The mushrooms in the forest provided Kells and Wyvern with ample food, and surprisingly, the man and the beast walked out of the forest neither full nor hungry. However, the name 'Wyvern' was really too flattering for that creature; 'Fat Dragon' would be more appropriate, and Kells thought so too…

  “Great, Fat Dragon, I can already see the houses in the distance. Finally, we've made it to Locco alive. If only I had money, I've been eating mushrooms for two days, I feel like mushrooms could grow on my head!” Kells happily pointed to the distance, and Wyvern in the backpack lazily stretched out its head to look in the direction Kells was pointing.

  About five li ahead, one could indeed vaguely see a large expanse of buildings, with quite a few tall ones inside. It was said that Locco was twice as large as Anda, and it seemed the rumors were true. Just the number of those tall buildings was much greater than in Anda. However, calling them 'tall' was a bit of a stretch; they were at most three stories high, built with stone and wood.

  “Locco is really big, haha, I’ll definitely be able to find a job to make money there! After working hard for a few months, I can live the mercenary life! Awesome! Fat Dragon, don’t stick out your fat head, I’m going to speed up!” To reach Locco as quickly as possible, Kells started running. This was his strong suit; he could cover five li in no time. As for why Kells had such formidable abilities, it was explained earlier, you know…

  Just like that, Kells jogged all the way into Locco. Locco town was indeed much larger than Anda; even the various goods sold at the roadside stalls were much more abundant than in Anda’s shops. However, Kells didn’t have a single copper coin. On the De Rossi Continent, the smallest currency was the copper coin, above which was the silver coin, and above that, the gold coin. One gold coin could be exchanged for 100 silver coins, and one silver coin for 100 copper coins. Of course, all this had nothing to do with Kells. His family had lived in the forest for five years, long isolated from the outside world, so they didn’t have any money at all.

  “I’ve heard there are jobs that provide food and lodging. Now, I have no money at all, and the mushrooms are almost gone, so I can only look for such a job. But how to find a job is really a problem. Dad and Mom never taught me anything about this. If it really doesn’t work out, maybe I’ll steal a little…” Such a thought suddenly popped into Kells’ mind, but it was immediately rejected. His father’s admonition always appeared in his mind when he had such thoughts: “You must not cross that line, right? Hehe, Dad, your son is almost starving!” Kells smiled self-mockingly.

  “There are so many people here; why not just ask?” Standing around foolishly wasn’t a solution. Kells thought that others might know something, so he began to incessantly ask passersby where there were places hiring. When he asked the 100th passerby, Kells finally learned that a restaurant in Locco was recruiting staff, and only there did they provide food and lodging.

  “I’ve seen shop assistants in Anda; they probably just serve tea and water and such. Jobs that provide food and lodging are probably only this kind, but it’s not bad, hehe. If I happen to encounter female guests staying at the inn, that would be great!” Kells stood on the street and began to indulge in lewd fantasies, smiling lecherously! The passersby looked at him with some pity…

  “This child is so pitiful, so thin. Earlier, I saw him asking around for work. Could it be that he couldn’t find a job and went crazy?” one passerby said.

  “I think so too. The idiot next to our house often smiles like that. So pitiful. He must be from out of town looking for work. It’s winter now, shops aren’t doing well, and there are few places hiring,” another passerby said.

  “Sigh… Poor people’s children are all so pitiful! It’s so cold; this child won’t freeze to death, will he…” yet another passerby said. Speaking of which, there are really many busybodies in Locco who love to meddle.

  A certain someone was still smiling lecherously, completely unaware. With this kid’s skills, as long as there were female guests staying at the inn, their panties were definitely within his grasp. As long as he didn’t cross that line, he couldn’t let go of the panties!

  More and more people were discussing Kells around him, forming a circle around the kid. In Locco, those who were still working outside in such cold weather were all poor people. They were very kind-hearted, and seeing a destitute outsider, they couldn’t help but feel compassion. Although they themselves were also poor, quite a few took out copper coins and threw them in front of Kells.

  The sound of a series of copper coins hitting the ground pulled Kells back from his fantasies. “Oh… you all… copper coins! Haha, thank you! Thank you all! Thank you!” Seeing that quite a few copper coins had been thrown in front of him, Kells was overjoyed. “Just thinking about panties brings good things. My bad luck is over!” he thought truthfully while thanking the passersby who had given him alms.

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  “Indeed, panties are my lucky charm!” This was the conclusion Kells had just reached, little did he know that the only ones left in his bag were those few from the ugliest girls in Anda…

  The passersby, seeing that Kells had returned to normal, dispersed to go about their own business. Kells also slipped away to a place with no one around and began counting the copper coins he had received. “One, two… a total of 32 copper coins. The people in Locco are really nice, but I don’t know what these coins can do. They should be enough for a meal, right?” For many years, Kells’ only interaction with the outside world was through panties… He had no idea about prices or anything like that.

  With those 32 copper coins in hand, Kells developed a good impression of the residents of Locco. Back in Anda, aside from being chased and beaten, he had never experienced anything warm. He was almost moved to tears! “I will remember you all. When I become a mercenary and earn money, I will treat the residents of this area to a big meal!” Kells promised thus. His father had taught him that no matter how small a favor, as long as it comes when most needed, it is greater than the sky.

  Kells would not forget…

  He took this money and found a small stall selling steamed buns. For the first time in his life, Kells learned that two copper coins could buy one bun! And it was meat-filled! Vegetable-filled ones were even cheaper, one copper coin for one. Oh my, 32 copper coins could buy a lot of buns. These white, plump buns were quite large; probably five would be enough for a full meal. For Fat Dragon, two vegetable-filled ones would do. For himself, he’d have a meat one and four vegetable ones. After deciding, Kells handed the boss eight copper coins.

  The steamed buns were very delicious. It was the first time Kells had eaten such tasty food! He was so happy. This sentence could also be understood as this guy’s dad and mom really couldn’t cook… Actually, this was unfair to the two elders because, unable to communicate with the outside world, they couldn’t even get the most basic cooking seasonings. How could the food they made be delicious!

  After the hearty meal, Kells’ spirits lifted considerably. Fat Dragon, however, was depressed. For this creature, two buns were nowhere near enough, but Kells’ principle was just to keep it from starving to death. Besides, for a pet of its size, one bun should be enough to satisfy it… In short, it was a money-losing proposition.

  Although Kells couldn’t use his fists to discipline Fat Dragon, he could use various threats. This creature understood some human speech and could probably grasp that Kells meant if it didn’t behave, he’d make it suffer. So, although Fat Dragon complained, it was very obedient along the way. This creature was usually very lazy; after eating, it would squat in the backpack and sleep soundly, too lazy even to poke its head out.

  With his belly full and nothing else to do, Kells prepared to go to the place he had heard about that was hiring and try his luck. Although he was a bit thin, he was very agile and definitely had no problem working. If the boss wasn’t too picky, he would surely hire him. However, the person who told him the news also said that shops in Locco generally didn’t like to hire outsiders.

  This was a headache, but how would he know the outcome without trying? Kells decided to go take a look first. It didn’t take him much time to find that restaurant. The shop was quite large, with two floors, but it was very deserted inside. It was noon, prime time for eating, so this was a bit suspicious.

  Kells walked in and glanced around; it seemed there was no one inside. “Knock, knock, knock…” he lightly tapped on the doorframe. The boss was probably on the second floor. It wouldn’t be good to just walk in like that. For his first job application, he had to make a good impression on the boss.

  “Customer! Finally, a customer! Welcome! Welcome! I’ll be right down! Please wait!” A seemingly somewhat cute female voice came from upstairs, followed by “tap, tap, tap…” footsteps. Suddenly, “bang!” the sound of something falling reached Kells’ ears!

  “Ah…” a woman’s scream, probably the boss had fallen. Then again, “tap, tap, tap…”, “bang!”… Kells counted; the boss fell a total of four times while coming down the stairs… He could probably imagine why this shop had no customers. Kells suddenly had a feeling that his future was worrisome, but that female voice was quite alluring, which was also the only thing attracting Kells.

  “Oh oh! It must be a cute-type beauty, my favorite! Helping a beautiful boss facing the crisis of closing down! It seems like many unexpected plot twists could happen!” Kells began to fantasize again. This time, the fantasy didn’t last long; the boss finally came down…

  Kells’ eyes lit up. Indeed, as he had guessed, although she couldn’t be considered a beauty, she was very cute. She was dressed in ordinary women’s clothing, with two long braids, black hair and eyes, a round face, rosy cheeks, and a large bump on her forehead, probably from the fall earlier. Her eyes seemed somewhat nearsighted; when she walked toward Kells, she leaned in very close, probably trying to see his appearance clearly.

  The girl leaned in so close that Kells could smell her body fragrance. “Oh! So fragrant, hehe, only young maidens who have not yet experienced the world can emit such a scent!” Kells was extremely excited. He was very knowledgeable about women’s various body odors, even able to tell from the smell of panties whether their owner had any diseases…

  “H-hello! Customer! I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. What do you need?” the girl asked somewhat nervously.

  “This voice, this expression, it’s so damn cute!” Kells’ heart raced. If she were to call him ‘big brother’ or something, he would probably faint from excitement.

  “I’m definitely going to be a shop assistant here! No matter what it takes!” Just for this cute shop owner, Kells made up his mind!

  It seems that this kid has forgotten about the beauty mercenary group and all that…