Leisure time

  As Penny emerged from the backyard of the inn with her wet clothes, the awkwardness in her heart slightly alleviated. However, upon entering the tavern's main hall, she found only the landlady sitting at a table, gazing at her with an ambiguous look that seemed to be still amused by what had just happened.

  "Don't look at me like that, okay?"

  Heaven knows why Wogold set the transmission point in that position, perhaps he should have known earlier that the coordinates on the other side of the copper coin were actually Hickel... Penni thought silently, and even more unexpectedly, he returned just in time. Speaking of which, what exactly were these two women doing in the bathroom? He recalled the postures of the two beauties when they fell into the bathtub, looking at Veeka's bathrobe still dripping with water, his mind began to wander.

  "What's on your mind." Vika saw Penny's gaze frequently sweeping over her body, and that distracted expression. She didn't know that the little pervert had entered a dreamy state. With a forceful rub of Penny's messy hair, the mage was suddenly enveloped in darkness. He lifted his head, and with a blush, he angrily wrapped his arms around the plump boss lady, only to hear a burst of giggles:

  "Heike looked at him on the stairs."

  Pan Ni glanced up at the floor, didn't see anyone's shadow, and in this moment of distraction, the boss's wife had already untied his restraints and retreated to a distance, sneering: "How, having the nerve to be in two boats at once, yet still being so hesitant?"

  Penny coughed slightly in embarrassment, and her long-lost dignity floated up again. Her conscience discovered: "Is she still angry?"

  "Angry? She's not angry." Vika sat down on the stool next to the young man, cut a small piece of bacon, along with a lettuce leaf and chili sauce between two slices of toast, and put it in Penny's plate: "She's just shy."

  "Shy?" Penny thought of Hickel's reaction just now, and a smile also appeared at the corner of her mouth.

  The boss's wife supported her chin with one hand and let out a long sigh: "Of course, you think everyone has as thick a skin as you."

  "Am I thick-skinned?" Penny wondered, touching his much-praised face, but the landlady got up and left the table, and no one answered his question. He shook his head, looked upstairs with his eyes, took a bite of the sandwich in his mouth, climbed the stairs, walked to Hickel's room, and knocked on the door.

  ……

  He knocked again, and the door opened a small gap, revealing the girl's shyly flushed face: "Please come in."

  The monk walked into the room with some embarrassment, saw his monk's robe hanging on the balcony outside the window to dry, he walked over and saw that the monk's robe had been miserable for a long time due to adventure. He bit the bread in his mouth, frowned: "This one is abandoned, buy another one."

  "But that's a waste, and..." Hickory looked at Penny, lowering his head, his expression suddenly hesitant. After a few seconds, he picked up a piece of parchment: "Penny, what is this..."

  "Uh..." Panni looked at the oil painting that had been deformed by water, feeling a bit awkward, but suddenly thought of something to say: "Oh, this is my companion from my adventure in Beidi, a warrior from Ti'er."

  "Oh?" Hickel nodded, admiring the female warrior's figure in the painting, which was not much worse than Vika's. The plump and sturdy visual sense even made her envy and jealousy. After what happened in the bathroom, the boss's words and deeds had already made the girl's thoughts unrelated to the word "purity". The figure of the girl in the painting made even a girl like her blush with a racing heart, let alone men...

  She immediately began to think wildly:

  Vika was also very good to him... However, Vika is much older than him... It shouldn't be a problem, besides she takes care of me in the same way as Penny.

  It's clear that although she broke free from the constraints of 'purity', she still underestimated the dangers of worldly affairs and the power of certain hormones.

  Besides, this girl is a holy warrior of Tyr, it's unlikely she has anything to do with Penny...

  The girl's mind had slightly calmed down by then, but the previous thought was enough to put her on guard: "Can't let Penny casually get in touch with other pretty girls again."

  The monk looked at the portrait of the girl and also showed a nostalgic expression: "At that time in the north, she had saved me once, otherwise I wouldn't have come back."

  Xike's heart skipped a beat: "How could such a thing happen?"

  "It's not as dangerous as you think." Penny stood by the windowsill, noticing the fear on the girl's face, and thought that she had made the topic too heavy, so she smiled lightly: "Actually it's also very interesting, running around with a group of people to fight monsters, when I'm old and can't move, maybe I can tell my grandsons about these adventures."

  "Hmm." The girl smiled, but she heard the self-mockery and lack of seriousness in the monk's words. She easily sensed that things weren't as easy as Panni said, and was about to ask more questions, but then remembered Veeka's words - sometimes you can't be too gentle or indulgent. So she put on a stern face, looking displeased: "You're fooling me! Panni."

  "Uh..." The monk was taken aback by the girl's sudden anger, and seeing Hikaru's face flush with rage and her sharp gaze like an angry cat, he didn't know what to say for a moment.

  It's been a long time since Hickel got angry with him.

  "I want to know what kind of danger you encountered in the north, and I should also know if he intentionally sent you to do those dangerous things." Hickel's thoughts had apparently expanded beyond the normal range, even suspecting his own father, which made Penny feel unacceptable. He hugged the girl from behind, feeling her chest's intense ups and downs gradually calm down:

  "Don't doubt the teacher, this is just something every red robe disciple has to go through."

  "Really?"

  "It wasn't really anything dangerous, just that I happened to run into some fellow townspeople on the north side and we had a little party together; the biggest thing was running into an old man who raised mice in the mountain cave, I told him two stories and he went crazy, then gave me the mouse, nothing else really. Pan Ni paused, still looking annoyed: "The most infuriating thing is that the disobedient mouse ran away halfway."

  If this remark were heard by the ancient Qigong masters and those red-robed figures, they would probably be in tears, but it apparently made Hickory feel a lot better.

  He's just afraid I'll worry about him.

  Thinking of this, a little warmth dispelled the anger she had forced out, and she laughed: "You can actually tell stories?"

  "It's better if you don't listen." Penny flicked her mouth and stroked the girl's hair: "Don't worry, anyway, I'm back perfectly fine now, and soon, I might even get a formal promotion."

  "Really?" Hickory's face showed a surprised expression, which startled Penny.

  "How can you be so happy?!"

  "Of course, now that you're a regular member, your status is higher, so you'll have more free time." Hickel said with a smile: "The possibility of encountering danger will be much less, right?"

  It's really not necessarily...

  Pannie muttered under her breath, but still couldn't understand Hickory's reaction: "But didn't you dislike the red robe?"

  "Who made you?" The girl's finger poked at Penny's chest.

  The monk began to meditate.

  A moment of tranquility.

  "Panni, let's go out for a walk." After a while, Xikole took Panni out of his arms and carefully put away the portrait of Saint Warrior. He held the law master's hand and suggested: "The weather outside seems to be nice."

  "Alright." Penny smiled and walked out of the tavern with the girl.

  "Come back early, okay ~~" The landlady was smiling and waving her hand at the hotel entrance. When Penny passed by, she felt a strange sense of guilt for some reason.

  "Alas! ~" She saw off the two people going far away, Vika narrowed her eyes, leaned against the door frame with her arms around her chest, and let out a sigh.

  "Miss... you." Ogen leaned in close.

  "What? What's wrong? Has something terrible happened at Ximen's place again?"

  "Not for now, but..."

  "That's good." Veeka glanced at Ogden, who seemed to want to say something but stopped himself: "Don't worry, I have a sense of propriety, I know what to do and when, but if there's nothing else, then let's just enjoy this little life for one more day."

  She looked at the middle-aged man and hesitated again: "I know what you want to say, but it's really boring to link everything with interests. I've had that kind of life for over 20 years."

  "...it is." Ogden hesitated for a moment, and finally lowered his head.

  ……

  "Get out of the way!! Don't get in the way!"

  Young men and women were strolling on the street, when suddenly dozens of knights appeared at the end of the street, destroying the atmosphere. He tensed up, thinking that this familiar scene seemed to have occurred in a distant past.

  "Don't mind, Penny. This is the annual selection of apprentices by the Law Society." Hickory noticed Penny's distraction and pulled on his palm, bringing him back to reality. He saw the scene around them where parents were quietly taking their children out of their homes, and suddenly felt a little uneasy for no reason.

  Because he saw on these parents' faces, not all were frightened, their expressions were a bit complicated.

  Pennington suddenly remembered the events of eight years ago, the slender woman who had warmed his heart for six years with her gentle embrace, and the young man who would return every few months, exhausted, with a coarse stubble on his face.

  His parents in this life, where did they go again?

  It seems that in the Red Robe Wizard Academy, visiting relatives is strictly prohibited - because it will disrupt the educational atmosphere, and once the apprentices enter the academy, they seem to be completely cut off from their past lives.

  "Dad, hurry up! If we don't hurry, we'll miss it!" Penny was lost in thought when she suddenly heard this shout, and then saw a six-year-old child dragging his old father, rushing towards the Sel scholars who were searching for apprentices.

  "Oh dear, my child, I'm almost dead from exhaustion. Let's take a break." The stout old man grabbed his own kid and stopped to catch his breath.

  This middle-aged man is fat, but the bare feet wearing grass shoes reveal blisters and hard, discolored calluses, as well as sturdy thighs, reminding others that this is a working person. The skin all over his body also has a faintly swollen color, showing that he is somewhat puffy from being overweight.

  "Dad, just a few more steps!" The little brat said with an unsatisfied face.

  "Don't worry, anyway it's your turn sooner or later, they may not even accept you." The old man said so.

  "I'm so clever and resourceful, if the masters don't accept me, they must be blind." The kid's arrogant tone pierced into Penny's ears, making him feel somewhat irritated.

  "What's there to be so excited about? Once you go in, there's a 50% chance you won't come out. You're just being foolish, kid."

  The kid and the old man stared at Penny in unison, shocked. Hickory noticed that Penny's emotions were not quite right, tugged on his arm, but felt no movement.

  "What do you know?" The little kid was very displeased with Panni's tone, staring at the law master's eyes and said: "If I can become a law master preparatory member, my family won't have to pay taxes to those old masters. My three older brothers didn't have this opportunity, now the whole family's hope is on me. Do you know how poor my family is? This year Dehumi had drought, the rice harvest was bad, do you know how hard life is? Just by looking at you I can tell you're a self-righteous fool!"

  "Ah, ah, ah, Sneed, don't say that." Perhaps this fat old man saw the difference in Penny's temperament and tried to pull away his own son. Penny noticed the color of the man's face and felt even more displeased.

  Some households on the street brought out their children with bewildered expressions, greeting the incoming Selkie Knights. The looks on their faces made Penny even more depressed, it wasn't just a mix of reluctance and fear - there was also a hint of expectation hidden within.

  Although the road ahead is fraught with danger, in Serl, this is the closest path to glory and authority!

  Not everyone has the opportunity to become a Fa Master!

  Penny suddenly understood the source of this contradictory feeling.

  This is completely different from his mood and feelings when he went through these things eight years ago.

  "This has nothing to do with us, Penny." Hickory tugged on Penny's sleeve, and when he didn't respond, she slapped his face.

  "I know." Penny let out a long sigh, and suddenly said in a somewhat distracted manner: "A life of poverty and hopelessness, a strict and cold order, is it necessary to choose a path that leads halfway to death for the sake of hope?"

  "Pan Ni..." Xike felt the mage's extremely low mood, and his heart was also shrouded in a few strands of dark clouds. He hugged the young man's neck: "Don't think about these things anymore."

  "I have to think about it..." Panny Sien sighed: "Because my descendants will multiply in this world, if the environment doesn't change, won't they eventually end up in a similar situation? I can find a way to become a respected mage, but what about after I die? Will our descendants become laborers, farmers, slaves, forced to make miserable choices just to survive, not just in Serl, but also in other places like Ferren?"

  “...” Upon hearing the monk mention posterity, Hickory's face turned red for a moment. However, Penny's words of worry also infected her: “This is also the rule of the world, let alone gods who can't predict everything in the world, how can we mortals consider that far ahead?”

  "No matter what, I should strive to change the world, and can't just drift aimlessly anymore." Panning paused for a moment, suddenly feeling the confusion and aimlessness in his heart being driven away by a force, and a beacon seemed to appear in the distant distance.

  "Change...the world?" The girl looked up in puzzlement.

  "In short, Hickel, from today on I will try my best." Pani said with a smile, and the girl felt that the man in front of her had become more real, although she didn't quite understand Pani's enlightenment, but somehow felt reassured: "En, although not quite clear what you're saying, but..."

  "I'll try too." Hickel kissed Penny's cheek and smiled. Due to this incident, there were more people on the street, making it no longer suitable for a stroll: "Let's head back."

  Pan Ni nodded and walked over to the little boy who had come from the countryside with his father, saying in a low voice under the boy's watchful gaze:

  "Judging from what you just said, I reckon the master will go blind before not accepting you. However, be careful, it's not as easy as you think, and only those who are not afraid to die can get through the difficulties."

  Endure, be strong, be careful not to be bullied and don't bully others. Go learn everything you can learn, but don't show it off casually." The child listened to these words with an increasingly strange expression. Penny patted his head: "Of course, now you may not understand these words, just remember them for now."

  "What's the big idea..." The kid was inexplicably scolded, clearly not convinced, and just as he was about to retort, his father's thick arm pressed down on him.

  "Shut up, Schneider."

  His father sternly rebuked him and then solemnly gazed at the already departed Penny, shouting loudly: "Thank you for your advice."