STGAAB Novel MTL - Chapter 775
Chapter 775: 13th Month (2)
I walked once again through the ruins of District 7, wearing the somewhat ‘special’ clothes Amelia gave me.
Step, step.
As I walked along the bumpy path that can hardly be called a street, I notice busy soldiers around me. They glance at me, but don’t show much interest. Actually, to be precise, they glance once and then go back to their tasks with a ‘must’ve been a mistake’ kind of expression. It was all thanks to the clothes I wore today.
‘The Crimson Evening Suit.’
A type of equipment that could he obtained inside a rift, like the ‘Golden Mask’ I obtained from the Bloody Citadel. It didn’t have any additional stats or combat effects. Its only ability was to alter the wearer’s physique to their liking. Yet, despite that, this suit was incredibly rare. You could only get it from a ninth-floor rift.
‘On top of that, the hidden piece activation condition was bizarre, so you couldn’t just go in and grab it whenever you wanted.’
I’d thought it might be useful to have one, so I regularly checked the auction house or put in the effort to search, but ever since I woke up in this body, I hadn’t seen it available on the market even once. Then out of nowhere, Amelia had managed to get her hands on it and casually tossed it to me. No matter how nonchalant I tried to be, I couldn’t help but be shocked……
“No, really, where did you get this?”
Unable to resist my curiosity, I kept asking her the same question over and over again. Amelia’s facial muscles twitched slightly in response.
At first, I thought she might be annoyed by my repeated questions, but I quickly realized it was quite the opposite.
“Hmm……”
She wasn’t avoiding the answer out of irritation. She just wanted to observe my curious reaction a bit longer.
“It’s nothing important. Why are you so curious?”
“You showed up with something I’ve been trying to find for what feels like forever. Wouldn’t you be curious too?”
Seemingly satisfied with my response, Amelia finally revealed the origin of the Crimson Evening Suit.
“I asked Astarota Berun for it. I asked if I could borrow it for a while if they had one.”
“Ah……”
Well, I suppose it made sense. The royal family probably had one or two items like that lying around. The reveal felt somewhat anticlimactic, but still, a warmth stirred inside me. She even went to meet that person directly, thinking of me.
“Thanks.”
“……Don’t mention it.”
“But… I can’t just play dumb and say I lost it, right?”
Feeling a bit of disappointment at the word ‘borrow,’ I cautiously asked. Amelia shot me a pitying look.
“Do you really think that would work on someone like her?”
Hmm, well, they do seem a bit gullible sometimes…… But still, better not risk it.
“…I’ll just make sure to return it later.”
“Right, it’s better not to give them any reason to hold it against you. The royal family’s long-standing practice is to take back twice as much as they give.”
We continued crossing District 7, chatting about various things. It was quite refreshing in many ways. Just by having my height reduced to that of an average person, no one recognized me.
‘This is nice……’
As much as I enjoyed the sense of liberation, there was also a slight heaviness in my chest each time I looked around. District 7, which had felt like home, was once again in ruins. Worse than it had been after the first invasion. The eastern region had burned to black ash, and two strikes from Thunder had torn through the center of the district.
‘Well, I guess it’s still better than District 8, which was completely burned to the ground, right……?’
In any case, many Districts were destroyed in this war and District 4 had entirely fallen into enemy hands. The already narrow city was now even more cramped. The surviving Districts couldn’t possibly accommodate all the refugees, so there were even rumors that the royal family was considering temporarily opening up Gnome Tree……
A festival amidst all this……’
I couldn’t help but wonder. What is this festival even for? The refugees who’ve lost their homes won’t be in any condition to enjoy it. Perhaps it’s for those who haven’t lost everything……
‘Or rather, for those who’ve just lost less……?’
I couldn’t know for sure. If it were up to me, I’d rather skip the festival and get some work done. But well, there’s someone who says they’ll leave the clan if I don’t go along.
‘…Guess I have no choice.’
As I walked through the city reduced to ashes and rubble, those were the thoughts running through my mind.
Step, step……
Everything may seem destroyed now, but in time, it will be rebuilt.
“……”
Just as it had always been.
***
District 5 was indeed in festival mode, as I had expected. I thought there might be a gloomy atmosphere due to the recent war, but the streets were crowded, and the voices of merchants and passersby were full of energy. It was a strange sight. After all, District 5, aside from District 4, had also been part of the battlefield. Unsurprisingly, the recovery work wasn’t even close to being finished.
“Watch out! There’s a huge hole ahead!”
The outskirts of District 5 were still littered with broken roads and collapsed buildings, yet here people were, laughing in the streets since early morning, all because of some festival. I decided to look at it in a more positive light.
‘These people probably aren’t just having fun for the sake of it.’
Most likely, they were just trying to forget reality for a little while. Or maybe they were just here to fill their bellies with the free alcohol and food the royal family had generously provided.
“Yandel, what are you doing? Hurry up and follow.”
“Ah… alright.”
I followed Amelia as she led the way through District 5. Knowing her, she probably had something planned out for today—.
‘……Huh?’
Suddenly, I felt a strong tug on my arm, freezing me in place.
“…Stop resisting and just come along. If we get separated in this crowd, it’ll be hard to find you again. Especially since you’re shorter now……”
“Ah… uh… okay.”
It was a perfectly reasonable explanation. Being shorter now, getting lost in the crowd would indeed be a problem. Convinced by her logic, I stopped resisting and let Amelia guide me through the streets.
Then……
“Emily… where are we going?”
“Wherever our feet take us, I guess?”
“Wait… you don’t have a plan?”
“…Sometimes, it’s nice to just walk around.”
I thought she had something in mind. I even cleared my schedule just to join her……
‘Well… I suppose it’s not so bad.’
It felt a bit anticlimactic, but wandering around without a plan turned out to be enjoyable in its own way. We strolled through the crowd, watched people, ate whatever looked tasty, browsed a weapon shop only to be shocked by the absurdly high prices…
“……A 3-stage transformation doll? It changes from a goblin to an orc, and from an orc to an ogre?”
We even participated in a festival-limited event auction at the Alminus Central Exchange, where Amelia scolded me for wasting money on something unnecessary. We didn’t have a specific plan, but just walking around, doing little things here and there, made the time fly by. Eventually, we stopped by a tavern to fill our stomachs……
“Of course it’s Bjorn Yandel, you fool……!!”
As soon as we walked in, I heard my name shouted loudly by a drunken man arguing with his group. Coincidentally, their table was nearby, and since my name was mentioned, I couldn’t help but overhear their conversation, which turned out to be quite interesting.
“Among the current explorers, who has achieved as great a feat as Baron Yandel? The very reason we can laugh and chat here now is all thanks to the Baron beheading that traitor!”
“I’ll admit, he’s accomplished great feats. But to say Baron Yandel is the strongest? That’s hard to accept. Take the great navigator Pikma, for example. He achieved significant accomplishments but was notoriously weak in actual combat.”
“…Pikma? Are you seriously comparing Baron Yandel to a mere navigator?”
“No, I’m just saying……”
The drunken debate was centered around who was the ‘strongest.’ Thankfully, they weren’t arguing about the ‘strongest in history,’ which would include everyone from the past, but rather who held the title of the strongest right now.
“Come on, Baron Yandel’s got to be in the running for the title of ‘strongest.’”
“Exactly. People used to think he was only good in large-scale battles, but he’s proven otherwise with this recent incident.”
“He took down Demon eyes with a single blow, didn’t he?”
“I heard he also defeated the Corpse Collector……”
“He even survived being hit by Thunder multiple times……”
Other patrons who had been listening in soon joined the conversation, quickly putting an end to the debate.
“You’re really listening closely, aren’t you?”
“Ah, sorry. It was just kind of interesting.”
Hearing it all made me realize how much people’s perceptions had shifted. In the past, I earned top marks for leadership, self-sacrifice, courage, and my achievements as an explorer. But now, even my pure combat ability was being acknowledged.
‘Well, I suppose I hadn’t taken down a big shot like this in a one-on-one fight before.’
The Goblin Forest battle and the Ice Rock expedition, which had greatly boosted my reputation, were far from one-on-one fights. But this time, taking down such an infamous figure like Demon Eyes in front of so many witnesses had naturally proven my strength.
“This topic interests me too. So, what do you think?”
“Huh?”
“Do you agree with their assessment?”
What kind of question was that to suddenly ask? I smirked and gave a short response.
“Well… they’re not wrong.”
At this point, no matter who challenges me, I was confident that I wouldn’t lose.
***
My outing with Amelia started in the morning and wrapped up by early evening. Though by the time we got back to the holy land, it was already late at night.
Step, step.
After returning to the holy land, I quickly washed up and changed. I went out for a stroll without any particular destination in mind. I just walked around aimlessly, feeling the cool breeze, and before I knew it, I arrived at a certain place. Coincidentally, someone else had already gotten there before me.
“Hikurod?”
“……Ah, Yandel, it’s you?”
“Didn’t you say you were going out today too? When did you get back?”
“Not long ago. Thought I’d try to clear my head, but it didn’t go as well as I’d hoped. How about you?”
“……I think it did me some good.”
“Haha, then that’s good to hear.”
For some reason, Hikurod’s dwarven stature seemed even smaller tonight. I let out a deep sigh and sat down next to him.
“Got another bottle? Give it here.”
“How about a glass?”
“Do you actually carry those around?”
“Haha, I really can’t win against you……”
He handed me a bottle and we sat quietly, drinking side by side, until the dwarf spoke, breaking the silence.
“Do you remember? That day when we all saw that sight for the first time on the third floor……”
“The day Dwalkie was scared out of his wits, right?”
“He was an innocent friend. That was the first time he’d been attacked by plunderers and realized the difference between ideals and reality.”
“It’s something every explorer goes through… Anyway, that’s why Rotmiller woke everyone up in the middle of the night, to try to comfort him, right?”
“He probably wanted to let him know. There are a lot of sad and painful things in the labyrinth… but there are certainly good things too.”
“……”
“I still can’t believe how many years have passed since then.”
“…Yeah, I feel the same way.”
The conversation paused, and we drank in silence for a while. Then, once again, the dwarf was the first to speak.
“The alcohol’s kicking in and it’s starting to get a bit chilly. I’ll head in first.”
He staggered off, leaving me sitting there alone. After a while, I too headed back to my quarters in the holy land. But oddly enough, there was another unexpected guest waiting in front of my house.
“Missha? What are you doing here at this hour?”
Missha Karlstein. One of the original members of Team Half-Wit, with only three remaining now, and my unfulfilled first love……
‘Well, technically, she wasn’t really my first love, was she?’
Ha, is it because I had a drink late at night? Maybe it’s making me feel sentimental—.
“Make some time for me tomorrow…… There’s a place I want to go……”
“……Huh?”
“If you don’t come, I… I’ll leave the clan too!!”
…What kind of situation is this now? I stood there dumbfounded, and Misha disappeared in an instant without even waiting for an answer.
“Hah……”
What are they trying to do, taking turns like this…… Are they in some kind of club or something?
“At least tell me what time we’re meeting tomorrow before leaving.”
Well, I guess I’ll just wake up early.
English
tide
broooo