In the alleys of West Co County, Xu Milu held Fanny tightly in her arms. The shadows of the buildings cast long shadows, and only suppressed, childlike cries could be heard.

Outside the alley, the people of Westco County were singing praises to their lord and the knights for their bravery and fearlessness. Inside the alley, the little dog was angrily and helplessly tearing at its own tail, refusing to let go even when it drew blood.

"I can't...I can't cause trouble for Lady Qingluan...I can't make a sound, or I'll be arrested..."

Fearing the child would bite off her tail, Xu Milu pinched Fanny's cheeks to force her to open her mouth, then took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the blood from her mouth.

"Go ahead and cry. I've set up... a spell. No one will hear you crying here."

"Waaaaaah... Waaaaaah..."

Little Fanny coughed up blood, trembling with fear, her innocent face filled with helplessness and despair.

"Lord Qingluan, I'm so scared, Uncle Greer is going to die... Waaaaaah... Uncle Greer is going to die... He said the lord wants to capture orcs to lure king-level magical beasts, and told Fanny to run away quickly... Waaaaah..."

?

Didn't Greer just let out a howl?

So you canines can condense so much information in just one sentence?

Xu Milu didn't know what signal Greer had sent to Fanny, but seeing the despair on the faces of the adult orcs, she could guess a thing or two.

—Fanny is indeed not an ordinary dog-people; she is very likely an Arctic wolf like Greer.

As if afraid of making her angry, Little Fanny vigorously rubbed the tip of her ear, revealing a small patch of silvery down for Xu Milu to see:

"Fanny isn't a canine, she's like Uncle Greer, she's a member of the Arctic Wolf Clan. I didn't mean to, I didn't mean to lie to you, Lord Qingluan! When I grow up, I'll become like Uncle Greer..."

The little werewolf seemed a little nervous, waiting for Xu Milu to get angry, but Xu Milu just patted her head to comfort her:

"No, you did a good job. You were protecting yourself, it wasn't deception, and my agreement with you won't change just because you're an Arctic wolf."

Fanny didn't quite understand what she meant, and stared at her blankly with her head up.

“I said I would stay with you until I found your family. Now that I have found your family, I will reunite you with them to keep my promise.”

Xu Milu pinched the little girl's cheek and wiped away the tear:

“You don’t need to feel burdened, because I originally came here to deal with the troubles in Westco County. Aigard is my enemy. Even without you Arctic Wolves, I would have freed those slaves.”

Fanny even forgot to cry; her face flushed red, and her eyes were full of confusion.

"Why?"

Looking into the little girl's clear eyes, Xu Milu couldn't bear to lie to her. Instead, she bared her teeth and made a "fierce" expression:

"Because I am the witch they say can control king-level magical beasts, Aigard pinned the blame for the magical beast chaos on me. Your Lady Qingluan is very angry, so she wants to cause trouble for this wicked lord—aren't you afraid of me?"

Xu Milu originally just wanted to tease Fanny to distract the little girl, but to her surprise, Fanny wasn't scared at all. Instead, she buried her face in Xu Milu's chest and wouldn't let go even though she was trembling with fear.

"No way! Fanny will never be afraid of Lady Qingluan! Lady Qingluan is Fanny's friend forever!!"

Sunny will always, always be Milu's friend!

In that instant, Fanny's face seemed to overlap with that of the former dwarf princess Sunny, and the scenes from her memories surfaced in her mind, leaving Xu Milu slightly stunned.

That little dwarf princess once said those same words to her while crying, and she still carries the dagger that the princess gave her at her waist.

—Although we can't go back to the past, such sincere and passionate friendships will always exist. Even if the outcome is unknown, even if former friends become estranged over time, the emotion of this moment is real.

She lowered her eyes, not taking the remark as childish jest, but replying seriously:

"Yes, Fanny will always, always be my best friend."

The little werewolf's eyes widened, and finally he stopped crying and smiled, nodding emphatically:

"Yes!! Best friends for life!"

...

...

After all, Aigard and his group were nominally going to subdue a witch who could control "King-level magical beasts," so in addition to the lord's knights, knights who were loyal to other nobles in the territory, and soldiers under the temple, the expedition team also included a large number of adventurers from the Adventurers' Guild.

This is an excellent opportunity for Xu Milu.

After casually casting a few healing spells, Xu Milu successfully infiltrated the Adventurers' Guild as a "low-level mage skilled in healing magic" and, unsurprisingly, was assigned to the raiding party as a healer.

The extermination mission did not begin immediately. Aigard sent an advance team to investigate the whereabouts of the "Turtle-shaped King-level Monster." The Knights led the adventurers to gradually clear out the invading monsters around the village, such as slimes, goblins, and skeletons—low-level monsters that multiply rapidly.

Xu Milu, on the other hand, was gathering information about other Arctic wolf clans while also collecting information about the Knights' movements.

However, because spells and magic are fundamentally different, some adventurers soon learned that there was a female mage in the expeditionary force who could use "incantationless magic," and she liked to carry a little yellow chick and an orc slave with her.

No one doubted Xu Milu's identity, and even Aigard, upon hearing the news, symbolically rewarded her with a few small silver coins.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!