The Strange Adventures of Hearn the Believer

"Sorry, sorry, sorry." Knowing she was in the wrong, Deedlit grabbed a corner of the tablecloth and was about to wipe the little fox, who was covered in hot spray, clean.

"No need, Deedlit. Besides, tell me honestly what bet you two just made?"

The nun, regaining her senses, casually pointed, and Eirin instantly transformed back into his previous dry, fluffy Samoyed-like appearance. Once everything was back to normal, he glared at the two troublemakers in front of him with annoyance.

""

""

"Did not say?"

The two people at the table looked at each other, and the believer's expression naturally became increasingly unfriendly.

“Sigh, Hearn, you’re really paying the price for not listening to your elders.” Realizing she couldn’t fool them anymore, Deedlit turned to her with a look of pity and regret, stood up, placed her paw on the believer’s shoulder, and said earnestly.

"The morning you stood me up, didn't you say you were born in the Quaternary Period? How come you're an old man now?" The believer casually swatted away the forest spirit's claws on her shoulder, looking displeased.

“The Fourth Epoch has been going on for almost two hundred years now. Compared to you two seventeen or eighteen-year-old boys, I am indeed a highly respected elder.” Deedlit, whose paw had been slapped back, symbolically counted on her fingers with a grin on her face, not at all afraid of making trouble.

"Is that so? How about after dinner, Yonglin and I, two young people, escort the esteemed Lady Deedlit back to her room so she can experience what 'respecting the elderly and caring for the young' really means?" Xin Nu ignored her self-absorbed thoughts and said with a sidelong glance while munching on her bread.

"Of course, no problem. It's a win-win situation for me, okay? Two little boys came to my door first thing in the morning. What a stroke of luck!" Noticing that his mood had softened, Deedlit knew that the tense moment had passed, so she turned around and finished her breakfast while still making a joke.

"Mr. Hern, I...I...I'm a staunch bachelor. If you're going to cause trouble, please don't drag me into it, okay?" Only Yonglin, who hadn't caught the mood, got angry and shook her head like a rattle.

Based on the few words and actions of the two men, the believer had already guessed most of the details of their bet. Seeing Yonglin's unusually innocent yet secretly flirtatious appearance, she couldn't help but feel amused.

"Huh? Deedlit, didn't you eat him last night?"

“The little fox cub is quite clever; he went and booked another room to sleep.” Deedlit, of course, could hear the sarcasm in Mr. Hearn’s words, and driven by her mischievousness, deliberately continued, “What a pity.”

Upon hearing this, Yonglin, who was sitting opposite, trembled even more violently.

Mr. Hearn has long since moved beyond the ordinary stage of feeling unsteady on his feet because he slept on the roof all night; he's now entered the more sophisticated stage of feeling unsteady on his feet because he slept on the roof all night. And this empty shell of unsteady, sleep-deprived appearance seems to have been used as the standard for judging Deedlit and her companion's bet earlier.

"So what exactly were you two betting on just now?" Mr. Hearn asked in a deep voice, picking up his milk glass.

Even if he has already guessed it, he still prefers to hear the person involved say it themselves, which is one of his current process-oriented habits.

“It’s fine to tell you, but would you like to put the milk down first?” Deedlit seemed still shaken by what had just happened, while Eirin quietly moved her chair to a different position.

"It's alright," the believer said, indicating that she was mentally prepared and that the same thing would not happen again.

“Okay, it’s simple. We’re betting on whether you can get out of bed this morning.” Tidley nodded and then revealed the answer.

The believer pondered for a moment, then posed another question, "Then why did you say that I didn't listen to the elders just now?"

"What did I tell you the other morning? I told you to stay away from those Rosetta vixens who don't discriminate between meat and fish, and you went and found two right away." Deedlit brought up the topic of the morning she stood him up.

“Miss Deedlit, please don’t smear our Rosetta culture. The propagation of our species is a doctrine written in Lady Rosetta’s teachings. You elves may not believe it, but please don’t make unfounded accusations, okay?” At this moment, the devout guardian of faith, Mr. Druid Yonglin, stepped forward.

"Then what about you, a celibate who has betrayed Lady Rosetta's life doctrines?" Deedlit rolled her eyes at him.

"I...I...I...that was a personal problem, an accident." Yonglin quickly backed down after her sore spot was touched.

Deedlit naturally couldn't be bothered to pay him any more attention.

"I'm telling you, my dear captain, you're the backbone of our team. These past two mornings you've looked like you're about to collapse at any moment. It's chilling to see you like this."

"Wait a minute, I'm perfectly fine, okay? Why does it sound like I'm about to die suddenly in your mouth?"

"The night before last, Miss Tian Lanlan dragged you out to play in the wild, and this morning Yonglin had to help you walk. That was bad enough. Yesterday, you went and flirted with the landlady, which made her jealous. You must have been dealt with badly last night. The way you looked when you came downstairs just now, to use the words of Brother Yuandong, was like—'soaring like riding the wind, not knowing where to stop, so floating like someone who has transcended the world, ascending to immortality.'" Deedlit got more and more excited as she spoke, and even recited a poem halfway through.

"What nonsense!? I went out for a stroll in the first half of last night, and slept on the rooftop all night in the second half." Seeing that the situation was getting worse, Xin Nu quickly told her to stop.

"I don't believe your nonsense. Yesterday you were dragged into the room like a dead dog and tormented all night. The door was closed and didn't open until dawn. I even put some small animal spies in the backyard. Do you think you could have slipped out at any time? Dream on!"

"Tsk." The believer naturally couldn't bring up the matter of the subspace passage to explain, so she had no choice but to give up for the time being.

Chapter 121 The Bet (Part 2)

In the opinion of the believer, the topic raised by Deedlit was not a misunderstanding worth being complacent about. In fact, if the misunderstanding persisted, it would gradually become a hidden danger for internal conflicts, which would be extremely detrimental to the harmonious development of the team. Therefore, he felt it was better to clarify the matter as soon as possible.

"Ahem, anyway, Deedlit, Eirin, it's not what you think. Although it's well-known that Rosetta girls are warm and generous, that's just the mainstream culture in the central region of the Tree Sea. My two friends grew up in very simple little villages in the Tree Sea, and so did I. After all, you know, I'm a Gozan dragon born in the Southern Continent, not the Far East. Because we grew up in the same village, the three of us have a pretty good personal relationship, but it hasn't developed to the stage you're thinking of, understand?"

The believer, who had been very skilled in rhetoric since childhood, casually fabricated a story about her background, while also distancing herself from any connection, at least in his view.

“Hearn, did you grow up in the forest and your brain turn into a wooden stump? Two girls are willing to share a room with you overnight, and you’re telling me it’s just a pure friendship? Wait, that’s not right. You were flirting with Miss Jiang Xue in Silver City every day, and the way you made Joshua furious didn’t seem like a blockhead!” Deedlit, from a woman’s perspective, easily pointed out the logical flaws in his words. “Oh, my captain, you’ve misunderstood. I didn’t mean to interfere in your private life, so you don’t need to make up such a far-fetched excuse.” "I'm just trying to appease them. After all, for people like us who're short on cash, the most important thing is to enjoy life while we can. In other words, once we get to a big city like Ulthuan, they might not refuse to open your door even if you knock on their door at night—but right now we're still halfway there, aren't we? They're worried that you won't get enough rest at night, and that you'll underperform during the day, getting smashed to the ground by a bunch of ogres that jump out halfway through the journey. You're our team's only punching bag! If you fall, the rest of us will just have to run away on our own!"

Yonglin, who was engrossed in eating, nodded in deep agreement. He had no confidence in his ability to escape. When he first left the Forest of Trees, he was captured by slave traders. If it weren't for Joshua, who happened to be passing by and rescued him, he would probably be an eighteen-year-old personal collection in the cellar of some rich man with unusual tastes or a rich woman with normal tastes.

"So that's what you two were worried about." The believer was too lazy to care how many strange things Deedlit had crammed into her long-winded explanation. Her gaze swept over the two of them, and seeing that the worry on their faces seemed genuine, she couldn't help but feel a warmth in her heart. "Relax, I can still separate business from personal matters. On the battlefield, I'm still as reliable as ever, so you can rest assured about that. Also, I've changed my mind. Since our group is small, we can go directly to Ulthuan via Mystariel's World Tree Nexus for the second half of the journey. We've had enough of sleeping in the wilderness."

"Great!" Deedlit's eyes lit up upon hearing this. "However, the teleportation fee to the World Tree Nexus is not cheap, especially for outsiders."

“Yeah, Hearn, Deedlit is one of their own kind and can travel for a low fee, but what about us?” Yonglin said with a pained expression, “The Forest Spirits and the Rosettas are old neighbors and old enemies. If we use the Forest Spirits’ teleportation hub, we’ll definitely get ripped off.”

“Yonglin, don’t forget that half of the operating rights of Mistariel are in the hands of the Rosetta people, so you Rosetta people can also pass through at a low cost. The only one who seems to be being ripped off right now is me, but I have a way to solve it. By the way, I will cover the expenses. I will ask that Far East princess for reimbursement later.”

"The boss is so generous!" Upon hearing that she didn't have to pay out of her own pocket, Deedlit jokingly raised her milk glass as if to offer a toast.

"May the boss be in good health!" Upon hearing that she didn't have to pay out of pocket, Yonglin followed suit and raised her glass to express her Druid-like best wishes.

"Get lost!" The believer glared at the group of money-grubbing bastards, cursing them with a smile, but still took one of their things.

However, since the topic of money has come up again, the believer has a new idea about clearing up the previous misunderstanding.

So he suggested it with a smile.

"Deedlit, since you still don't believe in the platonic relationships between men and women in our team, let's play another round."

"Oh, my boss, your lame excuse is not convincing at all to us girls. Since you're still so stubborn, then I'll play one more game with you two little boys."

"Wait, why did you drag me into this again?" Yonglin exclaimed in shock.

"Can you control your hands?" The two, who were arguing, turned their heads at the same time and asked in unison with smiles.

“I can’t control him.” Yonglin shook her head decisively.

If he could be controlled, he wouldn't have lost the first game this morning.

"Alright, tell me, what's the bet for this round?" Seeing that all three had already entered the game, Deedlit asked with interest.

"If there are three people, then I'll be the bookmaker," the woman confidently suggested, then began to explain the rules. "The premise of this bet is this: Miss Deedlit has seriously misjudged the relationship between me and Aozaki—or, as you call her in your own language, Miss Ayano—and as the bookmaker, I can tell you both that Miss Ayano and I are still in a cold war because of yesterday's conflict. As for my lack of sleep, it's because I slept on the roof all night. Of course, the veracity of all this information depends on whether you two believe it or not. Now, let me explain the betting parties and the odds—"

Firstly, after Miss Tian Lanlan comes downstairs and meets me, she throws a magic bullet in my face, with odds of 1:2.

Secondly, when Miss Tian Lanlan comes downstairs, she treats me like I'm invisible; the odds are 1:1.2.

Thirdly, after Miss Tian Lanlan came downstairs a little while later, she started arguing with me within three sentences, with odds of 1:1.5.

“Boss, hold on a minute. I feel like you’re playing the dealer’s game rather stingily. No matter what Yonglin and I bet on, it seems like you won’t lose too badly,” Deedlit pointed out incisively.

"I second that, I second that." Yonglin, who had lost five gold coins that morning, was also possessed by a madness.

"You two, I just couldn't bear to see you lose too badly, so I was too lazy to offer such cruel options." The believer glanced at these two precious creatures who didn't know the value of life with disdain, and then, being impulsive, announced, "Fine, since you're not afraid of death, then I'll play a big game with you—fourth, if Miss Tian Lanlan gives me even the slightest bit of a kind look after she comes downstairs, the odds will be 1:100."

"Great! I'm going to beat you up today, you bookmaker! I'm going all in on [four]!"

Deedlit tossed her purse in front of Mr. Hearn.

"Deedlit, it's not easy to make money in our line of work. Are you sure you want to stake your life savings?" The believer smiled and offered one last piece of advice.

“Boss, do you know what I like most about you? It’s that even though you’re such a ruthless person, you’re really lenient with girls. Don’t worry, who isn’t a young lady who’s just here to experience life? When we get to Ausuan, I’ll arrange a banquet at home to welcome us.” Deedlit didn’t take his advice seriously and instead gave him a flirtatious wink.

"My apologies, I'm sorry. So you two are noble young masters and ladies who are out experiencing life. In that case, I won't hold back any longer." The believer ignored the flirtatious glances from the amuse-seeker and cupped her hands in greeting.

“I’ve been represented again. Oh well, Hern, after this is over, if you’d like to visit the Rosetta Morning Star Council, I’ll arrange a banquet for you all.” Yonglin was thoroughly enjoying his current adventurous life. This was a time of freedom he had never experienced when he lived in the Sea of ​​Trees, trapped by his family’s circumstances. He cherished his mercenary friends and spoke with feeling.

"We'll talk about the future later. If you can do me a huge favor someday, I'd be willing to become sworn brothers with you. Enough talk, let's place our bets." Mr. Hern, the bookmaker, laughed nonchalantly. He could already hear footsteps coming down from the third floor. "Hurry, time is limited."

"Becoming sworn brothers with Mr. Hearn sounds pretty good, I get it!"

After a moment's hesitation, Yonglin, being a steady and cautious person, ultimately chose to bet 10 gold coins on the moderate option of "two".

"A wise choice." The maiden, who hadn't even intended to make money off Eirin, praised his decision. Then she looked at Deedlit, who was already caught up in the moment, and said, "You've placed your bet. Are you ready to go home and cry in your mother's arms, Deedlit?"

"Hey, it's not certain who will win yet," Deedlit said, making a face at him.

"It seems you won't give up until you hit a brick wall. Besides, the words you learned from the Far East guy sound really strange when pronounced with local grammar."

"Boss, instead of worrying about this, you should pay attention to the outcome of the bet."

"I don't know who gave you this confidence that allows you to go against the tide when the person in charge is fully aware of the information."

"It's not that anyone gave me confidence, it's just that you stinky men wouldn't understand."

"Huh? Why am I being dragged into this again?" Yonglin said that this was the third or fourth time this morning that she had been caught in the crossfire.

“A woman’s intuition,” Deedlit offered her reasoning with a touch of pride.

"Something vague and unreal." The believer scoffed at this reason and rolled her eyes.

"What are you doing?" someone asked from behind.

"I had nothing to do early in the morning, so I just played around a bit."

“Then I’ll bet on this.” Pandora peeked out from behind the believer’s right shoulder and pointed to option [four] with odds of 1:100.

"Go away, little kid, don't follow along and fool around." The believer came to her senses and shooed the peeking Pandora away. After circling around, Pandora returned with her tray and sat down to Mr. Hearn's right.

A moment later, that familiar red color appeared at the entrance to the second-floor open-air courtyard.

Yonglin instinctively held her breath.

Deedlit, looking completely unperturbed, leaned back in her wicker chair, glancing sideways as she observed the situation.

Mr. Hearn was equally confident, methodically spreading jam on the bread while mentally preparing himself for a few magic bullets.

Pandora stared at Mr. Hearn's face, a rare, faint, and gentle smile appearing on her usually indifferent face.

"Huh? Pandora, is there something on my face?" Mr. Hearn was slightly puzzled when he noticed the gaze, and the bread he was spreading with jam in his hand stopped halfway.

"No, it's nothing." Cinderella lowered her head slightly, hiding her violet eyes behind her bangs, her tone still gentle.

The believer was still completely confused, and in her confusion, the piece of bread with jam spread on it was also snatched away from her hand.

Aoko arrived empty-handed, pulled out a chair on the left and sat down next to Shinju, also taking the piece of bread with butter and jam from his hand.

Adhering to the basic professional ethics of a dealer, the woman suppressed her urge to lash out, maintaining a smile and silence, using both methods to silently protest against the culprit who had taken away her bread.

Under the blatantly protesting gaze of the woman, Aoko stopped halfway through eating the piece of bread she was about to put in her mouth. Her pale blue eyes stared at his obviously disgruntled expression for a moment, then glanced at the bread in her hand, and finally looked at the contents of the almost untouched plate in front of him.

"Ha, I thought you had already eaten." Aoko sighed subtly, stopped what she was doing, her gaze drifted into the distance for a moment before quickly returning to his face. Her expression was slightly conflicted for a moment, but then she quickly relaxed for some unknown reason.

The believer rarely saw such a complex expression of struggle and relief on the face of this confident and self-assured woman. For a moment, he was unsure of the situation, so he dropped his feigned protest and returned to calm.

"I just can't do anything with you," Aoko muttered to herself, leaning closer. She then smiled, picked up the piece of bread smeared with milk and honey, and gestured towards Nobunaga, "You stingy little thing, come on, open your mouth, ah—"

Early in the morning, a corner of the open-air courtyard on the second floor of Shiraki-tei was bathed in a pale golden sunlight.

Deedlit smiled and spread out her hands as if begging for money;

Yonglin used her fingers to calculate whether she had won or lost;

Pandora continued to observe everything with a gentle smile;

Aoko was stuffing bread into Shinjo's mouth;

The bewildered believer remained completely confused.

Chapter 122 Nostalgia

After breakfast, the group didn't linger and headed straight for the Small World Tree Nexus in Mystariel, proceeding through Ulthuan as planned.

The path leading to the towering ancient tree in the town center hadn't been taken the night before. The group was led by Deedlit, a local, while Nobunaga and Aoko followed behind, whispering to each other.

"You woke up to find you have two more errand boys. Why are they calling you boss now?" Aoko asked curiously, recalling Deedlit and Eirin's unusual behavior during dinner and the fact that Shinju was paying them. "Leaving aside that Forest Spirit whose achievements are practically limited to the Kingdom Ring, there's another one with your old nemesis's traitorous name. From now on, he'll be running around in front of you all the time. Doesn't he get a backache?"

"First of all, I want to clarify that when I was betrayed by that traitorous double agent, I was prepared to dismantle her into eight hundred million pieces, so the claim of lower back pain is unfounded. Secondly, I had no intention of recruiting either of them."

When the old story was brought up, the believer simply smiled and let it go.

"Then why do they call you boss?"

"The 'boss' they're referring to means 'sucker' or 'loser'."

Mentioning this made Xin Nu unhappy. With a dark face, he reviewed the gambling game that he had previously thought to be foolproof with Qing Zi beside him.

"You fool, why are you acting like a spendthrift woman?"

After hearing the details of the bet and considering the cause and effect, Qingzi couldn't help but feel disdainful while suppressing her laughter.

"Do you know how long I endured being called a 'spendthrift woman' while eating breakfast? And now you have the nerve to throw that back at me?" the woman retorted sarcastically. "And don't you think that as a woman, saying that also insults yourself?"

"Well, that's true. But it's an old habit. Although I haven't spoken in this tone for many years, it's undoubtedly a very long-standing bad habit. Now that it's been brought up again, who do you think is to blame?"

Aoko rested her chin on her thumb and pondered for a moment.