Leaving Small Town

By the time they left the Blue Steel Dungeon, the sky had already darkened. Li Yan took the Black Lightning Motorcycle out of his storage Alternate Space and headed straight for Sicily Small Town with everyone.

At the entrance to Sicily Small Town, the guards preparing to close the gate spotted a black phantom speeding toward them in the distance. They hurried to close the gate.

"Monster! A black Monster is attacking from over there!"

"Quick, quick, quick! Close the gate faster!"

The captain of the town guards waved his hands urgently, signaling his men to hurry.

Seeing the gate about to close, Li Yan froze for a moment, and a flash of excitement crossed his face. At a critical moment like this, he ought to open the throttle all the way and charge straight through. That would be even more thrilling.

Empowered by mana, the Black Lightning Motorcycle shot forward like a bolt of black lightning. Its lightning speed sent Frieren's long white hair fluttering in the wind, while Flamme held tightly onto Frieren and Li Yan, enjoying the rush.

As the gate closed, Li Yan used Space Magic to teleport above the town. After several uses of Spatial Movement, the Black Lightning Motorcycle arrived safely inside Sicily Small Town.

Seeing everyone seated on the Black Lightning Motorcycle, the guards drew their weapons and looked warily at Li Yan.

"Who are you? It's time to close the gate. Why did you suddenly force your way into Sicily Small Town?"

The guard captain looked sternly at Li Yan and his companions. With the gate already closed, Li Yan's group had appeared inside the town by an unusual means, so he had reason to suspect that Li Yan was an enemy.

Li Yan calmly got off the Black Lightning Motorcycle and deftly pulled his Family's medal from his storage Alternate Space.

"I am Li Yan, the Lionheart Earl's eldest son!"

Hearing Li Yan state his identity, the guard captain cautiously stepped forward to examine the medal and verified its authenticity. Then, bowing a full ninety degrees, he respectfully returned the Noble Medal representing the Earl's Family to Li Yan.

"My deepest apologies, my lord. I thought Monsters were attacking the town, so I ordered the soldiers to close the gate."

Li Yan calmly accepted the medal and put it back in his storage Alternate Space. He waved a hand, showing that he didn't mind. After all, this was how people reacted whenever he rode the Black Lightning Motorcycle to any town.

The guard captain returned to the ranks and waved for all the guards to put down their weapons. He bowed toward Li Yan once more, then returned to his post.

After entering Sicily Small Town, Li Yan first took everyone to book rooms at an inn. They stayed at a luxurious inn and ate dinner at the town's most luxurious restaurant.

That night, Frieren returned to the inn to rest, looking dejected. Dinner had been barely passable, but it was nowhere near as good as what her senior brother made. They simply couldn't reproduce his flavor.

It was a special flavor, tingling and fragrant, spicy and delicious. Even when the food was sometimes unbearably hot, she couldn't bear to put down her chopsticks.

Li Yan settled down with the Magic Tome he had just obtained from the dungeon that day, while Little Fool happily massaged his tired shoulders and calves.

Li Yan was thrilled by the magic recorded in the Magic Tome. It was magic that could produce countless Mechanical Magic Puppets and build a mechanical age. With the right programming, even if he wanted to build futuristic Mana Armor or a Magic Mecha Gundam in the future, it would be no problem.

He imagined his future self wearing Mana Armor and pulling a Magic Mecha Gundam from an Alternate Space—a steel giant hundreds of meters tall. Even facing the Demon King, he was confident he could handle him with ease.

"Sorry, Demon King, but times have changed. Magic, an army of Demons—before my Mana Mecha Gundam, they're all things I can crush at will."

Li Yan had already chosen the material for his Mana Mecha Gundam. Anti-Magic Stone was the best choice: it was hard to destroy and could prevent mages from using magic.

But Anti-Magic Stone was extremely scarce, nowhere near enough to cover the entire Mana Mecha. So Li Yan planned to use it only for the critical parts.

After thinking through many plans for the future, Li Yan licked his dry lips and glanced at Little Fool, who was enthusiastically massaging him.

"Little Fool, I have an idea that's still taking shape. Can I trust you?"

Li Yan suddenly leaned close and asked the question. Little Fool nodded vigorously. "Young master, I know what trust is. It means entrusting your life to someone. Sister Xiao Wu told me, and she also told me she trusts Sister Xiao Xue and you very, very much."

"Young master, I trust you."

Looking at Little Fool's earnest face, Li Yan smiled faintly. "In the future, I might need you to go undercover among the Demons. Could you do that?"

Little Fool bit her lip, seemingly a little hesitant. "Can I stay with you, young master? I don't want to leave you."

"You'd only be going for a little while, not a lifetime."

Li Yan chuckled and stroked Little Fool's head. It felt so nice that he couldn't help stroking it a few more times.

"All right, young master. I'll only go for a little while, then I'll come back to you."

Little Fool puffed out her cheeks and continued diligently massaging Li Yan's shoulders. Her innocent, adorable appearance made him put down the Magic Tome and look at her a few more times.

In the morning, Li Yan awoke to Little Fool's soft calls. He gave her head a familiar pat and washed his face in the basin of hot water she had brought. Seeing that the petite girl also wanted to help him brush his teeth, he pulled her into his arms and let her brush them for him, carefully and thoroughly.

After washing up, Li Yan led Little Fool to Godmother Flamme and Frieren's room. At this hour, they should already be awake.

He politely knocked on the door. Flamme opened it with a yawn, a few strands of her slightly messy orange hair sticking up. "You're up so early. Frieren's still lazing in bed."

"Godmother, are we going to stay at Grandmaster's this time?"

Li Yan made the suggestion aloud. They had left in such a hurry that naturally they had no definite destination. Their visit to the Blue Steel Dungeon yesterday had only been for Frieren, who had long talked about exploring a dungeon and experiencing the feeling of an adventure.

"If you want to go, then let's go. The last time I picked you up, your Grandmaster seemed a little reluctant to part with you."

After thinking it over, Flamme answered with a chuckle, then went into the bathroom to wash up.

Now that they had a definite destination, a spark of enthusiasm ignited in Li Yan's heart. Grandmaster had countless spells and an abundance of magic materials. Once he latched onto Grandmaster, it would be hard not to take off.

With Grandmaster's tsundere personality, she rarely said no outright. Instead, she would generally say things like, "Suit yourself." "Just take it." "It's not like I need those things."