"Is that the same for you?" Laine gathered the food scraps and said casually.
"I haven't!!!" To his surprise, Teresa suddenly turned over and sat up, her tone unpleasant: "Didn't I tell you? This is the first time I've been alone in a room with a man until today..."
Her shoulders were held down by the man, and Laine gently pressed them to make her lie down, tucking her in before nonchalantly laughing, "Alright, alright, I was just joking. Why so excited?"
"A lady's chastity is not a joke, Mr. Kingdom Knight!" For some reason, seeing Laine's indifferent face annoyed Teresa, as she had never allowed any man to touch her.
"Alright, alright, I apologize." Laine was somewhat surprised at Teresa's self-restraint, and his tone became much more sincere: "How much has your body recovered now?"
"Don't change the subject!" Teresa said irritably, but still answered Laine's question: "By the time I get up tomorrow morning, I should be about seventy percent recovered."
"Returning to our previous topic, what happens if a Demon Hunter falls from grace?"
"There will be trouble, a lot of trouble." Laine chewed on the rabbit meat, his brows furrowed: "Take Belte as an example, the Demon Hunting Master is privy to many of Nord Kingdom's secrets, including little-known ruins, the Church's hidden locations, and the weak spots in the Kingdom's defenses. Belte has been a Demon Hunter in Nord Kingdom for decades, gaining full trust. If he were to fall, he would certainly sell those secrets to Chaos in exchange for rewards, which is why Archbishop Innocen is so anxious."
"Furthermore, once an expert who once fought against Chaos falls, it becomes a nightmare for other Demon Hunters because he knows them too well. Most of their actions would be within Belte's expectations, as he knows exactly what his former colleagues will do next in battle. This is why several Demon Hunting Masters have died at his hands. Generally speaking, after falling, a Fallen Hunter's power level increases by at least one rank. Belte had been stuck at the Legendary Initial Tier for several years, so..."
"So even if we catch up with him in Marinburg, we'll have to face at least a Legendary Middle-tier Fallen Hunter?!" Laine's words finally caught Teresa's attention.
"Sigh, not to mention the long distance, just reaching Mijordenhaven safely is uncertain. Teresa, didn't you notice? This road has been abandoned for a long time, and as long as there's no issue with the road, Villarld wouldn't just let a trade route fall into disuse without reason, and no one in that vast Kaltenhaven was willing to guide our enormous caravan. Do I need to explain why? And you're still so calm?"
The woman's face flushed, and she spoke softly, "Is there something I can help with?"
"Not sure yet, let's leave it for now." Sparks ignited from Laine's hands as he used Spiritual Energy to burn all the food scraps, then returned in front of the female sorcerer: "You sleep inside, I'll sleep outside. Call me if there's anything."
"You're more nagging than my mom, what time is it? You're a Legendary Powerhouse, doesn't your Extraordinary Physique give you abundant energy? Talk with me a bit longer!" Who knew Teresa would stop him from leaving: "I've rolled out the carpet, the inside is warmer and big enough, isn't it?"
"As you wish." Laine had no reason to refuse a better environment. Even though he could handle uncomfortable conditions, being comfortable is always better, so he sat down again, leaving less than half a meter between them: "There should be a battle tomorrow, there's a Goblin Tribe nearby. Though their strength shouldn't be too formidable, we'll definitely have a fight."
"You believed the bandit's word just like that?" The female sorcerer took off her white lace gloves, revealing slim, jade-like hands.
"No, do you remember the mushroom we saw earlier? The disgusting one?"
"Can we not talk about that?" Teresa showed a disgusted expression, looking like that horrid thing left a considerable shadow on the cleanliness-loving her.
"I didn't mean to disgust you. What I mean is, do you know why the blood mushroom appeared there?"
"You're saying that's the work of the goblins?" The female sorcerer quickly caught on; she's always been clever.
"Exactly, every blood mushroom has the soul of a flatus sprite." Laine began recounting the story of the blood mushrooms: "As everyone knows, Green Skins are divided into three kinds, the highest being the orcs, followed by goblins, and then flatus sprites, which are the lowest in the hierarchy among Green Skins. They are slaves and food for the first two."
Just as Laine described, Green Skins are creatures that defy common human logic, formed from green spores, and capable of photosynthesis; they are autotrophs.
Indeed, the Green Skins are autotrophic creatures, needing no basic food requirements as long as they have sunlight.
Meaning, Green Skins require absolutely no logistics support.
But needing no logistics doesn't mean they don't enjoy eating. Meat and fungi are their favored delicacies.
Among Green Skins, the lowest-ranked flatus sprites are most fond of eating fungi, especially delicious mushrooms and fungi. However, there's a problem here, which is that since flatus sprites are so weak and formed from plant spores, after consuming excess fungi, their bodies gradually undergo assimilation, hardening, and they can no longer move.
"At this point, the goblins would 'plant' those flatus sprites, who have gradually become fungi, into the ground, waiting to harvest. The flatus sprite would take root in the ground and grow, eventually becoming a blood mushroom."
"Blood mushrooms are a favorite delicacy among Green Skins, and they only bring them out to eat during significant victories or important days!" Laine wagged his head and said.
"Wait, that face on the blood mushroom..." Teresa immediately realized something, and the female sorcerer's face turned slightly pale.
"Indeed, that face is the face of a flatus sprite." Laine nodded: "Now, you know why I'm certain we'll encounter goblins tomorrow, right?"
"Alright, alright, enough of those disgusting things, okay?" The female sorcerer felt sick in her stomach, leaning against the soft pillow, her beautiful eyes gazing at the Kingdom Knight.
The Kingdom Knight's blue pupils also looked at her, the man's expression calm as a still well.
"Why don't you want to be my partner?" After a while, the woman finally spoke.
"If you have a task and want me to cooperate, sure, name your price, we can negotiate terms. But being long-term bound partners, no." Laine said flatly.
"Why not? Don't we get along quite well? Since we get along, and our ages and strengths are similar, becoming partners should be a logical outcome, shouldn't it?" Teresa said in confusion.
"Is compatibility, similar age, and strength the conditions for becoming partners? I don't think so. Maybe you've found the wrong person, my dear Teresa, or do you have some ulterior motive?" Laine furrowed his brows; he always found this reasoning oddly peculiar.
This isn't some aristocratic matchmaking.
The woman thought similarly, her face blushing, choosing not to speak.
"Oh? Is that so? I don't think it seems like it." Teresa retorted, her silver eyes scanning over Laine, raising her eyebrows with a flushed face: "Are you just finding random reasons, coming up with a seemingly logical excuse to convince yourself?"
"..." Laine's eyes flickered. He wanted to laugh it off but couldn't, his expression stiffened.
The man and woman looked at each other, blushing, and finally, the woman couldn't take it anymore, turning her head: "Alright, I understand, this matter isn't urgent for now, I'm going to sleep, good night."
"Mm, good night." Laine then stood up intending to leave.
"Laine!" As he was about to exit, he was called.
"Hm?"
"Soon, you'll willingly become my partner."
"Oh? Is that so? Then I look forward to your performance."