Chapter 71: Are You Fairly Satisfied with Your Female Companion?

Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Are You Fairly Satisfied with Your Female Companion?

"Anya! It’s Anya!"

The short fellow grabbed Lorin by the collar, as excited as if he had just reunited with a long-lost relative.

"I see her, I see her... COUGH, COUGH! Hurry up and let go, I can’t breathe!" Lorin was pulled backward by him, his back nearly pressed against the cartwheel. His collar was choking his throat so tightly that his voice sounded distorted.

To make matters worse, the little guy was absurdly strong, and Lorin couldn’t pry his hands off.

Hearing the commotion, Anya turned her head slightly. Catching sight of the three of them nearby by the light of the torches, the smile on her face grew even brighter. She waved the torch in her hand at them, scattering sparks that danced through the air like fireflies.

"She saw Pip! She waved at Pip!"

"She was waving at me," Erin said coldly. She moved to the other side of the cart, wanting to distance herself from these two embarrassments.

"No! It was at Pip! Pip is standing on the wheel!" The little guy finally let Lorin go, jumping up and down a few times in an attempt to add a bit to his pitiful height.

"You’re still not as tall as me," she retorted.

Anya walked toward them, and the crowd naturally followed in her footsteps. The glow of the torches drew nearer, the scent of burning pine resin grew stronger, and the singing became louder and clearer.

"How lively."

Watching the approaching crowd, Lorin instinctively tried to take a step back, but he felt a tug at the hem of his clothes. He looked down.

A little girl was standing by his leg. She looked to be about six or seven years old and was wearing an oversized wool coat. The sleeves were rolled up several times, revealing two little arms that were bright red from the cold.

On her head rested a flower crown that was clearly a size too large for her, hanging askew over her ears in a comically adorable way. She tilted her head up and raised the object in her hands.

It was an Ordinary pinecone.

Its scales were slightly cracked, and the top was still dusted with un-melted snow. A red string had been threaded through it and tied into a crooked knot.

"Happy Midwinter Festival... mister..." The girl smiled shyly, stood on her tiptoes, and pressed the pinecone into the palm of his hand.

Lorin glanced down at the pinecone, squatted down, and smiled as he ruffled her little head.

"Happy Midwinter Festival."

"HEHE!"

Seeing him accept the pinecone, the girl smiled even more joyfully. She skipped back into the procession and threw herself into her father’s arms affectionately.

Her father looked like a peddler in his thirties. He smiled, picked his daughter up, tapped her nose, and greeted Lorin proudly.

"Happy Midwinter Festival, friend!"

"Happy Midwinter Festival!"

Lorin politely returned the greeting. After watching them leave, he looked at the pinecone again, twirling it between his fingertips. He felt its rough texture and, after a long moment, suddenly let out a soft chuckle.

He thought, "This is so nice..."

Lorin tucked it into his coat and stood back up.

Anya had already approached. She looked at the rather disheveled trio and asked with warm concern, "Was everything alright on your journey?"

"It was alright," Lorin nodded.

"That’s good. You all worked hard." Anya smiled and nodded at the three of them. Without stopping her pace, she continued leading the parade forward.

The people flowed past them like a river.

An old woman pressed a wheat cake into Pip’s hands. The short fellow cradled it against his chest, completely overwhelmed by the favor, unsure whether he should take a bite first or say thank you.

"THAN... THANKS!" He ultimately chose to do both at the same time.

A young woman also stepped out of the procession to give the dirt-covered Erin a gentle hug. Erin froze in place, utterly at a loss, as a deep blush burned all the way from her cheekbones to the tips of her ears.

It wasn’t until Anya’s figure disappeared into the crowd that they finally snapped back to their senses.

The torchlight gradually faded into the distance, but the faint sound of that song could still be heard, echoing endlessly in their ears.

Lorin bent down to pick up the slipped cart rope, grabbed the handles, and said with a smile, "Let’s go. We need to haul these things back first."

The entrance of the Furnace Tavern was brightly lit.

The wooden mug sign hanging outside was similarly adorned with a giant pine branch wreath, wrapped in red cloth strips and strings of dried berries. The door was simply left wide open, allowing the raucous noise and warm light to spill out, pushing back the chilly wind at the entrance.

Lorin parked the cart next to the stables in the inn’s backyard. Using the exterior stairs, they made several trips up and down before finally moving all their loot into their room.

"Pip thinks we need to get a new place." The short fellow stood at the door, looking as though he wanted to cry but had no tears left. The floor was nearly covered in items, leaving hardly any room to stand.

"Indeed." Lorin nodded in profound agreement. Renting a house really needed to be put on their agenda; although staying at a tavern was convenient, it was simply too expensive.

Erin stood at the top of the stairs and called down, asking an attendant to bring up two wooden tubs filled with hot water.

The poor young man arrived panting as he lugged a large wooden tub up the stairs. When he reached the door and glanced inside the room, he froze in his tracks.

"A-are these supposed to go inside, miss?"

"Yes."

In the end, it took him a tremendous amount of effort—turning sideways and tiptoeing—to finally squeeze the tub into the small patch of empty space in the corner of the room.

"I’m going to go change my clothes." Erin squeezed her way inside and closed the door.

Lorin and Pip waited for the attendant to haul up the second tub, then wiped their faces and changed out of their clothes.

Although they had Weak Cleaning Techniques, this Magic didn’t seem to recognize sweat as a stain. After so many days, their clothes were already reeking of sour sweat.

He retrieved the pinecone from his clothes again, hung it by the head of the bed, and then stood in the hallway to wait for Erin.

The short fellow just didn’t have the temperament to sit still. Before long, he was leaning over the railing, occasionally letting out gasps of amazement.

"So many people... is that a Dwarf?... A Halfling! Pip sees a Halfling!"

Lorin rubbed his forehead, feeling that this guy was even more boisterous than the tavern lobby downstairs.

After waiting for quite a while, with the short fellow’s stomach letting out a loud GRUMBLE, the door finally opened.

Erin had changed out of her bloodstained and dirt-caked adventuring gear, putting on a turquoise high-collared wool dress. The soft fabric wrapped around her body perfectly, draping from her shoulders, cinching at her waist, and cascading down along the curves of her figure.

Her hair was let down as well, with her long red locks cascading over her shoulders. Only two strands at her temples were tucked behind her ears, revealing a pair of silver studs on her earlobes.

The hallway lights cast a faint, luminous sheen over the contours of her shoulders and collarbones, while the expensive fabric displayed an incredibly fine, velvety texture under the glow.

She tilted her upper body, leaning casually against the doorframe. Noticing Lorin’s dumbstruck stare, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.

"What’s wrong? Are you fairly satisfied with your female companion?"