An uneventful night brought Malin some disappointment; he had already prepared a hundred ways to die for any would-be assailants. The entire second floor, from the rooftop skylight to the hallway, was filled with various traps, either capable of pulverizing a person or causing severe injuries that made life worse than death. If there had been a jungle, Malin could even have set up spring-loaded nail boards, the nails coated with silver and lead.
But on second thought, peace was always a blessing.
So, after clearing away the traps and repairing the walls, Malin and the girls descended the stairs, bid farewell to the innkeeper, and then got onto the carriage.
The mercenaries had long been ready, and the Dwarf once again expressed his gratitude to Malin—his leg showed no sign of trouble while walking.
Malin responded with a smile and advised him that it would be wise to walk less for the sake of properly healing the injury.
Before setting off, Malin went over to the merchant caravan to check on the patients he had treated. After confirming that their wounds were healing well, he bid farewell to the two injured men amidst their thanks and returned to his own caravan.
"You truly are kind," the middle-aged captain said to Malin.
"I do my best to help hard-working mercenaries like you," Malin replied, taking a small bottle that the Dwarf tossed to him, "Old Ironfist, what’s this?"
"Dwarf liquor! The best Old Ironfist can offer you!" the Dwarf replied loudly.
Malin intended to throw it back to him but, considering the Dwarf’s pride and the fact that the liquor’s proof was not much different from that of a disinfectant, he accepted it with a smile, "Thank you, Old Ironfist."
"Don’t mention it, Master Malin! With the blood of a Frost Giant, you’ll surely kind of strong drink. A man of the North should drink mightily and eat heartily!" The Dwarf finished in one breath and gave a thumbs-up.
Malin was full of question marks. Have you ever seen a Frost Giant that looked like a slender elf-child?
The journey ahead was smooth-sailing, and the farther they traveled east, the hotter the weather became, allowing Malin to finally confirm that, as everyone said, Carterburg’s weather indeed had something to do with the Chaos of the North.
By the fourth day, the girls in the caravan had already switched to light summer wear. Since it wasn’t a leisure trip, they all wore trousers and shirts, which made Malin realize that his sister—usually hidden beneath her robes—had... not gained weight.
Indeed, when a girl says she has put on weight, it is usually as deceitful as a man claiming to be honest; both are their most skilled arts of deception.
But still, Maya looked slim, and her tail was just fantastic, reminding Malin of the stray cats he used to keep downstairs.
Though they were wild and unruly, when Malin wanted to stroke them, they would still let him pet them thoroughly.
The same was true for Maya. Freed from the confines of her robes, the little leopard’s favorite thing was the rooftop blanket and the warm afternoon sunshine. And whenever she slept, her tail would wind around Malin’s neck, who was sitting at the front of the carriage.
Please, my silly sister, hugging your brother makes him feel very hot.
Although that was what he thought, Malin still faced it with a smile—who could resist when the tail was both soft and enjoyable to touch? Sometimes Faye would also vie for a chance to stroke it, and at those moments, Malin always felt like he was the lucky one who had fallen into a jar of honey.
It was as if all his past misfortunes had been compensated for, and it felt fantastic.
"Darling, I shouldn’t have called Malin over here. You are my only treasure, but he, he is worth five of me!" Logan grumbled to his girlfriend, gazing at the scenery atop the carriage canopy ahead.
Miriam laughed and shook her head. She couldn’t bother to retort his complaint as she used to, "Mr. Malin is just shouldering more responsibilities because he can handle them. If you were as capable as him, I’d be willing to share your efforts and contributions with a few sisters too," she said.
Logan nearly slid out of the window upon hearing that.
"Don’t say such dangerous things!" the young Apprentice finally settled down and complained to his laughing girlfriend.
"I’m serious. If you had even half of Mr. Malin’s abilities, I’d be very happy," Miriam continued and then shook her head again, "But even if you can’t be that capable, I won’t mind."
"That’s not acceptable, even if it’s just for you, I must become stronger," Logan said, thumping his chest vigorously.
Malin leaned against the carriage, engaged in a strategic battle with the tip of Maya’s tail while listening to Logan and Miriam’s banter. When Logan began to showcase his bragging, Malin cut off his Spell Formation.
It was lovely indeed, the days of youth, not wasting the prime of life.
"Malin, when we get to Pamir City, I’ll take you to a great place," Faye whispered mysteriously into Malin’s ear, piquing his curiosity, "What kind of place?"
"You’ll see when we get there. I was born in Pamir City and lived there until I was four," Malin imagined a young Faye curiously exploring the city as she spoke.
He had been the same in his youth, a carefree time before he had to study. Although he could hardly recall it now, the happiness in those memories could not be erased.
So, Malin decided he would definitely accompany Faye on this visit. He nodded affirmatively and said, "Then I will join you."
"You won’t regret it, I promise," Faye said, kissing Malin’s cheek happily.