"No, I'm just an ordinary village person who happened to inherit a tremendous responsibility, and it happened by chance," Jenny replied.
"By chance?" I asked.
"I'll tell you later, I'm too tired to tell bedtime stories for you now," Jenny said.
I saw Jenny immediately rushing to tidy up all the dirty glasses and plates scattered on the customer's table. I took the initiative to help her gather all the laundry and carry it to the back.
While Jenny washed the dirty glasses and plates, I straightened up the scattered chairs and tables that were left over from last night's party. After everything was in order, I grabbed a broom and cleaned every corner of the room.
While sweeping, I noticed that the notice board had some new sheets of paper, indicating job vacancies that could be taken by Guild members. As soon as I finished my tasks, I went back to the board to have a look.
I noticed that there were several jobs offered, such as helping with fruit harvesting, assisting in fish cleaning, or hunting in the forest. Most of these requests came from people living outside the walls, as they could be considered the lowest class of people and not worthy of assistance from the kingdom.
However, one sheet of paper caught my attention. It contained a picture that seemed to be a map, but there was no explanation on the paper. The paper only had a picture resembling a map and a reward of 500 Lumina. Lumina?
I walked to the back carrying the paper to Jenny, who was washing dishes. When I arrived in front of her, I saw Jenny standing there wearing an apron, rinsing her dirty dishes.
"Hey Jenny, what is Lumina?" I asked.
"That's the name of the currency in this world," she replied.
"What can you get with 500,000 Lumina?" I asked.
"Is there someone crazy enough to give you 500,000 Lumina?" Jenny asked.
"No, but there's a new job information posted on the notice board, and the reward is 500 Lumina," I answered.
Jenny immediately turned around, giving me a stern look. She approached me and told me to hold the paper upright. I noticed her slightly wet clothes, which revealed a glimpse of her underwear, making me uncomfortable, so I asked her to hold the paper herself.
And it seemed that Jenny was aware, as she noticed my uncomfortable expression. She wiped her hands until they were dry with a grin on her face. Once she felt everything was dry enough, she took the paper from me and examined its contents.
"When did you find this?" Jenny asked.
"Just now, was this paper not here last night?" I asked.
"No, I checked it last night, this paper wasn't attached to the notice board," Jenny replied.
"Besides, it seems that this picture is a code that we have to decipher ourselves, and it seems that the sender of this paper is not just anyone," Jenny said.
"Yeah, I can understand that from the amount of the reward," I answered.
"Do you already know what you can get with this much money?" Jenny asked.
"No, what can I get with that amount?" I asked.
"You can buy a two-story luxury house here," Jenny replied.
"Hey, hey, hey, are you kidding? If the reward alone can buy a house, then the request must be more than just helping with planting or gardening like the usual ones displayed, right?" I asked.
"I was thinking the same thing, and I believe this picture is a code that we have to decipher ourselves," Jenny answered.
"Well, since you understand it, I'll leave it to you. I'm sleepy, so I'm going to bed," I said as I walked away from Jenny.
I walked away from Jenny, heading to my room and quickly rested.
.......................................................................
"Dario..."
"Dario..."
Once again, I heard that voice. I felt my body was extremely heavy, and I slowly opened my eyes, finding myself submerged in a vast, dark, and cold ocean, just like before.
"Dario..."
Then slowly, a light began to appear in front of me, and I realized that the voice that always appeared in my dreams came from this light.
"Dario... If that's your choice, so be it...
"Come... Come to me..." the light said as it encircled my sinking body in this dark and cold ocean.
"Time keeps moving... And I'm certain WE will meet..." The light gradually dimmed and disappeared from my sight.
It was suffocating... Truly suffocating...
I couldn't even breathe...
Then I felt my body becoming weightless, and I was able to move all my limbs. I swam as fast as I could toward the surface of the ocean, and when I was nearing the surface, I reached out my right hand towards it...
.......................................................................
I woke up suddenly, trying to take deep breaths and calm myself. I found myself sitting on my bed, drenched in sweat, causing the mattress to be soaked.
I glanced out the window and realized that it was already dark outside. My body felt very hot due to the perspiration, so I quickly got up from my bed and walked to the bathroom to take a shower and clean myself.
Standing under the flow of water from the shower, I remembered having the same dream several times. The first time I had a dream like this was when I was struck by lightning in my previous life, and at that time, she said something, but the memory felt hazy.
I tried my best to remember what she said in that first dream, but no matter how hard I thought about it, it felt futile. I couldn't recall anything. Everything was blurry and vague.
I decided to let it go and quickly washed my body, drying myself afterwards. I returned to my room and got dressed. I glanced at the wall clock hanging in my room, and it showed 5 a.m. No wonder it was slightly bright outside; dawn was breaking.
After putting on all my clothes, I walked out of my room and went downstairs. There, I saw many people gathered, and Jenny and Silvia were on the stage, seemingly discussing something serious.
As I reached the ground floor, I felt like I bumped into something solid but transparent. I tried to reach out with my hand, and as I suspected, it was an invisible wall that not everyone could pass through.
Someone inside the wall noticed my presence. I saw them raise their hand and point at me. Silvia clasped her hands together, and suddenly, I could hear all their voices clearly. I tried to touch the wall again, and to my surprise, it no longer felt solid.