Chapter 496, My

(Due to an oversight, number 7 was written as number , which has been changed.)
"Hey, she's a mommy-type girlfriend."

"…Well, if you say so, then so be it. She is my wife."

"Married?! So you're not a flower grower. Your accent sounds so good..."

"No, Neon."

For some reason, the common language in the world of hybrids is "Chinese". In the curriculum of Kassel Academy, "Chinese courses" are also a compulsory item, which makes every dragon slayer student distressed. Anyway, Zhuo has been using "Chinese" to communicate with the outside world with Ling since he left Neon, and it is natural that he is still using "Chinese" now.

Although he was surprised that Zhuo was not a local flower grower, "No. 7" nodded without saying anything.

Zhuo tried to see her expression with an attitude of "Why isn't Zero curious about this?", but she looked back at him.

Zero was probably used to it, and didn't seem to mind.

Zhuo couldn't help but admire her strong spirit. It seemed that this was not something worth making a fuss about from her side, and she didn't intend to ask any more questions. At the same time, Zhuo turned his gaze to "No. 7".

The only real conversation between the two was a simple exchange before the mission. In the dim environment, all I could learn was that "No. 7" loved RPGs, and people who were skilled in using rocket launchers would have strong muscles. I thought he would be obviously strong, but... at first glance, I only knew that he was taller than Zhuo, but he didn't look particularly strong through the tattered combat uniform on his body. On the contrary, Chu Zihang, wearing a windbreaker, looked better.

Zhuo secretly observed for a while, and "No. 7" seemed to notice where his eyes were looking and laughed mischievously.

"I'm a flower grower. In our country, we pursue this style of looking thin when dressed and showing off our bodies when undressed. Now... although you can't see it, you will be shocked when you take it off."

"Shocked..."

"Yes, my mother is my wife. All the girlfriends I've dated have praised me for being so great. Hahaha..."

"Number 7" showed a somewhat smug smile, which made Zhuo start to consider that it might be better not to continue communicating with Ling. In the end, it was "Number 7" himself who interrupted the conversation.

"I'm really not suitable for making such jokes. It's too embarrassing... Hey, you two disappeared halfway through the mission. Where did you go? Did you encounter that thing?"

"It's just something. Nothing much to say."

"You are so lucky! But it is also unlucky. You don't get to see that kind of thing easily. I have been in this industry for more than ten years, and this is the first time I have seen such an exaggerated thing. No, to me, it is the best in the world. To be able to see such a thing, half a million dollars is nothing."

"That's not the case. It sounds very dangerous. I'm glad I can come back alive."

"That's true. That guy 'No. 11' wasn't so lucky. Five hundred thousand dollars already showed the risk this time, and he actually wanted to take some goods out. Tsk tsk tsk tsk..."

"Number 7" asserted this seriously, while Zhuo was particularly concerned about "that thing" and did not listen to the content related to "Number " afterwards.

(Is it the 'Lord of Bronze and Fire' Norton? Do you like this situation so much? This is such an incomprehensible world.)
If he really wanted to talk about it, it might be Zhuo himself who attracted his attention. He asked himself that the commotion he caused was not small, and he always felt that he had made a very impulsive decision. Hearing him talk about the image of a "Hell Knight" rushing around in a certain place, the image was very different from his own. However, he was probably not talking about Norton, but the twins of the "Lord of Bronze and Fire", the other dragon king who died today, that is, Norton's younger brother - Constantine.

The reason why Constantine was killed so easily, apart from his own physical defect - he couldn't transform into a dragon, the main reason was probably that he was born early. Because he sensed his brother's aura, he came out of the 'cocoon' early to look for him. As a result, he died in Kassel College.

Death~
Hearing "No. 7" repeatedly mentioning that someone was burned to death on the spot, Zhuo felt that he couldn't do such a trivial thing. Only people like them who have a high level of awareness will not be in awe of death.

However, hearing him talk about how the 'Hell Knight' eventually died after being attacked by hot weapons for more than ten minutes, it made people feel quite complicated. If possible, I still hope he can talk about this with someone else.

Zhuo felt a little scared and complicated, so he lowered his head to eat his pizza and stopped observing "Number 7". However, "Number 7" seemed to be aware of his thoughts, so he patted his head helplessly.

"Sorry, sorry to spoil your fun."

"No, I just think these things are weird to me."

“… Sorry, what did I say… Gominase! I feel so depressed after surviving the disaster. I don’t know any friends here. Sorry, sorry.”

"Number 7" gave him a look of reminiscence and contemplation, but this should be an extension of the past.

Ling silently watched Zhuo lowering his head to eat, then raised his head and said in a light tone, "That's it." He then handed the bottle of water to Zhuo as if nothing had happened, leaving Zhuo with nothing to do but smile bitterly.

"No. 7" didn't feel unhappy, or maybe it was just the way hunters usually interacted, so he let Zero blame him. Seeing "No. 7" nod to him, Zhuo also nodded in response.

Seeing that the topic had come to an end, Zero took the half-drunk bottle of water and placed it somewhere near him where he could always reach it. He then raised his head and observed "No. 7". He then looked thoughtful and said nothing more.

Suddenly, for some reason, she pressed herself against Zhuo and began to touch his belly.

"…Even after taking it off, it's still amazing."

"Why are you suddenly saying this? And there's no need to compare. I don't have that much muscle. No matter how hard I try, I can't beat the professionals just by running every day."

"That's enough for me."

Ling reached out his hand for unknown reasons. Zhuo had no idea why he suddenly became like this, and he naturally smiled bitterly.

But when someone suddenly touched her clothes, Zhuo had to focus on dealing with it, and forgot about the unnecessary thoughts before. This might be her purpose. She didn't want to immerse herself in the worry that came after she realized it.

「Number 7」: “…”

"By the way, I haven't introduced myself yet. My last name is 'Lai' Shu Fulai. My given name is Jing. Even if you are not a flower grower, you must have heard of Journey to the West. It's the 'Jing' who holds the pagoda in the book."

When Ling was coaxing Zhuo, "Number 7" suddenly said this.

They didn't interact much during this mission, and only had a few words of conversation, but it was a coincidence that they met here, so they decided to make a formal introduction. Hunters on missions usually don't make friends with each other.

"Is it 'Rai', which means trust? That's a good name."

Even among foreigners who have read Journey to the West, few read the Chinese version. Zhuo resisted the urge to complain. Just like the world classics in Shiratani Shoten, they are translated versions, not English. In other words, if you want to find a pure English book in a country that uses Japanese, it will probably take some effort to find it, except for English tutorial books. People generally read the content, not the text, so it is unlikely to read the original text.

Even though Zhuo knew a lot of surnames, surnames pronounced as "lai" were quite rare, so he asked.

However, he didn't expect that after hearing his words, "No. 7" was stunned and became quite embarrassed.

"No, my father's last name is Lai, so naturally I have the same last name."

"My last name is Lai, which means trust. That's great... My name is Utsunomiya Zhuo, which means roughly the same after translation." "Yeah, Zhuo... Zhuo, Zhuo..."

"You don't have to force yourself to praise me. After all, they are two different countries."

"Ah, sorry... After living for so many years, I finally realized the importance of culture."

"Just a name. This is my wife, Zero."

"Ah hello."

Ling nodded expressionlessly in response, and added calmly: "Utsunomiya Ling. Because his last name is Utsunomiya, my last name is also Utsunomiya." Zhuo Ze complained in a low voice: "This is the first time I hear you introduce me like this. Although it is true, I feel a little embarrassed for some reason."

"At that time, we rarely used last names when communicating. Doesn't it feel strange to call each other by their full names?"

"that's true."

Thinking that if he really heard Ling calling his full name 'Utsunomiya Shuo' in her signature silent tone one day, Shuo would probably feel that he had done something wrong and made her unhappy.

"I see, hello. It looks like you guys are planning to spend two days here, so I'll give this to you."

He smiled and handed Ling a ticket with the words "Lincoln Park" written on it.

"This is a special invitation ticket for internal use. Although Lincoln Park is free, it might be more convenient to have this."

"This is something you prepared for yourself, it's not good to give it to us."

"I'll give it if I want to. It's no fun for me to be alone anyway."

"Yeah."

"No. 7" handed over two invitation tickets with a smile, which made Zhuo feel grateful and embarrassed. It was just a chance meeting, or more accurately, Zhuo was still on guard against him. But Ling had already taken it. Zhuo looked at him again and found that he was smiling happily.

"Ah, you don't need to worry about me? I'm already tired enough tonight, I don't have the energy to go out and have fun, and I'd rather go back home now."

He added with a smile: "Compared to outside, home is still the best."

Zhuo thought that it would be the same everywhere if you didn't have money, but he didn't complain about it. Instead, he thanked him frankly and decided to use it with gratitude.

"Thank you, Mr. Lai. Please let us treat you back next time."

"No need! I don't want anything in return... Oh, by the way, Mrs. Utsunomiya."

"what's up."

"There's a masquerade at Millennium Park. Since the face is covered, the dance partner is selected based on the body shape and conversation. If Utsunomiya has great muscles, you can go and try it~"

I didn't expect that Ling would actually respond to "No. 7". It's not that Ling is impolite and doesn't care about people, but she rarely responds to strangers. Even if she does, her response is very plain, almost always within two words. This time, she responded without much hesitation, and according to Zhuo's understanding of Ling, it seems that she responded without any reluctance. I'm afraid this has something to do with the phrase "Mrs. Utsunomiya". This made Zhuo feel quite complicated.

Moreover, seeing that "No. 7" had a serious look on his face, he thought he wanted to say something - Zhuo felt dumbfounded, while Ling, who was asked the question, blinked repeatedly, and then became cold again for some reason.

"No, Zhuo is mine."

"You can go by yourself. People here seem to like dancing. You seem to be Russian, so I don't think you would hate it. I'm just giving you some advice."

"Zero do you want to go dancing?"

"I didn't say that. I didn't say anything like that."

Zhuo did remember that Ling probably liked dancing, but even so, he still felt uncomfortable thinking about her dancing with another man. Although he knew that it was a basic way of socializing in the West, he couldn't control his emotions.

Zhuo also knew that even if he was jealous, he couldn't restrict the other party too much, so he was prepared to be patient.

Lian Ling was also affected and immediately turned to face him and denied it. However, she seemed to see that Zhuo was half considering it, so she waved her hand in frustration.

She whispered in a helpless tone, "I don't like it now," and then looked at "Number 7" with an obviously wary expression.

"No, it's just that it's a rare festival... I just wanted to help introduce them... and Utsunomiya-san seemed to be interested in the festival, so wouldn't it be great if I could make some friends there?"

"That would be very nerve-wracking for me."

"Ah! After all, Utsunomiya-san is looking very stylish today. Maybe he already has a fan girl in the circle."

"Number 7" nodded repeatedly as if he understood everything, while Zero silently observed his expression.

Zhuo didn't know whether he should be happy that Ling could get along well with others, or complain about Ling and be jealous of his unlikely romantic opportunities.

He probably wouldn't be as welcomed as "No. 7" said. Perhaps he would be met with more hostile or even hateful looks. Besides, if a girl approached him just because he made a scene, it would be hard for him to accept such approach. Even if it was for other purposes, Zhuo would not be likely to accept it.

There are people who look better than Zhuo everywhere, and the "No. 7" in front of him is also quite outstanding in appearance. I am not as good as Zero thinks.

Seeing that Ling seemed to still be wary of "Number 7", Zhuo smiled bitterly and gently stroked her head.

"How could that be possible? Even if someone really found me and approached me, I would probably think it was a trap to lure me in. So I would never have feelings for them. Don't worry."

"Even so, I'm not happy."

"I can't be happy either. Anyway, your worries are not true, it's okay."

"...Zhuo, you still don't understand..."

Zhuo originally wanted to reassure Ling that such a romantic encounter would never happen to her, but for some reason she frowned in dissatisfaction.

When Zhuo was confused, "No. 7" laughed and said jokingly: "Hahaha, how did you two get together..."

(End of this chapter)