Editor: Sebas Tian, Joker
The city’s reconstruction progressed with gusto. Apparently, crises like yesterday’s zombie outbreak were common. The guards, adventurers, and citizens alike were already accustod to bouncing back and rebuilding. In fact, that was exactly what had happened to the two houses that Lefi had wrecked through a mix of fla and water. They had both been demolished and partially rebuilt. Fortunately, we weren’t asked to pay any sort of remuneration despite our direct involvent in their… deconstruction.
And, although I referred to it as reconstruction, that wasn’t exactly what the relevant tasks required. The zombies hadn’t been the direct cause of any sort of architectural destruction. Most of the non-Lefi related damage caused to the city’s infrastructure had arisen from the fires that had been ignited during the assault. Thus, most of the townsfolk had spent their ti burying the dead, a task they had finished in under a day.
The evening was thus dedicated to a task that naturally followed the many burials: mourning the dead. Specifically, the town was hosting a festival to honour those that had passed in the incident. Once again, the city was turned into a ball of noise. This ti, however, it was filled not with screams, but rather the sounds of people eating, drinking, and laughing the night away.
Lefi and I were in the middle of all the noise. We were situated near the edge of a large plaza, at the centre of which was a warm bonfire. Like just about everyone else, we were eating stuff we’d bought from nearby stalls.
I cast my glance beside and gazed upon the dragon girl, who just happened to be eating sothing that looked a lot like grilled squid. Though she was stuffing her face, her charm was clearly conveyed to nonetheless. She was beautiful, beautiful in such a way that it made want to describe her as both attractive and mysterious. The way the firelight illuminated her face only made her even more appealing to the eye. Man, seeing her like this almost makes want to make her wear a Yukata.
“What is it?” Noticing my stare, Lefi turned towards .
“Nah, it’s nothing.”
“You may regard my food all you wish, but I will allow you none of it.”
“That’s a sha.”
I broke into a wry smile before turning back towards the bonfire. The centre of the plaza was especially lively. There looked to be a group of street perforrs playing a series of instrunts and bringing smiles to the faces of the people around them. Watching the city’s residents enjoy themselves ultimately lifted my own spirits. I couldn’t deny that seeing them make rry like this made feel as if my actions were well worth it, even though they had stemd from naught but a petty desire for vengeance. All I’d wanted to do was punch the bitch that ssed up our vacation. But it had turned into oh so much more.
I still had yet to find out much more about the incident. That, however, was apparently soon to change. The shady looking asshole I captured was already in the midst of a nice hearty round of interrogation, and it didn’t seem like it would take all that long for him to spill the beans. My condolences, Shady, my condolences. I know you’re going through sothing that’s probably a good bit worse than death right about now, but it’s only fair. I an, you kinda totally ssed up my happy little getaway, so you’ll just have to suck it up and deal with it.
One of the more surprising things about the incident was the fact that the governor seed to have more or less accepted my testimony as is. I’d expected him to question and ask whether I was in fact the person behind the incident, to which he’d said, “You could easily tear this city apart with nothing but brute force should you wish it, so I don’t believe there’s any reason for you to bother with such a roundabout sche.” Is it just , or has he started getting bolder lately?
The city had a lot to do, and I’d enjoyed hanging around it. The inn was nice as well. That said, none of it even ca close to living up to what the dungeon had to offer. More importantly, I felt as if everyone that’d stayed behind would likely start to worry if we didn’t return soon; it was ti to go. And the first thing I’m going to do the mont I get back is dive into that super comfy futon of mine.
We’d already arranged for the hero to deliver the results of Shady’s interrogation at a later date, so there wasn’t a need for us to hang around and wait for him to crack. I’d told her that she didn’t need to and that it would be fine for her just to head ho since she was more or less done with her mission, but she refused on the grounds that she wanted to see her job all the way through to the end. How earnest and upright.
“Oh yeah, Lefi, that reminds .”
“What is it?”
“Here.”
I grabbed a certain special sothing out of my inventory and handed it to her.
“Hmmm?” She blinked as she looked at it. “Is that perhaps… a ring?”
“Yeah. I happened to see sothing that I thought would look good on you, so… yeah, y’know.” I awkwardly scratched the back of my head in embarrassnt as I answered her question.
I’d spotted it amongst the wares of a suspicious looking old lady a good bit before the incident. The mont I first laid eyes on it was the mont I realized that it would look great on Lefi. I was so overwheld by the thought that I’d purchased it before I realized it.
All in all, the ring wasn’t particularly complex. Its fra was of a simple silver construction, save for the pale erald line running through its centre. There was a second line at the top of the ring, which intersected with the first to make a cross, inside of which lay a bit of magical energy. Adorning the ring was a small but beautiful jewel, one that remained translucent despite being dyed a shade of crimson.
It was a design that fit particularly well with the dragon girl’s beautiful platinum coloured hair. Most important of all, however, wasn’t the ring’s appearance, but rather its effect. Analyze had identified it as follows.
***
Adjustable Ring: This ring’s size will change such that it fits its owner.
Quality: A
***
It seed extrely convenient in the sense that it wouldn’t break, even if she were to revert to her draconic form.
Giving it to her, of course, made feel extrely embarrassed, but I knew that giving this sort of gift was sothing that only grew more difficult with ti. I’d probably end up never giving it to her at all if I kept fussing about the particulars. And that would just be wasteful, especially since I’ve already bought it.
Lefi put her food back down on the plate she had on her lap before accepting the ring. She held it in both hands and examined it, all while bearing a serious look in her eye—only to stifle a giggle shortly after.
“W-What?” I asked.
“It is nothing.” She shook her head. “I believe it falls within the realm of tradition for you to place this present of yours upon ?”
“Huh? Uh… erm…. Yeah, I guess.”
I tried my best to keep calm as she presented her left ring finger. Is that just a coincidence? It’s gotta be, right…?
I took the ring from her other hand and slowly slipped it on. Her finger was so smooth to the touch that I was reluctant to part with it; I felt the urge to never part my hand from her own.
Lefi waited for the ring to fall into place before raising her hand and gazing at it as the bonfire made it glimr with light.
“Thank you, Yuki. This present is one I am glad to receive.” Only after she was satisfied did she finally turn towards .
Again, I tried to keep my heart under control. But I couldn’t. The way the firelight lit up her gentle smile caused it to continue pounding with vigour.
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