“Po Kong, my friend, you’re finally awake!” Laxi’s shout snapped Starlight’s thoughts back to reality.
He followed the sound and saw Po Kong, who was lying on the ground, with his eyes open, staring straight up at the night sky that looked like black silk.
“If you’re awake, get up. Why are you still lying there?” Seeing him still staring blankly at the sky, Starlight walked over and asked with some hesitation.
“...” Po Kong didn’t respond.
“You didn’t get hit so hard that you turned stupid, did you? That shouldn’t be possible!” Seeing Po Kong remain silent, Starlight prepared to crouch down and check his condition more closely.
At that moment, Po Kong suddenly sprang to his feet and shouted, “Who was she?! Where did she go?!”
Starlight reached out to pat the dust off his clothes and said softly, “She’s already gone! Your reaction is way too slow. And why are you acting so startled?”
“I say... Little Star...”
“What is it? I’m listening.”
“I think I might be in love!”
“It’s good to be in love... wait, what did you say?”
“I said! That elf archer! I think I’ve fallen for her!”
Starlight looked at Po Kong in surprise. He thought it was just a joke, but he couldn't see even a hint of a jest in those emerald eyes.
Seeing Po Kong’s earnestness, Starlight had to accept the fact, silently sighing to himself, “Love, huh... it really does come out of nowhere...”
...
“Alright, Po Kong, stop standing there being lovesick! Since the problem is resolved, let’s not linger here any longer!”
After confirming that everything had settled, Starlight exhaled a breath of turbid air and turned to call Po Kong to leave with him.
“Alright~ coming! By the way, you paid for them just now? You’re quite the smooth operator, kid!” Po Kong slapped Starlight on the shoulder and laughed after hearing Laxi’s account of what happened.
“You were one of the parties involved, after all. And regarding the damage to this place, the battle between you two was the most destructive, wasn’t it? You don’t mind that I used your share of the money, do you?”
Starlight shrugged helplessly, his gaze sweeping over the restaurant’s crumbling outer wall.
“Of course not~ To be honest, it’s not like we’re particularly short on cash. Sigh... I guess I got a bit carried away after having some wine... wait, are we forgetting something?” Po Kong laughed sheepishly, then suddenly slapped his forehead and cried out.
“Forgetting what? I recall you didn’t bring a bag today. I have everything else with me!” Starlight asked, puzzled.
“Little Star, have you lost your mind? If we’re talking about compensation, how could we forget those guys? If I remember correctly, they should still be lying there, right?”
Reminded by Po Kong, Starlight suddenly realized he had forgotten the scar-faced man he had frozen earlier.
After all, this whole mess was started by them. Po Kong’s suggestion that they should also bear part of the loss was perfectly fair and reasonable. At the same time, they could follow the lead to find out the real reason for the conflict with Moen.
So, the two who had intended to leave turned back, just in time to see the scar-faced man’s companions surrounding him while he remained as stiff as an ice sculpture, completely at a loss.
Seeing Starlight and Po Kong return, the hoodlums immediately shrank back in fear, not even daring to breathe loudly.
Seeing this, Starlight didn’t make things difficult for them. He simply waved his hand toward the human-shaped ice sculpture, and the water elements enveloping the scar-faced man dissipated into the air like morning mist.
Before the scar-faced man could even recover from the bone-chilling cold, he saw the two figures he absolutely did not want to see.
“W-what... what do you want!” Whether it was from the cold or fear, the once-arrogant scar-faced man couldn’t even form a coherent sentence now.
“What do we want? What do you think? You have to take some responsibility for the mistakes you made, right?” Po Kong said with a smile as he grabbed him off the ground.
“D-don’t come any closer!!” To the scar-faced man, Po Kong’s smile was as terrifying as a demon’s. After a wretched scream, the man, who had just regained consciousness, rolled his eyes and fainted again.
“He’s out again. You really are good at scaring people.”
Starlight shook his head helplessly at the unconscious man in Po Kong’s grip. With a wave of his hand, a stream of clear water appeared out of thin air and splashed directly onto the scar-faced man’s face.
Shocked by the cold water, the scar-faced man slowly woke up again. In his daze, he once again saw those two stern faces before him.
...
After some “friendly communication” and under Po Kong’s “patient guidance,” the scar-faced man and his companions had no choice but to honestly hand over all the money they had as so-called mental distress compensation.
Although it only added up to a few dozen gold coins, it didn’t matter much to the two of them. The most important thing was that they had been taught a proper lesson.
Additionally, Starlight learned the root of the conflict from the scar-faced man. The two elf girls seemed to have a special purpose for this trip and had come to the Violet City-State, a place they were unfamiliar with.
Being new arrivals, they didn’t know to go to the Adventurers Guild for information. Instead, they trusted a so-called information broker and paid an expensive commission. After being led in circles, they ended up with the scar-faced man.
However, the scar-faced man knew nothing about what they were searching for. Seeing how mysterious they were acting, he had simply made up an address for them to check, secretly calculating that even if they didn’t find it, it had nothing to do with him.
Sure enough, Moen and her sister found nothing. After realizing they had been cheated, they wanted to find the information broker who took their money, but that person had long since disappeared.
Left with no choice, the two came looking for the scar-faced man’s group. Due to the disagreement during their confrontation, the previous conflict finally erupted.
As for what they were trying to do, the scar-faced man only knew it seemed to involve finding someone, and they were all elf names he had never heard of.
“So in the end, you guys don’t know anything either? I thought I could at least get a name or something... Sigh~ forget it... I’m in a pretty good mood today, so beat it!”
Seeing that no more valuable information could be squeezed out of the scar-faced man, Po Kong ordered them to vanish from his sight immediately and told them it would be best if he never ran into them again.
Seeing that the two weren’t going to press further, the scar-faced man’s group fled the crumbling restaurant as if they had received a grand pardon, secretly praying they would never encounter these two menacing figures again.
After bidding farewell to Laxi and his group, Starlight and Po Kong chatted as they walked back to their residence. With that, today’s farce finally came to an official close.
Early the next morning, Po Kong couldn't wait to knock on Starlight’s door and dragged him to the guild hall. He claimed it was to gather information, but in reality, he wanted to see if he could find any trace of Moen and her sister.
Starlight found it a bit amusing to see him so enthusiastic about something for once. But thinking about the crescent-shaped hair ornament still in his pocket, he didn't refuse Po Kong’s suggestion.
However, the two spent a long time carefully looking through information at the guild’s front desk, yet they failed to find any data related to the two elf girls. Clearly, they hadn’t registered with the guild.
While the elf population wasn’t exactly small, and the Violet City-State was the human city-state closest to their home, the Ancient Forest, pureblood elves appearing in the human world were still relatively rare.
Perhaps due to their long lifespans, the living habits of elves were completely different from those of humans. Their pace of life and attitude were exceptionally relaxed, as if time were merely an insignificant accompaniment to them.
Unless a Demon invasion on the scale of the one from over a decade ago occurred, most elves might never leave their homeland in their entire lives. Even when trading with humans, they usually only set up temporary trading posts near their tribal lands.
Consequently, there was very little information regarding elf members in the Adventurers Guild’s records. Aside from a few officials with political ties, almost no related records could be found.
“It looks like we won’t find them here. Where could they have gone? Do we really have to go out on the streets and start asking?” Po Kong checked the records in his hand once more, fearing he had missed something, but the result was still disappointing.
Beside him, Starlight shook his head helplessly at the frowning Po Kong. In a city the size of the Violet City-State, trying to find two people was no different from searching for a needle in a haystack.
Unless they knew the other party’s detailed itinerary or were truly fated to meet, the probability was virtually zero.
Rate on N.U.
