Chapter 249

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Chapter 249: This Battlefield Should Belong to the Hero and the Ahoge Hair Princess

When Emilia came out of the bathroom, she saw Rin already studying at his desk.

Glancing at the book title, "Guide to Ocean Monsters," it seemed like a pretty normal book.

Rin was taking notes attentively at the moment, as if he had fully recovered from his shy state earlier.

She really admired the tundere for this.

After all, this chair was previously used as a test bench, and there were still some remnants of chemical experiment smells around it.

So, why did tundere like studying so much?

Emilia approached him, only managing to understand one illustration. The dense text seemed dull and meaningless at a glance.

"Rin."

Upon hearing the call beside him, Rin instinctively responded, putting down his pen and pulling Waste Hero closer. He released evaporating magic while using a towel to help her wipe.

The actions had become muscle memory, and practice made perfect.

Just looking at Waste Hero’s profile, Rin couldn’t help but remember how she looked before, feeling a bit strange inside.

After a slight restraint, Rin neatly folded the towel and put it away.

Waste Hero shook her head, her messy blue hair that had just been tousled, instantly became smooth and shiny.

Seeing Rin concentrate on studying again, Hero Meow didn’t disturb him, but instead brought a large chair and curled up in it.

Playing with a toy cat on one side, eating crackers on the other side.

In the past, any slight noise would have made it hard for Rin to focus on his studies, and he would have gotten frustrated and sent her away.

But now, he could completely block out the sound of snacking and finger snapping, creating an undisturbed atmosphere.

Once again, he couldn’t help but marvel at how powerful habits can be.

Time unknowingly passed by.

Waste Hero had eaten several packs of fairy cakes, but his belly did not appear to get bigger.

"Huh?"

Rin suddenly sounded puzzled, picked up the book, and pointed to a black and white illustration on the left side towards Waste Hero.

"Is this the fish with four legs that you mentioned?"

Emilia glanced at the illustration, her eyes turned into cat pupils instantly, she squatted on the chair, her hair all puffed up.

"Hmm… looks like it."

Seeing Waste Hero starting to turn into a cat and growling at the illustrations in the book, Rin quickly placed the book back on the table.

Unable to see the picture, Emilia’s emotions began to calm down, and soon she returned to normal.

"This fish, called a landfish, is a unique amphibious creature found at the meeting point of the Black Sea and the Xingzhi Sea."

Some mammals reproduce asexually… Hmm, they usually hide under the seabed, hunting for small fish, shrimp, and coral polyps as food, with their favorite food being the tree anemones growing in the south of Xingzhi Islands.

During the breeding season, they climb onto land, looking for places rich in tree anemones to prepare for breeding…

They have an ugly appearance, with only one king in a group, and the king fish’s size will grow significantly as it ages.

When walking on land, they continuously secrete mucus like an eel, but it’s not for escaping, but to lubricate and cool their body.

When excited or stimulated, their gland will release a strong foul odor.

Due to their rare numbers and lack of research value, these are currently the only information available.

"Wow, they do look quite disgusting."

Just seeing the picture of the fish covered in secretions made Rin shudder, almost understanding why it left such a strong psychological impact on Waste Hero.

Rin didn’t bother taking notes about the fish, quickly flipping to the next page.

This time, Waste Hero has fully recovered.

She stretched lazily and lay her legs flat on the chair, then continued to stare blankly at Rin’s profile.

The afternoon sunlight cast a soft halo on the young man’s face, tinged with a hint of golden sparkle.

The tiny white fuzz on his face was clearly visible, and his black and white eyes shimmered like crystal as he tilted his head in deep thought.

His eyes had a dense layer of slightly curled eyelashes, forming a beautiful curve.

Indeed, he is an eyelash expert.

The more she looked, the more she found him attractive. Miss Hero couldn’t help but become enchanted and lost in her gaze.

It wasn’t until the sun set behind the mountains that the room began to dim, and Rin rubbed his eyes, ending an afternoon of studying.

He rubbed his slightly sore neck and placed the book and notebook back in their place.

He turned his head towards Emilia and saw her leaning on the chair back, already asleep.

Even while asleep, she held the little cat tightly in her arms, unwilling to let go.

Rin crouched down beside her, gently patting Waste Hero’s head.

"Silly cat, wake up, it’s time for dinner."

Waste Hero’s closed eyes with blue lashes fluttered as she rubbed her eyes, waking up groggily. She instinctively tried to sit up, forgetting she was still on the chair and slid off sideways.

Rin quickly reached out to catch her, but ended up sitting on the floor due to Waste Hero’s weight.

Emilia blinked, sat up confusedly, rubbing her eyes, looking completely dazed.

Rin felt a bit sore in his buttocks and couldn’t help but pat her head.

"Hurry up, get down!"

Waste Hero heard a scolding voice, tilted their head and saw that they were sitting in Rin’s arms. Without saying a word, Waste Hero jumped up and rubbed against Rin.

Impatiently, Rin picked her up and threw her onto the bed.

"So annoying! Hurry up and wake up! We’re going out for dinner. You’re not hungry after snacking all afternoon, right?"

"Hungry, hungry, want to eat meat."

"Knock, knock."

Just then, there was a knocking on the door.

Rin gestured with his eyes for Waste Hero to behave on the bed, walked to the door, opened it, and saw Betty standing there with her hands behind her back.

"Huh? You’re back from your adventures?"

"And I bought a lot of dried fish too."

Betty said as she walked up to Rin, who was sitting on the bed looking at a duck, and she gently tapped her finger on her lips.

"Am I interrupting Rin and his sister?" she mumbled.

The moment those words were uttered, the whole world seemed to go silent, making Rin feel embarrassed.

He was indeed… uh, wearing a cloak, but not really.

"Stop talking nonsense!"

Feeling guilty, Rin loudly exclaimed, while leaving the door open, and gestured to Emilia, "Let’s go, I’ll take you to eat delicious food, don’t just sit there!"

Betty giggled, "Rin, I heard there’s a fantastic seafood restaurant nearby."

With her familiar attitude, she effortlessly made herself part of the group looking for a free meal.

"Seafood is off-limits, and I’ve already chosen a dinner spot for today."

Speaking, he carefully tidied up his clothes and went out with a cat and a little girl.

As they left, a middle-aged man who had been squatting in a corner in front of the inn stood up, took off his straw hat, and threw it to a young man nearby.

The young man looked into the distance at the three people leaving and nudged the middle-aged man, "Brother, are we going or not?"

The middle-aged man stood still for a moment, sighed, and said, "The market is about to close. Let’s buy what we need first. The people in the village are waiting for us to return. We’ll leave early tomorrow morning."

"Hey? Aren’t you going to say goodbye to Emilia?"

"No."

He hesitated for a while, and finally managed to say stiffly, "Hero will come back."

The young man immediately protested, "What’s the point of following for just a day! Just to see each other a few times?!"

…

"So delicious, I really like the ribs at this place."

Betty said, rubbing her round little tummy after eating.

"Not greasy at all, really good. But I prefer the sour soup with fatty beef. I didn’t expect to find such a good restaurant in this small place."

Rin also commented, then finished the last sip of juice in his cup.

He had eaten quite a lot for dinner, three bowls of rice soaked in sour and spicy soup. But because he had a big stomach, he didn’t feel too full.

Full of food and drink, Rin picked his teeth with a toothpick, glanced at Betty who was still rubbing her belly.

"That guy who mooches off others for meals, come on, tell me, what do you want me to do? You disappeared all afternoon, doesn’t seem like you’re in a hurry."

"I want big brother Rin to take me to a place, a place that only opens at night."

"Only opens at night?"

Rin thought for a moment and remembered that some taverns are open at night.

"Are you asking me to take you drinking?" the man teased.

"No, I don’t drink," Rin replied.

Betty shook her head, took out a map, and pointed to a circled location for Rin.

"Here is a casino that opens at night. I need your help to take me there, Rin," Betty explained.

"？"

Rin’s expression turned serious as he warned, "Those places are not safe. Many people lose everything there."

"I’m not going there to gamble," Betty assured.

Betty rolled her eyes and said, "I just want to see a human casino for inspiration in my writing."

"Then you can go by yourself."

"No, that casino requires people with a certain amount of money to enter, which means only wealthy people like big brother Rin can go in looking like easy targets."

Two crosses popped up in Rin’s mind and he tapped her head, "It would be better without the second half!"

However, he also heard that casinos deceive people, and only easy targets like to go in.

"It’s okay just to go in and have a look, I haven’t been there either, but remember gambling is not allowed, okay?"

"Big brother Rin is as talkative as ever."

Betty rubbed her head, stood up with a smile, and said, "Let’s go now."

"Well, anyway, there is nothing else to do."

After paying the bill, the three walked towards the location marked on the map.

It’s around half past nine now, because the dock is blocked off, there are more people on the street than last night, and the shops are busier.

The three of them were walking slowly, treating it as a leisurely stroll.

When they arrived at the destination, it was already ten o’clock.

With a glance, there were still three casinos nearby, but the one in front of them seemed to be the largest in scale.

There were four burly men standing at the entrance of the casino, judging by the emblems they wore, they belonged to the Blood Panther King gang.

Rin walked up the steps and was immediately stopped by one of them.

"Young master…"

The big man looked him up and down, his expression much gentler, "To enter here, you need to have at least twenty-five gold coins, that’s the rule."

"Really troublesome, I presume you have more than 25 gold coins on you, right?"

Rin impatiently took out a gemstone, waved it in front of the other person, who immediately stepped aside, ignoring the two girls in cloaks he was with.

Most of the people who come here to gamble are traders and gang leaders, some prefer not to be recognized, so wearing cloaks and masks is normal.

Here, they only care about money, not who you are.

After walking through a dimly lit passage about ten meters long, the second door opened, leading into a room filled with noisy chatter.

Looking around, wow, there were quite a lot of people, and the jewels and coins on the tables sparkled under the chandelier’s light.

Even in such a remote place, the casino boasted a sizable treasure trove, imagine the ones in larger towns!

This was Rin’s first time seeing something like this, and he couldn’t help but look around with curiosity.

The casino was completely enclosed, with no windows in sight. Though there were small ventilation openings scattered around, the air here still felt stuffy.

The mixture of smoke and alcohol made breathing difficult.

"So what’s good about this place? People will suffocate in a while, Betty, you…"

Rin turned to talk to Betty, but found that as soon as they entered, the succubus person had disappeared, and he didn’t know where she had gone.

With Betty gone, Rin couldn’t just leave her and walk away, so he held Waste Hero’s hand and walked inside as if casually looking around.

Just a few steps in, a girl with rabbit ears and dressed strangely, carrying a tray, stood in front of Rin.

"Guest, haven’t you exchanged your chips yet?"

"Chips…"

Rin glanced at the coins and chips on the tray, his mouth twitched.

He was not there to play, so he didn’t want to exchange any chips.

But… he thought that if he didn’t pretend when entering the casino, he would be considered a suspicious person causing trouble.

Thinking about this, Rin curiously asked, "How do we exchange this?"

"One silver coin can be exchanged for one chip worth. You can use chips to pay for drinks at the venue, and can exchange them back for money when you leave."

"Alright, then let’s start with two gold coins. It’s my first time here, so I want to look around first."

The bunny girl immediately took the gold coins, handed two chips with a face value of one hundred to Rin, patted her belly, and left with a smile.

Just as Rin was about to leave with Waste Hero, his shoulder was suddenly tapped.

"You little rascal, what are you doing here?"

He turned around and saw that it was Xingzhi Witch.

She looked very excited, her cheeks flushed under the black veil, and there were some tiny beads of sweat on her forehead.

"Just accompanying someone to take a look."

Rin scornfully glanced at the witch in this place, not surprised at all.

The witch grinned and hooked his shoulder.

"What a coincidence, come on, let me teach you the first lesson, let’s find a table to play."

"I refuse."

Rin immediately pushed away her shoulder, avoiding her as if seeing a plague god.

"If you want to go, go by yourself, don’t ruin our fun."

"Bah, how boring, acting like a villain, a toothless tiger, a silver spear is all show and no substance."

Rin ignored her, pretending not to hear her mockery.

"Fine, fine, you just watch me conquer all!"

"Oh no, he doesn’t even have his underwear left."

Mockingly, Rin was about to grab Waste Hero’s claw, only to find it empty as he turned his head.

Miss Hero was seen throwing her two chips directly into a slot on a spinning wheel.

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