Inside the borrowed house.
Nolan sat cross-legged on the wooden bed, his eyes slightly closed, pondering his next moves.
Klok~ Squeak~
The little Evil Spirit Hound lay under the bed, a goblin's leg bone clenched in its mouth, its teeth grinding continuously, producing a faint "klok-squeak" sound, as if it were gnawing.
The goblin's corpse from earlier had clearly been eaten by the Evil Spirit Hound, with only a leg bone remaining.
Suddenly.
The little Evil Spirit Hound paused its gnawing, lifted its head, and looked towards the door. Then, it turned its head back to the wooden bed, noticing that Nolan had already opened his eyes.
The footsteps were light.
Nolan's gaze flickered, and he expressionlessly looked down at the bone in the little Evil Spirit Hound's mouth.
"Crunch!"
The little Evil Spirit Hound's teeth immediately bit down, easily crushing the seemingly hard goblin leg bone, swallowing it in one or two mouthfuls.
"Odorless."
Nolan raised his arm and waved his hand.
The faint smell of blood lingering in the room's air immediately vanished completely.
Knock, knock!
A light knocking sound came from the door.
Nolan rose from the wooden bed, and with a soft "click," the door opened.
Anli, holding a wooden tray with both hands, saw Nolan open the door, lowered her head, and spoke softly: "Mother asked me to bring these foods over. Thank you, sir, for your help today."
"Actually, I've already eaten." Nolan heard this, briefly glanced at the food on the tray, and said.
At this, Anli didn't know what to say for a moment.
Seeing Anli become even more nervous, Nolan opened the door a little wider, "Then come in first."
Anli's heart finally relaxed slightly. She walked into the room and placed the wooden tray on the old wooden table inside the house.
After putting the things down.
Anli glanced at the little Evil Spirit Hound, which was lying under the wooden bed and observing her, and her body stiffened.
Although she knew there was no danger, she was still a little afraid; after all, this was a very dangerous demon beast.
Nolan did not close the door; instead, he pushed it back further, opening it wider, and then walked into the room.
"Um, sir, I'll just leave the food here..."
Anli's hands were clasped over her lower abdomen, and her voice was a little flustered.
"If you're not in a hurry, I have a few things I'd like to ask." Nolan walked to the wooden table, pulled out a chair, sat down, and spoke gently.
He hadn't expected Anli to bring him food, but since she was here, it was a good opportunity to confirm the information about those adventurers again.
Such a small village couldn't keep any secrets.
Moreover, the village chief's words needed to be verified.
"Okay, okay."
Anli was startled, then nodded, and sat down with him.
Nolan looked at the food on the table.
A milky white soup with diced meat, a very peculiar combination.
"I'll accept this kindness."
Nolan picked up a pine nut-like nut from the side, gently squeezed it, threw it into his mouth, and said directly, "The nuts are good."
Hearing this.
Anli's back straightened subconsciously, and her eyes visibly brightened.
In reality.
Both the thick bean soup with diced meat and the nuts picked from the dangerous forest environment were things their family usually couldn't bear to eat.
But Anli knew very well that such food, in the eyes of this young sir, could probably be described as humble.
Before bringing it over, Anli had thought that he might not even touch it, but even if she expected that outcome, the necessary etiquette still had to be observed!
Just like everyone in the village, they often helped each other, and no matter how big or small the favor, a response was always expected.
For Anli, this was the most fundamental principle.
Nolan, on the other hand, didn't think so much. After casually tasting a nut, he began to ask about the adventurers.
Anli clearly hadn't specifically investigated; most of what she knew was heard from other villagers, which was similar to what the village chief had just said.
Nolan nodded lightly in understanding.
"Um, sir, aren't you an adventurer?" Anli suddenly asked softly.
"Oh, how did you know?" Nolan asked.
Anli saw that her question was not rejected. At an age full of curiosity about the outside world, she naturally couldn't help but quietly recount parts of the conversation between the village chief and the other person that she had overheard while delivering food.
"I see."
"I am indeed not an adventurer." Nolan chuckled softly.
A moment later.
Anli, with a happy expression, picked up the untouched bean soup and the nuts, of which only one had been eaten, and left the room.
Click!
Nolan closed the door again, an amused expression flashing across his face.
He suddenly noticed something he hadn't before.
Anli's hair color was distinctly different from the hair color of other people in this village.
The people in Carn Village predominantly had brown or dark brown hair; Anli's parents, including her sister Nim, had dark brown hair.
Only Anli's hair was chestnut gold, a bright hair color.
Of course, this was a minor matter.
Nolan walked back to the wooden bed, reached out and patted the little Evil Spirit Hound's head, "Your role has been fulfilled."
"Woof."
The little Evil Spirit Hound's eyes were a little confused; it didn't understand what Nolan meant.
Nolan naturally wouldn't explain.
His sudden decision to take in the little Evil Spirit Hound, besides having it dispose of the large number of goblin and ogre corpses in the item box, was also to perform a certain degree of disguise on himself.
Or one could say it was actively revealing a part of his information!
When one's strength is too weak, lowering one's presence is the most suitable choice.
But for most of the time to come, he would be active in the human society of this world, so lowering his presence further was not as necessary.
As long as there are activities, traces will inevitably be left behind.
Just like being inexplicably targeted by Eight Fingers's people before, some troubles cannot be prevented by actively avoiding them.
In a world like this, which appears stable on the surface but is relatively chaotic both internally and externally, there will always be those who are foolish enough to run into trouble.
If he kept a low profile all the time and then suddenly caused a big stir, it would only attract more attention.
The mere existence of the little Evil Spirit Hound was enough to create a certain deterrent, but this deterrent was not strong.
The Bone King's approach was worth Nolan's reference.
But the desired effect was different.
The Bone King formed the Dark Squad and gained a large amount of prestige in a short time to make himself famous, in order to quickly infiltrate human society and obtain intelligence from the human world.
But Nolan was facing not only the humans of this other world but also the future arrival of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
As he said before, this intelligence war had already begun!
Nolan's strongest method currently was his close-combat ability, and it would most likely remain his strongest method until he acquired the special class "Valkyrie."
Therefore.
Nolan planned to disguise his primary attack method as a magic caster.
However, he was still unsure for now.
Whether to disguise himself as a mana-based magic caster or a faith-based magic caster.
All the magic he currently possessed, except for "Cure Light Wounds," were mana-based spells. But before, he had actively revealed the existence of healing magic.
That's why he was somewhat conflicted.
Of course, he could also disguise himself as a dual-element magic caster; there were many such spellcasters in this world.
"What a pity."
Nolan thought of Anli just now and sighed slightly.
Upon realizing Anli's excellent talent in command-type classes, he actually had the idea of recruiting her.
But for Anli to master a command-type class and increase its level and strength, she would need at least a small army for her to command and train.
But Nolan currently did not have these conditions.
"Indeed, there are so many things to consider." Nolan rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache.
"Woof." The little Evil Spirit Hound looked up and rubbed against Nolan's pant leg.