251 City Tour [3]

".I'll kill him if that's the last thing I do."

Aoife angrily stormed off the estate, heading for the Bremmer city center. Her face turned red in anger whenever she thought back to the words her brother said to her.

"I haven't seen you in so long and that's the first thing you ask?"

For obvious reasons, she went out with a disguise. From her hair color to her pupils.

She still looked the same, but she changed the most distinctive parts of her appearance.

"Buy one get one free!"

". One-time offer! Come and get it here!"

"Buy from me! I can guarantee you the best prices in Bremmer!"

"Limited time discount!"

The city streets bustled with life, street vendors shouting from the sidewalks.

The buildings' refined structures, with thick walls, windows, and finely carved patterns, were a sight to behold. As Aoife walked around, she took in the scene before her eyes.

It had been quite a while since she had last been in the city centre and she suddenly felt a wave of nostalgia.

Especially when she thought of the times she would come with her brother when she was young.

But of course, fun times only lasted until they couldn't.

with her brother when she was young.

But of course, fun times only lasted until they couldn't.

Her reality was much different now. With a lot of responsibilities on her shoulders, she didn't have the time to spend around in leisure like this.

This was a very-needed break that she needed.

Especially after what had happened to her the past couple of days.

"Haa..."

Thinking about all the work she had to do, Aoife sighed as she proceeded further down the streets.

She was just about to turn a left corner when she noticed a sudden commotion in the distance.

"What's going on?"

Aoife looked in the direction of where the commotion was from and a frown soon marred her features.

Seeing that there were no guards around it didn't appear to be anything serious, but for there to be so many people

<nulli>'I should check it out.'

Aoife didn't hesitate as curiosity got the best of her.

Nothing that was out of character from her.

"Excuse me."

"Wait a moment."

"Thank you."

Pushing her way through, Aoife was finally able to see the source of the commotion and her entire body froze upon seeing the massive projection in front of her.

Wow! It's the third room and she still hasn't shown a single expression! How impressive! Will the record be broken!? Will someone finally come out of the haunted house without any reaction?

Standing at the center of the square was a man dressed in fine clothes and a top hat. He narrated everything happening in the projection beside him.

She's just moving to the fourth chamber! Hardly anyone passed this chamber. Will she be able to pass it? Will she! Ah! She didn't flinch even as he popped out of nowhere! What incredible mental fortitude.

".."

Aoife stared at the scene, completely at a loss for words. She opened her mouth, then closed it, as she looked at the figure within the projection.

"..Of course, it had to be her."

Be it for her looks or the fact that she was clearing the haunted house event at incredible speeds, a large crowd had gathered around the area.

They were all speaking with one another as they pointed at the projection where Kiera was.

"Well"

Aoife thought about leaving, but then she realized something as her eyes squinted.

".It wouldn't hurt to stay

Her lips slowly pulled forward as she looked around her and imagined a scenario where Kiera screamed in front of everyone.

"Hehe."

Aoife suddenly found herself laughing to herself.

Now that was going to be funny.

***

"Whooo!!!"

"Uwa!"

"Ahh!"

People dressed in all sorts of ridiculous clothing popped up from various areas.

It was dark, but not dark enough to bother Kiera, who hated the dark.

The gentle flicker of candles around made things easier for her as she continued forward without much of an expression.

<nulli>'This shit's easy.'

After everything she had experienced lately? This was a breeze.

Be it back in the Mirror Dimension or the strange cult, compared to those times, this was truly child's play for her.

"Whoo!!"

Another figure appeared. They came from above and would've scared any normal person but her.

Well, her classmates too.

They had seen too much shit.

"This should be room five."

From what she was told, there were seven rooms. So long as she passed all seven she would receive a prize.

<nulli>'I hope it's worth it.'

Thinking about the prize, Kiera picked up the pace.

"Wooo!"

....It became more and more obvious that this was child's play for her.

The more she walked, the more desperate the people in the haunted house seemed to be, but it was no use. She was simply not scared.

"Woooah!"

"Bah."

The more she walked, the more bored she became. For that reason, she picked up her pace and headed toward the exit.

It didn't take long for her to get near it, spotting the large sign at the end. Despite the increasing number of people trying to jump-scare her, none of them had any impact.

<nulli>'Easy money.'

Soon, she reached the exit.

"Wooo!"

"Yeah, yeah."

Kiera shook her head and opened the door to reveal a massive crowd of people.

They were all looking at her with surprise and awe.

Wow! Would you look at that?! Not only did she set a new record but she even managed to get past without so much as flinching. What Incredible perseverance!

The announcer hyped her up from the side. Saying how great achievement was and how difficult he was.

He went on like that for the next few minutes before handing her a small card.

And now for the prize! An all-you-can-eat at Berlimo's kitchen! One of the best-rated places in Bremmer. You can bring up to ten people with you and everything is on us!

"Wow! That's incredible!"

"I want to try it too!"

"Let me!"

The crowd became rowdy upon hearing the reward. Kiera was also a little excited. She may not have been from Bremmer, but she knew of Berlimo.

It was an incredibly popular restaurant that was a must-visit in Bremmer.

With that being said, it was incredibly expensive.

"Here you go, I hope you enjoy your time. Thank you for participating."

Receiving the ticket, Kiera looked at it for a good moment. Bring ten people, huh... Kiera looked at the ticket and felt a certain part of her chest hurt.

<nulli>'Fuck, I feel insulted by this for some reason.'

She began to ruffle the side of her hair.

Looking around, her gaze eventually fell on Evelyn who was watching from the side.

"Ah!"

Right, she can come.

It would be bad if she was the only one that went there. Since the ticket was for ten people she planned on bringing at least a few.

She couldn't show up by herself.

It would be a little too embarrassing.

"You want me to go?"

Evelyn stared at the ticket in surprise before looking up at Kiera.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, sure."

Kiera responded with a serious nod.

"Well, okay."

Evelyn eventually accepted. Then, as if recalling something, she turned to look in the direction of where the projection was as she saw a new group enter.

"Was it really not that scary?"

"Uh? Ah, yeah... It's not."

Kiera's face scrunched up. If not for the reward she would've complained about how unscary it was.

"Well, now that I think about it, it's probably not their fault. In general, I'm quite good at handling scary stuff."

Kiera puffed up her chest in pride.

"In fact, with everything that happened, I doubt anything can scare me. I"

"You won?"

"....?"

Feeling a tap on her shoulder Kiera turned around. With brown hair and blue eyes, she didn't seem familiar to Kiera, but upon closer look, Kiera was able to recognize her and her eyes opened as she jumped up from the spot.

"Ahhh! Fuck! Mother of all mothers save me from this horror fuck!"

***

"...."

"...."

I walked around Bremmer with Leon walking next to me. His expression was the same as it was before, and he was still holding onto the ice creamless cone.

Opening his mouth, he prepared to lick it, but I stopped him.

".....Do you want a new one?"

"I'm okay. This one tastes particularly good."

"You don't say?"

"It's low in calories too."

"...."

I pursed my lips.

'I need to figure out how I manage to lose my memories. If I play my cards right, then I should be able to do the same for him, and...'

"Ah."

My eyes paused on the ring on my hand.

'Right, there is that method.'

Narrowing my eyes, I turned to look at Leon who was walking with a stony face while still licking onto the empty cone.

"Leon."

"....Yes?"

"I'm only doing this because I want to test something. You understand, right?"

"Hm?"

Leon turned his head to meet my gaze. It was then that I raised my hand and prepared to use the ring when all of a sudden someone called out for us.

"Leon? Julien...?"

"Tsk."

I clicked my tongue and turned around. There, I spotted three figures walking from the end of the street. Taking a closer look, Aoife's face seemed to be particularly pale as she mumbled something quietly to herself, 'It can't have been my face... It can't have...'

It was a bunch of nonsense.

"What are you doing?"

Evelyn asked while looking at us.

"I just met him."

I answered, moving my hand back.

"Oh, I see. Then..."

Evelyn looked toward Kiera who looked at me for a brief moment before shrugging.

"I need ten people so I'm fine."

Fine for what?

"We're going to Berlimo. We have a ticket for ten people so if you guys want to join..."

"Oh."

I rubbed my stomach. I was indeed feeling a little hungry. Turning to look at Leon, who still seemed absentminded, I nodded my head.

"....Okay."

"Great."

Evelyn clapped her hands.

"Let's go."

***

At the same time, somewhere else in Bremmer

"Where have you gone?"

A rough voice spoke. It belonged to Joseph, the captain of the Royal Guards. His main subject was the woman who sat opposite him with her legs crossed.

"....."

She didn't answer and merely looked at the window.

"Where have you gone."

Joseph asked again, his voice sounding deeper than before.

"We had an agreement. You are to not go outside unless someone is with you. This is something that you have agreed with the Emperor since you can't be trusted to wander by yourself."

"...."

Delilah yet again remained silent.

Seeing how nonchalant she was being, Joseph felt a vein pop as he stood up from his seat.

"Respected Monarch! Please understand that I'm trying to fulfill my job here! Your actions have caused me a great amount of distress, and I'm on the verge of getting a demotion because of you!"

His voice bellowed throughout the room, causing some of the windows to shake from the sheer force of his voice.

It was only then that Delilah finally looked at him.

Her deep black eyes fixed on his frame for a brief moment, but they were enough to suck away all of his anger.

Still, Delilah eventually did answer.

"I went to a cafe."

"A cafe...?"

Joseph blinked his eyes, unable to fully process the information.

A Monarch going to a cafe?

That... made sense, but he had a hard time visualizing something like this.

"Here."

Delilah took out a receipt from out of nowhere, handing it to him.

Receiving the receipt, Joseph's face grew slack. She really did...

"Okay, then."

If that was really the case then he could accept it. He sighed and put the ticket away.

"You are allowed to do so, but I would like it if you tell me beforehand when you go outside. I am just trying to do my job."

"Mhm."

Delilah answered with a small nod, turning her head to look at the window again.

Joseph found himself leaning back on his chair. As his gaze wandered around the room, his eyes eventually fell on Delilah's hand as he spotted something.

"Hm?"

As if sensing his gaze, Delilah turned her head.

"What?"

"No, it's just..."

He scratched the side of his cheek.

"When did you get that?"