Blacksmith District

"Why an adventurer?" asked Syllia.

As they both walked down the wide streets of Sungrove, through the blacksmith area, Levi was still holding Syllia's hand. 

His head was turned toward the tower, Syllia being the only reason he wasn't bumping into anyone.

"huh?" he said.

Tugging on his hand, she asked again "Why an adventurer?"

"Oh, sorry. It's just quite a sight to see," he said as he turned forward.

Thinking for a short moment, he looked at Syllia again "Well, Adventuring sounds like an interesting occupation, if it's the way I imagine it..."

"And how do you imagine it?" she asked.

"Fun?" he said.

"I think you're delusional."

Levi laughed, almost bumping into someone again if it wasn't for Syllia yanking him.

As he did, she slightly puffed her cheeks while rolling her eyes.

"You don't get it. Adventuring is horrible. You don't grasp the reality of it yet," she said with a serious and heavy tone.

"How is it horrible?"

"You see him?" she said as she pointed towards a stall further forward, located in front of a blacksmith workshop.

"The old blacksmith? Yeah."

"His name is Joh. His three sons became adventurers. They all died during their first expedition."

Levi raised his eyebrows. 

"All of them? I'm sorry," said Levi in a serious tone.

"It's nobody's fault really. Still, old man Joh holds himself accountable for it, he forged everything they used. He used to be a big name, but after that incident nobody wants anything from him."

As they got closer she brought both of them toward his stall.

"How's business today, Joh?" asked Syllia with a cheerful tone.

"Syllia! Long time no see! Hope those saddles working well!"

Every sentence exclaimed by Joh felt like the stereotype Levi expected. His loud and rugged voice was very telling about his hearing, probably why Syllia was suddenly talking louder, thought Levi.

In the stalls in front of Joh a wide variety of tools were displayed.

No weapons? thought Levi.

He noticed hammers, tongs, nails, buckets, horseshoes, gardening shovels, and even some compasses.

"Who's this? Your boyfriend?!" asked Joh with a loud laugh.

Levi and Syllia quickly looked at each other, promptly letting go of each other's hand.

Syllia's face was red, as she quickly looked away.

"We met today," quickly said Levi.

"Ah, I also met my wife the same day I married her! He doesn't look too bad, Syllia, maybe you're not dying alone after all!" he said, proceeding with a booming laugh.

While Levi also held back some laughs, Syllia was quick to explain things weren't that way while he looked through the stalls.

Everything was quite well done, he thought. Walking through the district earlier, most stalls had imperfections and design flaws. 

Yet, Joh's designs were almost flawless. Not only were they well made, but the finish was also smooth and shining.

As he kept looking, Syllia's hand grabbed his once more, dragging him towards the road once again. 

As he walked he quickly turned around, waving his hand at Joh who was doing the same, smiling.

"He's a really nice guy," said Levi.

"Yeah, I visit him whenever I'm in town, he invited us over for supper."

"I couldn't impose, is everyone this friendly?"

As they walked, the scenery was starting to change. The stalls were rarer as they entered what looked like a residential district.

"What would you eat tonight, then?"

Tightening his eyebrows, Levi realized for the first time he had nothing.

"I need to get to the adventurer's guild as soon as possible. I need to head inside the tower tonight," he said, looking at her with a serious look.

"Calm down. I explained our situation to Joh earlier. We'll most likely be eating with him for the next few days. He could also use the company..."

As considerable time had already passed, the sun was still around but most likely not for long.

"Is there a chance you could show me to that grass patch we were at earlier, tonight?"

Loudly sighing, Syllia looked at Levi.

"You're sleeping with me tonight."

"Shouldn't you keep that moment for someone special? Haha, just ki-"

Most people walking down the surrounding street stopped their conversation to look at the both of them.

A loud slap echoed, as they both briefly stopped moving.

Some people around had muffled laughs, while others simply smiled while looking at them.

Extremely shy from the situation, Syllia quickly grabbed Levi and started walking at a faster pace.

After a short moment of silence, Levi mumbled, "I probably deserved that..."

"Sure did."

As they progressed, more taverns and pubs started popping out. 

The day was close to an end, and a refreshing breeze was cooling Levi. They had been walking for a while through the districts, breaking a sweat.

He had learned much about the city as he strolled through it with Syllia.

For one, people genuinely liked decorating with plants and flowers, as opposed to what he knew in his hometown.

Flowers were everywhere, but not only on ground level. Many buildings had some sort of climbing ivy that grew violet and pink flowers he didn't recognize.

Balconies and windows were all similarly decorated. Most residences were multiple stories high, while some were smaller and humble.

As he walked with Syllia, he realized most of the town proudly wore those white bricks, which looked a lot like the tower in the center of it. 

The town was thinly stretched around it, and everything he saw so far was truly beautiful.

"This is the capital, and the king is holding everyone to high standards. Some people are paid to walk through the city and serve notices to non-complying citizens," she explained.

"And you live here? You must be rich..."

"I wish, but no. I only come here once in a while to sell or buy things. -Actually, we just arrived at my place," she said as she stopped walking. 

They were stopped in front of a lively inn. It was around two stories tall, with its first floor crowded. 

Through the windows, many people could be seen inside eating and drinking while laughing and yelling. 

There were a few tables outside where some couples were eating a romantic dinner.

"Are those...?" said Levi, as he pointed toward a table.

"Yes, probably adventurers," replied Syllia.

A table had 4 adventurers eating and drinking at it. They made little noise, as whatever they talked about seemed pretty serious to Levi.

 A two-handed sword that was easily two meters long was held against the table, next to someone wearing full-plate armor.

The other three were wearing leather, one of them being a female. Levi looked attentively but wasn't able to find what kind of weapons they had.

"Don't stare too much, you'll cause us problems," said Syllia as she pulled Levi to the side of the building, where the stairs were located to get to the second floor.

As she said that, the four adventurers eerily turned around in their chairs and looked at Levi, who quickly turned his gaze away.

Going up the wooden steps, Syllia went up first, forcing Levi to avert his gaze once again. 

"We're only here a short moment. We'll be heading out right when I'm done getting ready, I don't want to make Joh wait."

Syllia's room was the first on the left. 

It was nothing extravagant, but still tidy. 

A small room, which only had a bedroom and bathroom attached. The bathroom had no door, which surprised Levi.

 Walking past it, he noticed a toilet and a shower drain like he knew in his world, with a few water buckets aligned.

Probably introduced by some other Apostles before us, he thought.

"You can sit on the bed, it's fine," said Syllia, putting her key on the small desk in the corner.

"It's quite nice," replied Levi.

"A normal inn room, really. I take a quick shower and change and we can get going. If you peek, just know I am killing you first, and asking your corpse why you did it after."

As she said so, Levi had a chill run down his spine as she walked towards the bathroom.

"[Conjure Water]"

His eyebrows raised, as he heard water fall continuously in the bathroom.

Since he had time to kill, he opened his profile. He had been curious about it for a while, and it was the perfect moment to study it.

[Leviathan] [Level 1]

[Grade: F]

[Stamina: 1]

[Magic: 1]

[Control: 1]

[Mana: 1]

[Strength: 1]

[Speed: 1]

[Dexterity: 1]