Chapter 97: Dory’s Story

The “Affinity” trait isn’t as simple as it appears on the surface.

Beyond just being good with animals and taking care of plants, this trait also gives the NPC a tiny chance to cultivate special plants.

This was already reflected in Yousen’s backstory.

That’s also why Su You gave up on another NPC who had a whopping 85 points in Planting Talent and had even reached the beginner bottleneck in skill level, and instead chose Yousen.

Because this trait can more than make up for a lack of planting talent—in fact, it’s even more important than talent itself.

[Would you like to recruit ‘Yousen’?]

[Kind Reminder: You may select two people in this round of recruitment. You have already recruited one (Domno Meck). Once you confirm your choices, all other NPC recruitment information will be cleared from the panel, and the NPCs you selected will arrive at your territory within a certain period of time.]

[Yes]

[This NPC is on their way to your territory. Estimated time of arrival: ???]

……

Bu Guo, Domno Meck, Yousen…

Su You silently recited the names of these three NPCs, then pushed open the tavern door.

As she left the tavern, Su You noticed that it was already completely dark outside. This alone showed just how long she’d been inside, and how much time she’d spent agonizing over her choices.

It seemed everyone else in the territory had already gone to their rooms to rest. Out here, Su You was the only one left… or at least, that’s what she thought.

“Miss Lord?” A familiar voice, a familiar way of addressing her—Su You paused for a moment, then turned to see Dory, who looked just as surprised to see her.

Su You was a bit puzzled as to why Dory was here at this hour, just as Dory was wondering why Su You hadn’t gone back to her room to rest so late at night.

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Dory broke the silence.

“I just remembered I still have something to do. If you’re free, you should get some rest.”

Su You nodded and headed toward her house—she’d been planning to rest anyway, just hadn’t expected to run into Dory.

She wasn’t particularly interested in what Dory had to do; that was her private business. As long as she wasn’t doing anything harmful to the territory, that was enough for Su You.

But Su You had barely taken a few steps when she realized something seemed off about Dory’s expression… Her eyes were a little red, as if she’d been crying.

Did Dory really have something to do, or was she just upset about something, and didn’t want to disturb Duoya’s rest, so she’d come out to find a quiet corner to cry alone?

After noticing this, Su You immediately turned around to look for Dory, but found that she had already disappeared.

She first opened the territory info panel to confirm that Dory was still within the territory and hadn’t left, then began searching for her.

Since there weren’t many buildings in the territory yet, there weren’t many places to search.

There was no need to check the residential houses, since people were inside, and Dory was unlikely to go to the only empty one. So Su You’s search route went from the tavern to the stables, then to the quest hall… When she reached the tailor shop, she faintly heard the sound of someone sobbing inside.

Su You hesitated for a moment, but in the end, instead of knocking, she simply pushed open the door to the tailor shop.

She was the lord—there was no building or item in her territory she couldn’t use or open, especially since she’d built this one herself.

The noise from opening the door wasn’t small, and it immediately startled Dory, who was hiding inside, grieving alone.

Since Su You hadn’t knocked and opened the door so quickly, she saw Dory before she had a chance to wipe away her tears, her eyes filled with surprise and panic.

“Miss Lord…” Dory instinctively wanted to ask why Su You was here, but when she saw Su You walking over and handing her a clean cloth, the words caught in her throat.

“You don’t need to explain anything to me. I won’t interfere in the private affairs of my territory’s residents.” With that, Su You pushed the cloth closer.

Dory seemed surprised that Su You didn’t ask or say anything, and sat there stunned for several seconds. Only when the cloth was practically in front of her face did she react.

She took the cloth and wiped her face haphazardly.

After handing over the cloth and confirming that although Dory was sad, she wasn’t about to do anything foolish, Su You prepared to leave. But she’d barely taken two steps when Dory called out to her.

“Miss Lord, don’t you have anything you want to ask?” As soon as she said this, Dory regretted it—Su You had just said she didn’t need to explain, and now she was asking if Su You wanted to ask anything… Wasn’t this just looking for trouble?

Fortunately, Su You didn’t mind. She hadn’t been lying—she truly wasn’t interested in other people’s private matters.

But if Dory wanted to share, Su You didn’t mind staying to listen.

“If you want to talk, then I can ask.” Su You’s words brought a hint of warmth to Dory’s heart, which had been heavy with worry and sadness from recalling the past.

Her mood visibly improved, though there was still a trace of sorrow in her eyes.

“Then… Miss Lord, do you want to ask what happened to me in the caravan before?” As she said this, Dory’s eyes held a hint of hope, as if she wanted Su You to ask.

This should have been Su You’s question, but now, their roles seemed completely reversed.

Seeing that Dory really did want to share, Su You gave up on going to rest. She dragged a chair over and sat down across from Dory.

“Then let me ask—what exactly happened to you in the caravan back then…”

……

The story wasn’t long, and the beginning was just as Dory had said before.

She’d joined the caravan against her parents’ wishes, and then the caravan was attacked by wild beasts, causing her to be separated from the others… She hadn’t lied, but she had left something out.

The reason the caravan was attacked was because someone in the caravan got greedy and, while no one was looking, stole a beast cub.

Beast cubs are worth a fortune in big cities, because in this world, there are people called “Beast Tamers.”

When a beast is still a cub, it’s much easier to tame.

(End of this chapter)"