" Why … how .. How do you know about Leste ? " Zion asked her, as Cerise retrieved a bicycle from her inventory.
" First get on. You owe me for now. We will discuss the repayment plan once we get to safety. " Cerise said, pointing at the back seat with a harness.
Zion commanded the skeleton to put him on the back seat. Cerise actually put his legs and arms in the correct kind of posture, before tying the legs and arms to herself using rescue ropes.
Once he was on, she started zipping out of the place as fast as she could.
With how fast she was going despite the tricky terrain, Zion figured out she has some kind of map skill.
After almost an hour of cycling through the rain, they reached their destination, Zion's dinghy rental home.
Zion was almost about to faint.
Cerise offered him a health potion. This was considered more of a supplement of nutrients than a real healing potion.
Zion appreciated the effort. They stayed silent for more than an hour.
Cerise just sat primly in the sofa chair. Even the cheap sofa chair looked like the custom made princess chair when Cerise sat in it.
She was wearing a baby pink silk shirt, and a white pants, both of which stayed stain free despite being dragged through mud and rain. Her raven hair is all dry, and returned to its perfect silky straight state. Her ice blue eyes stared straight at him, while her lips were frozen in a subtle pouting expression. Or perhaps, they are just as red all the time. It looked like her skin was shimmering in the moonlight.
Outwardly at least, she is exactly Zion's type.
If she did not mock him on the first day of school, Zion would have probably confessed to her on the second day of the school. Only, she did mock him, thus, he started dating Leste to prove a point.
That woke him up from his daze induced by Cerise's beauty.
" Why do you want to marry me ? Please, don't give me bullshit. I have neither time nor patience to put up with it. " Zion grumbled.
Cerise stayed silent for a moment.
" Do you know what a threshold population is ? " Cerise asked.
" Get to the point please ! No need to start from Windows to explain why you need a viral tiktok. " Zion grumbled.
" The government is releasing a new policy, which they are going to enforce by using entrance into the dungeons. You need to be either married or have children if you want to enter a dungeon. Guilds will be alright, but solo awakeners and ordinary people will have no way to resist these conditions if they want to feed their families." Cerise summarized for him.
The issue of population has always been a hot potato. Two hundred years ago, when the gates first appeared, strong players emerged one after another. That was the era of gods. After the era of gods, it was the era of guilds. That too, ended with the Ragnarok, a short period when all dungeons burst, aligning their timing with a year of disasters on earth. During this time most of the earth's original infrastructure was lost, along with most of its population.
From this time on, guilds, governments and solo hunters all calmed down. Only, the population still did not increase. High level players needed a spouse of similar level to bear children. On top of that, most pregnancies could not make it to term. Research found lower the level of hunters, the easier it is to make a baby.
Government tried to issue policies regarding this, but the guilds and the hunter association stopped them, fearing backlash from their members. This was possible because they have both money and power on their side.
" The guilds are not any less powerful from the last time the government tried something like this. Why is it urgent now ? " Zion wondered weakly.
" I believe they might have found a way to block off towers. " Cerise explained.
Zion paused. The dungeons of the world are currently three types. Open grounds where no one knows where a monster might spawn, gates, which lead to dungeons with fixed structure and monsters, both of which any hunter could enter. Then there are towers, which only transcended hunters could enter. It is said if a tower burst instead of a gate, then the entire earth would have been wiped out in a single day.
Most of the guild's strongest members are always fighting in towers, both for resources and to keep everyone safe.
I.e. Almost all of the guild's punching power is concentrated in towers, while the military's is all on earth. At this point, if towers are blocked, then… the guilds lose their initiative.
On top of that, if this measure is presented as a saving grace, the government will avoid backlash.
Zion paused.
The sheng clan must have known this. They would have cut him off right after his awakening. Yet, they kept him around, caring only for his life, not his health. He was to be used as a substitute for one of their better fighters.
Zion was pissed once more at his family.
' At this point, I don't even know why I am expecting any sort of kindness from them. ' he thought to himself as the pieces fell in place.
Cerise has many suitors. Why him among all these peerless men who are pining after her ?
' Because you are a pushover. The moment you turn on me, I can just kill you ' is what flashed through Cerise's mind. However, she wanted this deal to be peaceful. She can not utter those words out loud.
" You are the most trustworthy among all the men I know. " Cerise laid it on thick.
" Isn't it because I am less powerful than you ? " Zion asked.
" Is that important ? " Cerise asked, looking like a queen, even against the backdrop of the dinghy apartment.
" Indeed. It's not important. I am going to reject your offer regardless of reasons. " Zion answered.
Cerise was surprised.
" Why ? That is, if you don't mind. " Cerise wondered. She was genuinely curious.
" I want a family. I want a happy married life, with a white picket fence, two dogs, one cat and three children. That kind of happy home. If I am going to marry, then it is going to be for real, not this kind of little girl's dream kind of bullshit. " Zion grumbled.
Cerise looked at him in shock. She really did not expect this kind of reason. She was impressed with him. To undergo such betrayal from a family, friends and lovers, yet keep the goodness of the heart !
She is moved.
They sat like that, each immersed in their own thoughts for more than an hour.
The clock struck twelve.
Cerise woke, like a cinderella waking up from a dream.
Her eyes are moist.
" Very well. Then let's get married that way. For real. " Cerise said, looking at Zion.
" Mayflower ?!!! " It was Zion's turn to be shocked.
" Let's go. We will go to get our IDs first, once we get them, we will go to Vegas chapel to get married. You have no objection now, I suppose ? " Cerise asked.
Zion was too shocked to respond.
He is all healed outwardly, but he still had to be moved around in a wheelchair.
One moment, they were going to the school office which was open at twelve to distribute IDs. They were not the only people who came here.
The queue had almost a hundred people when they first saw it. Fortunately, most of them are substitutes of the students who are picking up IDs. Guilds and Clans will send their representatives in the morning to pick up IDs.
As soon as they received their IDs, Cerise booked a cab to Vegas chapel.
Vegas chapel is a special service church dedicated to marriage that serves hunters specially. Instead of a minister recognizing their marriage, they place their hands on an oath plaque to announce their marriage.
The cab stopped in front of the straw hut.
It was a horizontally straw house, with a small pretty garden in front of it.
Inside the house, there is only a plain wooden altar. Cerise retrieved a few tripods, set up their phones and two cameras filming the entire process from three different angles.
In front of the wooden altar, there is a connected wooden bowl, full of water.
Zion pricked his right hand, Cerise priced her left hand. Both of them then placed their hands in the bowl. Cerise retrieved two connected rings and threw them into the bowl.
The bowl was lit full of light as their blood and silver both dissolved in the bowls, swirling around their hands.
Zion jaw dropped looking at the swirling magic which was full of lights.
They heard of this phenomenon before, but no one has ever awakened it in the past twenty years !
This means a true bond ! Both Zion and Cerise will receive blessings from this union !
It is one plus one becoming three !
For the first time in his life, Zion smiled from the bottom of his heart.
It seems the world is finally repaying him for all he suffered.