A large gate stood before the walls of the city. As we approached, the gates parted, welcoming us into the heart of the city.

A sprawling cobblestone road unfolded before us, lined with sturdy wooden houses and bustling stalls beneath them.

"Get your fresh vegetables here! They're fresh from Arkana! You won't find fresher vegetables!"

"Buy one get one free!"

"Limited sale for today only!"

The scene was filled with clamor as the stall owners shouted on top of each other, trying their best to entice the crowd walking around the road.

I was left stunned by the unexpected sight before me.

'....This is a lot more lively than I originally anticipated.'

For a town located in the middle of nowhere, it sure seemed rather lively.

"Welcome to Ellnor."

Guards dressed in light armor welcomed us into the city. As if expecting our appearance, we didn't need to go through any checks and entered without problems.

As Leon and I passed the guards, I took notice of the strange looks that they were giving Leon.

He seemed to have noticed them too as he frowned.

I nudged slightly with my chin.

"See? They also think that you look stupid."

"...."

Without saying a word, Leon went on to take off his coat. The stares were starting to get to him. It was quite funny though. He seemed to be the type of guy to take anything literally.

"Now then."

I looked at the town in front of me and rubbed my stomach.

".....Should we get something to eat first?"

*

The town of Ellnor was a lot bigger than I originally anticipated.

In fact, it seemed to have everything that one would want from a major city. Restaurants, cafes, hotels, theaters, and even casinos.

"....Casinos?"

That...

I stopped to stare at the large building to my right. It was an eye-catching building. With the words [Casino] imprinted on the wooden board on top, a long line formed at the entrance of the building as several individuals stood by the entrance to check who entered.

'There's casinos in this world?'

The sight was something that I didn't think I could ever get used to. It just simply didn't make sense to me.

How could...

'No, never mind. I'm not here to question the decision of the game developers.'

This world. It wasn't fully medieval in style. I had long noticed this. There were a lot of modern touches added here and there.

'It's a mix of both, I guess.'

Medieval and modern.

".....Do you want to go to the casino?"

Hearing Leon's voice from beside me, I shook my head.

"No."

"Then?"

"I was just looking."

"Oh."

I tilted my head slightly to look at Leon. Why did it seem like he was disappointed?

"You want to go?"

"....."

So he did.

Well,

"Maybe later. Let's get some food first."

"....Alright."

A large river crossed the middle of the town. With the water coming down directly from the mountains above, it was extremely clear.

Around that area were several restaurants and stores. Leon and I settled for whatever looked good. Neither one of us was a picky eater so it didn't really matter.

"I'll take this."

The dish that I ordered was [Ember Roast] a slow-cooked roast that came from the meat of an Ember, an infant-ranked monster. It apparently had the properties of helping the muscles of the body recover so I deemed it fit considering my situation.

Once I was done ordering, I put the menu down and waited for Leon.

But...

"....Hmm."

He seemed indecisive about what to choose.

"There's so much..."

No, rather, overwhelmed seemed to be more fitting.

What in the...

"....This one looks nice too. Ah, no, but this one too."

Leon went on to run his forehead.

"What a dilemma."

"...."

This carried on for the next few minutes until I couldn't stand it any longer and spoke up.

"Are you ordering or not?"

".....Ah."

Leon made a difficult face. Then, looking at the waiter who also appeared exhausted, he went on to point at the menu.

"I want this."

"Starfire Curry?"

"Yes."

"Und-"

"And this."

The waiter paused. Looking at the menu, his gaze fell on me.

".....Ember Roast? The same as him."

"Yes, that too."

"Under-"

"And this."

Leon cut the waiter again as he pointed at another dish.

"....Wild dragonfish steak?"

"Yes."

"Ok-"

"Also this."

"..."

"This one too. I want to try it."

"How spicy is this one? If it isn't too spicy, I'll take this one too."

I sat baffled staring at Leon as he pointed at the dishes on the menu. Just how much is he going to eat...? What in the world?

"I'll finish off with this."

Plak

Leon closed the menu with satisfaction. Just as he did, he frowned and opened it again, but as his eyes scanned the menu and he found nothing else, 'Plak' he closed it again and nodded.

"Yes, that will be it."

"I-"

The waiter appeared to want to say something but held himself back. I couldn't blame him. In the end, Leon had ordered every single dish on the menu. He ended up wasting so much time when he could've just said 'I want it all'.

'This guy..."

Letting out a short sigh, I turned my head to stare at the scenery before me. It was stunning. From the tall mountains in the distance to the crystal clear river that passed through the middle of the town.

It gave off a completely different vibe than the Academy.

In a way, it was a nice change of pace.

"You know..."

Taking me out of my thoughts was Leon's voice as I turned my head to meet his gaze. The way he was looking at me was strange.

"What?"

".....You've changed."

"Uh?"

What nonsense...?

"I don't know. You just seem so different than the first time that I met you."

"....In what way?"

I didn't feel like I had changed at all if I had to be honest. Was he perhaps talking about my strength?

If so...

"That-"

"You were smiling."

"...."

I opened my eyes wide and touched my lips.

'I was smiling? When...?'

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile at all. It's weird actually."

He rubbed his arms and looked at me with an uncomfortable look.

"....Goosebumps."

"What? The fact that I smile?"

"Yeah. It's weird."

"....."

The fact that he agreed without even an ounce of hesitation was what took the words away from me.

Me smiling. Was it really that weird?

"Is it bad that I smiled?"

Was this his way of telling me that I was losing sight of the facade that I was trying to keep?

If so...

"Don't worry, I w-"

"No, not really."

"Hm?"

I blinked yet again.

"What do you mean, not really?"

"It's a good thing, I think."

"You think?"

I looked around before whispering.

"Wasn't the whole point of me doing the act so that I wouldn't be found out by the others?"

"....It was, yes."

"Then?"

"You didn't look like a person that wanted to live."

"....."

Stunned, I looked at him. I opened my mouth, but the words that I tried to get out refused to leave. Regardless of how hard I tried, I couldn't find the words to refute him.

He continued,

"I don't know about your past. In fact, I don't know much about you at all. The only thing that I can tell is that you're trying to achieve something."

"....."

"But whatever you're trying to do. It's eating at you from the inside. Or at least, used to."

"....."

"You seem more at peace lately. I don't know why. It's just that..."

Leon paused to look back. The waiter was coming with several dishes and a nice smell wafted through the air.

Wiping the corner of his mouth, he turned to look at me slightly.

".....It doesn't look like you want to die anymore."

***

At the same time, in a different part of the town.

"We have a situation."

Kiera stared at Josephine with a serious look. Rubbing her head, she looked to be struggling.

"What? What?"

Josephine looked at Kiera with a worried look.

"Tell me what's wrong."

"Ah, well..."

Kiera eventually shook her head.

"No, never mind. It's nothing."

"Nnng? Come. Just tell me. Now I'm curious."

"I'm telling you, it's nothing."

"No, just tell me! You can't just do that and act like nothing happened."

"Haa, fuck. Whatever. You're so fucking annoying."

Glaring at Josephine, Kiera whispered something in her ear.

"Eh...? Ah. So it's just that?"

"What do you mean just that?"

"Well, it's normal, you know... Ah geez~ I thought it was something serious."

"Oy bitch, it is serious."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Go to the bathroom. I'll wait for you here."

"Are you for real?"

"Yeah."

".....Thank you."

Kiera muttered her words of thanks with a soft whisper. One that Josephine pretended to not have heard as she brought her hand near her ear.

"What? I didn't hear."

"Fuck off."

Flipping her off, Kiera walked in the direction of the bathroom.

Gradually her back faded into the crowd, and as it did, so did her direction.

"Hmm~"

And she started to hum to herself.

Turning to face the opposite direction, she headed toward a large building in the distance. One that said,

'Casino'

"Hmmm~"

Just like that, 'Kiera' had vanished.

***

On the outer walls of the town.

"....How is the situation? Do you notice anything out of order?"

"Not yet."

Two knights stood at the top of the walls, carefully overlooking the outside of the town with grim looks. The knight's captain, Sir Tristan Blackwood, a Tier 3 Knigth, and a man in his mid-forties took out his pocket watch to look at the time.

"It's still early. We have time before the next wave."

"H-hoo."

The other knight let out a nervous breath.

".....What do you think? Do you think we can survive this one?"

"I'm sure of that."

Sir Tristan answered with a confident look. Turning his head, he looked towards the town beneath.

It was currently bustling with activity. From where he stood, he could see the smiles and happy expressions of the citizens.

But of course...

'They're used to it.'

Despite its outer appearance, the town was cursed. Behind their smiles was... a pain that only they could understand.

Sir Tristan Blackwood was one such person.

He understood their pain all too well.

'I'll be coming back soon. It's a promise. Keep this for me.'

Even now, he could still hear the sound of his sister's voice as she ventured outside of the town's walls.

But...

That had been thirty years ago. He had barely been eight back then. His sister... she didn't keep her promise.

"Huu."

Taking a deep breath, he put the pocket watch away.

The pocket watch. It was a gift from his sister. It was meant to have been a temporary gift to him. He was meant to use it to keep track of the time that she was away.

To this day, he hadn't stopped counting.

For what reason was he so uselessly clinging to the idea of his sister coming back?

"Ha."

The captain laughed to himself.

"Get the preparations ready. I'll be leaving for a while."

"Uh? You're leaving? Where to?"

Sir Tristan paused and looked back. Fiddling with the pocket watch in his pocket, he suddenly smiled.

"To meet our reinforcements."