Chapter 290 - The Awaited Rest

She was slightly shorter than him and wore a worn-out look, despite that she was unbelievably attractive. A perfect face with tired looking eyes and slightly muffled ashy blue hair which reached her waist. Perfect curves despite being short, her beauty was definitely worthy of admiration.

'Cute… I wonder if I should try talking to her…'

But just as he thought that, he quickly reminded himself of the fear he had gotten moments before.

"On second thought… Maybe another day… I need to find my card first…" He muttered sadly

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'Finally, that strange kid is go-'

The guard quickly took a step back and pulled out his sword as he suddenly noticed someone standing in front of him.

'When did he- Was he always here? Damn it… Am I still drunk from yesterday?' The guard wondered before placing it back in it's sheathe

"Apologies, You… You're not from around here, are you?" The guard asked as he stared at the young man with a blindfold in front of him trying to recompose himself as he did so.

"I said… You're not from around here… Are you?" 

The young man shook his Head and the guard began to question why he had chosen such a job.

'First a guy who wears an open robe in the middle of this freezing weather, now a man with a thin cloak and a blindfold… Next thing I know he's going to say he's an A-Rank adventurer'

Suddenly, the guard made eyes with the girl 

"Right, card or certificate." Said the guard

Upon hearing this, the young man pulled out a red card from the inside of his cloak. It showed his name, rank, height and the adventurer emblem.

The guard saw all of this as he inspected it, but what stood out the most was the color of the card and rank. It was red, the normal adventurers card was brown, made of rather cheap paper.

But this one was red, made of the highest quality. The color red was also one associated to the 2nd highest known rank in the guild, A-Rank.

'An A-Rank, huh… A rather simple name… I've never heard of this guy. Not to mention his appearance. Can he even fight with this blindfold?' The guard thought to himself as he continued to inspect it. 

There was no doubt that it was real. Forging it was possible, but the guard was known for having a good eye, so forgery unless done by a master wouldn't get past him.

"Right, it's all here. You're free to go." Said the guard as he handed the card back.

He then moved out of the way and signaled the other guard to open the gate. Shortly after, the young man walked through without saying a single word, however he did nod as he did so.

'That appearance… No matter how much I think about it… It sounds familiar, a black blindfold, a dark thin ragged cloak and black hair which resembled the night-sky… Isn't that… Nope, can't remember.'

"Next." He said loudly

Following that, a young girl appeared in front of him, she seemed to be in a hurry.

"Card or certificate-"

The girl quickly pulled out a certificate showing that she had permission to enter the city just as the guard finished.

The guard inspected it before quickly signaling the other guard to open the gate again.

"You're free to g-"

Before he could even finish, the girl quickly rushed through while leaving behind a "Thank you." As she did so.

The guard let out a sigh before turning back the long line ahead of him.

"Next.

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The girl rushed through looking for the young man. She was back in the village, and as happy as she was, the only thing she had on her mind was getting rest.

She looked left, then right, and luckily managed to catch the young man's back with her eyes. He was heading through the street, down the road.

The roads were covered in snow as carriages passed by. Many homeless kids could be seen in the alleyways trying to gather the little heat which they could out of the small blankets which covered them.

Their whole bodies trembled as they slowly froze to death. It was heartbreaking sight even for her, not just because she too had gone through something similar but because there was no way to help them all.

No one around them paid any attention nor did they show no care after all, everyone was only worried about themselves. 

Well, mostly everyone. Although rare, There girl could see some people help out the kids. Orphanages also existed, only they were full mostly.

But the instant she did, she noticed a sudden change in the temperature. Once again, it suddenly felt like she was in the middle of a desert.

The feeling was just like the one she had felt back in the snowfields, and it was obvious who had done it.

"The wandering devil… I guess even a devil can be kind…"

The kids had stopped trembling and seemed more relaxed as warmth entered their blankets. The people who ran food stalls in the road along with those who walked by also seemed surprised

"Huh? What happened to the cold?"

"It's still snowing right?"

"A gift from the heavens? The lord has blessed us with warmth!"

While ignoring the people's reactions, the girl quickly followed behind the young man. Her ideas of him, slightly changed.

The slightly more relaxed look on the kids faces gave her a sense of relief but at the same time, she still seemed to have another issue occupying her mind.

"If he can do this… I'm sure he can do it." She muttered quietly as she watched him walk

And as she thought about this, she began noticing just how tired her legs were.