(“Earthly Ghost?”)
(“Coordinates?”)
Although it was just a single thought, Tyler deduced a great deal of information from it.
Combining this with the intelligence he had previously gleaned from Granny Kasi’s thoughts, he was now certain that not only was she not an ally, but she was also an enemy.
She would soon betray “Banning’s” information to a being called “Earthly Ghost.” Judging by the appellation “it,” “Earthly Ghost” was most likely a demon.
(“…No, it should be one of the evilkinds, an intelligent one.”)
Tyler considered all the deductions he had made thus far to be reasonable. The only part he found questionable was: Why had Granny Kasi been investigating him without cause?
To be more precise: Why were the evilkinds investigating him?
(“Is it because of the Sandrift Gorge incident?”)
(“No, the person who defeated the Rogue Shadow Demon was Viviana; if they wanted to investigate someone, it should be her, not me…”)
After much thought, Tyler believed there was only one possibility.
His identity as a “crosser”, or to say, “otherworldly traveler”, might have been exposed, or was at least under suspicion.
(“My situation… has become so perilous without my realizing it…”)
Tyler’s worst fears were confirmed; the enemy who had unleashed a massive pillar of fire in Ira Village a month ago was still hunting him.
Such persistence;
Such meticulous thought;
Such determination;
(“However… if I can use this situation to my advantage, it might be the perfect opportunity to counterattack this ‘unknown enemy.'”)
“It’s so great to see everyone again! Tocchini, have you been eating meat every day~?”
Now was not the time for contemplation. Tyler displayed his usual superb acting skills, enthusiastically greeting the members of the Traveling Merchant Caravan.
“Reporting to big brother! Tocchini doesn’t eat meat for a day if she doesn’t see big brother! So Tocchini hasn’t eaten meat for many days now!”
“You little bunny, how can you blame me for not eating meat? It’s obviously because you don’t like to eat it yourself!”
As long as Tocchini was present, the caravan would never lack a cheerful atmosphere.
Amidst the lively reunion, Tyler prepared to investigate Granny Kasi further.
If he didn’t handle this well, it could become a foolish act of willingly walking into danger.
.
“So, good night, Banning.”
“Good night, Mr. Marik.”
After bidding farewell to Tyler, Marik left, leaving only Tyler and Tocchini in the room of the inn.
Tyler could not have imagined that his ambitious aspirations, established just an hour earlier, would be forcibly dissipated at this moment—because Tocchini insisted on sleeping with him no matter what.
For Tyler to deceive Tocchini and secretly follow Granny Kasi, it would not be an easy task.
However, Tyler had actually been considering giving up on tracking Granny Kasi.
In Tyler’s view, Granny Kasi was a level 67 Mercenary Sage with three unknown skills. To recklessly follow her would be pointless if too distant and risky if too close.
If discovered late at night, it would be difficult to explain.
Thus, Tyler believed it would be safer to gather intelligence through a combination of mind reading and the “Deceiver” skill.
“Big brother! Big brother! Come to bed! Tocchini has warmed it up for you~!”
Seeing Tocchini in her little camisole and shorts, Tyler couldn’t help but feel relaxed.
He could only silently complain in his heart, as it was summer, and warming the bed held little significance.
Yet, having a well-behaved, clingy, soft, and fluffy bunny loli to cuddle with while sleeping was indeed a delightful experience.
(Silly Nissen: Tyler, you can remain silent-o, but I will note everything you do to present as evidence in court-o!) 𝒐𝔳𝒍xt.𝐂𝒪𝑀
Even the threat of the stupid loli could not prevent Tyler from ending up in bed with Tocchini. Before long, she fell into a sweet slumber.
At that moment, Tyler quietly got out of bed and slept on the floor.
It wasn’t out of guilt or his weakness; it was just that in the heat of summer, sleeping with the fluffy Tocchini was unbearably warm.
.
━━━━━━━━━
〖Prison Star Calendar〗
〖Year 187, June 14〗
〖5:50 AM〗
〖Countdown to Confession Death: 6 days〗
━━━━━━━━━
On the following day, Tyler arrived earlier than before, waiting in the vicinity of Emilia’s residence.
As for Tocchini, she rose even earlier than Tyler, since the Traveling Merchant Caravan was set to purchase goods throughout Sunny Town.
Tyler later learned that Tocchini was not merely a mascot for the caravan—her coquettish bargaining technique had actually contributed significantly to the profits of the Traveling Merchant Caravan.
After a while, Tyler spotted Emilia emerging from her home.
Today, Emilia had her long hair tied up in a high ponytail, donning a white round-neck blouse and khaki straight-leg trousers. Coupled with her usual expressionless visage, she exuded an air of coolness.
Tyler trailed Emilia and discovered she entered a bookstore—not an ordinary one, but a magical bookstore. Given the store’s small size, Tyler chose not to follow her inside and opted to wait outside instead.
Through the window, Tyler noted the bookshelves Emilia lingered at, and once she had left for work at the Quest Guild, he entered the magical bookstore to investigate.
“Welc…ome… What… type… of… magic… book… do you… need?”
The bookstore owner was a disheveled, ruddy-faced old man who struggled to speak clearly. Seeing his untidy clothes and the empty alcohol bottle on the counter, Tyler deduced the old man had yet to sober up from his drunken stupor.
“No need, I’ll find it myself.”
Tyler headed straight for the bookshelves Emilia had perused earlier, hoping to find an entry point to winning her heart.
(Tier-1 fire magic… Tier-2 fire magic…)
This entire bookshelf was filled with fire magic-related books.
It seemed that although Emilia had changed her career to being a receptionist, the heart of a mage still lingered within her.
When it came to fire magic, Tyler couldn’t help but think of something like…
“Blast Reality! Burst It Into Shreds!”
Oh, no, that was a mistake. He should be thinking of a certain red demon mage who could only use explosion magic and always concluded her incantations with “Explosion!”
(What is Emilia’s actual level of magic proficiency? I’d love to witness it if I had the chance.)
Tyler took out a copy of “Tier-1 Fire Magic: Fireball” to skim through, only to realize that all the magic books had been locked with chains.
(Certainly, if they weren’t locked up, people could read them without buying.)
Tyler inquired about the price, and a copy of “Tier-1 Fire Magic: Fireball” cost a staggering 15 silver coins, equivalent to an ordinary person’s monthly living expenses.
The old man appeared drunk but was actually quite astute.
In the end, Tyler successfully bargained the price down to 7 silver coins using his mind-reading ability and his “Deceiver” skill, reluctantly purchasing a copy.
(If buying a magic book allows one to master the magic, then this price is actually fair…)
Back at the inn, Tyler, as usual, affixed a new little fox to the external wall outside the window, then excitedly opened “Tier-1 Fire Magic: Fireball” while keeping an eye on the Quest Guild.
Upon opening the book, Tyler was dumbfounded.
Why were all the pages in the book blank?
An entire tome of wordless pages?
It couldn’t be. Had he been deceived?