Chapter 119: Hilda's Tears

Perhaps surviving a great danger would bring good fortune, as after wandering in the cave for over ten minutes, they unexpectedly encountered another Tunneling Beast.

Despite its fierce appearance, the Tunneling Beast was actually quite timid. As soon as it saw Field and Hilda, it didn't hesitate to burrow into the ground to escape.

Field acted swiftly, hurling a flying hammer that knocked the Tunneling Beast over instantly. Hilda followed up with a flurry of feather-like sword strikes, and the Tunneling Beast met its end beneath the earth.

Extracting the crystal core, disassembling the carcass, and gathering materials, Field nodded in satisfaction. "Let's go, back home!"

Hilda nodded eagerly, walking ahead of Field. It was evident that she was genuinely happy, sometimes hopping onto a roadside boulder, sometimes spreading her arms and skipping over the scattered rocks.

Field strolled leisurely behind her, chatting as they walked. "What's our next mission?"

"Our next mission is to go to Seadust City, rent a ship, and set sail," Hilda replied.

"Sounds exciting. I've been wanting to go out to sea for a while," Field chuckled. "Alright, follow behind me now."

Hilda, alert, moved to Field's rear, placing her hand on the hilt of her sword. "What's wrong? Is there trouble?"

Field glanced at her with amusement. "Well, yeah. If I let you lead the way again, we might really get lost in this underground maze."

Hilda blushed deeply. "Hey... Field always says I have a sense of direction problem!"

"Hey hey, I've been following you for quite a distance. I thought you were making progress, but then you took the wrong turn at this junction," Field teased.

"Big dummy!"

"Are we starting to get unreasonable now?"

"Big dummy!"

"Say that again and I'll get angry."

"Big dummy!"

However, this time, Field didn't respond with words. Instead, he suddenly stood still.

Hilda, still crossing her arms, thought he was about to tease her again. But Field remained silent.

Hilda began to feel uneasy. Was Field really angry this time?

"Field?" she called out tentatively, but Field still didn't respond.

Maybe she had been unreasonable just now.

She knew she was directionally challenged and prone to leading them astray. Feeling a bit ashamed when Field teased her about it, she decided to retaliate by calling him a big dummy. But Field had always been reasonable.

Hilda began to regret her actions. She shouldn't have been so childish.

She dropped her arms and nervously fidgeted with her fingers, her cheeks turning slightly red.

After a moment of hesitation, she bit her lip and spoke softly, "Field, I'm sorry for calling you a big dummy. Please don't be mad at me..."

But Field still didn't respond.

Feeling even sadder, Hilda wondered if Field was truly angry.

"Field..." she tried again, but Field remained silent.

She felt a lump forming in her throat. If Field was angry, he could scold her, but she didn't want him to ignore her...

As she approached, she gently tugged on Field's sleeve. "Field, I..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Field suddenly moved, jerking his head upwards.

"Achoo!!!"

"Huh?!"

"Man, there was so much dust. I couldn't sneeze for the life of me. Finally feels better."

Hilda: "..."

Field: "Hmm? What did you just say?"

Hilda's face grew even redder, and she quickly let go of Field's sleeve, turning her face away. "N-nothing..."

Field almost burst out laughing. Did she really think he didn't hear her?

So, Field stood with his hands on his hips, leaning in towards Hilda's face. "I think I just heard a Hilda apologizing to me."

"She said she wouldn't call me a big dummy anymore."

"Did you hear that, Hilda?"

Field's words echoed in her ears, and Hilda's cheeks visibly reddened, with even her fair neck turning pink.

"Eh~"

"You didn't have to apologize. I'm not that petty. But I'm really happy that you did..." Field grinned mischievously.

Hilda couldn't hold back her tears of embarrassment and frustration. Without hesitation, she reached out and grabbed Field's arm, sinking her teeth into his flesh.

Field winced, sucking in a sharp breath.

Hilda clutched his arm, biting down on the soft flesh where there was no protective gear. As she bit him, her eyes stared daggers at Field, her eye sockets turning red.

Was she crying?

Field was taken aback.

Was it really worth crying over?

But seeing the tears in Hilda's eyes, Field didn't try to pull away. Instead, he gently rubbed her head with his free hand.

"There, there. Relax."

Under his soothing voice, Hilda gradually loosened her grip, standing there and looking at Field with teary eyes that evoked sympathy.

"I know I'm not good at navigating..." her voice quivered.

"And I know I shouldn't be so childish..."

"We're still friends, but friends sometimes disagree and argue..."

"Field, if we ever argue again, you can scold me, you can curse at me, but please don't ignore me..."

"Don't stop talking to me..."

She spoke, tears streaming down her face like raindrops.

Field watched as Hilda shed tears, feeling his heart ache.

He promised himself that he had genuinely been preparing to sneeze just then. It was genuinely uncomfortable not being able to sneeze.

But he hadn't anticipated that his silence would cause Hilda such distress.

He lifted his hand, gently reaching out to wipe away the tears from Hilda's cheeks, nodding.

"I promise you."

"No matter what happens, I'll never ignore you."

"Okay?"

Hilda sniffled and nodded.

Field finally smiled. "Look at you, already resembling a little kitten. And now, with tears, even more so."

Hilda couldn't help but chuckle through her tears. "I'm not..."

She wiped her cheeks, conjuring a water orb with the little magic she had left and washed her face.

Beautiful Hilda was back.

"Do you want to wash up too?" she asked, holding out the water orb.

"Of course." Field nodded, taking the water orb in both hands and splashing it onto his face.

"Refreshing!"

"Let's go, let's head back before Qiqi wakes up and gets anxious."

"Okay!" Hilda nodded and followed Field's footsteps, all the while stealing glances at the bite marks on Field's arm, her cheeks blushing.

Half an hour later, they finally emerged from the mine.

The car was still parked there, and Qiqi was already awake. Seeing Field and Hilda return, Qiqi immediately waved her hand.

Field walked over and ruffled her hair. "Mission accomplished, meow?"

"Completed! With Hilda around, we were super efficient!" Field chuckled.

Hilda also smiled brightly, as if she hadn't shed tears just moments ago.

"Alright, next mission: off to Seadust City!"

"Let's not teleport back this time, or else it would be a waste of the car," Field said, looking at the Lightning III.

"Okay! And on the way, you can teach me that thing... drifting!" Hilda hopped onto the passenger seat, saying.

"What's drifting, meow?" Qiqi, seated at the driver's seat, asked curiously.

Field, sitting in the driver's seat, lit a cigarette and grinned. "This is drifting!"

With that, the rear wheels of the Lightning III began to spin wildly, kicking up a cloud of dust. With a graceful drift, they sped off in the direction they came from, eliciting astonished exclamations from Qiqi.

"So fast, meow!"

"So cool, meow!"

"I want to learn too, meow!"

Sitting on the grassy slope, gazing at the city half on land, half in the sea, Hilda felt a sense of anticipation.

"So this is Seadust City," she said, her eyes filled with curiosity.

"Have you never been here before?" Field asked.

"No, I came to Hesperos two years ago. I was supposed to attend the Imperial Academy of Hesperos in the capital, but I didn't like the environment there, full of bureaucracy. So I transferred to Grilla City, which is more remote," Hilda said, sitting on the grassy slope, enjoying the sea breeze.

"Grilla City is a newly emerged Level One city. It may not be as bustling as other Level One cities, but it's more pure, and I prefer it here."

"Over the past two years, apart from Grilla City and three neighboring cities, I haven't been to any other cities. This is my first time in Seadust City as well."

"Coincidentally, me too. Over a month ago, I sat in the same spot as you, gazing at this Mercenary City," Field said with a smile.

For Hilda, she had only heard about Seadust City in passing, knowing that it was known for mercenaries and had decent seafood, but not much else. Previously, she wasn't very interested in seafood and only understood mercenaries as a group of outlaws, so she didn't have the desire to come here. But things were different now. She had met a super talented mercenary, and because of him, she was curious about this city and wanted to understand it. Perhaps, she wanted to understand that mercenary through this method, but she wasn't aware of it herself.

Field looked out at Seadust City and said slowly, "In Grilla City, have you seen any gangs?"

"Gangs? Like those delinquents who like to gather together?" Hilda asked.

"Something like that."

"I've seen some when I passed through small towns, and there are many in the slums," Hilda said.

"That's the madness of Seadust City," Field said with a faint smile. "Here, there are gang members, mercenaries, bounty hunters, and many other desperados."

"Everyone here has a streak of madness in them. They can be very afraid of death or they can play for keeps with you."

"Even the law enforcement officers here can collude with gang members."

"Wouldn't that mean law and order are chaotic?" Hilda asked in astonishment. Under Uncle Mel's management, Grilla City had never experienced such things, so Hilda was very surprised.

"No, on the contrary, law and order are quite good here. Even at night, it's still lively. Even civilians can walk freely on the streets, and some can even greet gang members," Field said with a smile.

"Huh?" Hilda's mouth fell open, seeming somewhat incredulous. "Why is that?"

"Because when chaos reaches a certain level, villains become law enforcers," Field said.

"For their own selfish desires, they can manipulate the law. But sometimes, because of this behavior, it actually benefits the people here."

"Gang members may be seen as small-time crooks in your eyes, but in the eyes of the residents here, as long as you pay protection fees, the gang members here will really protect your safety, so that you won't be harassed by other gangs in their territory."

"Isn't it more convenient than finding law enforcement officers who pass the buck back and forth, shirking responsibility?" 

"It seems so," Hilda nodded.

"Well, have you had enough rest? Instead of listening to me, why don't you go and see for yourself?" Field smiled.

Indeed, the reason they were chilling here was because everyone was feeling a bit queasy from the ride. Field hadn't expected that Hilda's practice of drifting, which could make hairpin turns on flat ground, sometimes even spinning a dozen times in a row, almost made Qiqi sick. Even Hilda herself felt a bit dizzy. Without a break and some sea breeze, she might have actually thrown up.

But the good news was, Hilda had learned drifting.

Although just a bit.

"Alright, let's go!" Hilda stood up and walked towards Seadust City with Field and Qiqi.