BXBX NOVEL Chapter 652
Vincent swung the stick again to clear his thoughts. A smirk appeared on his face after thinking how oddly satisfying it was to swing the stick.
Shortly, Vincent kept swinging the stick while channeling Energy Flow to regain control of his intent.
Plow played the treasure hunt game and continued stacking quite an amount of cuddles to cash them in.
Zero moved beside its master to protect and support him if needed.
Hour after hour passed, and as the time of the day gradually reduced, their distance traveled increased faster than before.
The more time passed, the more Vincent was able to move more normally while using Energy Flow. However, he was also gradually becoming more tired as time passed.
After three short breaks, they decided to continue before stopping. The sun was about to start setting, and the night was around the corner. It was time to call it a day.
“Vincent Vincent. How long can Plow look for treasure today?” *Pho?* Plow asked. She was interested in at least finding the last cuddle-worthy object for the day.
.....
*Whoosh* The stick swung, and a breeze moved forward. “Phew. Let’s continue for half an hour more. I want to swing this stick a couple more times. It is about to break soon. Maybe I can find another lying on the ground.”
*Pho ?* Plow skipped cheerfully and resumed her search for cuddle-worthy objects.
Plow’s nose twitched after a familiar scent entered her tiny nose. *Pho ?* She happily barked while rushing to a nearby bush.
Plow left Vincent’s sight. She ran and ran until the smell of a familiar cuddle-worthy object entered her view.
“Yey! Plow has found three of those icky spicy snails again. Vincent Vincent is going to give me lots and lots of cuddles.” *Pho ?*
“PLOW. PLOW? Where have you gone?” Shouted Vincent.
*PHO, PHO* “Plow is here. Plow has found treasure. Vincent Vincent, come look at what Plow found.”
*Rustle* Vincent appeared from behind a tree. He looked deeply worried after losing Plow from his view. Beside him was Zero holding the stick.
Plow lowered her ears after feeling guilty. She understood it was bad to run away suddenly. Plow didn’t want to get scolded now that she had managed to acquire three minutes of cuddles.
“Huff, huff. Running for two minutes on the snow is harder than I expected it to be. Please be more attentive to your surroundings, Plow.”
Vincent breathed and exhaled gently until he regained his usual breathing. He crossed his arm and asked, “What did you find to cause this behavior? We were all worried about you. Right Zero?”
“If. Master. Says. So.”
“...” Vincent paused for a moment at the unexpected response. Zero acted as if Vincent was the only person important to it. Plow was not as important to Zero while Vincent was around.
[Sigh. At least Plow realized she had done bad to run away by herself.] Kazumi exited Vincent’s body and winked at him [I will go to the sky and take a good look at our surroundings.]
-Good idea. Maybe we can find a good location to place the Pocket Cabin.-
Kazumi left for the sky. In the meantime, Vincent went to store the snails. He sat on a bludging tree root and patted his lap. “Do you want a cuddle?” He asked the apologetic little fox.
Plow raised her ears happily, and the guilty expression faded from her face. She vigorously nodded before sitting on Vincent’s lap to cash in a couple of cuddle minutes.
Kazumi later returned from the sky. [It is a little cloudy in the far distance, but I think I saw white smoke. Could there be adventurers not too far from us?]
-Adventurers? Well, I hope they aren’t bad people or bandits. I am at twenty-five percent power right now.-
[Yeah. That is true. I will keep on a lookout, but I suggest telling Plow to remain on high alert.]
Vincent brushed Plow’s fur. “Kazumi thinks there could be people very far from us. Can I depend on my little Plow to warn us?”
Plow tapped on her chest with her tiny paw. *Pho* “Leave it to Plo...”
“What is wrong, Plow? Why did you stop mid-sentence?”
“The spicy smell is now gone.” *Pho* “Plow thinks there is the smell of fruit very very far away.”
Plow gently shook her head and continued, “But Plow can’t tell what it is, though... Plow does not know if it is the smell of people or fruit now.”
“People? Fruit? Could it be a fruity perfume?”
[It is more plausible to be perfume, as you mentioned, rather than a wild animal currently eating a fruit.]
[Not only is it rare to find a random fruit tree in the forest, but to find one with fruits on it at this time of year is even more difficult to consider.]
[Thus, could a person be nearby? Did they get separated from their group?]
[It could be a dangerous fight in your state. You will certainly get hurt and will need to use the Minor Heal spell after winning or escaping.]
Kazumi’s traveling range was limited and restricted. Thus, Vincent believed Plow could help more in this situation by providing a little bit more information. It could allow Vincent and Kazumi to decide their next course of action.
“Plow, can you try focusing on the smell? Any kind of detail can help.” He requested.
Plow’s nose twitched. *Sniff, Sniff* “Plow can smell a person, but it is strange... ”
Plow tilted her head, and a frown appeared on her face. “But Plow is not sure what the person is. If Plow smells good and far, but Plow thinks the smell is different than Plow knows.”
“Can you perhaps smell blood nearby? Is this fruit person injured?”
*Sniff, sniff* Plow gently shook her head. “Plow can not tell very very clearly. The smell is very little.”
Vincent and Kazumi became curious as to what Plow’s nose was smelling. First, it was a fruit, and later a person who had a scent Plow had never smelled before.
Plow got to meet humans, half-elves, elves, goblins, demi-goblins, beastmen, merman, orc, half-giant, lizardmen, and vampires.
It meant Plow had caught the scent of a race different than she had ever met.
[A race we never met before and could be wealthy. Hmm... Could the person be a rich dwarf?]
Vincent’s eyes opened wide after hearing the word dwarf.
Vincent and the Lionheart Girls needed to visit the dwarven kingdom to find the whereabouts of the creator of Ester’s heirloom sword Elsir soon. If Vincent saved a dwarf now, he would be able to request the dwarf to be their guide.
-I am interested in saving the dwarf.-
[Sigh. Looks like you made up your mind... but remember, I only guessed the person was a dwarf. The person could be of a race we have not met before.]
Vincent placed Plow on the snow and stood up. He looked at Plow and asked, “Plow. It could be a trap, but can you take us to the smell? Remember to move on high alert. We do not know if it is a trap.”
Plow patted her chest with her tiny paw. *Pho!* “Leave it to Plow.” She reassuringly said.
Plow began moving toward the direction of the smell while Vincent and Zero followed.
On the other hand, Kazumi shook her head and sighed multiple times to clear her thoughts. She hoped it wasn’t a trap as they had a lot of bad luck lately.
A human walking on the snow made more sound than the tiny feet of a little fox with little. Vincent walked about two meters behind Plow to let the little fox approach while barely making a sound.
Step after the other, the distance was gradually increasing. Vincent began to wonder how far Plow could smell.
Yet then again, a breeze was moving towards their direction the more they approached, allowing Vincent to understand Plow managed to pick the scent from the winds.
After a long while, Plow raised her ears and rushed forward. Vincent and Kazumi became anxious as Plow could find herself in danger at this rate.
Vincent hurried to follow Plow. He entered a small area without trees. In the middle was Plow tilting her head and moving her ears as if she was confused.
*Sniff, sniff* *Pho!* “Vincent Vincent! This strange hairy rock smells like a person. But Plow smells no blood, and Plow can not smell the rest of the body.”
Plow turned her head toward the approaching Vincent and asked, “Is the hairy rock a person? Can a person be this small? Plow does not understand.”
“Keep your distance from that rock with human hair. This situation is too unusual for it not to be a trap.” Vincent warned.
[I will go take a look around us. No one will ambush us with me around.]
While Kazumi left Vincent’s body to scout the area, Vincent moved his head from left to right. Try to find any sign of suspicious activity as he might, Vincent could only conclude the area was clear.
“Master. Fight? Zero. Protects.” Zero said while holding the stick with one hand with a firm grip.
“Be on guard. It appears to be safe, but we can never be too sure.” Vincent warned.
Kazumi returned.
[There are no signs of people and animals nearby. I used Mana Sense as a precaution. I could only detect signs of mana from the rock with hair on it.]