Capítulo 1559: Chapter 1559: Alu
Just as I was thinking about what to buy as a gift for the folks back ho, soone suddenly grabbed the edge of my shirt from behind.
Turning my head, I saw a short-haired girl who was quite petite.
The unfamiliar little girl was dressed in a shabby yellow cloth short-sleeved shirt and shorts. She looked thin and small, but her expression was brimming with energy. Her skin was slightly dark, and her big eyes shone with an irrepressible spirit and liveliness. With her shoulder-length light yellow hair adorned with so sparkling small tal pieces, this unique outfit made her stand out among the local civilians, prompting to take another few glances, but no matter how many looks… I still didn’t recognize her.
“What’s up? Need so help?” I figured I surely didn’t know any locals here, and my attire was as close to the local fashion as possible, so there should be nothing special that stood out. Perhaps this little girl in front of was just lost and looking for help?
“You’re a foreigner, right?” The spirited little girl spoke in a crisp voice, her bright, shiny eyes audaciously scanning up and down. Nodding her head, she concluded, “Want a guide? I’m Alu, the… uh, the guide around here! I specialize in showing newcors and adventurers around! I know where all the taverns and shops are and even where the blacksmith shop is! Do you need a guide? It’s just twenty copper coins a day~”
“Guide?” I was taken aback for a mont, then looked around in surprise: A small village built along the river, without the surrounding walls, I might even think it’s a wild village. This place with only a few hundred households actually developed a tourism industry?
Moreover, nothing about this place looks like a tourist spot. Look at the farmland outside town, check out the ordinary houses along the streets, the bare-bottod kiddies running around by the haystacks, and that undeniably primitive big forest in the distance… Hmm, maybe the last one has so interest, but other than that, nothing here looks like a tourist attraction. Or maybe the aesthetics and lifestyles of the people on this planet are uniquely distinct, turning this ordinary riverside town into a tourist destination?
The self-proclaid Alu seed to catch my confusion and imdiately started bouncing around: “It’s not lively now, but soon it’ll get bustling here! Then, you won’t find a guide as affordable as ! And when adventurers start coming in droves, competition will beco fierce, right? If you wander alone like this, you’ll definitely fall behind. Although I’m not that familiar with the deep forest… I know the periphery very well! I can take you into the forest for just an additional twenty copper coins! And I can arrange lodging for you, too. My family used to run an inn… Well, we still have lots of rooms now; it’s just twenty copper coins a night!”
The little girl babbled on, filling in her own story without saying a word. However, I wasn’t bothered by what she misunderstood for; I was curious about one thing: “Why is everything twenty copper coins?”
“Fair and square pricing, with no swindling the young or old! Alu always does business with a fixed price!” explained the little girl with an apparently irrelevant excuse, then tugged at my shirt again, “Co on, co on, first to the tavern, then the general store, and finally the blacksmith shop… Don’t adventurers follow this routine? I’m very professional!”
Just as I was left speechless, unsure how to clear up the misunderstanding, Sandora’s voice suddenly echoed in my mind: “Anyway, we don’t have a target. Why not follow this little girl to learn about the locals’ lives?”
“Alright, then I’ll let you lead the way.” I laughed and patted the self-proclaid Alu on the head, simultaneously using my observation skills to secretly manufacture so local currency for the guide fee. It’s much easier to ss around in a technologically backward world like this; at least the currency is primitive. Making copper coins is much easier than credit cards and anti-counterfeiting chips…
Alu looked at in surprise, seemingly not expecting soone would actually let her lead the way. Instantly, I wondered if I’d been duped. But soon, the little girl quickly brushed aside her surprise and happily ran to the side: “Co on, co on~! I’ll take you to the tavern first! There are many adventurers here, gathering in the last few days, and they’re amazing!”
“She doesn’t look like a guide, does she?” I muttered in the spiritual connection, “Who leaves their client behind and skips ahead so eagerly?”
“She doesn’t look like a guide to either,” Sandora, invisibly hovering beside my head, added, “But maybe it’s just a kid’s nature.”
The doubts in my mind were nurous. For instance, how did this little girl, Alu, discern my foreigner identity and how did she assu I was an adventurer? Why would such a small riverside town have a guide service, and what did she an by things soon getting bustling here? With my late-stage, pervasive OCD, if I didn’t get to the bottom of these questions, I’d be restless day and night. So I quickly caught up with the little “guide” skipping quickly ahead and, assuming the role of a newcor, struck up a conversation: “So, how did you figure out I’m a foreigner? My outfit should look just like a local’s, right?”
“It’s easy to spot a foreigner!” Alu boasted boldly, “I know everyone in this town! So if I don’t recognize soone, they must be a foreigner.”
: “…” That’s quite a thod of identification!?
Fortunately, the little girl hadn’t finished: “Besides, your behavior is like a foreigner’s. You’re not familiar with the roads here, you’re interested in common market items, and you hesitate a lot when buying things, unsure of what to choose. That’s a giveaway you’ve co from out of town. I’m a professional guide; spotting soone in need of help from the crowd is a basic survival skill. By the way, do you want a map of this place? A map of the town and surrounding ten miles, just twenty copper coins!”
The girl spoke convincingly at first, but her true nature was quickly betrayed again: Is this the only number she knows in her life?
I nodded, then watched as Alu pulled out a crumpled piece of yellow grass paper from the pocket of her short-sleeved shirt: “Here, twenty copper coins! Paynt on delivery!”
Although it seed like a scam, I still counted twenty copper coins into the little girl’s hand and took the crumpled paper ball, spreading it out to find indeed I’d been scamd: this one-foot-square, awkwardly-cut piece of grass paper had a crudely drawn map doodled on it with a blackish charcoal pencil. Look at those childlike tree icons, the childlike evil dog markers, and the childlike cheerful sun… I drew similar things before second grade, and Little Baobao at ho draws similar things to this day. Truth be told, Baobao’s drawings are more orderly.
This is the map for twenty copper coins, evidently sothing Alu drew herself, and more importantly…
I rubbed the map with my hand and imdiately realized I’d need to wash up: this thing smudges! She had drawn it with charcoal!
“I can tell from this map that we’re definitely being scamd,” I whispered in the spiritual connection with Sandora, “No matter how unreliable a guide is, they wouldn’t sell sothing like this for real money, right?”
“You’re the one being conned, I didn’t tell you to buy anything,” Sandora Ball teased as she floated above little Alu’s head, though the latter was unaware, “Keep following her, let’s see what else this kid has up her sleeve.”
Alu, looking quite thrilled, pocketed the handful of copper coins, and all signs pointed to her not expecting to make any money. This further convinced she was just a mischievous kid. But being quite experienced and patient with such kids, I decided to humor her. After she put away the copper coins, I patted her hair: “Speaking of which… what did you an when you said it’d soon get bustling here?”
“You don’t know?” Alu shook her head, indicating she didn’t need to be patted, then looked at with surprise, “Aren’t you an adventurer? Or are you just passing through?”
The person opposite had an obvious look of disappointnt on her face, as if she would turn around and leave as long as she confird that the person in front of her wasn’t an “adventurer.” Although I didn’t know what was going on, I decided to keep the misunderstanding going, so I gathered my experience in bluffing over the years and tried to make the lie as believable as possible: “Of course, I’m an adventurer. But you see, I ca here alone, so my information isn’t very, umm… I didn’t expect so many people to co, I thought I was the only one drawn here. Aren’t you a guide? Tell what you know.”
“Oh, so that’s it,” Alu didn’t seem to think much of my vague explanation and looked excited when the topic was ntioned, “It’s because of the ruins in the forest, of course! The recently discovered Ancient Tower has been spread to the Kingdom Capital, and the Priest of the Church has issued permission for exploration. As a result, a lot of adventurers have co here at once! Isn’t that how it works in novels? A naless small village suddenly has a mystic ancient ruin nearby, then many powerful adventurers arrive to defeat the monsters in the ruins, and the earlier adventurers find it easier to beco heroes. Even the local kids who led the way for hero adventurers later beca famous scholars on the continent… Alu will soon et many great adventurers! Then I’ll beco famous too!”
I suddenly understood what this little girl was up to… I told her that kids should study well and not read so many extracurricular books!
But after removing Alu’s chūnibyō fantasies, the remaining information was still useful: it seed this seemingly ordinary River Town was indeed about to beco lively, and the reason for the buzz was the discovery of sothing called the “Ancient Tower” in the Big Forest beside it? Could this Ancient Tower be related to the severance of civilization?
Sandora and I decided on the spot to take a tour with Alu to get a general understanding of the town and then take so ti to explore the forest, we might just discover sothing interesting.
And the little girl Alu, whose head was full of “getting to know adventurers and becoming as aweso as in the novels, then traveling the continent to beco a famous scholar,” quickly led us to our first destination, a small tavern that didn’t look much bigger than the noodle shops common on Earth streets. It sounded quite lively inside.
“Here it is!” Alu shouted at the tavern door, “This is the ho of adventurers! Your journey starts here!”
As soon as Alu finished speaking, out ran a dwarf lady with a length-to-width ratio of about one to one, who grabbed Alu’s ear and let out a He Dong Lion’s roar: “Little girl, causing trouble again! Go ho and dream your dreams! This is the River Valley Tavern! Last year it was called the Forest Tavern! The year before last it was the Pork Bone Soup Tavern! And before that, back to my grandpa’s generation, it wasn’t the ho of adventurers! You… oh, sorry, didn’t see there were guests at the door, did you co to eat?”
The dwarf lady raised her eyes and saw standing awkwardly three ters away, and she imdiately felt embarrassed. This stout lady, whose length equaled her width, put Alu aside and greeted with the unique friendliness and shrewdness of a street vendor, smiling and saying, “You weren’t swindled by Alu, were you? She’s always dreaming big, don’t mind her… you’re not a local, are you?”
: “…” Has my disguise technique deteriorated over the years? How does everyone imdiately realize I’m not familiar with this place? And it’s always at first glance!
However, with one sentence, the dwarf lady completely revealed Alu’s true nature, she really was just a reckless kid who talked big, but this girl showed no awareness of being exposed at all, not even an embarrassed expression, just making faces at the dwarf lady for a while before pulling towards the tavern, “Aunt Pasali, the bad-tempered loudmouth lady, hmph, just wait and see, this tavern will definitely beco a gathering place for adventurers, eventually, Aunt Pasali, you’ll be responsible for distributing tasks to adventurers! Co, I’ll show you around and get familiar with the atmosphere here…”
The dwarf tavernkeeper glared fiercely at Alu, but it seed that the latter was so often mischievous that no one could discipline her, so the tavernkeeper could only glare at her and then turned to with a smile, explaining as she walked in with , “Don’t mind her, this kid is a well-known ‘character’ in our town, always fantasizing about things that aren’t realistic. As the number of adventurers in town increases, she’s beco even harder to manage. Just don’t take anything she says seriously, and I’ll inform her family later.”
Alu jumped and shouted from behind, “Aunt Pasali, that’s prejudice! I’m working hard to earn money for the family!”
The response was another glare.
I smiled indifferently, “It’s fine. I’m new here and don’t know the place well, this little girl has really shown around quite a bit. By the way… you discovered a relic nearby, right?”
I tried to speak only of what I already knew to avoid saying anything strange, as for the ti the naughty kid Alu tricked out of twenty copper coins with a hand-drawn map… ha, let’s not bring that up, after all, it’s fun to play with kids.
Pasali bead, “Relics, indeed, they’ve attracted quite a few people recently, but it’s also a good thing, business has been much better for us. Previously, only those looking to buy things from the Elves would pass by, now in just a few days, this place has beco bustling.”
I turned my head to look at the street not far away, indeed lively, previously when I looked at the town’s scenery from outside, I only thought it was bustling with people, now I understood the relic situation and upon closer inspection realized that indeed many people didn’t seem like civilians… they should all be from foreign places.
Probably because so many outsiders have co, the town’s residents are more than prepared to et strangers, which is why Alu and Pasali could imdiately guess that I was also from outside—after all, in a tiny town like this, residents have so impression of each other, even if they haven’t t, they can tell whether soone has the local “taste” at a glance.
Wherever you go, outsiders stand out in these small towns where neighbors are close enough to hear each other’s dogs and chickens.
The little tavern was simply furnished with nothing special about its structure, but there were lots of custors for sure. Alu tugged around but couldn’t find an empty table, so in the end, we had to find a spot against the wall, sharing a table with two diners who looked like they had been there a while. It wasn’t until I sat down that I rembered—had I ever said I was here to drink and eat?
Why was I pulled in by this mischievous, odd little girl!? Wasn’t it just sightseeing, no spending?
“It ans this little girl indeed has a guiding streak,” the Sandora Ball landed invisibly on the table in front of , rolling around and making sarcastic remarks, “Whether you’re interested or not, you’ll visit all around, whether you want to buy anything or not, you’ll spend a little. But I’d advise you not to stay here too long… others eating while I’m watching, it makes prone to going mad.”
: “…” I realized Sandora might be in a state of prolonged edginess for the next few days.
But since I was already seated, leaving now would be sowhat inappropriate (mainly seeing that stout dwarf lady blocking the door was a bit intimidating), so I raised my hand to call the busy waitress flitting between tables to bring so small dishes and drinks. Since I had no idea what this world had, I let her choose what to serve, also to play the part of a traveler from afar. anwhile, Alu sat down next to , regaling with stories of the town and the fierce monsters in the forest, the tales animated and vivid—from the brave resistance against the plains’ savages by the pioneers who founded the town, to the dangerous and terrifying Ancient Giant Monsters in the Big Forest nearby, to the Royal Knights periodically fighting off invaders from foreign countries on the plains outside town, one tale after another was rich and colorful, lively and vivid. I sorted through her stories and concluded: if even half of her stories were true, the current area of this town would have to be at least two thousand square kiloters, the Big Forest beside would already be littered with three group armies of the Kingdom Knights, and over ti, at least a dozen Princes have peeked at local girls bathing by the river west of the village—those girls all eventually becoming the Queens of neighboring countries.
…How many romance books about knights has this kid been reading normally!
While I marveled at Alu’s increasingly unreliable descriptions, a middle-aged man seated across from , who also looked like he ca from another country, suddenly spoke up: “Are you also looking for the relic?” (To be continued. If you enjoyed this work, you’re welco to co to Qidian (qidian) to vote with recomndations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian to read.)
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