owlsbooks Chapter 1034 The Last Routine 213
Chapter 1034 The Last Routine 213
Chapter 1034 The Last Routine 213
Just as Kobayashi was about to interrogate them, a familiar voice suddenly came from the forest. However, before Kobayashi and the others could say anything, the bound bandit leaders had obvious joy on their faces.
"This...this voice is...the boss!?" He said, both happy and apologetic, "I'm sorry! These guys can use strange magic..."
"Haha, you're quite capable." Chris stepped forward. "But now that I've done this, I have to settle things—wait, Kobayashi!? And everyone else...!?"
They finally met.
After the misunderstanding was cleared up, Kobayashi and the others followed Chris to their base.
After walking through a forest for about ten minutes, Chris said, "Our base is just ahead in this forest."
"The base!?" Megumin exclaimed excitedly, shaking Kobayashi's arm and shouting, "Did you hear that, Kobayashi? It's the base! The secret hiding place of my longing, that's the base!"
"Hmm?" Kobayashi didn't seem to care about any of that. He gazed out of the forest and said, "Since just now, there have been windmills everywhere in the forest... This is—"
“Oh, you noticed that?” Chris explained, “Actually, those are decorative signposts to prevent me from getting lost when I arrive at the base.”
"Speaking of which, Chris..." Darkness asked with some confusion, "Why are you now the leader of the thieves...?"
This is also why Kobayashi and the others are puzzled. Although Chris is a thief, they never expected her to become the leader of thieves in the scroll world, which is really strange.
“Actually, there’s a deep reason behind this…” Chris then began to explain, and Kobayashi and the others nodded in agreement, speechless at her predicament.
"I see." Kobayashi sighed and said, "Were those men who were suddenly attacked in the forest and then killed by you the same group of thieves?"
“After asking, I found out they weren’t bad people.” Chris seemed to be making excuses for them, pleading as she said, “They just had no money and were forced to become thieves to make a living.”
The thief accompanying them scratched his head awkwardly and explained, "Although we're in such a sorry state now, we were originally samurai. To survive, we had no choice but to become thieves..."
“If we let this go unchecked, who knows what bad things they might do next?” Chris shrugged at the crowd and said, “So, I’ve decided to take care of everyone on the condition that I become a righteous thief.”
“We can’t just leave people in trouble unattended.” Darkness nodded in deep agreement, and said to Chris with a smile, “Hehe, even in Edo, Chris is still Chris. That hasn’t changed.”
Kobayashi nodded in agreement, agreeing with Darkness. After all, Chris was a kind-hearted goddess, and even thieves wouldn't easily give up on her; otherwise, she wouldn't have insisted that they only rob merchants who had stockpiled goods.
“Of course. I’m also gathering information on you guys, Kobayashi. It’s much easier to have companions.” Chris explained herself briefly. If she were alone, she would be like a headless fly, finding information about them would be very difficult. But with these thieves, it’s different; they are also excellent at finding information.
"Sigh..." Kobayashi sighed and said, "Anyway, everyone's here now. We can finally go back to our original world."
"Eh!? You already know how to return to the original world?!" Chris exclaimed in shock. She had been so focused on gathering information about Kobayashi and the others that she was planning to find a way back after they met up, but she hadn't expected that they already knew.
“Yes!” Alice pulled out a pink scroll to bolster her argument, explaining, “The scroll says that everyone who comes to this world can return by standing in the castle tower.”
"So Chris is coming too—"
"Hey, wait a minute!!" Before Kobayashi could finish speaking, the thief suddenly flew into a rage, roaring at Kobayashi and the others, "I can't pretend I didn't hear what you just said!"
"You think you can just take the boss away?! That won't do!"
"That's right, that's right, the boss is ours!!"
The thieves started shouting loudly, determined not to let Kobayashi and the others take Chris away. Chris, somewhat embarrassed, waved her hand and said, "Everyone, calm down, I have somewhere I need to go back to..."
"No matter what the boss says, we need him!" The gang leader shouted to the others, "Men! Get the boss back!!"
Despite their enthusiasm, they were no match for Kobayashi and his group, and were quickly dispatched.
The thief leader bit his lower lip in frustration, tears streaming down his face, and said, "If this continues, the boss will be taken away...!"
“Everyone…” Chris was very moved to see these people, but she still shook her head and said, “Although I am very happy, I must return to my original world.”
"Boss, don't leave us!"
However, the thieves seemed quite reluctant to part with Chris, constantly pleading with her not to leave. At this moment, Alice seemed to be overcome with compassion, and she quickly said, "Um... everyone, stop being thieves! Try working for the world, for people—"
"What do you know, you brat?!" Before Alice could finish speaking, she was rudely interrupted, who roared furiously, "If the city lord were even a little more reliable, we wouldn't have to be thieves!"
Feeling wronged and resentful, Xiaolin felt somewhat helpless. He pouted and said, "Honestly, there's nothing I can do with you guys! Lower your head! Lower your head! Lower your head!"
He suddenly shouted this loudly, then came up to Alice and exclaimed, "Do you know who this is?! This is the General's daughter!"
"Could it be... that this brat is... the princess!?" The bandit leader's eyes widened in disbelief.
“Yes. This grape hair ornament is proof.” Alice said to them with a smile, then added with some sympathy, “I completely understand how you feel. And the skills you just displayed were truly amazing. I will tell my retainers that you will all be the city’s guards from now on.”
"Really?!" the bandit leader exclaimed excitedly.
“Creating a world where everyone is happy is my duty.” Alice clenched her fist, as if cheering him on, and said, “No matter what kind of world it is, this will never change.”
"Thank you, thank you so much!!" the thief leader said repeatedly.
It seems this matter is now closed.
Kobayashi and the others looked at each other and nodded in agreement.
Seeing that the matter was over, Chris bid them farewell, saying, "Well then, I'm leaving!"
"Boss, don't forget us!" the bandit leader cried, still looking quite reluctant to part with Chris.
"Haha, need I say more?"
Chris said this with a smile.
The other thief scratched his head awkwardly and said, "I wanted to give the boss a farewell gift, but... I don't have anything to give... I'm really sorry..."
Thieves have nothing to cling to; they've already sold their valuables for money, and their boss won't take what they've stolen, leaving them in a very awkward and difficult situation.
But Chris didn't care about any of that. She picked up a windmill and said, "No need for farewell gifts or anything like that. This is enough. I'll accept it!"
“That’s… a windmill?” Darkness asked, somewhat puzzled. “Does this thing have any symbolic meaning?”
"This windmill was decorated for me by everyone!" Chris said with a pleased expression, then turned to the other thieves and said, "Everyone, starting tomorrow you'll be excellent samurai, no more thieves!"
"Boss!! Take good care of yourself!!"
Take care, everyone!
Afterwards, the group bid farewell to the thieves, their eyes still brimming with tears as they left.
After returning to the city.
"Is that alright?" Kobayashi looked at Chris and said, "Bringing a little more is fine too." He seemed to think Chris was being a bit reserved; those thieves' treasures were quite tempting.
But Chris didn't seem to care. She shook her head and said, "It's alright, it's alright. Besides, I don't think we can take things from this world back with us."
"Huh!? Really? I'm so surprised!!" Aqua looked horrified.
Kobayashi glanced at the large number of bottles behind the idiot goddess and said with a smirk, "Hey Aqua, you're not planning to take all this sparkling wine back with you, are you?"
"Because I really love it!" Aqua shouted unwillingly, "It has a rich and full-bodied flavor, and the taste is unique and refreshing, so...!"
"In other words..." Huihui looked at the long sword at her waist and said with a regretful expression, "I also have to say goodbye to this beloved sword, Gaunga Taro."
"So what's with that weird name...!" Kobayashi shouted in utter despair. The naming conventions of the Crimson Demon Clan were still strange enough to give anyone a headache.
Darkness was the same; she tugged at her clothes with regret and said, "I also want to wear this courtesan's outfit and walk on the streets of Axel... I definitely... I definitely... umm!!" Her face was flushed, and she looked like a perverted person who was desperately hungry.
"Alright, enough of this nonsense, let's get back!" Kobayashi wasn't about to let that happen to Axel, so he turned to Alice and said, "Then I'll leave it to you, Alice."
“Okay, brother!” Alice readily agreed, smiling as she looked at everyone and said, “Everyone, are you ready?”
"At first I was a little lost, but now that I'm going back, I feel a little lonely..." Youyou said during this break. She looked at the hair accessory in her hand with some regret because the shop owner said it could make her friends happy, but she couldn't take it back with her.
"What a noisy and fun town," said Mikage Hibiki with a hint of satisfaction. "I'm really happy that my plan succeeded."
In fact, he was the one who came up with the plan to lure the thief, but he never expected that someone would fall for such a simple trap. However, it was thanks to this plan that they were able to find Chris.
Alice held up the scroll and said, "Then let's go back to our original world! Take this scroll...!"
When the scroll was unfurled, a burst of intense light erupted from it, engulfing Kobayashi and the others in its blinding brilliance. As the light dissipated, Kobayashi and the others looked around in bewilderment.
"...Huh? This is...a castle!?" Kobayashi looked at the familiar princess room and knew they had returned to this world.
Aqua got up from the carpet, yawning, and said, "Ahhh... I slept so well! Did I drink too much bubble tea?"
"Ah!? I'm sorry!" Mitsurugi Hibiki quickly bowed and apologized, saying loudly, "I was supposed to protect Lady Aqua, but I don't know when...!"
"Hehehe, it seems everyone is asleep." Alice looked at them with a smile, but then said meaningfully, "But I feel like I had a very happy dream."
"I think I also used Explosion Magic in my dream... and I was even wearing an incredible outfit!" Megumin said excitedly. In fact, when they were fighting the thieves, Megumin did use Explosion Magic despite everyone's advice.
"Huh? Megumin too!?" Yuuyu looked at her in surprise, then quickly said, "I had the same feeling! Is this the same style...?"
"Huh?" Darkness looked at Chris with some surprise and said, "Chris, what are you holding in your hand...?"
"Huh?" Chris realized what she was holding after being reminded. She looked closely and said in surprise, "This is... a windmill, right? Strange? Why am I holding something like this...?" She had no memory of it at all.
Kobayashi stroked his chin, a little puzzled, and pondered, "Hmm... so many people sleeping together, isn't that strange? Speaking of which, what were we doing before we fell asleep?" He then tried desperately to remember. But perhaps because he had drunk too much bubble tea, he couldn't recall anything at all.
"What's the big deal? Don't worry about the details!" Aqua waved her hand dismissively, showing no interest in the strange matter. Instead, she looked at the windmill in Chris's hand with some excitement and asked, "Chris, what do you think of this windmill? If you don't need it, I'd like to add it to my banquet performance props!"
“This…” Chris looked at the windmill in her hand. She had originally intended to give it to Aqua, but then suddenly changed her mind and said, “I’ll take it back. Yes, I’ll take it back.”
"Hehe, it seems to be something very important." Aqua wasn't angry at being rejected because she could see how much Chris valued the windmill, so she didn't make unreasonable demands.
"Although I'm not entirely sure, everyone's awake..." Kobayashi looked around at everyone and then said loudly, "Then, let's drink it all over again from the beginning!"
Needless to say, they drank a lot of sparkling wine again, and laughter echoed in the castle, but in the end, they were still scolded by Claire.
(End of this chapter)