After choosing to leave, they regretted it.

This speech, which was so soft that it was almost inaudible, was like a heavy slap in the face, hitting Heidi's face with a loud bang.

Aize is gone? Where did he go?

The smug smile froze in an instant, and his mind went blank, but he still subconsciously stepped aside, held his breath, and listened carefully with his ears perked up.

In fact, she could have walked out and asked directly, but that would have made her seem a little impatient, so she didn't.

A female Knight Commander sighed and said:

"You know Lord Aize's temper. He wouldn't even take an extra horse. How could he possibly allow the Knights, who are on a mission, to escort him?"

"Speaking of which... Alas, why doesn't he wait a little longer? When he returns to the Holy City, we can..."

"Still waiting!?"

A knight commander who had remained silent all this time spoke, his tone filled with dissatisfaction and anger, so much so that his voice trembled.

"You don't know what happened in the tent this afternoon. I heard it all! Lady Leah, you want to put all the blame for this heavy loss on Lord Aize. If you still want to leave after we return, you might even be arrested by the Inquisition!"

Aize was indeed very popular among the soldiers, but this did not help his predicament.

Including the Knight Commander, ordinary people have no right to ask about the internal affairs of the Brave Squad and have no qualifications to speak.

Even if he said it, it would probably only stimulate Leia and make her become more extreme - so even Aize himself would stop those subordinates who wanted to help him stand up for justice.

"Scouts reported earlier that there are a large number of deserters, bandits, and slave traders active on the road from Anlin Plain to Tafiafa. If we encounter them..."

"Stop being such a jinx! How many enemies has Lord Aize killed? How could he fall to this rabble?"

"I'm worried about his injuries!? Well, I actually sent someone to secretly follow him in the evening to protect him, but they were discovered and then shrugged off... So, he should be fine, right?"

"What do you mean by 'should'? It's definitely okay, for sure!!"

The chatter continued, but Heidi, hiding in the dark, could no longer bear it and her stomach was churning.

That stupid woman, does she even know what she has done?

In this team, if one had to pick someone irreplaceable, it would be Aize, not her—after all, this guy with muscles in his brain was good for nothing except fighting.

Without Aize, the team itself would collapse and be unable to continue. Not to mention, wouldn't those nobles who were suppressed by him suddenly revolt?

If that happens, Heidi will be in big trouble, and she might even lose her royal status.

I've been through this for two years, how come in just this short time when I was unconscious, such a huge mess happened!?

After several minutes of warm and friendly blessings to Leia's ancestors in her heart, she calmed down a little and squatted in the shadows, covering her painful forehead.

"No, no... We must find him before this incident causes any real consequences!"

Even if we rush into the tent and chop Leah to pieces now, it won’t solve any problems. We still have to pull Aize back quickly.

The princess, having made up her mind, stood up and silently pondered what she had just overheard.

"Tafia... the border city of Tafia. Without a horse, if we go after them now, we should still be in time!!"

Chapter 5: Border City of Tafia

Aize slumped on the bench with a tired look on his face, squinting his eyes at the sky above his head.

It was noon by then, and most of the day had passed since he left the military camp and ran away.

In the past ten hours or so, his luck has been quite good.

Not only did they not encounter the expected threats, but they also met a village convoy on the way to the market. After hitchhiking, they quickly arrived at their first destination - the border city of Tafia.

Now, Aize is in the center of the city.

Various facilities and shops are arranged around the beautiful circular plaza paved with bricks and stones, and roads like blood vessels extend in all directions from this heart-like part.

Coming and going on these roads were countless residents, merchants, travelers, and guards, among whom were also a few children playing and fighting.

It is hard to imagine that not far from this scene is the front line of the war between humans and demons.

Only the ubiquitous patrols and the tall and thick city walls at the end of the sky can bring a sense of tension.

Historically, Tafea was just an unknown little town for a long time.

However, with the start of this, the largest war between humans and demons in thousands of years, one city after another fell, the situation continued to deteriorate, and eventually this place became the front line.

With a large amount of investment and proper management by local nobles, this place has been built into a solid barrier to block the advance of the demons, and also a commercial center and material storage place on the front line.

It can be regarded as a kind of deformed prosperity based on war.

Of course, as long as you don't consider these annoying cause and effect relationships and ignore the demon army that may attack at any time, this place is still quite suitable for living.

However, looking at the scene in front of him, Aize now felt confused.

What to do?

As mentioned before, he doesn't like time travel, and of course he doesn't like this world.

Don't even understand this world.

For two years, all I thought about and did were team-related matters, all in an effort to end everything as quickly as possible so that the so-called goddess would let me go home.

The twisted work that was almost torture, the completely ignored personal demands, and the various pressures from teammates all seemed insignificant to Aize's stretched-to-the-limit string.

But now, this string is broken.

My motivation, goals, and everything else were shattered into pieces, and I was at a loss for a moment.

It’s not that he has any thoughts of going back, that’s absolutely impossible.

But it was still unclear where to go next - my suddenly empty brain was still in a state of extreme discomfort and couldn't move for a while.

It's like a workaholic on vacation, sad and ridiculous.

The result was that he had been sitting on this bench for a long time, like a salted fish drying in the sun.

“Hu…cough cough cough——”

After taking a long breath, Xianyugan... no, Aize finally stood up and made his first difficult decision after leaving the team -

Have a full meal first.

The high-intensity fighting has been going on for a week. Yesterday's general offensive lasted from dawn to dusk, during which time I didn't even have a bite of dry food or a sip of water.

Unfortunately, I chose to open the car before dinner. After a bumpy ride all night, I went into the city and spent half a day thinking about life in this ghost place.

It's literally like they're on opposite sides of each other.

No matter what you do next, you have to fill your stomach first.

"As for the commercial street, it seems to be heading east... huh?"

The moment he took a step forward, a flash of black in his sight caught Aize's attention.

It was a cat, pure black.

He sat motionless on the busy street, staring at me inexplicably, like a statue. His sapphire-blue eyes seemed to contain some inexplicable emotion.

"Go to hell, do you really think I'm a worthless fish?"

Aize was not in a good mood either. After waving his hand casually to send the other person away, he followed the dense flow of people and came to a more prosperous and wide street.

The commercial street is the most lively area in Tafia. With the market going on today, it is even more crowded - this is really a bit unfriendly for the injured Aize.

The same is true for restaurants, hotels and other places, most of which are crowded and noisy.

Except for one family.

In a remote corner of the street, there is a very old shop. While the shops around it are already full, there are only a few customers here.

It stands to reason that there is something wrong with this kind of store, but Aize just wanted to find a quiet place to eat something, so he didn't care and walked straight in.

The moment I passed the store door, a small figure came towards me:

"Welcome, are you alone, big brother?"

A young girl...or even a little girl would be more appropriate.

He looks much younger than Aize, only twelve years old at most. According to the standards of the original world, this is 100% child labor.

The little girl is very cute. Under her smooth black hair are very symmetrical and beautiful facial features. The most eye-catching thing is her blood-red pupils.

She was wearing a cute maid-like outfit, which, when combined with the matching headdress, perfectly matched the child's appearance.

But if you look closely, you can see that the stitching is a bit crooked in some places and the fabric looks a bit rough. It must have been sewn by yourself using cheap materials.

Aize nodded.

"Yes, alone."

"Please sit here. What would you like to eat?"

The little girl skillfully brought Aize to a seat in the corner, and a simple menu was placed in front of him almost immediately. Coupled with her calm and generous attitude, she exuded a maturity that was inconsistent with her age from head to toe.

Aize glanced at it casually.

"Hmm... ahem, bread, barbecue, and some water... ahem—that'll be all..."

After all, he ran away from home on a whim, so Aize had very little money with him and had to be frugal.

"it is good……"

The little girl nodded, but her eyes were fixed on Aize's face.

"Are you feeling unwell, big brother?"

"Well, a little bit..."

Although he was not vomiting blood and looking dead at any time like yesterday, the witch's curse was still eroding his body, and the situation was definitely not optimistic.

The little girl heard this, shook her head and said:

"Your complexion is quite serious. You should go see a doctor right away. There's a very good doctor nearby. Do you want me to lead the way?"

A curse of this level certainly couldn't be cured by just any doctor, and going would be a waste of time—and money.

"No, that's not necessary. We'll talk about it later. Just bring the food up quickly."

As if to confirm Aize's statement, his stomach made a long and sad sound at the perfect moment.

The little girl was stunned for a moment, then smiled and nodded:

"I see! Big brother's order has been received. Please wait a moment!"

As she spoke, the little girl quickly walked behind the counter and said something to a man in his thirties wearing a hat who looked like the boss.

soon--

"Awaited!"

A piece of freshly baked bread, a large piece of grilled meat sprinkled with seasonings, and a large bowl of steaming broth. It looks great and smells great too.

But Aize frowned.

"Um, well, I don't think I ordered any broth? And the amount of barbecue, it looks like more than one serving, right?"

Considering the strange lack of business in the store, Aize couldn't help but wonder if this was a forced sale or something...

However, the little girl smiled and shook her head.

"Don't worry, this is a gift from the store."

"What?"

"Big brother, you're not feeling well, and you seem very hungry. If a customer comes here with great difficulty and can't eat enough, it would be too embarrassing for our shop~"

"Uh--"

At this moment, Aize blushed for his sinister thoughts. It was time to correct his habitual thinking that everyone was a bad guy.

"Well, please enjoy! Feel free to call me if you need anything~"

The little girl bowed slightly and left to attend to other matters. Aize was stunned for a moment, shook his head, and decided not to think too much and started eating.

He picked up the knife and fork, cut a piece of meat, put it in his mouth, and began to chew slowly. His expression lit up at first, and then slowly sank.

“…It tastes good, why is there no business?”

Chapter 6: Hybrids

After finishing his main meal after more than a day in a flash, Aize sat down, digesting his food while looking around the store he was in.