Re:Zero -Starting Life in Zero

"Awoo! Awoo!"

The man looked energetic, like a tireless blender.

Don't underestimate these short and skillful artists; can you imagine that they can actually spin?

"Brother, we both worked our way up from the slums, don't embarrass us!"

"I'm betting a silver coin; he's sure to win in the end!"

"Okay, I'll go with it!"

"This is not fair. This dog was so frightened by the dragon car a few days ago that it miscarried."

"Blessed Forest Goddess! Protect your followers!"

……

Profanities and frenzied cheers mingled together, surging towards them like a tide.

Green stood outside the crowd, listening to the rambling, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper, his face full of bewilderment.

"What is all this, Emilia? What is that thing in there? Is someone performing on the street?"

But the only response he received was a girl's trembling, tearful voice: "I want to get down..."

"What's wrong, Emilia?" Grimm noticed something was wrong and quickly asked.

"Hurry, hurry up and put me down..." Emilia's voice grew softer and softer, thick with a nasal tone, sounding extremely aggrieved.

"Okay, okay." Green obediently lifted Emilia by the waist and gently set her down.

Emilia had her head down, her face hidden by the brim of her hat.

Even through that thin layer of fabric, you could see faint white steam rising from it—that was her burning shame and indignation, even the roots of her ears were steaming hot.

Green curiously leaned closer to take a look.

Good heavens, Emilia's face was burning hot.

His eyes were red and glistening with tears, making him look like he had suffered a great injustice.

"Are you alright, Emilia?"

He hurriedly asked with concern, but his heart was full of doubt. What had this girl seen that made her react so strongly?

Emilia stretched out her hands and covered her burning face tightly.

Tears glistened between his fingers, and he sounded pitiful: "Waaah—Grimm, I need to go to church to wash my eyes..."

"Alright, alright, whatever you want, don't cry, my little darling!"

Seeing her like this, Green panicked and hurriedly tried to comfort her.

In my mind, I cursed that old man everyone was talking about a thousand times over. What the hell was he doing inside?!

Just then, a familiar, elderly voice rang out.

Did anyone mention the church just now?

The speaker was an old priest wearing a worn black robe, clutching two silver coins in his hand, presumably having won the bet just now.

Green's face turned cold: "What, it's you, you bastard?"

The old geezer in front of me is the same priest I met at the Church of Abundance last time.

The old priest was stunned for a moment, then slapped his forehead and showed an expression of sudden realization.

"Oh! It's you, my swindler... cough cough, it's you, my great benefactor! Thanks to the gold coins you threw at me last time, I was able to thoroughly repair the church roof."

Green narrowed his eyes, revealing a dangerous smile, and rubbed his fingers together, making a "crackling" sound.

"Haha, what a small world, old priest!"

"Don't...don't be impulsive, young man! Let's talk this out!"

The old priest shrank back in fright and tried to slip away, but the wall of people behind him was so tight that there wasn't even a crack left for him.

With lightning speed, Green grabbed the old priest's shoulder and pulled him close.

"Take a deep breath; dizziness is normal."

"Grandpa! Grandpa, please don't hit me! How about I give you these two silver coins? You can have them both!"

The old priest was so frightened he almost jumped out of his skin and hurriedly stuffed the silver coin in his hand into Green's hand.

Green scoffed, then pulled two gleaming gold coins from his pocket, waved them in front of the old priest, and teased:

"Sir, if you let me hit you, I'll give you two gold coins directly, how about that?"

Unexpectedly, the old priest's eyes lit up, and he snatched the gold coin away, stuffing it into his pocket in the blink of an eye.

"Alright then!"

The old priest readily agreed, then leaned back and slumped against Green.

It even closed its eyes cooperatively, looking like it was "at your mercy."

"Holy crap, I've met someone even more shameless than me..."

Green quickly stepped back, pushed the old priest aside, and watched him stagger to his feet, his lips twitching.

Emilia urged him on by tugging at Larrin's sleeve.

"Hurry up, Green, if you don't wash your eyes now, they'll never be clean!"

"Okay, okay, let's go!"

Green comforted Emilia and prepared to leave.

The old priest looked Emilia over, as if he understood something.

He quickly took out a porcelain bottle from his pocket and walked over.

"Little girl, did you get something dirty in your eyes? I have a bottle of holy water here, you should rinse them quickly."

Emilia nodded quickly, hurriedly took the bottle, and poured it on her face.

Greene just in time to hold down the hood that was about to slip off, so as not to reveal Emilia's appearance.

This small gesture startled Emilia slightly.

She then raised her wet eyes and blinked gratefully at him, water droplets still clinging to her long eyelashes.

Green sighed softly, turned around and nodded slightly to the old priest.

"Alright, old priest, we're even now."

The old priest laughed heartily, waved his hand, and his face wrinkled into a deep knot.

"Being able to help you young people makes this old man feel that I'm not so decayed as to be useless."

After saying that, the old priest leaned closer in with a sly grin, keeping his voice very low so Emilia wouldn't notice.

"Young man, you're playing both sides, you've got a bright future ahead of you. Looks like you're even more capable than that female knight inside."

"What does it matter to you whether I'm fierce or not? Do you have a daughter you want to introduce to me?"

Green rolled his eyes and responded nonchalantly.

"Pooh!"

The old priest spat out a contemptuous remark: "You're not good enough for my daughter."

"How do you know I'm not good enough? What if she likes someone like me?"

Green raised an eyebrow, put his hands on his hips smugly, and narcissistically smoothed the stray hairs on his forehead.

Unexpectedly, the old priest was not angry at all. Instead, he stroked his chin, nodded thoughtfully, and said in a serious tone:

"That's true... she does like pretty boys."

Green's face darkened: "I've noticed you're a bit of a jerk. What do you mean by 'pretty boy'?"

The old priest chuckled and tried to smooth things over: "Sorry, sorry, I accidentally blurted out what I really thought."

He paused, then, as if remembering something, rubbed his hands together and leaned closer, his tone full of sales pitch:

"Oh, by the way... my name is Simon. Young man, if you ever get married, you absolutely have to consider having me officiate!"

"Let me tell you, I'm very talented; I can play all kinds of musical instruments."

"For just twenty silver coins, I can sing a song at your wedding; for two gold coins, I can sing for you all night long!"

"Alright, alright, I'll definitely patronize your business then."

Green waved his hand dismissively and looked back at Emilia beside him.

"Don't rub your eyes so hard, Milia, or you'll hurt them."