Chapter 65: Act 1 – The Burning City
It seems that this wave had quite a hard time.
Thanks to that, the Forest Keepers who stood in formation had quite a fierce battle, and the intense moments of the battlefield could be inferred from the healing patches stuck all over Dayton’s body.
If I had participated in this monster hunt, it wouldn’t have been as intense as it was.
Yerna spoke with a slightly deflated voice, thinking that it was all because she hadn’t participated in the hunt.
“Dayton, it must have been tough without me, right? I’m sorry for getting hurt.”
“No, not really? It was no different from usual. So it’s okay.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
Yerna finally seemed to relax a bit and nodded her head.
To be honest, Yerna’s absence had quite an impact.
Well, there is always a wave, and they could handle it, but comparing the times when Yerna participated in the hunts to when she didn’t is not that difficult.
However, it can’t really be said that it was extremely hard.
The moment Yerna’s apology is affirmed, she would actually need to feel sorry.
There was absolutely no reason for Yerna to feel sorry.
Yerna didn’t get hurt on purpose.
“I just need to endure a bit more.”
Other Forest Keepers might think the same way.
And while they might not compare to Yerna in spirit, they probably thought they did well enough too.
Thanks to that, right now, their muscle soreness is pretty severe, but…
Still, it’s over now.
For a while, monsters won’t even show their noses in the forest, and there will be no duty.
After the wave ends, it’s basic for the Forest Keepers to receive a reward-like vacation, so they can just kill time planning vacation ideas during their free working hours.
That means it’s the perfect opportunity to suggest to Yerna to go out somewhere!
How about suggesting to watch a movie together this weekend?
Until now, due to Yerna’s phobia, it was nearly impossible to go to the cinema together.
Because of that, it ended up being more difficult than expected to think of places to go together.
The play they had once talked about going to was something Yerna had barely thought of.
But the picture she wanted didn’t come out.
But now Yerna has perfectly overcome her trauma about TV!
That means it’s possible to do such things now!
Watching a movie together, buying a big popcorn to share, and accidentally brushing hands…
“Really the best!”
Dayton, who shouted inwardly, began to stutter his words.
“Um, um… Yerna, if you have time this weekend…”
“Oh right. Dayton, if you’re free this weekend…”
However, their conversation got tangled because they started speaking at the same moment.
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.
Dayton blamed himself inwardly.
“Damn! I should have waited just one more second!”
If he had, he might have been able to receive Yerna’s ‘date proposal’!
When asked if he was free this weekend, of course, he was!
But how should he reply now?
“Uh, I’m free. Do you want to go watch a movie?”
Isn’t that a bit off?
In the end, it would feel like he’s the one proposing.
And if Yerna were to say, “No, I’m not really into movies,” it would get even more awkward!
So what should he do?
For a moment, Dayton froze but then came up with an extraordinary thought to both resolve the moment and accept Yerna’s ‘date proposal’ at the same time, and he opened his mouth.
“Y-You go first.”
Yeah, how perfect could this method be!
But he never thought he would stutter.
Yerna, who was momentarily gazing blankly at Dayton, whose face was red from embarrassment, nodded and said,
“I was actually going to ask if you would help me with shopping this weekend if you had time.”
“Shopping?”
“Yeah, I need to buy new summer clothes for Luke. While at it, I’ll get some clothes for myself too. It wouldn’t be great to be out in public with my arms exposed because of the burn.”
“Oh, uh?”
Dayton thought about it.
She’s asking me to help with shopping?
Isn’t that completely a date? And a high hurdle one at that?
Dayton pictured himself on a shopping date with Yerna in his mind.
“How’s this, Dayton? Does it match?”
“Yeah, it totally suits you.”
Then she might ask again,
“How does this compare to the earlier one?”
Then he would have to compare the current outfit to the earlier one that she had worn.
“Ah… it’s hard to choose…”
But he didn’t know much about women’s clothing, so he stopped imagining there.
Returning to reality, Dayton shouted right away.
“Of course, I can do that!”
——-
As the weekend approached, Dayton realized that the shopping was quite different from what he had imagined.
The woman fidgeting in front of the meeting spot was someone he found quite familiar.
“Hi Dayton! It’s been a while since I saw you outside!”
Sorbi, dressed in a sleeveless dress, came up to Dayton and greeted him with a wave.
“Sorbi? What are you doing here…?”
“Well, Yerna called for me, of course?”
“What? Why on earth…?”
At that confused moment, a voice he had been waiting for and longing for came from behind Dayton.
“Hello, Dayton. Thank you for helping me with shopping today.”
“Ah, uh… Hi, Yerna.”
Yerna looked beautiful as ever today.
The feelings of confusion he had after seeing Sorbi melted away like snow… well, not entirely, but it was good nonetheless.
However, because of the burn covering her entire right arm, Yerna was dressed in a blouse that covered her arms more than the season called for, and even wore gloves on her hands, making her appear quite uncomfortable.
Can’t that burn really be healed…?
She couldn’t wear long sleeves all the time, could she?
He didn’t personally care about the burn, but it was a fact that it looked unsightly to others, so he couldn’t say anything.
Yerna always said she didn’t care, but could that really be true?
“Nice to see you, Dayton.”
When he managed to lower his head following her voice, he saw another person who wasn’t exactly welcome.
That damned, precocious little brat…
He was here too.
How come he never didn’t show up?
“What’s with that expression? Did something go wrong?”
“Haha… No, it’s nothing.”
But Luke was within the expected range.
Dayton figured Luke would come from the start.
Yerna and Luke were always a set…
The issue was Sorbi, that girl.
“By the way, Yerna? Why did you call Sorbi?”
“Oh, that. I’m actually not good at picking clothes. I don’t know much about clothing either. So I called Sorbi; I thought I might need her help.”
The moment Yerna’s explanation ended, Sorbi exclaimed cutely.
“That’s how it is! Please take care of me!”
Dayton felt completely deflated.
He wasn’t exactly going to pick out clothes himself.
The scene of himself and Yerna happily picking out clothes crumbled in his mind like shattered glass.
“…I see.”
Dayton resigned.
Well, this isn’t a date or anything.
Just a pack mule.
No, to be honest, he wasn’t even a mere pack mule.
He was Luke’s exclusive pack mule.
“I’m sorry, Dayton. I’m relying on you again.”
“It’s okay…”
Unlike the forest, where he had plenty of mana and a cane to use for body enhancement, in the city, he had to rely on pure physical ability since he couldn’t use body enhancements at will, and Yerna’s body still needed to be stable.
So, if Luke got tired while walking and couldn’t move, he would have to carry him.
He was essentially a mercenary assigned to Yerna for that purpose from the beginning.
“Next time, I should definitely ask for sure…”
He hadn’t thought anything of it because Yerna had proposed it first, but this wasn’t right.
In fact, his muscle soreness wasn’t completely gone.
Even now, if he moved vigorously, he thought he could hear squeaking sounds from his body.
But he couldn’t show that he was in pain.
Why?
Because Yerna was watching!
Wanting to show a cool image to the woman he liked is only natural for a man.
Dayton bravely thumped his chest and said,
“If it gets tough, just tell me anytime. I’ll carry you.”
“You’re really a big help.”
Luke nodded and smiled at that.
Yeah, it’s safer to be carried than to sit on someone’s shoulder.
——
Actually, the reason shopping began so suddenly was Luke’s proposal of wanting to see a solar eclipse.
With Py’s help, Luke realized the similarities between ‘solar eclipse’ and ‘black flame’ and came to understand he had to see that solar eclipse directly.
What is a solar eclipse?
It’s the day when light is swallowed by darkness.
In that moment, when the symbol of light is consumed by the power of darkness, it blurs the boundary between day and night for an instant.
Moreover, the symbol of day symbolizes life, and the symbol of night symbolizes death.
Thus, a solar eclipse is the death that arrives during the day.
On such a day, even the strength of the divine beings’ powers that divide dimensions weakens.
Therefore, the day when the boundary between life and death becomes blurred for a moment.
That’s why on the day of a solar eclipse, there were those who visit the graves of loved ones who had already passed away.
Even though it was illegal and just because one could see spirits didn’t mean they could converse with them, but…
They wanted to see the last moments of their loved ones while they were alive…
However, it wasn’t as romantic as one might think.
The timeframe was also an extremely critical period.
Among such people, hidden dark sorcerers would often engage in shady activities by taking advantage of the solar eclipse, which enhanced dark magic.
However, that was during the time of solar eclipses 5,000 years ago, when gods existed.
Now that the gods were gone, it wasn’t particularly that the gaps in dimensions started weakening or becoming stronger just because it was that kind of day.
It would merely exist in the state it was initially created, split apart.
Therefore, the methods by which people currently accept solar eclipses have seemingly changed significantly.
Now, it’s simply a day celebrated to commemorate the new sun.
“A new sun…?”
When a solar eclipse occurs, it means that the sun before has changed from the previous eclipse as per the modern concept of a solar eclipse.
That’s why people today gather by the seaside, where the sun is visible, to watch the solar eclipse instead of at a grave.
In fact, this is information that could be discovered through a search.
However, a mage should never be certain of anything without seeing it firsthand.
If possible, it would be better to follow the changed commemorative methods of the present to gain certain information about the solar eclipse.
By the way, the seaside…
If it’s the seaside during this season, it should definitely be hot, and going there with his current body unprepared would practically turn him into a dried fish.
Standing outside to await the solar eclipse would mean dying of heat.
Enchantments have their limits.
The sofa was huge and static, so there weren’t too many variables involved, but clothes are a different story.
He had neither magic sight nor the ability to use circles, and he didn’t have professional magic engineering artifacts, so it would be quite challenging to enchant clothing, objects that are smaller and constantly moving and can easily change form.
So there’s nothing he can do.
“Mmm… But is this really okay…?”
Luke sighed as he looked down at the outfit Sorbi chose in the fitting room.
A white sleeveless dress.
It was made especially for Hyun, with a proper tail hole, and a light, flowing tail guard covering the area around the hole.
He knew it was definitely more effective for heat release to have no sleeves, and it felt much cooler to have his tail outside the skirt.
Moreover, since the top and bottom were connected and the waist was covered, there was hardly any worry about exposing his belly button.
However, if someone were to ask him if it was suitable for him to wear, he wasn’t quite sure.
“…?”
Why is there no mirror in the fitting room?
For Luke, who could easily imagine himself wearing it, it wasn’t difficult, but…
Taking a deep breath, Luke opened the fitting room door.
“Is this truly suitable for me?”
“Wow, that’s so cute… No, it looks completely adult and sophisticated! Right, Yerna?”
Sorbi, upon seeing Luke, nearly said he looked cute, but as soon as the word crossed her lips, she realized he might not wear that outfit anymore and quickly changed her words, seeking Yerna’s agreement.
“Yeah, it really suits you well, Luke.”
Yerna also smiled at Luke’s appearance and nodded.
It was an outfit that undoubtedly suited him.
It was light and childlike, something he wouldn’t wear normally.
Although his usual casual wear wasn’t overly constricting, this change felt quite positive for Luke.
Luke finally felt like a truly ordinary boy.
Luke looked at Dayton, as if questioning whether it was true, and Dayton simply nodded.
What outfit wouldn’t suit such a small child?
In fact, no one would find the outfit strange.
The strange thing was not the clothing, but the blindfold and cane.
Yet oddly, Luke didn’t seem out of place in it at all, which was quite peculiar.
Since Dayton said it was good too, it was certain that there was no issue with the outfit; however…
“Why’s your posture like that? Lower your hands!”
At Sorbi’s critique of his fidgeting posture, Luke replied,
“Um, wearing a sleeveless dress outside makes me feel uneasy that this strap will slide down my shoulder.”
Sorbi clutched her heart at Luke’s words.
“Gah…!”
She nearly dropped the camera she had been clicking away with since earlier.
Barely recovering herself, she gave a thumbs up with a beaming smile on her face.
“Don’t worry; it’s because you’re not used to wearing it often! You’ll get used to it soon!”
“Is that so…?”
At that, Yerna, who had been watching from the side, finally burst into laughter.
Lately, that side of him was just too cute.
“Hey, but you’re bleeding from your nose.”
“Ah.”
——–
Click, click.
The noise that had been bothering Luke began to irritate him, so he asked Sorbi in a sort of accusatory tone.
“Uh, what’s that square magic tool you keep pulling out?”
“Ah, ah! It’s nothing, don’t worry about it!”
“…Hmm. You’re making me curious. What could it possibly be?”
“Um, it’s just a toy! It makes a click-clacking sound.”
“Is that so? That’s quite strange.”
Even as an adult, Sorbi still liked toys.
Luke decided to ignore the square object Sorbi had.
He had never seen a magic tool that looked like that, and he didn’t have magic sight to easily identify things he had never come across, so he didn’t dream that it was a camera.
Sorbi grinned as she turned to check the photos of Luke she had taken.
They were all cute pictures, and she was quite satisfied.
“Fufufu…”
Sorbi smiled mischievously.
Well, it turns out he didn’t even know about cameras!
No wonder Luke wasn’t commenting on her taking pictures of him.
If she had known, she would have taken pictures in the open rather than secretly!
