Published at 20th of January 2021 08:55:11 PM
Chapter 323
“Shit!!”
I frantically jumped out of bed and nearly tore the curtains off their hooks as I opened them to reveal the blindingly bright sun . And to think that I had meant to get up before sunrise so that I could wash up and leisurely prepare…
“Daniela! Get up! We’re late!”
“Mmm…”
I shook her shoulders but she would not open her eyes . If anything, there was something gloomy about her .
We hadn’t slept as early as I had wanted to . But not for a lack of trying . I had been about to fall asleep before she rudely interrupted me .
“Daniela! Hurry up!”
“I am still tired…”
“Argh!”
I tore away the blankets . This had always been the most effective of the wake-up attacks my mother used to inflict upon me . Once they were gone, you had no choice . Her eyes remained shut as she searched for the covers, but they were not within reach . I had won .
“Or not…”
“Damn…”
Daniela was completely naked .
“Uh, you don’t have much choice now . ”
“Mmm…gaah…”
She had gotten quite angry when I had done this before . But so much had changed since then…
When I thought about it like that, the sight became deeply moving in a way .
Daniela moaned like some kind of zombie for a while, and so I started to pack, thinking that she’d get up eventually . But being the bastard that she was, she went straight back to sleep, blanket or no blanket . And so I opened the window in retaliation . While the sun was out, the wind was still cold . The temperature in the room dropped at once, and Daniela finally got up .
“…”
“Morning . ”
“…I did not think you would go so far…”
“I gave you ample warning . Now hurry up and pack . ”
“Ahhh… My head hurts from a lack of sleep…”
“You reap what you sow, dumbass . ”
Hey, I was tired too . But we had no choice…
We were just barely able to check out on time .
“Sorry that we’re late . ”
“No, no . Thank you for staying with us . We hope to see you again soon, Mister Asagi . ”
Well, it would be hard to use a different inn since they remembered our names and everything . But at least it was a good place .
The sun was now high in the sky and the air had warmed up a little . However, the wind was still chilly and our faces felt very cold once we stepped out of the warm building . All the people who were walking outside had their collars up as protection from the cold .
We followed their sample, ensuring that our precious body heat would not escape . It would have been nice to have a scarf, but those would be hard to use when you were wearing these cape-like things .
“So…how about breakfast?”
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“We’re still in a hurry, unless you forgot . ”
“Haa… Very well . We will have to eat as we walk . ”
The town next to Yukka was the swamp town of Arkaroid . And it was about one day on foot after leaving the west gate . After that, we would travel farther west to the trading city of Usk, which was also a day on foot .
“In other words, I could reach Usk in one day . ”
“How convenient . ”
“I use what I have . You should keep that in mind . ”
“Alright then . If you insist, I will allow you to make things easy for me . ”
Once we were out of the west gate, I picked up Daniela and enveloped my legs in platinum and green wind . To Daniela, I was just a very fast, safe, and convenient ride .
We left Yukka and traveled in a straight line . Only we were in the sky .
“Arkaroid is a day away on foot . How many minutes will it be for you?”
“Uh… I think I can reach it by midday if I go really fast . ”
Probably two or three hours . After all, there were no obstacles or red lights in my way . And no speed limits or monsters either . It wouldn’t take anything close to a day .
“We can take a break in Arkaroid . We’ll have lunch and then leave right after . That way, we should reach Usk in the evening . ”
“Yes, very convenient . ”
“Stop saying that . ”
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It made me feel like a bus .
Usk was the town where Lemon came from . The swamp town… There hadn’t been much of interest there . It had rained really badly, and we were saved by a merchant called Mister Tanjelin . We first met Lemon when trying to enter the town .
And it was in the inn that she recommended to us that I met Lehaty . So, while we hadn’t done much sightseeing, we had met a decent number of people . And since the weather was better now, I had high hopes of checking out any notable landmarks .
We chatted about inconsequential things as I dashed through the air for the next two hours . And then Arkaroid came into view . It was the first time I saw the town under a clear sky . And so I was surprised by how beautiful a lot of the buildings were . They had yellow roofs and were quite charming .
If this were during the spring, the swampland around the town would have been sparkling . There would be flowers around the water and it would have been the embodiment of serenity .
However, it was tragically the icesnow phase . Everything was covered in snow . It was very unfortunate .
“Alright, it’s almost time to descend and walk . ”
“Very well . There is a road down there . ”
From up above, I could see a single line going through the snow . It led straight towards Arkaroid .
I landed carefully so as not to create a small blizzard, and then gently let Daniela down . We adjusted our disheveled winter clothes and started to walk down the road .
The snow felt much more overwhelming when you were at ground level . It was packed a lot higher than I had expected… But the surface seemed to be frozen . It was as if it had melted and then frozen repeatedly . Either that or someone had poured water over it . It looked slippery .
As we continued to trudge down the road, my body started to grow warm . I was even sweating under my clothes .
“Phew…finally . Finally . ”
I managed to walk all of the way there without tripping . The Arkaroid entrance was right in front of us now . It was a great gate made out of wood .
“Hello?”
There was no gatekeeper . Perhaps because it was too cold . I suppose they could do that because there were no monsters about during this time of the year . Part of me thought that a gatekeeper should be present regardless, but I suppose Arkaroid was a lot kinder to its employees than some companies I could think of .
“Mmm…ah, sorry . Did you want to come in?”
“Yes . Me and her . ”
A small door opened to the side and a guard came out while rubbing his hands together . He then accepted our status cards .
“Just wait here . It won’t be a minute . ”
“Alright . ”
He ran back through the door as if he couldn’t bear the cold for a second longer . He was the spitting image of an old man coming out of his house to fetch the newspaper in the morning .
The old man came out again after a minute . This time he was wearing a very warm-looking coat . He then took out our status cards from his giant pocket and handed them back to us .
“Alright, you can come in through this door . ”
“You mean you’re not going to open the huge gates for us?”
He was pointing at the small side door he had come out of .
“I can’t feel my hands . But you’re welcome to wait out here until I get them warmed up again?”
“Thank you so much for letting us use your door . ”
“That’s alright . Now, welcome to Arkaroid . ”
I sighed and thanked him . Then Daniela and I walked through the door .
There was a small room inside . It had a table with some documents and a machine that read the status cards . That was it . Oh, and a very small stove…that looked like it would barely warm your toes .
And on the other side of this small room, was another door . Arkaroid would be right behind it . Finally . But would they have good food…? That was the important question .