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Chapter 75: The Horse Girl Wants to Change Her Surname

Reiner searched the camp for a while but only found a little over twenty copper coins.

He casually lit a fire and led Junice’s horse back.

When he saw Daisy standing by the roadside, he handed her the reins and said, “Ride this horse for now.”

“Mm.”

Reiner turned to look at Nora and asked, “Can you track Junice’s scent now?”

“The snow has buried every trace of it, so I’m afraid I can’t,” Nora said, shaking her head.

Melod was situated on the Dyast border, and they were now over 60 kilometers from it.

They still had nearly two hundred kilometers to travel to reach a remote border town in Barnite.

Along the way, she would also have to cross a forest even more vast than the Dawn Forest.

Logically, since Junice was injured and so far from her destination she should have been heading back, yet they had not encountered her on the road that led here.

She wouldn’t drag her injured body into the woods to be eaten by beasts, would she?

Without her horse, a two-hundred-kilometer journey would take at least ten days, even discounting her impaired mobility.

Although Junice was an experienced adventurer, Reiner could not help but feel some concern.

“Master, up ahead is the forest; do we keep going deeper?” Nora asked.

“Let’s go a little further, then camp here and rest overnight since it’s not suitable to travel after dark,” Reiner said, exhaling deeply.

“Mm-hmm.”

Nora went ahead to find a flat spot with some cover where they could rest.

The group sat around a fire, huddling together for warmth.

A cold wind blew, and Reiner shivered.

He truly didn’t know how Junice would manage to cross a forest teeming with monsters and bandits in such bitter winter.

Martina suddenly began stripping off her armor piece by piece and then said to Reiner, “Darling, you must be freezing… take off your armor and let us hold each other tight so I can keep you warm.”

The earnestness on her face was utterly adorable.

There was no use worrying now; he needed to cherish those around him.

They had been on the road all day, so Martina must have been particularly bored.

Reiner slipped out of his plate armor and then drew Martina into a tight embrace.

She was soft and warm, and it felt wonderful to have a wife.

Martina closed her eyes and leaned in for a kiss.

Reiner never saw this coming.

The Martina who had once been so tomboyish, whose mind had only focused on eating and slaying monsters, could now be so delicate.

Indeed, the quickest way to change a person was to let her fall in love.

Nora laughed as she teased, “You used to tease me, but now you’re even clingier with Master than I am.”

Martina blushed and curled up in Reiner’s arms, whispering softly, “Reiner is my only family now…”

Reiner stroked her elastic, warm horse ears and said, “Nora is your family too.”

Martina replied without hesitation, “Nora only counts for half; Reiner is my man.”

“You sound like you intend to monopolize him,” Nora said as she leaned in and nudged Martina outward. “Master hasn’t even kissed me today, so don’t be so selfish.”

“You still have your armor on… you’d freeze… Besides, Master was with you yesterday, so today it should be my turn.”

Listening to their squabbles, Reiner felt even more certain that he had made the right decision.

Too many women really did lead to fights.

Even with just two of them, they were already at each other’s throats; with three or four, it would be total chaos.

Just then, the daydreaming Reiner felt a poke to his chest.

The two beast-eared girls stared at him earnestly.

Martina asked, “Who is prettier, me or Nora?”

She even leaned forward to show off her proud curves.

Although Nora said nothing, she was eagerly awaiting Reiner’s response in her mind.

“Enough, you’re both the same to me; you’re the most important people in my heart, so stop arguing.”

Daisy, sitting across the fire, covered her mouth and chuckled softly at his answer.

Seeing that it was late, Reiner patted the ears of the two beast-eared girls and said softly, “Nora, you rest first; I’ll stand watch with Martina for the first half of the night, then it’ll be your and Daisy’s turn.”

“Okay, then I’ll sleep,” Nora said as she removed her stiff chest plate, walked over to Daisy, and cuddled her like a child, acting spoiled.

Reiner gently patted Martina’s back, softly coaxing her to sleep.

But she obviously wasn’t being honest, as she kept lightly nibbling on Reiner’s ear.

After a while, she finally made her move.

“Nora and Daisy are both asleep, so let’s start, Reiner… you shouldn’t hold in what you feel for your own health.”

???

“Cut the crap, I’m not interested in this wilderness.”

Martina ignored what Reiner said and kept whispering “Master” in his ear, harassing him relentlessly.

Seeing this, Reiner decisively brought up an old grievance: “You never used to call me that… you always called me by name.”

Martina’s cheeks flushed as she looked tempting in the dancing firelight and said, “It’s different now… you’re my man… I’m willing to do anything as long as you like it.”

“Behave and don’t go overboard; keep watch properly… this area is dangerous, so wait until we’re somewhere safe to play.”

“All right, I’ll do whatever Master says,” Martina said as she gave Reiner a little nibble.

After a while, she asked again, “Master, what is your surname?”

“Why are you asking?” Reiner asked, puzzled.

“We demi-humans take a new surname when we have a male partner; the females adopt the male’s name… didn’t Nora tell you?”

Reiner shook his head, having never heard her mention it before.

“Then tell me now.”

Reiner recalled his name.

After a moment, he said, “My surname is Li.”

“Li?” Martina asked in confusion.

“Mm.” Reiner picked up a stick and wrote the Chinese character for Li in the muddy ground.

Martina’s eyes widened, “So your name is Reiner Li?”

“No… Reiner is not my real name but an alias; I come from a very distant place.”

Martina nestled against his chest again, saying, “I’m dumb… I don’t understand, but you must have your reasons.”

“Of course; my real name would be too awkward and draw too much attention here, so I just picked something.”

“Then in the future I will call myself Martina Li.”

“Whatever makes you happy; where I come from, there is no custom of changing surnames,” Reiner said as he rubbed her horse ear. “All right, you go to sleep too and let me stand watch; I’ll wake Nora when it’s time.”

“I’ll keep you company; I want to get to know you better.”

Reiner laughed, “That’s quite the contrast.”

Martina pouted and said, “I was childish before, so don’t tease me about those things.”

She held Reiner tightly, paused, and then added, “Someday I’m definitely going to give you so many, many children…”

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