Why should she apologize?! Clearly, she was the one being threatened!
Shami put down the basin in her hands. She collected four basins of tree gum during the afternoon, which was quite a haul.
"How did you find this place?"
"You touched me, and my scent lingered on you, so I followed it." Lureya made up.
"Are you a dog?" Shami raised her eyebrows, unsure if she should believe it.
"What are you doing here?"
He glanced at Lureya.
Under the warm sunlight, the Tablet Spirit's delicate skin was as white as newly fallen snow. Her smooth golden hair seemed to be sprinkled with light particles, a gentle glow. Two pointed ears stuck out from both sides of the golden hair, the most obvious characteristic of the Elf Race.
"I..."
Lureya opened her mouth slightly, wanting to complain to Shami about how hard the past three days had been for her. But the opposing identities made her shut her mouth quickly, pulling back her urge to complain.
She traveled a long way to get here, not to complain but to stay by Shami's side. Sudden complaints would only make her seem weak and she would lose at the beginning, making any future relationship difficult.
Lureya quickly wiped other expressions from her face, leaving only a relaxed expression.
"I have nowhere else to go."
"Is that something to be proud of? No matter how the people of the Elf Race manage it, they can live on the continent for five years with ease, right?"
"But... I snuck out... didn't bring any money." Lureya awkwardly lied, her pointed ears turning slightly red.
When elves lie or get shy, their ears involuntarily turn red.
But Shami, who hasn't left Newbie Village, clearly wouldn't know about these things.
Otherwise, in the Underground City back then, he could have judged the Tablet Spirit's words based on this reaction.
"What do you plan to do?"
"I plan to stay by your side for now... Don't misunderstand... I mean stay in this village... Once I have money, I'll go elsewhere... Besides, this place is nice too. It's a good choice to occasionally stay in a human village after getting tired of the Elf Forest."
"Suit yourself. As long as you keep our secrets, I won't comment on where you go."
Shami wasn't interested in Lureya's decision to stay or leave. However, if she stayed in Yili Village, he would have more control over her. That, for him, was somewhat a good thing.
"What are you doing?"
Lureya felt much better after Shami agreed, and she raised her doubts.
"Collecting tree gum."
"What's it used for?"
"Just village folks' daily stuff."
Shami loaded the basins of tree gum onto a wooden cart and dragged it toward the village.
Lureya quickly followed, staying quiet for a while, casting sidelong glances, and whispered.
"Hey, I guess you're the Demon King Heir..."
Shami glanced back emotionlessly.
Lureya wisely zipped her mouth shut, making a zipper gesture across her lips.
"I'm just a villager."
Ha, if you won't admit it, you won't. Anyway, she had ways to make Shami surrender.
Lureya stopped talking.
When they reached the village, they parted ways at the village entrance.
The sudden appearance of an elf in the small village undoubtedly attracted the attention of the villagers. As she entered the village, many villagers glanced at the gold-haired Lureya.
Lureya quickly visited the village chief, fabricating a story that she was an adventurer from the Elf Forest traveling the continent, planning to stay for a while, to study the local customs and geography.
Elves live long, and there's always a rumor among the Human Race about elves traveling the continent. The village chief gladly agreed and arranged for Lureya to stay at the best inn in the village.
From then on, the golden-haired elf officially settled in Yili Village.
Though the most luxurious room in the inn fell short of her expectations, there was another presence in the village: Shami.
Her curiosity about the Demon King identity and desire to retrieve the necklace quickly dispelled her dissatisfaction. After checking into the inn, she immediately began crafting a plan to approach the handsome Demon King.
To approach Shami, she had to eliminate his vigilance. Otherwise, gathering intelligence or eventually tricking him was just unrealistic talk.
That's right, first improve their favorability!
Lying on the bed, her legs raised playfully behind her, Lureya sorted out her plans.
Huh?
Isn't this just like the common Hero gaining villagers' favor at Newbie Village plot?
Lureya, you truly have the makings of a Hero!
Inside the villager's house.
Though there was a lot of resin mixed during the tree gum collection, the task prompt indicated that these natural tree gums with this purity were still qualified.
[Natural tree gum collection complete.]
Now, he had to collect the Water of Life, but he had no clue where to start.
Speaking of which, what even is this stuff?
Shami flipped through the Demons Atlas, only gaining some limited information.
[Water of Life: A pseudonym for water that aids in nurturing life. Typically sold in underground markets of major cities.]
The atlas didn't specify a location, so Shami would have to visit a city personally to find this item.
Yet, at this moment, he thought of someone else who might know what the Water of Life actually is.
...
Three days of fatigue left the golden-haired elf feeling very sleepy. At night, after setting up a simple level 1 Spirit Protection Array outside her room and soaking in the bathtub, she spread out on the bed, ready to sleep.
Because it was the best inn in the village, which had once hosted adventurer parties of Heroes, her room was equipped with a bathtub, a two-meter by two-meter soft bed, ambiance lighting activated by a hidden switch on the ceiling, and a bunch of balloons in the drawer.
Hey, hey, why would they put such things in a Hero's room!
Lureya weakly complained, sinking into the soft bed, her golden hair sprawling like a web around her body, as her face and body relaxed.
▔▽▔
Although she hadn't done anything today, she worked hard~
Goodnight~
About to turn off the lights and sleep, the Spirit Protection Array trembled. Someone was approaching her room.
Sleep vanished from Lureya's mind, and she tiptoed to peek through the peephole at the person in the corridor.
Shami stood outside her door, staring intently at it.
Something blocked Shami's hand. As he tried to knock, his hand touched a thin membrane, like an air pressure, stopping his hand.
[Name: lv.1 Spirit Protection Array]
[Type: Elf Magic]
[Function: Provides the user with a space offering light protection and an alarm effect.]
[Note: A level 2 Demon King Heir can easily destroy any level-one Magic Array.]
So that's how it was?
Seems the Tablet Spirit truly had a sense of self-awareness for protection.
Through the peephole, Shami already sensed the blond Tablet Spirit was peering at him from behind the door.
Inside, Lureya twisted around like a worm, excitedly spying from the doorway.
Isn't this a chance to test Shami?
An ordinary villager would surely leave when deterred by the Spirit Protection Array, but if he's the Demon King for sure...
Shami picked up a hoe, swung it, and directly shattered the Spirit Protection Array.
"Elf, are you inside?"
Lureya quickly opened the door, her golden hair scattered around her cheeks, with a suppressed angry voice.
"Why did you break my Spirit Protection Array with just a hoe!? Aren't you a villager? And, where did the hoe come from?"
"I brought it myself."