Chapter 42

Although he was speechless, after a moment of hesitation, Xiaoman still stretched out his hand and cautiously swept across the tip of the dragon's horn.

The blond hair that her fingertips occasionally touched was warm, like waves of wheat under the sun, and the texture of the horns was certainly different from the fake beastman features she had made up, and it was also completely different from the two pairs of real pointed or round plush ears with blood vessels distributed in them that she had touched before.

In the past, she had no close relationship with anyone in the village except her mother, and there were no easily frightened animals like deer living in the mountains near the village, so this was the first time she had encountered a horn that was still full of life.

...It's not very cool, and the surface is a little naturally rough, but unlike rigid products, it feels a little elastic and moist to the touch, making it easy to associate it with a substance similar to nails.

However, they came from a dragon king, and its master was lowering his head to allow the touch. His sharp brow bones and continuous thick golden eyelashes seemed a little more docile at this moment because of the special viewing angle.

Xiaoman suddenly remembered that her teacher was no longer an original beastman, so there was no trace of the antlers that should have been on his head, otherwise it should have felt similar.

She quickly withdrew her hand, and Bernaludos immediately raised his head, leaned towards her upper body, and returned to his normal state.

——Belu is different from his teacher and Sumei. He doesn't care about being tired or lonely, because for him, the essence of fighting and getting hurt has nothing to do with hardship.

Just like her plan to meet Lord Flora and then take action, even though Bernaldus knew about it and didn't leak it, Xiaoman could see that he was not intentionally keeping it a secret for her, but simply didn't care about these things.

He seemed to think very little, especially about other people's affairs. His logic was always so pure. Apart from the set goals of eating, sleeping and doing whatever he wanted, he never showed any signs of worry - and he really had the power to realize this lifestyle.

"Belu," Xiaoman asked, taking the initiative to ask, "How did you get to know the teacher? Can you tell me about it?"

"You have already received the rewards for this stage. That will wait until you win in the top 30," said Bernardus.

Lielie interrupted in the midst of his busy schedule, his expression blank and innocent: "But big sister has already burped, there are already 28 people today."

“…”

Xiaoman silently looked at Bernardus who once again sat in the main seat without any hesitation. She said nothing, but her blue eyes seemed to have expressed a lot just by looking at people without saying a word.

He and the teacher have completely different personalities. So are they really friends? Although Belu has never lied or made empty promises. Xiaoman thought again.

"Okay, there's no secret anyway." Bernardus finally spoke straightforwardly without raising his eyebrows.

He said this, but his actions were completely the opposite. He casually cast a spell that was so powerful that it tightened Xiaoman's consciousness and perception, separating the two of them from everyone else in the outside world.

"Your teacher left home before his twelfth birthday to study in Mithril City. On the way, he met someone who wanted to kill him and change the future of his family. I happened to pass by. The first thing he said to me was 'Please leave quickly and don't get involved with me.'"

"Then I'll use the wind to blow everyone off the cliff, and then fly down and bring him back."

"He's not crying." Bernardus shrugged in boredom, with an expression similar to that of a person who deliberately throws a noisy child high up in the air, and he didn't realize that this behavior itself was childish enough.

"He said, 'The stars are more beautiful from here than from the observatory. Is it because it's darker down there?'"

"How would I know? Because I was curious about how long such a courageous guy could last in Mithril City, so I followed him for a while."

"A while...how long is that?" Xiaoman looked at this still very young and handsome face, and suddenly realized that this was a dragon with a four-digit lifespan. Its concept of time was completely different from that of ordinary people, so he asked cautiously.

Bernaludos scratched his hair, as if he was trying to calculate the difference in years by recalling some important events that he remembered. After a long while, he said, "About 17 or 18 years. What's wrong?"

He asked as if it was a matter of course, as if this period of time didn't account for more than one-tenth of the normal lifespan of an orc.

"Nothing, please continue." said Xiaoman, who has only lived for 17 years.

"Oh. After that, I had to go back for something. When I went to see him again, he was no longer in the Mithril City. We stayed together for a few more years - well, we stayed in the outside world for about thirty years on and off - I went back to deal with something, which delayed me for a while until now. He asked me to take care of you before he closed the door, so I came to see you. As I said, it's boring."

The Dragon King stands by and says that you can choose to take the old-fashioned story as a reward, and you will not get a refund even if you feel that you have lost money.

You didn’t say that, Xiaoman thought.

As the sound barrier melted away, she said, "Can you help Lielie restore his hair? It'll be a gift."

Bernaludos did not move from where he was. With the advantage of his long arms, he reached out and ruffled the wild brown hair of the lion boxer who was concentrating on eating a pie.

You had to separate the hair into clumps to see that the depression on Lielie's head was where a large clump of hair had been cut off. The shortest remaining stubble was less than the thickness of a copper coin, and even the skin was faintly stained with blood. It looked like the situation was very dangerous at the time.

"Okay. I remember..." He stroked his chin and thought for a moment, then took out a pen and paper and wrote down a recipe.

Xiaoman's studies with her teacher were rather biased, but in order to give herself adequate treatment when she was alone, she mastered decent mixing skills. She quickly realized that this recipe was a potion that promoted hair growth in a short period of time. The effect was very mild and the ingredients used were of a relatively wide variety, so this recipe would not be easily eliminated by the times. However, some of the things involved were bound to be irrelevant to the apprentice stage where she had not even a solid grasp of the basics.

This style looks more and more familiar, and the person who gave the recipe is definitely not a kind-hearted and compassionate person. Xiaoman said:

“Is this the teacher’s stuff?”

"Yes." The Dragon King responded calmly, "Some acquaintance asked him to make it. It seems to be a lion. I remember it as soon as I saw it."

Xiaoman looked down at the recipe. No matter how basic the recipe was, it would take up three or four pages if all the ingredients and steps were written down.

Even if Bernaludos's handwriting was as ostentatious and occupies as much space as he did, this amount is not something that an average person could memorize by casually glancing at it, let alone casually copying it out hundreds of years later.

...Although he is easily distracted and his words and deeds are very self-centered and casual, he is definitely a genius. At this point, Xiaoman was sure that only a teacher's personality could tolerate a guy of this level as a friend and would not feel jealous and let the other party notice it.

Even though it seemed a little strange to put these two people together, she thought about how she and Su Mei might also be a mismatched combination in the eyes of others, so she adapted well and completely accepted the fact that Belu was her teacher's friend.

Now that she had nothing else to deal with, she felt that all the hard training had drained her energy. She started to feel hungry and focused on eating.

In fact, Yuan Qian was relieved only at this point. The character of the Dragon King is the most different from his real self. He is fine at ordinary times, but the emotional expression required when talking about old things is much more delicate. Xiaoman is not a rough-and-ready protagonist. If he acts too contradictory or awkward, he will definitely be noticed.

"Fortunately, I had written it in advance..." He said with fear, as if he had been caught on camera. The background stories of supporting characters may not occupy a place in the narrative, and they are just details among details, appearing much less frequently than the classic three-frame revolving lantern before the death of the cannon fodder minor characters.

And he had to spend emotional points to rewrite the events of more than 700 years ago to make up these things, so it seemed that it would be okay without them. Who knew that after he spent money to complete all of Lian Sumei's past just in case, Xiaoman asked about it unexpectedly.

[So biographies are very important.] The adjutant sighed in agreement.

"So do you have any ideas about the new character?" Yuan Qian asked back.

[No. I made it up on the spot.] The adjutant was still optimistic about the deadline, and while talking, he was shaking something - I hope it's not the remains of D-009. Yuan Qian had never seen the appearance of that system, but according to this guy's description before, it was a hollow ball with a nested structure.

"Is it that amazing?" Yuan Qian was very envious. Although he had to improvise in order to survive, it was better to have a basis for his story, otherwise he would be unsure. Even though his acting skills were now at the level where he could remain calm and perform steadily, it was still not good for his heart to force himself.

As a person who seldom went out for more than 20 years due to poor health, Yuan Qian felt that it was unnecessary to take risks when one could take a safe approach, as it would fail sooner or later.

[That's the kind of thing that I want: I'm about to die, but I've reserved some time! I want to be fully engaged and excited. This way I'll be more inspired, and I'll have some spare time. If I'm sure that Plan A, which is about doing something big, can't be realized, I can also complete Plan B, which is a step-by-step process.] The adjutant objected.

"I don't have so many plans..." Yuan Qian said.

He paused suddenly.

Then Mr. Actor opened the emotional value balance and calmly calculated for a while, confirming that after making up for the consumption of the background story, the current share plus the emotional value gained from the updated content until the end of this plot would probably be enough to complete his new idea.

"How about this? I'll be the 'conservative treatment' in the next step, and you'll be the 'major surgery'." Yuan Qian even humorously asked using the terms from the environment he was used to.

[… So, Xiaoman, is it the patient who wanted euthanasia? Why are you suddenly making such a ridiculous statement?] said the adjutant.

Yuan Qian thought about it and felt that this metaphor was a bit hellish. It might be because he had been posting too much on the forums because the days were relatively peaceful and boring recently. He reflected on it silently.

[Anyway, I have no objection.] After complaining about the only point, the adjutant happily approved the plan, even though it was obviously more troublesome for him. [I am just your tool. It is the right decision for you to push the dirty work to me.]

"? There's no need to say that." Yuan Qian felt a little apologetic, thinking that it was his and Xiaoman's job to deal with the Star God and save the world, and it should have nothing to do with him as a foreign aid.

[Oh, I really don't have any objection, that's what I thought... I should say I'm looking forward to it, because this world is very interesting. The interesting thing is that its god is so simple-minded, grand and tangible, and terminally ill - and extremely beautiful.] Now the tone of the adjutant really sounds eager to try, no longer the usual low tone with a bit of dejection.

Yuan Qian felt a chill on the back of his neck for some reason. He heard this teammate, whose style suddenly changed or whose true nature occasionally showed, smile softly and earnestly and say: "So now I have the opportunity to become his executioner candidate. I am honored."

Wait, I think the Star God and I are similar species. Yuan Qian admitted that he had a slight kinship mentality or an instinctive fear at this time, and realized for the first time that the helper on the other side of the connection was a standard big boss in the conventional sense, and he sincerely respected Faust.