Chapter 412 - 214: Actually, I Like You (3)
Chapter 412: Chapter 214: Actually, I Like You (3)
Though much of it was in ruins and in need of rebuilding, the town’s foundation was at least still intact. It hadn’t been nearly obliterated like the other afflicted villages.
Roland Town, it seemed, had been saved.
Lin Mo continued along the town’s dilapidated streets. The buildings were still relatively intact, and the scene before him grew increasingly familiar.
Ali and Feney followed behind him. Ali’s eyes held a look of nostalgia; after all, she too had lived in this town for a long time.
As for Feney, she was simply curious.
She had never left Silver Stream City’s sphere of influence in her entire life, having only visited the towns and villages near it. She had never seen the towns under the jurisdiction of another city.
"What do you think?"
Lin Mo noticed her expression and couldn’t help but ask with a smile.
"It feels... um..."
Feney seemed a little embarrassed to say it out loud, but her thoughts were already quite obvious.
Compared to Silver Stream City, Lania City and its surrounding towns had a massive gap in infrastructure—it wasn’t just the main city that was lacking.
Within Lania City’s sphere of influence, Roland Town was considered a decent-sized town. But aside from its size, its facilities in every aspect were barely an improvement over the villages of Silver Stream City.
This was the difference in governance, though of course, it was also because Lady Beixila had more than enough resources.
’In other words, even if the Lawrence Clan were given the same resources, how well could they have built up Lania City?’
’Most of the money probably ended up in the pockets of the nobles themselves!’
"Oh, right..."
Lin Mo suddenly remembered something and quickened his pace.
He soon arrived at a certain street. Following the route from his memory, Lin Mo walked straight to the front of a blacksmith shop.
’It’s closed?’
Lin Mo still remembered Edgar, the Dwarf Blacksmith who had once invested in him. He had been a little worried that Edgar might have been caught in the disaster, but judging by the state of the shop, it hadn’t closed recently. It must have been at least half a month ago.
’So did he sense the danger in advance and just skip town?’
’Or did he simply decide to move to a bigger city to further his career...’
’Who knows when we’ll meet again.’
Shaking his head, Lin Mo said to the others beside him, "Let’s go. We’ll rest for a bit first."
Although the situation in Lania City was a complete mystery, it was likely not good. But the other reinforcements from the neighboring cities had already gone ahead. Besides, his group had just been through a major battle. They couldn’t possibly set off on the road again immediately. No matter what, they needed to rest for a while to recover their Physical Strength and Magic Power and get themselves back in shape.
There were still a few inns in town that hadn’t been destroyed, but they were mainly concentrated on "Flower Beds" Street.
Walking onto this street, Lin Mo couldn’t help but recall the time he had been completely clueless and accidentally wandered in here.
The shop he had stumbled into back then was still perfectly preserved, so the president of Roland Town’s Adventurer’s Association had arranged for them to rest here.
Walking into the inn, he saw that the proprietor was the same stout, middle-aged woman. This time, however, her face lacked its former composure and was instead filled with the relief of having survived a disaster.
To survive the Goblin disaster, and to have her inn remain completely intact, was indeed incredibly lucky.
"W-Welcome, guests..."
A young girl, holding a tray, approached timidly. "The owner has already arranged your rooms. I’ll take you to them to rest."
She didn’t quite dare to look up at these distinguished guests, but Lin Mo recognized the young woman.
’She was the one who came knocking on his door that night...’
’Recalling that scene now still felt a little awkward.’
"Ah—!"
Just as Lin Mo was reminiscing about when he had first arrived in this world, the young woman in front of him suddenly cried out, "It’s you!"
As she had turned her head, her peripheral vision had caught a familiar figure, and her curiosity finally gave her the courage to look up.
This guest, who had once stumbled into her inn by mistake, had left a rather deep impression on her.
Lin Mo smiled and was about to wave and greet her when he suddenly felt one... two... no, three pairs of eyes all focused on him.
His mouth twitched. He lowered his hand and simply nodded. "Yes, hello."
’Oh? What’s this?’
Landon and the others at his side settled in to watch the drama unfold with great interest. However, Lin Mo had no intention of explaining things here, and Ali and the others didn’t immediately ask. So, the group proceeded to the second floor in relative peace.
Once they were in their room, Lin Mo finally spread his hands and explained, "You’ve misunderstood. It’s not what you think."
"No one asked you, my master."
Shefilya’s retort hit its mark, leaving Lin Mo at a loss for words.
"I’ve studied this. In human language, that’s what’s known as an unsolicited confession!"
Ali also put her hands on her hips, her ice-blue eyes sparkling with "wisdom."
The teasing had set the mood, and Feney seemed about to say something as well. However, she opened her mouth but, for a moment, couldn’t think of anything to say.
Then, she belatedly realized something...
"Master?"
She looked at Shefilya, her face full of surprise.
"Why would Shefilya... call Mr. Lin Mo... by that name?"
"..."
And with that, the room fell into a dead silence.