Why was she the one who had to apologize! Clearly, she was the one being threatened!
Shami put down the basin in her hands. After a whole afternoon, she had collected four basins of tree sap, which was quite a good harvest.
"How did you find this place?"
"You touched me before, so you have my scent. I just followed it here," Lureya made up an excuse.
"Are you a dog?" Shami raised an eyebrow, unsure whether to believe her or not.
"What are you doing here?"
He glanced at Lureya.
Under the warm sunlight, the Tablet Spirit's delicate skin was as white as freshly fallen snow, with smooth golden hair shimmering as if it were coated with light particles. Her pointed ears poked out from each side of her hair, a distinctive feature of the Elf Race.
"I..."
Lureya opened her tiny mouth, about to complain to Shami about how tough the past three days had been for her. But their opposing identities quickly made her close her mouth, swallowing her grievances.
She had traveled a long way to get here, not to complain but to stay beside Shami. Complaining would only make her seem weak, losing her momentum from the start, which would make their relationship even harder to manage.
Lureya hurriedly rearranged the expression on her face, leaving only a relaxed look.
"I had nowhere else to go."
"Is that something to be proud of? Elves can easily live for five years on this continent, right?"
"But... I sneaked out without bringing any money," Lureya stammered, her pointed ears turning slightly red.
When Elves lie or feel embarrassed, their ears often redden uncontrollably.
But Shami, who had never left the Newbie Village, obviously wouldn't know that.
Otherwise, he could have judged the Tablet Spirit by her reactions back at the Underground City.
"So what do you plan to do?"
"I plan to stay by your side for now... Don't get me wrong... I meant staying in this village... until I earn some money, I could move elsewhere... and besides, this place isn't bad. Living in an Elf Forest gets tiring; staying in a human village occasionally is also a good choice."
"Do whatever you want. As long as you keep our secret, I won't comment on where you go."
Shami wasn't interested in Lureya's whereabouts. However, if she stayed in Yili Village, he would have a better handle on her, which was somewhat beneficial for him.
"What are you doing?"
After Shami agreed, Lureya felt much better and asked her question.
"Collecting tree sap."
"What for?"
"It's just a daily task for the villagers."
Shami loaded a few basins of tree sap onto a wooden cart and pulled it towards the village.
Lureya quickly followed, keeping silent for a while, occasionally casting sidelong glances at him and quietly speaking.
"Hey, you're the Demon King Heir, aren't you..."
Shami gave her an inscrutable glance.
Lureya wisely zipped her lips, mimicking a zipper motion over her mouth.
"I'm just a villager."
Fine, don't admit it then, she thought. Anyway, she had ways to make Shami surrender obediently.
Lureya stopped talking.
After they returned to the village, they parted ways at the village entrance.
The appearance of an Elf in the small village certainly caught the attention of many villagers. As she entered, many were already staring at the golden-haired Lureya.
Lureya swiftly made her way to the village chief's house, presenting herself as an adventurer traveling the continent from the Elf Forest, intending to stay for a while to study the local customs, geography, and climate.
The Elves have long lifespans, and in the Human Race, there were always rumors of Elves traveling the continent. The village chief quickly agreed to let her stay and arranged for her to stay at the nicest inn in the village.
And so, the golden-haired Elf officially checked into Yili Village.
Although the most luxurious room at the inn was below her expectations, there was always Shami in the village.
The desire to uncover the Demon King's identity and retrieve her necklace soon overshadowed Lureya's dissatisfaction. After settling into the inn, she immediately began planning how to approach the charming Demon King.
To get closer to Shami, she would have to ease his guard. Otherwise, whether collecting intelligence or defeating him later, it would be a fool's errand.
Yes, she had to improve their rapport first!
Laying on her stomach, legs kicking up behind her, Lureya sorted out her next steps.
Hm?
This was just like the common storyline of a hero raising favorability with villagers in the Newbie Village!
Lureya, you really are cut out to be a Hero!
Inside the villager's house.
Though a lot of resin had mixed with the sap collection, the task's prompt confirmed that the purity of the natural sap was acceptable.
[Natural Tree Sap Collection Completed.]
The next task was to gather some Water of Life, for which he currently had no leads.
What exactly was this stuff?
Shami, frustrated, flipped through the Demons Atlas, gaining only limited information.
[Water of Life: Another name for water that aids in nurturing life. Usually available in the underground markets of major cities.]
The atlas didn't provide specific locations, so Shami would have to head to a city to find this item.
But at that moment, he suddenly thought of another person who might know what Water of Life was.
...
Three days of exhaustion had drained the golden-haired Elf's energy. As night fell, after setting up a simple lv.1 Spirit Protection Array outside her room, she soaked in the bath for a bit before sprawling out like a starfish on the bed, ready to sleep.
Since this inn had hosted adventurer parties who had welcomed Heroes, her room was equipped with a bathtub, a two-meter by two-meter soft bed, ambient lighting with a hidden switch on the ceiling, and a drawer full of condoms by the bedside.
Hey, why would this even be in a Hero's room!
Lureya remarked weakly, sinking into the soft bed, her golden hair spreading around her like a web, and she quickly relaxed, her face and body feeling blissfully soft.
▔▽▔
Even though she had done nothing today, she still felt accomplished~
Good night~
Just as she was about to turn off the lights to sleep, the Spirit Protection Array trembled, signaling someone was near her room.
Her drowsiness vanished instantly. On tiptoe, Lureya quietly moved behind the door, peering through the peephole to see who was in the hallway.
Shami stood outside her door, looking intently at it.
Something stopped Shami's hand as he reached out to knock. He encountered a thin barrier like air pressure that kept his hand from moving forward.
[Name: lv.1 Spirit Protection Array]
[Type: Elf Magic]
[Function: Provides the user with a space for light protection and an alarm effect.]
[Note: A lv.2 Demon King Heir can easily destroy any level one Magic Array.]
So that's how it is?
Looks like the Tablet Spirit had some self-defense awareness.
Through the peephole, Shami noticed the Tablet's golden hair peeking from behind the door, spying on him.
Inside, Lureya squirmed like a worm, excitedly peeking outside.
This was a chance to test Shami, wasn't it?
Any ordinary villager encountering the Spirit Protection Array would merely walk away, but if he were the Demon King...
Shami picked up a hoe, swung it, and shattered the Spirit Protection Array.
"Elf, are you in there?"
Lureya threw open the door with a bang, her golden hair in disarray around her cheeks, her angry voice suppressed.
"Why did you destroy my Spirit Protection Array with one hoe swing!? Aren't you a villager? And where did you get that hoe in the inn?"
"I brought it myself."