The Tale of Hero Alice’s Social Death - Chapter 332

The public transportation system in this world was similar to what was available on Earth before Alice transmigrated. There were buses that traveled through the city, high-speed rail systems that traveled between cities, and magic airships that were similar to the airplanes on Earth. This otherworld even had a form of transportation faster than airplanes—teleportation arrays.

With the existence of teleportation arrays, traveling between cities and countries instantly would no longer be a problem. The efficiency of teleportation arrays was vastly superior to other modes of public transportation. The only downside of using teleportation arrays to travel was the expensive price tag that came with it.

Of course, most people wouldn’t choose to travel via teleportation arrays under normal circumstances. After all, each use of a teleportation array would cost around the monthly income of an average household. They would choose to travel via teleportation arrays only when they were in a hurry.

However, the hefty cost of using teleportation arrays wasn’t a concern to Alice. Not only did she receive an allowance as the Gryffin Kingdom’s princess, but she also received sponsorship from Hatter and the other human kings as the Hero.

For example, the Rhine Kingdom’s King Haydn transferred a huge sum of money into Alice’s bank account shortly after asking Alice for help with the Demon King problem in the Royal Magic Tower. It was obvious that he hoped that Alice could resolve this problem as soon as possible. Meanwhile, just the amount of money King Haydn sent this time was enough for Alice to use the teleportation arrays around 100 times.

Long story short, even though Alice was currently in the Rhine Kingdom, she could easily return to the Gryffin Kingdom in only a few minutes if she wanted to.

While there were cheaper and similarly effective options for reaching Rosa, such as phone calls and social media, the matter this time was of significant importance. Alice felt that she needed to communicate this matter to Rosa in person. So, after making up her mind to consult Rosa, Alice promptly visited Icarus City’s teleportation hub and teleported back to the Gryffin Kingdom.

Alice still remembered where Rosa’s house was. So, after exiting Holl City’s teleportation hub, Alice quickly made her way to Rosa’s place. However, upon arriving at her destination, Alice was surprised to find a “To Rent” notice pasted on the door.

According to the notice, the previous tenant had chosen to terminate her lease for personal reasons, so the house owner was currently looking for a new tenant. When Alice saw this notice, she got a sense of déjà vu. This was the same situation as when Rosa had tried to run away from her last time.

“What a disobedient little thief…”

Alice scratched her head, feeling somewhat speechless. It would seem that Rosa still hadn’t realized that it didn’t matter where she hid. Or perhaps Rosa felt that the last time Alice managed to find her was through the use of special tracking magic. If it were the latter case, Rosa had probably found some sort of tool that could protect her from tracking magic.

Tracking magic existed in this world. One example would be the dogkins’ totems. Since tracking magic existed, it was only natural that there would be countermeasures developed for it. Only, these countermeasures wouldn’t be as widespread as other spells and tools since they only had a very niche use. Hence, it should be quite difficult for the average person to get their hands on them.

However, Rosa was a former thief. She had a wide range of connections. So, she might have gotten her hands on something that could combat tracking magic. Hence, she dared to flee again and try to break away from Alice’s pestering.

Unfortunately, Rosa would have never thought that the skills Alice used with the help of her right hand were much more complex than magic.

…

Canter City’s Goo Goo Bar had a unique layout that separated it from other bars in the city. There were no individual tables for guests to sit around in the bar. There were no private rooms, either. Instead, bar counters lined the establishment’s walls, and many bartenders stood behind these counters, ready to serve drinks to guests at any time.

Rosa was currently the only female customer in the bar. She had a refined figure and exquisite face, and many of the other customers in the bar couldn’t help but look at her. However, despite the attention she received, nobody dared to approach her.

It couldn’t be helped. The mercenary badge hung on Rosa’s belt acted as a huge deterrence. Although Canter City was a peaceful city located near the Gryffin Kingdom’s capital, everyone living here still knew what mercenaries represented

Mercenaries were people with genuine combat power and combat experience. Mercenaries were also individuals supported by the various human kingdoms. If average joes like themselves rashly provoked a mercenary, they would receive a beating and might even get sued for harassment.

“Ah. Even though Canter City isn’t a top-tier city, the alcohol here is not bad. It’s comparable to the quality of the alcohol served in Holl City’s Slacker’s Bar.” Rosa let out a satisfied sigh after emptying the cocktail glass in her hand, her sigh conveying hints of relief and confusion. “How strange… I should have been in a good mood, but why do I feel like something is missing…”

“Is something troubling you, Miss?” the female bartender serving Rosa asked. She was in a happy mood because of Rosa’s praise regarding the alcohol she served, so she decided that she would try to share some of her customer’s burdens. “Why would you say that you ‘should have been in a good mood?’ Listening to your words, you should have just arrived from the capital, right?”

Canter City was one of the cities that neighbored Holl City. Although Canter City was situated near the capital, there wasn’t anything remarkable about it. The development of its various industries was only average by the kingdom’s standards. Logically, someone who had established a foothold in Holl City wouldn’t be interested in Canter City.

“Ah, that’s right. I just came here from Holl City…” Rosa shook her head and reached for the pendant hanging from her neck. Then, she said, “I got my friend to buy this for me. It can stop all sorts of tracking magic. It can even erase the positioning magic of GPSs. I’m using this to escape a kid constantly pestering me.”

“A kid? Could it be the spoiled brat of some family?” The female bartender smiled when she heard Rosa’s problem. “By the sound of it, it would seem that you’ve moved away from Holl City because you could no longer tolerate the kid’s antics. But I’m guessing you are now feeling lonely because you have separated from that kid?”

“Spoiled brat… Yes, I guess you can say that she is a spoiled brat. It’s just that she is much stronger and more destructive than your average spoiled brat,” Rosa said, chuckling a little when she heard the bartender’s words. It was fortunate that the bartender didn’t know that the person she had just called a “spoiled brat” was the Hero. “And lonely? I doubt that. The last thing I want to do is be anywhere near that kid. Otherwise, who knows what kind of trouble I’ll get dragged into next.”

When Rosa recalled Alice flattening an entire mansion district with just one move, she couldn’t help but shudder. If before she didn’t know about the Hero’s destructive capabilities, then after seeing that incident, she thoroughly understood what kind of combat power the Hero possessed. If she were to receive one of the Hero’s attacks head-on, not even her ashes would remain.

“Perhaps. However, it is also possible that you’ve gotten used to that person’s presence without realizing it,” the female bartender said with a sagacious look. “You might think that you wish to break away from that child’s pestering, but in reality, you might have already gotten used to her antics. So, when you realize that she will not be coming to pester you in the future, you will subconsciously experience a feeling of loss.”

“Is that even possible?” Rosa frowned. She found it really hard to imagine that she would enjoy getting pestered by others. Not to mention, she had already lost so many pairs of panties because of Alice.

“Familiarity can be a very scary thing. You might not necessarily like that child’s pestering, but her pestering has most likely been engraved into your DNA and become a habit for you.”

After saying so, the female bartender smiled as she passed a glass of orange juice to the seat next to Rosa:

“Here’s the orange juice you ordered.”

“…What kind of person orders orange juice at a bar?”

Rosa was originally wondering whether she had actually gotten used to Alice’s pestering. However, after hearing the bartender’s words, she couldn’t help but turn to look next to her in confusion. After all, she never noticed someone taking the seat next to her, much less ordering a glass of orange juice.

However, the instant Rosa saw who sat next to her, her scalp went numb, her whole body shuddered, and her mouth clamped shut.

“Yo, Rosa.”

After taking a sip of her orange juice, Alice beamed a friendly smile at Rosa.