Chapter 42: A Small Request

Back at the shop, Field saw Veena still standing there dazed. He couldn't help but say, "What are you staring at? Buy the spices, I'm starving."

Veena finally snapped out of it, nodded, and went into the shop to purchase the spices. Since she was with Field, the owner promptly packed the spices for her, refusing payment and even adding several packets of premium spices, thanking Field for his kindness.

Veena looked at Field, feeling a bit unsure.

Seeing her cute hesitation, Field chuckled, flicked away the cigarette ash, and said, "Since it's the owner's goodwill, just accept it."

Veena nodded and thanked the owner quietly.

After buying the spices, they headed back to the orphanage. Field carried the bulging bag of groceries while Veena held the small bag of spices, quite a conspicuous pair, mainly due to Field's imposing stature.

Back home, Field placed the groceries in the kitchen and lounged in the living room, waiting for food. Veena offered to help in the kitchen, but Grandma Lurla promptly pushed her out.

"Today, grandma is cooking herself. Just wash your hands and wait for the food," Grandma Lurla said with a smile, then glanced at Field.

Veena couldn't argue with Grandma Lurla, so she nodded. But as she walked into the kitchen, she brought out a half-filled jug of wine and placed it in front of Field.

Field's eyes lit up. He had just come back from a stroll and felt a bit thirsty.

Without hesitation, he lifted the jug and chugged it down. In a split second, half of the wine was gone.

"Ah~" Field put down the jug, licked his lips, and said, "Refreshing!"

But then he felt something amiss and turned to see Veena staring straight at him.

With her hair covering her face, her eyes unseen, Field could still feel her unwavering gaze.

"What's...what's wrong?" Field asked, puzzled.

"You like drinking," Veena said softly, surprisingly without stuttering.

"Of course, I like it..." Field nodded subconsciously, but then realized and raised an eyebrow, "No, I don't like it. Mercenaries can't handle good wine, this wine is terrible!"

Veena remained silent, just looking at him.

Within three seconds, Field started feeling guilty. Finally, he grinned sheepishly, "Okay, okay, I do like it..."

"But so what? You're not allowed to buy it!" He said sternly, "If you dare buy it, I'll dare to drink it. You buy one bottle, I'll chug one bottle in one go!"

"I'll drink until my stomach gets a hole burned through it, and my belly falls off!"

"I dare you!"

Veena tucked her small face into her high-necked sweater.

"I dare."

"If you're scared, don't buy it, so I won't lose control, got it?" Field said, "If you're going to buy it, get some rye wine. It's not too strong, you can drink it like a beverage."

"Okay."

"Don't just say okay, say you understand."

"I understand."

In the kitchen, Grandma Lurla slowed down her vegetable washing, listening to the sounds coming from the living room. A gentle smile spread across her lips.

This house was becoming lively.

"Big guy, Fei Fei's here, meow~" Suddenly, a strange voice came from outside, accompanied by some bustling footsteps, as if there were quite a few people.

Field immediately stood up and walked outside.

When he saw Fei Fei, he smiled.

The footsteps belonged to some workers who were carrying a large pile of furniture into the courtyard. Several pieces of furniture had already been unloaded.

"Altogether it's eleven hundred gold. The boss rounded it down, so there's nine hundred gold left, meow," Fei Fei said, taking out the coins and handing them to Field.

Instead of taking them, Field smiled and said, "The rest is for you as pocket money."

"Really, meow?" Fei Fei's ears perked up, her face full of surprise.

"Yeah, bro's a rich man now," Field chuckled.

Enjoy life to the fullest, that's the motto of a mercenary.

Mercenaries don't need to buy houses, and there aren't any fancy cars or sports cars in this world, so Field is very relaxed about money. In short—money is made to be spent!

"Big guy is the best, meow!" Fei Fei happily jumped up, landing directly on Field's shoulder and affectionately rubbing her cheek against the side of his face.

Field was delighted. Look at that, this nine hundred gold was well worth it!

At this moment, a foreman approached with a smile, asking, "Boss, where should we put these furniture?"

"We provide moving and cleaning services. This lady has already purchased the full package, so just let us know if you have any requests."

"As long as it's within the scope of our services, we guarantee to do it beautifully!"

A purchase of over a thousand gold coins is considered a big order even in the outer city, so naturally, Field is a valued customer and must be treated well.

Field was satisfied with the service attitude and took out a bag of cigarettes, tossing it to the foreman, and also lit one for himself. Then he pointed to the house next to the orphanage and said, "Apart from the chairs, move everything else there and clean it up. Also, move out the old furniture from inside and place it in the courtyard."

He had checked the house before. It used to be where the children of the orphanage lived, but now most of the children had left, leaving only a few beds and tables and chairs.

However, Veena should have been cleaning it regularly, so it shouldn't be too dirty, just some corners that need cleaning.

"Got it!" The foreman glanced at the small bag of cigarettes in his hand, which had about twenty of them, and his smile widened.

Then he waved his big hand and said, "Let's go, guys, get to work!"

Watching the seven or eight workers energetically start their work, Field nodded in satisfaction and reached into his left pocket.

Huh? Where's his lighter?

This world also has lighters, but they're called "firewatches" because they resemble pocket watches.

When opened, the spring-like ignition device would flick open the cover, and the flint on top would produce sparks, igniting the wick in the center of the pocket watch dial.

Field's lighter was homemade, in the style of a zippo lighter, and he usually carried it with him.

He remembered putting it in his left pocket just now, so could it be in the right pocket?

He was about to switch pockets to search when a small hand reached out in front of him, holding a pocket watch-like object that clicked open with a snap, and a small flame burst from the center of the dial.

Field was stunned, then instinctively used it to light his cigarette.

Taking a puff, he turned to look at the little cat girl sitting on his shoulder, a smile in his eyes.

No one can resist a little cat girl.

Especially one who can light your cigarette for you.

"You bought a firewatch?" Field chuckled.

"Yeah, how's it, meow?" Fei Fei showed off the firewatch she specially picked out, with small patterns engraved on it.

"It's okay, but not as nice as mine." Field took out his own lighter from his pocket.

Sure enough, it was in the right pocket, even though Field distinctly remembered putting it in the left one. Quite strange.

Field called this phenomenon—"Schrodinger's lighter."

"Wow~" Fei Fei took the lighter, admiring the hand-carved angel pattern on it with great delight.

"Give me yours, and I'll give you mine," Field said.

"Big guy is so nice, meow!" Fei Fei was overjoyed and exchanged lighters with Field.

Field chuckled, knowing that little kitty didn't smoke, so what use did she have for a lighter besides lighting his cigarette?

Of course, it was to help him light his cigarette~

The little kitty loved it, holding the lighter in her hand and playing with it.

"Be careful not to burn my hair," Field said, as the little kitty was sitting on his shoulder.

"I'll be careful, meow," Fei Fei nodded.

The efficiency of this group of workers was impressive. In no time, all the furniture was moved in, and the old furniture was placed in the courtyard. Even the dirt in the corners of the rooms was cleaned out, making the interior look tidier.

Field gave some instructions on how to arrange the furniture, and then the job was done.

"Boss, the job's done. Do you want us to dispose of this old furniture and trash?" The foreman asked enthusiastically.

Field was about to speak when he felt someone tugging at his clothes. He turned around and saw Veena standing behind him.

"Can we... not throw away the old furniture?" Veena asked softly.

"Why would you want to keep it?" Field asked, puzzled.

Veena didn't say anything, just looked at him quietly, as if she herself didn't know why she didn't want to throw it away, just that she simply didn't want to.

So Field nodded and said to the foreman, "Keep the old furniture, but dispose of the trash for me."

"Got it!" The foreman nodded and, with his men, cleaned up a pile of trash, then happily left the orphanage, smoking the cigarettes Field had given him.

It seemed that a bag of cigarettes could make these simple workers happy for a long time.

Veena then approached the old furniture, gently touching it with her small hand.

"What's wrong?" Field asked.

Veena looked at the old tables, chairs, and wooden beds, and said, "I used to sleep on this bed, with another girl."

"At that time, Grandma Lunla used to sit at the head of the bed and tell us stories."

"Later, where did the children go?" Field asked.

Veena shook her head lightly and said, "I don't know..."

"Some were adopted, some went out to make a living. I don't know how they're doing now."

"Then no one wanted to adopt you?" Field asked again.

Veena still shook her head. "Most of the children adopted were boys, and there were fewer girls."

"I... I didn't want to be adopted, so when someone came to adopt, I would hide..."

"I didn't want to leave Grandma Lunla, or the orphanage..."

Her voice sounded a bit downcast at this point.

Field understood what she meant and said, "Don't worry, Gorilla City is only a day's journey from here. When you want to come back and see, just tell Professor Holland."

"I'll live here in the future, so you don't have to worry about Grandma Lunla and Tina."

"With me here, no one can harm them."

At these words, Veena turned to look at Field, then walked up to him and bowed slightly.

"Thank you..." Her voice trembled, as if she was trying not to cry.

"Touching, isn't it?" Field laughed, "So, can you fulfill a small request for me?"

Veena nodded gently. "Yes."

Field scratched his cheek, his gaze suddenly a bit evasive, as if this usually confident big guy was feeling a bit embarrassed at this moment.

"Can... can I see what you look like?"