Chapter 61: The Debt Collector’s Entrance

The next moment, the grassland echoed with the girl’s pig-like screams and a certain little undead’s sinister laughter.

“Ahahahahaha—!”

“Stop! Stop, hahahaha… don’t tickle! I’ll get up… haha, I’ll get up, I swear, haha…”

“Hahaha, Luosha… p-please let me go, hahahaha…”

Seeing Anna squirming like a worm in her sleeping bag below, Eve finally withdrew her hand. With her back to the girl, she spoke dispassionately: “It seems Yulim Wilivia has been far too lenient with you…”

“Unfortunately, Yulim Wilivia possesses a kind heart. I do not.”

“This is the consequence of daring to oversleep.”

Anna, with virtually no power to resist, succumbed to Eve’s relentless assault, finally rising and crawling out of her sleeping bag.

During breakfast, Anna kept a vigilant eye on Eve’s hand. It was as if the slightest movement would send her fleeing.

Clearly, Eve’s ‘wake-up finisher’ had left an indelible psychological scar on the poor blue-haired girl.

Eve, for her part, could only suppress her laughter.

‘If only she had gotten up obediently during my gentle wake-up service, she wouldn’t have suffered all this, would she?’

After breakfast, Yulim Wilivia didn’t forget to dispose of the waste. Gathering the rubbish together, she drew out her small staff.

The next moment, a stream of grey magical energy, unlike anything Eve had ever witnessed, rose around Yulim Wilivia.

The girl began to chant softly.

“All things in the world, beginning at their start, return to their end. Listen now to this final echo of termination, and vanish from existence.”

With a gentle wave of her staff, the grey magical current surged towards the pile of rubbish.

As the magical current washed over the trash, it instantly turned black and white, then began to disintegrate.

In the end, not even dust remained.

It had completely vanished from sight.

Yulim Wilivia checked once more, and finding no forgotten refuse, put away her small staff.

“Mm, this way, we won’t pollute the environment…”

‘Truly an elf, so sensitive about protecting the environment.’

‘But…’

‘What was that terrifying magical energy just now?’

Eve recalled the grey magical current, and a shiver ran down her spine once more.

Though it appeared harmless, it had exerted a pressure far more threatening than when Anna wielded her sword.

‘What kind of elemental magic was that?’

She couldn’t sense the coolness of water, the heat of fire, the weight of earth, the gentleness of wood, the swiftness of wind, or the frenzy of lightning.

Instead, it felt more like absolute nothingness.

‘Come to think of it, I haven’t seen Yulim Wilivia’s basic stats yet.’

Unfortunately, Yulim Wilivia had already moved to check her personal belongings for anything forgotten, so Eve couldn’t see them as she wished.

However, Eve wasn’t worried; there would be plenty of opportunities to check her stats along the way.

After confirming everything was in order, Yulim Wilivia nodded to Anna and Eve, indicating they could depart.

Eve consulted the map with her compass, leading their three-person team towards Xielan.

Their direction was correct; halfway there, they spotted a patch of grassland perpetually marked by carriage wheel tracks.

As they crossed this patch of grass, Eve received a system notification.

[You have left the Domain of Calamity. You will no longer be affected by the Domain of Calamity.]

She glanced back at the depths of the grassland.

Eve felt certain that, having reached this point, she shouldn’t encounter any Demon Lords again.

The thought of being able to carefree feast on fries at a pub brought another surge of joy.

Their steps did not falter. Within Eve’s expected timeframe, they successfully arrived at the city, brimming with an otherworldly charm, just before noon.

Xielan!

The two women behind her also saw the familiar city gates and walls. Anna, in particular, burst into excited laughter: “Hahahaha! Xielan! I, Anna, have returned!”

Eve no longer needed to lead. The blue-haired girl bounded and skipped her way into the city.

Yulim Wilivia’s outstretched hand hovered in the air as she looked worriedly at Eve, who was carrying a coffin on her back.

She wanted to tell Anna to slow down a little, to be considerate of Luosha’s feelings.

But Anna, like an unleashed husky, had already bolted far ahead.

Eve chuckled, saying, “Don’t worry about me, Yulim Wilivia. Anna is almost in the city. Let’s catch up quickly.”

With that, she adjusted the coffin on her back, then swiftly gave chase.

Yulim Wilivia was stunned by her speed.

By the time she reacted, both Eve and Anna were already far away.

“Wait… wait for me…”

Clutching her hood, Yulim Wilivia hurriedly followed.

Xielan, like other cities, had guards at its gates checking the identities of those entering.

However, compared to Yarokan City and Bigmeluo, which Eve had seen, Xielan’s identity checks were far more stringent.

No matter who approached, the city gate guards would immediately demand: “Show your adventurer’s plaque.”

Only after presenting it and verifying their adventurer identity would they be allowed through.

As for those without an adventurer’s plaque…

For instance, the burly man currently stopped by the guards: he carried a massive axe, his chest was bare, and his entire upper body was covered in fierce tattoos, making him look utterly formidable.

The guard stared at him with a serious expression, asking in a deep voice, “A new face? What is that axe for?”

“A weapon. Can’t you tell?”

“I know it’s a weapon. My question is, what is it used for?”

The tension in the air was palpable.

After a long pause, the burly man replied coldly, “…A weapon used to kill monsters.”

Hearing this, the guard immediately took a bell from his waist and shook it. Immediately, a group of guards swarmed forward, surrounding the burly man.

“I’ll ask you one last question, stranger. What are you here in Xielan for? Please answer truthfully.”

The burly man ‘tsk’ed, threw his massive axe to the ground, and raised his hands: “Alright, I confess. I’m a debt collector, specifically here to collect a debt.”

“An adventurer skipped out on a meal, left an IOU, and then fled directly to Xielan.”

“His name is Kept.”

“This axe is my livelihood, but it’s just for show. In reality, it hasn’t even killed a chicken.”

The guard instructed other guards to investigate, and only after confirming the person’s existence did he smile. He sent the other guards back to their posts, then approached the burly man, patting his shoulder: “Why didn’t you just say so earlier? Why pretend to be an adventurer?”

“Alright, you can go in. Welcome to Xielan.”

“By the way, the adventurer you’re looking for, Kept, lives in the Hermes Stables in the north of the city. Just make sure your business doesn’t disturb anyone else.”

The burly man bowed repeatedly, tears of gratitude streaming down his face: “Thank you! Thank you, brother! You’ve been a huge help! Once I’ve collected my debt, I’ll treat you to a drink!”

Then Eve watched the burly man pick up his massive axe and rush into the city, his destination clearly defined.

The impromptu dispute concluded just like that.

Yet, few of the people waiting to enter the city found it as astonishing as Eve did. The guards, moreover, wore expressions of complete familiarity, as if many had grown accustomed to debt collectors like the burly man.

‘So, is it truly common knowledge for you adventurers to be hounded by debt collectors, and you don’t find it strange at all?!’