"Hmm hmm hmm hmm…" Liu Ying hummed happily while caressing the small animal on her shoulder.
"… Can you stop that?" Regina asked with a fed-up look.
"What? Are you jealous of my pet?" Liu Ying shot Regina a provocative look.
Regina snorted. "I already have Tito and Leto." She said while pointing to the puppy and the wolf walking behind them.
"They are not yours, they are Bloed's."
"Everything that is master's is mine as well."
Liu Ying was speechless. How much did Regina hate to lose?
Having won the fight, Regina smiled victoriously. Liu Ying snorted and looked away to continue playing with her new pet.
Liu Ying's pet was a small horned ferret. It had amber-colored metallic skin and two small ears that moved around constantly.
In terms of size and function, it was the same as Tito. It could turn into a set of armor at will, enhancing Liu Ying's attributes and granting her a greater defense plus a defensive force field (mana barrier).
The only difference with Tito (besides the shape and the color) was its energy source. It did not work using matter-to-energy conversion through [Molecular Disintegration], and instead, used Liu Ying's mana as fuel.
Liu Ying was very satisfied with her new pet. She had always been jealous of Bloed's two pets. They were not only cool and cute but also very useful in battle. The perfect battle pets.
So, now that she had one, Liu Ying could not hide her excitement.
"By the way, how did you name it?" Bloed asked curiously.
"Liu Liu. What do you think? Cute, right?"
"It's good." Bloed nodded.
Liu Liu the ferret opened its eyes and yawned. It then jumped down from Liu Ying's shoulder and looked at the two pets walking behind it.
Leto just gave it a glance before ignoring it again. Tito, on the other hand, was much more curious about its new companion. It jumped and circled around the ferret while barking playfully.
Unfortunately, it seemed that Liu Liu did not share its feelings, because it extended its front paw and slapped Tito's head annoyed.
Tito whimpered sadly before growling.
Then–
A game of tag between Tito and Liu Liu started.
"Hey Tito, don't bully Liu Liu!" Liu Ying shouted in panic.
"… I think it was Liu Liu who bullied Tito first, though…"
With an exasperated sigh, Bloed shook his head and observed the streets of Diadel City.
Wide streets where luxurious carriages passed through, fat merchants and businessmen selling merchandise, beautiful women wearing bright clothes and revealing clothes, and elegant men flirting with them. At a single glance, this city seemed much more prosperous than Calice City.
It was normal, though. Calice was in the end, just a border city. Despite the huge number of adventurers and hunters that lived on it, it could not be compared to a duchy capital like Diadel City.
Plus, Diadel was better in terms of restaurants and luxury facilities. Calice City was more like a city for warriors, so the businesses on it were more focused on weapons and armor.
Bloed sighed in admiration. To be honest, even Bloed was slightly amazed by the beauty of this city.
"I wonder Where we can get the information we need." Bloed blurted his thoughts aloud.
"What about a tavern?" Liu Ying suggested. "Or you can also try with an information broker. Mm, my family had their own information network, so I don't know much about the normal ways to go through it."
Bloed nodded while thinking about Liu Ying's suggestions. A tavern or an information broker seemed like a good place to start.
In a world without news and with limited communication between countries, information about faraway places was very hard to find. This was not like on earth where you only needed to use the internet to get information about almost any city in the world.
Thus, if Bloed wanted to learn more about Academy City, he needed to find a channel specialized in the trade of information.
While Bloed was thinking about where he could find an information broker, Regina frowned.
"Master, someone is watching us."
"Mm?" Bloed was startled. "Do you mean there is someone following us?"
Regina thought for a moment before shaking her head. "No, it's different. They are not following us. They are just watching us… It's hard to explain, but I have felt more than fifteen strange gazes since we exited the inn. Most of the time, it's only one gaze each time, but sometimes, we are observed by two people at the same time. I thought I was imagining things, but now I'm sure."
Bloed frowned. "In other words, some group or organization is keeping an eye on our movements, right?"
"I fear that is the case, master. They hid their intentions very well, but they can't escape my senses." Regina nodded.
"Are you sure?" Liu Ying showed a surprised expression. "Why would someone follow us? I don't think we have offended anyone in this city… Could it be, have them discovered something about us?" Liu Ying's expression turned grave.
Bloed and Regina looked at each other. with just a look, the pair of master and servant came to the same conclusion.
'The kingdom of Alterna! Sebastian!'
Bloed glanced at Liu Ying and thought about telling her the truth. After a moment, he sighed and made up his mind. If they were truly being chased by the kingdom, then Liu Ying should know. They were companions after all.
First, though, he needed to confirm his suspicions.
With an ice-cold look, Bloed nodded to Regina.
"Do you think you can locate them, Regina?"
"… Yes, master. Wait a moment, I'll find a target that we can attack without causing a commotion."
...
P4TRE0N: patr-eon.com/aidnovels