* * *

Unlike the children in the village, the red-haired youth did not scream or show fear.

He raised an eyebrow, stood up from the wheat straw pile, and even leaned forward, seemingly eager to communicate with Lin Lin.

Lin Lin hesitated whether to greet him or not.

“Lower the curtain,” Sapphire behind Lin Lin spoke up.

Lin Lin did as he said, turning to see that the dragon scales that had originally been on Sapphire’s neck had disappeared, leaving his skin white and smooth, with a dignified and arrogant posture, like a true human noble.

“The children here are very cunning. If you want to make things simpler, you should wear a hat,” Sapphire suggested.

Lin Lin didn’t argue about whether the red-haired youth was cunning, but she also knew that in the eyes of dragons, most humans were not trustworthy outsiders, just like Sapphire’s initial reaction to her.

“Maybe you can help me change my hair to another color?” Lin Lin thought Sapphire’s trick of making scales disappear was quite good.

“Sorry, I only control the growth of scales,” the dragon calmly replied, “I am good at destruction, not the spells used for deception. Perhaps dark elves are better at those.”

Lin Lin tried to discern if Sapphire was also subtly disparaging dark elves. She looked into Sapphire’s sincere eyes but couldn’t tell.

“Well,” Lin Lin said somewhat disappointingly.

She rummaged through a corner of the carriage and finally chose a black hat that covered most of her face, tucking her hair inside.

She held up a small mirror, and whether it was the usual dark and expensive clothes of the Demon King’s Castle or this hat that overly obscured her face, Lin Lin seemed to exude a mysterious beauty, as if she were a wealthy widow who could outlive eight ex-husbands.

“I seem to be becoming more and more like a wealthy widow who can outlive eight ex-husbands,” Lin Lin said, painting her lips bright red, pursing them in the mirror to even out the lipstick.

Sapphire was already accustomed to Lin Lin’s theatrical behavior. Or rather, this human female didn’t care what he responded with; she just wanted to say it out loud.

“I must say all the nonsense. Otherwise, I’ll go crazy,” the human female once told him seriously.

Indeed, Sapphire did not think Lin Lin was a talkative woman.

If it came down to nonsense, the brass dragons among the dragons were the real chatterboxes.

They could drive thieves who stole from their nests crazy with their chatter.

Even as a dragon himself, Sapphire never actively engaged in conversation with a brass dragon.

Sapphire believed the reason Lin Lin was willing to express her inner thoughts was… because she was too lonely.

She was a human from another world, different from the demon city without humans, or most humans in this world.

Venting emotions was a way to relieve stress.

She was willing to deliberately say things others couldn’t understand, expressing a self-deprecating humor, a behavior Sapphire had seen from the dark elves.

Sometimes with different opinions, the young elf would also shrug intentionally, opening his mouth in a sarcastic tone, “Sorry, I’m a freak. Even among the freaks gathered by the dark elves, I am the weirdest one.”

So, that’s why these two got along so well.

Sapphire frowned slightly.

He didn’t comment on the social habits of the other underlings of the demon city, but he believed Lin Lin would soon realize the cognitive gap between humans and dark elves.

The carriage slowed down and entered the city gates.

The sky had completely darkened, and the city was lit up with lights.

They had arrived! The city highly recommended by the dark elves! A rare paradise in the world!

“Died eight times, the rich widows” energetically jumped off the carriage, stretching her stiff legs.

Lin Lin stood next to the lizardman, curiously looking around the bustling city.

How should I put it, slightly disappointing. Lin Lin had, after all, seen modern society’s skyscrapers.

Although this city was indeed densely populated, with bright lights at night, it was actually not bad.

A real big city should be packed like sardines in the subway. Oh well, no complaints about the crowded city.

Sapphire got off the carriage.

The lizardman immediately bowed his head and kneeled on one knee beside the carriage, allowing the noble dragon to step on his knee and elegantly and steadily get off the carriage.

Why did you get off the carriage so viciously, you wicked widow! You can be the widow!

Lin Lin stood with her arms crossed, staring at the dragon’s elegant and superfluous movements.

The young man, who now had completely shed his scales and had a human face, looked up at Lin Lin.

His gem-like bright blue eyes had turned into a more understated light blue.

With pale skin and graceful posture, Sapphire looked in Lin Lin’s direction, his brow slightly furrowed, seeming somewhat hesitant.

What is he hesitating about?

Lin Lin had to admit, the men of the demon city were all very handsome. It’s just that when they usually had horns, scales, and jagged teeth, she remained calm.

But once the non-human part was hidden, she could feel the charm of these faces blessed by the God of Darkness.

Thank you for your contribution, God of Darkness. Even though you are weak in fights compared to others.

Then, in the confusion of not understanding Sapphire’s hesitation, Lin Lin suddenly felt a tightness around her waist, hugged by a pair of unfamiliar yet strong arms, and plunged into the crowd.

On the congested road, people came and went, including humans and orcs, as well as dwarves, merfolk, giants, and winged people, races completely unfamiliar to Lin Lin.

The air was filled with various strong, pungent odors of different creatures, mixed with perfume and the blend of tobacco and alcohol.

When Lin Lin felt herself being pulled away, she collided with the wing of an avian person, as if hitting the most natural down feather duvet.

Like a slow-motion scene in a special effect.

Wide-eyed, Lin Lin watched as she drifted further and further away from the face of the dragon clan youth.

Sapphire opened his mouth, lips moving, and Lin Lin could read his lip movements.

[I’ll buy something first, see you later.]

You were just hesitating about this crap! Screw your ‘see you later’!

Lin Lin knew she couldn’t pin her hopes on useless men, thrashing and biting wildly like a rabbit caught by an eagle.

Then, a cold hand reached out from the side.

There was another accomplice.

With just a “shh” gesture of one finger, Lin Lin’s mouth was forcibly closed. Her lips couldn’t open, and she swallowed dryly.

She saw the face hidden under the hood.

Jet-black skin, silver long hair, and, unlike Felix’s, golden lines of specially made pigment running across the cheekbones and nose bridge like totems of some power.

Lin Lin thought, it really seems to be the happy homeland of dark elves.

The strict selection of dark elves.

Tokopia is indeed a city suitable for mischief and wrongdoing.

* * *