Thanked Ferret Inn. Keld Town. Evening 6.30 PM.
Eren and Mia were just a day away from the city of Ludan.
He was continuing his journey while having thoughts of his own. He was still thinking about the carnage he had to unleash on strangers just because they thought that it was okay to do so.
Eren had thought that only demonic rankers were a cruel bunch and that the rankers were supposed to be the good guys. It turned out that things weren’t as black and white as he had thought they would be. Rankers could become equally greedy and cruel when there were benefits to be gained.
Guild wars were just another side of the game that was played by almost every living being in Gilaahan. A game that was based on only one principle: survival of the fittest.
“Don’t get lost on me like that. Here. Drink this. I got it for both of us.”
Mia’s voice made Eren come out of his storm of thoughts. He followed her gaze and saw that there was a ranked ale waiting for him in a large mug. He looked around and realized they were on top of a three-story building.
Eren and Mia were not the only diners at the rooftop restaurant. There were other tables like the one they had occupied. A few rankers were occupying those tables. Most were either on their way to a mission or returning from one.
Mia and Eren were staying in an inn called Thanked Ferret. It was a well-known place to lodge for adventurers in Keld town. The duo had stayed in the same town when they were on their way to the mission site.
Eren realized that he had been spacing out on Mia for a while. He said sorry to her with his hand gestures before picking up the mug.
Mia looked at Eren endearingly before picking up her mug as well. After raising her mug and clashing it with Eren’s, she drank it all up.
“We should be careful from now on while taking missions, Eren. But don’t worry too much either. The Spiders caught us by surprise that day.
Hehe. Ours is not a goody-two-shoes guild either. We’ll get back at them with even more ferocity than them.”
Eren realized that Mia was concerned that the incident had affected Eren psychologically. And it had. But not in the way she was thinking.
He wasn’t intimidated by the whole scene. Instead, he was getting fiercer to the point that he thought that he enjoyed killing the Spiders. Completely dominating them in their own game.
He liked using his infinite mana core to its fullest. Normally, he felt he had to nerf himself a lot to deal with his opponents. But whenever there was no one around and he was free to deal with his opponents however he wanted, then he tasted the true freedom of being a ranker.
Thus, Eren would often think about the moral aspect of him turning into a veteran ranker. He would do that to keep in touch with his humanity.
“Haha. It’s not what you think. You should have seen the other guys.”
Eren chuckled and took a sip from his ranked ale. He noticed that Mia had remembered what he liked in his beverage. The ranked ale she had ordered was derived from a Rank-1, fire-element raw ingredient. It was a bit bitter and fizzy, the way he liked it.
Eren thanked Mia for the drink with his eyes before continuing.
“Don’t worry Mia. I’ll be the one taking the most bounty missions to kill some more Spiders if the pay is right.”
Mia liked that Eren had returned to his element after she snapped him back to reality. She also enjoyed the moon over her head that was peeking through the dark blue clouds. She was savoring the evening breeze that caressed her skin and her silky hair. And most of all, she was enjoying the company she had.
“You know, you look especially beautiful today. Like some charming elf we often used to read about in our fantasies.”
Eren said out of the blue as Mia looked at him. The opportunist in him thought that this was the right time to compliment her. And e was right on the mark.
“I told you… pick a time and place.”
Eren smirked and took hold of her free hand with his before responding.
“This time. This place. This is as good as any.’
Mia smiled when Eren took her hand in his. She responded by interlocking her fingers in his before speaking up. Her eyes reflected the playfulness she had in her heart.
“Well, what are your plans?”
Eren had no plans at the moment. But he didn’t care. He kept on talking with Mia before leading her outside the inn they were staying in. Keld town wasn’t much of a tourist attraction. But it had its rankers’ markets and ranker-specific places of attraction.
Eren simply decided to explore the city with Mia with no definite plan in mind. And everything started connecting between the two.
Mia sampled some of the street food offered by vendors. She watched a street play. And participated in a small aim-and-shoot target competition, which was usually organized for mortals. She won the competition but the organizers refused to give her any prize after learning that she was a ranger.
Eren had to steer her away from bullying the mortals anymore. From then on, they planned to follow the street and see for themselves all that it had to offer. By the time they were done with the exploration, the midnight moon was upon them.
Mia found out that Eren was a lot like her. He would be open to having extended conversations with people he knew well. But unlike her, he was very skilled at expressing himself.
“You know Eren, if you had told me you had planned this evening, I would have believed you.”
Mia said she would stay close to Eren. The latter had his arm across her shoulders. He chuckled when he heard Mia’s words.
Eren smiled mildly before bringing his face closer to Mia, distancing them both from their walk. He touched her right cheek with the tip of his rose and rubbed it before whispering into her ear.
“Plans can be flawless. But in spontaneity lies the true beauty of life.”
Eren said to Mia before turning her head to align with him. He looked her in the eyes before planting his lips on her. The two kissed on an almost empty street.
‘This is… indeed spontaneous.’
Mia thought to herself before melting into Eren’s embrace.
