Chapter 40: Little Pink Chicken’s Daily Teasing.
For now, her primary goal was to get stronger and investigate the secrets hidden in that remote town.
But Aphrosia seemed to have forgotten something…
“By the way, did you submit the task? Our house is flat broke, you know?” Mistfeather chirped softly, her round eyes practically saying, “This little bird’s worried about you~”
Thanks to the reminder, it finally hit Aphrosia!
The missing persons case she’d investigated was closed, the culprits brought to justice—hell, she’d been the one to rally help at the Adventurer’s Guild! Yet she hadn’t claimed her reward!
No time to waste. Before Mistfeather could react, she was grabbed by a rough hand and whisked off somewhere.
…
At the Adventurer’s Guild entrance, a silver-haired boy stood glumly, hesitating to enter. Not because of social anxiety, but because… he forgot the task slip at home! Could anything be more pathetic? After days of grueling investigation, solving the case, and rushing to submit it, he forgot the damn slip!
So, the boy trudged back home, dejected.
As luck would have it, bad things come in waves. Turning around, he nearly collided with a girl who appeared out of nowhere.
Hah, Flo knew exactly who she was…
“Well, well, who’s this? Our pointy-eared mole, Mr. Flo?”
See? Told you! It was his insufferable rival—Ifrora.
The cherry-haired girl’s smile was like a spring breeze, warming hearts in an instant.
Hold on? Flo didn’t buy that. To him, Ifrora’s grin was sinister, like a cat toying with a naughty mouse—a victor’s smirk.
Something about it felt off, no matter how he looked at it.
“Pointy ears, I get, but mole? What’s with the weird new nickname, you little pink chicken? Be reasonable!”
Flo was too drained to keep snarking, but Ifrora, shameless as ever, leaned closer, her lively eyes making him uneasy.
“It’s a fitting name for Mr. Pointy-Ears who vanished mid-battle yesterday~”
“Don’t like it? Hmm, let’s try another. Pointy-eared… mole… combine them! What’s a sneaky, short pointy-eared creature? Let me guess…”
Flo couldn’t take it. He clapped a hand over her mouth—not out of rudeness, but because this pink chicken’s taunting was too much!
And he bet the creature she meant was some green-skinned…
“You’re the goblin!”
Ifrora pushed his hand away, puffing her cheeks like a hamster hoarding grain.
Maybe calling her a hamster wouldn’t be bad? Flo dismissed the thought—too cute compared to goblin…
“So rude, Mr. Goblin…”
“It is goblin? No, I’m not a goblin, you pink chicken!” Flo’s frustration threatened to blot out the sun, but Ifrora wasn’t done. “So what is Mr. Goblin?”
“Your dear daddy…” Flo snapped, completely losing it!
Mistfeather, hiding behind him, stayed silent. Don’t ask—she couldn’t bear to watch! These two were too childish!
“Rude! Does Mr. Goblin want a spanking?”
“Does Little Pink Chicken want some loving education?”
Flo knew Ifrora was poking at his “desertion” yesterday, but she wasn’t blaming him—she was just seizing a chance to mess with him, as always.
But he couldn’t exactly retort. He couldn’t say he didn’t run, that he’d turned into a beautiful girl to save the world, right?
Even he wouldn’t believe that, but it was the absurd truth…
Delayed by Ifrora’s antics, Flo was at his wit’s end with this gorgeous genius.
Why did a talented beauty like her waste time bugging a nobody like him? He couldn’t figure it out.
“Oh? Loving education? I’m game for that, Mr. Goblin~”
Flo stepped back—her face was too close! In moments, his face flushed red, his ears practically dripping. “S-stop messing around!” he stammered, fleeing.
Ifrora watched him go, smirking slyly. “Hmph, still hard to tame~” she muttered, soft but caught by Flo’s half-elf ears. He stumbled, then ran faster.
Ifrora wasn’t truly idle, picking fights for fun. She’d just run into her amusing “toy” while handling business and couldn’t resist teasing him.
She strolled into the Adventurer’s Guild, a place for drinks and rest, her gaze falling on a girl outside, twirling her pale purple hair in the golden sunlight.
“Greetings, Your Highness, Fifth Princess.”
…
Meanwhile, Flo bolted like a rabbit chased by wolves, sprinting three streets before stopping in a familiar alley to catch his breath. Wings flapped behind him—Mistfeather, grooming her wind-ruffled feathers. “Your face is redder than a flamingo in heat.”
“Mind your own business!” Flo kicked a pebble, then noticed something in the alley’s shadows. A mangy black cat with amber eyes stared at him, a faded silver collar reading “Lia.”
As he bent to pet it, the cat hissed, arched its back, and leaped onto a high wall, vanishing.
“Hey, friend! Want to check out my potions? Quality far beyond any alchemist today!” A youthful, playful voice came from the wall.
A figure in a black cloak, hiding their face and form, perched there.
Flo’s expression shifted. He hadn’t sensed their arrival—or had they been there all along, unnoticed?