Chapter 11: I'm Going Out

The dormitory conditions of the Citadel Guerrillas were even better than Aolang had imagined; he had originally thought it would be that kind of large shared bunk room.

Hearing Aolang's evaluation, Resha laughed and said, "You actually guessed right. According to what the seniors say, it really used to be a large shared bunk room."

Later, when the Guild Master expanded the scale of the Citadel Guerrillas and allocated space and funds, we got rooms like the ones we have now."

"Since the flow of Guerrilla personnel is relatively frequent, the quilts and pillows might not be very new, so don't mind that, ha."

"It's fine, I'm already very satisfied."

"I can't stay long in the male dorms, so I'll head off first. If you have any questions, you can ask Shaji; it lives here too. Rest early today, Ahlun's Little Brother, because things will get busy starting tomorrow."

"Oh right, regarding the mission, Boss Qiaoda should arrange for someone to notify you. If the Boss forgets, you can patrol with me tomorrow first."

"Okay, thank you, Senior Resha."

"That word 'Senior' is good, hehe, just call me that from now on. Let's go, Ahlun's Little Brother." Waving his hand, Resha left just like that.

Aolang immediately felt his ears, which had been noisy all day, finally quiet down.

Shaji scratched its ears, "The other few guys sharing this room haven't come back yet, meow. I'll introduce you to them later, meow. Do you want me to show you around the area, meow?"

"No need to trouble yourself." Aolang looked at Shaji again with some curiosity. "You're not with Senior Resha? I thought you two were partners."

The rule about separating men and women doesn't apply to Airou Cats; it's not like Shaji was sent specifically to the male dorms just because it's a boy.

"Meow." Shaji shook its head. "We aren't Resha's partners, meow. We were just taken in by the Citadel Guerrillas and then stayed here to work, meow."

"Taken in?"

"We were originally a wandering Airou in the wild, meow." Shaji didn't seem to want to go into details.

But even if it didn't say, Aolang could guess the general idea.

A wild Airou wandering alone, not yet an adult; besides the tribe being destroyed by a Monster attack, he couldn't think of any other possibility.

About the same as me...

Not pursuing this topic further, Aolang was about to ask about something else when the unclosed door was knocked on.

One person and one cat turned their heads to look and found that the person standing at the door was Qiaoda.

"Shaji, help go boil some hot water."

"Okay, meow." Shaji ran out.

Anyone could see that Qiaoda had just made up an excuse to send Shaji away.

"Mr. Qiaoda?" Aolang looked at the man in confusion.

Qiaoda rubbed the back of his neck with his palm. "Well, your teacher asked us to pass a few words to you."

Aolang's first reaction was "Running away from home was discovered!", but after hearing Qiaoda's subsequent explanation, he fell silent.

"This is your house key. Hmm, anyway, that's what she said." Qiaoda handed the key into Aolang's hand.

Aolang remained silent for several seconds. "Mr. Qiaoda, can I go home first?"

"Of course." Qiaoda stepped aside and opened the door for him.

Aolang took off his Conical Hat, placed it on the bed, and then walked out quickly. Along the way, his speed underfoot increased more and more, until finally he was sprinting at full speed.

The people on the street noticed the Guerrilla Team Set on his body, thought there was some emergency, and made way for him one after another.

Just like that, he ran all the way to the door of his own home.

This was a small single-story flat-roofed house built of earth and stone, with one door and two windows. It was no different from the surrounding houses, and the not-so-spacious interior space could be seen at a glance.

Standing at the door, he vaguely recalled ten years ago.

Back then, the teacher was still very young. She held his hand, came to this small house, and said, "We will live here from now on. If you are willing, you can also call this place 'home'."

The teacher's tone was flat, but one could inexplicably hear a hint of joy in it.

Aolang placed his hand on the doorknob and tried to turn it. Sure enough, the door was locked.

Without using the key to open the door, he turned around and continued running. This time, the target was Teacher Haifa's home.

The two houses weren't too far apart. Not long after, he arrived at Haifa's doorstep, raised his hand, and knocked on the door continuously several times, until his palm was numbed by the vibration.

"Who is it!"

The person inside the house was annoyed by this rude knocking sound. The moment the door was yanked open, the hinges connecting to the door frame emitted a creaking sound of being overloaded.

The one who opened the door was not Teacher Haifa, but an old auntie with gray hair, standing like an iron tower.

"M-Marydan Senior." Aolang bowed uneasily. He knew this old auntie was Teacher Haifa's mother and also knew that the other party had once been a powerful Hunter.

The kind who could twist the neck of a Yellow Velocidrome King with bare hands.

"It's you, little kid." Marydan's expression improved a bit. "Looking for Haifa? That person went traveling with Huali."

They told me about the matter and asked me to help take care of you. Although I'm retired, my name should still carry weight in Luokelake. If you have any problems, come find me anytime."

"Or, if you want to move in and live with us, that's fine too. My old man at home likes you quite a bit."

Aolang forced a polite smile, but before he could open his mouth, Marydan interrupted him.

"Alright, alright, your smile looks really ugly. If you're not coming, then you're not coming." She glanced at the armor on Aolang's body. "Yo-ho, Citadel Guerrilla Team Set? You joined the Guerrillas?"

"It's actually a suitable place for you, at least for the short term. Looks like I don't need to worry too much."

"Who is the person in charge of the Guerrillas now? Aomar? Or Hasang? No, that was so many years ago... So who is it now? Just say it!"

Facing the impatient old auntie's urging, Aolang could only answer, "It's Mr. Qiaoda."

"Qiaoda? Who is Qiaoda... Wait, that name seems a bit familiar. Isn't that a bean-sprout-like young rascal?"

Aolang didn't know what expression to make.

"Forget it. Anyway, if he bullies you, come find me. I'll go beat him up." Marydan heartily patted Aolang's shoulder.

In an instant, Aolang felt that his shoulder no longer belonged to him.

After bidding farewell to the irritable old auntie, Aolang's originally gloomy mood seemed to lighten slightly.

He slowly walked back to his home, took out the key, and opened the door. Everything in the house was tidied up very cleanly, although it was usually very clean anyway.

Standing still in the house for a moment, Aolang came to the dining table.

Previously, whenever the teacher had to go out for business, he would leave a note on the table; this time was no exception.

The content of the note was surprisingly concise.

【I have not yet decided on a destination or a return time. If you go far away, you can leave a letter in the mailbox at the door or at the Gathering Hall; I will see it when I return.

I have left some money in the bedside cabinet; do not be too frugal — Hua Li.】

Aolang silently put the note away and began to pack his luggage; it was merely some change of clothes and spare cash saved up from before, all of which fit into a single backpack.

Finally, he came to the cabinet by his bedside and pulled open the drawer.

Inside lay a thick stack of money, roughly ten thousand z; after a moment's hesitation, he still put this money away and took it with him.

After taking one last look at the house, he hoisted his backpack onto his back, walked out the door, and carefully locked the front door.

"I am leaving."