Endless Silver Machine

Pfa Town is a very ordinary rural town located at the foot of the Wallen Mountains on the southern border of the empire.

One main street runs through the entire town. There are various shops and temporary stalls open on both sides of the street. Businessmen get into full swing from the moment the sun rises, and start vying to sell to attract customers. Customers look for food or daily necessities to buy that day among various vendors, and then bargain with the merchants.

There was a lot of hawking and haggling. Everything seemed so peaceful under the blue sky.

The three of Aika haven't experienced a populated place for many days. Such a peaceful town is the spiritual harbor they need most at the moment.

"Stop looking here and find a hotel to rest!"

"Yes, brother, I also want to take a nap..."

In the early morning, the three of them successfully walked from the vast forest at the foot of the Wallen Mountains to the town of Pfa.

As soon as he stepped into the market in the town, Aika was immediately attracted by the lively atmosphere in front of him. It was as if the fatigue of a long journey for a whole week had been washed away by such liveliness, and he forgot that the first priority when he came here was to find a hotel. The hotel allowed the two girls to rest.

Now, he was dragging the two listless girls around in the busy city.

"You can't keep wearing these clothes, right? They're already in tatters. You have to buy a new one."

He retorted. But Aika has never looked for a shop specifically to buy clothes since he stepped here. Instead, he paid more attention to iron shops and roadside stalls selling magic items.

"Are all boys so energetic..." Ling gently pinched Aika's arm, "I said you should hurry up and find a clothing store to finish shopping and go back to bed!"

"It hurts...it's more convenient to buy everything and then move in, right? Besides, we can only stay in the cheapest hotel where everything is self-sufficient. Do you think it's the kind of hotel that provides hot water 24 hours a day?" , a luxury hotel where maids deliver all three meals to your room?”

Aika told the cruel truth without any concealment.

"Would you rather buy a bunch of sundries here than use the money to stay in a more normal hotel? Did those fire wolves burn your brains out?"

Ling looked at Aika with eyes that were difficult to execute. Although she knew that she was not qualified to point fingers at Aika when she was living here, she still couldn't help but say a few more words when she saw such a ridiculous choice.

"So, my brother is an idiot..."

Luoluo interrupted vaguely. She couldn't hide her sleepiness before entering Pufa Town, even though she was the first person to say she didn't want to sleep last night.

"Okay, okay, I understand. Now let's find a 'normal' hotel to send you to rest, and then I'll go out and buy clothes for the three of us. If they don't fit, there's nothing I can do about it."

"It's up to you. Now I just want hot water to wash my whole body clean, and then I'll be satisfied with a bed to sleep on."

"Me too……"

These two eldest ladies said it so naturally. Have they never considered the issue of money...

…………

After asking around, they found out that there was only one hotel in this town, so they had no choice.

The three of them came to a beige three-story building with a simple appearance. A blackboard sign with chalk written on it stood in front of the store door.

The sign clearly says: Limited time offer for independent double rooms! It comes with a 24-hour supply of hot water and all three meals, completely dispelling the fatigue of the journey!

"It seems you didn't disappoint me."

Ling nodded with satisfaction, and Luoluo also looked satisfied.

Due to the limited time offer, and the fact that the hotel looks so low-key, you should be able to stay there for a few days with your current funds. Aika flipped through the pockets of her windbreaker...

"...Where's the money?"

Aika turned over the left and right pockets of his windbreaker and checked all the pockets of his pants, but the wallet containing active funds was completely missing.

"How could this happen...Dad gave us a lot of money when we came out!"

"Could it have fallen into the fire wolf's lair?"

Ling thought of a possibility. Indeed, Aika sacrificed his life to protect Ling in his arms. Maybe at that time, the wallet fell out of the pocket of the windbreaker.

After that, in order to avoid being entangled by the next wave of fire wolves following the sound, Aika picked up the fainted Ling and Luoluo and hurriedly left the canyon without having time to check whether there were any missing items nearby. .

"What should we do now... We have no acquaintances here. If we don't have money, we can't even eat."

Luoluo, who was constantly being invaded by sleepiness, burst into tears as he spoke.

At this time, the hotel door opened. A girl wearing round glasses poked her head out from the door of the store and glanced at Aika and the others who were standing in despair in front of the hotel.

"Are you travelers? I saw you standing here from the window for a long time."

"Ah...I'm sorry, we just came to this town this morning." Aika quickly lowered his head and apologized on behalf of the three of them, "Are you the owner of this hotel?"

"No, the boss is inside." The girl pushed up her round-rimmed glasses that looked slightly wiser. "I tell you, if you don't have money, you can discuss it with the boss. Maybe we can let you move in on credit."

"Eh? How do you know we don't have money now?"

Ling was a little confused.

"Ah, well..." the girl squinted her eyes and laughed, "Look, haven't you guys been talking about money just now? So I was wondering if that was the case... I have something else to do. , I’ll excuse you for now, but I still suggest you go talk to your boss first, after all, you have traveled such a long way and you still need to rest now.”

After saying that, the girl wearing round glasses left the hotel and left in the opposite direction from where Aika and the others came.

Aika watched in confusion as the girl's figure disappeared into the crowd.

"It's probably an employee of this hotel. Since she said it's possible to get it on credit, let's give it a try."

"There is nothing else we can do."

So Aika turned around and walked into the hotel, followed by Ling and Luoluo.

The interior of the hotel is as simple as the first impression from the exterior. The floors, walls and ceiling are all wooden, giving it a very natural feel.

The white-bearded old man at the counter noticed someone coming in, and slowly raised his head to look at the three people walking into the hall.

"Are you three going to stay in a hotel?"

"Excuse me, we want a room, but the money probably fell on the road. Can we move in temporarily and pay the money in two days?"

Aika hesitated for a moment before nervously speaking to the old man with the white beard. Although the girl with round glasses did say so, Aika was still worried that such an unreasonable request would be rejected.

"Let me see how many rooms are left..." However, the white-bearded old man did not kick them out of the hotel because of Aika's request when they met for the first time. Instead, he flipped through the registration book at hand, "Only the remaining rooms are..." One double room is full, and the other rooms are full.”

"Thank you...then we would like to book this room."

"How many days?"

"One day. I will try my best to pay off the money I owe before tomorrow."

"Yes. Room No. 6, one day. Okay, I hope you can live comfortably. After all, three people will have to squeeze in."

"three people?"

The two eldest ladies, who were already drowsy, shouted in unison.

It seems that the three words blurted out by the white-bearded old man just now stimulated them, and now they all look more energetic than Aika.

"What's going on? Why are there three people in a room? You pervert!"

Ling grabbed Aika's collar, her cheeks as red as her eyes that didn't get enough rest.

[image]

"I don't care... I live with my brother..."

Luoluo has a completely different attitude from Ling. Although her cheeks were red, she still maintained a calm attitude.

Aika helplessly tried to explain to her while being shaken hard by Ling.

"It turns out there is no room..." After knowing the real reason, Ling finally calmed down, "But anyway...if Luoluo thinks it's okay, then I have nothing to say. After all, it's thanks to you that I can find it. Where to live, even though it’s my first time…”

"Don't worry too much, I plan to go to the town to find a temporary job later. This way I can collect the travel expenses, and if I'm lucky, I can get a place to live there..."

"You can't do this, brother! Your burden is too heavy!" When talking about Aika's daily life, Lolo would never agree to add unreasonable burdens to Aika. "If we want to work, we must also work." Go with your brother, as long as you live together.”

"There's no need for Luoluo to go to this extent. I'm the one who should go to work." Ling's sense of responsibility was also aroused by Luoluo's impassioned speech. In fact, she asked Aika to go to the town to find a job. I had this thought at some point, "It's just that I've never lived with a boy before, so I always feel a little nervous..."

Generally speaking, it's normal for Ling to be worried... Aika couldn't help but remind her, who hadn't noticed this yet.

"You must stay in the room and rest today. You can think about things later. Anyway, let's go check out the room now."

In her heart, Aika hoped that the two of them would not have to go to work, so she used this strong request to make them temporarily give up this idea, and led the two of them up the stairs.

The first floor of this hotel should be all staff rooms, so there are no rooms for guests.

There are six rooms on each floor going up, for a total of twelve rooms. Aika's room No. 6 is located at the end of the corridor on the second floor, the farthest room from the stairwell.

Aika took the lead in pushing open the door, and a scent of fragrance came from the room.

There is a purple potted plant placed on the window sill inside the house, and a flower with six purple petals fills the whole room with fragrance.

"This is a purple orchid picked from the Warren Mountains. How do you like it? Isn't it beautiful?"

The old man with a white beard suddenly appeared from behind the three of them.

"Yeah, yeah! Not only is it beautiful, but it also smells great. Can I buy this flower?"

Ling's eyes shone with excitement. She had never seen such beautiful and fragrant flowers in her hometown.

Moreover, this scent seems to have a refreshing effect. The moment I opened the door, all the fatigue in my body seemed to be covered up by the fragrance of flowers.

"It's not that it can't be sold, but this kind of flower will wither quickly if it is exposed to direct sunlight." The old man touched his cotton-like white beard and explained to Ling slowly, "This room No. 6 is because of the window sill." It’s the back side, so it’s placed in that position.”

"It's such a pity..."

Ling walked to the potted plant on the windowsill and stared at the six-petaled purple flower in the potted plant.

Aika finally suppressed her laughter when she saw Ling rarely showing such interest in something. When he turned around to say thank you to the old man with the white beard, he realized that he had returned to the first floor.

"It's so silent..."

Aika admired this open-minded and elusive old man with a white beard from the bottom of his heart.

…………

After the three of them looked around the room, Aika went to town to buy new clothes for everyone as planned, while Ling and Luoluo stayed in the room to rest.

After Aika left, the two girls went to the bathroom in the room and took a comfortable bath.

Since there were no pajamas prepared, the two girls got into bed directly in their underwear.

"Lolo, you have such a good relationship with that guy. In your opinion, what kind of person is he?"

Since they had just taken a shower, the two girls were still relatively clear-headed. Before falling asleep, they started chatting.

Luoluo thought for a while, and then showed a peaceful smile that only he knew.

"Brother, he is a person who will lend a helping hand when he sees others in need of help, no matter how inconvenient it is. He likes to 'meddle in other people's business'. But, I like this kind of brother the most."

"That's it... um..."

What happened in the fire wolf lair is still vivid in her mind, and Ling still seems to be able to recall Aika's body temperature.

When his life was hanging by a thread, he rushed over without hesitation. Even though he suffered such serious injuries, he did not blame himself for being careless.

"He is really an idiot who likes to 'meddle in other people's own business'..." Ling muttered in a low voice, "Speaking of which, Luo Luo?"

"call……"

A soft breath replaced her response.

"are you asleep……"

Ling originally wanted to take advantage of Aika's absence to learn more about Aika from Luoluo, because she was too embarrassed to ask him in person.

Probably because she was rescued from danger twice by Aika, for Ling, Aika has left an indelible mark on her life trajectory.

When I came back to my senses, I realized that no matter whether I was complaining or questioning, I just wanted to talk to him a few more words and learn more about everything related to him.

But this kind of feeling cannot be possessed by oneself.

At least, until "that incident" is completely over, I am not qualified to establish a so-called "bond" with other people.

…………