"So, is everyone set?"Cole called out to everyone. The party was mostly done changing their clothes inside a portable cube room that Felicia had. It was one of the many things she found in the abandoned junkyards of the〈Avant Zone〉and just tossed in her inventory.
As for everyone who found out, they only looked at her with a blank stare before getting on with their lives
"Yeah!"
"Ready."
"..."
「Yeah!」
Everyone seemed to be enthusiastic for the oncoming journey except for Felicia who was stuck in a fancy-a.s.s horse carriage with makeup stuck to her face.
She was the one who put it on herself inside so the people who would be pulling it had no idea on how she currently looked like. The only person who could see her face at that moment was Gemi who was riding along with her.
"If you can use Telepathy then no need."
〈「Okay then.」〉
"Now then..."
Cole put on his a straw mask and pulled up a black mask that covered half on his face and said.
"Let"s go."
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Red Moon Continent, Zhen Town.
Zhen Town was one of the few villages that were located near the barrier that separated the〈Huaxia Zone〉from the〈Neutral Zone〉
And due to its position, it was also quite close to the border of the〈Fantasia Zone〉
Because of that, the village has seen many strange things but it was also the first stop one would need to make to reach the Capital of the Red Moon Continent.
The lord was kind and the villagers were friendly and despite what was said just earlier, the townsfolk themselves didn"t have many chances for any unique encounters. Until today.
It was as sunny as usual and the villagers were enjoying a good harvest and trade between other towns had improved just a tiny bit. It was a normal day.
And then, a conspicuous looking carriage had appeared at the entrance of the small town.
It clearly belonged to some affluent family from the materials it was made from and the beast that was moving it.
Black scales that glowed in the sunlight. Folded wings that could take it high into the sky if they were stretched. Its claws held immense power that even a commoner could sense despite them not being retracted slightly.
Its purple eyes shook fear into whoever stared into them.
There was a pair that could be seen from outside the carriage. Both were wearing the same kind of clothing. Black with red embroidery and both were also wearing straw hats that covered the top of their face.
One of them seemed to be quite young and was throwing his legs back and forth like a little child while sitting on the top of the carriage. Most people would be scared of letting their child ride on top of a carriage but the man below seemed to not care.
The man below that was holding the reigns of the beast pulling the carriage had a presence that you wouldn"t notice at first but when you did, you couldn"t ignore him. It felt slightly suffocating and you wouldn"t feel like speaking in fear of upsetting the man.
The townspeople watched the carriage with curious gazes and they whispered among themselves.
"That beast... I"ve never seen it before!"
"What do you think its rank is?"
"It definitely shouldn"t be low with such an appearance."
"I bet it"s at least a Martial General!"
"Ha! You wish!"
"But just look at it!"
Right at the moment that the bystander said that, the beast looked straight at it. Its stray gaze sent shivers done his spine and he fell on his behind at the short terror he experienced.
The carriage then stopped in front of Zhen Town"s most popular restaurant.
The boy on top of the carriage descended and opened the door. A servant girl dressed in green robes descended and held out her hand to escort her mistress outside.
The hand that appeared was fair and slender. It was like pure white jade. Soft and smooth. The arm was covered with a fine white cloth that had a slight lavender tone. The audience felt entranced by that hand alone, who knows what kind of beautiful face belonged to the owner of the hand.
When the young woman fully stepped out, the onlooker"s breath was taken away.
Raven hair that cascaded down like waterfalls to her waist that had a single pin in it that had a beautiful purple jewel. Peach blossom eyes with the uncommon color of grey that had a light tinge of pink at its edges. Her lips were a soft pink and looked a bit wet.
She appeared like a refined, yet gentle lady. Her beauty was comparable to that of a flower on a mountain peak. People were aware of the divide between them yet they couldn"t help but stare.
They didn"t know how long they stayed dazed before they realized that the woman was no longer there. The carriage had been parked in the reserved parking section of the restarant and the beast was gone as well.
The restaurant staff brought her and her acquaintances to a private room on the second floor reserved for the n.o.bility.
Meanwhile, at the second floor in a private room.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
「...」
At the table, Felicia had an entire sofa seat to herself while everyone else decided to sit on the other side of the table. Val had snucked through the window and returned to his human form. He even had his scales to match the clothing of Cole and Mini to boot.
The twins were clamping each other"s mouths tight such while at the same time fighting for the window seat. Val was trying to keep his face from forming a grin while Cole was preoccupied with choosing what dishes to order.
Felicia couldn"t take the weird atmosphere and decided to finally ask.
"...What...?"
The scuffle for the window seat ended and Mini was crowned the victor. Val let his tupid grin crawl all over his face and Cole had narrowed his selection to three dishes.
"...It"s just..."
"Just?"
"That...?"
「...The crowd"s stares at you.」
"..."
Felicia looked at the plate before her. Spotless and well-polished. A splendid example of fine china. She took the plate in her hands and stared at it even more. She could see her own reflection.
A few minutes of this pa.s.sed and a waiter came to ask for what they ordered to which only Cole answered.
The waiter happened to be female and was charmed by Cole"s face despite it being half-covered up by his mask but she could clearly see his eyes as he had removed the straw hat he was wearing. She ended up stuttering as she repeated his orders.
However, this was only happening in the background, the true scene was the intense staring contest Felicia had between herself and her reflection.
The twins looked at each other and a brilliant idea came up in their minds.
"...When will my-- GAH!!"
"Nii!"
Before Mini had the chance to even say the first line of the song, Felicia mercillesly threw the plate at Mini"s face. Shards got stuck in his face and landed squarely on his forehead. A red river had started to flow down his body and was about to become a complete waterfall.
"...Was she always this kind of character?"
"She probably couldn"t take it anymore and revealed her true colors."
The twins held no remorse at all and contiunued to have idle chatter as Gemi plucked out the shards at one and started to heal Mini. Val felt that Felicia shouldn"t have done such a thing and saw it upon himself to educate her seeing as he was the oldest one present.
「Felicia. You should let a man finish their so-- ACK!!」
Unfortunately, he had a knife embedded in his forehead the next second and he became another name added to the casualty list.
"Feli~ You shouldn"t have-- BUAH!!"
Gemi became another victim and suffered against the three-ponged fork attack.
"Felicia, one more throw and I won"t order crab."
"Eh??? But it"s--"
Felicia was about to use the cla.s.sic kiddy blame line before Cole shut her down with the deadest glare that Felicia had ever seen from him. She was reminded of the same stare he gave her when they were randomly teleported to the〈Demon Realm〉on Lucille"s whims.
"Utensils are meant for eating. Not projectile weapons. Respect food."
"Y-Yes..."
Felicia weakly backed down and the victims looked at him at awe. As for Cole, he treasured food and abhorred the idea of playing with your food or your utensils. It was one of the reasons why he secretly felt so proud of Eva. She ate evrything on her plate like a good girl.
"Even I haven"t used them as a weapon. And that"s saying something."
Gemi and Mini had already gotten healed by her ability while Val plucked the knife from his forehead and the wound had already started to heal itself. A Dragon"s regenerative powers are boundless!
When the waitress came back with the ordered food, Cole had to ask for a new plate and a set. The waitress didn"t know what to say when she was met with faint traces of blood and the beauty on the other side in tears.