Finally meeting a living human in the dream plane, Kevin was so surprised he practically cried out. The expression on his face was so obvious that the girl on horseback nearby raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Did you really get a head injury?"
"Uh, no, no, no. I'm finally seeing a living person in this desolate wilderness. I'm a little excited." Kevin quickly waved his hand back to normal, finally getting a chance to take in the appearance of the first human he had met in the dream plane.
She looked to be in her early twenties, perhaps even younger. She wore a light brown leather vest over a white dress, and a strange, easy-to-move outfit that looked like a combination of a skirt and panties. A long sword hung from her waist. Her face was vibrant, her eyes bright, and she looked full of life. Her skin had a healthy tan, and her hair, neatly styled and flowing, gave her a fresh, energetic look. Kevin was also curious about the animal the girl was riding. Although it was described as a horse, this creature was much more robust than Earth's horses. It had two horny, bony plates sticking out from its shoulder blades. Its tail was thick and fluffy, and there was no mane behind its neck. Besides its basic shape reminiscent of a horse, it was a completely different creature. Perhaps this was the camel beast unique to the dream plane. "What are you looking at?" The girl on the horse frowned at Kevin. "Did you really hit your head when you fell?"
Kevin then realized that staring at a girl he'd just met was quite rude. He quickly smiled and waved his hand away. "No, I'm lost on the grasslands and was surprised to finally see people."
"Oh," the young woman nodded, examining Kevin curiously. "Strange clothes, no luggage, and lost on the grasslands... I can tell you you're broke. Robbery wouldn't be profitable. What a bummer. I'm leaving now."
Kevin was at a loss for words when he heard the word "robbery" casually blurt out. Seeing her turn and actually start to leave, he quickly stepped forward to stop her. "Wait! Can you give me a ride..."
"You're so shameless!" the voice of the data terminal echoed in his mind, and Kevin automatically ignored it. "Give you a ride?" the young woman raised an eyebrow. "Why? I don't know you. And you look suspicious."
Kevin was stunned. How could this situation not go according to the usual scenario? In any normal scenario, he would have seized this opportunity to embark on a new adventure with this new knight girl he'd met. Why was this person so unresponsive?
"I'm lost," Kevin spread his hands. "And do you think I could have walked out of the prairie on my own in this state? There are more wolves than people here. Do you have the nerve to just stand there and watch me die?"
"It's nothing to be embarrassed about..." the young woman frowned, thinking. "Never mind. It's pretty close to Rembert, so I'll give you a ride. But I need to know who you are, where you're from, and what you do. Most importantly, do you have money? I'm a mercenary, after all, and I won't do business without payment."
Kevin was stunned by this barrage of questions, internally complaining about why he couldn't meet the easy-to-please, clueless girls in other stories. He really should have asked that ridiculous wolf king more about human society the last time he came here. Now he doesn't even know the names of human places, so how can he come up with an identity?!
"Uh. What do I look like?" Kevin thought for a moment, then threw his hands up in a vacant manner. "You just saw me fall from the sky. I guess not many normal people can do that?"
He could only hope that the other person could follow his lead and come up with something. After all, "falling from the sky" seemed like the only breakthrough at the moment. "Oh, yes, you fell from the sky," the young woman nodded. "By the way, you didn't even bring any luggage. With all that gear, you definitely didn't walk to the grasslands on your own. Could it be another one of those crazy magicians? Is there a problem with the teleportation?"
"That's the problem with the teleportation," Kevin nodded vigorously. He thought to himself, "So there really are people in this world who can match my situation. He'd successfully fooled the first time he ran into a big calculation, but he hadn't been happy for a few seconds when the stranger excitedly asked, "Then make me a big fireball? I've been studying magic lately!"
What kind of magic is this, a female mercenary with a sword?
Kevin had never imagined that situations that were so easily fooled by the protagonists in TV dramas would be so troublesome in real life. A normal-minded person is indeed harder to fool than anime characters. Even this seemingly not-so-bright person in front of him had already made him break out in a cold sweat. Finally, he threw his hands up in a completely unremarkable manner. "I can't rub it out. I was stunned when I fell just now. Believe it or not, I can just walk out on my own..."
"Oh, wizards really have bad tempers," the young girl laughed. "Never mind. I'll give you a ride. Wizards have money anyway. It's still half a day's journey from here to Lombard. Two hundred guineas isn't too much, right? And I'll let you ride with me, how about that?"
Kevin was stunned. How would he know what a guinea was? He'd never even seen money in this world! But the man before him clearly wanted money, so he gritted his teeth and reached into his pocket, explaining slowly, "Well, I left rather unexpectedly and don't have any money on me. And you see, I'm in such a predicament... I don't have the energy to teleport back for money right now, so I can only let you go for a little while..."
The stranger remained silent, watching Kevin's movements intently. She knew that while magicians were often not entirely normal, they were popular for one thing: they were incredibly wealthy. They could easily craft a potion or some other gadget to extend their lifespan and sell it to the nobility for a fortune. In short, they were much richer than ordinary mercenaries. This imprudent fellow, who had just bolted out, looked like the kind of civilian mage who was easy to deal with. She loved meeting people like that: wealthy and lucrative, after all, they'd become completely naive from studying all day. "How about using this to pay off the bill?" Kevin finally finished his rambling, unable to continue in slow motion. After whetting the girl's appetite, he pulled a gleaming hexagonal object from his pocket. "I made this little gadget when I was bored."
"How dare you pull this thing out!" The data terminal roared in Kevin's mind, echoing for a long time. "The moment you put your hand in this, this thing should have been on guard!"
"What is this?" The strange girl looked curiously at the metal plate with a blue glow flickering on its surface. "Alchemical item? Synthetic ore? Or a broken magic lamp? What's it for?"
"Actually, it's a pretty amazing thing," Kevin said, tossing the data terminal up and down, mentally commanding it fiercely. "Hurry up! Show your worth in three seconds. Convince this girl that you're worth her while she's carrying a stranger across the prairie!" "Wait for this machine. I'll take your picture and post it on my friend's website when I get back." The data terminal responded with the same vicious tone, then reluctantly floated into the air and began playing the previously recorded tune played by Nangong Wuyue.
"Wow, a music box?" the strange girl was surprised. "And it can fly... Music boxes are common, but why did you make one that can fly?"
"Just think of me as someone with a lot of artistic talent and nowhere to vent." Kevin didn't want to explain any further.
"Okay, deal. This looks quite valuable. The music box alone is enough to cover the cost of this trip, not to mention it can fly." The strange girl pointed behind her. "Get on board, and don't touch anything you shouldn't. At this close, I can kill you with one sword. After we reach Lembert, this music box will be mine."
Kevin sweatdropped. He didn't know if it was the locals who were tough or if he had just happened to encounter a tough guy. He climbed onto the horse awkwardly and clumsily, trying not to act rudely. He mentally chatted with his data terminal, "Can you please stop letting Dou E suffer?"
"You sold this machine first! Even if it were downgraded once, it could be sold on the Macroworld market for a top-of-the-line interstellar shuttle, you know? You just got a chance to ride a horse with a girl!"
"Stop talking nonsense. Can't you just find a way to fly back?"
"...Yeah."
"By the way, I suddenly thought of a way to make money. We could..."
"Tell it to me, and I'll tell you. This machine knows over 200 gay websites. I could easily get 3,000 gay men here."
Kevin: "..."