Vol. 2 - Ch. 27 - Scatligo at Night [Part 2]

As usual Lapis couldn't help but attract eyes from all over the place.Lapis appeared to be in trouble due to not having a place to sit. She was fidgeting with a plate of food in her hands.

Ash hurriedly swallowed what was in his mouth and called out.

"Hey! There's a free spot here!"

As soon as he shouted, Lapis quickly noticed him.

After a moment of anguished consideration, Lapis came to Ash and Clara's table.

She put her plate on the table and then gave Ash a menacing look.

"May I? There are no other seats, so I have no choice."

"It's fine." Ash reassured her.

"Thank you." Lapis blurted out and took the free seat.

Although Lapis' tone sounded a bit crabbily, she nonetheless thanked, which showed she was disciplined.

Suddenly, Clara pulled Ash by his arm.

"Hey, Ash!" She said in a hurried manner, pulling Ash closer, "Would you mind explaining?"

"Oh. That's Lapis."

"I know. She's really famous! What I want to know is, just how in the world do you two know each other?"

"I just happened to meet her when I arrived at Dural Island."

"You just happened to meet her? Really?"

Clara's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Apparently, she didn't trust Ash when it came to women related matters.

"Is it really okay? I've heard she's really scary!"

"She's a bit cold at times, but otherwise she's a good person."

Just as Ash answered, Lapis cleared her throat and spoke.

"If I'm bothering you I'll leave."

"Sorry about that. It must have been uncomfortable listening to us whisper. I swear that we weren't bad-mouthing you or anything."

"That's not what I was trying to--"

"Sorry to have kept you waiting. Here are your Maska and two Honey Milks."

The waiter brought the drinks just in time.

Ash picked up his cup of bright purple liquid - the Maska.

Leaving two cups of Honey Milk left.

(Seems like Clara and Lapis ordered the same thing.)

"Wait, you are..."

The waitress said, staring at the Ash without walking away.

As Ash looked at her, he realized who she was.

(It's the Milma that warned me when I got into a fight with Darrion on my first day here.

I think her name was Iris.)

Iris silently brought her face so close to Ash's that their noses almost touched.

"Do you need something from me?" Ash asked.

"No, nothing."

"You say that, but you sure got awfully close."

"Don't get the wrong idea. I don't have the slightest interest in you." Iris said and after sniffing twice finally moved away.

For some reason, she glanced at Ash one last time, then said, "Please excuse me," and left.

"Ash, what did you do? She looked very angry."

"I haven't done anything."

"I'm sure you tried to court her or something." Clara exclaimed 

"Just what do you take me for?" Ash asked in a surprised tone.

"A womanizer." Lapis said after taking a sip of her Honey Milk.

"I can see that~!" Clara exclaimed, agreeing with her, while also leaning forward.

"That's an awful image you have of me. And Clara, why are you getting aboard with her?!"

"But it's true." Clara responded with a blank expression, as if she had done nothing wrong.

Ash then looked at Lapis, who looked away as if it wasn't her problem.

Ash sighed and put the Maska up to his mouth.

This was the first time he had seen this type of fruit alcohol so wanted to try it.

"Whoa. This is good."

Although it had a rich sweet taste, it was refreshing and easy to drink.

It was slightly sour, however, that went perfectly with the meat.

As he took another sip, Clara poked him in his side.

"Hey. I want to try it too." Clara said.

"Here you go."

"Thanks."

Wrapping the cup in her hands, she fearfully put her little mouth to it.

"Oh. This isn't half bad."

"That's all you get." Ash said, immediately taking the cup away from Clara, who was trying to take another sip.

"Why'd you do that for? I was just gonna have another small sip!"

"Children can't drink this."

"I'm not a child! I'm already an adult."

"How old are you?"

"S-Sixteen..." Clara replied, her mouth agape with embarrassment.

(I knew she was young, but I didn't think she was this young...)

"See? You're still a child."

"Where I grew up you are considered an adult when you turn 16!"

"That still doesn't mean you're allowed to drink alcohol. See? Your face is already starting to turn red." Ash remarked.

"That's..."

Clara's cheeks were slightly flushed, though she did not appear to be drunk. It was really noticeable due to her fair skin.

"You're like siblings." Lapis commented in a cool tone.

"She's quite the troublesome little sister."

"Hmph... Well that's because I'm still a kid, isn't it?" Clara said, turning around and sulking.

She began to eat silently, her cheeks puffed out.

She was clearly showing that she was angry.

However, because of her innocent face, she wasn't scary at all. In fact, one would even consider her cute.

"Which floor did you reach?" Lapis asked suddenly.

"I'm surprised that you'd ask." Ash remarked.

"I'm a little curious. There's nothing else behind it."

"I see... Then let me turn it around. Which floors do you think I'm on?" Ash asked.

After a short pause to think Lapis answered,

"Red (9), Blue (9), Green (9), White (0), Black (0)."

"Is that evaluation good?"

"It's on the higher end."

"Do you have a high opinion of me then?"

"I don't like you, but you could say that."

After she answered, Lapis nibbled on a vegetable and ham sandwich in her hand.

Even that simple movement seemed elegant when performed by her.

"Eleventh, ninth, eleventh, zero, zero."

The moment Ash said that Lapis stopped moving.

However, she quickly recovered and continued eating. She then took a sip of her Honey Milk before speaking.

"You aren't half bad."

"I know right? But it's mostly because I had Clara here with me."

"What? Me...?"

"If you weren't there Clara I probably would've still been struggling on the 10th Floor."

"T-That's not true! I did almost nothing. It's mostly thanks to you, Ash!" Clara said in a panic.

The bad mood she'd had a few minutes ago was nowhere to be seen.

However, the corners of her mouth, which were slightly pointing down, conveyed that she was still a little upset.

Ash decided not to pay much heed to it and instead continued, "Though we did get our asses handed to us today." 

"The 11th Floor was a huge jump for sure." Clara exclaimed.

"Say Lapis, how did you deal with the Skeletons? They must have been quite a pain to deal with using a spear."

"No. I just split them in two starting from the top of their head."

"And here I thought I'd either need a hammer or to sever their limbs. But I guess your method works as well."

"If you don't deal with them cleanly they won't disappear. But if you're skilled enough to be here, then they shouldn't pose a problem." Lapis said, looking at Ash as if trying to measure his value.

"Your weapon of choice was a dagger, correct?" she asked

"That's right. Though I might make an axe or a hammer. While I'm at it I might as well make a spear." Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ NʘvᴇlFire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

"Aren't you spreading yourself thin?"

"Not to boast, but I can use any weapon."

Most people would be suspicious or surprised here, but Lapis was neither. Rather, she seemed like she wasn't interested.

"Then wouldn't a longsword be the best?" Lapis asked.

"Let me rephrase what I just said. I can use everything apart from longswords." Ash added.

"And you can use daggers?"

"When I was young I made a mistake and lightly cut my own arm. Even since then my hand shakes just by holding a longsword."

"I see." Lapis' reply was as curt as ever, however, it was thanks to it that Ash felt like he'd been saved.

"Still, changing weapons will only make it easier to deal with the Skeletons, nothing more. If you're having trouble tackling the likes of them, you probably need more power." Lapis clarified.

"You say that, but Enhancement Stones aren't easy to come by." Ash chuckled.

"Even more so on the lower floors." Lapis added.

Perhaps due to their talking, her plate was only slowly going down.

However, Lapis didn't seem to be bothered by it at all and continued to talk to Ash.

"Have you been to the Consignment Store?" Lapis asked.

"What's that?"

"It's where you can buy and sell tools to other challengers through the Milma."

"Wow, I didn't know such a place existed."

When Ash replied, Lapis looked at him with a look of surprise.

She then turned her gaze to Clara, who was listening absent-mindedly.

"You... I'm pretty sure you've been here for a while now. Haven't you told him about it?" Lapis asked Clara.

"I-I know of the place, but I haven't been there."

"Clara's quite shy you see." Ash explained.

"That's..." Clara shrugged as she sipped a bit of her Honey Milk.

Lapis, in turn, sighed with a look of astonishment.

"Either way, I'd recommend taking advantage of the Consignment Store. Though, I think it will be closing soon, so it might be good to go tomorrow." Lapis clarified.

"I'll do just that then. Thanks, you taught me a lot. You've been a huge help."

Lapis became overcome with emotion as soon as Ash thanked her.

"I-I didn't do it out of the kindness of my heart! I just wanted to thank you for letting me sit here...!" Lapis exclaimed and started eating much faster than she had only a few minutes earlier.

She began stuffing her mouth and finished her plate in no time. She then wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and stood up vigorously.

"Thank you for the meal. I'll be excusing myself."

"Sure. See you around." Ash said, and Lapis left quickly, leaving no traces behind.

Perhaps because of the raging development of the situation, Clara was left with her mouth gaping open.

"T-There she goes... She looked quite angry..."

"She was probably just embarrassed."

(It's probably because she's always alone. What a difficult personality she has.)

With this in mind, Ash looked away from the blonde hair that wagged left and right.