Chapter XLVII - A Beautiful World (part 1)

I approached my friends right next to the front desk, waiting for me. 

They had already grabbed the rewards for the quest, which they split in four. They looked at me as if something terrible happened. Though something did, they shouldn't be too concerned about it.

"Rize..."

"What happened?"

They all looked confused, so I asked. Valey looked at me with a sense of pity, but Cony was a little bit annoyed that I asked.

"What do you mean, 'what happened'? What happened to you??"

She returned the question to me, and I quickly realized the source of their concern. The door to the back arena is quite close to the receptionist desk, so they must've realized about Jonus meeting me at the back.

"Nothing much. Seems like I will have something to do tomorrow, so I guess we'll see."

They all looked at each other, battering in confusion. But, they have no choice but to shrug it off.

"We were worried when Jonus suddenly walked to the back. He is always the type of guy to enter other people's businesses."

Valey explained to me about when she was making the trade with Keila. Jonus suddenly appeared out of nowhere and asked for Klane's whereabouts, and he ended up going to the back arena after learning about it from Keila.

"Well... I know now."

For sure... his appearance at this very moment, just when we came back from the mission, was not accidental.

"Did he... do something?"

Valey asked, and I began to wonder about what I have to answer. I guess there's nothing wrong in telling them, but this isn't the right place.

"Maybe we should talk about it over some good food. Right?"

I looked at Barett, and he immediately turned bright.

"That's right! Good food!"

The four of us left the Office, with pairs of eyes watching all the way from the diner. I'm guessing it's Jonus and his buddies.

I wondered just how strong White ranked adventurers are. If I were to draw a line, Hod's strength is the same level to that of a Yellow ranked. People tend to compare Hod's abilities with the Swordsaint, Fran. They thought that the two actually had the same level of strength. 

If Hod had the ability of a Yellow, then it makes sense. He was able to take down multiple hordes of red orcs, as well as defeating high orcs all by himself. If you ask me, he is legitimately as powerful as a Yellow ranked.

And if he uses the Knight tier ice magic, then King tier fire magic is just one tier above it.

Then again, we never really know just how far the gap is between the tiers unless we see them ourselves. From what I've read, the gap between tiers is usually bigger the higher the tiers.

In the end, I can only guess. One thing for certain, I can definitely take on Jonus.

I was pondering over it when I should be thinking over what to eat. We arrived at Hod's restaurant, where we found him and his mother at the counter with a lot of people in the restaurant.

Seemed to be very crowded. It is the day before a weekend, so people must have taken their time off to eat here.

Though the sun is still up, it is already time for dinner. Only a few minutes until the third bell. And I don't think I have eaten lunch...

My stomach crumbles looking at other people's food when I line up at the counter. I'm thinking of getting the best food they can serve here. Maybe I should come up with a recipe of my own and give it to them. A little gift from another world wouldn't hurt.

We finally arrived at the ordering desk. Hod smiled at us when he saw our faces. We don't look sad at all. Instead, we looked happy.

He got even more confused when we started ordering the expensive food. He made sure to everyone that there's no discount this time, and they agreed. They wanted to eat good food with their own money. If not, it won't feel as good.

We sat down at an empty table for six, at the end of the restaurant. The only thing separating us and the outside is a glass. And outside, I can see the sun barely viewable, slowly drowning into the edge.

The lights on the streets suddenly turned on, to brighten up the darkness. I wonder what kind of lights they used on those things. Maybe a magic crystal that can produce light?

The night was marked when the third bell rang. As usual, it rang for five times before it stopped.

Everyone else was very eager to listen to what happened at the back arena, so I just told them.

They all went wide eyed.

"Well, I mean... if it's you... maybe, you could kick his ass..."

Cony gave her opinion regarding this. Valey, however, had a different opinion.

"I wouldn't be so sure. This guy isn't just the flame king. He is a White ranked adventurer."

"Why are you siding with him?? I thought you hated him even more than me."

"I do!! But you can't just ignore his strength as a White ranked!"

Valey glared at Cony with a really pissed face. Cony simply chuckled, but Barett seemed to be quite critical as well.

"I saw his battle during that Green ranked dungeon clearing. He was incredibly proficient at using his flame magic, but that's not all. He is also quite good at his weapon too."

Barett said to me, and I realized that this might be valuable info. I became interested immediately.

"What is his weapon?"

"It's a little like a sword. But it's not like any sword."

Valey explained in detail about Jonus's weapon. I listened carefully without missing any details. Tomorrow, I will surely kick his ass.

Then, it just hits me.

"Ughh... Right."

"What is it?"

Everyone, especially Valey, was surprised I suddenly slapped my face. I looked at them with a grim expression.

"I have something to do tomorrow..."

"Besides the battle?"

"Besides the battle."

Valey puts her back on the chair and ponders, but she can't think of a guess.

"What are you doing tomorrow, anyway?"

Barett asked. He was silent and listening the whole time, but now he asked. I turned to him and wore my tired expression.

"Healing act."

"Oh... Right. Saint Healer."

Cony understood, but Valey and Barett were confused. She then explained to them what I had told her and Hod from before, about how I am the Saint Healer.

Barett simply facepalmed, while Valey laughed.

"You really are great, Rize!"

Her pure laughter is very cute. It brushes the grim part of me that was pondering over the fact how she nearly died today.

The food came a little while later. Hod himself brought it to us, and his chef attire really suits his handsome annoying face.

He dropped the food in front of everyone, and gave a thumbs up to me. I returned with a thumbs up, but with a little flame above the thumb.

That was meant to show him. To tell him that I can use magic again. And seeing the red flame on my thumb, he opened his eyes widely before laughing it off.

He nodded very happily and went back into the kitchen.

"All right, everyone! Dig in!"

Barett is doing the command. He seems to be very hungry, and it's quite understandable considering the size of his gigantic tanker body.

However, I'm the one who hasn't eaten lunch. Then, how come I don't feel that hungry?

I can still eat the food, though. I just don't feel like getting hungry. Could it be the side effect of the medicines?

Speaking of medicines, I have to contact the queen after this. She would want to hear about the success of my experiment. And perhaps... she may be able to do so much more.

Maybe I could just see her tomorrow, see if she still visits. 

I continued my meal looking outside, at the night blue sky and the view of the road, right in front of the restaurant.

This world is really beautiful when it is peaceful, isn't it?

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