CHAPTER 72: CHAPTER 72 - A NORMAL CITY

"I wonder if that thing has something to do with the Adventuring System..."

"I don’t really know, but from the knowledge I have now, it might be connected."

Lovelace used to have very bad migraines every time she tried to recall anything related to the System. But, over time, she managed to shield herself from it.

I think that it’s more of an ’avoid thinking directly about it’ kind of shield than a proper shield against the effects of the soul-biting that took her memories.

"You said that it was feeding... but maybe that mana is not being accumulated by the thing itself."

"Yeah, I thought about it myself. If it was, the amount of mana it would have accumulated over the centuries would make it impossible to hide."

"True and powerful on a godly level."

"Also... I haven’t discarded the idea of having been the one who designed the spell that created it. The signature mana of that thing is the goddess’, but I can sense something of myself in it."

"Well, you were the one with the ability to feed on mana to begin with. But it could be just that woman trying to replicate your ability."

"Yes..."

Her voice is a bit somber this moment, so I look at her face. We are talking as we walk on the main road from Amapytu to Evergrove.

On a side note, I find it funny that Amapytu is the only city that stays within the wasteland zone and also the only one that has a beastkin name.

The name Amapytu means ’spirit of rain,’ which I always thought was very ironic given the city’s location.

Or maybe the founders of the city were trying to attract said rain using the name. Who knows?

Anyway, I’m digressing again. Right. Lovelace. She looks distressed.

"Is something the matter?"

"No... I just can’t help but have this weird feeling about the idea of being the one who created the spell to conjure or summon that being."

"Are you feeling guilty about it?"

"Guilty?"

She frowns and puts her hand to her chin, thinking hard as she walks. I fear that she might trip at any time. I often do when I’m in deep thought like that.

"That might be it. A feeling of guilt towards the people who helped you to free me and who received me with such open arms."

"I understand... but you were practically another person back then. Being brainwashed by that woman, you didn’t have much agency yourself in those days, did you?"

"You’re right, I didn’t have. She was the one who guided everything I thought or did. I had no life besides the one she gave me."

"Then, the one guilty is her, not you. She used you to create that thing. And if she didn’t have you, she would have found other people to do her bidding."

"..."

"And you have a new life now. A life you won’t feel ashamed or guilty about. A life where you can start anew and in which you aren’t as naïve as you were in the past."

"Thank you, Aurea. You always know what to say in these moments."

We were in the last lines of our banter when we crossed the city gates. Mother stayed behind because she would be too conspicuous.

I’m using illusion to change my hair’s color. I also made some changes to the dress I bought and used during the rescue in Amapytu, including dyeing it a different color.

Lovelace is using the same dress Yaci used, with similar changes to make it not look so similar at first glance. The women of the tribe were of great help with that.

The guards didn’t seem to give us a glance, as they were talking between themselves. The atmosphere of this city is so different than the one in Amapytu.

To begin with, everyone is a lot more relaxed. Second, there are way fewer adventurers and patrolling guards. Third, it’s bigger.

It looks like a proper European medieval city. Or, at least, what my imagination always depicted one would be like.

The only thing that reminds me that we’re in a fantasy world is the eventual beastkin or elf, who are always wearing a collar.

But besides that, everything is too normal.

We enter a clothing shop to buy a pair of dresses for my mother and a spare one for me and for Lovelace. The cheapest ones.

Mother managed to get some coins by helping someone in a little village we passed through, but it was just barely enough for the change of clothing.

We have a bit left over, three bronzes. Which will be enough for a meal in the tavern for the both of us.

Why a meal in the tavern? Because that’s the whole goal of entering the city to begin with. To listen.

Adventurers are a loud bunch, very fond of bragging. Guards and knights aren’t so different.

So, if you put them together in a place with alcohol running... you’ll be able to catch all the best gossip in town.

Or, at least, the kind of gossip we’re interested in. About the search for me and Lillian.

We enter the biggest tavern that is in the central plaza of the city. The exact same plaza where the building of the Adventurer’s Guild is located.

A girl of high school age, with brown hair and a freckled face, comes to our table as soon as we take our seats.

"What will you two have today?"

"What is the menu?"

"Today the main meal is fowl stew with onions and beetroot, with a side dish of bread and nuts. We also have grilled lamb and pork."

"I will have the main meal, then."

"Me too. And a mug of mead."

"Two fowl stews and a mug of mead. I’ll bring them soon."

It’s high afternoon, and the tavern is full of adventurers who completed their missions and also some guards who have just finished their daily duties.

Now that I think about it, it’s the first time in this life that I’ll eat a proper meal in a restaurant.

The food in the first years of my life wasn’t bad and was nutritious enough, but it was the ’whatever to feed those slaves’ kind of meal.

In the tribe we mostly eat monster meat and dried fruits and nuts. There is no bread in the wasteland.

And during the rescue I ate those skewers, and I still have no idea what kind of meat it was. Though I can say that it was better than monster meat.

And now... I’ll eat fowl stew... and bread. Proper bread. I’m so happy right now.