Noira led Pecco on the road to the market. The weather today was not as hot as yesterday. The sun was hiding behind the clouds, casting only a soft light.

A gentle breeze blew, creating a slightly cool afternoon.

"Little Pecco, what kind of clothes do you like?"

"..."

"Tell sister what kind of clothes you like. The majority of popular fashion in the market can be found in Herlan City."

"..."

"Ahaha, Pecco, you're so indifferent." Noira laughed awkwardly. Even someone as mature as her struggled to deal with a one-sided conversation.

"Well... If Pecco doesn't have a preference, I'll just dress you according to my own taste, okay? Sister is a mercenary by profession, so don't get angry if you don't like the clothes I choose for you."

Pecco continued to lower her head and remained silent.

"If you don't respond, then it's settled."

Noira understood Pecco's reserved personality and decided to go with her own ideas.

Pecco's silent demeanor was like an exquisite doll.

Noira's girly heart burned with excitement. She planned to turn Pecco into her own exclusive doll this afternoon. She already had several outfits in mind.

"Now, how should I do this? Hmm~ Let's start with a couple of cute maid outfits. After all, you'll need them for work in the future." Noira said with interest.

Suddenly, Pecco stopped walking.

"Pecco?" Noira turned her head, confused.

It was then that she noticed Pecco, who was holding her hand, trembling slightly. Her face was as pale as paper.

"Pecco, what's wrong? Are you not feeling well?"

"There... are so many... people... watching." Pecco struggled to say a few words.

"People?" Noira looked around.

They were in the center of Herlan City, the most bustling and crowded area. Indeed, many people were looking at them with curious eyes.

It was understandable. Pecco was naturally beautiful, but her mismatched adult men's clothing made her stand out. Noira, on the other hand, was a prominent figure in Herlan City, attracting attention wherever she went.

When the two beauties walked together, it naturally drew even more attention.

Noira was accustomed to people's stares, so subconsciously, she had already ignored them.

But Pecco was different. She had grown up in the land of the sub-humans, with little contact with humans. Now, she had been sold to a foreign country and was understandably very uneasy.

Although she had run through crowds during her escape a few days ago, she was driven solely by her survival instinct and had no time to pay attention to her surroundings.

Now that she had calmed down, she couldn't accept so many humans appearing in her line of sight. In her eyes, the people around her seemed to have turned into menacing demons, ready to harm her at any moment.

Pecco felt her stomach being violently torn apart, almost making her vomit.

Her amber eyes widened, flashing with a painful expression, clearly indicating that she was extremely nervous.

Noira frowned, realizing that this situation couldn't be explained by just being "introverted."

If this continued, Pecco might lose control.

It should be noted that when the eyes of sub-human individuals turned vertical, it meant they were entering a battle-ready state. It wouldn't be surprising for Pecco, in this state, to attack and harm others at any moment.

Noira quickly pulled Pecco into a deserted alley.

"Pecco, what's wrong?" Noira crouched down, her wine-red eyes filled with concern.

Pecco didn't know what was happening to her. As long as she was being stared at by strangers, a deep-rooted fear emerged from within her heart.

"Are you... afraid of humans?" Noira asked softly.

Pecco trembled all over.

Noira sighed, realizing that her guess was correct.

Noira had lived in the land of the sub-humans a few years ago. She had witnessed the slave trade in the Sinmin Forest and was well aware of the psychological trauma it could cause to sub-humans of Pecco's age.

"Then, are you also afraid of me?" Noira's voice was incredibly gentle.Pecco secretly glanced at Noira, whose gentle face carried a faint smile, resembling an angel. Although she felt embarrassed, it did remind Pecco of her mother's smile. Pecco gently shook his head.

Suddenly, a fragrant breeze wafted by, and Noira gently embraced Pecco in her arms. "That life must have been very painful," she said softly. Pecco felt a tingling sensation in her nose. Since being captured by those unreasonable human bandits, her nightmare had begun.

These past two months, from being transported from the demi-human country to the city of Herlan, she had experienced ups and downs. She was imprisoned in a small iron cage, surviving on scraps of food. Any slight mistake would result in beatings and scoldings. She lived every day under the shadow of her slave owners.

"But, little Pecco, just like there is light and darkness in the world, there are both bad and good people among humans. You are still young, and in the future, you will encounter many people and experience many things..."

Noira didn't know if Pecco was listening, but she knew that it was not easy to free oneself from the shadow of such traumatic experiences. A few words would not change anything. These things could only be dealt with slowly in the future. Noira stopped talking and just held Pecco until she calmed down.

The clothing store was located in the bustling center of the city, and according to the plan, the two would soon walk to an even more crowded place. Noira looked at Pecco's pale face and hesitated for a moment before asking, "How about we go back today?"

Pecco's eyes flickered, but she ultimately shook her head. She tightly held onto Noira's arm, determined to continue forward on her own. Noira's face showed an approving expression as she matched Pecco's pace and slowly walked towards the clothing store.

...

At this moment, Chen Ai had finished cleaning the living room and was sitting at the bar, browsing through the newspaper. The newspapers in this parallel world were made of sheepskin scrolls. They were published once a week, and the newspaper vendors used unique magic to engrave the news content of the week.

Sheepskin scrolls were very valuable materials, so the price was quite high. However, there were buyback stations where vendors could repurchase the read newspapers at a higher price for reprinting. Therefore, one weekly newspaper was still affordable for Chen Ai.

"Hmm... Duke Robert is recruiting experts to participate in a beast fighting competition that will be held in a month and a half. The registration address is on National Street in Herlan City, and the requirements are as follows..."

Does that Duke also intend to participate in the beast fighting competition? A picture of a refined and weak young man floated in Chen Ai's mind, causing her to chuckle.

The Duchy of Kors, the only recognized duchy of the Roland Empire, was extremely weak and practically nonexistent. It wasn't because the rulers were incompetent; it was because of the extremely awkward geographical position of the Duchy of Kors.

It was sandwiched between the empire and the Forbidden Forest.

From Chen Ai's perspective, the only purpose of the Duchy of Kors' existence was to serve as a buffer zone in the empire's defense against the Forbidden Forest. This was indeed the case.

Whenever the wars between the empire and the Forbidden Forest were recorded in historical documents, there was always a sentence that went like this: "In XX year, the XX war broke out. The following month, the Duchy of Kors fell, and the empire expressed deep concern."

For a duchy like Kors, which was always on the front lines and easily destroyed in wars, it was completely impossible to seek development during turbulent times.

The true rise of the Duchy of Kors began when it signed a peace treaty with the Forbidden Forest. Perhaps after years of fighting and under the tremendous pressure from the demons at that time, the two countries underwent difficult negotiations and signed a hundred-year non-aggression peace treaty. They also opened two cities as trading ports.

Herlan City, the capital of the Duchy of Kors, was one of them. After years of development, Herlan City had finally begun to take shape. Although it was still far from being a metropolitan city with years of development, it had become a shining pearl in the northwest region.

Despite the economic development, the military strength of Kors was still very weak. In the era when the imperial power was stable, the nobles would be wary of the emperor and not dare to make any moves. But now, with the old emperor's illness and dark currents beneath the court, the empire was declining, and various factions were rising. It had a taste of the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period.

In such a situation, a wealthy but defenseless duchy like Kors naturally became the prey of other nobles.Within the Kingdom of Colse, there are only about five thousand soldiers, including the guard team. Skilled warriors are hard to come by, and battle mages are practically nonexistent.

The stereotypical impression of Colse among Imperial citizens still remains in the era filled with war, death, and famine. Even though Heran City has developed well in recent years, who would consider settling in such a desolate place as Colse? Living near the imperial capital is the first choice for most people.

So, despite the efforts made by Duke Robert, the results are very minimal. Nowadays, even warriors participating in the Beast Fighting Tournament have to advertise for recruitment, which clearly shows the dire situation in the Kingdom of Colse.

But forget about it, these things have nothing to do with oneself, let that nobleman worry about it! Chen Ai closed the newspaper and squinted at the sky. It was already four o'clock in the afternoon.

"Why is it taking so long? Two whole hours, is she getting a custom-made evening gown?" Chen Ai mumbled to himself.

Just as he was thinking that, footsteps could be heard at the door. Then a figure in red appeared at the doorway.

"We're back!" Noira had a smile on her face and her arms were filled with bags of all sizes, clearly having bought a lot of clothes.

Her face was flushed, making her look excited.

Chen Ai looked at all the clothes in Noira's hands, feeling as if he had just seen a stash of gold coins, and he was also very happy. "Oh! Welcome back... where's Pecco?"

"Hehe, Pecco is just too cute. I accidentally bought so many clothes." Noira rubbed her rosy cheeks with both hands, seemingly completely smitten by Pecco.

"Great, great, great. Buying a lot is definitely the best." Chen Ai nodded happily.

"But the one I like the most is this one." Noira spoke, and then solemnly revealed Pecco, who was hidden by the door.

Pecco's face was crimson, standing in front of Noira, and still holding a donut in his hand, slowly nibbling on it.

A soft leather dress, with a red ribbon tied at the waist. A noir-colored cape. Chestnut-colored hair neatly combed, with a small braid, making Pecco even more cute and obedient.

"Uh... indeed... very cute..." As someone with two lifetimes of taste, Chen Ai couldn't help but admit that this outfit was great. At first glance, it was low-key and understated, not eye-catching. But upon closer inspection, it fit Pecco extremely well, both cute and full of vitality. It belonged to the type that looked better the more you looked at it. And with the cute short sword at the waist...

Wait, a short sword?

"Isn't this the gear of an adventurer?" Chen Ai exclaimed, "There are even protective magic inscriptions on the clothes!"

"That's right, this is an adventurer outfit." Noira showed a intriguing smile, looking at Chen Ai as if a cat was watching a mouse about to be dug out of its hole.

Chen Ai felt chills run down his spine, he had a very bad feeling...