Four Split Personalities

"Brother is so mean! Anna isn’t scary at all."

...

Game Time PM20:17

Northwest Continent, Spirit Monster Wilderness, Shallowgrass City

Motan appeared in a small alley not far from the central square. He first moved silently to the mouth of the alley, and only after seeing that those black carriages parked on the edge of the square were still there did he breathe a sigh of relief. Then he took another route back to the "Little Fang Pub" they had visited earlier and directly returned to the room on the second floor.

"Back from your stroll?"

Ji Xiaoge, who was sitting on the bed cleaning Ya Ya’s ears, glanced at him with a smile, gently fluttering her wings twice.

"Woof~ so comfortable~"

The beast-eared girl lying on Ji Xiaoge’s lap made a humming sound, then swung her tail towards the door: "Mor Wang is back~"

Anthony Dabus and Jadka were also in the room. The former’s one head continued to educate the other on the finer points of civilization and manners, while the latter, resting his chin, sat on a chair with a 45-degree upward gaze, looking somewhat dazed.

"Yeah, I’m back."

Motan first smiled at Ya Ya and then walked over to Jadka, gently patting the back of the chair: "What are you thinking about?"

"Uh... nothing, nothing, you’re back from your walk, huh."

Jadka suddenly snapped out of his reverie and then spread his hands with a wry smile: "Heh, as Dabus would say, I’m probably feeling nervous because I’m near home. Even though I’ve made up my mind, it’s really been too long since I’ve been back."

Motan nodded slightly and said with a grin, "I can understand, but you should adjust your mood as soon as possible... you know."

"Don’t worry, after all, I’ve lived for quite a few years. I can still tell what’s more important."

The old Mage waved his hand, signaling that Motan need not worry about him.

"That’s good."

Motan pulled up a chair to sit opposite Jadka and looked through the window at those all-black carriages: "I just don’t know when they will... huh?"

The moment he sat down, he suddenly stood up, narrowing his keen vertical pupils, and said in a deep voice, "Everyone, be ready, those people are about to leave!"

Before his words fell, the leading carriage started to move. The two glossy horses pulled it gracefully, moving away from the central square at an unhurried pace, heading toward the almost deserted North Gate of Shallowgrass City.

The other two carriages, seemingly with no one driving, followed closely behind.

"It seems I didn’t mishear, they really did leave at this time..."

Ji Xiaoge bent her index finger and gently scratched Ya Ya’s ears, then stood up and strode towards the door: "Let’s set off as well."

...

Ten minutes later

Motan and the group of six appeared on the main road that ran straight from the north side of Shallowgrass City to the Caselo Prairie.

Anthony Dabus was pulling a wooden cart filled with boxes. If one ignored the extra head on his neck, he would resemble an ordinary Ogre laborer.

Jadka had changed out of his plain robe, which revealed no rank, and put on a finely textured leather coat. He adorned his thoroughly ice-treated Magic Wand with a low-cost, gold-plated handle (a piece of wood plus Ji Xiaoge’s sour fish soup), transforming it into a decorative cane. He wore a time-worn pocket watch on his chest and a pair of pince-nez on his dignified nose, looking every bit like a scrupulous merchant.

Motan wasn’t much different from usual, still in his plate armor and two-handed sword combination, but he had replaced his Self-Destruct sheep with a nearly dead nag, giving off the vibe of an Adventurer who hadn’t been too lucky.

Ya Ya, on the other hand, had a completely different look...

Her functional leather armor had been swapped for a dark-colored dress, the long boots she loved to wear exchanged for a pair of thick-soled clown shoes, and she also wore a fluffy shawl. Paired with her pretty and cute face, standing next to Jadka as she did, she looked just like a young miss out with her elder, pure, beautiful, and full of life—as long as she didn’t speak.

"Wow~ perfect!"

Ji Xiaoge, with her arms crossed, surveyed the others excitedly, exclaiming: "Excellent, with this, even if you leisurely follow behind them, there’s no fear of being exposed. Especially Ya Ya, girls do need to dress up nicely! Once you let your hair grow a bit longer... slurp... let me do it for you... slurp..."

Motan coughed lightly, looking at Ji Xiaoge with resignation as her gaze grew increasingly fervent: "Please, rein it in a bit, Ya Ya’s about to get frazzled."

"Well, my sister never lets me dress her up nicely."

Ji Xiaoge pouted and said indignantly: "I have been holding a grudge for almost twenty years!"

Motan imagined Ji Xiaodao, with a stoic face and indifferent gaze, being dolled up in various cute outfits, and posing cutely with a cold expression. A strong sense of discord washed over him, and he shivered mightily.

"What kind of reaction is that? My sister is really pretty, just a bit introverted," Ji Xiaoge huffed, and then she herded the somewhat awkward Jadka and Ya Ya onto the cart, clapping her hands: "Anyway, you now just look like an ordinary Caravan. The combination of old merchants, young miss, Ogre driver, and mercenary day laborer—I’ve seen quite a few in the past couple of days, so it shouldn’t give us away. Dabus and Anthony, you two have the strength to put up with it for a bit. We’re a bit strapped for cash right now, and Motan and I looked for a long time but couldn’t find a cart we could afford to buy."