Otto was greatly alarmed, hastily backing down and anxiously explaining to Grin.
"What ice cream? Green-kun, I don't have any, I just wanted to be able to help you..."
"I'm really sorry, I've embarrassed you."
As he spoke, Otto hung his head dejectedly and said sadly, "I really don't deserve to be your friend..."
Grin glared coldly, forcefully extending a finger to jab Otto's chest.
"How dare you say that! Can we even be considered friends with you acting like this?"
Otto: "I'm truly sorry, Green-kun!"
Grin: "You've disappointed me so much, Otto!"
Otto: "Perhaps I should atone for this with my death, Green-kun!"
Grin: "You had this kind of good thing and you didn't even think of me!"
Otto: "I'm really sorry, Green-kun... Huh? What did you just say?"
"Get out of my way, you wouldn't even appreciate it properly!"
Grin pulled Otto behind him in one swift motion and casually yanked off the tablecloth from the flowerpot stand by the entrance.
He gave it a vigorous shake to unfold it and tied it around his chest as a bib, all the while smacking his lips in preparation.
"Sorry about that, Priscilla. This guy Otto isn't mature enough yet. This kind of thing requires me to take charge personally! Itadakimasu——"
...Outside the grand and ornate gates of the Sun Princess's Mansion, two disheveled figures were tossed out by Al as if they were trash, landing on the cold white jade steps below.
"Sorry, bros. The princess specifically ordered you to be thrown out."
Al spoke, dusted off his hands, turned around, and walked back through the Mansion gates.
The tablecloth around Grin's chest was now askew and draped behind him like a cape, making him look utterly ridiculous.
Otto pushed himself up slowly from the ground and timidly approached. "Green-kun, are you alright?"
Grin turned his head and glared at Otto. The midday sun shone down, illuminating the red footprint mark on his right cheek.
"What do you think?"
At the same moment, a certain princess was also staring blankly at the bite mark on the top of her foot.
"Pfft—Hahahaha!"
Otto could no longer hold back. He clutched his stomach and laughed out loud, his whole body shaking, tears nearly streaming from his eyes.
"Honestly, I thought you and Her Highness were going to get into a fight right then and there. I never expected... Hahahaha!"
"Green-kun, you didn't see the flustered look on that lady's face. She couldn't even pull her foot back in time."
Grin gently rubbed the mark on his face and cursed, "You're really the worst, Otto. I took that kick for you."
"Sorry, Green-kun! I really couldn't help it!"
Otto laughed until his stomach cramped. Clutching his lower abdomen, he squatted on the ground, unable to even stand steady.
Grin quietly activated his Divine Protection ability, quickly healing the injury. Otherwise, walking down the street would easily cause misunderstandings.
"Stop laughing, damn it!"
Grin kicked Otto in the butt a few times, finally stopping the guy's laughter.
Now calmed down, Otto felt a strange new emotion stirring in his heart.
"Green-kun, having a friend like you is really great. If you hadn't shown up in time earlier, I truly wouldn't have known how to handle the situation."
"That woman is crazy. Don't take it to heart."
Grin patted Otto's shoulder. This guy was also a bit stubborn.
He had written very clearly in the letter: if Priscilla wasn't willing, just leave immediately.
But Otto, not wanting to let Grin down, was stubbornly prepared to grovel.
Grin paused, then pulled a money pouch from his robe and held it out to Otto.
"By the way, Otto, I used all the requiem grass as a bargaining chip in a trade. People from the Hoshin Merchant Guild will be coming to transport it soon."
"I still have some money here. Take it to pay off your debt first. As for your share of the profit, I'll make it up to you once we return to the Mathers Territory."
Otto's debt repayment deadline was indeed approaching, so he didn't refuse excessively.
"No problem. For Green-kun to be undertaking such a big task, it's my honor to be able to help you."
"Enough with the sappy talk. Are you free now? Come with me to take care of something first."
Grin put an arm around Otto's shoulder. This guy really was loyal and righteous.
Unlike the perverts back in his hometown, the citizens of Lugnica placed quite a bit of importance on dignity.
Otto's willingness to offer a kiss to Priscilla's foot for Grin's sake was enough proof that he considered Grin a true friend.
"What is it, Green-kun?"
Otto showed keen interest. He had messed up the earlier task for Green-kun, so this was a great opportunity to redeem himself.
Grin spoke as they walked.
"There's a pair of siblings over in Iron Barrel Street. Their names seem to be Ato and Mia. I plan to buy them."
Otto hurriedly covered Grin's mouth, looked around cautiously, and whispered, "Green-kun, human trafficking is illegal."
Grin pried Otto's hand away.
"We'll just go handle some adoption paperwork, won't we? As long as the gold coins are sufficient, the other party will agree."
"That method could work..."
Otto didn't ask Grin the reason for doing this, just nodded in agreement.
The two walked side by side through the bustling main street. The further out they went, the more dilapidated the streets became.
Until the road surface became patchy and potholed, and the air carried a sour, rotting stench—Iron Barrel Street had arrived.
Reaching the street entrance, Grin didn't go in immediately. Instead, he pressed himself against the wall and peeked around for a while.
He had to confirm that those few fierce aunties weren't there at the moment.
Otherwise, he might get chased again.
Otto was a bit confused.
"Green-kun, are you buying or stealing? This feels a bit weird to me."
"Shh!"
Grin made a silencing gesture.
"Be extremely careful. The aunties here are terrifying."
Both of their attention was focused on scouting the road ahead.
They completely failed to notice that from the alley behind them, fifty or sixty porters carrying boxes were emerging one after another.
"Hey, you two up front, make way!"
"Excuse us, we have a large shipment of goods that needs to pass through here."
Grin and Otto turned around in unison, dumbfounded, and cleared the path.
The boxes were marked with words like "So-and-So Pastries" or "So-and-So Cakes."
As a merchant, Otto was well aware of the value of these items. Seeing this, he couldn't help but exclaim,
"Is this really a slum district? Someone actually bought such high-end goods all at once. They must have cleaned out the entire street's stock."
Grin jolted, a terrifying thought popping into his mind.
"Oh no, my money!"
Sure enough, at the very end of the porter procession followed a little girl wearing a new-style dress and sporting a blue-purple ponytail.
Who else could it be but Meli.
"You spendthrift!"
Grin charged towards Meli, flailing his arms, and firmly gripped her shoulders.
"You little brat, why did you buy so many cakes? I hope you don't choke on all that sugar!"
Meli was startled, but upon seeing it was Grin, she inexplicably grew bold.
"You're the one who told me to go buy cakes. And there are still several cartloads of little dresses that haven't been delivered yet."
Meli broke free from Grin's grasp, pinched the hem of her dress, and spun around gracefully.
Her blue-purple long hair lifted lightly with the turn, the skirt brushing against the dusty ground, making the little dress appear even brighter and more eye-catching.
Meli lifted her chin, her olive-green eyes brimming with delight, her voice crisp and clear.
"This one is my favorite. So, how is it? Pretty, right? It was only five gold coins."
The corner of Grin's mouth twitched. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.
After holding it in for a long time, he finally managed a sentence: "How much is left?"
Meli let out an "Oh," as if remembering something.
She pulled out an utterly empty money pouch from her bosom and shook it in front of Grin.
"I'm broke, old man. Time to cough up some more gold!"