035. Being Good Is Free and So Do Evil

The room was silent after Alice made a request to Zhen. 

"EHH! Why?" asked Alice in astonishment. 

Ethan facepalming while Nala lowered her head and shook her head. 

'Why is she even surprised?' thought Nala and Ethan simultaneously.

Zhen raised one of his eyebrow. "What do you mean why? It's not my problem."

"But Eleindal's army is coming to attack!" said Alice.

"And they're going to level the village. And that's not my problem," Zhen replied casually. 

"Don't you care about the innocent people who might be attacked?!" said Alice, raising her tone.

"I feel sorry for the old people who can't move and the little kids who can't hold a weapon yet. They'll die 100%," Zhen responded without changing his tone.

"That's why -"

"And that's not my problem," Zhen said, cutting off Alice's sentence.

The blood overflowed in Alice's head and her face flushed with resentment that could no longer be contained.

"Alice, just give up," Nala persuade in a gentle tone. 

"Alice, I can lend you a horse," Ethan said offering a solution. 

"No! This is no longer about travel. It's about humanity and justice! How can you so casually to close your eye to the tragedy that's about to unfold?!"

Zhen sighed. "Unfortunately I don't have time for this ideological debate." Zhen turned around. 

"Wait a minute!" Alice grabbed Zhen's shirt. 

Zhen looked into Alice's determined eyes.

"Doing good deed is free, you have nothing to lose!" said Alice. 

"Doing bad deed is free too, I don't understand your point," Zhen retorted.

Zhen pulled his shirt from Alice's grasp.

"Anyway, Good luck with your assignment, knight girl." Zhen stepped towards the door.

Just a step more to the door, Zhen's shirt was pulled by Alice again. 

'I pity Alice,' Ethan thought looking at the blonde waitress.

'She should already know that nothing can change Mister Zhen's mind,' Nala thought with a sigh.

Alice's head was bowed and her grip was very strong. 

"What do you want, knight girl?" 

Alice immediately raised her face which was flushed with embarrassment. "I'll give you a massage every three hours!"

The room fell silent instantly. 

'Eat this bait, you perverted elf,' Alice thought with a grin. 'Show me your true colors. I'll force you to do the justice.'

Alice thought she had done something great but it looked like it would be her regret as Zhen looked delighted with his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"You're really going to do it?" asked Zhen with excitement.

"Eh?" Alice was confused because Zhen was neither shy nor hesitant. 

Zhen immediately picked Alice up and carried her in princess style. His right hand lifted Alice's back while his left hand lifted Alice's legs. 

"EH?!" Alice and Ethan shouted simultaneously. 

"Ara... Ara... I had expected that Alice would become my rival, but I didn't think it would be this quick." 

"U... Unc... Uncle Zhen... What are you doing?"

"Eh?! Eh?! Aren't you embarrassed? Do you realize you look like a pervert?!" said Alice with her face flushed with embarrassment.

Zhen looked at Alice with his sparkling eyes. "Yes! I'm a pervert and I got a free massager!"

"I got a free massager!" shouted Zhen as he ran out carrying Alice. 

Ethan was left gaping.

Nala looked at Ethan and smiled. "Ara... Are you jealous?"

Ethan immediately turned his face away. "W... Who... Who's jealous?"

"Don't worry, because I'm jealous too."

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Zhen ran towards the ground floor while carrying Alice like a princess.

"P... Pu... Put me down!" Alice smacked Zhen while her face was blushed. 

"Zaltar! Guess what I got!" said Zhen in a loud tone of voice that got the attention of everyone in the bar. 

Everyone was silent for a moment and then cheered. 

"Woah! Mister elf got Alice!"

"Congratulations, Mister Elf!"

"Congratulations, Alice!"

"Woah! I'm jealous!"

All the cheering and shouting embarrassed Alice and she immediately covered her face with both hands.

"Put me down!" said Alice while covering her face with both hands.

"We are going now, Zaltar, hehe," said Zhen, who rushed out. 

Zhen ran out of the bar with a feeling of excitement. The townspeople, bandits, Eleindal knights, all looked at an elf carrying a woman like a princess.

"Haha! She's mine!" shouted Zhen as he ran towards the town gate. 

Everyone who looked at the scene was happy and some applauded. 

"Congratulations, mister elf."

"Congratulations!"

"Congratulations, Alice! 

"Congratulations to both of you."

"Congratulations!"

All Zhen could think about was getting a masseuse, that's all. But it was different with everyone else except him.

'AAAAAA!!! Now they will think of me as this elf's wife! I want to die!' Alice screamed in her mind as she continued to cover her face that was flushed with embarrassment. 

Zhen led Alice out through the town gate. Not far away, a roofless horse carriage was waiting, as was a black-furred wolf that wagged its tail in delight at seeing Zhen return. 

Zhen dropped Alice off beside the carriage and quickly searched for a large rock, leaving the embarrassed woman behind. 

She no longer wore her waitress outfit and only her usual clothes, but this embarrassment was much greater than the moment when Nala forced her to become a waitress.

"Shouji will definitely hate me now," muttered Alice who continued to cover her embarrassed face with both hands. 

Meanwhile, Zhen managed to get a large rock with a radius of 2 meters. He looked around to make sure no one was watching him.

Zhen hurriedly took out a sword from his [ Inventory ]. A cyan-colored two-edged sword with a hilt made of pure gold and shaped like an eagle's head.

[ Point Shifter, default. ]

Zhen instantly lifted the boulder with one hand and placed it on his shoulders. 

The elf rushed back to the carriage and found a very upset Alice with watery eyes. 

"Knight girl, what's wrong with you?" asked Zhen nonchalantly which made Alice even more furious. 

"What do you mean asking that question?! Y... You... You're carrying me l... Li... Like a newlywed!" insisted Alice, stomping her foot while pointing at the elf.

"No need to sweat the small details," Zhen said with a chuckle. 

The elf placed a large stone on the ground and slashed it horizontally. Now, the boulder looked like a stone altar with a very smooth surface due to Zhen's slash. 

Alice was not surprised by the boulder being split in two, but rather the sword Zhen was holding. 

"T... Tha... That... Could it be... The Great Griffin sword?!" cried Alice while gaping. 

"Oh, you mean this?" Zhen showed Alice the sword. 

"The legendary sword that belonged to the first Utone king. A sword that disappeared and whose whereabouts are unknown to anyone. It's said that its attack is able to split the islands," Alice said as she held the sword with her trembling hands.

"Yep, he gave it to me," said Zhen who had been lying on his stomach on the stone altar with no shirt on. 

"Come on, start massaging my back," Zhen said with a happy smile. 

"He got the legendary sword from the Utone king himself and used it for this?" murmured Alice whose feelings were mixed between amazement and disappointment.

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Ethan laid down his exhausted body and sighed, "I think I'll be here for a while."

"20 silver coins per night," Nala replied swiftly. 

"WHY IS IT SO EXPENSIVE?!" Ethan shouted with all his soul.

"Ara... I don't mind giving a family discount."

"Family discount?"

"Call me aunty Nala."

"No family blackmails its own!"

"Ara... Are you sure? 75% off."

Ethan paused, he didn't want to do it but the 75% discount was too big to pass up.

Ethan turned his face away. "Al... Alright, a... Au... Aunt Nala."

Nala smiled and immediately stroked Ethan's head. "Anything for my nephew."

"AAAAAGGGHHH!!! STOP IT!"

Nala pulled her hand while chuckling softly. "Ara... Ara..."

"Are you satisfied now?"

"Ara... Hot headed."

Ethan did not respond and immediately turned his body around. 

"By the way, there's one thing I don't understand about your arrival. Where are you going with that many knights?" asked Nala, starting a serious conversation. 

"Actually, it's a diplomatic duty."

"A diplomatic duty? But why did you bring that many?"

"Just in case diplomacy fails."

"Ara... That sounds scary. Which kingdom is it? I'm sure it's not the Utone kingdom, right?"

"Chrono Academy."