"We've got a bunch of potions, so accessories, and a whole lot of paladin and knight equipnt here," Von said as he sorted through the bags the next morning. "There are also a few gil pouches, each with at least 10,000 gil. But we can't use the gear since none of us are knights or paladins."
Horizon glanced over the scattered items, rubbing his chin. "Let's keep the potions, the money, and the accessories. The rest . . . we'll just sell it off."
"Good call," Lydia added, helping to sift through the pile. "The potions might co in handy during the competition."
Nyx, who had been lounging on a nearby shelf, narrowed her glowing eyes at Lydia. "What are you doing in the boys' room, you damn thief? Don't you have your own space? And don't even think about stealing anything from those bags, I'm watching you."
Lydia grinned slyly, unfazed. "Relax. I'm helping sort out the loot. Besides, you could cut so slack. We're all on the sa team here, right?"
Nyx snorted, her skeletal fra rattling as she got up. "You can't fool . I know exactly what you're thinking. So don't even dream of pocketing anything."
With a wolfish grin, Lydia looked over at Horizon and Von. "You wouldn't mind sharing so of this with , right? Just a few items . . . and maybe a little bit of that gil?" she slurred, rapidly blinking her eyes, acting all cute.
"Of course you can! My sweet honey!" Von imdiately exclaid.
"That idiot elf already paid for your als and your room. And now you want so of the treasure?" Nyx hissed, her eyes glowing an even brighter blue. "I knew it! You're just a greedy brat. You're lucky I'm not in my full form right now, or I'd turn you to ash for even laying eyes on my treasures!"
Lydia threw up her hands defensively, trying to step back. "Okay, okay! I'm sorry! It's just, there's plenty of loot here. Sharing would help us out in the competition, wouldn't it? Why are you being so stingy?"
Von grinned as he glanced at Nyx, who was now stalking closer to Lydia. "Because Nyx is a dragon. It's in her nature to hoard treasures."
Lydia cocked her head to the side, her brow furrowing. "Yeah, I know she's a dragon. But isn't she just Horizon's pet?"
. . .
. . .
The room went silent. Horizon and Von both stared at her as if she'd just signed her own death warrant. Even Cappy, the little bird who usually fluttered around without much care, darted around Lydia in a panic.
"You're dead. You're so dead," Cappy muttered in his high-pitched voice.
Before Lydia could blink, Nyx lunged at her, pulling her hair with her sharp teeth. "Pet? I am not a pet! I am a mighty dragon, you insolent brat! If I were in my true form, you'd be in the seven Hells by now!"
"Ow! Ow! Stop pulling my hair! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Lydia shrieked, trying to pry Nyx off her.
=== 🐲 ===
Later that day, Horizon, Nyx, and Lydia made their way to Mappletown's bank to exchange the gear they didn't need for gil.
The air was bustling with adventurers, traders, and townsfolk, all eager for the upcoming competition.
Von and Cappy, on the other hand, were busy searching for builders to start working on their base — and potentially recruit new mbers to their team.
Lydia was dragging four large bags behind her, and sighed dramatically. "We don't really need to buy too many potions or items. The competition is going to provide those throughout the event. All we really need is top-tier equipnt."
Horizon nodded, his eyes scanning the crowd of creatures and people walking to and from the marketplace.
"There are a lot of people here. You'd better hold tight to our bags, especially in a crowd like this." Nyx said.
"They're probably here for the competition," Lydia comnted, her eyes taking everything in. "Mappletown is close to Singing Grove and Crown Jade Woods. The woods are just north of the grove, about two days by carriage from here.
"We could also take the Singing Grove route. But it's more dangerous. The grove's crawling with beasts. Taking the regular road is much safer, and it's shorter and we could cut so ti."
They finally arrived at the bank, and Horizon hauled the bags of equipnt to the counter. "I'd like these appraised and exchanged for gil."
The gno behind the counter, barely taller than the bags themselves, adjusted his glasses and stared at the gear. His eyes widened as he recognized the distinct emblems. "A-Are these . . . Radiant Church knight equipnt?"
Horizon nodded casually. "That's right. We looted it–!"
Lydia quickly clamped her hand over Horizon's mouth. "Ahahaha! What he ant to say is, we found them in the Singing Grove."
The gno clearly didn't believe a word she said, shook his head. "I'm sorry, I can't accept these."
Horizon frowned. "Why not?"
The gno sighed, lowering his voice. "It's not that I care where you found them. But I don't want trouble here. I heard the Radiant Church is looking for their missing knights this morning. They're after a thief."
Horizon and Lydia exchanged a wary glance.
"Knowing the Radiant Church," the gno continued, "I don't want to be on their bad side. So no, I won't take these right now. Not when they're around."
Lydia forced a smile. "Thank you for the warning. We'll . . . take these elsewhere."
As they turned to leave, the gno's eyes narrowed, and he leaned over the counter, grabbing a wanted poster from his desk. He glanced between the poster and Lydia. "You know . . . you look awfully familiar."
He held up the wanted paper, and Horizon's heart dropped as he saw the sketch of a girl with golden hair — the exact sa shade as Lydia's.
"You look a lot like the thief who stole an important relic from the Radiant Church," the gno said slowly.
Lydia laughed nervously, tucking her violet hair behind her ear. "Ahahaha! You must be mistaken! I'm just a traveler from the far south, passing through on my way to Crown Jade Woods."
The gno raised an eyebrow. "Then how did you make it to Singing Grove?"
"Oh, look at the ti!" Lydia grabbed Horizon's arm and dragged him out of the bank. "We should really get going. Bye!"
Outside, Lydia sighed in relief. "Whew. That was close."
Nyx snickered from the side. "Is that why you've changed your hair with a [Shape-Shifting Potion]? Keekeekee. You're a wanted woman after all."
"Shut up. A girl's gotta do what she can to survive," Lydia dismissed with a wave of her hand.
Horizon frowned. "What are we going to do now? We need to sell this gear to get the money for our equipnt. If Von finds a builder, we won't have enough gil to pay them, too."
Lydia's grin widened. "Don't worry. There's more than one way to get gil around here . . . We're going to the underground market."
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