-80- Work as my bodyguard

By the campfire in the deep night, Linwin lay on the ground pretending to be asleep. After all, he didn't want Kai'Sa to disappear before he woke up.

Kai'Sa, on the other hand, was truly asleep, behind a large rock. Linwin didn't know why she insisted on sleeping behind the rock.

In any case, she slept peacefully.

Linwin found this situation a bit strange, but he couldn't pinpoint what exactly was odd about it.

As the night progressed, the temperature dropped sharply, but fortunately, both Linwin and Kai'Sa were not ordinary people and could withstand it. Kai'Sa's sleeping posture changed from lying on her side with straight legs to curling up into a ball as the night grew colder.

As the sun rose, Linwin got up and started stretching. He hadn't actually fallen asleep; he was just pretending. After all, he didn't want Kai'Sa to vanish before he woke up.

Kai'Sa had also woken up. She rubbed her face vigorously and then looked at Linwin by the still-burning campfire.

Linwin took out a few small items from his backpack—a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a bottle of water. After doing these things, Linwin stood up and started brushing his teeth, drawing Kai'Sa's attention.

Curiously, she watched Linwin and asked, "Are you... cleaning your teeth?"

"Mm, healthy teeth is important," Linwin mumbled vaguely.

"Can you give me one? I want to try," Kai'Sa hesitated, but ultimately, her feminine nature won.

If she could have good tools, she certainly wouldn't want to use wood and specially crafted sour fruit to clean her teeth.

For the sake of cleaning her teeth thoroughly, Kai'Sa often endured the discomfort, and afterward, her teeth felt severely acidic, making eating uncomfortable at times.

Seeing Linwin brushing his teeth with the "bristle brush," Kai'Sa immediately recalled her own childhood.

Back then, she would also use a toothbrush that she could hold, dabbing it with some salt or wood ash. However, it was definitely not as nice-looking as the one Linwin had in his hands, and it couldn't produce white foam.

"Huh? You want to try?" Linwin stopped brushing, holding up the toothbrush with foamy white residue, looking at Kai'Sa in surprise. She, with her beautiful eyes full of curiosity, gazed back at Linwin.

Linwin coughed and said, "This is the one I used, but if you don't mind, I won't mind letting you use it."

"?"

"I mean, do you have another one? I don't want to use something you've used; it's too gross."

Linwin: ".."

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Two minutes later, in the vast desert of Shurima, two small figures stood together.

Sharing a bottle of water, Kai'Sa indulged in the luxury of using water for the first time. She actually used the drinkable water for cleaning her teeth, even dabbing something strange on the toothbrush.

"The thing you just used is called toothpaste. The taste might be a bit strange, but don't mind it. We Zaunites like to invent strange things to put in it, even though I warned not to add those things," Linwin explained, spitting out the water from his mouth and then continued, "Its purpose is to clean teeth, and it's much better than the ash and salt the local desert people use."

Healthy teeth are essential, not only for people in Piltover and Zaun but also for people throughout Runeterra. Even in Freljord, ordinary people find ways to clean their teeth.

Except for some special beings who don't need to clean their teeth, normal people who don't brush their teeth regularly...

Open their mouths, and they'll stink to death!

"This is fun." Kai'Sa imitated Linwin's actions, bending over and brushing her teeth with her right hand, even copying Linwin by showing her front teeth while brushing, although she didn't need to do that.

But Linwin, being mischievous, didn't explain when he saw Kai'Sa doing that. He just stood there watching her.

"Don't brush for too long; it's good enough," Linwin said as he noticed Kai'Sa had been brushing for five minutes, and the toothpaste foam was gone.

Seeing her continuing, he felt it might not be a good idea to watch any longer. Linwin didn't want to feel like he was taking advantage of her naivety.

Kai'Sa nodded, biting the toothbrush. After finishing, she handed the used toothbrush to Linwin, calmly saying, "Thank you, this is very useful."

"Uh..." Looking at the used toothbrush, Linwin quickly said, "You can have this one, and here, take this toothpaste too."

Linwin handed Kai'Sa another toothpaste tube.

"Aren't these things expensive?"

"It's okay. Over here, they might be considered valuable, but where I come from, these are common items, not worth much."

"Thank you."

Kai'Sa took them, holding them tightly in her hands. With no pockets, she had to hold them this way, one hand for toothpaste and one hand for the toothbrush. It gave her a cute appearance, especially with her purple skin, making her seem less "terrifying."

Linwin prepared another breakfast. After finishing their meal, the morning arrived.

"Where do you plan to go next?" Linwin asked Kai'Sa.

She shook her head, indicating she didn't know. She had no home, no acquaintances on this continent. The only thing driving Kai'Sa to survive was her conviction for revenge against the monsters in the underground.

The little girl she once was now lived for everyone who couldn't return.

The burden on her shoulders was heavy.

"I don't know."

"Is there no place you'd like to go?" Linwin asked.

"I have a place I want to go, but they don't want me there now," Kai'Sa said, looking at Linwin. She continued with determination, "Even though you say I'm not strange, they don't see it that way. But it's okay; I can live well on my own."

"Alone?" Linwin looked at Kai'Sa, thinking she wasn't truly alone.

Your dad went into the Void to find you.

Linwin was familiar with the story of Kai'Sa and Kassadin, the father-daughter duo. Kai'Sa was a strong girl, and Kassadin was a great father. However, until Linwin crossed into this world, Kai'Sa didn't know her father was alive, still searching for her, and had become infected by the Void like her.

But Linwin didn't know how to bring up the topic with Kai'Sa.

Fortunately, Kai'Sa didn't notice Linwin's dilemma. She just spoke, "You're a traveling merchant, but I have to tell you some bad news. There are no wealthy people here, and it's very dangerous. Coming here was a wrong decision."

"But I've been to many places in Shurima. Danger is everywhere on this continent; there's no absolute safe place."

Linwin shrugged.

Shurima wasn't a friendly place. For ordinary people, there were dangers like wild beasts, bandit groups. For the powerful, there were threats from Void creatures, dark mages, and mysterious Ascended beings and strange creatures like the monstrous sandworms.

There was also the ongoing war between Noxus and Shurima.

Yes, Noxus, attempting to dominate the world, had invaded Shurima. After conquering a few territories, they slowed down.

For instance, where Linwin was – Bel'zhun, that place was now part of Noxus.

In any case, after the fall of the once glorious empire with the death of Emperor Azir, Shurima was no longer a safe place.

"Alright, since you have nowhere to go, and I plan to explore this area more," Linwin looked at Kai'Sa, and she looked back at him.

"You said it's dangerous here, but you're doing well. How about you work as my bodyguard?"

"Bodyguard?" Kai'Sa questioned.

"Yes, to ensure my safety. Of course, I'll compensate you accordingly."

Kai'Sa pursed her lips; she seemed to have guessed what Linwin's compensation would be.

Saliva began to involuntarily drool.

"Compensation will be food," Linwin pulled out two large pieces of beef, then said, "What do you think?"

"It's not..." Kai'Sa wanted to refuse, but when Linwin pulled out a few more, she quickly said, "It's not like it's not allowed."

But she still stated in a queenly manner, "However, here, you have to listen to me. Everything must be under my command."

"Of course, you're the local here," Linwin nodded.

Kai'Sa's card hadn't activated successfully yet, although the favorability had increased several times. But considering they had only known each other for a day, there was still some distance to go before activating the card.

But as long as food was provided.

It shouldn't be too difficult.

After all, Kai'Sa loved to eat.