I never thought I would be able to once again taste the cold sweet sensation of ice cream on my tongue after all I've been through. But now, I could savor as much as I wanted without holding back my sweet tooth.
But in every sweet dream, there's always an obstacle.
"He-he-hey! I think that's enough!" Roy and Archie grab my arms as I try to order another set of sundae ice cream. "Come on, Archie! Hold him firmer. He's about to waste all our funds!"
"I… I'm trying… he's just too strong…" Archie claimed.
"Oh, come on. I still have tons of gold coins. Just one more cuppp!"
"You already said that line 20 cups before!" Roy scolded.
"What's with all the fuzz?" Ellie's voice spoke from behind and her face put off an indescribable expression at the sight of our table.
It wasn't that messy. There are just a couple of stacked ice cream cups, some crumpled burger wrappers, and a few stained plates. I can guarantee the slum was still far messier.
"Oh, good timing. Can someone scold this guy? He's been eating too many ice cream nonstop, he'll end up sick if he keeps it up" Roy claimed.
"That's not true! I only ate twenty this time. Back then, the larger number I could eat is around fifty so it's not even half of it" I reasoned which was true but no one was buying it and the glare of Ellie and Gabby was too intimidating to reason with. "… sorry…"
I didn't notice it until now. They've already changed into their chosen clothing and somehow, Gabby was more beautiful than usual.
She wears a blue dress paired with black sandals and a flowered straw hat while carrying a small chain bag strapped to her shoulders.
"Jeez, we've only been gone for a while, and now this?" Ellie questioned, somewhat disappointed. "Here, we picked some clothes for you to look at least a bit decent."
"What are you trying to say, huh?" I questioned then gazed upon Ellie. She too had bought some clothes for herself, dressed in a pink sleeveless shirt underneath a loose denim jacket and wearing shorts paired with sneakers.
"What are you looking at?" she glares as I avert my gaze and take the clothes into the nearest comfort room in haste.
I could see my face all red in the mirrors and somehow, it turns like this whenever I remember Ellie in her outfit. "The heck, man! Gabby is supposed to be your goal, not the half-player!"
I kept slapping my face but every time the sting resides, the picture of Ellie shows up again. And I returned back to the others with a stinging red face.
"Gosh, Cipher! Are you okay?" Gabby questioned as she caressed my cheeks, only making it even redder as her face got closer to mine.
"I-I'm fine! Probably too much ice cream…" Once again, I averted by instinct.
"Well, I guess you aren't the only one who had too much" Ellie claimed.
Apparently, I wasn't the only one blushing. Archie and Roy's faces were all red too for some reason and all of them were already dressed in the clothes Ellie had prepared.
Archie is shyly taking glimpses of her partner who was wearing a white long sleeve paired with a skirt and a shawl covering most of her head except for her face. And Kate on the other hand was covering her face, slowly turning red as well.
Meanwhile, Roy is…
"What are you looking at?" Josie grumpily asked.
"N-nothing… I never thought you're able to look norma-" he spoke but soon got arm locked at the very spot before he could finish his statement. "I-I was trying to compliment you, you idiot."
"Yeah? Compliment this!" Josie said before Roy snapped out of consciousness and became static as he rested his head on the table, leaving everyone worried. "He'll be fine. He's just unconscious for a little while."
"But if he doesn't wake up, we can just toss him over the trash can" she added.
"So cruel…" everyone groans in disapproval.
It took a while but eventually, Roy woke up before everyone could finish their meals, and as soon as he woke up, the two fought over the matter of his passing out.
And the fight continued even after everyone had left the station.
"Could you two please get along just for the duration of our trip? You're embarrassing us in front of many people" Ellie scolded as the crowd's gazes were turned in our direction as we waited at the bus stop.
"So, where are we going then, city girl?" Josie asked.
"I don't know. Ask Cipher. He dragged you all the way here so ask him that question." Ellie replied then all of them diverted their gazes at me, waiting for an answer.
"I… I don't know as well…" I half-heartedly laughed as the others dropped their jaws in disbelief and started complaining. "I know, I know. Let's just look for a real state agency and see what space is up for sale."
Agency after agency, it took a whole day of search but all available houses were for rentals. Those who were for sale were either already sold or retracted from being on sale.
There was only one agency selling a lot big enough for everyone, so we decided to settle in together for now. A small two-story mansion built on Dandelion Street but with its old age and few months of no inhabitants, the house was said to be a little unmaintained.
It was a fine grab but what worries me was the expression Ellie was hiding upon seeing the picture of the mansion amongst the house files. She had this shocked expression as she kept looking at the photograph of the mansion and its blueprints.
"And here we are! The old Snow residence!" the female realtor cheerfully introduced the place after a long walk and a thirty minute bus ride to the eastern edge of the city.
The whole place is some kind of suburban town but it still pertained to being part of the city as the realtor stated. Trees outnumbered the standing houses, roads were quiet, and behind the mansion was a vast land of rice farms.
To be honest, it was far better than I had expected. And with just a little renovation, it could still be livable.
I just don't get why Ellie is all wet in the eyes, staring at the sight of the mansion.
"Along with a small portion of the farm lot behind, the cost is seven million five hundred thirty-six thousand, tax included," she stated as our jaws dropped from such an insane amount.
"W-what was it again? How much?" I asked in disbelief while looking at my storage. I only had two more bags of gold coins left, and it was merely nearly two hundred. Not even near a million. "I-I don't we have that much…"
Although she was hiding it, the realtor's hidden emotion was leaking with her grin and the situation was only getting problematic.
"Oh, for crying out loud. She's pertaining in arcs, Cipher. The Arcanus country currency, not in gold coins." Ellie let out a sigh as she shook her head " Just take out the bags and let her do the counting."
"Ahh, sorry. I forgot."
The female Realtor couldn't hide her surprise as I took a bag out of thin air consisting of approximately two hundred gold coins, she called for backup to check its authenticity and guards to secure it back into their office.
I was left with a pouch of the remaining 55 gold coins and an envelope containing 43 thousand arcs along with the house deed. All of us were standing in front of the abandoned and unlit mansion in the middle of the night and only the street lamps and neighbors' windows as our light.
"I'm really happy we're able to get this before anyone else. It's been a while since I've been here." Ellie mentioned, completely overtaken by emotion at the sight of the mansion.
"Hold on, you knew this place? And you've been here?"
"It was a long time ago and I could hardly remember it but yeah. This used to be grandpa and grandma's house…" she claimed as her tears flowed down in silence. "I'm really
"Well, that's unfortunate." Josie sighed.
"What do you mean, Josie?" Ellie asked.
"I mean, you already donated your share to the city folks so…" Josie continued.
"Ah, that's right. I guess it's OUR house now." I teased, gesturing she wasn't included.
"Oh, come on. You can't be serious!? Are you?" She asked but we only responded in abrupt laughter. "You meanies!"
Her mana began leaking again, contained with murderous intent as she continuously cried and the cold night got colder.
"Whoa, whoa! Easy! We're just joking"
"You are?"
"Hey, you three! Get your asses over here! No one's sleeping tonight until we clean up the whole place" Simon shouted while Ellie and Josie followed inside as I waited outside.
"Finally, after all the hell we've been through, we finally have ourselves a home…" I sighed in relief then a ping echoed in my ears as I shut my eyes.
** Rank C requirements have been met **
1. Gather more than 10 allies [Complete]
2. Acquire a structure [Complete]
3. Secure fund (55/50G)[Complete]
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** Message Notice!! **
You've ranked up!
D >> C
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** Distributing Rank C privilege **
1. Rank C item storage (20 slots)
2. Rank E shared item storage(10 slots)
3. 10 abyssal points
4. Increase all status by 1
5. Guild System
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