CHAPTER 482: WHERE’S THE VILLAGE CHIEF (1/2)

“Master~~”

Having spotted me from a distance away, Jezsere came galloping towards me while excitedly waving her hands. The moment she caught up to us, she leaped off Mo Ning and right into my arms, like a dog that had just found its long-lost owner.

Ahh… my adorable Jezsere is with me again and everything is right in the world… but… Mo Ning… can you not stick your horse face in mine… you’re blocking my heartwarming reunion with our resident timid girl. Also, don’t lick my face.

Now that we had ticked off the reunion with the servants event, our next mission was to safely reach the village of Lyon.

As for why safely… well… certain unfortunate accidents might happen if we were to bump into that massive crime scene nearby…

While bandits were undoubtedly the scum of the earth, Nicole was still a kind girl deep down, of that I was sure. I was worried that my methods would leave a bitter taste in her mouth. And all that talk about not caring about me… that was all a test… Yes… a test. She wanted to test if I was a bad person.

My Nicole is a kind girl! She would never knowingly leave me to die!

Since this was the first time we were all meeting, I decided to have a short round of introductions. Naturally, I was going to introduce myself as Mo Na, and definitely not Mo Ke.

“This girl here is Nicole, and her companion is Neneth. They are both Demon Hunters from the guild. They have the same goal as us: to take down that Vampire in Lyon. Oh right, Nicole, you may just address me as Mo Na.” Having said that, I then pointed at those gathered around me. “I’m sure you already know Regine. This here is my bodyguard, Zurnalin. The cute girl is Jezsere, my maid. And that’s Reyage, Jezsere’s elder brother and also my most trusted officer. That beautiful girl over that is the guide we hired, Jill.”

And that was all the introductions. Or at least it should have been, had it not been for Mo Ning neighing unhappily in my direction. Seeing that, I could only pat her horse head gently before adding on, “This is my steed, Mo Ning. Don’t let her looks fool you, she’s a very smart horse with the blood of a magical beast mixed into her bloodlines.”

Upon hearing that last bit, Nenenth’s eyes practically lit with admiration. As for Nicole… she was as unaffected as before.

“Okay, I’ll get to it immediately…” Said the bandit leader as he turned around to leave.

“Hold on.”

The bandit leader turned around and looked at me confused.

“Take the shortest route instead.”

At that, the bandit leader almost fell over as he immediately did a complete one eighty to the opposite direction. “Right. Right. I know just such a shortcut. Over here… but it might be a little… unsuitable for horses…”

“Just lead the way.”

“All right…”

Short that exchange might have been, but I knew that Nicole would get a little suspicious of me because of that. That was why I decided to nip that problem in the bud with an excuse I prepared well beforehand.

“It’s getting late now and we still have some ways to go before we reach Lyon. If we can arrive at the village before nightfall, we might even be able to set up some preparations against the Vampire.”

At that, Nicole curtly nodded her head; clearly she was in agreement with my idea.

As for Neneth… she was all excited and clapping. “That’s brilliant, Sister Mo Na. You even thought so far ahead… not at all like Neneth… she’s so stupid in comparison…”

Now that the conversation was suddenly about her, Neneth couldn’t help but lower her head a little, as if to say, pat me now.

Seeing this cute side of her, I couldn’t help but smile a little as I gently comforted her till she finally smiled back.

Our current location was roughly ten kilometers away from Lyon. Because the bandits did not have any horses, we ended up taking longer than necessary. However, that bandit leader ended up finding us a shortcut as he promised. It was a hidden route, and not at all suited for horses as he warned us. Even so, we still managed to reach the village before nightfall.

On the surface, Lyon didn’t seem all that different from an ordinary village. However, there was a palpable sense of gloom cast over the entire village. The villagers were all hidden in their homes and only whispers could be heard throughout the village. Had this been an ordinary village, we would have already seen children running about the streets, playing without a care in the world. Yet everyone was now locked up tight in their homes, as if they wanted nothing more than to permanently seal the windows and doors.

“The sky is turning dark, if there is no other instruction, we’ll be off then…”