Lu Ze woke up from his bed in the morning, feeling a bit groggy as he rolled over. His right hand landed on something, and he gave it a firm squeeze. Hmm…
What was this soft thing? A pillow? No, if a pillow were this soft, he would have slept even more soundly.
"Lu Ze… it's early in the morning, and you're already like this?"
Huh! Someone was there!
His two previously groggy eyes snapped open, widening considerably. What was going on? Why was someone next to him?
This was wrong, completely wrong.
Upon closer inspection, what his hand was holding was not a pillow at all, but… a black, indescribable object. It was something that would surely cause trouble if revealed, so he wouldn't elaborate.
"Apophonia? How are you in my bed? Wait, I think I remember, last night… hiss."
As memories of last night flooded back, Lu Ze felt a pang of unease. For some reason, he had a feeling he had done something not so good.
"Lu Ze, don't think too much about it. It's still early, let's sleep a bit more. You must have been quite tired last night."
Apophonia wrapped her arms around Lu Ze's head and placed it on her chest, like a mother to her child. She slowly lay down, pulling the covers over them.
"I..."
Before he could finish his sentence, his mouth was sealed. Apophonia savored the sweetness within his mouth, chuckled softly, and said:
"Sleep, sleep. I'll wake you up later."
Her words seemed to possess a magical quality. Lu Ze, who had been somewhat alert, immediately felt an overwhelming drowsiness. His eyes fluttered shut, and he fell asleep again.
Apophonia gazed quietly at his sleeping face, her grip tightening slightly. She wanted to hold him close, feel his presence, and never let go.
After an unknown amount of time, Lu Ze woke up again. Apophonia was nowhere to be seen, having apparently left.
"Didn't you say you'd wake me? I was careless. It's almost noon now, isn't it? Maybe I'll just laze around a bit today?"
But the thought of his obligations made him sigh. There was no helping it; he had promised.
After a quick wash, he went downstairs. A casual glance revealed breakfast laid out on the table, with a few people scattered in the hall.
"You're awake, I see. I thought you'd sleep until the sun set. You must have had quite a night, huh? To sleep so long, tsk."
Seele, with her red eyes, smiled and playfully tapped Lu Ze's cheek with her index finger, which tickled.
"Stop messing around, Seele. I have things to do soon, and I won't be back for lunch. Tell them to get ready, I'm leaving shortly."
Hei Xi raised an eyebrow and immediately said:
"Where are you going? I'm going too. We're not comfortable with you going out alone. What if you go do something bad? How would we know? So, someone must accompany you, like me. I can even help you fight monsters."
Uh… Lu Ze was speechless. Fine, if she wanted to go, she could. One more person wouldn't make much difference, and it would be nice to have someone to chat with on the way.
"Why should you go? You've been out with Lu Ze a few times already! It's someone else's turn. Lu Ze, I'm going too."
Sirin, who had been playing a game, stopped as soon as she heard this and rushed over, wanting to snatch the opportunity to go out.
"Go where? You're just a child, what can you help with? I should go. I can warm the bed and help out, aren't I much better than you?"
Seeing the two about to argue, Lu Ze felt an immense pressure. Was going out always this troublesome?
"Alright, alright, stop arguing. Seele will go with me this time. Little Sirin, I'll definitely take you next time. Go back to your game quickly, or your opponent will win the match."
Seeing that she hadn't succeeded in her bid, Sirin lowered her head slightly in disappointment, her eyes filled with sadness. However, she was very sensible and said:
"Then come back early. I'll be waiting for you at home tonight."
"Mm-hmm, Little Sirin is indeed very obedient. I'll definitely take you next time and let you feel wronged."
Seeing the slightly aggrieved Sirin, Lu Ze felt a pang of guilt. Such a cute Sirin, and I refused her. I'm such a scoundrel!
After breakfast, the two of them left. They arrived at the harbor not long after. Lu Ze looked around, trying to spot someone, but couldn't find them.
"Who are you looking for? What are you looking at?"
Seele, standing beside him, was curious. Why had they come all the way to the harbor?
"Looking for someone to gather some information. If everything goes as planned, I might take you to another island to play today."
Lu Ze didn't turn to look at Seele, still searching the crowd. Finally, he spotted a fisherman.
He walked over and asked softly:
"Are you Fisherman Old Zhang?"
The man who was asked clearly paused slightly. In this day and age, was someone actually looking for him? He hadn't done anything wrong, had he? If someone was keeping tabs on him, it couldn't be because of his bragging, right? Well, an upright person has nothing to fear. Why should he be so nervous?
"That's right, I am Old Zhang. What business do you have with me?"
Seeing that he hadn't mistaken the person, a smile appeared on Lu Ze's face. He said calmly:
"Please don't be afraid. It's like this. I heard from someone that you saw a monster with fiery red fur and two horns on Qingcai Island, one of which was broken. We just wanted to confirm with you if what we heard is true?"
Hearing the description, wasn't this the very thing he had boasted about a few days ago? Hiss, he didn't expect this to attract attention. It seemed he needed to be more careful with his words next time.
"Mm… this kind of thing is indeed true, but I didn't see clearly. I only caught a general silhouette from afar. Beside that cave, there was also a derelict ship. If you're looking for it, you could try searching the beach for abandoned boats."
After confirming the truth, Lu Ze glanced towards the sea in the distance. Should they take a boat over? Although they could probably fly directly.
However, since he had someone with him, it was better to take a boat. At least they could enjoy the scenery along the way.
"Thanks, this is for you as a token of my gratitude. It's not much, but it should last you a while. Here's another bag. I wonder if I could rent your boat? Or perhaps you could take us there."
A bag was tossed to him. The fisherman, named Master Zhang, heard the clinking of coins inside. This bag, with about ten thousand Mora, was enough for him to live on for half a month.
This unexpected windfall surprised him.