Xiao Lin wanted to go straight into the hotel without turning around. He thought of leaving the girl to stand for as long as she could outside, but after feeling the coolness of the autumn weather, he eventually sighed and took the initiative to walk over.
Like a frightened rabbit, she looked as though she wanted to find a shadowy corner to hide, but the cold froze her little reddish bare feet. Simply walking there was already unbearable enough for her, and after running for a couple of steps, she fell to the ground again.
Xiao Lin could only raise his hand helplessly to indicate that he came without any malice. He slowed down his footsteps and finally approached her despite her uncertain-looking gaze, carefully supporting her up.
“If you want to thank me, you don’t need to. Just hurry home.” Although that was what he said, the sun had completely set by the time he walked to the hotel. The Two the world of Norma has been some time since the Double Moon Festival passed. There was only one half of the two moons left in the sky, and street lights were scarce in that small town too, making it almost pitch black.
Xiao Lin initially wanted to tell her that he might as well send her home by himself, but he also had to take into account his own strength. If he encountered danger at night, he might even have to explain his presence there. A resurrection tower stood tall in Wildfire Town and it was Dawn Academy who provided it as support. In order words, that was the basic condition for all colonial academies to secretly foster their support of the various forces. Still, it was distressing to lose a 20-year lifespan.
“Can you help me?”
The little girl suddenly took the initiative to speak. Although her small dust- and blood-covered face looked pitiful, her husky tone appeared very calm and to Xiao Lin’s surprise, she spoke fluent Chinese. Although it was not uncommon in the locality, the difference in accent caused the Chinese spoken by many indigenous people to be rather awkward, although it was still possible to understand it. However, that girl was different. Her Chinese was almost the highest standard of Mandarin with incredibly accurate intonation.
Their communication went incredibly well, but Xiao Lin was still a little unhappy over why she did not say a single word before. In any case, he still asked, “You can speak Chinese? Are you one of us, ahem, I mean are you one of those people?”
Xiao Lin did not forget that their current status was that of a merchant group, so she pointed to the direction of Dawn Academy’s colony. However, the girl’s hoarse voice sounded once again. “I know you’re an outsider, that’s why I came to you. Can you help me? ”
The little girl’s bright eyes projected a very strong hatred and it seemed that there was a deeply-etched sea of blood as well as intense resentment.
Xiao Lin was not interested in doing so, as he was initially just doing a small favor and did not want to get into more trouble because of that. It did not matter who the little girl hated, because it had nothing to do with him at all.
As soon as the girl noticed that he was inclined to refuse, she continued, “Is there anything you need? I don’t not have money, but at least I have myself. I know some of you outsiders have that kind of... Umm, that kind of really special hobby, so I can promise to be your maid.”
The ten-year-old girl spoke extremely calmly in a very immature tone, as if the entire thing had nothing to do with her. Xiao Lin’s brows were furrowed even deeper.
Did the colonists’ have ‘special hobbies’?
He admitted that many people came to the New World with the mindset of pleasure, and a prime example was An Fumin. He believed that the fat man would be able to satisfy that kind of special hobby as long as he was willing to do so.
That did not include Xiao Lin though. Xiao Lin stood up, with his expression already turning a little sour, and he said half-heartedly, “How about this, I’ll get you a room for the hotel and you can stay here for the time being. I’ll leave Wildfire Town in a few more days, and it’s no use even if you follow us. I’m sorry, but we’re just an ordinary merchant group. I can’t be concerned with your affairs.”
Since the girl did not want any money, Xiao Lin was too lazy to persuade further. He simply used the money to get a room from the innkeeper. New Dollars were a common mode of currency throughout Silver Province. With the growing influence of the colony, the surrounding forces predisposed to the various colonies have gradually accepted that currency even though it had yet to be accepted universally in Planet Norma.
The innkeeper was an old woman in her forties. She seemed rather kind to Xiao Lin, although it might be because the merchant group had brought her a lot of business those few days. She whispered and reminded, “It’s probably your first time coming to Wildfire Town. I should remind you not to trust these vagrants in Silver Province.”
Although it was a kind reminder, the woman held the money Xiao Lin handed over tightly in her palm. She probably would not refund his money even if Xiao Lin took her up on her advice and changed his mind.
The girl behind was undoubtedly disappointed, but she soon spoke again, changing instead to a pitifully mute tone with tears in her pupils. “Can I bring my mother here? Otherwise, she’ll definitely sleep on the street tonight!”
That was how a ten-year-old ought to respond, but due to the contrast with her earlier composure, Xiao Lin was stunned for some time before she shook his head with a bitter smile. Perhaps the innkeeper was right. She was not trustworthy at all, and he could not measure Planet Norma by the standards of similar-aged girls on Earth.
“Why don’t I let a few people keep her company?” the innkeeper once again eagerly took the initiative to relieve Xiao Lin of his worries. Of course, the main reason might be that Xiao Lin allowed her to keep the remaining change as a tip when he paid for the room earlier.
According to the Intelligence Agency’s Qin Zuo, the hotel was relatively reliable, so Xiao Lin naturally chose to trust her. After handing her over, he went back to his room and headed straight to bed. There was nothing entertaining at night there, and everyone slept quite early as a result.
At breakfast the next day, Xiao Lin casually told the other three people about the incident. Zhao Mancheng and Ruan Feiyun said nothing, but Qin Zuo put down his chopsticks and asked in detail without changing his expression.
After Xiao Lin finished speaking, Qin Zuo pondered for only a few minutes before saying in a certain tone, “That girl isn’t a local.”
Ruan Feiyun chuckled, “You don’t say? There are far too many wanderers like that in Planet Norma.”
Qin Zuo did not care for Ruan Feiyun’s teasing and continued with his analysis, “She should be quite a noble person, if nothing else, I believe she might even be a member of the Rosa Kingdom’s noblemen, but I’m not sure whether she is royalty.”
Xiao Lin ate a big mouthful of porridge and looked up in surprise. In fact, he really wanted to know whether Qin Zuo actually knew that girl.
“I don’t know her.” Qin Zuo guessed what Xiao Lin was going to say and continued, “Actually, the reason for my judgment is very simple. You said her Chinese is very fluent. We’re all aware that the Normans speak terrible Chinese, but a few people have a natural gift, language-wise.”
“Now that you mention it, she may actually be a member of the Rosa Kingdom. The language talents of that kingdom are spectacular. Any random person there would’ve mastered several languages. Oh, and by that, I mean Elvish, Orcish, and so on so forth. There are even some that understand Dragish there.” The Foreign Affairs Department’s Zhao Mancheng knew of that as well.
“The Rosa Kingdom is having a civil war.” Ruan Feiyun seemed quite knowledgeable about it too. After some thought, he added, “And it seems that their country is about to be destroyed. God is always fair: they’re blessed with an advantage in terms of language, but their physical fitness is inherently worse than everyone else and their military strength is vastly disproportionate to other militaries.”
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