Chapter 40: Little Mouse, My Favorite…

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, half a month has passed.

After a long journey, Miss Vilyric and her pet finally arrived at the outskirts of the capital, the City of Courage.

The Adventurer’s Plain, a region named after the iconic profession within the United Kingdom, is one of the largest and most prosperous lands in the entire country.

The mother river of the United Kingdom runs north to south, cutting through the vast plain. This river, known as the Luo River, is among the world’s three most magnificent rivers, alongside the Black River of the Beast Kingdom and the Star River of the Holy Empire. For hundreds, if not thousands of years, it has nurtured countless beings.

At the same time, it serves as a critical economic lifeline connecting several major cities within the kingdom, developing a well-established and rich river transport system.

After all, this place is not like the Black River, which is home to numerous dangerous magical beasts. Although there are many aquatic creatures residing in the Luo River, they pose no threat to humans and instead provide significant food and resources.

The City of Courage sits within the Adventurer’s Plain, uniquely surrounded on three sides by the Luo River.

You could say the Luo River serves as the city’s natural moat.

“Miss Vilyric, we have entered the Adventurer’s Plain. It shouldn’t take more than thirty kilometers to reach the City of Courage. Shall we head straight there?”

Outside the carriage, Mr. Fierce Wolf casually asked.

After spending some time together, Vilyric was somewhat familiar with this swiftness of the swordsman.

Nickles is actually quite decent—sparse in words but reliable in action. He easily dealt with any small-time thieves or magical beasts we encountered on the road.

If all goes well, he would surely make a great employee for Liliya in the future.

“There’s no rush. The former king has passed away, so the City of Courage is probably under martial law. I heard they’re preparing some sort of ritual.”

“Your status is quite special. In other cities, we could use Liliya’s token to smooth things out, but not necessarily here in the capital. There’s no need to attract trouble. The priority is to understand the situation inside and have Liliya send someone to pick us up.”

“Okay, I’ll follow your lead.”

Naturally, Nickles understands the uncommon relationship between this noble and the Fifth Princess. After all, giving Vilyric a token of representation means Princess Liliya trusts and cares for this priestess.

But how do we contact Princess Liliya without entering the city? Is there a special communication method between them?

Nickles was wise enough not to ask further; he knew the big shots have their ways. He just needs to do his part.

Even after spending so long together, Mr. Fierce Wolf still hadn’t grasped the limits of the two girls in the carriage. Just the parts they had shown had already reset his understanding as a sky-level powerhouse.

Vilyric set down her game cards, and the Little Dragon Daughter sitting opposite her got the hint, rising to join her. They both stepped out of the carriage into the outside world.

“Wow, this is the largest plain in the United Kingdom. Indeed a bountiful and fertile land, the magic concentration in the air is even higher than in other places. No wonder it was chosen as the capital.”

Vilyric curiously surveyed the vast farmlands around her. Taking a deep breath of the moist air, she stored the carriage in her item box and leisurely continued along the path.

The pet and temporary companion immediately caught up.

Since they were on the kingdom’s richest highway, many people came and went, along with local farmers. Yet, Vilyric… seemed to deliberately avoid the crowds.

After walking for about ten minutes, the sound of rushing water reached Nickles’s ears. This must be a small waterfall connected to a branch of the Luo River.

Though the overall terrain was flat, the Adventurer’s Plain couldn’t all be completely level ground. Places like this waterfall and small pond, surrounded by lush flora, were perfect spots for secretive dealings.

The wind didn’t carry the scent of smoke; it was indeed rare to see anyone around here.

“This should be about right. After following for so long, I guess we can come out now.”

“It seems I can’t hide anything from you, heh heh.”

With a sudden and unsavory voice, a small non-human figure gradually appeared near Vilyric and company.

“A Beastman! How did it end up here?!”

Nickles exclaimed in shock, instinctively taking a step back and reaching for the hilt of his sword.

Not just because of its sneaky mouse-like head, but more importantly, throughout the encounter, the wind hadn’t detected any presence of this being. Even now that he could see it with his own eyes, this mouse creature still registered as nonexistent in Mr. Fierce Wolf’s senses!

Like an apparition, yet the slightly sunken grass underfoot proved that this creature was indeed real.

What does this mean?

It means that if this small mouse creature intended harm, Nickles wouldn’t stand a single chance of resistance and would be instantaneously killed!

Drawn by the atmosphere, the mouse turned its head to glance at him, its tiny eyes spinning, revealing an expression of what seemed to be “curiosity”.

“Miss Vilyric, what is this human doing? Is he your new servant? Oh ~ so you have a taste for this type, huh? Heh heh, I get it.”

“?”

The priestess rolled her eyes, casually switching the red staff in her hand for a piece of equipment the mouse was familiar with, twirling it a few times.

“Plakaka, it’s been a while! Have you been drifting again? Or do you want to try being a dead mouse again?”

“Aw cough! I dare not, I dare not!”

Upon seeing the strangely elongated holy staff in Vilyric’s hand, Plakaka immediately shivered all over.

This mouse-headed creature, which had posed a severe death threat to Nickles, pathetically dropped to the ground, perfectly embodying the phrase “curling up in a ball” when faced with a mighty opponent.

Looks like this one… has definitely been well-educated by Miss Vilyric.

Nickles suddenly felt a sense of sympathy.

“Alright, stop pretending. I’m not here to watch you perform.”

“Ah, right, right, right… The little mouse saw its savior and got a bit too excited, heh heh… This is a letter from the princess, containing everything she wants to say to you.”

The assassin named Plakaka pulled out a meticulously wrapped, faintly scented letter from what seemed to be a storage item—a bracelet that hadn’t been there before—and respectfully presented it to the black-haired girl with both hands.

Vilyric opened and read the letter, which contained at least thousands of elegant characters.

The letter mainly conveyed recent updates concerning Liliya and the capital, along with expressing her thoughts of missing a certain priestess.

Aside from the formalities, it felt… a bit like a love letter?

With a strange expression, Vilyric tucked the letter away, turning her gaze back to the still-cowering mouse on the ground.

“No problem, since Liliya said so, you’ll lead us into the city. But Plakaka, it seems you’ve been doing quite well for yourself these past few months. You didn’t go and steal from some prince’s treasury, did you?”

“Uh, well… Haha… You really have sharp eyes to spot that!”

The revived mouse-head creature got back up, awkwardly laughing as at least four or five pieces of purple magical equipment clinked on him.

“?”

Good grief, he really did steal from the prince’s treasury? Which unfortunate soul got targeted by this mouse?

Vilyric had already entertained similar thoughts. Plakaka’s invisibility prowess might be rendered ineffective against high-level beings like her or Xiao Guang, but among humans, anyone lacking superior strength would absolutely never notice it.

So, it turns out this ability is best suited not for killing but for stealing, just as she casually mentioned reviving Plakaka—it seemed he really took it to heart. Isn’t this just the classic mouse profession?

Vilyric felt a slight sympathy for that unfortunate victim who got robbed.

   

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