LRAB Page 86
Page 86
The greatsword maid remained sitting blankly in the corner, her empty eyes staring into the distance, seemingly prepared to sit on the cold grass until dawn.
"Huh?" At this moment, a wealthy merchant who was passing by stopped, looked Fim up and down, and suddenly sighed softly.
"The nine-year compulsory education system proposed by Mino the Hero... is still not being implemented effectively enough."
"Take this and buy something nice to eat, poor but adorable child."
A coin was lifted from the wealthy merchant's thumb, arcing in a magnificent golden parabola, and landed in the bowl in front of Fim.
The pale gold coin lay at the bottom of the bowl... gleaming with a simple, unadorned light.
Aug stood frozen in place, a sight he would never forget. Even if he recounted it to his descendants on his deathbed, it would likely only elicit a burst of laughter.
You mean, all the silver coins you racked your brains, exhausted your words, and used your years of experience and skills to quickly build up your goodwill with strangers... are less than what a maid can earn just by sitting down?
In an instant, Aug felt as if the sky had fallen.
After a dry laugh, he quickly realized, "It's a coincidence, it must be a coincidence... Well, it's the newbie protection period, those who know, know."
"In our line of work, in the end, it all comes down to ability! Yes, ability!"
He clenched his fists to cheer himself up, and as he was talking to himself, a couple walking together suddenly stopped in their tracks as they passed by.
"Oh, what a lovely maid." A silver coin was tossed into Fim's bowl.
Next came a poorly dressed waiter who paused slightly as he passed Fim, a glint of light flashing in his dejected eyes.
"If such a lovely maid is still begging for food, what can't I do?!" Dozens of copper coins were thrown into the bowl with a face full of gratitude.
A priest in white robes passed by and sighed softly:
"It's a pity I was born twenty years too early, otherwise seeing this lovely maid would be like seeing a goddess."
A dozen or so gold coins trembled and fell into Fim's bowl like raindrops.
The crisp, familiar sound completely petrified Aug. In a short while, the bowl in front of Fim was overflowing with copper and silver coins, almost exceeding all his savings since he became a beggar.
Even more surprisingly, the prize pool is still accumulating!
Aug's body trembled violently, he was so angry that he shook all over, his hands and feet were ice cold, and he just wanted to slap himself hard.
Location analysis, questionnaires, academic research—all of that pales in comparison! Completely outclassed by "cuteness"!
What the hell?!
This industry is all about looks!!!
A fierce roar erupted in his heart as Aug looked at Fim, who sat motionless beside the impeccably clean trash can... He clenched his fists in frustration.
The loud sound of horses' hooves approached from afar, accompanied by a cacophony of noise.
Aug's spirits lifted as he looked into the distance and saw a group of well-dressed paladins riding horses, looking around and searching for something.
For the past few days, something has happened. These paladins seem to be constantly searching for someone, tirelessly traversing the entire capital, practically turning the whole city upside down... they even want to open every trash can they pass by for a look.
With an upright expression, Aug knew his chance to turn the tables had come. He immediately stood up and raised his hands in a loud and clear voice.
"Sir Knight!"
"I'm reporting this!!! Someone is engaging in unfair competition!!!"
This commotion immediately caught the attention of the knights, and a well-organized group of men dispersed the crowd, surrounding Fim and the beggar Aug.
With a stern gaze sweeping over Aug and Fim by the city wall, the leading knight said in a deep voice, "We are on a mission. You may contact us if you see any suspicious individuals, but please do not disrupt our business!"
"Sir Knight! There's a suspicious person!!!" Aug exclaimed excitedly, pointing at Fim beside him:
"This adorable maid doesn't live in the inn, yet she's stealing food from a beggar like me. That's highly suspicious! I strongly suspect she's a spy sent by the demons!!!"
Aug started thinking. If he just wanted to stand up for justice, these knights obviously wouldn't take his case seriously, so he directly linked this strange maid to the demon race.
In that case, no matter how irresponsible the knight is, he certainly won't stand idly by!
As expected, after he finished speaking, the leading knight's expression turned serious. He glanced at the maid who was squatting there blankly, and narrowed his eyes:
"It does seem a bit suspicious..."
"I told you so! I told you so!!" Aug danced excitedly, the coins on his body clinking and jingling.
The lead knight drew his longsword, his suspicious gaze fixed unwaveringly on the clean trash can next to Fim...
“Miss, the trash can next to you looks suspicious. Move aside... we need to check it.”
"Huh?" Aug froze in place.
Seeing the squad of knights staring warily at a trash can, he was so shocked that he blurted out a curse: "Are you guys crazy?"
"How is a trash can more suspicious than a greatsword maid?!"
"How dare you!" the lead knight roared, his longsword pointing at Aug. "I noticed it just now; you have an unusually large amount of money on you. I now seriously suspect you of tax evasion!!!"
Two tall paladins stepped forward and arrested Org.
"Wait!" Aug panicked. "I did evade taxes, but that has nothing to do with the current situation! My family has been self-made for three generations, with a clean record!!!"
"I changed my destiny through knowledge! Knowledge changes destiny...!"
Org's screams faded into the distance as the knight dragged him away, leaving only a group of paladins surrounding the maid, preparing to approach her—to search the trash can next to Fim.
Ding--
At that moment, a loud voice rang out from the communication token in the lead knight's hand.
The lead knight's expression changed. After confirming the instructions from above, he shouted, "Search mission aborted. Return to the team immediately!"
""yes! ""
The surrounding paladins stopped what they were doing, responded in unison, quickly assembled, and headed towards the palace...
Only Fim remained, squatting on the grass the entire time, and the trash can beside him remained motionless, as if nothing had happened—
"Hey, those knights are gone, and so is the money..."
In the dark alley, several pairs of malicious eyes were fixed on the small bowl full of food in front of Fim.
"Miss Maid, are you alone?"
"Don't you know you have to pay protection money here?"
A group of menacing-looking thugs suddenly emerged from the dark corner.
Sensing the malice, Fim finally raised her head, her empty eyes darting around as she pondered... Would these people die if she threw a punch...?
"Boss, stop talking nonsense, just grab the stuff and leave. Who knows if those paladins will come back?"
The three thugs glanced at the greatsword on Fim's back, a hint of fear flashing in their eyes. They cautiously watched Fim, their hands reaching for the broken bowl filled with coins—
Seeing that the other party was no longer targeting him, Fim lowered his head again.
hum.
Hey.
Just then——
Buzzing! ...
The loud noise drew everyone's attention. Fim slowly turned his head, and beside him, in the unusually clean trash can—
It emitted an unprecedented tremor.
Chapter 111 The Legendary Meeting Between the Human Hero and the Dark Demon
The vibration from the trash can startled everyone else.
"What the hell is that?" The thugs looked at the strange, constantly shaking trash can with a vague sound in their ears, their expressions filled with surprise and disbelief.
“My lord… there is no mistake… I heard it… those paladins have withdrawn their search for us, oh no, for you.”
"Hmph, I have a feeling the time has come—"
The voices of what sounded like a man and a woman were vaguely coming from the trash can, but it was such a small trash can that it was impossible for two people, or even an adult, to fit in it.
"Could it be..." Suddenly, one of the thugs shivered:
"Is it the 'trash can biting people' story that's been circulating in the capital these past few days?!"
"It's said that if someone throws trash into the bin, they'll get a vicious bite; and if they throw in food, it'll make a terrifying crunching sound... just like someone's eating in there." The thug's eyes were filled with fear.
"Holy crap, there are actually such environmentally unfriendly ghost stories?!" Another thug exclaimed, his eyes wide.
"Hmph, playing tricks." The gang leader sneered. "You guys, go check it out."
"Boss, you're so skilled, why don't you go?"
"I think so too."
"Enough with the nonsense!" the gang leader roared. "Let's go together and see what's going on. Nobody's allowed to betray their teammates!"
Seemingly well aware of their superficial friendship, the three thugs gradually approached each other, their hands tightly clasped together, forming a circle around the trash can and moving towards it.
Holding hands, the three of them circled the trash can with extreme caution, looking exactly like... the scene of some kind of eerie cult.
Just as they were about to open the trash can, an unprecedented vibration occurred, followed by a loud bang, and the trash can lid shot skyward like a cannonball!
A head of fiery red hair emerged from the trash can to the astonishment of the three.
The petite girl chuckled softly as she slowly straightened up, her crimson eyes gleaming faintly. The oddly positioned girl stood inside the trash can.
"The seal on Pandora has been broken. My appearance is both a harbinger of the beginning of darkness and a new chapter of hope—"
"You travelers who stumbled upon the magic barrel, you will become my most legendary companions..." A girl with an eyepatch on one eye, her smiling red eyes falling on the three disheveled faces of the thugs around her, suddenly stopped speaking.
She visibly showed a hint of resistance, then turned her head and saw through the three thugs a cute-looking maid huddled in the corner behind her.
The red-haired girl's eyes lit up, and she pointed her bandaged right hand at the blue-haired maid: "You! That's right, it's you!"
"The maid who opened the magic barrel, you are my most legendary partner."
"Hey! Your underhanded tactics are way too obvious!!" the thug leader roared. "Even one-eyed people could see that the three of us were the ones about to open the trash can, right?!"
"You glanced at us just now, right? You definitely did, right? And then you thought we were too ugly, so you chose the maid next to you, right?!"
The three thugs' foreheads were bulging with veins. Although they had no desire to associate with this girl who looked mentally unstable, it was a different matter from being looked down upon. This was intolerable!
"I...I don't know what you're talking about?" Shana turned her head away guiltily and whistled—