The hardworking Albert

Monday noon, Backlund.

Inside the house where the two women live in the Cherwood Borough.

Fors yawned as she emerged from the Bedroom, glanced around the Living Room but didn't see him, and lazily called out, "Albert."

In the corner of the Balcony, the black dog, who had been lying down reading a book, picked up a stone as a bookmark, a hint of human-like helplessness appearing on its face, and slowly returned to the Living Room.

"They've arrived."

Fors chuckled. "I'm hungry."

Upon hearing this, Albert rolled his eyes and said, feeling wronged:

I've been hungry all morning.

"You're asking me to go out and buy food, so why don't you pay me in advance? Or you could just talk to the owner of the Desi Pie shop about settling accounts regularly."

"I know, I know, you're just as nagging as Hugh. Is this one of the characteristics of your ' Arbiter ' Pathway?" Fors showed no embarrassment, took out some change and a small cloth bag, hung them around Albert's neck, and gave the fluffy dog's head a couple of hard rubs.

"Go on, but come back quickly," she said, turning and heading towards the Washroom.

Albert grinned irritably, walked skillfully to the door, stood up, and used his paws to turn the safety and handle in turn.

At this moment, it missed Hugh terribly.

At least when she was around, I never had to take on the task of buying food myself.

Hugh had taken on a job to capture a fugitive and followed the clues all the way to Pritz Harbor, and hadn't been home for several days.

Lost in thought, Albert jogged to the Desi Pie shop on the street corner. The owner, who had already been contacted beforehand, greeted him with a smile, took out the corresponding change from the cloth bag around his neck, packed two freshly baked Desi Pie, sealed them, and stuffed them inside.

There was still some money left in the bag today. It understood its mistress's meaning and followed suit, going to another shop and buying two cups of Sweet Iced Tea.

Then, with steady steps but without slowing down, she walked home.

"I'm just a dog..." Albert sighed, noticing pedestrians nearby, and raised his right front paw to knock twice on the door.

Suddenly, it sniffed, realizing something was wrong.

The master is back?

Lorry stared in astonishment at the security dogs returning with their spoils.

Fors bent down to take the cloth bag, gave Albert a warning look, and unwrapped the food and placed it on the table:

It has always been so smart and well-behaved.

"Seeing how busy I've been working on my new book lately, I've volunteered to buy the food."

As she spoke, she smiled and cut the Desi Pie into small pieces, placing them Albert Albert's special plate in his usual feeding spot.

After thinking for a moment, Albert figured his master would be leaving soon, and wisely refrained from exposing the woman's Lie. He lowered his head and said:

"Yes, writing a book is very hard work."

"I patrol my jurisdiction every day, so I can do this while I'm at it."

These two guys are talking in a weird tone... If Mystery a little, since Hugh isn't home, Albert was forced to "go for a ride" so he wouldn't go hungry?

Why didn't I think of that back then...? Thinking like lightning, Lorry didn't care about this little thing and gave the security dog another portion of the food he had brought back.

A local specialty dish from the Rorsted Archipelago called "Teatiwa".

And a cup of "Gulu Tree Sap".

The former involves grilling fish and mutton in a giant, hollowed-out fruit shell, seasoned with sea salt and several spices, resulting in tender, flavorful meat.

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The latter tastes similar to lemonade with sugar and milk.

"How's the Potion digestion going?" Lorry asked casually.

Albert proudly raised his head:

"It's still a bit short, but it's digesting faster than rest."

"I've already told her that the most important rule for a ' Sheriff ' is to maintain order in their jurisdiction, but she's always running around aimlessly."

Fors couldn't help but defend her friend, saying irritably:

Her situation is different from yours.

"If you weren't constantly busy outside, where would you get the Formula?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Albert, who was living under someone else's roof and felt indebted to the Canadian, didn't dare to talk back. He let out a sob and quickly ran to the Balcony to start eating his lunch.

Perhaps there's more to it than that... It would be strange if Hugh's pride could accept being taught how to act by a dog... Lorry guessed irresponsibly.

Of course, he knew the main reason was what Fors had said.

Dogs don't need to go out to earn money.

But people need it.

Suddenly, a thought struck Lorry, and he muttered to himself, "Old Gentleman, do you know the Subsequent Potion Formula for the ' Arbiter ' Pathway?"

What do you think?

Sebastian retorted irritably—his perception of the outside world was sealed, and he could currently only communicate with the holder on a mental level.

"Old people have such a temper..." Lorry muttered to himself, then thought for a moment and said, "Given the Lieutenant Colonel's personality, he definitely won't let go of the opportunity to exchange usage times."

"He might want to, but do you think the people in MI9 are fools?"

Sebastian, somewhat speechless, said, "Vera has been instructed to Secrecy; even if he knows the Formula, he can't leak it."

After saying that, he urged, "Alright, send me to another Dimension. Let's try to analyze the knowledge contained in that Sea Serpent's blood today."

Well, I guess I was overthinking it... Lorry had a vague idea, so he wasn't too disappointed. He reached into his pocket with his right hand and quietly handed over the White Bone Ring.

He looked at Fors with a smile and asked:

How does it taste?

"Very good." Fors raised her bright eyes, looked around, and muttered, "It's a pity Hugh isn't here; I feel she would have liked it too."

"Once you advance Advancement Sequence 5 and master ' Teleportation,' you can go buy it anytime, or just take her there to eat," Lorry said with a smile.

"Sequence 5, and I'm only Sequence 8..." Fors rolled her eyes at him.

"Have you decided how you're going to play the Trickmaster?" Lorry took a sip of "Gulu Tree sap" and watched the lady opposite him eat elegantly in small bites.

Fors's face immediately fell. She reached for a tissue, only to find it already offered to her. She glanced at it discreetly, then quickly moved away.

She lowered her head slightly and said softly:

"I have a slight idea, but it's not mature yet."

"I tried to trick Hugh and Albert with magic tricks before, but they only had a slight reaction the first couple of times, and then they stopped falling for it..."

Fors seemed reluctant to discuss this memory, and changed the subject:

"Do you have any suggestions? My teacher wrote to me saying that I could refer to the roles of ' Swindler ' or ' Magician ' when I'm playing the part."

Lorry recalled the Original Novel, then pondered carefully for a moment, drawing on his own experience, before speaking under the expectant gaze of the lady's light blue eyes:

"I'll mention a few points, but you'll need to judge for yourself whether they fit."

"Mmm." Fors nodded repeatedly, crossing his arms as if listening attentively.

Lorry raised a finger and said gently:

First, Trick tricks require Spectator.

"The quantity and quality of their performances determine the difficulty of the show, and the difficulty of the show, in turn, determines the feedback you can receive after a successful performance."