Chapter 78

Chapter 78

Chapter 78

“Alright, this is it,” I said as I clasped my hands together.

Xakor blinked for the third time since I met him. He stared at the ramshackle hut— its walls were practically falling over into itself, and the roof had partially collapsed. There was a single window, but its glass was cracked open. I sauntered up to the door, and it creaked open with a light push.

“Xrr... I do not think that this would make a fine dining establishment, Amelia.” He sighed as he shook his head. “It is too rundown. No one would eat at such a place— you’ll only turn away potential customers.”

“Well, with a few polishes here and there, it’ll be spick and span and good as new.” I waved a hand dismissively. I slung a towel over my shoulder as I glanced back at the alien.

He wore a hooded cloak to hide his identity, but it didn’t really matter. We were practically at the edge of Wolfwater, so there weren’t really any passersby. But to him, that was part of the problem.

“This location would be bad for business too,” Xakor explained, gesturing vaguely at the area with one of his four arms. “Our main market should be visiting [Traders] and tired [Farmers]. No one would go out of their way to visit your restaurant if it’s too far from the roads and the village.”

“I...” I opened my mouth, then pursed my lips. He had a good point. I understood his logic. But— “This is all I can afford.” I shrugged helplessly.

“Ah.” His eyes twinkled.

“Anyways, I didn’t want to get in the way of all the construction work.” I shook my head, slapping the side of the hut. “Wolfwater is still recovering from the Cloying Witch’s attack, so this will have to—” I started.

And the rest of the roof collapsed. I blinked, watching as the structure folded into itself, the shaky walls tumbling from a single touch. I stared, frozen in place, and Xakor harrumphed.

“Xrr, I believe now we have no choice but to find another location for our restaurant,” he said.

“Well, fuck.” I sighed. “I’m going to have to get a refund.”

—--

Harlan was in a rut. He arrived in Wolfwater two days ago, and since then a lot had happened. His first day here, the village was attacked by the Cloying Witch. She had used some strange magic to wreak havoc for a little bit, before she was defeated by the Noble Spellsword.

The former city guard was relieved to see Noele there. Truth be told, he hadn’t even heard of the Cloying Witch until that day of the attack, but seeing an A-rank adventurer coming to save the day was always reassuring. It was clear that things would usually be fine— especially when said adventurer was the one who had saved Whiteridge from the Miststorm Riders.

However, soon after the attack, he learned that Wolfwater was Noele’s hometown, and that the Cloying Witch specifically sought out this farming village to exact revenge against the Noble Spellsword. That... made Harlan reevaluate his decision to move here.

He thought this village was safe. And, certainly, with an A-rank adventurer residing within, it was probably safer than any of the neighboring towns. But Harlan wondered what would happen if another such assault occurred, purely because this was the Noble Spellsword’s home?

It was entirely possible that Harlan’s luck wouldn’t last forever. The next time an A-rank threat showed up here in Wolfwater, he could end up as a casualty before Noele even arrived. That terrified him. He hadn’t made a decision just yet, but he highly considered leaving the farming village some time in the next week.

For now... he didn’t even have a place to stay. Harlan sighed as he sat in front of an abandoned house. There was only a single inn here in Wolfwater, and he had been kicked out after he got into a drunken brawl last night. It wasn’t even his fault, really. He had been provoked— called a fool and a coward by some middle-aged man. Probably a retired soldier. It didn’t matter.

Now, it was already evening, and Harlan had been turned away from every house he approached. No one could offer him any lodging because they were already offering shelter to a friend or family member whose property had been destroyed by the Cloying Witch. So here he was, milling about the front of an empty hut with nothing but a sack slung around his shoulders, considering breaking in for a place to stay tonight.

“...maybe I should just go back to Whiteridge,” he murmured, closing his eyes. “At least I’ll have a roof over my head there...”

Harlan hugged his knees to his chest as the sun set over the horizon. He really wanted to turn back the dial— go back in time to when he was still a brand new adventurer. He had been a part of a team back then. He even had a crush. A beautiful blonde [Warrior] who continued adventuring, even when he quit.

Everything seemed so perfect back then. Until it wasn’t. But he just wished things were perfect again. He sighed wistfully, only to be pulled out of his thoughts by a voice.

“Hey,” a woman said.

Harlan blinked, looking up. The first thing he saw was a cloak. A shredded cloak, impossibly held together as flakes fell off. His brows furrowed, confused for a moment. But the woman continued.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

The cloak quickly slipped out of his mind, instead looking up at the brown-haired girl. His eyes widened when he saw her face. He recognized her— he remembered her from two days ago. She had been the adventurer who saved him, fighting alongside the Noble Spellsword.Ñøv€l-B1n was the first platform to present this chapter.

Harlan tried to work his jaw. “Wait, you’re—”

And he paused. She peered at him curiously, tilting her head. Why was she here? He didn’t know her name, but she had a concerned look on her face. For a moment, he thought she was an angel— here to save him a second time.

“I’m... fine,” he slowly replied. “T-thanks for asking.” He gulped, unsure what she would say next.

She just smiled, leaning back. “That’s good. If you’re fine— can you please get off my property?” she said simply.

He rubbed his eyes, leaning forward. And he finally saw it. He finally caught a brief glimpse of what was going on.

Amelia sped through the main hall of the small building. Her figure was moving in a blur— leaving behind afterimages of herself that made it seem like she was sweeping the floors and building simple furniture all at the same time. She didn’t slow even for a moment. She continued renovating the room at incomprehensible speeds—

And Harlan’s jaw dropped. “W-wait, what...? B-but how—”

“This is my first time seeing her at work too,” the hooded man said, massaging the former guard’s back. “She is... xrr, impressive.”

“Impressive?” Harlan exclaimed and glanced back. “That’s not just impressive! That doesn’t make any sense! How is she doing that?”

The hooded man crossed a pair of arms, still massaging Harlan’s back. “Xrr, perhaps impressive is an understatement. But I have been warned ahead of her feats of impossibility ahead of time. So I expected as much out of her.”

“Feats of what—” The former guard frowned, then he paused. He looked up and down, eyeing the pair of hands at his back, before staring at the pair of folded arms.

Once again, Harlan found himself at a loss of words.

“Xrr, this is a common technique for relaxation back in my world,” the hooded man explained. “You are very stressed. You might even pass out.”

“I... that’s—” Harlan opened his mouth. He shook his head, breaking out of his stupor. “Why do you have four...?”

“Ah, I apologize for not introducing myself sooner, but I am trying to maintain a discreet presence in Wolfwater for now.”

The hooded man drew back, lifting his cloak slightly to give a peek of his face. Harlan saw purple skin— beady black eyes. The former guard gasped, recognizing the face plastered on posters all over the world.

“You’re Xakor the—”

But Xakor just placed a finger on Harlan’s lips. “Xrr, please do not yell. I do not want to cause a crowd to gather.”

“I... right.” Harlan stared in shock. He wasn’t sure what else there was to say.

Of all places to be in Laxo, the Patron of the Culinary Sciences was here in Wolfwater. He was one of the few otherworlders in the world! He was a literal celebrity across all the continents, even Mare! But somehow, the former city guard ran into him here.

Harlan glanced back at the abandoned building, watching as it was quickly refurbished by Amelia, before looking back at Xakor. He processed this as his mind reeled.

“I... think I’m dreaming,” he murmured to himself. And he heard a cluck coming from his feet.

Harlan looked down at a chicken. An ordinary chicken in size and shape. Unassuming at first glance, until he realized it was carrying an oversized bag on its back— a bag that was at least three times its size. It flapped its wings before dashing forward like a pack mule, heading towards Amelia.

“Bawk bawk,” it cried out.

“Thanks, Bucky,” Amelia said, stopping for a moment to grab the bag off the chicken. “I’ll give you a treat later.” She patted Bucky, then vanished into a blur once more.

The chicken ran back from the small building, clucking up at Xakor. The Patron of the Culinary Sciences just picked it up and stroked its back. All the while, Harlan watched this scene play out as he struggled to even understand what was going on.

He rubbed his temples, sighing. “I think I had too much to drink last night...”

—--

I came to a halt and dusted my hands off. The sun had set a while ago, and Xakor had left with that disheveled man a few hours back, probably to go to sleep. It took me a while since I was trying to cause as little of a ruckus as possible, but I was finally finished.

“Alright,” I said, smiling as I took in the renovated building that was soon going to be my restaurant. “Now, I just have to come up with a name... and stock up on food... and hire a server... and somehow attract customers...”

I trailed off as the smile slipped off my face. I nodded at myself and spoke softly.

“Let’s come up with a name first, then deal with all that later.”

MelasD

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