36 Talking with Friends

A couple of minutes passed as the group and Seth were already inside.

"Can you rub my back with that loofah, Gester?"

Zeal asked as Gester sat behind him and began to scratch his back.

(These two really are close.)

"Ah... there... A bit lower... Ahhh... there... that is the spot..."

(Geez, this is a bit weird.)

Seth then finished cleaning his body with his loofah and some soap- even though it was already clean due to his properties of being a godkin.

"I'm going in the bath first."

(This feels nice. A warm bath always feels relaxing even though I don't have any back pain like I usually have back when I carry my bag to school.)

Not too long and the two entered the bath as well.

"Ahhh... this feels so good... Right Seth, Gester?"

"Yeah, it feels good. Say, how'd you level up pretty fast, Seth? Back then you were just level 30 now you are level 40. Have you been hunting monsters since the time you left the Capital?"

"I bet he has been, Gester. It had been roughly more than two months since we'd last seen each other."

Notice: The Mirror Shade is in effect. The user's level is adjusted.

"Yeah, I've been hunting monsters left and right. until I got here. Around a hundred or so."

(I can't tell them that I've been killing thousands and thousands of monsters and demons.)

Notice: Zeal- level 24. Gester- level 20. Aila- level 21. Alice- level 9.

(Oh, they leveled up a bit. Just a tiny bit. Well, all they've mostly been doing is traveling so I guess they didn't kill that many monsters on the way.)

Seth then got out of the Bath since it's been almost half an hour that they'd stayed there. Zeal and Gester are doing a game in which who can stay the longest. Seth just let them be and left to take a breather outside.

"Seth, thank you for recommending us to go here. I haven't had a very good bath since we left the Holy Kingdom."

"Ah, no problem. I've wanted to try this as well."

Outside was Alice, who was waiting for Aila. Since they were the only ones there, they talked for a while as Aliec started the conversation.

"You know, two years ago... my mother died."

(Why is she starting with that topic all of a sudden.)

"I'm so sorry for your loss..."

"It's fine. I just wanted to tell you. Ever since our first meeting, I've felt that I can somehow trust you. Even my Grandmother, Sycia knew you were a good person. I don't know, maybe it's what they call intuition. I just felt that I had to tell you that before we leave this continent."

"I understand. It's thanks to you guys that I've come this far in my journey as well. If you hadn't introduced me and given me free lodging back then in the City of Panos, I don't know how I would've started things out."

A brief silence then hit the room as Seth continued the conversation.

"How... How did your mother die... No, I don't mean to be rude by asking, but I just wanted to know somehow since we are on the topic."

"She... was killed by one of the members of the cult of Vlad. They infiltrated my father's domain one night. It was too late when we came back home as most of our guards in the mansion were killed as well. That is why we were mostly staying in my Grandma Sycia's Mansion in the Capital City. I'm also sorry for why the three were so protective back then when they first saw you. It was because they didn't want something like that to happen again after I told them the reason for my mother's death."

Notice: The user is feeling saddened.

(I can't believe that such a scenario happened before. And within such a short time frame, another disheartening scenario had crawled its way into her life.)

"I see... losing your family... it must be tough living..."

"It's fine... you don't need to worry much about it. I'm happy right now. Especially since I'm surrounded by people who are here for me."

Alice then looked at Seth with her sincere eyes.

"So make sure to not break your promise of visiting us, okay? I don't want to lose more people that I care about... I mean... we are good friends... right?"

"Right..."

(This girl might be just a bit older than me but I can easily sympathize about her losing her family. This sucks... I won't be telling them that I'm on a mission to get stronger to avenge what happened to the Holy Kingdom but I really want to assure them that I will come back.)

Seth then followed up with what he had said.

"Don't worry... It's a double promise! I'll be sure to visit you guys there."

After a minute or so, Gester went out of the men's bath area followed by Zeal.

"I told you you can't beat me! I win."

"You sure are resilient, Leader."

Aila then showed up afterward.

"So where do we plan to go next?"

"I'll treat you guys in a restaurant nearby. It's called Dry Fins. Just a couple of blocks here. They serve some different dishes with their main ingredient as Sand Eels."

"You sure you have the money to treat us?"

"I do. Don't worry about it."

(Before going inside the bathhouse earlier, I quickly went to a nearby Blacksmith and sold the Scorpion King's Crystal Orb. Now I'm rich and I probably can afford to pay off a couple of years' worth of food.)

***

Meanwhile, while Seth and the group were having fun eating in the restaurant, Aries, Phobos, and Vlad are still on their way to the Western Archipelago near the western border of Aysias.

"Greater Teleportation. Greater Teleportation. Greater Teleportation."

"WHERE ARE WE!"

"We are lost, are we?"

"This stupid fog! where is the end? Phobos! Vlad! Where are you guys!"

"I can hear you but I don't know where you at."

(This fog must be created by a wide-scale skill using an Ancient Relic as a vessel. Even I am being hindered. Although I have a complete sense of things, I can't seem to find Phobos and Vlad even though we can hear each other. I didn't learn any good wind magic skills either.)

"Just spam your teleportation. I don't know how big this fog area is but we are bound to get out of this place if we just keep going west."

***

The day of enjoyment for Seth and the group finished. Morning came and Seth's departure day finally arrived. Seth went directly to the Academic Library to invite Sevy out on a date before he goes out of the City of Hatisa.

"I see you are back, Mr. Seth."

"So, remember the restaurant you told me about yesterday? How about we go there together once you are on your break?"

"Hmm... I see where you are going, Mr. Seth. But I think you might've misunderstood something here."

"Wait, no. It's just a friendly invitation. I was just taken aback by your beauty and..."

"No, I think you really have been in a misunderstanding..."

"I mean we can start as friends... There is no harm..."

(Am I really going to get shut down before I even try?)

"Mr. Seth... I'm a guy. And here I thought you knew that since you even went to the library to read."

"What do you mean you're a guy?"

Seth was confused and couldn't believe that the beautiful fox lady in front of him was not a she but rather a he.

"Our race, The Foxevian Race, is different from other races. The women are muscular and look more like a man from other races and the men are more feminine and have long hair. Our roles are treated differently. The females are the ones who do the hard labor while the males are the ones who are left at home to serve them."

"What..."

"I'm so sorry for being the only one here in the city for not much of our race go out. Our case is almost similar to the Feline race in which there are barely some of us left. We do have a small village in Repreus if you want to find a girl Foxevian."

(Did you know about this, Uriel?)

Notice: Uriel doesn't know of such before we entered the library.

(So you knew after reading all those books, right? Why didn't you tell me!)

Notice: Uriel is prioritizing the physical and mental health of the user. Telling the user would crush his heart. It was better for the user to hear it firsthand from the Foxevian person himself.

Seth felt as if his world was broken in seconds. Like his soul went on an out-of-body experience.

"I see. let's just be friends..."

"Okay, Mr. Seth. I don't mind being your friend. Come back whenever you want."

"I will."

(I fell for a guy... What a tragedy this is... Seriously, I should look out for stuff like this in the future.)