Nothing Special Vivian

I had no idea whether things would be all right on Andy's side if I left Little Black in charge.

All the way to Huodian City, Vivian was filled with worry.

Still, one benefit of awakening her Second Personality was that the girl could chat anytime, anywhere. Well, she could chat with herself.

"I think that guy's pretty reliable." The Second Personality in her mental space seemed to praise Liao Zixuan for once.

Before Vivian could respond, however, the Second Personality immediately followed up.

"He probably won't torture Andy to death. After all, he's your little brother. But those villagers and that Outlander are another matter. Hehehe."

"Reliable?"

It would have been better if the Second Personality had said nothing. The more she talked, the more worried Vivian became.

Soon, though, the girl no longer had the time to worry about others, because a tall and majestic city appeared before her eyes.

Huodian City. They had arrived.

This was actually Vivian's first time in Huodian City.

When she was little, her mother often told her stories about Huodian City and the God of Fire. After her mother passed away, her impression of Huodian City gradually faded. Only once a year, when the nobles from the city came to the countryside to buy servants, could Vivian associate the splendid, luxurious carriages with what Huodian City looked like.

Now, standing beneath the city for real, she saw its towering walls, its vast expanse stretching beyond sight, and, most eye-catching of all, the enormous statue of the God of Fire standing in the very center of the city.

Fire God Alice, one of the Nine Gods, held a flaming scepter and governed fire, one of the nine great elements. She symbolized prosperity and new life.

The towering statue of the Goddess seemed to reach into the clouds as she looked down upon the entire city, leaving no place for evil or heresy to hide.

It was under the protection of the God of Fire that this largest city in the Flame Domain had stood for hundreds of years, witnessing the changes of one era after another.

"Hey, hey! Stop standing there like an idiot! You look just like some bumpkin who came out of the countryside!"

The Second Personality in her mental space complained to Vivian, who was still standing there foolishly with her head tilted back, staring blankly at Huodian City.

Well...

Actually, I—I mean, we really are bumpkins.

The girl muttered quietly to herself.

Just as the Second Personality was about to speak again in exasperation, Vivian hurriedly jogged toward the city gate entrance.

Actually, Vivian had been puzzled about something from the very beginning.

Huodian City was indeed huge and awe-inspiring, but why couldn't she see many pedestrians or travelers coming and going outside the city gates?

It was completely different from what Vivian had imagined: long lines of people waiting to enter, crowds packed together, and countless carriages and wagons.

She patted her cheeks.

Never mind that for now.

The most important thing was to enter the city, use the Fire God Token to find an important person inside, report the information about the mutation deep in Claw Forest, and request the Knight Order's assistance!

With that thought, Vivian quickened her pace. Her right hand tightly gripped the token Bella had thrown to her back then.

However, the girl had only taken a few steps when someone suddenly called out from behind her.

"Hey, little girl! Are you trying to enter the city?" A shifty-eyed little thug dressed somewhat like a refugee hurried after her, panting heavily.

"Y-yes." Vivian nodded, her expression puzzled and faintly wary.

"Oh dear, you really didn't come at the right time. Getting into Huodian City is difficult these days! Without an entry permit, the city guards inside won't let you pass at all!"

The young man who looked like a thug shook his head and sighed as he spoke.

Then he looked Vivian up and down.

She had barely any decent clothes on her. Her entire outfit was tattered, making her look as though she had just returned from the wilderness. As for jewelry, there was no need to mention it—she didn't have a single piece!

In fact, the girl's scrawny little body was so unimpressive that he couldn't even be bothered to trick her into sex.

Chris, who had seen countless kinds of people, shook his head inwardly at Vivian.

There was no need to guess.

She was a bumpkin from the countryside who wanted to enter the city—and one with barely any fat to squeeze out of her!

Still, pity was pity. Business was business.

And so—

"So, little girl, do you have an entry permit? Like the one I'm holding?" Following his usual routine, Chris deliberately waved the fake permit he had forged in front of Vivian's eyes.

"N-no." Vivian honestly shook her head.

"I see. Ah, forget it, forget it. You look pretty anxious, so how about I sell you mine—"

Chris pretended to look reluctant, as though he were suffering a huge loss. The trick had never failed him, especially against these innocent—or, to put it less kindly, stupid—country girls.

Before he could finish, however, the girl opposite him interrupted.

"Although I don't have an entry permit, I-I think I should be able to enter with this." As she spoke, Vivian took out the token she had been clutching and showed it to the young man.

Chris looked at it from one side, then the other.

Aside from the rather complicated and attractive pattern carved onto it, the token seemed to be nothing more than a piece of rotten wood.

"What's that?"

"A Fire God Token," Vivian answered honestly again.

Chris, who had half-believed the girl might produce something extraordinary, nearly burst out laughing.

Good heavens!

A Fire God Token!?

She really dared to say that!

His first thought was that Vivian must have met another con artist before him—one even better at lying and bragging than he was.

Driven by curiosity, the young man asked again:

"Who gave this to you?"

"It seems to have been the Bishop of the Fire God Cult." Vivian answered honestly yet again.

"..."

For a moment, Chris didn't know what to say.

Looking at the girl's completely trusting expression, and at how she tightly clutched the piece of rotten wood in his eyes as though it were a treasure, Chris suddenly felt a deep sorrow rise within him.

How stupid did someone have to be to believe such nonsense?

"Th-then, thank you very much for telling me all this. But if there's nothing else, I-I'll be going now. I have something very important to do in the city!"

The anxious look on Vivian's face was not an act. The girl was genuinely in a hurry.

After speaking, she turned around and continued running toward the city gate. But before she had taken more than a few steps, the young man's voice came again from behind.

"W-wait a moment!"

"What is it? Is there something else?" Vivian sighed inwardly. As expected of Huodian City, the people here were all so friendly.

"N-no. I just wanted to ask, if you can't get into the city, how are you going to get back?" In Chris's view, Vivian was destined to be stopped outside the gate.

The girl hesitated.

She had originally wanted to argue, but in the end, she answered:

"I can just run back. Um, don't let how I look fool you. I'm actually pretty fast."

As if to prove it, Vivian quickly added:

"I ran all the way from Claw Forest to Huodian City!"

Beasts! Monsters! They had cheated this silly girl out of even her travel money, leaving her no choice but to walk all the way home! No wonder she was dressed in rags from head to toe!

Those damned con artists!

At that moment, Chris seemed to have forgotten that he was also one of them.

He had indeed conned many people, but they had all been small sums. According to his own explanation, he was helping those entering Huodian City for the first time pay for a lesson in advance. After all, the people in the city were far worse than he was.

Even so, this was the first time Chris had encountered a girl this stupid—so ridiculously stupid that she could believe the nonsense about the Bishop of the Fire God Cult giving her a Fire God Token!

"Take it!" Chris gritted his teeth. His heart bleeding, he rummaged through the inside of his clothes and pulled out a small, dry-looking money pouch.

"Hire a carriage when you go back."

"No—"

Vivian had just begun to say something when Chris waved his hand stylishly. Then he spun around and hurried away, afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would be unable to resist asking for the money back.

People in big cities really were kind!

Clutching the money pouch, the girl was in too much of a hurry to say anything else. She silently memorized the young man's back and decided that if she ever got the chance, she would return the money.

And so, Vivian finally reached the inspection point at Huodian City's gate.

Chris, who had pretended to leave earlier, still couldn't resist watching the girl from afar. He planned to wait until she was thrown out, then see her into a carriage before he could relax.

But who could have known—

One minute, then two, then five passed.

Yet no sign of that silly girl being thrown out by the city guards appeared at the gate inspection point?!

This was...

Oh no!

Had I been tricked?

Could this be some new kind of scam, specifically designed to pretend to be a pitiful fool and trick people into giving away money out of sympathy?!

Just as Chris grew more and more certain that something was wrong, and that he had been conned, a commotion finally came from the gate inspection point.

Here it comes!

I knew it! Only Chris tricked other people. How could anyone possibly trick him?

Then—

A figure flew backward out of the inspection point.

What?!

Weren't these city guards being a little too harsh?! So what if she had forged a Fire God Token and borrowed the name of the Bishop of the Fire God Cult? Did they really have to beat such a frail little girl flying?!

Uh... now that he thought about it, that did sound pretty serious!

Tsk, no, no! Saving her was more important!

Chris hurried toward the figure that had been knocked out of the gate inspection area. But when he had only run halfway there—

Swish, swish, swish!

More and more figures flew through the air in parabolic arcs, screaming as they were sent flying backward.

And when Chris drew closer, he discovered to his shock that those figures flying through the air were actually...

The city guards!?