Nico followed Arman in search of a ride. They walked along the road until someone picked them up. The view there was beautiful, with a road that ran along the seaside. They could see the crashing waves and feel the warm sea breeze. On the left side of the road, there were fields of green plants as far as the eye could see.
Nico had no idea where they were going. All he knew was that he wanted to stick with Arman, no matter where they went, even to the ends of the earth.
They hitchhiked for about two hours, passing Hurlford and Stonehouse in process, until they finally arrived at a settlement on the outskirts of Edinburgh.
"Why are we here?" Nico asked as they entered shopping alley.
"I want to buy you some clothes," Arman replied.
"Huh? Really? But why?" Nico asked in confusion.
"I just want to," Arman said.
Nico looked at Arman with confusion. Throughout his life, no one had ever cared about him, which made him puzzled by Arman's behavior. Nico began to think about what he could do for Arman to repay him.
A man who looked unfriendly watched as they entered his shop. He seemed to dislike seeing a destitute childlike Nico entering his shop, especially with Arman's strange-looking armor.
"Can I help you?" the seller asked curtly.
"I want to buy clothes for a child his size," Arman replied.
The seller then looked at them dismissively. "There, in the corner, you can find some," he said, pointing to a pile of old clothes.
Seeing the seller's reaction, Arman understood. They were mistaken as poor customers.
Arman wanted to retaliate against the seller's treatment, but suddenly he remembered something.
"Wait a minute," Arman said as he remembered. True enough, when Arman opened his wallet, he cursed loudly. "Why do I only have Etereum here? I need Euros," he said in frustration.
"I'm sorry. I don't think I can buy anything now," Arman said to Nico. "I forgot to exchange my money."
However, as they were about to leave, the seller suddenly said, "I don't know if you're putting on an act, but that was successful. Just take it. It's been on clearance for a long time. Nobody has bought it. I won't lose anything if you take some."
"Really?" Nico asked happily and the shop owner nodded.
"Thank you, sir!" said Nico.
The seller looked surprised to see Nico innocently taking the old clothes to wear in a happy manner. It made him feel a little guilty, especially when he heard Nico's stomach growling frequently. The shop owner immediately went in and gave Nico a piece of bread to fill his stomach.
Nico then immediately bowed his head and thanked him sincerely. He didn't understand why there were people who were kind to him. This had never happened in Florence. He was used to being opposed and kicked around everywhere. It seems like his life was really cursed in Florence.
Despite the bread looking hard and unappetizing, Nico ate it eagerly as if it was the most delicious thing he had ever tasted. He hadn't eaten since the day before yesterday, so anything would taste good to him once it was in his mouth.
Arman smiled as well. Although they were initially underestimated, now he too felt grateful towards the store owner. They left after Nico changed his clothes.
After that, Nico and Arman went to the library. The library was known only to certain people and was difficult to access because it had no library label at all from the outside. When Nico entered the library, he immediately felt something different. The books there were not neatly arranged and most were left lying on the floor. The bookshelves looked old and neglected.
After passing through several doors, Nico finally arrived in a huge hall that was crowded with people and tables. The tables were surrounded by various people wearing all sorts of clothes, as if they came from different parts of the world. Arman then took Nico to the largest table in the middle of the hall. The table there was filled with various items such as documents, newspapers, broken swords, and tools. It seemed like they were trading and exchanging goods on the table. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except that many items they are trading were unusual objects with peculiar shapes.
"As usual, Arman?" asked an old man sitting in the middle of the table while holding a book. His glasses appeared to be broken. Neither Arman nor the people there seemed to care that he left them broken like that.
"Yes," said Arman as he tossed a knight-embossed coin to the old man.
"Wait. Hm... Who's this? Why do you always bring discarded products?" said a black, fat man sitting next to the old man. His face looked really annoying. But seeing Nico's small and undernourished goblin-like body, Nico just stayed quiet.
"I know more than you do, Fergus," said Arman as he snorted.
"You're not bringing another failed knight, are you? The one you brought earlier had to go home with his parents yesterday. He was dragged across the floor crying from hunger. I told him not to come back for ... ever," Fergus said with a chuckle.
"That bear. It's his fault for being too fat," said the tall-thin man next to Fergus.
"Consider it a mistake. I thought there was something behind his fat," said Arman annoyed.
"No, I think you need to retire. You're too old, Arman. Your abilities are not like they used to be. Just look at the child you're bringing now. He. looks too young and ..." the tall-thin man said hesitantly, unable to find the right words to finish his sentence.
"Like a trash heap, right, William?" Fergus interjected, agreeing with the tall-thin man named William.
Nico scowled at Fergus words. Fergus had been belittling him all this time. He wasn't insulted by his words, as he was often called trash, but Fergus annoying face really made Nico angry. Nico thought he should punch him, but seeing Fergus, who was fat and big, Nico doubted his hand could do any damage to his face.
"Watch your words, Fergus, or should I throw this sword at your face?" said Arman as he reached for the rusty sword on the edge of the table.
"You can try," challenged Fergus.
"Be quiet, both of you," said the old man coldly. Fergus and Arman seemed to respect the old man with the broken glasses because they both suddenly fell silent.
"William's words are not wrong. You need to consider that, Arman. I don't feel anything from this child. Maybe your fate detection ability is fading."
"Just two weeks and he'll be whining, I don't think he can handle it. Basic training is not something that can be learned by this weakling," Fergus said disdainfully.
"What did you say? Weakling? Huh! Indeed, this child's aura is weak. But it was he who just destroyed the car in Florence over there, Fergus. So shut your mouth!"
Those who heard Arman's words were taken aback. Some eyes began to look at Nico curiously. People there seemed to be looking around wanting to see Nico's figure.
"It seems like the news of him destroying the car has reached here," Arman said.
"Hm... interesting. Interesting." The old man took his eyes off the book and looked at Nico intently.
"Is Arman lying, or did your aura manage to escape from this old man's detection ability?"
"So?" Arman asked impatiently.
"Let him go," the old man said. "Work is work. Arman has used his knight coin for this."
Fergus sighed disappointedly. He stood up and said, "I warned you all. I hope this boy doesn't whine and ask to go home again after he gets there."
"There? Where are we going?" Nico asked, confused.