed out, falling to her waist as the hood was pulled back. A hint of admiration flashed in the mysterious girl’s ruby-like eyes.
The heroic spirit and beauty radiating from her entire being caused the guard’s hand to hang empty for several seconds after taking the credential.
Aloof yet approachable, powerful yet mysterious.
Before the huge shock brought by the girl’s appearance and temperament could fade, the spear in the soldier’s hand fell to the ground with a thud as he caught sight of the contents of the credential.
[Adventurer Name: Isis Kenamening]
[Adventurer Rank: Legendary rank]
At this moment, the words on the credential dissolved into another title in the soldier’s mind.
The Hero who slaughtered the Demon King…