Chapter 667

Chapter 52 Sorrowfully Part 1

“That place isn’t far from here…”

The girl’s steps paused for only a moment before she continued forward. However, the man behind her noticed her reaction and gradually smiled as he spoke.

“Just follow this alley, turn right at the next intersection onto the street, walk north for three or five hundred meters along the street, take two turns, and you’ll see it… hmm… surprisingly, they actually have black pepper there. What a joke, this is in the wilderness! Black pepper? It’s unbelievable…”

He muttered to himself as he observed the girl’s actions and reactions under the moonlight and the candlelight from the windows. Her slender figure swayed slightly in the night, she extended her fair arm, took the little girl by the hand, and quickened her pace forward.

Then things became quite interesting.

The girl remained silent, continuing to walk forward without paying attention to the man’s words behind her. No matter what he said, she wouldn’t respond.

And the man didn’t seem to expect a response either.

He just kept talking, jumping from one topic to another with ease, from “you’ve gained some weight recently” to mentioning his companion, Grandma Appelfel. His topics ranged widely, showing his casual and easygoing attitude.

“Grandma Appelfel… ah, do you remember her?”

“The Royal Academy’s tower by Lake Ceylon, your former dormitory manager, a fiery-tempered person… She has a deep impression of you. I heard she scolded you often because you would always rush to the cafeteria by sliding down the stairs, and it happened repeatedly.”

The girl ignored such casual talk, as if this person didn’t exist. But when she reached the end of the alley, she would slow down or stop unintentionally, talking to Betty until she heard directions like “turn left” or “go right,” then she would quicken her pace again.

Though she never responded to the man’s guidance, she silently followed his instructions.

Even little Betty found it amusing.

Sister is really something.

She clearly wanted to talk to him, yet insisted on pretending not to care…

What a peculiar person…

But…

Such a sister was also quite cute.

Betty didn’t know about the girl’s previous experiences or her inner struggle. Seeing her attitude, she naturally assumed that they had simply misunderstood each other…

Perhaps even Betty herself wasn’t aware of this.

This black-haired girl, in the short three days she spent with her, had transformed from a terrifying demon to a lively, thoughtful, and temperamental girl.

She no longer felt afraid of her.

And calling her “sister” seemed to come more naturally now.

Before long, guided by the man’s casual directions, they walked through the empty streets and entered a simple mud house at the corner of the northern town.

This mud house was much shorter than the tavern they had visited earlier. The walls were made of mud bricks, the space inside was less than half the size of the tavern, and there was no courtyard. When they entered, it was pitch dark, without any lights lit, and there seemed to be no one around, giving off a cold and desolate feeling.

But it was quiet.

The girl and little Betty pushed open the door first, standing in the dark hall for a moment. Then the man who came in later lit a candle, and nobody spoke. The girl frowned, holding the little girl’s finger, and sat down after blowing the dust off a chair.

The man stood nearby, lighting the wall lamps and bar counter lights one by one.

“Sister…”

“It seems like there’s nothing here.”

The flickering light gradually revealed the outline of the entire hall. Little Betty leaned over to the girl’s ear and whispered, her voice clear in the quiet hall. The girl looked around, seeing the dusty bar counter, scattered tables and chairs, and the almost empty shelves behind the bar.

This place didn’t seem to be operating properly.

At least not currently.

This clearly contradicted what Carlos had previously mentioned. Not only were there no dishes of West Continent flavors, there might not even be anything edible here. The man was lying, but neither of them mentioned it at this moment.

The girl only glanced around and quickly lowered her head, fidgeting with her fingers, lost in thought, silent.

After a while, Carlos walked over with the candle.

“Where did you pick up this little girl?”

He glanced at Betty, placed the candlestick on the table with a thud, and naturally sat in front of them.

The candlelight flickered, revealing his stubbled, slightly weathered face.

The man looked at the girl, and she looked back at him, still not speaking. Little Betty’s eyes darted between their faces.

After a moment, seeing the atmosphere getting heavy, she spoke up brightly, “I’m Betty. I wasn’t picked up.”

Perhaps due to the characteristic blue eyes and white hair of Meser people, little Betty appeared somewhat nervous but didn’t feel scared of the man in front of her, nor did she seem to have much suspicion.

In her heart, she believed this bearded uncle wasn’t a bad person, so she spoke without much hesitation, “Uncle, are you a Knight of the Pope?”

“Uncle?”

Carlos was startled when he heard the other person call him uncle, immediately touched his beard, realized something, and chuckled, “Do I look that much like an uncle? Did you want to call me that?”

He said the last sentence to the girl.

“Tch.”

The girl rolled her eyes and spat lightly, her expression disdainful, “Who would want to call you that…”

Then she suddenly froze.

Ah…

I talked to him.

Didn’t I decide to just come and see what he wanted and leave immediately, not say anything to him…

“I’m actually about the same age as her.”

As she was lost in thought, she heard Carlos speak to Betty again, his tone teasing, “It’s just because I haven’t groomed my beard for a long time that you misunderstood. Can you pretend to believe me for now?”

The man spoke casually, probably a bit tipsy. At this moment, his eyes looked even more lazy and distant. A faint smell of alcohol drifted into my nose with each breath he took.

“Smell of alcohol…”

I grumbled unhappily.

Ah…

Why can’t I hold back from talking to him?

Maybe I should just leave…

I started to think about leaving.

I hadn’t come here to eat anyway, and for some reason tonight, I didn’t have the appetite or mood for it…

But hearing Carlos’s voice, I felt reluctant to leave, and somehow ended up here… But sitting down, what could I do?

Waiting for so long, listening to him ramble…

Yet he never got to the point, avoiding the issues that needed to be faced.

Carlos…

What do you know…

And what are you avoiding…

Thinking to herself, she showed no emotion, suddenly standing up from her chair.