“I don't like eating fish.”
“But you ate the most in the cabin...”
Chen Mian didn't reply. While he could eat as much frost-patterned salmon as he wanted now without worrying about diarrhea, that disastrous incident from his youth had left him completely indifferent to it.
The three of them walked to the square at the end of the street. In the center of the square stood a statue of an elderly dwarf holding a hammer, his head held high. Some text was carved into the base, but unfortunately, it had become somewhat blurred and illegible.
“The first city lord of Wigtan City, Chief Thorin ‘Heavy Hammer’ of the Anvil Tribe. He was also one of the people who followed the first King of Hella to expand the territory. It's said he was a warrior close to the Red Jade Rank.” Loviki's voice drifted out from behind her scarf. “But he was already over three hundred years old back then, so he only served as the city lord for a little over twenty years before dying of old age during the reign of Hella I.”
“What about Glen?”
“You know the second city lord?” Loviki asked in surprise.
“You could say that. He forged a greatsword for me once,” Chen Mian said with a hint of nostalgia.
“A greatsword? Aren't you a mage?”
“Is there a rule saying mages can't engage in close combat?”
“I guess not,” Loviki said with a twitch of her lips. In essence, every profession was just a specialized development of magic in different directions. One wouldn't go far trying to learn everything, though that didn't seem to apply to this guy.
“After the restructuring, the systems and industries were heavily modified, and his power was stripped away. Disheartened, he eventually left with his clan.” Loviki's voice carried a touch of sighing. “And this statue was originally supposed to be torn down too, but the commoners of Wigtan refused to cooperate, going on strike for fourteen days before they finally gave up on the idea.”
Chen Mian looked at the statue, thought for a moment, and said nothing more.
“Let's go. We'll find a place to stay first, rest for three days, and then head into the dungeon.” Chen Mian walked forward, and Flora quickly kept pace.
“Mr. Chen Mian, why did you choose to stay outside for so many days?” Flora asked, somewhat puzzled. Hadn't they initially discussed resting for just one day before heading straight into the dungeon?
“Have you ever seen snow before, Flora?”
“No.”
“How does it feel?”
“It's very beautiful,” Flora said with a smile.
“Then would you like to see this city's Ice and Fire Festival? After all, once we leave this time, we might not return for a very long time.”
“Yes!”
“I also vote yes with both hands!” Loviki added from behind, quietly giving Chen Mian an OK gesture as she spoke.
After crossing the square, the road began to fork. To the left was a narrow path leading to the Old District, while the road to the right was much wider, ending in a cluster of tall steel structures that belonged to the New District.
“The Upper District is pretty boring. I don't recommend staying there,” Loviki said, tilting her chin up with a slightly disgusted expression.
“Then let's look in the Old District.” Chen Mian walked toward the street on the left.
The street grew narrower as they walked, but the lively, bustling atmosphere grew stronger. The inns on both sides were denser than on the street they had first entered; every short walk revealed a small inn with a hanging sign. However, the inns all seemed packed to the brim. The sudden surge of adventurers drawn by the new dungeon had left these establishments, which usually had little business, completely booked.
The three of them asked at three different inns, and without exception, none had any spare rooms left.
Without much hope, Chen Mian pushed open the door of an inn called “The Forge and Ale.”
The door hinges creaked as the warmth of the inn washed over them.
The first floor of the inn was a small tavern, with several long tables and somewhat rustic benches neatly arranged, and a fire burning brightly in the fireplace. A few adventurers sat in the corner, holding mugs of ale and conversing in low voices.
The proprietor was a gray-haired dwarf woman who looked quite gentle. Currently wrapped in a scarf, she was slowly wiping a table with a rag. “Looking for a room?”
“Yes. Do you have any rooms left?” Chen Mian walked up to the counter.
“Only one double room left.”
The elderly dwarf woman placed a key on the counter and looked up to size up the three people before her. A young man and two figures bundled up tightly in cloaks. From the edge of one cloak's hood peeked a few strands of light brown hair, while the other figure was tall, a section of a scabbard visible beneath the hem of her cloak.
“Because of the dungeon, almost all the inns in the Old District have been fully booked these past few days,” the old woman added. “Do you still want it?”
The air fell silent for about two seconds.
“We'll take it,” Loviki's voice came from beneath her cloak, her speaking pace slightly faster than usual.
“This one then, for three days.”
“Two silver coins.”
Chen Mian handed the silver coins to the old woman and took the key.
Flora stood at the very back, her cloak's hood covering most of her face, revealing only the slightly reddened tips of her ears. She said nothing.
“Fourth floor, end of the hallway.” The old woman gestured toward the stairs with her chin. “Breakfast is at seven, dinner is at six. If you need hot water, get it from the kitchen yourself. There's plenty of firewood in the fireplace.”
After saying this, she turned back to continue wiping the cups on the counter, as if she had lost all interest in these three guests.
The wooden stairs were very narrow, creaking under their footsteps.
At the end of the fourth-floor hallway, Chen Mian inserted the key into the lock, pushed the door open, and walked in.
The room was small. A double bed was positioned against the window, with a magic lamp sitting on the nightstand.
Against the wall stood an old wooden wardrobe, its brass handles slightly green from oxidation. The window looked directly out onto the streets of the Old District, where thick blankets of snow could be seen on the opposite roofs.
A fire had already been lit in the fireplace, burning just enough to keep the room comfortably warm.
Standing at the doorway, Loviki took off her hood, her gaze sweeping across the room before finally landing on the double bed. “There's only one bed.”
“It's big. It's more than enough for the two of you to lie on.” Chen Mian walked in and placed his backpack next to the wardrobe.
“What about you?”
“I'll sleep on the floor.”
“You barely slept on the ship last night.” Flora, who was already unwrapping her scarf, paused in her movements. “Today, let me sleep on the floor.”
“Are you sure? Then I'll be sleeping in the bed with Loviki.”
“Who—who wants to sleep in the same bed as you?!” Loviki's ears instantly flushed red. “I'll sleep on the floor! Flora can sleep in the bed with you!”
“Eh?!” Flora was completely stunned. As she slowly processed the words, her face instantly turned bright red.
“So, which of you two is going to fight me for the floor?” Chen Mian said playfully.
“Let's... let's put our things away first,” Flora said, looking down at the backpack in her hands.
“Yeah, we have quite a bit of luggage... We should tidy up,” Loviki chimed in.
Afterward, both of them acted as if they had completely forgotten what had just transpired.
Flora untied her scarf and draped it over the back of a chair. She walked to the window, pushing it open a crack. A cold wind carrying snowflakes rushed in, and she took a deep breath. “It's still snowing.”
“With winter approaching, it snows most of the time in Wigtan.” Loviki unfastened her cloak, hung it up, and sat on the edge of the bed to organize the items in her backpack. “If fire mages didn't regularly clear it away, the snow accumulation would bury people alive.”
Chen Mian leaned against the wall by the window, watching the two of them keep busy with a trace of amusement.
He had barely closed his eyes on the ship last night. First came the Abyssal Sea Serpent, then Leviathan. Although Flora and Loviki had gone back to the cabin to sleep during the latter half of the night, one could easily imagine how little rest they actually got in that kind of environment.
After docking, they had to disembark and find an inn. All three of them were now thoroughly exhausted, though none of them voiced it.
“Let's rest for a bit. We can go out and look around in the afternoon.”
Loviki pushed her backpack to the foot of the bed and collapsed backward onto it, her black hair spilling across the white pillow.
She stared at the ceiling for a couple of seconds, then turned her head to look at Flora. “You should lie down for a bit too.”
Flora hesitated for a moment, took off her boots, and lay down beside her, the mattress barely making a sound.
The two of them lay with a gap of nearly a meter between them.
Looking at the two figures lying back-to-back on the bed, Chen Mian's lips twitched slightly. He turned around, closed the door behind him, and his footsteps faded down the stairs.
“Mr. Chen Mian went out.”
“Yes, he said earlier he had some business to take care of.”
“Oh.”
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