Lin Gui leaned against the wall outside the Adventurer's Guild.
The sunlight fell upon him, feeling warm and pleasant.
He closed his eyes, enjoying this rare moment of peace.
Noisy sounds drifted out from inside the guild; it was Monica and her group handing in their commission.
Occasionally, he could hear Lily's excited squeals and Ada's booming voice.
Lin Gui didn't go inside.
He didn't need to.
Once they finished their business, they would naturally come out to treat him.
He leaned against the wall, adjusting his posture to make himself a bit more comfortable.
His left arm still hurt, and his ribs felt a stinging pain, but compared to before, he was much better.
At least he didn't have to limp anymore.
Just as he was thinking this, a voice suddenly drifted from beside him.
"Gone for a moment, and you've already hooked up with a girl?"
The voice was lazy, carrying a hint of teasing.
"I really didn't expect you to have a scumbag side to you."
Lin Gui followed the sound.
Without him noticing when she arrived, Elvia was suddenly leaning against the adjacent wall with her arms crossed, looking at him.
The sunlight shone from behind her, coating her in a faint golden edge.
She had changed her clothes.
She was no longer wearing that tattered, mud-stained, and bloodied dress from before.
Instead, she wore a set of simple peasant woman's outfit.
Coarse fabric, grayish-dusty, and a style as basic as could be.
Yet, somehow, when worn on her, this set of clothes managed to exude a distinct flair.
As she leaned against the wall, her slender figure was outlined by the coarse cloth in smooth, flowing lines.
Her exquisite face bore little expression, only a faint gaze directed at him.
Sunlight hit her long golden hair, shimmering with a soft glow.
Lin Gui glanced at her, then looked at the outfit she was wearing.
"Why are you dressed like that?"
Elvia looked down at herself and pursed her lips.
"Because... I have no money."
Her tone carried a hint of helplessness.
"I rushed into an inn, and only after taking a bath did I realize I didn't have a single copper on me."
"I could only pawn that tattered dress to the shopkeeper in exchange for this set of peasant clothes."
She tugged at the coarse fabric on her body, her face full of disdain.
"Setting aside how ugly it is, it's not comfortable at all."
"I feel like my smooth skin is being damaged by this hemp clothing every single second."
She lifted her head and looked toward Lin Gui.
In those golden eyes, there was a flash of craftiness.
"So, can you use that magic of yours that suddenly creates white bread to conjure up some money for me?"
She paused, the corners of her mouth curving slightly.
"The little mage who deeply loves me."
Lin Gui looked at her, speechless.
"You know I only said that to stabilize Catriona."
"I was just sucking up to her by playing to her fancies."
"It was flattery."
Saying he "deeply loved" her had two considerations.
First, it provided a good explanation for why he would appear in the Carter Royal Capital.
Second, it could gain Catriona's favor, making it easier for him to leave with Elvia.
Using that woman's own storybook-like tragic romance as a point of entry was a very effective tactic.
Elvia fell silent for a while.
She looked at Lin Gui and suddenly asked,
"Then... why did you come to save me?"
Lin Gui was taken aback.
He looked at Elvia.
Sunlight, the wall, shadows covering her features.
It felt as though she was being a bit strange.
"If it hadn't been for my rotten luck—the third phase of the Dark Tide starting early and breaking records—I could have brought you out unscathed."
"I was very confident."
He paused.
"Rescuing you from the Dark Tide is nothing much to me, and it doesn't represent anything."
Elvia didn't follow up on that.
She changed the question.
"What was that method you used to bring me from the Withered Rift to the outskirts of the tundra in an instant?"
For this, Lin Gui had long prepared an explanation.
"An ancient scroll."
Elvia nodded and asked again,
"Then what made you willing to use such a precious divine artifact—something that counts as a second life—to save me?"
Lin Gui was stunned.
Elvia's eyes, like molten gold, looked at him earnestly.
"I want to hear your real thoughts."
Lin Gui paused for a moment.
Finally, he said,
"Because if you died, Theia would be sad."
Elvia froze.
She had completely not expected such an answer.
She blinked her eyes.
Then she let out a soft chuckle.
That smile was very faint, as thin as the first melting snow, yet it possessed an indescribable beauty.
She followed up by asking,
"What about you?"
Lin Gui shrugged and said without hesitation,
"I would cherish your memory in my heart."
"And once the Dark Tide ends, I'd return to the Carter Royal Capital to set up a luxurious tombstone for you."
Elvia's expression, which had just relaxed, instantly stiffened.
Then she flew into a rage, gritting her teeth as she swung a fist at Lin Gui's shoulder.
"I freaking knew it!!"
That punch wasn't light.
Lin Gui immediately grimaced, his entire face scrunching up.
His left arm was still broken, his ribs still hurt, and his body was covered in injuries.
That one punch made him hiss as he sucked in a cold breath of air.
Elvia was startled; she looked at her hand and then at Lin Gui's pale face.
Awkwardly, she patted the spot she had just struck.
"Sorry about that."
Lin Gui gave her a disgruntled look.
Then he pulled a bag of coins from his storage space and tossed it to Elvia.
Elvia caught it and opened it for a look.
It was filled with gold coins, bright and yellow, at least fifty of them.
She looked at the gold coins and paused for a moment.
Then she pulled out five of them and handed the rest back to Lin Gui.
"These are enough."
Lin Gui was completely confused.
He looked at Elvia, unable to react for a moment.
Was this something the spendthrift Seventh Princess would do?
Back in the Royal Capital, she spent money without even blinking.
At auctions worth hundreds of thousands of gold coins, she'd bid as she pleased.
She accepted millions worth of stolen goods without a second thought.
Now, given fifty gold coins, she only took five?
What was wrong with this person today?
Just as Lin Gui was about to say something, Elvia spoke again.
She asked, pretending it was casual,
"By the way, when will your injuries be healed?"
"Is that girl, the one who's only at the Mid Rank, reliable?"
Lin Gui didn't notice the oddity in Elvia's tone and replied casually,
"I'd guess... at least a week, but no more than a week."
He paused and explained,
"Monica's mana can only support her casting once a day at most, and it's a crippled version at that."
"With my injuries, it'll take her a long time to heal me."
"As for why it won't exceed a week..."
"Because in a week, she has to follow that Gold Rank adventure group to the Magic City."
Elvia raised an eyebrow.
"A Gold Rank adventure group? They're still running over here at a time like this?"
Lin Gui nodded.
"They're probably trying to make some Dark Tide profiteering."
"While the Dark Tide causes transport risks to skyrocket, it also sends the rewards for transport commissions—normally between five hundred and a thousand gold coins—spiraling upward."
"Some have even reached ten thousand gold coins."
"There's always someone willing to take the risk to earn that money."
"Ten thousand gold coins is no small sum, even for a Gold Rank adventure group."
After hearing this, Elvia said faintly,
"It seems you'll be staying here for a long time, then."
She looked at Lin Gui.
"Once you've settled on the best inn in this city-state, remember to come find me there."
"I'll have a room ready for you."
After saying that, she turned and left.
Lin Gui watched her back.
She walked in the sunlight wearing that simple peasant woman's outfit, her golden hair fluttering slightly in the breeze.
That view was indescribably beautiful.
But Lin Gui's expression was very strange.
What she just said... why did it sound so odd?
Getting a room and waiting for me??
There was a weird sense of déjà vu.
Rate on N.U.
