Chapter 98: This Guy Is Also Off... (Patreon)

It didn't take long for Pandora to notice the situation.

Silent passersby. Expressionless drinkers. All of it stood in sharp contrast to the scene from a moment ago, and every bit of it whispered that something was wrong.

"Be careful…"

After giving that warning, Luluo slowly slid a short sword out of his sleeve. Sword or not, the blade had a slight curve to it.

Feeling Pandora's gaze on him, he sighed.

"When you're traveling, you carry a few defensive weapons. It's only sensible."

"…"

Now that he mentioned it, she hadn't brought a weapon, and she had no real fighting skill either. So… did that make her easy prey?

Just as the mood among the group was tightening, a man in a bartender's uniform walked out of the tavern, ignoring everyone's stares, and stopped in front of the three of them.

"Good evening. A gentleman has asked me to invite you for a drink."

The bartender bowed first, then gestured for Pandora to come inside.

From outside, there was no way to see into the tavern. Which meant that once they went in, everything would be unknown…

"Thank you for the kind offer, but I don't recall having any acquaintance with a gentleman here."

Pandora politely declined. As far as she was concerned, if something was going to happen, settling it inside was no different from settling it outside.

She might not be able to do much to anyone herself, but nobody could do anything to her either, or to the people with her. Pandora had a basic confidence in that much.

The bartender didn't press the matter. He simply gave a slight bow and walked back toward the tavern.

After that, the passersby who had looked so strange a moment ago went back to normal, chatting and laughing and going about their business. But after what they had just seen, this "normal" was hardly reassuring…

"This is…"

Luluo, still on guard, was baffled by the sight, yet he couldn't say what exactly was wrong.

Pandora, on the other hand, didn't dwell on it.

"Let's go."

Whatever happened, safety wasn't a concern. What mattered was whether it would turn into a hassle, and whether they could reach their goal.

At that, Luluo could only nod and tuck the sleeve sword away.

As the Trekbear started moving again, Pandora's eyes fell on Luluo's sleeve.

"I honestly never expected you to have a trick like that up your sleeve, sir."

Truly, you couldn't judge a book by its cover. Luluo had always struck her as refined and gentle, yet here he was carrying a "hidden weapon" like that.

Luluo could only laugh it off awkwardly.

Pandora didn't mind, of course. In a place like this, most people lived on edge anyway.

"Um…"

Just as Luluo was about to say something, a gust of wind suddenly swept past in front of him.

Already on guard, he reacted fast, drew his weapon and slashed at the "wind." But he felt nothing solid at all…

"Lady Pandora!"

Right on its heels came Louliana's panicked cry. She had been cowering the whole way here.

It all happened in an instant. By the time he came back to himself, Louliana and the Trekbear were gone from his side.

And of course there were the passersby all around, laughing and chatting away as if nothing had happened, and the drunks weaving about…

Before long, the bartender from earlier came running out of the tavern, looking thoroughly flustered.

"Sir, did you see the person who just came through here?"

Spotting Luluo, the bartender asked as though he'd found a savior.

"…"

Not knowing how to answer, Luluo could only shake his head.

"I see…" Getting a negative answer, the bartender pulled a long face. "Just my luck. Another unexpected expense…"

Muttering to himself, he went back into the tavern.

"Uh…"

Luluo, a bit stiffly, climbed down and walked over to Louliana, who was sprawled across the Trekbear's back, hiding her face in terror.

If he hadn't misheard, what Louliana had just shouted wasn't Hertz, but…

Of course, this was no time to get hung up on that. What mattered more was who had made the move just now, and where she had gone.

The thought gave Luluo a pounding headache. He hadn't so much as glimpsed the attacker.

For a while he couldn't decide what to do, so he just paced with his head down, searching for a plan.

Just then,

"There, there, why are you crying? I told you not to worry about me."

He heard a familiar voice.

When he looked up, he saw a platinum-haired girl seated on the Trekbear, softly comforting Louliana.

"This is…"

He couldn't be blamed. The scene before him was so bizarre that his brain couldn't keep up with his eyes.

"Lady Pandora… I… I…"

Hearing Pandora's voice only made Louliana sob harder, her arms clamped tightly around Pandora's waist.

"There, there. I'm fine, aren't I?"

Pandora stroked her back with a helpless look.

It seemed to be a result of what she'd been through earlier, combined with the oppressive atmosphere here, which had brought out Louliana's "once bitten, twice shy" side.

"Um…" Luluo, standing off to the side, was thoroughly confused. "What's going on here…"

Just then.

"Ah, looks like this one's a bit tricky."

With a rather flippant drawl, a man dressed in black, wearing a mask that covered his eyes, strolled out of the alley beside the tavern.

"May I ask who you are, sir…"

Eyeing the short-haired man a short distance away, Luluo snapped out of it and took up a wary stance.

But the man just looked left and right.

"Oh, huh? You're asking… ah…" Then, looking a little surprised, he pointed at himself. "I'm me, obviously."

That wasn't an answer at all…

"A bounty hunter?"

Seeing that the man had no intention of revealing anything, Luluo ventured a guess.

The man waved a hand.

"No, no, no, how could I be that sort of person? Not that I look down on them, but, well, I kind of do."

Hearing that, Luluo couldn't help thinking of those guys from earlier who'd been doped up on mind-altering drugs…

The man clearly had no interest in Luluo either, and turned his gaze toward Pandora.

"What a pity. I don't know what kind of ability pulls off something like this, but I'll admit I'm a little surprised."

He paused as he spoke.

"Though of course, I half expected it, too."